Himalayan vulture rescued from ECP dies from kidney & gastrointestinal problems: ACRES
A male Himalayan vulture has died about four days after he was rescued in a “distressed” state from the East Coast Parkway (ECP).
The bird had suffered from stress and exhaustion, which worsened its pre-existing conditions, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) told MS News.
Photo courtesy of ACRES
Vulture rescued after being found ‘struggling’ along the ECP
The large raptor was spotted along the ECP on 11 Jan, with multiple people snapping photos of the rare sighting.
Source: John Lynn via Nature Society Singapore on Facebook
A driver said on TikTok that the vulture “nosedived” and landed in front of her car along the ECP, resulting in her having to hit the brakes to avoid running over him.
Source: @hayedehs on TikTok
ACRES subsequently rescued him after reports that he was “struggling” along the expressway and had also been stranded in a canal.
Photo courtesy of ACRES
ACRES hoped to release bird after treatment
ACRES Chief Executive Officer Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan said since the vulture was rescued, his vet team had been “hard at work” attending to him.
They had hoped to fully rehabilitate the bird and release him, he previously told MS News.
While he was being attended to indoors, they also prepared an outdoor cage for him as “it can be stressful for such a large bird to be confined indoors”, Mr Kalai added.
Vulture’s condition deteriorated quickly on 15 Jan
The vulture at first seemed to show “glimpses of progress” during his treatment.
However, his condition took “a sudden turn” for the worse on Thursday (15 Jan), Mr Kalai said.
The vet team responded immediately with emergency care, even as he deteriorated quickly over 12 hours.
Photo courtesy of ACRES
Sadly, he passed away close to midnight while the vet team was trying to stabilise him.
Vulture dies from ‘acute intoxication’
ACRES conducted a post-mortem, and found that the vulture had died from “acute intoxication”.
This had been caused by his pre-existing kidney and gastrointestinal problems, Mr Kalai said, adding:
Stress and exhaustion exacerbated these conditions.
2nd Himalayan vulture to die in S’pore this month
This is the second reported Himalayan vulture to die in Singapore this month, following one that was rescued by the National Parks Board (NParks) in Kranji on 3 Jan.
That vulture was sent to Mandai Wildlife Group (MWG) for treatment after being found in poor health, MWG told The Straits Times (ST).
It was put in intensive care as it suffered from anaemia, muscle injuries and its kidneys were not working properly.
The bird’s condition deteriorated five days after rescue, prompting MWG and NParks to euthanise it on 7 Jan.
Also read: Rare Himalayan vulture seen on ECP rescued by ACRES, to be rehabilitated for release
Rare Himalayan vulture seen on ECP rescued by ACRES, to be rehabilitated for release
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Featured image courtesy of ACRES.
