Rare Egyptian vulture spotted near Mumbai

A rare Egyptian vulture was spotted at the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary (PWLS) in the Raigad district of the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD) and Green Works Trust (GWT) have confirmed the sighting.

The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken.

During the 5th Phansad Bird Count, a team led by GWT Co-founder and Trustee Krupa Patil along with forest guard Ketan Vane, forest department driver S D Pingala and birders Anand Damle, Milind Savale and Mitul Patel recorded a sighting that spread a wave of excitement and happiness.

Read | A plan to nurture vultures

The team was on its way to the Chikhalgaon trail when a raptor perched on a Shemat tree at the 'vulture restaurant' caught their eye. On careful observation, they found that the raptor was indeed a vulture. This was the first vulture sighting in Phansad after a gap of seven long years.

The team clicked pictures and moved on, leaving the bird behind; undisturbed on the Shemat treetop.

Back at the base camp, Founder and Managing Trustee of GWT Nikhil Bhopale identified the vulture to be an Egyptian vulture by looking at the pictures clicked by the team.

The following day, the vulture was sighted again on the same tree; confirming its overnight stay at PWLS.

The GWT has been working with Thane Wildlife Division on the conservation of vultures. In December 2021, GWT started a project titled ‘Project Jataayu’ for the revival of the lost vulture species in PWLS.

In the last 11 months, the GWT team has visited 275 Gram Panchayats/Nagar Parishads in seven talukas of Raigad district. Thirteen carcasses have been delivered to the restaurant in the hope of attracting the lost vultures of PWLS back to their home. The last carcass was dropped on November 2, 2022.

“With the sighting of the Egyptian vulture on 5th Nov 2022, GWT’s Project Jataayu has now seen a ray of hope. This is an important and a very heartening milestone for this project. GWT along with the forest department are now hoping to welcome a committee of vultures at the 'vulture restaurant','' the GWT and MFD said.