Village bans DJs to save vultures in India
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In 2002, residents of Chirgaon village in Maharashtra, India, banned DJs and loudspeakers to create a safer environment for vultures.
The decision stemmed from concerns about the rapidly declining vulture population, which had fallen by 99.8 percent according to a 1999 study. Premsagar Mestri, founder of the NGO Seescap, began working with the village and local authorities to protect the birds’ habitat and food sources.
Villagers stopped cutting trees and collecting forest products around the year 2000, and they began cultivating native trees for nesting. They also secured permission to provide dead cattle, sourced from dairy farms, road accidents, and even mutton shops, to the vultures, overcoming a local policy of burying animal carcasses. This ensured the birds had enough to eat, especially during breeding season, and volunteers like a local student monitored feeding and nests.
The effort dramatically increased the vulture population in Chirgaon from just 22 birds in 2000 to 347 today. While Cyclone Nisarga in 2020 caused a 30 percent loss, the community continues to restore sacred groves and aims to reach a population of 2,000 vultures, recognizing their vital role in preventing the spread of disease by safely disposing of animal carcasses.
