Seasonal Abundance and People's Perception on Vultures in Pokhara, Nepal

Vultures, as obligate scavengers, play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. South Asia is home to nine species of vultures, and Nepal hosts all of them. Remarkably, all these species have also been recorded in Pokhara. This could be attributed to Pokhara’s location along bird migration pathways and the consistent availability of food at its landfill sites throughout the year. This landfill site has been translocated to another site due to the construction of Pokhara regional international airport close to former landfill site. In this context, we aimed to estimate the seasonal abundance of vultures as well as understand the discrepancy in people’s perception on vulture conservation before and after the landfill site is shifted to another location. Data was collected using key informant interviews, questionnaire surveys, and direct field observations. The collected data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, employing Chi-square and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests. The relative abundance of the Egyptian Vulture was found to be the highest among observed species. We found an association between people’s perception towards vulture and their socio-economic factors (age, education and income source). The Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed that threat scores for various factors such as human persecution, NSAIDs, collision with aero planes and electrocution were statistically significant. Our study revealed that the threat of electrocution increased slightly after the landfill site was relocated. However, the risk of collisions with airplanes remained relatively low both before and after the shift. Despite the relocation, the landfill site continues to provide a suitable habitat for vultures, likely due to consistent food availability and the proximity of nesting habitats near forests, cliffs, and rivers. This highlights the importance of promoting balanced development alongside nature conservation to mitigate future challenges and ensure the coexistence of human activities and wildlife.