BAHAWALPUR: A large number of Eurasian Griffon vultures has made appearance around the area of Thara Lal close to tehsil Yazman in the Cholistan desert.

Dawnlearnt that this is their rare appearance in Cholistan where during previous years, they could have been seen scavenging on the carcasses of dead animals. However, later they had been disappearing mysteriously, leaving bodies of the dead animals to rot and decay.

But, now, after a long period of their mysterious disappearance, their sighting has been noted as a pleasant surprise by the wildlife experts and locals.

Wildlife Bahawalpur Division Deputy Director Muhammad Usman Bukhari says the reappearance of these vultures after a long period is a good sign for the improvement of the local environment.

According to him, the phenomenon could be linked to vultures’ struggle in search of their food i.e. dead animals. He says the vultures survive by consuming dead animals in a natural way and by doing so, they protect human beings also from hazards of a number of diseases.

Mr Bukhari says that the return of vultures would make the environment clean and neat for human beings.

He informs Dawn that vultures are now endangered species in the whole of the world and face extinction in many countries and immediate measures are necessary to save them from extinction in the larger interest of the climate and human population. He highlights that the biggest danger to the vultures is the toxic veterinary medicines, which enter the bodies of animals, consumed by vultures.

Bukhari stresses an urgent need to stop administration of heavy doses of multiple medicines to the livestock on the verge of their death, which may prove harmful for the vultures when they would eat the dead bodies.

RAID: A joint team of the Vehari district administration and excise department claimed to have confiscated over 31,000 packets of smuggled and fake cigarettes in a raid on private godowns in Karampur and Mailsi.

The team sealed the godowns and after identifying their respective owners, referred their cases to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for further legal action.

MoU SIGNED: The Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CUVAS), Bahawalpur, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Deer Foundation International and Houbara Foundation International-Pakistan for the preservation of wildlife and providing modern research facilities for the professional training of university students.

The MoU was signed by CUVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Mazhar Ayyaz and Houbara Foundation chief in Bahawalpur retired Maj Tahir Majeed.

According to a press release, under the MoU, the Houbara Foundation will provide research facilities at its Lal Sohanra deer research station, besides internship opportunities to the university students.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026