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Captive breeding
Please help us to save these charismatic birds from extinction
With vultures declining so rapidly, it is important that as many birds as possible are brought into a captive breeding programme. If we wait, it may be too late to find enough birds.
We can take healthy birds from the wild and release them and their young in 10 to 15 years, when we anticipate that diclofenac will no longer be a threat.
Vulture re-introductions have been done very successfully in France with Eurasian griffon vultures, so we are confident it can work.
Several hundred birds of each species must be kept in a number of well separated centres to make this work.
So far, three captive breeding centres have been built in India: in Haryana, northern India, where 125 vultures are housed; in West Bengal, holding 81; and in Assam, holding 42 vultures. There are two additional centres - one in Nepal, at Chitwan and one run by WWF in Pakistan.
The vulture centre in Harayana was developed as part of the Darwin Initiative, with considerable local support from the State Government of Haryana.
It's working
In spring 2008 we celebrated the fantastic news that two pairs of oriental white-backed vulture had bred successfully at the Haryana centre.
In 2010, we had further cause for excitement - and hope. For the first time ever, three of the Critically Endangered Gyps vultures successfully bred and fledged young at the breeding centres in India. Ten young vultures successfully fledged between the three species, making a total of 17 fledglings in three years.
This event was a world first for the long-billed vulture, which had never bred in captivity before.
Using artificial incubation techniques and expertise, we hope to increase this productivity in future.
Please donate today, and help us continue this vital work. With your help, we should have plenty more to celebrate in the future.
To find out more, please contact Chris Bowden, SAVE Programme Manager, at chris.bowden@rspb.org.uk
If you would like to discuss bespoke oportunities for your business to help SAVE, please contact Martin Sreeves at martin.sreeves@rspb.org.uk
Last modified: 16 February 2011