Chennai: The third synchronised vulture census has been scheduled for Feb 27 and 28, with active cooperation among Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The census will cover seven protected areas where vulture populations are known to exist.
TN forest secretary Supriya Sahu said that as part of the preparations, meetings were held with field officers from the three southern states to discuss locations, logistics, and methodologies. The vulture population estimation will be conducted at 106 points across the three states. She added that this decision was taken during a coordination meeting.
In TN, the census will be carried out at 33 points, with up to 220 individuals involved in the operation, including forest dpartment field staff, vulture experts, non-governmental organizations, students, and volunteers. The census will follow vantage point count and nest-count methods. Training and orientation sessions for volunteers have already been conducted to ensure accurate data collection.
TN has a strong breeding population of the oriental white-rumped vulture, supported by conservation efforts. Other species recorded in the region include the long-billed vulture, red-headed vulture, Egyptian vulture, Himalayan griffon, and cinereous vulture. This synchronized monitoring plays a crucial role in tracking long-term population trends and helping wildlife officials refine conservation strategies, she said.
S Bharathidasan, founder of Coimbatore-based vulture conservation organization Arulagam, said the vulture population in the south has increased due to better protection and the ban on certain anti-inflammatory drugs containing diclofenac.