A Eurasian vulture, which flew from Shuklaphanta in search of food, has reached the Maharana Pratap Sagar region of Himachal Pradesh, India, covering a distance of 520 kilometers in the air.
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How far can a vulture, considered a nature's predator, fly in a day in search of food?
A vulture equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) has reached Maharana Pratap Sagar (Pong Dam) in Himachal Pradesh, India.
The vulture, which was tagged on Chait 2 last month, reached Maharana Pratap Sagar on Chait 4. 'Even now, that vulture is roaming in the forest near that same lake,' said Dilip Chand, project officer of the Nepal Bird Conservation Association, 'After leaving here, it is roaming in the forest near the dam.'
The vulture of the Dangar species is an adult. It reached Maharana Pratap Sagar after covering an aerial distance of 520 kilometers from the Tarapur area of Shuklaphanta National Park. On the way there, the vulture reached Himachal in a single day via Jim Corbett National Park in India.
The Bird Conservation Association is also coordinating with conservationists in India to study the vulture. Chand said that there is continuous coordination with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNSC), which is working on vulture conservation in India. ‘The movement of the vulture is looking good, that is why it seems that there is no problem right now,’ said Project Officer Chand. ‘If it stays in one place, there may be some problem, but that is not the case right now.’ He said that discussions are also underway to have a team of the Bird Conservation Association go to the Himalayas to understand the condition of the vulture.
By March 2025 and 2026, the association has installed GPS in 15 dungar vultures in the Hirapur and Tarapur areas of the park. Of these, 11 are adults and 4 are semi-adults. Other vultures have also been found to return to Pithoragarh, Lohaghat in Uttarakhand, India, and the Mahakali River in Uttar Pradesh in search of food.
In addition, these vultures have reached Pancheshwor and Mailauli in Baitadi, Amargadhi in Dadeldhura, and Godavari in Kailali. 'It is also seen that they return to these areas in a single day and return after wandering for one or two days,' said Hirulal Dagoura, ornithologist of the Bird Conservation Association, 'vultures are traveling far and wide in search of food.'
The GPS has been installed to study the journeys made by vultures in search of food and habitat. The association had also installed GPS in vultures a decade ago. Studies are still being conducted regularly. 'Where has the vulture reached every day? How far has it traveled? "Everything is being studied," said Project Officer Chand, "If there is no movement of any vultures on any given day, we may have to go for rescue." According to him, vultures have also been rescued from various parts of India with the help of BNHC.
Hirapur and Tarapur areas of Shuklaphanta National Park are considered suitable habitats for vultures. Vultures are regularly seen in that area. The association has been working on installing GPS on vultures from the same area.
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