Twelve vultures were rescued earlier this week from different areas in Panchagarh Sadar upazila. The wildlife and forest authorities have decided to rehabilitate the birds at Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur.
Sources said the vultures, an endangered species, were rescued by local residents. The first vulture was captured on Sunday, and the other 11 on Monday.
Locals handed them over to Panc-hagarh district administration, who transferred them to the Panchagarh forest office for treatment and feeding.
Anowara Begum, a schoolteacher and one of the rescuers, said she found one of the vultures near her home in Rajnagar area and captured it with the help of her neighbours, later handing it over to the district administration.
The birds were under the supervision of Dr Abdus Sobhan, veterinary surgeon at Panchagarh district animal hospital.
Sources at Panchagarh forest office said Forest Range Officer Md Arshadul Haque notified the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Dhaka of the rescue, who instructed the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Rajshahi to bring the vultures to Dhaka.
Following the directive, the wildlife division’s Junior Wildlife Scout Officer Md Mamunur Rashid went to Panchagarh on Monday night, and started for Dhaka with the vultures in a pick-up van around 4:45pm yesterday.
The Dhaka Tribune talked to Mamunur Rashid, who said the vultures had been cared for well at Panchagarh forest office.
“I am taking the vultures to the Forest Department headquarters in Dhaka. Preparations have been taken at Bangabandhu Safari Park to house them, and the Forest Department will set them free once the get there,” he said.
Panchagarh Forest Range Officer Arshad said there were no facilities in Panchagarh for the conservation of this endangered species, which is why the authorities decided to transfer them to the safari park.
Panchagarh Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin applauded the locals’ effort to protect the vultures and thanked them for handing them over to the district administration.
“The vultures may have gone to the localities due to the extreme cold weather,” he opined.
