<i>Vulture taken to Ramsagar shelter</i>

Forest officials in the district brought a nearly extinct species of vulture, caught by a local from Akcha village of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila on Thursday afternoon, to Ramsagar Jatiya Udyan in Dinajpur district on Friday evening.
"Receiving information from local reporters, I with three staff went to the house of Robiul Islam at Akcha village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila at about 5:30pm and rescued the vulture," said Nizamat Ullah, range officer of forest department in Thakurgaon.
"Dr Izar Ahmed Khan, veterinary surgeon of livestock department in Thakurgaon, has given treatment to the vulture. Following instruction from Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ali Kabir, the bird was brought to Ramsagar Jatiya Udyan, a wildlife sanctuary maintained by the Dinajpur Divisional Forest Office," he said.
"The 2.75-foot-long and 2.5-foot-high bird weighs about 20kg. We will free it after its full recovery," said DFO Ali Kabir.
"The vulture looked very weak when I caught it from a tree at Akcha village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila on Thursday afternoon. I brought it to my house and many people came to see it. I tried to sell it but did not as a customer offered only Tk 300," Robiul Islam, 26, said during this correspondent's visit to the village on Friday evening.
"It is a nearly extinct species of vulture. They mainly eat flesh of dead animals. Now they face food crisis as people usually dump dead animals under the ground. The captured vulture became weak apparently due to lack of food. I have treated it and suggested feeding flesh for its quick recovery," said veterinary surgeon Dr Izar Ahmed Khan.
The birds are also facing habitat problem as people often fell down big trees where vultures like to nest, he said.