Vijayakumar, a final year UG Zoology student of Kongunadu Arts and Science College found an endangered vulture species that was injured, and rescued it.
The bird is commonly called as Egyptian Vulture. Vijayakumar found it near Sulur and brought it to his professor Venkitachalam who has done research on vultures in Tamil Nadu, and has significant exposure in Vulture Conservation Projects.
The college’s Secretary & Director C.A. Vasuki provided a quarantine facility for keeping the bird safely. Later it was handed over to the Coimbatore District Forest for further veterinary care.
Prof.Venkitachalam conveyed that these vultures are distributed widely and they breed on the cliffs of high mountains. They could be spotted in Southern to Northern Africa, Eastern to Western and Southern Asia.
He further shared that vultures have been on the decline in India, and a Winter-Raptor Survey is much needed at this time throughout Tamil Nadu to understand the population status of vulture.