Himalayan Vulture

• India’s first captive breeding success story of the Himalayan vultures inside the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati.
• With only France breeding Himalayan vultures in captivity, the achievement makes India the second country to do so.
• The captive breeding was a joint project undertaken by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Assam forest department.
• India has nine species of vultures, six of which are found in Assam
  • Vultures of the genus ‘Gyps’
    • Oriental white-backed (Assam, critically endangered)
    • Long-billed (critically endangered)
    • Slender-billed (Assam, critically endangered)
    • Himalayan griffon (Assam, winter visitor from Himalayas)
    • Eurasian griffon (Assam, winter visitor from Himalayas)
  • Single representative species
    • Egyptian
    • Bearded
    • Cinereous (Assam)
    • King (Assam, critically endangered)

About Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis)

• Also known as Himalayan griffon vulture, it is one of two largest Old World vultures.
• With striking bald white heads and broad hefty wings, it is the largest member of the Gyps species.
• It is native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau and also found in the Central Asian mountains.
• These are diurnal and mostly solitary species.
• IUCN Red list status : Near Threatened