Context:
The population of the long-billed vulture has seen a steady increase, exhibiting a 74% breeding success rate in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).
Long-Billed Vulture:
- Medium-sized bird of prey native to the Indian subcontinent.
- Also known as the Indian vulture or Indian Griffon.
- Distribution & Habitat – Found in India and South East Pakistan.
- Nests in small colonies, usually on cliffs, constructed with sticks and lined with green leaves and rubbish.
- Conservation Status –
- IUCN – Critically Endangered.
- CITES – Appendix II.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 – Schedule 1.
- Threats – Forest fires, Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like diclofenac in treating cattle, Retaliatory poisoning of predators by farmers.
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve:
- Located in – Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, at the tri-junction of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
- Part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
- Shares boundaries with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) and Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka).
- Moyar River acts as natural division between Mudumalai and Bandipur Sanctuary.
- Other vulture species observed – White-rumped vulture and Asian king vulture.
Read more about: Vulture Restaurants, Social Costs of Vulture Decline
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) the destruction of their nesting sites by new invasive species.
(b) a drug used by cattle owners for treating their diseased cattle.
(c) scarcity of food available to them.
(d) a widespread, persistent and fatal disease among them .
Answer: (b)