Hope is the Thing with Feathers
<p>The devastating crash in Gyps vulture populations in the 1990s owing to the veterinary use of diclofenac is well-recorded, with the once-ubiquitous birds becoming a rarity. With these keystone species facing extinction, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) set up four breeding centres for Gyps vultures across the country. These cutting-edge centres and the work done by the team, led by Dr. Vibhu Prakash, led to the successful captive breeding of three species of Gyps vultures – the White-backed Vulture <em>Gyps bengalensis</em>, Long-billed Vulture <em>Gyps indicus</em> and Slender-billed Vulture <em>Gyps tenuirostris</em>. The Vulture Conservation programme of the BNHS also establishes Vulture Safe Zones. Over 600 vultures have been successfully reared at these centres, and the work to reintroduce them to the wild by the BNHS is ongoing.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Photo: Dhritiman Mukherjee.</strong></span></p>
