Current Affairs: Passage of the Day - 25 June 2024 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Uttar Pradesh will soon have the world’s first conservation and breeding centre for Asian king vulture in Maharajganj. The facility aims to improve the population of the species, which has been listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list since 2007.
“This is the world’s first centre for breeding and conservation of Asian king vulture, also called red-headed vulture. It is now ready for formal inauguration,” said SK Sharma, the principal chief conservator of forest and the head of Uttar Pradesh’s forest force.
“At the moment, we have a pair of male and female vultures. Three more females, which are in the aviary, will gradually get their male counterparts. The aviary is 20-feet by 30-feet,” said Dr Durgesh Nandan, the scientific officer at the centre.
The centre is named Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre, where 24x7 monitoring of the vultures is being done. Among its staff include a scientific officer and a biologist. “They (vulture) make one partner in their entire life and lay one egg in a year. Hence, their monitoring is our highest priority,” said Dr Nandan.
Asian king vultures are endangered due to a loss of their habitats and the excessive use of diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in domestic animals, which becomes poisonous for vultures, say experts.
The birds at the centre are fed twice a week and each has a diet of around three kilo meat at a time. The centre aims to ensure good health of growing vultures, provide them with a pair. Once a female lays egg, the pair will be left free in their natural environment.
“We are ensuring that their natural environment is replicated here so that when the birds are left in forests, they do not face any trouble,” said Nandan. Only the keeper is allowed entry into the enclosure, which is under strict CCTV monitoring.
In Uttar Pradesh, the red-headed vultures are rarely seen. In 2023, they were spotted in Chitrakoot. The first vulture brought to this centre was on December 30, 2022. Later, another was brought. After two males, the centre also plans to get two female vultures too.
Other vulture conservation and breeding centres in the country have long-billed and white-backed vultures, said officials.
[Excerpt from HT “World’s First Asian King Vulture Center – Uttar Pradesh” Dated 25/06/24]

Q1: What is the primary goal of the center being built in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh?
(a) To create a tourist attraction
(b) To study the effects of diclofenac on vultures
(c) To protect and raise the Asian king vulture
(d) To develop new veterinary medicines

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Q2: What is the scientific reason for the drastic decline in the Asian king vulture population?
(a) Habitat loss
(b) Climate change
(c) Diclofenac poisoning
(d) Hunting

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Q3: What measures does the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Center employ to ensure the safety and monitoring of the vultures?
(a) High-tech monitoring tools and CCTV tracking
(b) Hiring local hunters
(c) Using tranquilizers to control vulture movement
(d) Keeping the vultures in small cages

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Q4: How often do Asian king vultures reproduce?
(a) Once every month
(b) Once a year
(c) Twice a year
(d) Once every two years

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Q5: What long-term outcome does the center aim to achieve with its controlled breeding environment?
(a) To create a zoo for vultures
(b) To release the vultures back into their natural habitat
(c) To sell the vultures to other countries
(d) To develop new vulture species

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