• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Near Threatened	A3e
2016	Near Threatened	A3e
2014	Near Threatened	A3e
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	Does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	6,220,000
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2)	13,600,000
Number of locations		-
Severely Fragmented		-

	Value	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals	66000-334000	poor	suspected	2001
Population trend	Decreasing		suspected	-
Decline (3 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (5 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation future)	25-29	-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future)		-	-	-
Number of subpopulations		-	-	-
Percentage in largest subpopulation		-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	14.28	-	-	-

Population justification: Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) suggest that a six-figure population would be realistic. The population in the Tibetan Plateau, which consists of c.80% of the breeding population, has been estimated at c.230,000 individuals, equating to c.153,000 mature individuals (Lu et al. 2009). Assuming a similar density across the rest of the species's range, a very preliminary estimate of global population is therefore c.290,000 (Lu et al. 2009). It is placed in the band for 100,000-499,999 individuals, assumed to equate to c.66,000-334,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Population trends of this species have not been well studied across most of its range, however it is suspected to undergo a decline of 25-29% over the next three generations, owing to the expected impacts of diclofenac use in livestock. Veterinary use of diclofenac is less common within the breeding range of G. himalayensis so adults are unlikely to be exposed, but juveniles may be when they migrate to lowland areas of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan (Das et al. 2010; Bothat et al. 2017).

Surveys in Upper Mustang, Nepal, during 2002-2005 revealed a c.70% population decline (Acharya et al. 2009), but following the ban on veterinary use of diclofenac in 2006, the population in this area showed a partial recovery (Paudel et al. 2015). However, vultures continue to die from diclofenac poisoning (Nambirajan et al. 2018), and other threats such as food shortages may also be causing declines in some areas. Siddique & Khan (2016) recorded a 37% reduction in populations at nesting sites and a 21% reduction in individuals counted during transects in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, during 2005-2010. Although this decline may have been due partly to a large earthquake that occurred in the survey area in 2005, a steep decline in the number of livestock and increased shrub cover reducing visibility of carcasses from the air was also thought to have played a role (Siddique & Khan 2016). Recent surveys in Nepal and Pakistan found that 76% and 60% of respondents respectively agreed with the statement that vulture populations were decreasing in their area (Joshi et al. 2016). The species's population appears to be stable in Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India (A. P. Singh in litt. 2014), and in the Tibetan Plateau (Lu et al. 2009).

Country/Territory	Occurrence status	Presence	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
Afghanistan	N	Extant	Yes
Bangladesh	N	Extant			Yes
Bhutan	N	Extant	Yes		Yes
Cambodia	N	Extant			Yes
China (mainland)	N	Extant	Yes
India	N	Extant	Yes		Yes
Kazakhstan	N	Extant	Yes
Kyrgyzstan	N	Extant	Yes
Malaysia	U	Extant
Mongolia	N	Extant	Yes		Yes
Myanmar	N	Extant			Yes
Nepal	N	Extant	Yes
Pakistan	N	Extant	Yes		Yes
Singapore	U	Extant
Tajikistan	N	Extant	Yes
Thailand	N	Extant			Yes
United Arab Emirates	V	Extant
Uzbekistan	N	Extant	Yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Afghanistan	Big Pamir
Afghanistan	Small Pamir
Afghanistan	Salang Kotal
Kazakhstan	Big Almaty Gorge
Kazakhstan	Assy Plateau
Uzbekistan	Angren Plateau
Uzbekistan	Amankutan (Takhtakaracha Pass)
Tajikistan	Bulunkul and Yashilkul lakes and mountains
Tajikistan	Zorkul Nature Reserve (Lake Victoria)
Tajikistan	Karakul lake and mountains
Tajikistan	Rangkul valley (Rangkul & Shorkul Lakes)
Tajikistan	Dzhavshangoz
Tajikistan	Kondara Gorge
Tajikistan	Drumkul Lake
Kazakhstan	Almaty State Nature Reserve
Tajikistan	Kulikalon Lakes
Uzbekistan	Pulatkhan Gorge
Uzbekistan	Oygaing River Valley
Kazakhstan	Eastern Kazakhstan uplands
Uzbekistan	Gissar State Nature Reserve
Kyrgyzstan	Son-Kul Lake
Kyrgyzstan	Lake Chatyr-Kul
Kyrgyzstan	Gorge Tash-Rabat
Kyrgyzstan	Eastern Alai
Kyrgyzstan	Western Alai, Kok-Suu river
Kazakhstan	Aksu-Dzhabagly State Nature Reserve
Nepal	Annapurna Conservation Area
Nepal	Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve
Nepal	Kanchenjungha Conservation Area
Nepal	Khaptad National Park
Nepal	Langtang National Park
Nepal	Makalu Barun National Park
Nepal	Rara National Park
Nepal	Sagarmatha National Park
Nepal	Tamur valley and watershed
Nepal	Shey-Phoksundo National Park
Kazakhstan	Upper Charyn
Kazakhstan	Altyn-Emel National Park
Kazakhstan	Sorbulak Lake System

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		suitable	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Altitude	1200 - 5500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	175 - 6000 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Energy production & mining	Renewable energy	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Other ecosystem modifications	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Other
Other options	Other threat	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Handicrafts, jewellery, etc.	-	-			Non-trivial	Recent
Medicine - human & veterinary	-	-			Non-trivial	Recent
Pets/display animals, horticulture	-	-		International	Non-trivial	Recent

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2022) Species factsheet: Gyps himalayensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2022. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2022) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/05/2022.