Plan to release red-headed vulture chicks hatched in captivity into the wild

The vulture project at Huai Kha Kheng Wildlife Sanctuary, in Thailand’s western forest complex, has an ambitious plan to return up to 4 red-headed vultures (Sarcogyps calvas) to the wild within the next three years.

Red-headed, as well as white-rumped (Gyps bengalensis) and Himalayan vultures (Gyps himalayensis) became extinct in the wild in Thailand more than three decades ago.

Chai-anan Pokesawat, chief of the vulture project at the Tap Fah Pha forest protection unit in the wildlife sanctuary, told Thai PBS how the vulture breeding project started some years ago and that there are now 8 vultures, including two chicks, hatched in captivity, at the protection unit.

He said that it all started when senior officials at the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Organisation agreed that it would be useless if a few red-headed vultures were to be kept at a zoo until they die naturally.

“So, how about starting a breeding project, using the caged vultures as a mating couple at Huai Kha Kheng?” Chai-anan said, as he recalled the initiative to increase the population of vultures and, hopefully, return some of them to the wild.

The ideal location for this vulture breeding project is the Tap Fah Pha forest protection unit. A cage, about 20m tall, 20m wide and 40m long, was built to provide a shelter for the birds, which had been re-located from a zoo.

Chai-anan admitted that increasing the population of the vultures in captivity is a big challenge, because female vulture lays only one egg during the mating season and the birds are very sensitive to their environment.

“If a female vulture senses a threat or insufficient food, she will not lay an egg,” said Chai-anan, adding that officials at the forest protection unit have, however, successfully raised two chicks in the first phase.

The breeding project is divided into two zones, one of which is the zoo in Nakhon Ratchasima, which serves as the mating and hatching centre. When the chicks are strong enough, they will be relocated to Tap Fah Pha forest protection unit for rehabilitation to adjust to the environment until they are ultimately released into the wild, said Chai-anan.

He also explained how all the three vulture species became extinct in the wild in Thailand, blaming tiger skin poachers as the main culprits. He said the poachers put poison into barking deer carcasses as bait for tigers. It was, however, the vultures which were attracted to the dead animal and droves of them were killed by the poison intended for tigers.

He also said that Thais have a misconception about vultures due to their close association with death. While noting that vultures only eat carrion, he said that they also serve as forest cleaners, disposing of carcasses and the diseases they carry.