Status and Conservation
Loss of nesting and feeding habitat through the draining of wetlands, pollution and disturbance, together with hunting and egg collection in the past has caused a massive decline in the population of this species. The world population was estimated at less than 1,000 individuals in 2008. The Greater Adjutant is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Conservation measures have included attempts to breed them in captivity and to reduce fatalities to young at their natural nesting sites. Nearly 15% of the chicks are killed when they fall off the nests and die of starvation, so some conservationists have used nets positioned below the nests to prevent injuries to falling young and then raising these fallen birds in enclosures for about five months before releasing them to join their wild siblings.
Read more about this topic: Greater Adjutant
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