The recovery of more than two dozen vulture carcasses and five unconscious vultures, all assumed to be Himalayan Griffons, from an agricultural field in the Dudhwa Buffer Zone (DBZ), on Tuesday, has sent forest officials into a tizzy.
The incident is reported from Semariya village under the Bhira range of DBZ. It comes as a rude shock after the Terai area of Kheri district was rejoicing frequent sightings of large vulture groups in the Dudhwa area.
Among the five unconscious vultures, three of them were treated and were released, while the rest were under treatment at the range headquarters, Kirti Chaudhary, deputy director, DBZ, told the Hindustan Times.
She said carcasses of four dogs were also recovered from the spot, leading to the suspicion that the vultures fell ill after consuming the remains of the dogs.
She added that some synthetic chemical (on the dogs’ carcasses) was suspected to be the cause of death. However, a panel of veterinary doctors will conduct a post-mortem examination of the dead vultures on Wednesday. Samples of carcases of both vultures and the dogs would be sent to Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, for further analysis to ascertain the exact cause of death.
DEO KANT PANDEY
