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Lesser Adjutants Were Detected on Only 12 of 258 Surveys in U Minh Ha

Wild Lesser Adjutant in Assam, India
Conservation · Population & status

A field survey in U Minh Ha National Park in southern Vietnam found Lesser Adjutants (Leptoptilos javanicus) only rarely despite intensive survey effort. Researchers carried out 258 surveys along 20 routes between January 2024 and July 2025, using direct observations to establish a baseline for the species in the park.

Lesser Adjutants were recorded on 12 of the 258 surveys. Individual sightings ranged from one to four birds, and the researchers describe the encounter frequency as very low. The study does not convert these observations into a total population estimate, but concludes that the species is very rare within the surveyed area. The authors call for conservation measures to be prioritised and present the results as a baseline for assessing future population changes in U Minh Ha National Park.

Sources and image credit

  1. Trần, Q. K., Ngô, K. D., Huỳnh, K. A. T., Nguyễn, H. L., Dương, V. N., Ngô, M. S., & Nguyễn, T. T. (2026). Initial research on the current status of Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) in U Minh Ha National Park, Ca Mau province. Dong Thap University Journal of Science, Online First. https://doi.org/10.52714/dthu.ns.2627.1892Primary research article published 3 May 2026. From January 2024 to July 2025, researchers completed 258 direct-observation surveys along 20 routes in U Minh Ha National Park. Lesser Adjutants were detected on 12 surveys, with one to four individuals per detection. The paper presents the result as a baseline for future monitoring rather than a total population estimate.

Image: P. Jeganathan — wild Lesser Adjutant in Dadara, Kamrup district, Assam, photographed 23 October 2014; representative image, not a study bird. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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