These restaurants are located strategically with a regular supply of safe food by collecting dead animals from local people. Vultures feed on the dead carcass. Vultures play an important ecological role through the rapid consumption of animal carcasses. Presently there are three ‘Vulture Restaurants’ in Gadchiroli forest division at Marakbodi, Madetukum and Nimgaon.
Aim:
- Conserve the fast dwindling vulture population.
- As uncontaminated food shortage is one of the reasons for vultures’ decline, these scavengers will be fed by serving diclofenac free carcasses of cattle through restaurants.
- VR includes involvement of local communities in in-situ conservation, is having dual benefits to vultures and to our society.
- People inform the forest department in case of the death of an animal in their village and the department tests the dead animal for the presence of diclofenac.
- In their absence the department pays monetary benefits to the owner of the animal and informer, transports it to the vulture restaurant.
- Apart from this, whenever a vulture nesting is found, conservation measures like providing safe food near nesting trees, constant protection from all sorts of disturbances, etc., are put in place without delay.