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Partially blind highly endangered Himalayan Griffon Vulture rescued in Kashmir

The large raptor having the wings span of eight feet was spotted by the locals in the Dal Lake who tipped off the Wildlife SOS, an NGO working for the protection and conservation of wildlife two weeks ago.

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Wildlife rescuers have rescued a highly endangered partially blind Himalayan Griffon Vulture after he strayed from the mountains into the world famous Dal Lake.

The large raptor having the wings span of eight feet was spotted by the locals in the Dal Lake who tipped off the Wildlife SOS, an NGO working for the protection and conservation of wildlife two weeks ago.

Wildlife rescuers immediately rushed to the spot and shifted the raptor to the rescue centre at the Dachigam National Park.

"The raptor was not in a good health. May be it was hit by a tree. The bird was not able to fly though exact reasons were not known. A large mob of people had gathered to nab him. They called us and we immediately rushed to the spot and shifted it to the rescue centre," Aaliya Mir, J&K Chapter head of Wildlife SOS, told dna. 

Found in the woods and mountains of south Kashmir, Himalayan Griffon Vulture (Gyps himalayensis). is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and listed as near threatened in the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red Data list.

Veterinarians treating the raptor at the centre found that the bird was blind in one eye which might have been the reason for it to stray into the plains. "There were no visible bruises. The bird was not able to fly. May be it was because of the dehydration and starvation.

Initially we tried to release the bird but it flew very low. So we decided to put him in the rescue centre where we fed him diet and supplements," said Mir.

Two weeks later, the bird was released and it had a normal flight at the time of the release from the centre. "After treating the bird for two weeks, the veterinarians suggested that it should be released. So we released the raptorn in the Dachigam National Park," said Mir.

Regional Wildlife Warden, Dachigam, Tahir Shawl told dna that all species of Vultures are endangered and the use of pain killer diclofinac sodium is the major reason for their deaths. "Most of the vultures are scavengers and they feed on the carcass. Vulture of poaching is no happening. The main culprit (for extinction of vultures) is diclofinac sodium," he said.

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