A rare species of vulture was found in Bhansia village of the district, forest officials claimed today.
“This is a rare find. After its examination, we will declare the name of the species,” District Forest Officer Chandra Bhuvan said.
The wing-span of the vulture is about nine feet against normal size of eight feet. Its height is about three feet and weighs about 20 kg, Bhuvan said.
Villagers had spotted four vultures of this type but three of them flew away, he said.
It was handed over to forest deputy ranger T C Pant.
“We will send it either to Delhi National Zoo or Lucknow Zoo,” Pant said.
http://www.discoveryon.info/2011/11/rare-species-of-vulture-found.html
Showing posts with label vulture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vulture. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Rare species vulture rescued
 |
| This rare species vulture, rescued by locals after its electrocution near Srimongal upazila town in Moulviabazar district on Thursday, is kept for treatment at the mini zoo owned by Sitesh Ranjan Dev, a wildlife expert in Srimongal. Photo: STAR |
A rare species vulture was rescued by locals when it was hit by a full voltage electricity wire near Srimongal upazila town on Thursday. The near extinct vulture is now under treatment at the mini zoo of Sitesh Ranjan Deb at Srimongal town. Every day a large number of people are visiting the zoo to see the vulture. Zoo owner Sitesh Ranjan Deb, also an eminent wild life expert said, the right wing of the 10-kg vulture was seriously injured after being hit by a full voltage electricity wire at Uttarsur village near Srimongal town on Thursday. Instantly the vulture fell down the ground. Local people caught the injured vulture. Later, Sitesh brought it to his zoo. The zoo owner is giving treatment to the near extinct bird which is rarely seen in our country. Sitesh said about 15 to 20 days will be needed for complete cure of the bird. Afterwards, the vulture will be freed, Sitesh said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=171186
Friday, 7 January 2011
Saudi Arabia 'detains' Israeli vulture for spying
5 January 2011
Saudi Arabian officials have "detained" a vulture on accusations of being a spy for Israel, media reports say.
The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.
Israeli wildlife officials dismissed the claims as ludicrous and expressed concern about the bird's fate.
Last month, Egyptian officials implied the Israeli spy agency Mossad was to blame for shark attacks off its coast.
The vulture, which can have a wing span of up to 265cm (8ft 8in), was caught after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal a few days ago.
When locals discovered the GPS transmitter, they suspected the worst and handed it over to the security forces, said Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper.
Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.
'Terrible price'
Israeli officials told Ma'ariv they were "stunned" by the allegations and concerned that the bird could meet a horrible punishment in the notoriously severe Saudi justice system.
"The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed," a bird specialist at Israel's Park and Nature Authority told the newspaper.
The data would be used to improve understanding of the endangered species' behaviour.
"Now, this poor bird is paying a terrible price. That's very sad," said the unnamed expert.
"I hope they release the poor thing."
The vulture is the latest animal to be accused of being an unwitting Mossad operative.
In December, the governor of Egypt's South Sinai province, Mohamed Abdul Fadil Shousha, suggested the spy agency may have had a hand in a string of deadly shark attacks off the coast of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
He said it was "not out of the question" that Mossad had put the killer shark in the area.
The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed that allegation, saying the governor "must have seen Jaws one time too many, and confuses fact and fiction".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12120259
Saudi Arabian officials have "detained" a vulture on accusations of being a spy for Israel, media reports say.
The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.
Israeli wildlife officials dismissed the claims as ludicrous and expressed concern about the bird's fate.
Last month, Egyptian officials implied the Israeli spy agency Mossad was to blame for shark attacks off its coast.
The vulture, which can have a wing span of up to 265cm (8ft 8in), was caught after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal a few days ago.
When locals discovered the GPS transmitter, they suspected the worst and handed it over to the security forces, said Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper.
Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.
'Terrible price'
Israeli officials told Ma'ariv they were "stunned" by the allegations and concerned that the bird could meet a horrible punishment in the notoriously severe Saudi justice system.
"The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed," a bird specialist at Israel's Park and Nature Authority told the newspaper.
The data would be used to improve understanding of the endangered species' behaviour.
"Now, this poor bird is paying a terrible price. That's very sad," said the unnamed expert.
"I hope they release the poor thing."
The vulture is the latest animal to be accused of being an unwitting Mossad operative.
In December, the governor of Egypt's South Sinai province, Mohamed Abdul Fadil Shousha, suggested the spy agency may have had a hand in a string of deadly shark attacks off the coast of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
He said it was "not out of the question" that Mossad had put the killer shark in the area.
The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed that allegation, saying the governor "must have seen Jaws one time too many, and confuses fact and fiction".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12120259
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Stray vulture poses threat to Scottish airspace
Posted Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:15am AEST
Pilots in Scottish airspace have been warned of the potential danger posed by a vulture which flew off from a public display and failed to return, air traffic controllers said on Wednesday.
Gandalf, a seven-year-old female Ruppell's Griffon vulture, was performing in a display at the World of Wings birds of prey centre in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, on Tuesday when she took flight, possibly caught in a gust of wind.
Air traffic control company NATS said pilots using Glasgow Airport were alerted about the bird.
Joanna Timson, one of the falconers at World of Wings, said: "The conditions for flying for vultures were absolutely perfect. She was last seen heading in the Stirling direction.
"Gandalf has never done this before."
The vulture stands 1.2 metres (four feet) high with a three-metre (10-foot) wingspan.
"Our main concern is if members of the public see her, they may be frightened," Timson said.
A NATS spokesman said: "We made pilots aware of the possibility of seeing this bird as it has a three-metre wingspan and can fly at altitudes used by commercial aircraft."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/19/2987015.htm
Pilots in Scottish airspace have been warned of the potential danger posed by a vulture which flew off from a public display and failed to return, air traffic controllers said on Wednesday.
Gandalf, a seven-year-old female Ruppell's Griffon vulture, was performing in a display at the World of Wings birds of prey centre in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, on Tuesday when she took flight, possibly caught in a gust of wind.
Air traffic control company NATS said pilots using Glasgow Airport were alerted about the bird.
Joanna Timson, one of the falconers at World of Wings, said: "The conditions for flying for vultures were absolutely perfect. She was last seen heading in the Stirling direction.
"Gandalf has never done this before."
The vulture stands 1.2 metres (four feet) high with a three-metre (10-foot) wingspan.
"Our main concern is if members of the public see her, they may be frightened," Timson said.
A NATS spokesman said: "We made pilots aware of the possibility of seeing this bird as it has a three-metre wingspan and can fly at altitudes used by commercial aircraft."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/19/2987015.htm
Saturday, 19 June 2010
WELSH VULTURE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/10317355.stmA vulture has swapped the wild landscapes of Africa or America for the rooftops of a south Wales town. The winged scavenger, estimated at around 3ft (91cm) tall, was spotted surveying the landscape from a rooftop in Bridgend.
Experts believe the bird may have escaped from a falconry centre or a local bird collector. Neighbour Simon Keenor said: "It was a bit of a shock to see a vulture staring around looking for its next meal." Mr Keenor was able to snap a photo of the vulture before it took to the air again. He added: "Normally we get a few sparrows and magpies around here - not giant birds of prey. 'Handler' "But it seemed quite at home even though he must be thousands of miles away from his usual haunts."
Vultures, which are not native to the UK, are among the largest birds in the world. They feed on the carcasses of dead animals. The RSPB said birds found in the UK are "usually quite tame" and urged people to report sightings of it. A spokeswoman said: "It's more than likely that it's a captive bird.
"From the photograph this one looks like an American Black Vulture, which are commonly kept in falconry circles. "The bird poses no threat to the public as they are purely scavengers. They are usually quite tame so if they do fly down to land on someone it is because they think it's their handler and not because they are attacking that person."
Escapee
She said further sightings of the bird should be reported to the Independent Bird Register, which keeps a record of lost birds and will help capture and return them to their owners. The RSPB said the last sighting of a vulture in Wales was in Carmarthen in 2006, which again was presumed to be an escapee. The closest population of wild vultures to Wales are Griffon vultures which reside in southern Europe, north Africa and Asia.
Friday, 1 January 2010
Vultures face extinction as gamblers seek visions of the future
Inhaling smoked vulture's brain confers gift of premonition, according to vendors of traditional medicine in parts of Africa
David Smith in Johannesburg, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 December 2009 17.52 GMT
It's a tiny organ that, the superstition goes, holds the secrets of the future. When smoked and inhaled, the brain of a vulture is said to confer the gift of premonition. To put it bluntly, most users hope to sneak a look at next week's national lottery numbers.
Such is the demand for vulture brains to use in muti – traditional medicine – that wildlife experts fear the birds could be driven to extinction within two or three decades. They also warn that hunting could intensify as gamblers seek an advantage when betting on the football World Cup in South Africa.
Vultures' acute vision, and ability to find prey, has kindled a belief that they possess clairvoyant powers. Their brains are dried and rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours in the hope they will bring a vision of the future - including lottery numbers and sports results.
Andre Botha, manager of the birds of prey working group at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, said: "People believe it's foresight and this finds fertile ground in people's imagination. If it worked for the lottery, everyone would use it and we'd have a lot of millionaires walking around today.
"There is a lot of betting in South Africa. So we may see an increase connected to gambling around the 2010 World Cup."
A 2007 study found that 160 vultures are sold a year for muti in eastern South Africa, with the total across the region thought to be much higher. About 1,000 are killed every year in Tanzania alone.
The birds are shot, trapped or poisoned by hunters. One tactic is to poison an animal so the vultures that feed on the carcass themselves fall victim. "You can have 300 or 400 converge on a poisoned carcass and all be wiped out," Botha added. Brains and other body parts are then sold at street markets or shops in Johannesburg and other cities.
Steve McKean, a researcher at the conservation body Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, was quoted by South Africa's Star newspaper: "Traditional use as it is currently happening is likely to render vultures extinct in southern Africa on its own within 20 to 30 years."
Seven of the nine species of vulture are rated endangered. Botha said there was demand for the bearded vulture in Eastern Cape province. Traditional healers prefer that the bird be captured alive as the head needs to be removed while it is still living so that "the brain does not flow down into the spinal cord" and the muti loses its potency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/vulture-extinct-gambling
David Smith in Johannesburg, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 December 2009 17.52 GMT
It's a tiny organ that, the superstition goes, holds the secrets of the future. When smoked and inhaled, the brain of a vulture is said to confer the gift of premonition. To put it bluntly, most users hope to sneak a look at next week's national lottery numbers.
Such is the demand for vulture brains to use in muti – traditional medicine – that wildlife experts fear the birds could be driven to extinction within two or three decades. They also warn that hunting could intensify as gamblers seek an advantage when betting on the football World Cup in South Africa.
Vultures' acute vision, and ability to find prey, has kindled a belief that they possess clairvoyant powers. Their brains are dried and rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours in the hope they will bring a vision of the future - including lottery numbers and sports results.
Andre Botha, manager of the birds of prey working group at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, said: "People believe it's foresight and this finds fertile ground in people's imagination. If it worked for the lottery, everyone would use it and we'd have a lot of millionaires walking around today.
"There is a lot of betting in South Africa. So we may see an increase connected to gambling around the 2010 World Cup."
A 2007 study found that 160 vultures are sold a year for muti in eastern South Africa, with the total across the region thought to be much higher. About 1,000 are killed every year in Tanzania alone.
The birds are shot, trapped or poisoned by hunters. One tactic is to poison an animal so the vultures that feed on the carcass themselves fall victim. "You can have 300 or 400 converge on a poisoned carcass and all be wiped out," Botha added. Brains and other body parts are then sold at street markets or shops in Johannesburg and other cities.
Steve McKean, a researcher at the conservation body Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, was quoted by South Africa's Star newspaper: "Traditional use as it is currently happening is likely to render vultures extinct in southern Africa on its own within 20 to 30 years."
Seven of the nine species of vulture are rated endangered. Botha said there was demand for the bearded vulture in Eastern Cape province. Traditional healers prefer that the bird be captured alive as the head needs to be removed while it is still living so that "the brain does not flow down into the spinal cord" and the muti loses its potency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/vulture-extinct-gambling
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
