High altitude buffalo buffet – flying with vultures

When we travel, Nathan and I often look for an opportunity to try something different.  And if there is a chance that we can learn or give back, that also hits high on our list.  Parahawking registered on all three.

On our first trip together 8 years ago we went to France.  After we hiked to the top of Puy de Dome, we saw paragliders launching off the side of the mountain and they were also selling the opportunity for tourists to join them.  At the time we were mildly broke, so shelling out dollars for that was out of scope, but certainly we have regretted it ever since.

I knew when I got to Pokhara, there were lots of adventure sports on offer, but paragliding really caught my eye so I quickly took to convincing Nathan that we should totally do it. As luck would have it when I met a fellow Canadian four or five weeks ago, she told me about her experience working with a group that did Paragliding but with birds to help find the best thermals for the gliding to be even better.  And not only do they offer just paragliding, but they also contribute to conservation efforts to combat the extreme and rapid decline in vulture numbers in Nepal.

Bob the Egyptian Vulture

As I wrote about in an earlier post, Asia has seen a massive decline in their vulture population – upwards of 97% in the last 15 years.  This has been attributed to the use of anti-inflammatory drug used mainly on cattle, which causes renal failure in vultures, who feed on the livestock when they die.  Since cattle are revered in the Hindu culture, they are kept alive for as long as possible and when they do die, they are left to decay naturally.  Vultures feed on them and in doing so they ingest the lethal medicine. 

Despite the product being removed from veterinary use, it is still available for human use, which means theoretically people still have access to treat their cows with it. And simply put, awareness of the fatal effects of this drug on the vultures is pretty low so it can be assumed that people in many areas are carrying on using the drug to treat the cows.

A bit of a domino effect has happened as well which is well documented in India.  They have calculated the costs to human productivity, by noting that the feral dog population has skyrocketed since there is so much carrion available to eat, and the drug has no effect on them.  In turn, human infections of rabies has gone up, and that has taken its toll on the health system as well as peoples overall wellbeing.

The glide itself is hard to describe, but the fun part was certainly taking off (wait for a gust of wind, three big steps, then run off a cliff) and feeding Bob, our thermal guide.  After the take off, the thermal scoops you up so high and so gently, it takes a moment to realize how far from the ground you really are.  With a clear blue sky, the whole Annapurna Mountain range can be seen, as well as the vast terraced hills surrounding Pokhara.  We had little pouches of buffalo meat and a leather bird glove for him to perch and feed on.  We’d track his flight by communicating with someone on the ground, and when he was gearing up for a bite to eat, the guide would blow the whistle and we’d stick our arm out ‘strong and straight’ for him to land on briefly (unless his claw accidentally got caught, oops!).  

At the end of the glide we sat down with one of the staff who does bird care, training and advocacy.  She told us all about the birds and their issues, as well as about the Vulture Restaurant they support, which works to collect non-contaminated carcasses for vultures to feed on.

It was a great experience, and I think it was certainly one of the highlights for us on our little vacation here in Nepal.

More information on the vulture rescue foundation is here: www.parahawking.com

And if you find yourself in Thailand and are looking for a similar type of experience, check out the Elephant Nature Park, which works on elephant rehabilitation and retirement with dignity, which means no rides for guests, but a fun day of river bathing and fruit feeding.

Written by Ashley & Nathan