<p>Mumbai: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bombay-natural-history-society">Bombay Natural History Society</a> (BNHS), along with the Maharashtra Forest Department, successfully carried out the tagging of 15 long-billed <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/vulture">vulture</a>s at Melghat Tiger Reserve. </p><p>Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra Sreenivas Reddy is personally monitoring and guiding the entire project.</p><p>BNHS Director Kishor Rithe said that making the landscape safe for vultures is a key step before their release.</p><p>Out of the 15 vultures, 11 were fitted with GSM tags and 4 with satellite PTT tags. The tags were attached using a backpack-style harness, a safe method known as harnessing.</p><p>In addition, all vultures were fitted with blue-coloured leg rings carrying identification numbers. </p><p>The blue colour shows that the ringing was done in India, and the letter “M” indicates Maharashtra as the release site. </p><p>The tags are solar-powered and will help scientists track the movement, travel distance, safety, and survival of the vultures after their release into the wild. </p>.<p>The vultures were born at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana, which is BNHS’s first such centre in India. </p><p>They were later brought to Melghat, where they were given training of feeding on their own and allowed to acclimatise for the last eight months before being released. </p>.Jatayu programme: Batches of vultures start interacting .<p>The tagging programme was led by Dr Sachin Ranade, with support from Bhaskar Das and Athira, who are part of the Vulture Reintroduction Programme.</p><p>During this period, the birds are regularly checked for health and monitored through CCTV cameras to observe their natural behaviour.</p><p>Rithe that awareness programmes were carried out in nearby areas, along with pharmacy surveys to ensure that harmful and banned veterinary medicines are not sold or used. </p><p>Stakeholders such as the veterinary department, pharmacists, and local villagers were actively involved in this process.</p><p>Adarsh Reddy, Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve expressed his happiness over completion of the tagging operation and stated that “This effort marks an important step towards the conservation and successful reintroduction of Long-billed Vultures in the Melghat landscape. We hope that these birds will get support from the Animal Husbandry department and the Food and Drugs administration department from Buldhana, Akola, Amravati districts as well as the concerned departments from adjoining Madhya Pradesh.”</p><p>Rahul Tolia, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Akot, visited the site and congratulated the team for the safe and successful tagging operation. The programme received strong support from Ganesh Tekale (ACF), Vinil Hatwar (RFO), and Sidheshwar Munde (Round Officer), who assisted with logistics.</p>
<p>Mumbai: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bombay-natural-history-society">Bombay Natural History Society</a> (BNHS), along with the Maharashtra Forest Department, successfully carried out the tagging of 15 long-billed <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/vulture">vulture</a>s at Melghat Tiger Reserve. </p><p>Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra Sreenivas Reddy is personally monitoring and guiding the entire project.</p><p>BNHS Director Kishor Rithe said that making the landscape safe for vultures is a key step before their release.</p><p>Out of the 15 vultures, 11 were fitted with GSM tags and 4 with satellite PTT tags. The tags were attached using a backpack-style harness, a safe method known as harnessing.</p><p>In addition, all vultures were fitted with blue-coloured leg rings carrying identification numbers. </p><p>The blue colour shows that the ringing was done in India, and the letter “M” indicates Maharashtra as the release site. </p><p>The tags are solar-powered and will help scientists track the movement, travel distance, safety, and survival of the vultures after their release into the wild. </p>.<p>The vultures were born at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana, which is BNHS’s first such centre in India. </p><p>They were later brought to Melghat, where they were given training of feeding on their own and allowed to acclimatise for the last eight months before being released. </p>.Jatayu programme: Batches of vultures start interacting .<p>The tagging programme was led by Dr Sachin Ranade, with support from Bhaskar Das and Athira, who are part of the Vulture Reintroduction Programme.</p><p>During this period, the birds are regularly checked for health and monitored through CCTV cameras to observe their natural behaviour.</p><p>Rithe that awareness programmes were carried out in nearby areas, along with pharmacy surveys to ensure that harmful and banned veterinary medicines are not sold or used. </p><p>Stakeholders such as the veterinary department, pharmacists, and local villagers were actively involved in this process.</p><p>Adarsh Reddy, Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve expressed his happiness over completion of the tagging operation and stated that “This effort marks an important step towards the conservation and successful reintroduction of Long-billed Vultures in the Melghat landscape. We hope that these birds will get support from the Animal Husbandry department and the Food and Drugs administration department from Buldhana, Akola, Amravati districts as well as the concerned departments from adjoining Madhya Pradesh.”</p><p>Rahul Tolia, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Akot, visited the site and congratulated the team for the safe and successful tagging operation. The programme received strong support from Ganesh Tekale (ACF), Vinil Hatwar (RFO), and Sidheshwar Munde (Round Officer), who assisted with logistics.</p>