April 2007 Pakistan trip report
Oriental White-backed Vultures

In response to the catastrophic declines of vultures in south Asia, WWF-Pakistan launched the Gyps Vulture Restoration Project in 2004. The key project objective is to conserve a viable population of Oriental White-backed Vultures Gyps bengalensis in a safe environment. Once the captive population is secure, the longer term aim is to breed enough vultures for eventual release back to the wild.

This is necessarily a long term project, because it is likely to be many years before the environment is safe for vultures. Removing from the environment the main cause of the vulture declines, veterinary Diclofenac, will take a long time.

In 2005, the Trust first visited Pakistan as part of the working partnership with WWF-Pakistan, which began in 2004. Amongst other things, this visit saw the development of plans for the conservation breeding facility at Changa Manga, about 50 miles southwest of Lahore, which is now complete (see previous report on the website). This report gives a project update and outlines some of the activities during the April 2007 visit.

The project, run by WWF-Pakistan, is a partnership between WWF-Pakistan, the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department, the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi and the Hawk Conservancy Trust. WWF-Pakistan is the project manager and staff provider, whilst the Hawk Conservancy Trust has provided technical and training support and will raise funds towards facility running costs into the future. The Environment Agency and WWF-US provided keystone funding for the facility construction.

Entrance to the facility at Changa Manga

The project is running well. A major development during 2006 was the banning of veterinary Diclofenac by the authorities in Pakistan. The efforts of the project manager, Uzma Khan from WWF-Pakistan, were a major reason this was achieved. Diclofenac has now been banned in three countries (Pakistan, India and Nepal) across a large part of the range for the critically endangered vulture species. Uzma has also been working hard to raise funds to cover the capital costs for the project (aviary building, staff recruitment, etc.), and is also responsible for the overall running of the facility.

Just prior to the visit, the main communal aviary at Changa Manga was completed, and the vultures were moved into their new home. It is a big aviary – 125’ long, 21’ high and ranges from 45’ to 90’ wide (pictures). The purpose of this large enclosure is to act as a meeting venue where birds can interact and eventually form breeding pairs. Once pairs are formed, they can be moved to separate breeding aviaries.

The aviaries at Changa Manga

Much of the time during the visit was spent discussing husbandry and management methods for the vultures. There are several management aspects unique to vultures, and it is important to ensure that the birds are given the best possible care. Perching and nest site provision are also important considerations, and a fair amount of time was spent putting up new perches and discussing nest sites, what they should be made of and where they should be located in the aviary.

The trip was also a good opportunity to meet and spend time with the project veterinarian, Awais Anees. Awais is based in Lahore, and divides his time between the vultures and Indus River Dolphins, another major project for WWF-Pakistan. Although the captive vulture population is currently small, it will grow into the future, so it is expected that his activities will increase in the future – hopefully in a maintenance and preventative medicine role, rather than emergency management.

The primary supervisor at Changa Manga is Faisal Farid. He is supported by two assistants, Riyasat and Baba Aslam. The Trust is expecting to host Faisal for a training visit at some point this year. Faisal is extremely dedicated, and spends long days at Changa Manga, either doing extra work on the aviary or just spending time observing and recording the behaviour of the vultures. His initiative is a real benefit to the project, and he is constantly investigating new ways to improve management of the vultures.

Left to Right: Uzma Khan, Faisal Farid, Awais Anees

His recording of vulture behaviour is a very important task, as it is within the communal aviary that the first signs of breeding pairs will be seen. There are currently only 11 vultures in the facility, but at the time of writing there are encouraging signs that all three females appear to have selected males for pairing.

Although it is still several months until the usual breeding season, it is very encouraging that the some vultures are showing clear preferences for specific members of the opposite sex.

Vultures in the aviaries at Changa Manga

With regard to breeding, phase two building is due to start in the last quarter of 2007. There are plans for at least four breeding aviaries, and one of the tasks over the coming weeks is to work with the project architect, Rashid Toosy, on the breeding aviary design.

In terms of population management, the Trust has experience with studbooks and managed breeding programmes. The Changa Manga birds will be entered into the EAZA EEP Studbook for Oriental White-backed Vultures, which is held by the Trust and has been running since 2002. Studbooks can contain hundreds of animals across dozens of collections, so it is not unusual for a breeding management programme to have animals from several countries. The key point is that the genetic and population management principles remain the same.

Apart from building more aviaries, additional plans in the near future include increasing the number of vultures in the facility. These birds will be obtained by trapping. Collecting these additional birds is important for two reasons. Firstly, the risk of death for wild vultures is still very high and the rate of decline for wild populations is up to 50% per year. Every vulture that is removed from the wild and kept safely at Change Manga is potentially another vulture that will not be poisoned by Diclofenac. Secondly, without more vultures in the project, breeding potential and population growth will be limited. A future release programme will need anywhere between 15 and 30 pairs to be viable.

In summary, some key benefits of the project are a dedicated staff team, solid governmental and partner support and a series of clear targets. As a sign of this support, the visit in April 2007 coincided with an official opening for the new facility at Changa Manga. Numerous Government and local officials and project partners attended the opening. Several press agencies from Pakistan covered the event.

Back L-R: Syed Ejaz Hussain Shehrazi; Iftikhar Qureshi; Malik Mehboob (Chief Conservator of Forests); Mohammad Imtiaz Tajwar (Director General Punjab Wildlife and Parks); Shamail Ahmad Khawaja (Secretary of Forests, Wildlife and Fisheries, Government of Punjab); Brig. Mukhtar Ahmed (Vice President Emeritus WWF-Pakistan); Anwar Maan; Rana Wajid (Mayor of Changa Manga); Campbell Murn

Front L-R: Baba Aslam; Riyasat; Faisal Farid; Ali Hassan Habib (Director General WWF-Pakistan); Uzma Khan; Awais Anees; Rashid Toosy (Architect)

The involvement with vultures in south Asia is a long term project for the Trust. Our fundraising efforts are directed at supporting the running costs for the facility at Changa Manga – including food bills, electricity, staff costs, fuel and other essential items such as fencing, freezers and storage facilities.

The Gyps vulture restoration project run by WWF-Pakistan is part of a regional effort for the conservation of south Asian Gyps vultures, and we are in contact with other organisations working across the subcontinent. Maintaining these lines of communication to share information and experiences is an important part of the regional effort.

Apart from the plans for this year, further development and expansion of the facility at Changa Manga will occur over future years. It will be exciting to follow this progress and watch how the project grows.