The Assam Forest Department, in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society, has released 10 captive-bred vultures at the Jatayu Aviary in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. 

• This is the first-ever release of captive-bred slender-billed vultures fitted with Global Positioning System and Global System for Mobile Communications transmitters for post-release monitoring.

About the Programme

• The released birds comprised five slender-billed vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) and five white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis).
• The birds were brought from the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre at Rani, Assam, to the Jatayu Aviary, where they underwent around three months of acclimatisation before their soft release.
• Before release, the vultures were fitted with colour identification rings and Global Positioning System-based satellite transmitters. These will help researchers track their movement, survival and adaptation in the wild.
• The programme aims to strengthen captive breeding, scientific monitoring and restoration of wild vulture populations in Assam.

Exam Hook: Prelims

Consider the following statements:

1. The slender-billed vulture and white-rumped vulture are classified as Critically Endangered.
2. Vultures play an important ecological role as natural scavengers.
3. Satellite transmitters can be used to monitor the post-release movement and survival of reintroduced vultures.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Answer: 1, 2 and 3.

One-Line Wrap

Assam’s GPS-tagged vulture release combines conservation breeding with modern tracking technology to restore one of India’s most threatened groups of scavenging birds.