Kaziranga releases first captive-bred slender-billed vultures in historic conservation push

Mumbai: The Kaziranga Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Assam, in collaboration with the Mumbai-headquartered Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), released five Slender-billed Vultures into the newly constructed soft-release aviary at Biswanath in KTR.

This is a significant step by the Assam Forest Department towards rebuilding the population of Slender-billed Vultures in KTR.

The event took place at Biswanath in KTR. Praveen Pardeshi, BNHS President; Dr. Vinay Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam; Kishor Rithe, Director, BNHS; Dr. Sonali Ghosh, Field Director, KTR; Pirai, Field Director, Nameri Tiger Reserve; Dr. Sachin Ranade, Centre Manager, BNHS; and Ritupaban Borah, DFO, Biswanath, attended this historic occasion.

This is the first release of any captive-bred Slender-billed vultures in India. The vulture breeding centre at Rani in Assam has bred 56 Slender-billed Vultures since its establishment in 2007.

The centre is now able to release 5–10 SBVs every year. BNHS has also bred over 60 SBVs at its centre in Haryana. This centre can provide birds for the soft-release aviary at Tewaripal village in the Biswanath forest division in KTR.

The vultures were transferred from Rani to Biswanath yesterday and were released into the soft-release aviary today for acclimatisation for a few months. Five of these vultures are tagged for monitoring, and all are ringed for identification. The tags are solar-powered and will provide information on the whereabouts of the birds after release.

It is the first such effort to rebuild the SBV population in KTR. Mr Pardeshi spoke on the occasion and lauded the efforts of the Assam Forest Department and KTR administration in rebuilding the SBV population by releasing captive-bred SBVs in KTR. He specifically appreciated KTR for connecting the local community with vulture conservation.

Dr Gupta stated that this experiment will attract tourists to the village, which can provide livelihood opportunities to local youngsters. Dr Sonali Ghosh appreciated BNHS's work and said that KTR is committed to making extra efforts for the conservation of lesser-known wild animals and birds.

She informed that wild SBVs do breed in KTR, but these releases may help increase their population in the reserve. Several forest staff, villagers from Tewaripal, and staff of BNHS were present to witness this historic event.