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Cambodia Counted at Least 163 Vultures in 2025, Up 22% From 2024

White-rumped vulture with wings spread in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Conservation · Population & status

Cambodia’s official minimum population estimate for 2025 counted 163 vultures across the country’s three remaining Critically Endangered species: white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus). NatureLife Cambodia reported the result on 5 September 2026. The combined count was 22% higher than in 2024 and the highest annual count since 2016.

The Cambodia Vulture Working Group monitors the three species through synchronised counts conducted five times a year at feeding sites in five locations across the dry-forest landscapes of northern and eastern Cambodia. An analysis of monitoring data from 2014–2024 had already indicated that the long decline might be stabilising.

White-rumped vultures remain the most numerous of the three species. NatureLife Cambodia reported that their numbers appear to have responded positively to increased supplementary feeding at Siem Pang and Chhaeb–Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuaries. Slender-billed vulture numbers were described as relatively stable, while red-headed vultures continue to be recorded regularly in Lomphat, Siem Pang, Chhaeb–Preah Roka, Sambo and Srepok wildlife sanctuaries.

The working group identifies declining food availability, habitat loss and incidental poisoning among the continuing threats. It is now developing the next ten-year Vulture Conservation Action Plan for Cambodia.

Sources and image credit

  1. NatureLife Cambodia. (2026, September 5). Celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day: Encouraging signs for Cambodia’s vultures reinforce the need for sustained conservation action.Primary conservation update reporting Cambodia’s official 2025 minimum population estimate of 163 vultures across three Critically Endangered species, a 22% increase from 2024 and the highest annual count since 2016.

Image: White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) flexing its wings in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, 4 May 2025. Photo: Prasan Shrestha / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative species image; not from the Cambodia survey. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Population & status

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis Explore species Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus Explore species

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