Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

INGENIOUS FEEDING SITES OF EGYPTIAN VULTURE (NEOPHRONPERCNOPTERUS) IN SOME OF THE DISTRICTS OF UTTARPRADESH, INDIA

Shivangi Mishra, Adesh Kumar, Ankit Sinha and Amita Kanaujia

Abstract

Egyptian Vultures are the most commonly seen vultures in Uttar Pradesh at present after the ‘vultureshurtle in India. Food availability is the basic concern for animal survival; consequently, it is a fundamentalcomponent to identify the habitat exploitation, population compactness and endurance of the animal. Thestudy started in Uttar Pradesh from January 2014-December 2016. Details of feeding sites includinggeographical location noted using GPS instrument, Digital Camera (Nikonp900 coolpix) and 70 D SLRcamera and a predesigned format was used for data recording. This study points out the feeding points andtheir management for the persistence and productivity of the globally endangered species. The populationof Egyptian vulture is comparatively higher than other vultures in Uttar Pradesh. The reason behind this isprobably because Egyptian vulture is an opportunistic feeder and the feeding sites are more in numbersuch as slaughterhouses, bone mill factories, dumping sites etc. The ingenious feeding sites have beenreported in, LakhimpurKheri, Aligarh, Unnao, Bareilly and Sambhal. LakhimpurKheri holds maximumpopulation of Egyptian vultures followed by, Aligarh, Unnao, Bareilly and Sambhal. Modification inmanagement of slaughterhouse refusals, carrion and feeding points affects the species that are relied onthem. This study will assist the management of a healthy vulture population as there are some of thedistricts where vultures still exist in large number and illustrate the capability of Egyptian vultures toexploit different food resources, as well as point out the variables which influence the presence of Egyptianvultures such as Distance from Water bodies, roosting sites and bone factories.