Vulture Conservation Program

Awareness and Monitoring

March 2011 Report

India has nine species of vultures in wild and only a decade ago, the population of vultures in India was estimated at over 80 million.  Now, their numbers are down to a few thousand.  This is due to a drug called Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which is widely used to treat cattle (an illegal activity as the use of Diclofenac in livestock was banned in 2008).

The conservation of Vultures has become one of the top conservation priorities in India.  Contributing towards this goal,   Society for Mahseer Conservancy started its Vulture conservation programme in June 2010 in Uttarakhand (Uttarakhand  having all the nine species of vultures found in India) .

The objectives  of our program are  to sanitise Uttarakhand and adjoining UP from Diclofenac by 2014 – to ensure that it is synchronised with the planned  BNHS captive bred vultures release in 2015, to build awareness about eliminating  the use of  Diclofenac and promote Meloxicam as the alternative drug and to bring about behaviour change among local communities for safe disposal of Diclofenac treated dead animals.

Following activities were undertaken during the month of March 2011, towards achievement of these objectives:

1.Monitoring of Vulture Colonies

The monitoring of vulture community continued  during the month of March . The monitoring was undertaken in the Ringora and Tumeria colonies by Mr. Narendar Kumar  and Mr. Kamal Chimmwal .

Following were the findings of the monitoring of the vulture colonies

2.Ban of ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We have received  active support of the  veterinary doctor at government Hospital, Ramnager , towards ban of  over the counter sales of Diclofenac and he has also been actively  advocating to the other stakeholders on the ban of the distribution and sale of Diclofenac in the area.

3. Diclofenac Presence Survey

Our field staff covered 40 villages spread across the 5 blocks falling within two districts of Nainital and Udhamsinghnagar , i.e. ,  Ramnagar (Dist. Nainital), Ramgarh (Dist. Nainital) Khatima (Dist.  Udhamsinghnagar), Gadarpur (Dist. Udhamsingnagar),Kashipur (Dist.  Udhamsinghnagar), during  the month of March.  Their coverage has been summarised below:

The following villages were covered:

Table 1: Summary of Diclofenac Awareness Survey

March  Survey shows a slight increase  in  both  the no of people covered as well as the no of interviews Conducted ( as shown above the coverage was maximum since the start of the project ). The livestock population analysed was again high (12809) . It also shows a fair no of cattle falling sick and receiving    medical aid but the percentage of Diclofenac usage seems to have gone even down (at 0.031%)  but the percentage of villagers who have heard of Meloxicam is also low (just 2.9% of total people interviewed) .

Table 2: Summary of Diclofenac Users

Diclofenac was found to be used in treatment of sick animal at one location in the village of  Sakeniya (Block Gadarpur). The respondent was aware of the vulture decline but was had no clue about the reason of their decline. He has used Diclofenac provided by vet. Unfortunately he didn’t have awareness about safe disposal of the carcass and used to throw the dead animal inside the forest.

3.Other meetings

• Meeting with Ms. Veena Bist, Vice president , Uttarakhand Animal Welfare Board was held  in March, during which we screened the movie “vanishing Vulture” for the team with her. we also briefed her about our vulture conservation initiatives and the achievements so far.

She stressed the need for working together and collective effort by all the stakeholders  to prevent the use of Diclofenac in treatment of cattle and for building awareness on the use of Meloxicam. She offered all her  support for this noble cause. She also offered to organise meeting with the Chief Minister , Uttarakhand and the Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Minister , Uttarakhand to ensure ministerial  support for this initiative.

Mr. Rajeev Singh (Veterinary Doctor, Govt. Veterinary Hospital , Ramnagar) and Mr. Bhandari (Ex. Zila Panchayat Member, Pauri Garhwal) also participated in the meeting.

• We met with  our field staffs on the 26^th of March and explained to them the new strategy we will undertake in our vulture program from the month of April.

We briefed them about the change in strategy for the vulture conservation (focus on Vet. and Pharmacist and Skinners for sampling of the visceral parts of the dead cattle).

We also discussed the MIS formats and need for triangulation of data obtained.

4.Changes in the team

• Ms. Nicola Addison was back in the team after  a gap of few months.
• Mr. Lalit Negi has rejoined the team for supporting Advocacy activities  on Vulture Conservation

5.Overall March Progress

The month of March  was the transition point for our vulture conservation programme as we have changed our strategy and focus  in accordance to  the recommendations and suggestions given by Dr. Richard Cuthbert ( Sr. Scientist, RSPB) during his last visit to the project.

Besides the activities mentioned following were the other activities carried out during the past month:

• We participated in the Pant Nagar Kisan Mela to build awareness on conservation of Vultures,  among the farmers and cattle holders who were  attending the farmers fair. The fair was organised between 9^th to 11^th of march 2011 and Mr. Narendra, Mr. Kamal and Mr. Pyarelal participated in the event from Mahseer conservancy .

They tried to build awareness with the use of different IEC  material , including posters , banners and handouts.

• We organised a two day cleanliness drive to build awareness on safe disposal of garbage . The drive was organised on 7^th and 9^th of march 2011,  to clean up the   quintals of garbage  including polythene, plastic bottles and wrappers that had accumulated into   dirt heaps and polythene dumps around the famed Corbett Tiger reserve. These  polythene dumps ultimately get washed out into  the  Kosi River, polluting the  lifeline of  Ramnagar. The drive was carried out with the support of Corbett Tiger Reserve  from  Ladua Chaur  to Gargia  under the Dhikuli village besides the Corbett  Tiger Reserve.

More than  five quintals of polythene  garbage were collected from this small stretch of National Highway,  during just two days drive.

• Dr. Rajeev Singh (Vet. Doctor , Government Veterinary Hospital , Ramnagar) has offered his help in carcass sampling (sampling of Gall Bladder and Liver ) for evidence of Diclofenac.

6.April Plans

• Targeting Vets, Para Vets, pharmacists , Quacks and PRI representatives on the Diclofenac awareness and survey work .
• Identification of Skinners and taking their active  support for collecting carcass samples or tissue samples (sample of gall bladder and the liver) for evidence of Diclofenac.
• Regular  Vulture Monitoring at Ringora , Tumeria & Hathidagar vulture colonies
• Identification of Dumping (Carcass) areas and special focus on these areas for awareness campaign and for carcass sampling .
• We will be focussing on qualitative household survey and will target specific individuals / groups. We will also be focussing on participating in different events and functions to increase visibility and reaching out to larger audience.
• Awareness campaign during Chaiti mela, Kashipur  (5 April  to 5 May 2011)

7.Project Vulture (Team)

• Sumantha Ghosh: President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Dr. Rajeev Singh: Local veterinary officer of Ramnagar provides a vital link to the veterinary and farming community.
• Mr. U C Tiwari: Corbett National Park, Park Warden, instrumental in involving the forest department in the vulture program.
• Sharad Kumar Jha: Has joined in the capacity of Head- Programme & operations with Society for Mahseer Conservancy.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program, particularly as liaison to our field staff.
• Deewan Singh: Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.
• Karan Bhandari: A recent part of the Vulture family. He is Webmaster for Mahseer Conservancy.
• Kamal Chhimwal: A new member of our Vulture family, who does most of the Field Visits, interacts with the Local Community and helps to make more and more people aware of the Diclofenac and Vulture relation.
• Pushpa Pandey: She is from Khatima. She has a work of 5 yrs in another N.G.O. She is covering Block Khatima.
• Pyarelal: He is from Gadarpur. He is a para – vet. He has a work experience of 2 yrs. He is covering Gadarpur Block.
• Bhuvan Chand: He is from Ramgarh. He has a work experience of 2 yrs in another N.G.O. He is covering Ramgarh Block.
• Mohan Singh: He is from Kundeshwari. He is a fresher. He is covering Kashipur Block.

Appendix One –Distribution

Map of Awareness Work March 2011

The medium dots in (blue) show the area of survey for the month of March. The other dots are for the past few months.

The map above shows Khatima, Gadarpur and Ramgarh area. This area is not shown in the previous map given above. The villages covered this month are marked in blue dots. The dots in red are the villages covered during previous months.

Events during  the month of March 2011:

Image 1: Participants of the Pant Nagar Kisan Mela studying the handouts on Vulture Conservation , distributed by Mahseer Conservancy functionaries

Image 2: Banner on Vulture conservation displayed at one of the prominent place at Pantnagar Kisan Mela

Image 3: Dumps of Polythene being removed from the roadside around the National Park during the drive

Image 4 : Heaps of polythene garbage collected during the cleanliness campaign around the Tiger Reserve, being removed for safe disposal

Vulture Conservation Program

Awareness and Monitoring

February 2011 Report

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010 – 2011 Vulture Programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the month of February 2011.  This report is ninth in a series of monthly reports made throughout the year.

1.      Monitoring of Vulture Colonies

The monitoring of vulture community was undertaken again during the month of February after a gap of few months. The monitoring was undertaken in the Ringora and Tumeria colonies by Ms. Louis and Mr. Narendar Kumar respectively. Following were the findings of the monitoring of the vulture colonies

However we faced difficulties in the scientific monitoring process of the vulture communities because our GPS system is no more functional. It was extremely difficult to monitor with the current facilities and instruments that we have .

2. Ban of ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We had a meeting  with the veterinary  Doctor at Government Hospital, Ramnagar and he reported that there has been substantial decrease in the over the counter sale of Diclofenac as the government  vets are no longer subscribing to the banned medicine. 3. Diclofenac Presence Survey Our field staff covered a large area in the month of February.  Their coverage has been summarised below: The following villages were covered:

Table 1: Summary of Diclofenac Awareness Survey

February  Survey shows a consistency in  both  the no of people covered as well as the no of interviews Conducted (though as shown above the numbers were slightly less than that for January). The livestock population analysed was again high (10069) . It also shows a fair no of cattle falling sick and receiving medical aid but the percentage of Diclofenac usage seems to have gone very down (at 0.034%)  but the percentage of villagers who have heard of Meloxicam is also low. Table 2: Summary of Diclofenac Users

Diclofenac was found in one location (as can be seen in Table 2). Here the Vet has provided the Villager with Diclofenac. It was concerning that although because of the awareness campaigns the awareness is increasing about vulture decline and Diclofenac but even after having the knowledge some people are still using  the banned medicine  and throwing the dead body of the animal treated with Diclofenac in the forest. The person who used Diclofenac was confused about the name and usage of Diclofenac and Meloxicam but after one of our team members re – confirmed it was true that he had used Diclofenac which the vet had provided. Compared to the January data we can notice a marked decrease in the percentage of Meloxicam awareness amongst the people interviewed.

3. Other meetings

• We met our field staff on the 26^th of Feb and explained to them the new strategy we will undertake in our vulture program from the month of March.
• We  had a meeting with Dr. Richard Cuthbert who was in Corbett for a few days and we discussed a plan and strategy on the program from the months of March onwards.
• We also had a slide show and a movie presentation in the Gurudwara, Hathidagar
• We participated in Basant Panchami festival at Ramnagar , to reach out to the local masses and seek their support and to build awareness on the issue of Vulture conservation. The leaflets and handouts were distributed among common masses to increase awareness about vulture decline and their role in the conservation.
• A vulture conservation event was organised at Tumeri Khatta, where around 60 to 70 cattle owners were sensitised on the importance and measures for vulture conservation. Different kinds of IEC and BCC materials (including movie, handouts and FGD ) were used for awareness building during the event. The local elders expressed full support to the campaign.
• Diclofenac awareness meeting was organised at Government Veterinary hospital , Ramnagar, participated by the government vet health functionaries, Dr. Richard Cuthbert and around 25 other participants.

4. Changes in the team

• Mr. Sharad Jha, has recently joined our organisation in the capacity of Head- Programme and Operations , from March 1^st . He is having diverse experience in community based interventions with different national and international organisations at senior positions.
• Ms. Hetal Barai who was helping us for sometime has left Mahseer Conservancy.

5. Overall February Progress

The month of February was marked by events and  awareness  campaigns/ meetings at different levels. Besides the mentioned (above) activities following were the other activities carried out during the past month:

• Narendra, Kamal and Suresh marked 23 Indian White Backed Vulture trees in Ringora, Tumeria and Hathidagar area.
• We rescued 3 Himalayan Griffon Vultures from Machhor, Dhikuli and Belpokhra villages respectively after receiving calls from villagers about the injured vultures.This showed that the community participation has increased now in the vulture conservation  But except for the last one other two did not survive because of internal injuries. One has died even before the treatment got started. Another one died after being treated at the Nainital Zoo. The third one (showing symptoms of poisoning) survived after we took it the Nainital Zoo for treatment.
• We have also put numerous banners and posters about vulture conservation in different parts of intervention area , which included Bijrani and Dhangarhi gate of CTR,CTR park office, Terai West DFO office, Vet office Ramnagar, and  prominent locations in different blocks.

6. March Plans

• Continuation of the Diclofenac awareness and survey work including Vulture Monitoring (which has re – started in Ringora & Tumeria)
• Restructuring and reorganising the vulture project and program with new strategies and plans like looking out for dumping areas, meeting vets and para – vets, meeting people in group or bigger get together or function, more slide shows, movies, campaigns and so on
• Corbett Cleaniness Drive and mass awareness (7^th and 8^th march 2011),
• Awareness campaign during Pantnagar farmers Fair (9 to 12 March 2011)

7. Project Vulture (Team)

• Sumantha Ghosh: President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Dr. Rajeev Singh: Local veterinary officer of Ramnagar provides a vital link to the veterinary and farming community.
• Mr. U C Tiwari: Corbett National Park, Park Warden, instrumental in involving the forest department in the vulture program.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program, particularly as liaison to our field staff.
• Deewan Singh: Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.
• Karan Bhandari: A recent part of the Vulture family. He is Webmaster for Mahseer Conservancy.
• Kamal Chhimwal: A new member of our Vulture family, who does most of the Field Visits, interacts with the Local Community and helps to make more and more people aware of the Diclofenac and Vulture relation.
• Pushpa Pandey: She is from Khatima. She has a work of 5 yrs in another N.G.O. She is covering Block Khatima.
• Pyarelal: He is from Gadarpur. He is a para – vet. He has a work experience of 2 yrs. He is covering Gadarpur Block.
• Bhuvan Chand: He is from Ramgarh. He has a work experience of 2 yrs in another N.G.O. He is covering Ramgarh Block.
• Mohan Singh: He is from Kundeshwari. He is a fresher. He is covering Kashipur Block.

Appendix One -

Distribution

Map of Awareness Work February 2011

The medium dots in (blue) show the area of survey for the month of February. The other dots are for the past few months.

The map above shows Khatima, Gadarpur and Ramgarh area. This area is not shown in the previous map given above. The villages covered this month are marked in blue dots. The dots in red are the villages covered during previous months.

Events during  the month of February

Save the Vulture Campaign during the Basant Panchami Festival  in Ramnagar

Newspaper Clipping of Basant Panchami

Meeting of Vulture Conservation  team members  with Dr. Richard Cuthbert  (Scientist RSPB)

Slide Show and Movie Show at Dharampur Village

Vulture Conservation Workshop with Ringora Kids

Vulture Conservation Program

Awareness and Monitoring

January 2011 Report

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010 – 2011 Vulture Programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the month of January 2011.  This report is eight of a series of monthly reports made throughout the year.

1.Monitoring of Vulture Colonies

Unfortunately no monitoring of the vulture colonies occurred in January 2011.  Casual visits to Ringora Village, however, has shown that the birds are still in good numbers (we counted 21 on a recent visit), we saw them soaring in the sky. Along with the White Backed Vultures, Red Headed Vultures were also seen.

Monitoring has started from February 1, 2011 in Ringora and Tumeria Colonies.

2.Ban of ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

A few experts have started working towards over the counter sales of Diclofenac and they have promised us on speaking to the concerned people on the ban of the distribution and sale of Diclofenac in Uttarakhand.

3. Diclofenac Presence Survey

Our field staff covered a large area in the month of January.  Their coverage has been summarised below:

The following villages were covered:

• Bhiyalgaon
• Kilor
• Sural-Gaon
• Malli-Sinoli
• Ticoori
• Goyoti
• Kool
• Chopra
• Harinagar
• Peora
• Shtoli
• Garh Goan
• Nathuwakhan
• Sood
• Simrad (DOL)
• Badayt
• Daylkuna
• Simayal
• Dhimer Khera
• Kaloni
• Ahmed Nagar Kaloni
• Khanpur
• Behra Vajeer
• Khanpur Neher
• Dhani
• Dera
• Batvara
• Khempur
• Shegliganj
• Roshanpur
• Masewala Roshanpur
• Palkachor
• Mazragumani Nandpur
• Dayarampur
• Maidaiyaa
• Jasaa Ganja

• Chainpuri                                                                         Umedpur
• Chand Colony                                                                Ratanpur
• Bisouta                                                                             Dariyanath
• Diyouri                                                                            Jhancat
• Pratappur                                                                       Pattibazar
• Vanushi                                                                           Vanusa
• Bara Bhuriya                                                                  Fulaiya
• Sarashariya                                                                    Gidhour
• Dia                                                                                     Bhagtpur Madiyal
• Basai                                                                                 Bhagatpur Tadiyal
• Devipura                                                                         Hathidagar
• Narsinghpur                                                                  Bansiteela Manorathpur
• Dharampur                                                                     Bansiteela Lalupur
• Gumanpur                                                                       Bansiteela Devipur
• Rooppur                                                                           Bhawanipur Khulvey
• Motipur                                                                            Bhawanipur

Table 1: Summary of Diclofenac Awareness Survey

January Survey shows a marked increase both in the no of people covered as well as the no of interviews

conducted. There is a 4 times increase in life – stock population. It also shows a fair no of cattle falling sick

and receiving medical aid but the % of Diclofenac usage seems to be quite low (which is quite peculiar)

but again there seems to be a small no of people who have heard of Meloxicam.

Table 2: Summary of Diclofenac Users

Diclofenac was found in five different locations (as can be seen in Table 2). Here the Vet has provided the Villager’s with Diclofenac. Two are first time users and the others didn’t comment on the usage of Diclofenac. It is concerning that many people are aware of the vultures decline but they are not aware of Diclofenac being one of the major causes.  In terms of disposal the Diclofenac user seems to be throwing the carcass into the forest as well as burying it. There has to be an increase in the awareness of Meloxicam as a safe alternative drug though the statistics seems to be better than last month’s awareness campaigns and survey’s.

3.Other meetings

We met our field staff on 1^st Feb, after they joined us from January 1, 2011. We also met Mr. Abhishek an Eye Specialist who promised to help us in whatever way he can to reduce the usage and supply of Diclofenac.

4.Changes in the team

N/A

5.Overall January Progress

January looked like a good month for this campaign and it seemed much better than December.

6.February Plans

• Continuation of the Diclofenac awareness and survey work including Vulture Monitoring (which has re – started in Ringora & Tumeria)
• Discussions with the Panchayat (Local Bodies) during their meeting (in Feb) whereby we can make and implement new plans on increasing local awareness on Diclofenac.
• Diclofenac Awareness Campaign in Nainital along with Presentation and Movie.

7. Project Vulture (Team)

• Sumantha Ghosh: President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Dr. Rajeev Singh: Local veterinary officer of Ramnagar provides a vital link to the veterinary and farming community.
• Mr. U C Tiwari: Corbett National Park, Park Warden, instrumental in involving the forest department in the vulture program.

• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program, particularly as liaison to our field staff.
• Deewan Singh: Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.
• Karan Bhandari: A recent part of the Vulture family. He is Webmaster for Mahseer Conservancy.
• Kamal Chhimwal: A new member of our Vulture family, who does most of the Field Visits, interacts with the Local Community and helps to make more and more people aware of the Diclofenac and Vulture relation.
• Hetal Barai: She has also joined as Director, Community Initiatives.

January 2011 (New Field Team)

• Pushpa Pandey: She is from Khatima. She has a work of 5 yrs in another N.G.O. She is covering Block Khatima.
• Pyarelal: He is from Gadarpur. He is a para – vet. He has a work experience of 2 yrs. He is covering Gadarpur Block.
• Bhuvan Chand: He is from Ramgarh. He has a work experience of 2 yrs in another N.G.O. He is covering Ramgarh Block.
• Mohan Singh: He is from Kundeshwari. He is a fresher. He is covering Kashipur Block.

Appendix One – Distribution Map of Awareness Work January 2011

The medium dots in (yellow) show the area of survey for the month of January. The other dots are for the past few months.

The map above shows Khatima, Gadarpur and Ramgarh area. This area is not shown in the previous map given above. The villages covered are marked in red dots.

Vulture Conservation Program

Awareness and Monitoring

December 2010 Report

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010/2011 vulture programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the month of December 2010.  This report is the seventh of a series of monthly reports made throughout the year.

1.Monitoring of vulture colonies

Unfortunately no monitoring of the vulture colonies occurred over December 2010.  Casual visits to Ringora Village, however, has shown that the birds are still there in good numbers (we counted 19 on one visit), and there are several birds sitting in nests – a hopeful sign since this is their breeding season.

Unfortunately one of the Vultures died due to Diclofenac, the carcass was sent for post – mortem to D. Vibhu Prakash, B.N.H.S, Pinjore.

We are still looking for monitoring staff for both the Ringora and Tumeria colonies, and hope to have these in place shortly.

2.Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac. Recently we have an increase in out field staff. 5 more people have joined this project.

3.Diclofenac Presence Survey

Our field staff has been covering the landscape again in December, with impressive coverage as summarised below:

In December, they covered the following villages:

• Malla Bandarjura
• Bailpokhra
• Talla bandarjura
• Shivlal Pur
• Hansram Pur
• Bachi Nagar
• Dhan Pur
• Lacham Pur
• Madanbail
• Chunakhan
• Bachat Pur
• Tanda Mallu
• Laxmipur Baniya
• Narsingh Pur
• Nai Basti
• Nand Pur
• Laxmipur Baniya
• Devipur Mulia
• Narsingh Pur
• Dharam Pur
• UdayPuri Chhopra
• Tanda Mallu
• Roopdevpur

Table 1: summary of Diclofenac awareness surveys

Table 2: summary of Diclofenac users

The Diclofenac was found in two locations (as can be seen in Table 2 above).  Price for the Diclofenac is 60 Rupees.  Most people were not sure where they’d purchased the Diclofenac from, or how long they’d been using it, but nonetheless we know that Diclofenac is present in these communities. It is concerning that 90% of the people interviewed are aware of the vultures decline, but they don’t know Diclofenac as a major cause.  In terms of disposal of carcasses, the Diclofenac user is burying the carcass. There has to be an increase in the awareness of Meloxicam as a safe alternative drug.

3.Other meetings

We had a field staff meeting in December and they are joining us from January 1, 2011 and we will reach out to more communities through them.

4.Changes to the team

We have new team members in our core team, and also changes in the field team.

5.Overall December Progress

January looks like a good month for this campaign. December has been a little slow.

6.January plans

• Continuation of the Diclofenac awareness and survey work
• Discussions with local veterinary doctor (Dr Rajeev Singh) about a vulture interpretation centre and increase in local awareness on Diclofenac.

7.Project Vulture Core Team (December 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Dr Rajeev Singh: Local veterinary officer of Ramnagar provides a vital link to the veterinary and farming community.
• Mr U C Tiwari: Corbett National Park, Park Warden, instrumental in involving the forest department in the vulture program.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program, particularly as liaison to our field staff.
• Deewan Singh:  Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.
• New Team (upto 31 December 2010)
• Karan Bhandari: A recent part of the Vulture family. He is looking into the website and project report.
• Kamal Chhimwal: A new member of our Vulture family, who does most of the Field Visits, interacts with the Local Community and helps to make more and more people aware of the Diclofenac and Vulture relation.
• Hetal Barai: She has also joined our Community and will help in recreating and implementing the Vulture and Mahseer Program at another level along with other projects under Mahseer Conservancy.

Appendix One – distribution map of awareness work December 2010

The big black dots show the area of survey for the month of December. The other dots are for October and November.

Vulture Conservation Program

Awareness and Monitoring

December update report for RSPB and BNHS

An initiative of :        Society for Mahseer Conservancy

Registration number: 2165

46 Durgapuri lakhanpur

District- Nainital. Pin 244715
Uttarakhand, India
Phone (India) + 91 9761166777
E-mail: mahseerconservancy@gmail.com

Website: www.mahseerconservancy.org

Contents

1.    Introduction. ………………………………………………………………………….3

2.    Colony monitoring……………………………………………………………………3

Ringora Village…………………………………………………………………………….3

Tumeria Village……………………………………………………………………………5

3.    Awareness program…………………………………………………………………5

Livestock holders………………………………………………………………………….5

Animal husbandry…………………………………………………………………………8

Other events…………………………………………………………………………………8

4.    Ban of over the counter sales of Diclofenac…………………………………………9

5.    Overall assessment……………………………………………………………………10

6.    Project Vulture Core Team (to December 2010)…………………………………..10

Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………12

Appendix 1: Diclofenac presence survey coverage area………………………………12

Appendix 2: Photographs…………………………………………………………………..13

Appendix 3: Colony monitoring recording sheets……………………………………….21

Appendix 4: Livestock holder questionnaire……………………………………………..24

Appendix 5: Animal Husbandry questionnaire…………………………………………..26

1.Introduction

Mahseer Conservancy started work on the Vulture Conservation Program on the 1 June 2010, with both awareness and monitoring work starting from this date.  We have already issued a September update report, and this December report will comment on all the work we have undertaken till date.  Issues reported previously (in September) will be briefly summarised.

The overall aim of the Vulture Conservation Program is:

‘To monitor and evaluate local vulture populations and take direct action in addressing their threats’

We have been working towards this aim over the last six months.  This report is a summary of this work, and an assessment of how we are meeting on the following objectives:

•  Objective 1: Monitoring of several known vulture colonies and populations around CTR

•  Objective 2: Evaluation of the prevalence and availability of Diclofenac in the region

•  Objective 3: Undertake direct conservation actions for the conservation of colonies

2.Colony monitoring

Ringora Village

Monitoring of the Ringora IWBV colony was undertaken by student volunteers until the end of September. Unfortunately the students returned home and we were unable to find replacements.  We are currently talking to people who live in Ringora Village to see if we can find someone who is willing to take over the daily monitoring of The Indian White Backed Vulture.

Casual visits to the colony over the last two months, however, have shown that the birds are still there in good numbers (20 individuals were counted in late November), and there have been reports of nesting behaviour which is encouraging.

Table 1 presents a summary of all the monitoring undertaken till date, while Tables 2 and 3 present the morning and afternoon findings.

Table 1: Overall results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

In the table given above we can see that there is an increase in the population of IWBV in July/August. We can notice a slight decrease in September.

Table 2: Morning results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

Table 3: Evening results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

Table 2 and 3 shows that in the month of June head-drooping was alarmingly high which seems to have reduced with the drop in temperature.  We are still alert for any sign or behaviour indicating potential Diclofenac poisoning.

Tumeria Village

No monitoring has been carried out in Tumeria.  We are currently looking for a person who will monitor the Vulture population there.

3.Awareness program

Our awareness campaign had started with a relatively slow start but it has progressed rapidly in the last few months, reason being new field staff. Since the past few months has been a season of festivity campaigning and reaching out to more and more people has become easier.

A summary of the work undertaken has been given below:

Livestock holders

A number of villages were visited as a part of the awareness program.  Each, livestock holders was interviewed, leaflets distributed and posters put up at strategic locations.

The following villages visited during June, July, August, September, October, November and first half of December for the Awareness Campaign are:

• Arjun Nala
• Teda Village
• Amdanda Khatta
• Hatidagar – Nandpur
• Bedajhal
• Tumeria Dam
• Dhela Village
• Savalde Village
• Laldhak Fato (Patthar Kuwa)
• Patrampur (Maldhan)
• Gaibuwa (Khass)
• Bailparow
• Belpokhra
• Semal Chaur
• Baur Khatta
• Gadgadiya (Peepal Padau Range)

The following villages were visited during September, October, November and first half of December for the Live Stock Survey are:

• Shankarpur
• Himmatpur Block
• Dharampur Auliya
• Chhoi – Kishanpur
• Chhoi – Karanpur Balwa
• Chhoi – Udaipuri
• Chhoi – Padampur
• Chhoi – Madanpur
• Chhoi – Gajjpur
• Chhoi – Santoshpur
• Gaibua – Nandpur
• Gaibua – Kheempur
• Jogipura
• Phuchdi
• Bhaguabangar
• Manglaar
• Jassaganja
• Chainpuri
• Gobra
• Udaipuri Bandobasti
• Madaiya
• Kalusidh Naibasti
• Badi Bhawanipur
• Bailparao
• Bandarjura
• Bhawanipur Chotti
• Bishanpuri
• Chandrapur
• Chilkiya
• Devrampur Taanda
• Govindpur
• Haripur Sauni
• Himmatpur
• Jeetpur Taanda
• Jeevanpur
• Kanakpur
• Mahadevpur
• Papadi
• Ratanpur Bailparao
• Shivpur Tanda
• Sovanpur
• Tanda Mallu
• Udaipuri Chhopra
• Malla Bandarjura
• Belpokhra
• Talla Bandarjura
• Shivlal Pur
• Bachi Nagar
• Dhan Pur
• Lacham Pur
• Madanbail
• Roopdevpur
• Chunakhan
• Bachat Pur (Baccha Bangar)
• Hansram Pur

It is obvious from the above that there has been a marked increase in our coverage over the last 3 and a half months.

Table 4: Summary of the livestock holder survey carried out from June – 15 December 2010

The above table shows a drastic increase in the no. of surveys conducted from June to 15 December.

Animal husbandry

August was the only month where animal husbandry practices were targeted by our field staff. But one data has been recorded in the month of September and two in the month of October.

We have, however, held several meetings with veterinary doctors in the area who have all shown an interest in our work, details are given below:

Other events

A short summary from the month of September:

• Screening of Vanishing Vultures at Ringora Village (vulture colony) (24 June 2010).
• A small training workshop with local Corbett National Park Forest Guides (31 July 2010).
• Attendance at a Terai West Forest Division (11 August 2010).
• Pinjore visit (15 – 21 August 2010).
• ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Advisory) animal husbandry training conference (3 September 2010).
• Meetings with local veterinary doctors (Dr Singh and Dr Gupta) (10 September 2010).
• Eid celebrations (11 September 2010).
• Meeting with Vice President Animal Welfare Board Shanti Mehra (13 September 2010).
• ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Advisory) and FAC (Farmers Advisory Committee), Ramnagar Block meeting (13 September 2010).

Activities from October – 15 December:

Wildlife Week (1 – 7 October 2010)

Corbett Tiger Reserve celebrated its Annual Wildlife Week from 1 to 7 October 2010.  This year was quite low, due to catastrophic floods.  Cleaning Up and Helping the Flood Victims took a lot of effort and time.

However, we did get opportunities to conduct the vulture program in the following places:

• 1 – 4 October 2010: We had our Vulture Program at Corbett Tiger Reserve, Park Office, Ramnagar. We also displayed a lot of educational posters, life-sized vulture cut-outs and awareness campaign banners and posters on Diclofenac.  A banner was also displayed in a prominent location on Ranikhet Road.

• 5 October 2010:  The vulture team (Sumantha Ghosh, Nicola Addison, Hem Bahuguna and Deewan Singh) went to Kalaghar Forest Guard Training Centre, in Kalaghar, to show Vanishing Vultures and a presentation on Diclofenac.  A group of 50 Forest Guard trainees attended this slideshow, promising to help us in terms of Diclofenac awareness and reporting vultures.  We left posters, handouts, a banner, and a copy of Vanishing Vultures with the Department so that they can help us by making others aware. The local Kalaghar veterinary doctor also attended and agreed on helping.

• 6 October 2010:  The vulture team showed Vanishing Vultures and the Diclofenac awareness slideshow to approximately 30 people at Hathi Dagar, a guru dwara located close to a vulture feeding site.  It was well received and a few people came forward to volunteer for us.

• 7 October 2010:  Wildlife Week closed with an award ceremony honouring people who do their bit for wildlife conservation.  Members of the vulture team (Dr Rajeev Singh, Hem Bahuguna and Nicola Addison) received “Conservation Hero” awards for their ongoing contributions to vulture conservation in the Corbett area.  The reward was presented by Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Society for Mahseer Conservancy.

Posters had also been put up at Dhela and Tumeria Village. Leaflets were also distributed at both locations.

Ramleela (10 – 18 October 2010)

The vulture team attended a few events during this cultural event. We showed Vanishing Vultures as and when time permitted and also distributed handouts.  At every location the team was well received. The film was seen by a minimum of 2000 people.  Banners (in Hindi and English) were displayed at each location. We hope that people along with the happiness of Ramleela got the “anti-Diclofenac” message, and the fact that the vulture population has declined is conveyed through word of mouth.

We have taken part in the following locations as part of the Ramleela Event:

• Chilkiya
• Kamola (the biggest event, with approximately 1000 people or more)
• Dhela
• Kotabagh

Banners were displayed at our local Ramleela venue (Dhikuli), due to a tight schedule we were unable to screen Vanishing Vultures.

Other

AASTA meeting on 29 October at Dr Singh’s clinic, Ramnagar.  The meeting was attended by a 100 low income families, livestock holders in and around that area.  The team showed Vanishing Vultures and distributed leaflets, and Narendar Singh and Dr Rajeev Singh gave a talk on vulture awareness and Diclofenac use.

4.Ban of over the counter sales of Diclofenac

Work on the ban of over the counter sales of Diclofenac is yet to start, but some tentative discussions have taken place with local politicians.

5.Overall assessment

Our colony monitoring work progressed satisfactorily until September, when our student volunteers left.  We are working on replacing them with field staff from the villages where these colonies are.

After a slow start, our Diclofenac awareness campaign seems to be at a point where we feel progress has been good.  We have advertised and interviewed more field staff and hope of an increasing coverage. Our biggest problem has been retaining our field staff, as most of them have been with us for a month or two before moving on to other job. We are still lacking equipment such as binoculars and GPS due to lack of funds.

We have continued to form good relationships with key members of society and have made more contacts over the last few months.  It is to be noted that the Vulture and Diclofenac Awareness Program was a success during festivities like Eid and Ramleela, where we have again been invited for 2011. At several locations we were promised more time to discuss our vulture program.

Overall progress seems to be much better and hopefully it continues and increases in 2011.

6.Project Vulture Core Team (upto 15 December 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Dr Rajeev Singh: Local veterinary officer of Ramnagar provides a vital link to the veterinary and farming community.
• Mr U C Tiwari: Corbett National Park, Park Warden, instrumental in involving the forest department in the vulture program.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program, particularly as liaison to our field staff.
• New Team (upto 15 December 2010)
• Karan Bhandari: A recent part of the Vulture family. He is looking into the website and project report.
• Kamal Chhimwal: A new member of our Vulture family, who does most of the Field Visits, interacts with the Local Community and helps to make more and more people aware of the Diclofenac and Vulture relation.
• Hetal Barai: She has also joined our Community and will help in recreating and implementing the Vulture and Mahseer Program at another level.

Appendices

It can be noted that the survey area and the coverage for awareness has increased in the past few months. The red dots, the small black dots show the previous surveys and the big black dots indicate survey conducted till 15 December.

Note: The map downloaded is old and does not have the names of quite a few villages, inserting the name of the village is a problem so we have just marked the area with dots but the name of the village is given in text.

Appendix 2: Photographs

Wildlife Week

Kalaghar Forest Guards watching Vanishing Vultures

Sumantha Ghosh and Nicola Addison presenting to the forest guards

Sumantha Ghosh talking to forest guard trainers and the local veterinary doctor at the Kalaghar Forest Guard Training Centre.

Sumantha Ghosh presenting at Hathi Dagar.

Nicola Addison putting posters up at Hathi Dagar.

Vulture awareness banner at Dhela Village.

A group watching a wildlife movie at Tumeria. Vulture awareness banner displayed.

Ramleela

Chilkiya Ramleela

Lalit Budhani distributing leaflets at Chilkiya Ramleela

Vulture awareness banner at Kamola Ramleela

Shailesh Tiwari distributing leaflets at Kamola Ramleela

Vulture awareness banner

Crowd at Kamola Ramleela

Kotabagh Ramleela, vulture awareness banners behind and Vanishing Vultures being screened.

Dhikuli Ramleela, vulture awareness banner can be seen

INTERVIEW HELD FOR THE POST OF A FIELD OFFICER

one of the posters put up during the interview

L-R, Karan, Hem and Sumantha checking the answer script of the concerned

interviewees were followed by a one to one discussion between the interviewer and interviewee

Interview held on the 6th of December for the post of a Field officer

Appendix 3: Colony monitoring recording sheets (sample)

COLONY RECORDING SHEET

NEST RECORDING SHEET (sample)

Drooping head recording sheet (sample)

Appendix 4: Livestock holder questionnaire

DICLOFENAC QUESTIONNAIRE LIVESTOCK HOLDER (sample)

Appendix 5: Animal Husbandry questionnaire

DICLOFENAC QUESTIONNAIRE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY (sample)

]]> http://www.mahseerconservancy.org/blog/2011/01/16/december-report-vulture-conservation-program-2/feed/ 0 http://www.mahseerconservancy.org/blog/2010/12/22/november-report-vulture-conservation-program-2/ http://www.mahseerconservancy.org/blog/2010/12/22/november-report-vulture-conservation-program-2/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:03:42 +0000 Mahseer Conservancy http://www.mahseerconservancy.org/blog/?p=916  

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010/2011 vulture programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the November 2010 period.  This report is the sixth of a series of monthly reports will be made throughout the year. 

1.Monitoring of vulture colonies

 Unfortunately no monitoring of the vulture colonies occurred over November 2010.  Casual visits to Ringora Village, however, has shown that the birds are still there in good numbers (we counted 20 on one visit), and there are several birds sitting in nests – a hopeful sign since this is their breeding season. 

We are still looking for monitoring staff for both the Ringora and Tumeria colonies, and hope to have these in place shortly. 

2.Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

 We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

Our field staff have been covering the landscape again in November, with impressive coverage as summarised below. 

In November, they covered the following villages:

• Bade Bhawanipur
• Bailparo
• Bandarjura
• Bhawanipur Chotti
• Bishanpuri
• Chandrapur
• Chilkiya
• Dayarampur Tanda
• Govindpur
• Haripur Sone
• Himmatpur
• Jeetpur Tanda
• Jevand Pur
• Kanakpur
• Mahadevpur
• Papadi
• Ratanpur Bailparao
• Sivpur Tanda
• Sovanpur
• Tanda Mallu
• Udaypuri

 Table 1: summary of Diclofenac awareness surveys

Table 2: summary of Diclofenac users

The Diclofenac was found in varying locations (as can be seen in Table 2 above).  Prices for the Diclofenac ranged from 15 to 45 Rupees.  Most people were not sure where they’d purchased the Diclofenac from, or how long they’d been using it, but nonetheless we know that Diclofenac is present in these communities. It is concerning that most (85%) of the people interviewed are aware of what is causing the vulture declines, yet they still use Diclofenac.  In terms of disposal of carcasses, most of the Diclofenac users are throwing carcasses in the forest, making it more likely that vultures will feed on an infected carcass. This is something we will need to target.  There still also needs to be an increase in awareness of Meloxicam as the safe alternative drug. 

Again, we are seeing good numbers of Diclofenac awareness surveys which is very pleasing. As a result, we are getting very good coverage in the community.    

3.Other meetings

 Unfortunately due to other work commitments, we were unable to carry out any other work apart from the Diclofenac availability surveys. 

4.Changes to the team

 There has been no change to the core team, but there are ongoing changes to the field team.  Once we have a set and stable field team we will introduce them. 

5.Overall November progress

 November is likely to be a quiet month for our vulture campaign after a busy October.   The tourist season in the area also opens in November and will unfortunately be occupying most of the vulture team members.

The Diclofenac awareness campaign will not cease, however, and will continue as it did in October. 

As you can see from the above sections, November has indeed been a quiet month.  Our Diclofenac awareness and surveying work, however, has been progressing at a pleasing rate. 

6.December plans

• Continuation of the Diclofenac awareness and survey work
• Discussions with local veterinary doctor (Dr Rajeev Singh) about a vulture interpretation centre and increase in local awareness on Diclofenac.

7.Project Vulture Core Team (November 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program.  
• Deewan Singh:  Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.

Appendix One – distribution map of awareness work November 2010

Key:

October coverage

November coverage

1.Monitoring of vulture colonies

Unfortunately no monitoring of the vulture colonies occurred over October 2010, due to our student volunteers leaving, low staff numbers and other work pressures on existing staff.  We hope to resume monitoring shortly by employing monitoring staff who live locally (i.e. in the villages where the colonies are – Ringora Village and Tumeria Kutta)

2.Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

New field staff (Lalit Budhani and Shailesh Tiwari) were employed during October, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of Diclofenac presence surveys undertaken (see Table 1 below).

In October, they covered the following villages:

• Choi – Kishanpur
• Choi – Kampur Balwa
• Choi – Udiapuri
• Choi – Padam Pur
• Choi – Mahdan Pur
• Choi – Gajpur
• Choi – Santoshpur
• Gabua – Nanda Pur
• Gabua – Kheem Pur
• Jogipura
• Puchadhi
• Bhaguwabanger
• Manglaar
• Jashaganja
• Chain Puri
• Gobra
• Udaipuri Bandobasti
• Madhayia
• Kalushidh Naie Basti

Table 1: summary of Diclofenac awareness surveys

The Diclofenac was found in varying locations (Bhaguwabaner, Manglaar, Gabua – Kheem Puri, and Choi).  Prices for the Diclofenac ranged from 25 Rupees to 80 Rupees.  Some people had been using it for an extended period, while others had only been using for a short period.  While it is only 0.8% of interviewees that have been using Diclofenac, even this small number could greatly affect the vulture populations.  It is also of concern that very few people have heard of Meloxicam.  With fut

ure surveys, we are aiming to bring about awareness of Meloxicam in the hope that more people will start to use this drug.

We are much happier with the progress on the Diclofenac awareness surveys this month, and are hoping that this continues.  We are hoping to extend the awareness program further in the coming months.

3.Wildlife Week

Corbett Tiger Reserve’s Annual Wildlife Week was held over the week of 1 to 7 October 2010.  This year’s event was fairly low key, due to the fact that the area had just experienced catastrophic floods, the cleanup

efforts of which were occupying most people’s time.  We did, however, get the opportunity to take the vulture program to the following places:

• Vulture display at the Corbett Tiger Reserve Park Office in Ramnagar, consisting of educational posters, life-sized vulture cutouts, and our Diclofenac awareness campaign banners and posters.  A banner was also displayed outside the Park Office in a prominent location on Ranikhet Road.

• 5 October 2010:  The vulture team (Sumantha Ghosh, Nicola Addison, Hem Bahuguna and Deewan Singh) went to Kalaghar Forest Guard Training Centre, in Kalaghar, to show Vanishing Vultures and give the Diclofenac Awareness slideshow presentation.  Approximately 50 Forest Guard trainees attended and all promised to cooperate with our program in terms of Diclofenac awareness and also reporting any vulture sightings.  We left posters, handouts, a banner, and a copy of Vanishing Vultures and our presentation at the centre for use for future trainees.   The local Kalaghar veterinary doctor also attended, and has agreed to help where possible.

• 6 October 2010:  The vulture team showed Vanishing Vultures and the Diclofenac awareness slideshow to approximately 30 people at Hati Dagar, a gurdwara which is located close to a known vulture feeding site.  Our program was well received, and a few people came forward to volunteer for the program.  We will be coordinating with these volunteers shortly.

• 7 October 2010:  Wildlife Week closed with an award ceremony which honoured local people who do their bit for wildlife conservation.  Members of the vulture team (Dr Rajeev Singh, Hem Bahuguna and Nicola Addison) received “Conservation Hero” awards for their ongoing contributions to vulture conservation in the Corbett area.  The reward was presented by Corbett Tiger Reserve and Society for Mahseer Conservancy.

Posters were also put up at Dhela and Tumeria Villages, and leaflets distributed at both locations.

Kalaghar Forest Guards watching Vanishing Vultures.

Sumantha Ghosh and Nicola Addison presenting to the forest guards

Sumantha Ghosh talking to forest guard trainers and

the local veterinary doctor at the Kalaghar Forest Guard Training Centre.

Sumantha Ghosh presenting at Hati Dagar.

Nicola Addison putting posters up at Hati Dagar.

Vulture awareness banner at Dhela Village.

Group watching a wildlife movie at Tumeria Village,

with vulture awareness banner in the background.

4.Ramlila

Ramlila celebrations were held over 10 – 18 October 2010.  The vulture team attended some events, showing Vanishing Vultures as time permitted, and distributing handouts.  At every location the team was well received, and the film was watched by upwards of 2000 people.  Banners (in Hindi and English) were hung at each location, and left until the end of the Ramlila week.  We are hopeful that many people took home the “anti-Diclofenac” message, and that awareness of the vulture declines will spread.

We went to the following Ramlila events:

• Chilkia
• Kamola (this was the biggest event, with almost 1000 people in attendance)
• Dhela
• Kotabagh

Banners were also hung at our local Ramlila venue (Dhikuli), but tight programming constraints meant that we were unable to screen Vanishing Vultures.

Chilkia Ramlila

Lalit Budhani distributing leaflets at Chilkia Ramlila

Vulture awareness banner at Kamola Ramlila

Shailesh Tiwari distributing leaflets at Kamola Ramlila

Vulture awareness banner

Crowd at Kamola Ramlila

Kotabagh Ramlila, vulture awareness banners to the left and right,

and Vanishing Vultures on the screen.

Dhikuli Ramlila, vulture awareness banner in the background.

5.Other meetings

Some of the team attended an AASTA Society meeting on 29 October at Dr Singh’s clinic in Ramnagar.  The meeting was attended by around 100 low income families, all livestock holders and from various locations around the area.  The team showed Vanishing Vultures and distributed leaflets, and Narendar Singh and Dr Rajeev Singh gave a talk on vulture awareness and Diclofenac use.  Again, the team was well received.

6.Changes to the team

This month we were joined by two more local boys – Lalit Budhani and Shailesh Tiwari.  Lalit has prior field work experience with local NGO Corbett Foundation, while Shailesh is a local with some wildlife experience.  These two joining the team saw a huge increase in the number of Diclofenac awareness surveys carried out, and also an increase in the coverage area.  They were also willing participants in the Ramlila campaign.

7.Overall October progress

• Wildlife Week
• Ramleela
• Increase in staff numbers and therefore increase in Diclofenac awareness coverage

All of this was successfully achieved, and we are hopeful that the progress we have made in the Diclofenac awareness campaign will continue.

8.November plans

November is likely to be a quiet month for our vulture campaign after a busy October.   The tourist season in the area also opens in November and will unfortunately be occupying most of the vulture team members.

The Diclofenac awareness campaign will not cease, however, and will continue as it did in October.

9.Project Vulture Core Team (October 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program.
• Deewan Singh:  Is largely employed as a safari driver, but is also becoming more involved in the vulture campaign.  He is present at most of the external events that are held.
• Lalit Budhani:  Field staff (Diclofenac availability surveys), has been previously employed at Corbett Foundation, and has extensive training in wildlife field work.
• Shailesh Tiwari:  Field staff (Diclofenac availability surveys), local boy with wildlife experience and extensive local knowledge.

Appendix One – distribution map of awareness work October 2010

1.Monitoring of vulture colonies

Ringora Village The Ringora Village Indian White Back Vulture colony was monitored by Irene Glatzle during September. The following tables present a summary of the monitoring work undertaken to date. Unfortunately September is the last month where we have student volunteers monitoring the colony.  We are currently looking for new volunteers (local or otherwise) who can undertake continuous monitoring. Table 1: Overall results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

Table 2: Morning results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

Table 3: Evening results for Ringora colony monitoring to date

2.Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys Lalit Negi has been covering areas close to Ramnagar town, conducting Diclofenac surveys, and distributing campaign posters and leaflets. In September, he covered the following villages:

• Sakkanpur
• Himatpur Block
• Dharampur Auliya

A summary of the survey results to date is as follows:

The Diclofenac that was found was in the Himatpur Block, and was purchased for 25 rupees per bottle.  It is unclear where it was purchased from.  We are currently planning a “road show” type campaign whereby we target the areas where Diclofenac has been found, showing Vanishing Vultures and complimenting this with a presentation. We are hopeful that this is up and running before the end of the year. Progress on the awareness campaign to date has been regrettably slow largely due to monsoon season, field staff illness/injury etc.  Given this, in October we will be looking for more field staff to hopefully increase our coverage area in the coming months. Other awareness work  

• Mahseer Conservancy attended an animal husbandry training conference at Gabua on 3 September, and distributed leaflets and posters.  The meeting was organised by ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Advisory), Kamlesh Sharma (block president), Dr Rajeev Singh (veterinary officer grade 1 in charge of Ramnagar Block) and Dr Rajnees Patakh (veterinary officer of Kotabagh Block).  The team was well received at the meeting.
• Meetings were held on 10 September 2010 with local veterinary doctors (Dr Singh and Dr Gupta) to discuss ways of involving the veterinary community in the awareness program.  These will be two key contact people in the coming months work, and both have agreed to work with us as a link to both the veterinary community and the livestock holders.
• Mahseer Conservancy was present at the Eid celebrations on the 11 September 2010. Approximately 550 awareness leaflets were distributed, and the team spent time talking to interested locals on the subject of vulture conservation and Diclofenac.  Overall the team was well received at the event.  SDM Anoop Kumar Nautiyal was present and praised efforts of the organisation to save vultures.
• Sumantha Ghosh and Nicola Addison met with Vice President Animal Welfare Board Shanti Mehra to discuss Diclofenac use on 13 September 2010.  She was shown Vanishing Vultures, and was given a copy of the DVD, posters and handouts. An outcome of the meeting was that Mrs Mehra will talk about Diclofenac when possible in her work, and will screen Vanishing Vultures on our behalf.
• Mahseer Conservancy attended an ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Advisory) and FAC (Farmers Advisory Committee), Ramnagar Block meeting on 13 September 2010, and screened Vanishing Vultures followed by a round-the-table discussion on the Diclofenac problem.  These groups have agreed to work with Mahseer Conservancy, and will provide valuable links to the farming committee.

Photo 1: Animal husbandry training conference at Gabua on 3 September

Photo 2: Animal husbandry training conference at Gabua on 3 September

Photo 3: Eid in Ramnagar 11 September

Photo 4: Awareness campaign banner at Eid, 11 September

Photo 5: Vice President Animal Welfare Board Shanti Mehra (meeting on 13 September 2010)

Photo 6: Meeting with Shanti Mehra on 13 September 2010.

Photo 7: ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Advisory) and

FAC (Farmers Advisory Committee), Ramnagar Block meeting on 13 September 2010

4.Changes to the team

As mentioned above, Irene Glatzle has finished her time with Mahseer Conservancy to return to Germany to continue her studies.  This leaves a big hole in the team, and her hard work and dedication will be sorely missed. We are hoping that come October there will be notable changes to the team in terms of expansion.  New team members will be introduced as they join us.

5.Overall September progress

• Continue monitoring and awareness work. – This has continued but at an unacceptably slow rate. We are taking steps to rectify this.
• Greater emphasis on eradicating Diclofenac from the area, particularly in instances when it is found to be used. – as above
• Workshop with Forest Department. – still to happen.
• Take the vulture awareness campaign to strategic areas during the Eid festival on 11 and 12 September. – This was completed successfully, and with much praise from community leaders
• Information signs at strategic locations in Ringora Village. – still to happen

6.Plans for September

• Wildlife Week
• Ramleela
• Increase in staff numbers and therefore increase in Diclofenac awareness coverage

7.Project Vulture Core Team (August 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program.
• Lalit Negi: Field Assistant, extensive local knowledge and passion for IWBV.
• Irene Glatzle: Student from Germany studying ecology at university.  She is also monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work (along with Elsa).

1.Monitoring of vulture colonies

Ringora Village

Elsa and Irene continued their monitoring of the Ringora Village colony throughout August, with the exception of a one week break for a trip to the Vulture Breeding Centre in Pinjore (more on this below).

The birds are still head drooping, but this seems to have lessened slightly since July, with the exception of Irene’s afternoon results (Table 3).

The following tables are a summary of Elsa and Irene’s observations at the Ringora Vulture colony for August 2010:

Table 1:Overall results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 2: Morning results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 3: Evening results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Photos of Ringora Vultures (courtesy of Irene Glatzle)

Adult plus juvenile after feeding

Sleeping vulture

2.Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

Lalit Negi has been covering areas close to Ramnagar town, conducting Diclofenac surveys, and distributing campaign posters and leaflets. In July, he covered the following villages:

• Gebua (Khass)
• Bailparow
• Belpakhara
• Arjun Nala
• Sobham Dur
• Boor Kutta
• Gadgadiya (Pepalpadaw)

A summary of the survey results is as follows:

The people that have used Diclofenac are from Belpakhara and Sobham Dur.  The person from Belpakhara owns around 100 cattle, and has been using Diclofenac for 3 – 4 years, so this is most disturbing.  He purchases the Diclofenac from the local veterinary doctor at 30 – 35 rupees per bottle.  This person is also aware of Meloxicam, but doesn’t use it given the higher cost.  Representatives from the Vulture Conservation team (Sumantha Ghosh, Nicola Addison and others) plan to visit this village in the next month to discuss their usage of Diclofenac and to see if we can find a solution.

Animal Husbandry Surveys

One survey of a veterinary doctor was carried out during August.  This survey found the following:

• The veterinary doctor, operating from Belpadaw, has never sold Diclofenac, but knows that it is available in Bajpur;
• The veterinary doctor instead sells Meloxicam, which he sources from Anchal Dairy;
• The Meloxicam retails for Rupees 90/100ml (three times the price that Diclofenac can be purchased for elsewhere);
• There is a government subsidy of 50% on Meloxicam;
• The doctor was notified, by the government, of the ban on Diclofenac, and feels that most people in the animal husbandry field would also be aware of the ban;
• The doctor finds that Meloxicam is as effective as Diclofenac in the treatment of livestock.

Terai West Forest Division meeting

On 11 August, Sumantha Ghosh and student volunteers attended a workshop held by the Terai West Forest Division for 14 newly recruited forest guards.  The aim of Mahseer Conservancy’s attendance at the workshop was to inform the new forest guards on the status of vultures in the adjoining reserve forests of CTR, and to teach the forest guards about the threats of Diclofenac.

Vanishing Vultures was shown along with a powerpoint presentation on how to identify vultures, with a greater emphasis on locally breeding vultures such as Indian White Back Vulture (IWBV) and Slender Billed Vulture (SBV). The Uttarakhand Forest Department is soon to carry out a vulture census hence it is crucial that breeding vultures are identified correctly.

The slide show was followed by a question and answer session. Those guards who will eventually be stationed at numerous posts of the Terai West Forest Division were requested by members of SMC to report to us about vulture nesting colonies and vulture sightings.

The workshop was chaired by Mr RN Pandey (SDO Terai West Forest Division), Mr KN Arya, and Sumantha Ghosh.

Photo 1: Screening of Vanishing Vultures during the workshop.

4.Trip to BNHS Vulture Breeding Centre in Pinjore

Elsa Legrand, Irene Glatzle, Narendar Singh and Lalit Negi went to the BNHS Vulture Breeding Centre in Pinjore on 15 – 21 August 2010.  The following is a summary of the trip from Irene Glatzle:

Background

The vulture conservation breeding centre of Pinjore (Haryana) was established in September 2001 to investigate the dramatic decline in India’s Gyps species of vultures. It is situated in the village Jodhpur near Pinjore and covers an area of 5 acres of forest land, belonging to Haryana Forest Department. The Centre, being a joint project of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Haryana Forest Department, is funded by several Indian and British Institutions like the Ministry of Environment & Forests of India and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB, UK). It is quite well equipped and run by experienced staff, including a veterinarian, scientist, technical assistants, and vulture keepers. By now, the centre hosts 136 vultures, either captured or bred in the centre. Aim of the breeding programme on a national level is to establish a viable founder population of each of the three most endangered gyps species (White-Backed, Slender-Billed and Long-Billed Vulture) and thus to prevent their extinction. It is planned to release the first birds in 2015; until then a broad awareness program is carried out, though focussed on the areas chosen for the release of vultures.

Our visit

During our visit at the centre, we had the chance to gain insight into a national conservation programme, learning a lot about Indian vultures, the concept of the campaign and what has to be consider in order to realise a successful breeding programme and take care of the birds properly.

For the first half of our stay, we got mostly theoretical input, including presentations about the centre itself, Indian vultures and the cause of their decline, the different vulture species, monitoring and capturing. In the last 2 ½ days we had more practical exercise, like species and age identification, colony or nest recording, behaviour observations, close examination of the Himalayan Griffons and finally we experienced a demonstration of the feeding and of how a sick bird was captured.

Organisation and Concept

Most of the birds are kept in the three colony aviaries that can hold up to 40 birds each; there is one with White-Backed, one with White-Backed and Slender-Billed and one with Long-Billed Vultures. The aviaries provided with nests and perches made of wood and coconut rope (to avoid foot injuries) and with solid ledges; in each aviary there is at least one tree, and several water troughs that are filled alternately to minimise algae growth. As we learned, vultures are very sensitive animals that get stressed very fast, if something is happening not according to their routine and since in captivity they can’t evade, human contact and influence is avoided as much as possible and it’s always the same people who go into the aviaries about once a week. Most work like refilling the troughs and feeding is done from outside and observations are carried out with CCTV cameras. Keeping this distance is especially crucial for young birds to avoid imprinting; otherwise they learn from humans and come to them for food. Imprinting of young vultures is a danger mainly in captivity, but also in wild, so it is important to keep away from nestlings.

Photo 2: The vulture team in Pinjore: starting second from left –

Narendar Singh, Lalit Negi, Nikita (technical assistant at Pinjore), Elsa Legrand, Irene Glatzle.

5.Changes to the team

Overall, the structure of the team remains unchanged, although there is one notable departure.  Elsa Legrand left the team at the end of August to return to France to continue her university studies.  Elsa’s input into the vulture team will definitely be missed, and she made a valuable contribution to the vulture work.  We wish her all the best with her studies and hope she returns to us at some point in the future!

6.Overall August progress

• Pinjore trip. As described above, Nicola and Sumantha still to go, likely to be in October.
• Workshop with Forest Department staff, and other interested parties, to raise awareness on Diclofenac, and to get greater involvement from the Forest Department on the war on Diclofenac. Pushed back to September given the absence of team members during August for leave and the Pinjore trip.
• Continue monitoring and awareness work.  Continues but needs to be increased.

7. Plans for September

• Continue monitoring and awareness work.
• Greater emphasis on eradicating Diclofenac from the area, particularly in instances when it is found to be used.
• Workshop with Forest Department.
• Take the vulture awareness campaign to strategic areas during the Eid festival on 11 and 12 September.
• Information signs at strategic locations in Ringora Village.

8.Project Vulture Core Team (August 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Narendar Singh: Has been working with Mahseer Conservancy for many years, and is now heavily involved in the Vulture Program.
• Lalit Negi: Field Assistant, extensive local knowledge and passion for IWBV.
• Elsa Legrand: Student at LEGTA Les Barnes (France), studying the Management and Protection of Nature.  She is monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work.
• Irene Glatzle: Student from Germany studying ecology at university.  She is also monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work (along with Elsa).

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010/2011 vulture programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the July 2010 period.  This report is the second of a series of monthly reports will be made throughout the year.

1.      Monitoring of vulture colonies

Ringora Village

Elsa Legrand was joined by Irena Glatzle in July, allowing them to extend the hours that they spend monitoring at Ringora.  Their monitoring hours are now 5.30am – 8.30am, and 3.00pm – 6.00pm.

The birds are still head drooping, but it seems to have lessened with the onset of monsoons (from 40% in June to around 25% in July), and the cooler weather.  However, the colony is still under constant monitoring, and we are still prepared to act should another bird drop from the tree (this has not happened during July).  It is interesting to note that Irene has observed more birds head drooping in the mornings than Elsa has, possibly a result of the later monitoring hours that she keeps (Table 2 below).

The following tables are a summary of Elsa and Irene’s observations at the Ringora Vulture colony for July 2010:

Table 1:Overall results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 2: Morning results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 3: Evening results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Tumeria Village

A visit to Tumeria by Nicola Addison, Elsa Legrand, Irena Glatzle, Dewan Singh and Abdul Rehman on 12 July 2010 found three nests and eight birds.  The number of nests found in Tumeria Village is likely to be higher, but finding nests is difficult given the amount of foliage on the Sal trees during this time.

We still intend to carry out structured monitoring of the Tumeria colony, this will hopefully start in August as we have engaged more field assistants and therefore have more man-power.

Photo 1: Nest with juvenile in Tumeria Village

Photo 2: Indian White Back Vulture in Tumeria Village

2.      Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.      Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

Lalit Negi has been covering areas close to Ramnagar town, conducting Diclofenac surveys, and distributing campaign posters and leaflets. In July, he covered the following villages:

• Tumeria Dam
• Dhela Village
• Savalde Village
• Ladhang Famto (Patthr Kuwa)
• Patram (Maldhan)

A summary of the survey results is as follows:

The interviewee that has confirmed their use of Diclofenac lives in Tumeria Village.  The Diclofenac was purchased from the local veterinary doctor.  This is alarming given the proximity of this village to a known vulture colony.  To address this, we will be increasing our awareness campaign in the area (see below).

Screenings of Vanishing Vultures and School Awareness

The arrival of more student volunteers (Sara Frey and Vincent Tondeur) saw the start of an awareness programme at local primary schools.  The first topic of this programme was Vulture Awareness.  Two schools were visited in July – DD Chhimwal School (19 and 31 July) and “Kim School” (23 and 29 July), both in Dhikuli.  The students at the schools were first taught about the different species of vulture, and then told about the problem of Diclofenac.  A second session was used to show “Vanishing Vultures”.

Photo 3: Students been shown the size of a Himalayan Griffon

4.      Training workshop for Field Assistants

On 31 July we held a training workshop, led by Sumantha Ghosh and Nicola Addison, for potential field assistants that may be involved in the Vulture Awareness Program. The attendees were:

• Anil Chaudhary (Corbett National Park Forest Guide)
• Prakash Dorby (Corbett National Park Forest Guide)
• Dharmpal Singh Negi (Corbett National Park Forest Guard)
• Lalit Negi (Vulture Program Field Assistant)
• Elsa Legrand (Ringora Village colony monitoring)
• Irene Glatzle (Ringora Village colony monitoring)

The workshop focused on the identification of the different vulture species, and then extensive discussion on Diclofenac, and the work that Mahseer Conservancy is doing to try and protect the vultures from this drug.  The workshop was dual purpose to 1) inform the participants about Diclofenac, and 2) to ensure that all members of the project team are aware of their roles.

5.      Overall July progress

Overall, progress through July was relatively slow due to the onset of monsoons slowing work or team members being unable to work due to illness or accident (Lalit Negi and Elsa Legrand).  We are hopeful that August will bring greater progress as we will now have more field staff working.

A summary of the action points from the June report, and the progress is as follows (progress discussed in italics):

• Continue monitoring the Ringora IWBV colony, and increase the hours of monitoring – we have two students now so can increase the amount of monitoring we can carry out. Comment: monitoring has been continued, and monitoring now occurs over a longer time period.
• Widen the area of our awareness campaign. Comment: Lalit Negi was involved in an accident early July, meaning that he was unable to progress work due to needing extensive recovery time. He did, however, make quite good progress in the short period he was working in July.
• Screenings of Vanishing Vulture: Tumeria Village

Dhela Village

Tera Village

Comment: these screenings did not happen due to monsoons and staffing pressures.  However, we are hopeful that these will happen in August.

• Identify schools which could be targeted for vulture awareness (in conjunction with Sara and Vincent’s school environmental awareness work?). Comment: Two local schools have been targeted as discussed in section 3.
• Arrange Pinjore trip for Nicola, Elsa, Sara, Lalit and Sumantha. Comment: To happen in August.
• Organise awareness meetings with the veterinary community. Comment: To happen in August.

6.      Plans for August

• Pinjore trip.
• Workshop with Forest Department staff, and other interested parties, to raise awareness on Diclofenac, and to get greater involvement from the Forest Department on the war on Diclofenac.
• Continue monitoring and awareness work.

7.      Project Vulture Core Team (July 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Lalit Negi: Field Assistant, extensive local knowledge and passion for IWBV.
• Elsa Legrand: Student at LEGTA Les Barnes (France), studying the Management and Protection of Nature.  She is monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work.
• Irena Glatzle: Student from Germany studying ecology at university.  She is also monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work (along with Elsa).