A three-month-old Long-billed Vulture chick died at Nandankanan Zoological Park on Monday, reducing the population of the species at the facility to 10.
The chick, hatched on March 11, 2026, was found unconscious and declared dead by veterinarians. The carcass has been sent for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.
The death marks a setback for Odisha’s vulture conservation program. Vultures had nearly vanished from the state after the 1999 Super Cyclone. To revive the population, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) established breeding centres in Junagadh, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Ranchi between 2007 and 2009. Nandankanan’s Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre was built in 2011–12 with financial assistance from CZA, covering 0.3 acres surrounded by seven acres of forest land.
After 14 years of effort, a breakthrough came when a pair of vultures — male K-42 and female K-46 — successfully bred between December 2025 and January 2026. The female laid an egg on January 16, and the chick hatched on March 11. Since birth, the chick has been under round-the-clock CCTV monitoring and veterinary care. Its death has disappointed conservationists who hoped to reintroduce vultures into Odisha’s wild.
