About 200 rare Bearded Vultures have been seen in a remote part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, a forestry official has told the BBC.

Lammergeiers
© BBC NewsLammergeiers are long-winged vultures known for their unusual habit of dropping bones on to rocks to smash them open and get at the marrow.
The state's chief conservator of forests, Vinay Tandon, said that the sighting of the bearded vultures was "hugely significant".

Mr Tandon said that four out of the five major vulture species in India are critically endangered.

Experts estimate that there are only a few hundred vultures left in India.

"We had reports on Monday that what appears to be a very large colony of Bearded Vultures - or Lammergeiers - were spotted close to the border with China in what is known as the trans-Himalayan region," Mr Tandon told the BBC.

"As yet we are not able to confirm that the birds belong to this species. A team from the state's wildlife department will be making its way to the area as soon as possible.

"We are especially pleased to hear of such a large colony when in recent years the vulture population of India has been disappearing so rapidly."

Mr Tandon said that the vultures had been spotted in Lahaul-Spiti, one of the remotest districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Cattle link

Vultuer
© BBC NewsIndia's vulture population is in serious decline.
It is thought the vulture population catastrophe has in part been exacerbated by the use of certain veterinary medicines among cattle.

The BBC's Jyotsna Singh in Delhi says that experts believe that vultures have been badly affected by excessive use of the painkiller diclofenac in cattle.

Vultures feeding on the cattle lose their ability to reproduce.

The use of the drug has been banned but officials argue more awareness is needed to save the vultures, our correspondent says.

While Bearded Vultures are not thought to have been so badly affected by the drug, their numbers have nevertheless significantly dwindled in India.

In August conservationists announced that the endangered Slender Billed vulture had twice been successfully bred in the states of Haryana and West Bengal.

Conservationists say that despite the recent sightings, urgent action is still needed to save vultures from extinction in the wild.

"With extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste. The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species," Birdlife International spokesman Chris Bowden said.