Kaziranga Boosts Vulture Conservation with Key New Initiatives

On the occasion of International Vulture Awareness Day, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve organised a special Vulture Awareness Talk at its Bokakhat office on Saturday, focusing on the urgent need to protect the critically endangered bird species.

The programme, attended by 35 students from J.D.S.G. College and C.N.B. College, Bokakhat, highlighted the ecological importance of vultures and the threats they continue to face. The event was also streamed live on the park’s official Facebook page, ensuring wider community participation.

The interactive session was led by Mr. Gitartha Borah, Biologist with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), who shed light on the drastic decline of vulture populations in India since the mid-1990s, mainly due to diclofenac poisoning. Although veterinary use of diclofenac has been banned, Borah warned that other toxic NSAIDs like aceclofenac, nimesulide, and ketoprofen remain a threat.

Emphasising the role of vultures as nature’s “clean-up crew,” Borah explained their significance in maintaining ecological balance and safeguarding public health. Students actively engaged in discussions, raising questions on vulture breeding, habitat protection, and the importance of initiatives such as the Vulture Safe Zone programme in Assam.

Officials underlined that Kaziranga and its adjoining landscapes continue to serve as one of the country’s most crucial strongholds for vulture populations. Community participation, they stressed, remains central to conservation success.

India has been witnessing a gradual recovery of vulture numbers under the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation in India (2020–2025), led by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Assam Forest Department, and BNHS. So far, conservation breeding programmes have achieved success for three critically endangered species: the White-rumped Vulture, the Long-billed Vulture, and the Slender-billed Vulture.

Currently, around 800 vultures are housed across eight conservation breeding centres in the country, with technical and financial support from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and partner agencies. As part of the next phase, the Government of India, the Government of Assam, and BNHS are planning to release captive-bred vultures into Kaziranga Tiger Reserve.

Pending CZA approvals, it is proposed that 30 White-rumped Vultures and 5 Slender-billed Vultures from the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre at Rani, Assam, will be released into the Nagshankar range of the 6th addition area of Kaziranga National Park. An aviary for soft release is currently under construction, while awareness drives like Saturday’s event are being conducted to engage local communities ahead of the release.

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