Assam releases first captively bred white-rumped vultures into the wild

Amingaon, March 20: It was a landmark moment for vulture conservation when MK Yadav, Special Secretary, Forests and Environment, Assam, released five white-rumped vultures into the wild.

Dr Vinay Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam; Kishor Rithe, Director BNHS; Dr Sachin Ranade, Centre Manager BNHS and Dr Chris Bowden, Asia Manager (vulture programme) of RSPB accompanied him on Thursday.

They quietly lifted the gate of the release aviary with the help of a pulley located about 100 metres away from the aviary.

Cameras were installed to record the movement of the vultures without disturbing them.

This is the first of its kind release of any captively bred vulture in Assam.

The vulture breeding centre was established at Rani in Assam in 2007 and today the centre has 138 WRV and 56 slender billed vultures.

There are a total of 194 vultures, and now the centre has reached the stage where the Forest department can release 20 to 25 vultures every year.

The release aviary is located at Nalapara, under the Rani range of Kamrup east division. The vultures were transferred in aviary for acclimatisation.

Out of the ten vultures, six are hatched and grown up in captivity at VCBC Rani. Four vultures were rescued, treated and now healthy to return to wilderness.

Their health was checked by a veterinarian and all of them appeared fit. All of the vultures are tagged and ringed for identification and monitoring.

The tags are solar powered and will give information of whereabouts of the birds. In a few months they are expected to move around and later visit the neighbouring States like West Bengal, Meghalaya, and countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

The next six months will be crucial for the birds and will also tell how safe is the environment and the surroundings.

This is the first reintroduction of white-rumped vultures from the VCBC, Rani in Northeast India. The released vultures were about 3 to 4 years old, of sub-adult age group.

They were kept in pre-release aviary for interaction with the free ranging birds. “We are hopeful that they will now join the free ranging wild birds and learn to defend themselves and find food.

The VCBC will continue to provide food to the vultures just outside the aviary to keep their movement confined close to the centre,” informed an official.

“We are thankful to the Royal Society for Protection of Birds for financial support so far for this project in Assam. Thanks are due to Adani LGBI for supporting financially for 2025-26.

We thank and congratulate our supporting agencies – Centre for Wildlife Studies, Oriental Bird Club, Darwin Initiative, Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation and Vet work.

We are thankful to all those who showed faith in this conservation initiative and supported the programme. We are thankful to Belguri village and all the people of Assam,” a press release stated.