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SINGAPORE: A huge Himalayan vulture caused a stir on the road and online over the weekend after it was spotted around East Coast Parkway (ECP) on Sunday (Jan 11).\u00a0<\/p>\n
One video posted on the Nature Society Singapore’s Facebook page showed the large bird \u2013 known for eating the flesh of dead animals \u2013 on a grass patch by the roadside, flapping its wings to try to take flight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another video on TikTok showed it walking along the shoulder of the expressway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Separately, birdwatchers reported seeing a Himalayan vulture along Tanah Merah Coast Road on Saturday. It is unclear whether it is the same bird.<\/p>\n
In response to queries from CNA, chief executive officer Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan of the non-governmental organisation Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) said that it received a call about a distressed large bird, which was struggling after being stranded in a canal and along the ECP.<\/span><\/p>\n A rescue team led by three volunteers was deployed and safely rescued the male bird, later identified as a Himalayan vulture, Mr Kalai added. <\/span>It is now under the care of ACRES’ veterinary team.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Dehydration, overall weakness\u00a0and overall exhaustion from the long voyage seem to be the initial diagnosis,” Mr Kalai told CNA.<\/span><\/p>\n “We are still assessing it and hope to fully rehabilitate the large bird for release in the near future.”<\/p>\n The website of the Bird Society of Singapore states that Himalayan vultures are migratory and are usually spotted in this region between late December and early January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most Himalayan vulture sightings here have been recorded in the central and western parts of the island, with fewer sightings in the north and east.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n