Context

• The population of vultures in the Nilgiris has increased by more than 26 % since 2012, but conservationists and experts who have been monitoring the birds say that major threats, such as deliberate poisoning of cattle carcasses, are still prevalent in the region.

Details

• In 2012, the number of vultures seen in the Nilgiris was around 152 individuals, comprising the White-rumped vulture, Asian king vulture and the Long-billed vulture. Since then, the population increased each year till 2014, before sudden crashes in 2015 and 2016.
• It then recovered to 192 individuals in 2018. While these three species of vulture are known to nest almost exclusively in the Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves in Southern India, other vulture species, such as the Cinereous vulture, the Himalayan griffon vulture and Egyptian vulture have been spotted visiting the Nilgiris each year.

Source:TH