Slender-Billed Vultures
Prelims:
Environment and Ecology
Mains:
GS Paper III-Conservation of Biodiversity
Current affairs:
Five captive-bred slender-billed vultures from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) conservation facility in Assam were released into the wild on 7 August 2026.
Highlights:
1.
Five slender-billed
vultures bred in captivity were released
into the wild in Assam.
2. The vultures were bred at a conservation facility
managed by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) near Guwahati.
3. This represents the world’s first release of
captive-bred slender-billed vultures into the wild.
4. The reintroduction
of captive-bred vultures into the wild took place at Kaziranga National Park
and Tiger Reserve.
5. A total of 10 captive-bred Gyps vultures,
including five slender-billed vultures, were released into the protected
area amid a nearly 99% decline in India’s Gyps vulture population over
the past 20 years, this drastic decline has been linked to the use of
veterinary painkiller drugs.
About
Slender-billed Vulture
1.
Slender-billed
Vulture is one of the Gyps vultures recorded in India.
2. It has a blackish, largely bare head and neck,
white downy ruff, pale sandy-brown body.
3. It is a tree-nesting species that typically
builds its nests on tall trees, which provide suitable sites for breeding,
roosting and raising its young.
4. It is mainly distributed across northern and
northeastern India, particularly in the Gangetic plains and adjoining
regions extending towards Assam.
5. The decline of Gyps vultures in India is mainly
linked to veterinary diclofenac, which can kill vultures that feed on
treated livestock carcasses; therefore, the Government banned its veterinary
use, sale and manufacture in August 2006.
6.
It
is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is protected
under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Source: THE HINDU - https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam/assam-records-worlds-first-ever-release-of-captive-bred-slender-billed-vultures/article71317644.ece