As identifying the sex of vultures is difficult, the forest department took help from GSBTM for its captive breeding programme.
Sex determination may otherwise be frowned upon in the State. But the technique is proving to be a boon in the vulture conservation and breeding programme in Gujarat. The forest department has sought expertise of the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission (GSBTM) to identify the sex of vultures for its conservation programme of the scavenging birds.
This, in turn, has helped the breeding programme of the department at Sakarbaugh Zoo in Junagadh. It should be noted that breeding vultures in captivity is extremely difficult. The problem is compounded by the fact that there is no way to identify a male from a female.
Hence, the forest department has sought the help of GSBTM in identifying the sex of the rescued and orphan vultures that were brought to the zoo.
“Unlike other birds, it is difficult to identify the sex of a vulture because it doesn’t have any distinguishing features for each of the sex. This adds to the problem of captive vulture breeding and hence, the forest department sought our help in the matter,” said an official of GSBTM.
He said that the zoo authorities have started sending them blood samples through which they were able to identify if a particular bird was male or female. “This has helped them pair the birds better,” said the official.
Dr Vishwabit Rana, director, Sakarbaugh Zoo said that the vulture breeding programme is part of the Centre’s Vulture Conservation Action plan. The first regional centre was opened in Pinjor and following its success four more centres were opened across the country, including Gujarat.
“The vulture breeding programme has been going on since 2009 when rescued and injured orphan vultures were brought to our centre. As the number of birds increased, we decided to shift them to another aviary. While relocating, it was important to know their sex,” said Rana.
He added that breeding vultures in captivity is a long-drawn, time-consuming and difficult process.
“It takes a lot of time before the vultures settle down and breeding takes place. Hence, when we were moving the birds to a new aviary, it was important to have a healthy mix of sexes,” said Rana.
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