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Key Facts about White-Rumped Vulture

Feb. 15, 2026

Forest officials recently rescued a critically endangered White-rumped vulture found weak and grounded at Mampad near Nilambur, Kerala.

About White-Rumped Vulture:

  • It is a small Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia.
  • Scientific name: Gyps bengalensis
  • It is also known as Indian White-backed Vulture or Oriental White-backed Vulture.
  • Like other vultures, it feeds mostly on carcasses, which it finds by soaring high in thermals and spotting other scavengers.
  • Distribution: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam.
  • Habitat:
    • Found mostly in plains.
  • Population:
    • The main reason for the big decline in its population is a medicine called diclofenac.
      • This medicine, used for farm animals, poisons the vultures when they eat dead animals.
      • It causes their kidneys to fail.
    • Conservation Status:
      • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered.

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