Justification This species is classified as Critically Endangered because it has suffered an extremely rapid population decline, particularly across the Indian subcontinent, largely as a result of feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac, perhaps in combination with other causes.

Family/Sub-family Accipitridae

Species name author Gray, 1844

Taxonomic source(s) Rasmussen and Parry (2001)

Taxonomic note Gyps indicus (Sibley and Monroe, 1990, 1993) has been split into G. indicus and G. tenuirostris following Rasmussen and Parry (2001).

Identification 80-95 cm. Thin, rather attenuated vulture. Perched adults have dark bill with pale culmen; black cere; a near-total lack of feathering on the black head and neck. Cold brown overall colouration and scruffy, ill-kempt appearance. Juveniles are very similar but have black head and necks with a hint of white down on the nape and upper neck. Underparts are pale streaked. In flight the white downy thigh patches are distinctive. Similar spp. Jizz is remarkably different from other Gyps vultures due to slender snake-like neck, thin elongated bill, angular crown and scruffy appearance. Eye ring is dark and does not contrast with facial skin. Head and neck skin is bare and thickly creased and wrinkled.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

2,500-9,999

decreasing

847,000 km²

No

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It inhabits dry open country in the vicinity of human habitation, but also breeds in open country far from villages. In South-East Asia it was found in open and partly wooded country, generally in the lowlands. This species feeds almost entirely on carrion, scavenging at rubbish dumps and slaughterhouses. It has only been recorded nesting in trees, usually large ones, usually at a height of 7-14 m, often near villages. While feeding considerable aggregations can form, and regular communal roost sites are used. It is social and usually found in conspecific flocks, interacting with other vultures at carcasses. Movements are poorly known, and the degree of connectivity of apparently separate populations is not known. Vultures also play a key role in the wider landscape as providers of ecosystem services. They were previously heavily relied upon to help dispose of animal and human remains in India.

Threats By mid-2000, Gyps vultures were being found dead and dying in Nepal, Pakistan, and throughout India, and major declines and local extirpations were being reported. The anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, used to treat domestic livestock, has been identified as the cause of mortality from renal failure resulting from visceral gout in the vast majority of examined vultures^10,11,12,14. Modelling has shown that to cause the observed rate of decline in Gyps vultures, just one in 760 livestock carcasses need contain diclofenac residues⁹. Despite awareness programmes to educate locals about the association between diclofenac and vulture mortality, a survey in Nepal indicated that the vast majority of people still do not link diclofenac use to a decline in vulture populations²¹, potentially leading to a slower uptake of meloxicam. A second veterinary drug in use in India, ketoprofen, has also recently been identified to be lethal to the species, and population modelling indicates it may be present in sufficient concentrations to also cause population declines²³. Other likely contributory factors are changes in human consumption and processing of dead livestock, avian malaria²⁴, and poison and pesticide use, but these are probably of minor significance. In South-East Asia, the near-total disappearance of the species pre-dated the present crisis, and probably results from collapse of large wild mammal populations and improved management of deceased livestock⁷, but persecution is also thought to be a problem.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II. It has been reported from many protected areas across its range. The Indian government has now passed a bill banning the manufacture of the veterinary drug diclofenac that has caused the rapid population decline across the Indian Subcontinent; their aim was to phase out its use by late 2005^13,14, although its sale has not been banned and it is likely to remain in widespread use for several years. Similar laws banning import and maufacture of diclofenac are now in place in Nepal and Pakistan. Efforts to replace diclofenac with a suitable alternative are ongoing; drug companies have now developed meloxicam, an alternative to diclofenac which has been tested on a number of species including Gyps vultures with no ill-effects¹⁸. Vulture restaurants are used as ecotourism attractions in parts of the species's range to raise awareness and fund supplementary feeding programmes and research - in Cambodia these are run by The Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, a partnership between the Royal Cambodian Government and NGOs, led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and also including BirdLife International, WWF, RSPB and Angkor Center for the Conservation of Biodiversity¹⁹. Birds have been satellite tagged in various parts of their range to improve understanding of their movements, foraging range, site fidelity etc., in order to develop suitable conservation strategies for the species⁴. Socioeconomic surveys in Nepal have shown that local people are strongly in favour of vulture conservation because of the associated ecological services that they provide¹⁶. The Report of the International South Asian Vulture Recovery Plan Workshop in 2004 gave a comprehensive list of recommendations including establishing a minimum of three captive breeding centres each capable of holding 25 pairs⁵. Captive breeding efforts began in 2006 when 18 Slender-billed Vultures were captured for the captive-breeding facility in Pinjore, India. The centre is part of a captive breeding programme established by the RSPB and Bombay Natural History Society. In April 2008 there were 28 birds at the three Indian breeding centres¹⁸. Two individuals bred in captivity for the first time in 2009²¹. A website has been set up to allow researchers to contribute data on known colonies to identify founder individuals for captive breeding efforts that represent the full geographical spread of the species¹.

Conservation measures proposed Identify the location and number of remaining individuals and identify action required to prevent extinction. Measure the frequency of diclofenac treated carcasses available to vultures. Support the ban on the veterinary use of diclofenac, and support species management or restoration, as needed. Initiate public awareness and public support programmes. Monitor remaining populations, in particular replicate conservation and research activities that have been implemented in Cambodia in Myanmar. Provide supplementary food sources where necessary for food-limited populations in South-East Asia. Support captive breeding efforts at a number of separate centres. Promote the immediate adoption of meloxicam as an alternative to diclofenac. Test other NSAIDs to identify additional safe alternative drugs to diclofenac and also other toxic ones.

References BirdLife International (2001). 1. M. Gilbert in litt. (2004). 2. Islam (2005). 3. T. Htin Hla in litt. (2003). 4. Ellis (2004). 5. Bombay Natural History Society (2004). 6. Katzner (2004). 7. Anon (2003). 8. Anon (2005). 9. Green et al. (2004). 10. Oaks et al. (2004a). 11. Shultz et al. (2004). 12. Swan et al. (2005). 13. Swan et al. (2006). 14. Gilbert et al. (2006). 15. Oaks et al. (2004b). 16. Gautam and Baral (2003). 17. Choudhury et al. (2005). 18. Pain et al. (2008). 19. H. Rainey in litt. (2008). 20. Prakash et al. (2007). 21. Anon (2009). 22. Paudel (2008). 23. Naidoo et al. (2009). 24. Poharkar et al. (2009).

Further web sources of information

Cambodia Vulture Conservation Action Plan

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

The Peregrine Fund - Asian Vulture Population Project

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Rob Calvert (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Contributors Tom Clements (Wildlife Conservation Society), Martin Gilbert (Wildlife Conservation Society), T. Htin Hla (Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association), Hugo Rainey (Wildlife Conservation Society), R. Riseborough

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Rob Calvert (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Gyps tenuirostris. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/7/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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