As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Korat zoo breeding vultures to save them from extinction



NAKHON RATCHASIMA - Zoo keepers have begun a programme to breed vultures and return them to their natural habitat, with the species on the verge of extinction in Thailand.

Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo official Prasert Chanklang said on Wednesday that vultures have disappeared from the wild in Thailand due to changing geographic conditions becoming unfavourable for them. Use of pesticides and chemicals on farmland also drove them away.
Now, the species is to be seen only in zoos. Nakhon Ratchasima zoo has 7 vultures - 3 males and 4 females, he said. 

The zoo is trying to breed the large birds, with three pairs. One pair was seen building a nest, good news meaning that the birds were preparing to mate. Zoo staff were closely monitoring their behaviour. If the pair do mate and lay eggs it would be the first time the rare birds have been successfully bred in Thailand. 

If the breeding programme is successful, the vultures will eventually be released into their natural habitat, Mr Prasert said.

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