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28 February 2022 Resurveys Reveal Potential Population Increases of the Himalayan Griffon in Central West Nepal
Christopher J. W. McClure, Krishna Prasad Bhusal, Dikpal Krishna Karmacharya, Munir Z. Virani
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Abstract

The Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) is listed as near threatened and its populations are poorly monitored. During late May and early June of 2013, 2014, and 2016, we resurveyed transects that were originally sampled 2002–2006. These transects were within the Annapurna region of Nepal. From 2010 through 2020, we also monitored a breeding colony of Himalayan Griffons within the Arghakhanchi District of Nepal. The number of non-adults, adults, and total Himalayan Griffons counted along the transects approximately doubled from the previous counts. At the colony, the number of breeding pairs and young fledged increased during the study (yearly growth rate [r] = 0.049 and 0.089, respectively). The number of offspring fledged per breeding pair also increased (r = 0.040). Our results are encouraging, but we only surveyed a small portion of the global population and over a relatively short time period. We recommend expanded and coordinated population monitoring for this species across its range.

© 2022 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.
Christopher J. W. McClure, Krishna Prasad Bhusal, Dikpal Krishna Karmacharya, and Munir Z. Virani "Resurveys Reveal Potential Population Increases of the Himalayan Griffon in Central West Nepal," Journal of Raptor Research 56(1), 125-130, (28 February 2022). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-21-36
Received: 14 May 2021; Accepted: 9 September 2021; Published: 28 February 2022
KEYWORDS
Annapurna
bird of prey
Gyps himalayensis
Himalayan Griffon
monitoring
Nepal
population trend
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