Facts about Himalayan Griffons
- The Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Gyps himalayensis, is an Old World vulture. It belongs to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks.
- This vulture is a typical vulture, with a bald white head, very broad wings, and short tail feathers.
- It has a white neck ruff and yellow bill and the whitish body and wing cover contrast with the dark flight feathers.
- The Himalayan vulture mostly lives in the Himalayas on the Tibetan plateau (India, Nepal and Bhutan, central China and Mongolia).
- It is also found in the Central Asian mountains (from Kazakhstan and Afghanistan in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east).
- Occasionally it migrates to northern India but migration usually only occurs attitudinally.
- Recently, Himalayan Griffons died of suspected poisoning in Assam.
About:
- It is one of the 22 species of large carrion-eating birds that live predominantly in the tropics and subtropics.
- They act an important function as nature’s garbage collectors and help to keep the environment clean of waste.
- Vultures also play a valuable role in keeping wildlife diseases in check.
- They act an important function as nature’s garbage collectors and help to keep the environment clean of waste.
Species in India:
- India is home to 9 species of Vulture namely the Oriental white-backed, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Himalayan, Red-headed, Egyptian, Bearded, Cinereous, and Eurasian Griffon.
- Most of these 9 species face the danger of extinction.
- Bearded, Long-billed, Slender-billed, and Oriental white-backed are protected in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Rest are protected under ‘Schedule IV’.
What are the threats:
- Poisoning from diclofenac is used as a medicine for livestock.
- Loss of Natural Habitats due to anthropogenic activities
- Food Dearth and Contaminated Food
- Electrocution by Power lines.
Efforts to save them
- In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched a Vulture Action Plan 2020-25 for the conservation of vultures in the country.
- To study the cause of death of vultures in India, a Vulture Care Centre (VCC) was set up at Pinjore, Haryana in 2001.
- Later in 2004, the VCC was upgraded to being the first Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre (VCBC) in India.
- At present, there are nine Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centres (VCBC) in India, of which three are directly administered by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
