Vulture Restaurant in Jharkhand Syllabus:

Context:

?   A ‘Vulture Restaurant’ has been established in Koderma of Jharkhand to conserve the declining vulture population

About the Vulture Restaurant

?   It is an undisturbed area where non-toxic, poison-free meat and carcasses are provided for vultures and other scavengers.

?   The initiative aims to address the adverse impact of livestock drugs, particularly diclofenac, on vultures.

?   The first ‘vulture restaurant’ came up in 2015 at Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary in Raigad, Maharashtra.

?   There are four other such restaurants, all in the same state.

Types of Vultures

?   Vultures are one of the 22 species of large carrion-eating birds that live mostly in the tropics and subtropics.

?   They act as nature’s garbage collectors

?   Vultures play a valuable role in keeping wildlife diseases in check.

?   India is home to nine species of Vulture namely the Oriental white-backed,   Long-billed,

?   Slender-billed, Himalayan, Red-headed, Egyptian, Bearded, Cinereous and the Eurasian Griffon.

Conservation Status

?   Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Bearded, Long-billed, Slender-billed,Oriental white-backed.

?   Rest are protected under ‘Schedule IV’.

?   IUCN Red List:

?   Critically Endangered: