Letter to the Editor | Sightings of an extremely rare migratory huge vulture in Singapore

Dear Editor,

I like to share an interesting sighting of an extremely rare migrant to Singapore yesterday, 29 Dec 2021.

The Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) is classified as “Near Threatened” under the UN International body of IUCN Conservation list of animals.

This gigantic bird has a monstrous wingspan of around 9 feet, and 10 inches (equivalent to 3 metres).

To illustrate a comparison of the wing size of this enormous vulture, the floor of an HDB flat that measures up to the ceiling is only 8 feet.

The beast is cold during the winter period, so having a thick armoured feather coat helps a lot.

To a Wildlife Naturalist like myself, the feeling of such sightings is exhilarating and like a holy grail.

See three photographs captured from my camera yesterday.

Thank you.

John Lee
Founder
Wildlife Asia (Singapore)

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore.

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