We look at how conservation efforts in India have been pivotal to the survival of these birds.
In the early 2000s, vulture populations in Asia began to crash for no apparent reason. It was eventually discovered that a drug veterinarians used to treat cattle was highly toxic to vultures and poisoning them when they fed on cattle carcasses. The governments of India, Pakistan, and Nepal all worked to ban the toxic drug and support vulture conservation programs.
Twenty years later this is a huge conservation success story. Several Asian vulture populations that had decreased by over 99% before the ban have made huge recoveries thanks to conservation breeding centers, the creation of vulture safe zones, and stricter drug regulations.
A Bearded Vulture rescued in the French Alps in October has proved to be the oldest of its species ever recorded in the wild.
12/3/2025
Oldest-ever wild Bearded Vulture found in French Alps
A Bearded Vulture rescued in the French Alps has proved to be the oldest of its species ever recorded in the wild.
The bird was discovered in weak condition near Thyez in France's Haute-Savoie department on 27 October.
Extraordinarily, a ring on the vulture's right leg revealed that it was a male known as 'Balthazar' – a bird born in February 1988 as part of a captive-breeding programme and released into the wild later that year.
Legendary vulture
Balthazar later became the first male to successfully reproduce naturally in the Alps, raising his first chick in 1997. Since then, he has fathered 15 wild-born chicks, whose descendants now exceed 30 individuals.
Genetically monitored until 2016 as part of the 'Bargy Sud trio' (a breeding group consisting of three individuals), Balthazar had vanished from observations. Many assumed he had died. His reappearance in 2025 confirms he likely remained within the trio but no longer contributed to reproduction.
At more than 37 years old, he is now the oldest wild Bearded Vulture ever recorded in both the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Troubling discovery
Balthazar's rescue highlighted a serious concern: the lead pellet in his foot almost certainly originated from an old shooting incident. Even after many years, such embedded lead poses the threat of poisoning and exemplifies the dangers faced by raptors.
In France, birds of prey are strictly protected. Any shooting, destruction or attempted destruction is a criminal offence with severe penalties. Despite 40 years of conservation and awareness efforts, this incident shows that persecution remains a real threat.
Release and recapture
On 5 November, given Balthazar's good overall condition, it was agreed to release him back into the wild. The next day he was returned to the Bargy Massif, equipped with a GPS tag.
However, Balthazar had to be recaptured in late November due to his weak flight and other unusual behaviours. It has now been agreed that this legendary vulture will remain in captivity, where a new reproductive life may await him. In captivity, under optimal conditions, Bearded Vultures can live beyond 50 years.
Balthazar's journey reflects the scale and success of the reintroduction programme launched in 1986. Since then, 264 young Bearded Vultures have been released across the Alps thanks to an international conservation effort.
Vulture Conservation Foundation, which is heavily involved with the scheme, wrote: "Balthazar is not only a historic witness but a living symbol of the resilience of a species Europe chose to save."
It's September 4th, International Vulture Awareness Day. Despite the fact that vultures aren't our planet's most popular, attractive, cuddly, or photogenic creatures, they do fill a vital ecological niche. Vultures currently face a wide range of threats, though. Of the 23 species of vultures, 16 are considered endangered, vulnerable, or threatened. In some parts of the world, the numbers have declined by 90%.
Vultures play an essential role in the ecological health of the environment by acting as nature’s garbage disposals. As an "umbrella" species, vultures also benefit other wildlife species, including endangered birds and mammals. They quickly devour carcasses, which helps keep the environment clean and free of contagious diseases like anthrax and rabies. Vultures also aid in catching poachers. When poachers kill an animal, they leave the carcass behind. Vultures find it almost immediately and circle above it before descending to dispose of it. This behavior, of course, leads authorities to the poached animal.
The majestic and instantly recognizable sight of a vulture soaring high overhead is truly captivating. Two hundred years ago, vultures were common throughout Europe, but by the 1960s, they had practically all disappeared because of persecution, poisoning, and habitat loss. Today, though, thanks to conservation efforts, a vulture soaring high in the sky in Europe and other regions of the world has become an increasingly common and spectacular sight again. ☮️ Peace… Jamiese of Pixoplanet
Vultures in the Mainstream
Popular culture often paints vultures as ominous and unclean. They’re commonly associated with death, decay, and disease, and many people assume they circle overhead only when searching for dead animals. But these assumptions don’t tell the full story.If you take the time to truly understand vultures, you’ll find that many of these long-held beliefs are…
Tanahun Hydropower Initiative: Resting Place for Vulture Conservation
Tanahun, Jan. 23:The under-construction 140-megawatt Tanahun Hydropower Project has built a ‘vulture resting place’ to protect vultures.
Under the Wildlife Conservation and Public Awareness Project, a vulture resting place has been built on the premises of the Cow Protection Centre in Dumsi Bhateri of Vyas Municipality-10, to prevent the habitat of the endangered vultures from being affected by…
On the 10 April 2018, VulPro was informed that one of their tagged vultures, Cape Vulture (CV) 283, was in trouble in the Molteno district of the Eastern Cape.
When collected on the 11 April, this bird was found to be yet another survivor of an electrocution on the Eskom grid network, however, the site where the bird was collected as well as the tagged information is of huge concern for the…
I’m researching for two different papers I have to write this semester. I have chosen to write a look at a possibly positive story of conservation by choosing to look at the attempt to save vultures in Nepal (for Conservation Biology). I am choosing to focus on Intersex Rights this semester (for Consumer and Science Writing).
The main thing I am discovering in the fun of research (I love this part) is my current university has an easy access to Lexis (Nexis Uni) search, which I hadn’t noticed last semester. OH YOUR GODS -- this is a brilliant tool when looking for articles around the globe on a particular topic. I have to force myself to stop because I have already found enough for this aspect of my research (back to peer-reviewed now).
