In Pictures

Gallery|Environment

The vulture restaurant

The scavenger birds once adorned roofs and telegraph poles across Nepal, but now are only found in special reserves.

The vulture restaurant
As the rising sun burns away the morning fog in Chitwan National Park's Pithauli restaurant, a committee of vultures perched high in the tree branches unfurl their wings to let the first warmth of the day heat their bodies. White-rumped and Himalayan griffon vultures are visible here. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]

By Alexander Lerche

Published On 23 Dec 2017

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Chitwan National Park, Nepal – Nepal is home to nine species of vultures. But five of them, including the white-rumped vulture, experienced a catastrophic population collapse of more than 99 percent in the span of just 20 years. Most species are now critically endangered and risk extinction.

In the 1990s, the scientific community determined the raptors were suffering kidney failures because of an anti-inflammatory veterinary drug used on cattle, called Diclofenac. In regions where few people eat beef due to cultural persuasions, farmers would leave dead dairy cows in the fields for the birds to pick clean. As the birds ate, they got sick and died in massive numbers.

Scavenger birds play a vital role in the ecosystem, helping prevent the spread of disease and pathogens into the wider environment. Nepal’s government banned the use of Diclofenac in 2006, and the non-profit Bird Conservation of Nepal, with international support, established several vulture “restaurants” with an aim to preserve and rebuild the species.

There are seven community-run sites where the raptors are regularly provided safe meat untainted by harmful drugs, allowing them an opportunity to thrive and repopulate. All the reserves have applied a push towards ecotourism.

The vulture restaurant
In the clearing below, bones from yesterday's meal are scraped for sinew by the early risers and a stray wild pig. Inside a nearby cage, Pithauli's cow-keeper, Yam Bahadur Nepali, and his sons prepare a skinned cow for serving. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
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The vulture restaurant
Yam carts the body into the middle of a clearing in full view of the watching birds. When the previous carcass is reduced to bones, a fresh body is prepared in the cage to attract the vultures. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
From a secluded location, Pithauli's vulture guide and community mobiliser, Hewal Chaudhary, counts the different species and their numbers during feedings. 'We were the first vulture restaurant in Nepal. At the start there [were] so few to see,' he recalls. 'Now, we have many sites and more than 56 districts have been declared Diclofenac-free.' [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Pithauli is the world's first community-managed vulture restaurant. It was set up inside Chitwan's buffer zone away from busy roads and construction sites. Local farmers sell their sick and injured cows to the restaurant for $3; the animals are then left to freely roam the site until their death. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Vultures feed entirely through scavenging, rather than hunting or grazing. It takes just an hour for them to transform a carcass into a pile of bones. People once viewed them as disease-spreading creatures and a sign of impending death in some cultures. 'In the beginning, the villagers didn't like the vultures being in the area because they were a bad omen,' says Hewal. 'But now, people are happier because we are supporting the local biodiversity and bringing in some tourism.' [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Bones left over from the feed are collected and stored. Hewal says they are later sold to be ground up and mixed with chicken feed, providing extra income for the restaurant. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
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The vulture restaurant
'In winter when it's cold, we'll get more sick cows, sometimes twice a week,' says Hewal. 'We used to test the meat for Diclofenac, but now the area is free, and the vets are all monitored to ensure they're not selling it.' [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Cow-caretaker Khusi Man Gurun has worked the Ghachock feeding site since it opened in 2006. Ecotourism is a priority goal for Bird Conservation of Nepal, whose members come from local villages. 'We want to conserve the biodiversity and promote the ecosystem by keeping the vultures safe,' says Khusi. 'And support the community.' [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Ghachock's restaurant lies on the Seti River within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal's largest Important Bird and Biodiversity Site. But despite efforts to protect the vultures, researchers say birds in the region are still suffering from the impact of humans. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
Dozens of vultures sit along the ridge of a cliff at Pokhara's main waste site, waiting for people sifting rubbish below to leave. When it is safe, the birds fly down and pick through plastic and metal to get at any food scraps, consuming toxic man-made chemicals in the process. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]
The vulture restaurant
A critically endangered white-rumped vulture flies over Pokhara's landfill. The species once numbered in the millions, but the last count in 2016 estimated there are only 10,000 left globally. BCN undertook the world's first release of two captive-bred white-rumped vultures in November. Yet vultures lay and care for only one egg at a time, so rebuilding the species to their former numbers will take many years. [Alexander Lerche/Al Jazeera]