Near Endangered Bird Will Be Taken Back to Mongolia

On the 21st of March, Thai Airways is providing a free flight for a very special passenger and it's caretakers. In an effort to return a rare cinereous vulture to it's natural habitat, the airline is flying the bird and a staff of five, which includes two veterinarians, to China, the first step of a journey home to Mongolia.

The injured vulture, not native to Thailand, was found near death from dehydration in the Chantaburi province of Thailand. It was found by a group of local villagers and brought to Lola Veal, a bird specialist, where it was tested for infectious diseases and found to be clear of these, including the much publicized bird flu. The bird was larger than any Chaiyan Kasorn of Kasesart had taken care of before.

While at Bangkok's Kasesart University, the bird gained over 5 pounds in captivity, being fed a diet of both fresh and rotten meats injected with vitamins.

The one year old vulture is almost three and a half feet tall and when it's wings are open, they have a span of 9.2 feet. It will be protected in flight by being contained and transported in a cage that would usually hold a large dog. It will be surrounded by cushioning for the duration of the flight, which lasts four hours. It will then continue the trip home via China Airlines and finalize it's journey with a 125 miles drive into the wilderness near Erdenesant in Mongolia.

The vulture will have to be retrained in the ability to fly, with the help of veterinarians and a special long cage that allows for short test flights. When it is finally released to the wild, it will have an attached radio transmitter to keep track of it's migration, and to keep watch over how it is doing in the wild.

The cinereous vulture is also known as a monk or black vulture and is part of a group of birds called Falconiformes, which includes the Egyptian Vulture, The Andean Condor, The Bald Eagle and Ruppell's Griffon. The incubation period for a cinereous vulture is about two months. When born it is usually part of a small clutch consisting of only one or two birds. It is a diurnal animal, meaning it flies during the day.

This particular bird and variety of vulture has thick brown feathers, and a white beak tipped with black, set on a mask shaped black face.

The cinereous vulture is listed as, near threatened, in Asia by the World Conservation Union.