Oh Bird! Rise

Last Vultures od Sholay Hills.

- Bhanu Praksh Chandra

Jatayu, a mythical demigod in the Ramayan, was a valorous vulture which went down fighting Ravan, who was carrying away Sita. Looking for her, Ram comes across the dying bird, with its wings chopped off, and urges it to rise. But it cannot, and he gives the bird moksha or liberation. Today, conservationists are hoping that their efforts to raise the number of vultures in India do not meet with Jatayu’s fate.

India’s only sanctuary for vultures in Ramanagara in Karnataka—known for a Ram temple—is one of the centres trying to revive the critically endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus), commonly known as the Indian vulture, survives mainly on bovine carcasses. This carrion bird plays a major role in the food chain by feeding on carcasses, thus preventing water and soil contamination and epidemics. Currently, there are seven long-billed vultures in the rocky hillocks of Ramanagara, which appeared as Ramgad in the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay. The Karnataka government declared the area a vulture sanctuary in 2012.