Himalayan Griffons Vultures

In Context 

• About 100 Himalayan griffon vultures have died of suspected poisoning in Assam.

Image Courtesy:TH

About Himalayan Griffon Vulture

• Scientific Name: Gyps himalayensis
• It is a rare and largest bird native to the Himalayas
• Habitat:
  • It lives mainly in the higher regions of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau at the elevation of above 1500 metres.
  • This species is distributed from western China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, east through the Himalayan mountain range in India, Nepal and Bhutan, to central China and Mongolia. 

• Description: 

• This is a huge vulture and the adult is sandy brown with a pale, featherless head. When in flight, the bird has black primaries and a small-headed, squared-winged appearance. 
• Usually seen singly or in small groups; gathers in large flocks at a carcass

• Threats:
  •  The most serious potential threat to this species is thought to be mortality caused through ingestion of diclofenac and other vulture-toxic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) widely used in livestock, particularly in South Asia.
• Conservation status :
  • The vulture is listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
  • The species is covered by a Multi-species Action Plan (MsAP) for the conservation of African-Eurasian vultures and by national Action Plans in India , Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia .

Source:TH