Wings of hope: A transboundary conservation success for the white-rumped vulture
In April 2024, a critically endangered white-rumped vulture, approximately five years old, was found in a vulnerable state in Khalishpur, Khulna, Bangladesh. Dehydrated and malnourished, the vulture was quickly rescued by the Bangladesh Forest Department (FD) and taken to their rehabilitation centre. Under expert care, the bird gradually regained its strength.
GPS-GSM-tagged White Rumped Vulture was released back into its natural habitat near the Sundarbans, Bangladesh.
By May, the vulture had made a full recovery. UCN Bangladesh equipped it with a satellite tag to monitor its movements and track its health in the wild. In June, the GPS-GSM-tagged vulture was released back into its natural habitat in Chunkuri village, Dakop Upazila, near the Sundarbans. The satellite imagery revealed that it had remained around Khulna for several weeks.
Then in late July, the vulture embarked on a significant journey, flying across the border into India. It reached Conner Dam Lake Bishnughad in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, after covering 1,214 kilometeres in 45 days with a maximum altitude of 921 metres. Such a long-distance migration is highly unusual for this species, which typically stays within a 100-kilometre radius.
Unfortunately in mid-August, the vulture was again found in critical condition near Conner Dam Lake. The Indian Forest Department rescued it and took it to the Ranchi Zoo for treatment. The GPS-GSM tag on the vulture revealed that it had been deployed from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Indian Forest Department then contacted the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ Bangladesh Country Office. Upon verification, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ Bangladesh confirmed that it was indeed their vulture. Subsequently, both Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ Bangladesh and the Indian Forest Department collaborated to recover the bird and monitor it in the future.
After 28 days of recovery under expert care, the vulture was released back into the wild in September near Urwan More, Tilaia Dam, Koderma, Jharkhand, India in the presence of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Koderma Forest Division.
In a surprising turn of events, after its release in India, the vulture made its way back to Bangladesh. On 7 October, it was spotted soaring in the skies of Khulna, having travelled a total of 2,723 kilometres.
A B M Sarowar Alam, Programme Manager for Species and Habitats at the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ Bangladesh Country Office, emphasised: ''The journey of this white-rumped vulture highlights the importance of transboundary and regional collaboration in vulture conservation. This story is a testament to the power of teamwork across borders to protect critically endangered white-rumped vulture."
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