Palpa, April 6

Smuggling of bones of the endangered red-headed and Egyptian vultures is reportedly taking place in Palpa district lately.

The incident came to light after District Forest Office employees recovered the carcasses of four vultures hung from a tree with ropes at Batasedanda in Tansen-13 of Palpa, recently. The DFO employees suspect that body parts of vultures are being smuggled as they are used in manufacturing various types of medicine and for other purposes, and as they fetch a good amount of money in the market. Local people said that bones of a vulture fetches up to Rs 5,000 in the local market. Local people said that a flock of various vulture species come to the area in search of food, said District Forest Officer Yamlal Pokharel.

Rampant disposal of dead animals in the area also attracts the endangered bird, he added. He said that a person found guilty of poaching the bird species would be fined between Rs 200 to

Rs 1,000 and sentenced to two years in

prison.