India, Dec. 11 -- The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has approved the transfer of 30 white-rumped vultures and five slender-billed vultures from Assam's Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre in Rani, near Guwahati.

The birds will be moved to the Bishwanath Wildlife Division, marking the sixth such release site in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Both species are classified as 'critically endangered' on the IUCN Red List and are protected under Schedule-I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides the highest legal protection.

Assam is the main habitat for slender-billed vultures in India, with breeding populations concentrated near Kaziranga...