In a major milestone for wildlife conservation in India, five captive-bred white-rumped vultures were released into the wild in Assam on Thursday, marking the first such release in the state and the Northeast region.
M K Yadav, Special Secretary Forests and Environment, Assam, released the vultures at Nalapara under the Rani Range in Kamrup East Division. 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 Yadav.
The vulture breeding centre was established at Rani in Assam in 2007 and the centre now has 138 White-rumped vultures and 56 Slender-billed vultures. This is the first time vultures bred at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC) have been released to the wild.
According to an official statement, the operation was carried out with careful planning to minimise disturbance to the birds. A pulley mechanism was used to remotely open the aviary gate from a hide located around 100 metres away, while cameras were installed to monitor the vultures' movements after release.
Also Read: Aaranyak, BNHS organise vulture conservation awareness programme at Sibsagar Commerce College
The vultures released, aged between three and four years, included both captive-bred and rehabilitated rescued birds that were assessed to be fit for reintroduction. Prior to release, they underwent a period of acclimatisation in a pre-release aviary, where they interacted with wild vultures attracted through supplementary feeding.
All the released vultures have been tagged and ringed to aid identification and tracking. According to the team at the BNHS, the solar-powered tags will transmit location data, enabling round-the-clock monitoring of the birds.
Officials said the VCBC will continue supplementary feeding near the aviary to ensure the vultures remain in the vicinity as they gradually adapt to the wild.