The country's only Vulture sanctuary

The country’s first vulture sanctuary is in Karnataka and it is located just a little away from Bangalore.

What makes the sanctuary all the more alluring to a wildlife enthusiast or a bird watcher is that the sanctuary is just off the busy Bangalore-Mysore road an getting there can never be a problem even in dead of night.

The sanctuary, the first in India, is located on Ramadevara Betta in Ramanagar, which is about 50 kilometres from Bangalore on the busy Bangalore-Mysore highway. Until its declaration as a habitat for the vultures, the Betta was better known as the p[lace where the iconic Hindi film Sholay was “shot”.     

The vultures, which are an endangered species, have found the Ramadevara Betta an ideal place to nest and breed. It has now become a heaven for a fairly large congregation of critically endangered vultures.

These are long-billed vultures and they are also called as the Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus). They are closely related to the Griffon Vulture and they breed mainly on hilly areas in central and south India.

Thus a scavenger, feeding on the carcass of dead animals and they often move in flocks. They have a bald head, very broad wings and short tail.

These vultures have found the Ramanagar rocks and hills the best place to nest.   

The State Government woke up top the threat that these vultures were facing on and January 31, 2012, declared 346.14 hectares in and around the hill as Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary.
The area of the sanctuary has been demarked and boards put up.

However, the process to declares it as a protected area began in 2005.
Ramadevarabetta  is classified as one of the world’s oldest granite outcrops and is also known as South India’s earliest rock climbing hub. The region may see yet another sanctuary coming up-this one is for bears.