Critically endangered vulture gets well

By Avinash Chaudhary,Dhangadhi, Aug. 14: A critically endangered slender-billed vulture, known as sano khairo giddha in Nepali, that flew more than 600 kilometres from Nawalparasi in central Nepal, via India, before falling ill, has been nursed back to health.

The bird was found in a weak condition on August 3 in the Laligurans Community Forest of Lamkichuha Municipality-6, Bamanpur, Kailali. After eight days of treatment, it was released back into the wild, said Ram Chandra Kandel, Chief of the Division Forest Office in Pahalmanpur. “If it had not received treatment, it would have died,” he said.

According to him, locals reported finding the injured vulture, prompting a rescue team to retrieve it. The bird was kept at the Lamki Sub-Division Forest Office for treatment. Once it recovered, it was released on Monday in the Arjuni Post area of the eastern sector of Shuklaphanta National Park in Kanchanpur.

“There are other vultures in Shuklaphanta and the area is large, so it would not have to wander in search of a flock,” Kandel said. The park already has 12 slender-billed vultures.

The rescued vulture was identified by the leg tag “J16”, placed at the Jatayu Restaurant vulture feeding centre in Nawalparasi in March 2023. Six vultures there were fitted with both leg tags and GPS trackers. Data from the GPS showed the bird’s route and distance travelled.

It left the Jatayu Restaurant, located in the Namuna Buffer Zone Community Forest in Kawasoti Municipality-13, on July 11, 2025, and reached Kailali after a 25-day journey. Along the way, it flew through Kapilvastu, crossed into India via Bahraich, Nanpara, Lakhimpur, Tikunia and Bellarya, and re-entered Nepal through Bhajani in Kailali, ornithologist Hirulal Dangaura said.

The bird then travelled through Masuria’s Andaiya to reach the Purnima and Laligurans community forests in Lamkichuha. “It covered 600 kilometres, resting along the way, but had become extremely weak,” said Dangaura, who is also a field officer at Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN).

The vulture was infested with lice and severely dehydrated. Dangaura said that long-distance flights in the monsoon can weaken vultures and parasites can further affect their health. Once recovered, the parasites usually disappear naturally.

It was given food, vitamin B complex and saline water to aid recovery. After a health check by NTNC veterinarian Dr. Bikalpa Karki confirmed it was fit, it was released into its natural habitat.

Slender-billed vultures often travel long distances in search of a mate, Dangaura said. As a sub-adult, this vulture may have been doing the same. These birds are known to mate for life. Dangaura added that it is likely to be integrated with the other vultures in Shuklaphanta. 

He added, “It may never return to Nawalparasi. The day after its release, the GPS showed it was still in the Arjuni area.”

According to BCN, only 50 to 75 slender-billed vultures remain in the country, and the species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Six in Nawalparasi’s Jatayu Restaurant and four in Shuklaphanta have GPS tags for monitoring.