Spatio-temporal decline of Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis Hume,1869) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,Pakistan

The population of three species of gyps vultures has already declined in south asia due to the use of diclofenac drug in veterinary practices. therefore,in the wake of such alarming situation,there was a dire need to explore the current status of other gyps species in the region. correspondingly,our study assessed the status of breeding and overall population of himalayan griffon vulture gyps himalayensis around himalayan ranges of muzaffarabad and hattian districts,azad jammu and kashmir,pakistan during the years 2005,and 2007-2010 (year 1,2-5). the population was estimated by counting the vultures involved in active nest breeding (nesting site population) as well as,those encountered during transect surveys (transect count population). we found a mean (±sem) population as 51.60±7.60 and 46±7.61 individuals on the basis of nesting site and transect survey counts during 2005,2007-2010 in all study sites respectively. eighty individuals with mean colony size 20±3.48 were recorded from all nesting sites in year 1 i.e.,2005,which reduced to 51 (12.80±3.80) individuals in year 2007 translating to 36.25% overall decline in nesting site population at a rate of 12.08% per annum. this declining trend is further confirmed by a negative correlation of nesting site population (r= -0.76) and transect count population (r= -0.80) with study years. a decline of 75.31% in livestock population from year 1 to year 5 was recorded with annual decline of 12.5% (r= -0.79). there was strong positive correlation (r=0.95) between livestock numbers and nesting site population. therefore,the shortage of food availability was found to be a major factor responsible for declining population of the himalayan griffon vulture in the area. moreover,the reduction in carcass detectability by vultures,and changes in agro-pastoral system in the study area might also be among the contributing factors of declining vulture population. copyright 2016 zoological society of pakistan].