8 vultures released in Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve

Eight vultures havebeen released in Rajabhatkhawa at the Buxa Tiger Reserve innorth Bengal, a forest official said on Sunday.

While two of them are captive bred white-backed withsatellite transmitters fitted, six others are Himalayangriffon species with wing tags, Chief Wildlife Warden VK Yadavsaid.

The eight birds were released on Saturday.

Yadav said there are 140 vultures in the conservationbreeding centre at Rajabhatkhawa in Alipurduar, and of them,76 vultures had been born in captivity since 2006.

''Our conservation breeding programme is quitesuccessful and we are going to expand it by the constructionof two more aviaries at Rajabhatkhawa,'' he said.

''We are planning to start a breeding programme foranother critically endangered vulture -- the king vulture,also known as the red-headed vulture -- at Rajabhatkhawa in2021,'' he added.

Replying to a question, Yadav said that afterfinishing the ongoing waterfowl census, the forest staff, NGOsand bird watchers will be involved in census of vultures inthe entire state, beginning in the first week of February.