A captive-bred Indian vulture released in Maharashtra's Melghat in January this year has covered an astonishing 3,334 km, soaring across states before reaching the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, wildlife experts said on Wednesday.

The bird survived without any supplementary feeding in the wild, demonstrating the ability of captive-bred vultures to adapt to natural environments, locate food independently, and undertake long-distance movements, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) director Kishor Rithe said.

This achievement represents a significant milestone for the vulture conservation programme, highlighting the potential of captive-bred release initiatives to help recover vulture populations in India, he said in a statement.

During its extensive voyage, the bird also visited the Satpura Tiger Reserve near Pachmarhi and Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the country’s cheetah reintroduction site, before reaching the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve on Tuesday, he said.

The long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus), named X67, is a five-year-old female and was one of 15 captive-bred vultures fitted with solar-powered tracking tags and released on January 2 from the Somthana range of the Akot wildlife division in the Melghat Tiger Reserve.

It then remained scavenging in the vicinity of the release site for nearly four months, gradually adapting to natural conditions, the official said.

"The bird dispersed from the Melghat Tiger Reserve on May 28 and embarked on an extensive journey across central India. It travelled through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, eventually reaching Ranthambore National Park, covering a total distance of 3,334 km," a BNHS statement said.

Over a period of 27 days, it made temporary roosting stops at the Satpura National Park, the Bhopal region, and Kuno National Park before arriving at Ranthambore, it said.

"The most important finding is that this route indicates that vultures prefer the tiger reserve and protected area network as wild carrions are still available due to the good presence of carnivores," Rithe said.

All 15 vultures released from Melghat were fitted with blue-coloured leg rings carrying identification numbers. The blue colour shows that the ringing was done in India, and the letter "M" indicates Maharashtra as the release site, the release said.

The tags are solar-powered and help scientists track the movement, travel distance, safety, and survival of the vultures after their release into the wild, it added.

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