International Vulture Awareness Day observed in The Nilgiris

During the week of September 1-6, a series of events to mark International Vulture Awareness Day (September 5) was organized in the Nilgiris and surrounding regions.

The events were organized by Arulagam, a conservation NGO in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, Ooty and volunteers from ‘State Street’.

“To promote understanding among the young generation, quizzes, elocution and painting competitions were held for the college students and the participants were awarded certificates. The participants signed a banner supporting vulture conservation,” said S. Bharathidasan, secretary of Arulagam.

Dr. B. Ramakrishnan, Head, Department of Wildlife Biology, spoke to the participants about the ecological importance of vultures.

A ‘Vulture Trophy’ volleyball tournament was held at Anaikatti village in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Sunday to highlight the importance of creating a ‘Vulture Safe Zone’.

“Using sport as a platform to unite youth, this initiative has raised awareness of ensuring that natural carcasses of farm animals remain a safe food source for vultures, while highlighting the crucial cooperation needed from the public, especially livestock farmers,” added Mr. Bharathidasan.

To prevent the use of harmful Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Diclofenac to treat cattle, safer Alternative Herbal Ethno-Veterinary Medicine (EVM) kits, developed by ‘Your Farm’ based on the traditional expertise of Padma Shri Dr.

Livestock tissue samples are being collected under the direction of the forest department to support the official declaration of the Nilgiris region as a vulture safe zone. To preserve these samples, S. Bharathidasan donated a deep freezer to the IPAN Trust, which was received by its Trustee, Nigel Otter.

Published – 07 Sep 2026 17:24 IST