By Toby Galligan, Conservation Scientist
It is the height of the breeding season for vultures in India. That means our partners from the Bombay Natural History Society are busy at the three Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres (VCBC) in northern India.
My colleague Ananya and I have spent the last four days visiting Dr Vibhu Prakash and his team at the Pinjore VCBC – the flagship of the Indian breeding centres. At Pinjore, three huge 20x20x40 metre colony aviaries house approximately one hundred and fifty vultures. All three critically endangered Gyps species are represented. A forth colony aviary is under construction – and they are going to need it, because the vultures are having no trouble at all multiplying.
This season, everything is full swing. Dr Prakash and his team use a technique known in the business as double-clutching to increase breeding success. This involves removing every breeding pair’s first egg and artificially incubating it and then hand-brooding the hatchlings until it fledges. A female vulture lays only one egg a season, but if that egg is lost, she will lay again. So by taking the first egg, Vibhu and his team simulate egg loss and stimulate the pair to produce another egg – hence, double-clutching!
Last season, 30 vultures were successfully fledged at Pinjore using this method. Right now, there are 24 eggs in the incubators, 7 hatchlings and re-nesting occurring. Ananya and I were lucky enough to see some of the babies and we took these photos for you. Just like a maternity ward, we had to view the hatchlings through glass – protecting these little guys from pathogens is of the utmost importance.
With thanks to Save Our Species for their valuable sponsorship, which helps us carry out this essential work