Sunday, May 22 2005 09:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ahmedabad: Concerned over the reported dwindling population of endangered vultures, Gujarat has decided to conduct an elaborate census of the scavengers.

The census, a first of its kind in the country, will be held from May 28-29 and will be jointly conducted by the Gujarat Forest Department and the GEER (Gujarat Ecological Education and Research) Foundation.

"The census, which will be conducted from May 28, will concentrate on the resident species, including White Rumped or the White-backed vultures (Gyps bengalensis), Long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and the very rare King vultures (Sarcogyps calvus)," Uday Vora, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF)- Gandhinagar, said.

"The census will be conducted by the forest department in protected areas, while officials and scientists from the GEER foundation, NGOs and about 60 well-known orthinologists from the State will conduct the survey of non-forest areas," he said.

C N Pandey of Gandhinagar based GEER foundation admitted the resident White-backed vultures and the Long-billed vultures, which could be spotted almost everywhere in Gujarat, are today hard to locate which was an indication that the population of these birds was witnessing a downward trend.

The census will go a long way in estimating the health of the birds in the future, which are the last and important link in the ecological chain, he said.