(NP) - Long thought exict white vulture spotted in Nepal

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Long-thought extinct vulture species spotted in Kailali

Shiv Raj Bhatt Dhangadhi, December 30:

 

The habitat of the white vulture considered to have become extinct a decade

ago has been found in Kailali district in the western part of Nepal.

 

Some 40 vultures of this endangered species have been found roosting in

Beli Patela forest at Dhangadhi of Kailali, said Darakh VDC resident Rupak

Malla. A bird-lover, Malla, stumbled upon the vulture roosts and urged

locals not to shoo away these birds or kill them. Malla said he found a

vulture incubating its eggs and added that it had not left the nest for

three days without a break.

 

The carrion-eating vultures are nature's scavengers. There are eight

species of vultures in the world, but the ones in Kailali are the

long-thought extinct white-rumped vultures. According to statistics

collected by International Union for the Conservtion Nature and National

Resources (IUCN) five years ago, white-rumped vultures went extinct

worldwide. Their sighting in Kailali is nothing short of an ecological miracle.

 

Malla said, " The IUCN has put the black vulture on the list of endangered

species. " Calling for the protection and preservation of these birds, Malla

said vultures raise only two chicks a year and prefer to roost in the same

tree for life once they have taken up habitat.

 

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