Vulture restaurant gradually developing as tourism hotspot

NAWALPUR, Dec 20: Basudev Poudel The vulture restaurant that was established in 2006 AD in Pithauli, Nawalpur for the conservation of rare bird species, vulture, is being developed as a tourism destination.

The site has been developed as a destination for those aspiring to study on birds, particularly vulture and enjoying eco-tourism. As part of the campaign for vulture protection, local community of Pithauli took the initiative to establish the world's first vulture restaurant in 2006.

Conservationist and chairperson of Nawalparasi Vulture Conservation Committee DB Chaudhary said the community-managed restaurant has gradually become a tourism hotspot, especially for those interested in birds tourism and eco tourism.

Claiming that number of vulture has increased with the setup of the restaurant; he said domestic and foreign tourists from different countries are increasingly turning to the restaurant for vulture observation and research. Research has shown that the trend of vulture extinction however has increased for the past two decades.

Use of diclofenac in the treatment of ailing cattle has been one of the main reasons behind extinction of vulture, conservationists said. Vulture conservation has seen trouble in lack of their peculiar food of late.

The trend of rearing livestock has sharply declined lately and the cattle once dead are being disposed in a different manner. It has resulted in the crisis of food for vulture, conservationists added. It is shared that nine out of 23 species of vulture are found in Nepal.