Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated India’s first conservation and breeding centre for Asiatic King Vultures at Bharivaisi in Campierganj range of Gorakhpur Forest Division.
The “Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre” aims to improve the population of this species, which is listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List since 2007.
Other vulture conservation and breeding centres in the country house the long-billed and white-backed vultures.
The centre, set up at a cost of Rs 2.80 crore in Gorakhpur, comprises a breeding aviary, holding aviary, hospital aviary, nursery aviary, veterinary section, administrative building, recovery aviary, guardroom, generator room and pathways.
According to the plan, the target is to release 40 pairs of vultures from the centre in the next 8 to 10 years.
The facility has eight staff members, including biologists and scientists, who are dedicated to monitoring and caring for the vultures around the clock.
