10 September,2026 07:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
A committee of vultures feeding on a carcass. Pics/Bombay Natural History Society
Maharashtra has emerged as the leader in India's vulture comeback, with Melghat and Pench Tiger Reserves recording the country's highest survival rates for captive-bred vultures released into the wild. Birds released at the two reserves recorded survival rates of up to 78 per cent.
The development comes as India's vulture conservation breeding programme completes 25 years, with more than 800 vultures of three species bred so far. Conservationists, however, say the real test is successfully reintroducing the birds into the wild.
[popcorn number="800" desc="Approximate no. of vultures bred in 25 years" class="Default"]
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) began releasing captive-bred vultures in 2020. Over the past six years, it has released 134 birds in collaboration with the governments of Haryana, West Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra, with permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
Under an MoU between BNHS and the Maharashtra Forest Department, 14 vultures - nine White-rumped Vultures (WRV) and five Long-billed Vultures (LBV) - were released in Pench in December 2025. After nine months, they recorded a 78 per cent survival rate. In Melghat, 15 LBVs released in January 2026 recorded a 60 per cent survival rate after eight months.
Dr Navdeep Singh, chief wildlife warden, Haryana, said, "JCBC Pinjore had overcome several challenges to become a "role model" for vulture conservation breeding and translocation in Asia." He credited the Haryana Forest Department, BNHS, RSPB, CZA and MoEF&CC for their collective efforts.
BNHS later shifted its release strategy to tiger reserves where tiger populations have increased following village resettlement. These landscapes offer good availability of wild carrion and inviolate meadows. The vultures were bred at the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC), Pinjore, Haryana, which has been operating for 25 years.
The programme is also providing evidence that captive-bred vultures can adapt and disperse in the wild. A female released in Melghat, X67, travelled 4911 km across Madhya Pradesh, while X65 covered 4257 km across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Kishor Rithe, director, BNHS
"The results show that the vulture pre-release aviaries established in Melghat and Pench have proved to be the most successful release aviaries so far."
