Black Vulture Spotted In Gurugram In Rare Sighting, Bird Watchers Puzzled

Bird watchers and enthusiasts were left puzzled on Friday after they spotted a black vulture at Chandu wetlands in Gurugram. The sighting is being dubbed 'rarest of rare' because the bird is not found in Asia or even Europe. Also known as the American black vulture, the bird's range usually spread from the northeastern US to Peru, Central Chile, Brazil and Uruguay in South America. 

According to Anil Gandass, a wildlife conservationist, this is probably the first such sighting of the bird in India. On Saturday, he took to Twitter to share a picture of the bird and wrote, ''Black vulture. My lifer. Probably seen for the first time in India''. 

See the picture here 

Black vulture. My lifer. शायद भारत में पहला ही देखा गया है @WildlifeMag @wti_org_india @wii_india @WCT_India @World_Wildlife @AWF_Official @wildwarriors @WildlifeTrusts @pcmeenaIAS @subhashbrala @CornellBirds @birdsofpreywb pic.twitter.com/zzVtR1LSwr

— anil gandass (@anilgandass9) January 28, 2023

The rare vulture was first spotted by avian enthusiast Anuradha Mathur who shared pictures of the bird and wrote, ''#BlackVulture sighting in #Delhi #NCR!!!! at chandu budhera canal gurgaon area #Today afternoon! I am informed by #indiaves it's a very rare sighting in #India! I was searching for blue throat and brown crake and boom I see this lifer!'' 

Here's the post 

#BlackVulture sighting in #Delhi #NCR!!!! at chandu budhera canal gurgaon area #Today afternoon! I am informed by #indiaves it's a very rare sighting in #India! @timesofindia @IndianExpress @htTweets ... I was searching for blue throat and brown crake and boom I see this lifer! pic.twitter.com/NDgj14UAy1

— anu mathur (@anuradhamathur) January 27, 2023

According to various experts who commented on the post, the bird probably escaped from the clutches of wildlife traffickers. 

Reacting to the post, Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan explained the rare sighting and wrote, ''A new world vulture in India is strange and rare. Repeating again. Finding a species out of the blue; there is a bad story behind it. Most probably he is an escapee, from captivity. From zoo or from smuggling party.'' 

This is not the first time a Black vulture has been spotted in Asia. Last year, conservationists in Nepal spotted an American black vulture in the country for the first time, according to a Mongabay report. Researchers said that the finding didn't come as a surprise for them. "Nepal has been an active source and transit country for exotic birds and animals," said Kushal Shrestha, a Kathmandu-based researcher documenting the illegal trade of wildlife in the city. 

Talking of rare species, a white vulture was recently captured by locals in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur. The rare Himalayan Griffon Vulture was captured in Eidgah cemetery of Kanpur's Colonelganj and was handed over to the forest department.