Slender-Billed Vulture Conservation: World’s First Captive Release in India

Subject: GS 3: Environment

Context: Recently, five slender-billed vultures bred in captivity at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)’s conservation facility in Assam were released into the wild, marking the first such release anywhere in the world.

• Five captive-bred white-rumped vultures, were transported from the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre at Rani near Guwahati in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

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About Slender-Billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris)

• The slender-billed vulture is an Old World vulture species native to sub-Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia. 
• Distribution: Mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, particularly parts of northern and northeastern India. 
  • It is also found in north and central Bangladesh, southern Nepal, Burma and Cambodia.
• Habitat: Open landscapes, grasslands, agricultural areas and areas around human settlements where livestock carcasses are available.
• Diet: Primarily feeds on dead animals, playing an important role in nutrient recycling and disease control.
• Conservation status: 
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix II list
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• Major threat: Use of the veterinary drug diclofenac, which causes fatal kidney failure when vultures consume carcasses of treated livestock.
  • Other threats: Habitat loss, food scarcity, poisoning, electrocution and collision with infrastructure.

About White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)

• It is a small Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia.  
• Distribution: They occur in northern and central India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and southeast Asia.  
• Habitat: They inhabit plains with woods, near human habitations, plantations, orchards, and in villages, towns, and cities. They rarely can be found in hilly areas. 
• Diet: Feeds mainly on carcasses of livestock and other animals, helping in natural waste disposal and disease control.
• Conservation status: 
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Listed under Appendix II  
• Major threats: Disease, pesticides, environmental contamination, poisoning, reduced food availability, calcium deficiency, reduced nesting habitat, nest predators, hunting, and aircraft strikes are the most common. 

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