As many as 19 vultures have been poisoned to death at Jolatopa Lepaigon, Desungmukh in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar district.
Last year, 39 vultures were killed in a similar incident at Bamrajabari, Panidihing, about 20 km east of Desangmukh.
The cause of death may be a carcass of a calf on which the vultures fed, said Jayashree Naiding, DFO, Sivasagar.
“Fourteen vultures have been given treatment and are recovering fast”, Naiding said.
Members of BNHS and Forest department officials visited the spot on Tuesday and samples have been sent to Guwahati for ascertaining the exact cause.
It is suspected that some villagers had poisoned the carcass of the calf to kill stray dogs.
Once a heaven of various species of birds and located close to the Panidihing Bird Sanctuary, the avian population is fast dwindling in the whole area due to a number of reasons like pollution, denuding of the forests and abject neglect of forest and bio- resources.
