Detained Vulture: Experts To Arrive Yola On Confirmatory Mission

By  Barnabas Manyam

May 25, 2019

YOLA – Following the arrest and detention of a vulture in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State, a team of experts from the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) is expected to arrive Yola, the Adamawa state capital to monitor the vulture arrested and detained by the Adamawa State police command from Maiha and moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department CID.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Othman Abubakar, who disclosed this said the team, including veterinary doctors, are to ensure the safety and proper upkeep of the endangered bird, in police custody in the last five days.

SP Othman Abubakar, said the team led by Simon Onoja, would liaise with the CID department to determine if the strange bird was a human being who turned to vulture.

He however confirmed that, the strange bird is in good condition, awaiting the arrival of the conservation experts to the State to take over the custody of the endangered bird which has been said to be behaving abnormally.

He further said, the police has acquired search warrant to deploy detectives to search the residence of the owner of the vulture in Maiha, alleged to have been involved in fictitious rituals in the area before the lady and the strange bird were arrested following an alarm raised by curious neighbours in Buha-Vango in Maiha Local Government Area.

The Police image-maker said Mrs. Rukaiyatu Salihu, the owner of the vulture, would be charged to court, as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded as she was arrested along with the strange bird.

Salihu, 40, her husband and three sons, whose faith could not be readily established, were alleged to have been deeply involved in rituals activities for over 30 years at the same house in Maiha LGA.

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Missing vulture 'Arthur' still not caught after four days

4 June 2016

A vulture that went missing in Somerset four days ago has still not been caught despite several sightings.

The 11-year-old bird, called Arthur, was swept away by strong winds during a display at the Royal Bath and West Show on Wednesday.

The "massive great" bird has since been spotted in Castle Carey in Somerset and Devizes in Wiltshire.

Birds of Prey Displays is asking anyone who sees him not to approach him and to contact them instead.

The white-headed vulture was taking part in an Eagle and Vulture show on the opening day of the show in Shepton Mallet, when it was blown off course.

Ben Potter, the bird's owner, said the "massive great big glove puppet of a vulture" should be easy to spot.

"He's a 12lb vulture, with a 6ft wingspan - you can't miss him," he said.

Anyone who spots the vulture is being asked not to approach it but instead to call its owner

"And he will make himself really obvious to people because he knows people are part of his life so he will be quite visual."

Since Wednesday, the massive bird has been spotted in a field in Castle Cary, been seen being "harassed by two rooks" as it flew over Sparkford in Somerset, and surprised a driver in Devizes in Wiltshire.

"If you see it give me a call and I'll come and get it," said Mr Potter.

"The only thing I do ask is that people don't go to him - not because he's dangerous - mainly because he'll be spooked and keep moving and moving and moving."

Source … 

Jail Bird Set Free: Lebanon Returns Israeli ‘Spy Vulture’

21:45 29.01.2016Get short URL

The Lebanese government returned a vulture, which it mistakenly thought to be a Mossad spy, back to Israel, according to the radio station Reshet Bet.

Earlier this week, residents of the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil caught a griffon vulture which had a GPS transmitter. People thought the bird of prey belonged to the Israeli Special Service and that it flew to Lebanon to gather intelligence. Bint Jbeil is about 4 km away from Israel's border.

"Reports passed to us show the vulture tied with a rope by local people who write that they suspect Israeli espionage, apparently because of the transmitter attached to him," Israel's nature reserve authorities were quoted as saying, according to the Guardian.

However, when members of the Lebanese Secret Service inspected the bird, they found

Israeli ornithologists were contacted who immediately identified the bird based on its description and pictures. Turns out, the bird of prey was brought to Israel from Spain last year to increase the population of griffon vultures in the country, the source said.

After Lebanese authorities learned that the vulture was not a ‘spy' working for Israel, the bird was set free in the same area it was caught,CNN said.

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Vulture arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of spying

Bird that flew from Israeli nature reserve into Lebanon caught by locals suspicious of its transmitter

Tuesday 26 January 2016 18.31 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 26 January 201623.25 GMT

A vulture from an Israeli nature reserve has been captured in Lebanon on suspicion of espionage after flying across the border, Israel’s nature reserve authority has said.

Members of the Israeli public phoned the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to alert it to Facebook reports and pictures of a vulture with an Israeli identification ring and location transmitter captured by residents of the south Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, a spokeswoman, Tali Tenenbaum, said.

“Reports passed to us show the vulture tied with a rope by local people who write that they suspect Israeli espionage apparently because of the transmitter attached to him,” the authority said.

“In the 21st century, we expect people to understand that wild animals are not harmful,” it added. “We hope that the Lebanese will release him.”

Tenenbaum said the authority’s experts had been aware for some days that it had flown about 2.5 miles (four kilometres) into Lebanon. “But we did not know he’d been captured,” she said.

Reports later said the bird had been freed after it was deemed not to pose a threat.

Conspiracy theories are endemic in the Middle East. Last summer, Palestinian media reported claims by the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers that they had apprehended a dolphin off their Mediterranean coastline equipped with video cameras for an Israeli spying mission.

Read on …

Plane heading for Mount Everest region hits a bird and crashes in Nepal, killing 19 people

KATMANDU, Nepal — A plane carrying trekkers to the Mount Everest region hit a bird and crashed just after takeoff Friday in Nepal’s capital, killing the 19 Nepali, British and Chinese people on board, authorities said.

The pilot of the domestic Sita Air flight reported trouble two minutes after takeoff and appeared to have been trying to turn back, said Katmandu airport official Ratish Chandra Suman. The crash site is only 500 meters (547 yards) from the airport, and the wrecked plane was pointing toward the airport area. Suman said the plane hit a vulture just after it took off, causing the crash.

Suman said he could not confirm whether the plane was already on fire before it crashed. Cellphone video shot by locals showed that the front section of the plane was on fire when it first hit the ground and that the pilot apparently had attempted to land the plane on open ground beside a river.

Continued: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/police-say-plane-heading-for-everest-region-crashes-in-nepal-after-takeoff-19-on-board/2012/09/27/90e0a05c-090e-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html