![]() Photo: BCNīird Conservation Nepal leads the release work with full support of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Chitwan National Park, National Trust for Nature Conservation and Community of Kawasoti, Nawalparasi. The photo below shows birds C6 and 13, released in 20 respectively, nestbuilding in the vicinity of the release site.Ĭaptive reared birds making their nest in the wild. As this was their first breeding attempts, the nests were quite weak, and the birds did not complete their breeding activity however, this was an important development in our conservation breeding and release programme, and it is hoped that the same pairs, and perhaps others, will nest again in the upcoming year. At the start of this breeding season, we found three pairs of released vultures nest building and mating frequently. Most of the wild tagged birds are now busy rearing their chicks. Map showing the movements of nine released birds from 2 March 2020 to 15 April 2020 In comparison, the wild tagged birds, excluding the bird that travelled all the way to J&K in India, have covered an area of roughly 24,500 sq. km, which is a very large area compared to that previously covered by the released birds. They have covered an area of almost 17,000 sq. Note: Adults are captive reared and Sub-Adults are captive bred Two of the birds have travelled across the border into India. Nine of the birds have been seen to take journeys of over 20 km, with the furthest-ranging bird travelling 193 km from the release site (see Map). However, as this year’s particularly bad winter has come to an end, some of the vultures have begun to undertake movements not previously seen by released birds. The released birds, on the other hand, have tended to remain far more local, until recently only travelling a maximum of 6 km from the release and feeding site. ![]() The record so far, however, is held by a bird that travelled about 1100 km from the release site, all the way to Jammu and Kashmir in India. Wild birds tend to range widely, frequently up to 200 km from the feeding site at Pithauli, to which they only occasionally return to take advantage of the food that is still provided twice a week. This is vitally important, as it enables us to confirm that the provisional Vulture Safe Zones are proving safe for vultures and will, in time, allow us to declare these areas as genuine VSZs – the first in the world, free of diclofenac and other harmful NSAIDs The good news so far is that, after more than two years, we have found no evidence that any tagged birds have succumbed to NSAID-poisoning. By following them, along with 30 wild birds also fitted with GPS tags, and investigating the cause of mortality of any vultures that die, we can ensure that diclofenac and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) no longer pose a threat. Since 2017, 31 captive-reared and captive-bred1 White-rumped Vultures Gyps bengalensis have been released and fitted with GPS telemetry tags, which allows us to monitor the movements and survival of these Critically Endangered birds.
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