The captive-bred, radio-tagged white-rumped vulture that was electrocuted to death on June 28, 2026. File
| Photo Credit: M. Sathyamoorthy
A captive-bred, radio-tagged white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), that was released in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) earlier this year was electrocuted to death on Sunday (June 28, 2026) along the slopes of Ebbanad overlooking the Sigur plateau.The bird was initially released in Tadoba – Andheri Tiger Reserve in December 2025, and made its way into Karnataka where it had to be captured and treated after it showed signs of illness. Following this, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Karnataka Forest Department had discussions with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and received permission to release the bird in MTR which home to the last sizeable population of white-rumped vultures in south India, in April 2026. Foresters hoped the bird would associate with other birds and acclimatise to the region.However, officials said the release proved to be more difficult than expected, with the vulture failing to acclimatise to its new surroundings and embarking on exploratory forays around the tiger reserve including Gudalur and later up the slopes towards Kalhatty and Ebbanad.“We had captured the bird multiple times and released it into the Sigur, hoping it would acclimatise,” said R. Kiruba Shankar, Field Director of MTR. However, on Sunday, during one the bird’s explorations of Ebbanad in The Nilgiris forest division, it came into contact with a power line and was killed, officials from the forest department confirmed.
