Himalayan vulture struggling to fly along ECP dies after Acres' rescue, days after 1st vulture euthanised at Mandai

Another of the Himalayan vultures recently seen in Singapore has died.

The vulture was rescued by animal welfare group Acres on Jan. 11 after members of the public reported seeing it struggling to fly along the East Coast Parkway.

While there were glimpses of progress in its health afterwards, things took a turn for the worse and it eventually passed close to midnight on Jan. 15.

It was one of two Himalayan vultures that were rescued.

Earlier on Jan. 14, Mandai Wildlife Group confirmed that a vulture was rescued on Jan. 3 but was euthanised five days later on Jan. 7 due to deteriorating health.

Health took turn for worse

Responding to queries from Mothership, Acres CEO Kalai Vanan shared that following the vulture's rescue on Jan. 11, there were "glimpses of progress" during its treatment.

It was diagnosed with dehydration, overall weakness and overall exhaustion after it was picked up by volunteers.

"While he was being attended to indoors, we were separately preparing our outdoor cage for him as well as it can be stressful for such a large bird to be confined indoors," Kalai said.

"Sadly, his condition took a sudden turn for the worse and deteriorated quickly over a 12-hour period on Jan. 15," he shared.

Acres' veterinary team responded immediately with emergency care, but the vulture passed on close to midnight during attempts by the team to stabilise him.

A post-mortem showed that the bird had died from "acute intoxication from pre-existing kidney and gastrointestinal problems", Kalai said, adding that stress and exhaustion exacerbated these conditions.

He also shared that the carcass has been transferred to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at the National University of Singapore.

Vultures seen in Singapore usually vagrants that go off course

The carcass of the vulture which was euthanised on Jan. 7 was also transferred to LKCNHM.

Tan Yen Yi, curator of birds at LKCNHM, shared then that this is the first specimen of the species for the museum and for Singapore, joining six other Gyps vulture specimens that were collected in the late 1930s.

"This rare specimen is a valuable addition to Singapore's natural heritage collection that underscores the importance of specimen salvage in supporting proper documentation of our natural landscape," she added.

Charlene Yeong, a veterinarian at Mandai Wildlife Group and Mandai Nature, explained that recent sightings of Himalayan griffon vultures in Singapore are usually of vagrants that go off course from their usual distribution range.

Juveniles, which tend to venture further, may face a decrease in food sources due to habitat loss and alterations, likely contributing to vultures found in a state of exhaustion and dehydration in Singapore.

According to records by the Bird Society of Singapore, the previous sighting of a Himalayan vulture in Singapore was in February 2025.

Top image via Acres