Greater adjutant  (Leptoptilos dubius)

Loss of nesting habitat and feeding sites has had a huge impact on this stork species. Suitable wetland habitats have been cleared, drained, polluted with pesticides and disturbed by humans. Adult birds are hunted and chicks and eggs are collected for trade (3).

Whilst legally protected in India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, and occurring in three National Parks in Assam, India, the greater adjutant still suffers from hunting and egg collection due to poor enforcement of protection. There has been some successful control of egg and chick collection following efforts by the Wildlife Protection Office Staff in Cambodia, which resulted in higher numbers of storks the following year. It has been proposed that the greater adjutant should be moved from Schedule IV to Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Act of 1972 to give it greater priority. Effective land management is necessary for the survival of this species, particularly the control of pesticide use around feeding areas and the protection of feeding areas and nesting sites found outside protected areas. Further research into the seasonal movements of these birds and the threats that face them is also important (3).