It is with great sadness that we heard last week that SAVE and vulture stalwart Dr Ram Jakati passed away following a long battle with cancer. We have conveyed our condolences to his wife and family. Dr Jakati, who was Chief Wildlife Warden for the Forest Department in Haryana for many years, played a key…

We are delighted to share the news that our very own Chris Bowden has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to environmental science and international vulture conservation. Chris’ career has seen him make a substantial contribution to saving four bird species from the brink of global extinction (Northern bald…

As reported in the Indian press, ‘The Hindu’ – The office of the Director of Drugs Control, Tamil Nadu has registered over 100 cases against suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers of diclofenac. Since the 2006 ban of veterinary diclofenac, and the vial size restriction to 3ml needed for human use, this is the first time…

The ultimate goal of any breeding programme involving critically endangered species is to be able to supplement wild populations to prevent their extinction. But within this overall aim, there are several other criteria that ideally need to be met. These include released birds behaving in ways similar to their wild counterparts; to successfully breed, perhaps…

Ten wild white-rumped vultures have been caught, tagged and released, and eight more birds from the breeding centre were tagged and released, by the Government of Nepal, Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) and other conservation organisations. Two of the released birds were captive-bred juveniles, and six were captive-reared adults. BCN team tagging and ringing the birds…

We are very excited that this year’s Annual SAVE meeting (Our 11th AGM) will take place on Thursday 2nd December and is now open for registration. The programme includes reports from the six partner countries, short talks from some of our well-known vulture specialists, and a special Vulture Safe Zone announcement! Please click here to…

In 2003, the veterinary use of diclofenac to treat cattle was discovered to be the cause of catastrophic vulture declines across South Asia. There was an urgent need to identify alternative, safe NSAIDs for veterinary use. The NSAID meloxicam was tested in 2006 and found to be both safe to vultures and effective in treating…

An important paper published recently documents the deaths of four endangered vultures in Gujarat, India with the evidence clearly indicating that they died of gout, typical of NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) poisoning, and where nimesulide was detected at high levels in the vulture tissues. Nimesulide, an increasingly popular veterinary painkiller and NSAID used for treating cattle…

Following the recent high profile mortality incident in Nepal, and earlier ones mainly in Assam India, the poison response training held in Cambodia last year was a very significant step for SAVE. From the annual SAVE meeting and updated Blueprint activities, it was already clear that there is a need for greater attention on addressing the…

The tragic scene – Photos BCN/ Deu Bahadur Rana At least 69 vultures died in farmland of the terai in Nepal this week. Apparently local villagers illegally used poison to kill stray dogs, and these dog carcasses were then eaten by the vultures, killing them. News of the event, which was 50km west from the…