The Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is among the rarest storks in the world. Over the past decade, the bird has been continuously threatened by habitat loss and rapidly growing urbanization. Today, only about a thousand of them remain in the wild, with two breeding populations in India and another in Cambodia. The largest of these populations is in the Indian state of Assam that accounts for over 80% of the remaining greater adjutant storks (GAS) in the wild.

So when a month-old chick was found displaced by members of NGO Aaranyak, Purnima Devi Burman, popularly known as ‘Stork Sister’ for her conservation of Greater Adjutant storks, called for help.

From being revered to being “unwanted”

In the past, the greater adjutants were revered for their service to our environment. During the 19^th century, their role as scavengers had even got them a place in the Calcutta City Municipality Corporation logo!

But today, despite all of this, this bird that prefers to live around garbage dumps, faces the risk of extinction. With city’s entire waste comes the threat of plastic pollution. Plastic ingestion has been among the top factors leading to the fall in population of the greater adjutant. Along with vultures, a fair number of these storks also die every year from carcass poisoning.  Another reason that has led to the “negative popularity” of the bird is its looks! With a massive wedged beak, a distinctive neck pouch and a bald head, the bird has been shunned. In several cases, trees on private lands were chopped off just to keep this bird away.

Fostering the fledgling

The stork chick was handed over to me and admitted to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation(CWRC) on the 14^th of March, 2021. The chick had fallen off from its nest near Dadara village, one of the largest congregations of the greater adjutant in the world. Weighing about 998 grams and aged between four and six weeks, it required intense veterinary care and round the clock monitoring.

Greater adjutants are big birds, with wingspans reaching 250 cm and height of 150 cm. Standing at almost 5 feet as adults, they have a voracious appetite that is diverse and ranges from small crustaceans to mid-sized birds, like cattle egrets! Following a highly strategic dietary plan for the admitted chick at CWRC, it was important that the bird steadily gains weight while not develop excessive body fat at the same time.

Rehabilitation

Animal keepers at CWRC also came up with an improvised artificial roosting site to encourage the chick to take short flights as its wings gradually gained strength. A raised platform also ensured that its natural roosting habits on high trees were replicated at the enclosure.

As the chick grew, the requirements too changed. At 3 months old, the stork had started taking flight and foraging in the nearby tea gardens while coming back to its enclosure at night. This was an opportunity to encourage the bird to depend more on foraging than on the supplemental diet provided at the centre. Taking flight on its own, and finding roosting perches higher than the one created at the center also meant that the bird was now at less risk of predation. After almost 5 months of patience, care and hard work by our team of veterinarians and keepers, the bird had attained a desired weight of about 6.5 kilograms and was strong enough to be released back in the wild.

Back to the wild

On the 5^th of August, 2021, the bird was finally released near a dump yard close to Boragaon. The release was done in the presence of Mr. Parthasarathi Mahanta, IPS and the Joint Commissioner of Police at Guwahati, who is a staunch supporter of conservation of Greater Adjutant storks in Assam along with Purnima Devi Barman and the rescue team of Aaranyak who had found the bird as a chick, and my colleague Dr. Rathin Barman (Joint Director at WTI). Known to be the natural foraging grounds of greater adjutants, the bird should now be able to thrive at Boragaon, on its own and be a contributing member of this rare stork population in the world.

For me, the sight of the bird perching on a heap of garbage was most fulfilling, as five months of fostering enabled an individual to return to a life it was meant to naturally live.

The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation is run with the Assam Forest Department by Wildlife Trust of India in partnership with IFAW. To support our work, consider making a donation to WTI. Click here.

Dr Samshul Ali is a wildlife veterinarian with the IFAW-WTI-Assam Forest Department run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at Kaziranga. From rescuing all creatures great and small from large carnivores and mammals to the smallest of birds and reptiles, he is committed to ensure wildlife stays Forever Wild.