Vulture Recovery Programme
Vulture Conservation Centre, Pinjore
Report To The National Birds Of Prey Trust

MARCH 2005

During the autumn of 2004 the Vulture Research Centre at Pinjore in Haryana State, India started the redevelopment work required to enable the facility to meet its goals as a captive breeding centre for Gyps vultures now critically endangered in India, Nepal and Pakistan.  Funds for this work were provided by the UK Darwin Initiative, the Zoological Society of London, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the National Bird of Prey Trust, and the work implemented by the Bombay Natural History Society.

The redevelopment programme is possible through the provision of extra land from the Haryana State Forestry Department.  This land brings to five acres the total now available for the VCC.  An area adjacent to the current facilities was cleared of scrub but any large or native trees were left.  The first of two large aviaries was completed by the end of 2004 and the second aviary by March 1^st 2005.  These large colony breeding aviaries were designed by Jemima Parry-Jones with the aim of providing high quality space for each of the two species of vulture currently held at the centre that will allow them to breed in the future.  These facilities also enable vultures to be held in colonies benefiting both the birds and the staff managing the centre.  The first aviary was complete in time for the breeding season and allowed the juvenile and sub-adult birds held in the original facilities to be moved, leaving the adult birds with more space and less disturbance.  This proved to be good timing as the adult birds did show some breeding behaviour during the first two months of 2005 including nest-building and mating.

Now the second aviary is complete the species can be separated and the adults moved to the respective colonies once the breeding season is finished.  This will enable important modifications and repairs to be made to the original aviaries which will then be set aside as quarantine facilities.

It is hoped that a third large aviary will be constructed within the next year and a number of smaller breeding aviaries added to the centre to enable  slender-billed vultures to be managed as the third Gyps species and for pairs to be removed from the colony as and when appropriate to maximise breeding opportunities.

When I visited Pinjore in late January it was obvious that the larger aviaries were ideal for the birds providing them with more space and making the management of the birds easier.  The size allows the vultures to fly well, taking off both from the ground and perches, and landing under control.  They have a huge selection of perching points allowing them to choose not only where they roost or rest, but also to follow the sun or shade as they want.  The height also allows the birds to move at will, if they feel it required when staff are working in the aviary, resulting in considerably less pressure on each individual bird from outside influences.

The design of the second aviary has been modified slightly from the first and the building process was significantly easier.  As new centres are developed in other regions of India and Nepal these will be the prototype aviaries with modifications made depending on the local conditions and the materials available.  The staff at Pinjore are obviously delighted with these new facilities and I am sure they will continue to “fine-tune” the designs as they get more experience.

Recent visits by the Secretary for the Environment and Forests of Central Government accompanied by advisors and other colleagues, including the Member Secretary of the Central Zoo Authority, have proved extremely useful in raising the profile of the Vulture Recovery Programme.  The professionalism of the staff at the centre and the facilities provided for the birds have made a significant contribution to this and have helped to allay some concerns about the management of vultures in a captive environment.

The Bombay Natural History Society and the other partners in the programme are very grateful to the National Bird of Prey Trust for their contribution to the centre at Pinjore through their funding of one of the colony aviaries.  As the birds mature it is expected that the vultures will breed in these aviaries and that they will become the key facilities to establishing a good breeding population in the next 10-15 years.

Nick Lindsay
March 22nd 2005

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