Nandankanan zoo yet to start white-backed vulture breeding

BHUBANESWAR: The breeding of white-backed vulture has seen no progress in the past one and a half years despite the opening of a breeding centre at Nandankanan zoo.


The authorities cited difficulties in getting stock of such vultures to start breeding. The zoo, which is a nodal centre for conservation of breeding of Indian pangolins and white-backed vultures, has already started breeding of the former.

Of the 23 varieties of endangered animals selected for conservation of breeding in India by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the breeding of two varieties were allotted to Nandankanan. At present, Nandankanan is an independent hub of Indian pangolin breeding in the country.

“We are exploring the options to get the vulture stock. We are in touch with conservation centres developed by forest departments in a few states. In case we didn’t get the vultures from them we may catch the animal from the wild,” said a zoo official.

He said the species have been sighted mostly in central and western India. Nandankanan zoo has two options to get the vulture stock. Either it can fetch the animal from the wild or bring them from Haryana forest department, which has set up a vulture conservation Centre in Pinjor in 2011, said wildlife ecologist Nita Shah.

“At present, Pinjor has 127 vultures, of which 55 are white backed. The zoo can get some young vultures to start with,” said Shah.

She added that there are a few places of vulture conservation in West Bengal, Assam and Gujarat.

“The breeding started in 2009. Now, we have four zoo-born Indian pangolins, all very healthy. With the new-born ones, the population of Indian pangolins is now eight,” said assistant director K L Purohit.

On why Nandankanan was chosen for breeding of Indian pangolins, he said, “The Indian pangolins have specialized feeding habit. They don’t have teeth. They only have a tubular tongue and they can’t eat anything other than tree termites, which are available in plenty at the zoo,” said Purohit.