World’s First Asian King Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre In Maharajganj, UP

Uttar Pradesh is set to establish the world’s first conservation and breeding centre for Asian king vultures or red-headed vultures in Maharajganj. The facility will improve the population of critically endangered species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list since 2007. The centre is named Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre.

About Asian King vulture

• This is one of the 9 species of Vulture which are found in India.
• It is also called the Asian King vulture or Pondicherry Vulture was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning.
• Conservation status:
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Aim of the centre

The centre is named Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre, where 24×7 monitoring of the vultures is being done. Among its staff include a scientific officer and a biologist. They (vultures) make one partner in their entire life and lay one egg in a year. Hence, their monitoring is our highest priority.

Diet of the vultures

The centre aims to ensure the good health of growing vultures and provide them with a pair. The birds at the centre are fed twice a week and each has a diet of around three kilos of meat at a time. Only the keeper is allowed entry into the enclosure, which is under strict CCTV monitoring. In Uttar Pradesh, the red-headed vultures are rarely seen. In 2023, they were spotted in Chitrakoot. The first vulture brought to this centre was on December 30, 2022. Later, another was brought. After two males, the centre also plans to get two female vultures. Other vulture conservation and breeding centres in the country have long-billed and white-backed vultures.

Endangered vultures

Asian king vultures are endangered due to the loss of their habitats and the excessive use of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in domestic animals, which becomes poisonous for vultures. The centre aims to ensure the good health of growing vultures and provide them with a pair. Once a female lays an egg, the pair will be left free in their natural environment. At the moment, we have a pair of male and female vultures. Three more females, who are in the aviary, will gradually get their male counterparts. The aviary is 20-feet by 30-feet,” said Durgesh Nandan, the scientific officer at the centre. Once a female lays an egg, the pair will be left free in their natural environment. Nandan added that We are ensuring that their natural environment is replicated here so that when the birds are left in forests, they do not face any trouble.