Kaziranga National Park gets 35 critically endangered vultures

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India has approved the transfer of 30 White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) and five Slender-billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) from Vulture conservation and breeding centre, Rani, Guwahati to the 6th Addition of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve (NP&TR) under Bishwanath Wildlife Division.

Taking to social media, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted, "Glad to announce the release of 30 White-rumped & 5 Slender-billed Vultures from VCBC, Rani into @kaziranga_'s 6th Addition. Like Jatayu soaring in Ramayana, these guardians of our health return to the wild, marking a triumph of our dedicated conservation efforts."

Both the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. They are also protected under Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, offering the highest level of legal safeguards.

Sonali Ghosh, Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, said that "Assam serves as the primary stronghold for slender-billed vultures in India, hosting breeding populations, particularly near Kaziranga National Park, though their numbers may be on a decline due to threats like poisoning from pesticide-laced cattle carcasses. White-rumped vultures are present across the state but face similar population crashes, prompting active conservation at sites like the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Rani, Kamrup, which holds a sizable number of captive individuals. "

Vultures hold mixed cultural roles in India, often viewed as symbols of environmental balance and purity in rural communities, where their presence near cremation grounds along riverbanks traditionally signified a natural cycle of death and decay. Hindu reverence for vultures, such as the heroic Jatayu and Sampati from the Ramayana epic, also highlights their strength and keen eyesight.

"Vulture populations in India, including species like white-rumped, slender-billed, and Indian vultures, numbered in the tens of millions in the late 20th century but crashed by over 97% for some species between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. By 2007, white-rumped vultures dropped to around 11,000 individuals, with slender-billed at about 1,000, marking the fastest decline ever recorded for any bird species. Recent estimates from 2023-2025 indicate lingering low numbers, such as 750-1,000 slender-billed vultures, with declines slowing but no significant recovery," Sonali Ghosh said.

She further said that the veterinary drug diclofenac, used as a painkiller for livestock, caused kidney failure and visceral gout in vultures scavenging treated carcasses, with just 0.8-1% of contaminated carcasses sufficient to trigger the collapse. Widespread use across India, Pakistan, and Nepal from the 1990s led to high poisoning rates confirmed in dead vultures, accounting for nearly all mortality during peak declines.

"Habitat loss, persecution, and other NSAIDs contributed marginally, but diclofenac dominated, leading to ecological fallout like increased feral dog populations, rabies spread, and over 5,00,000 human deaths from 2000-2005 due to un-scavenged carcasses. Bans on diclofenac for veterinary use since 2006 have halted rapid declines, though populations remain critically low without full recovery," she also said.

The Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve said that the 6th addition to Kaziranga National Park, as administered by Bishwanath Wildlife Division, was selected as the release site due to its expansive forested landscapes, abundant carrion resources from large herbivores within Kaziranga's extended buffer.

"Ongoing anti-poaching measures and vulture-friendly veterinary practices further enhance its suitability for soft releases, promoting natural foraging and nesting behaviours. A release aviary has been constructed by Kaziranga Park Authority with technical supervision of BNHS near the Tewaripal forest camp, from which the vultures will be released to the wild in the coming months as per the scientific soft release protocol.

In parallel, various awareness programmes on Vultures, their biological importance and threats, etc, have been conducted for the local communities, in various educational institutes and with veterinarians. The program supports vulture population recovery amid ongoing threats like NSAIDs (Diclofenac, Aceclofenac, Nimesulide, etc) and Pesticide poisoning in Northeast India," she said.

She further said that the transfer marks a prominent step in reintroduction efforts for species such as the White-rumped and Slender-billed vultures. The Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre-Rani, under Assam's Forest Department and BNHS, leads captive breeding and conservation for South Asia's declining Gyps vulture (Resident) populations.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) plans to release captive-bred slender-billed and white-rumped vultures--initially six in January 2026--in Assam's Kamrup and Biswanath districts, following over 15 years of breeding more than 800 vultures nationwide. These efforts, supported by the Assam Forest Department and RSPB, aim to restore flocks, combat diclofenac-related declines, and engage communities to reduce poison baiting.

This initiative reinforces Assam's commitment to restoring vulture populations in the wild and enhancing the long-term success of conservation breeding and reintroduction efforts across the northeastern landscape.