A rare and highly endangered Himalayan griffon vulture, one of the biggest birds in the Himalayas, was rescued on Sunday at Angulai village in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
Locals sighted the bird in injured condition with avian species losing its mobility. Later they informed the forest officials, who later released it in mangrove forest cover in the Jamboo area after providing treatment.
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We have identified it as the Griffon Vulture which is one the biggest bird species found in the Himalayas.
The bird might have migrated to Odisha because of inhospitable cold and harsh weather in Himalayas as other winged species do in winter month.
It is a rare and threatened species listed in the International Union of Conservation of Nature Red List, said Forest Range Officer, Kendrapara, Rajendra Kumar Samantray.
Vulture species are highly threatened across the country with their population dipping alarmingly. More than 90percent of vultures have disappeared from India’s skies in the past two decades.
The scavenging avian species have perished after consuming carcasses of cattle which were administered diclofenac, a pain killer drug, the forest official said, quoting experts’ findings.
