page_title: Greater adjutant
section_title: Status and conservation
hierarchical_section_title: Greater adjutant / Status and conservation
caption_attribution_description: "The Cremation Ghat at Calcutta," a wood engraving (Selmar Hess, New York, 1877)
context_page_description: The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the lesser adjutant of Asia and the marabou stork of Africa. Once found widely across southern Asia, mainly in India but extending east to Borneo, the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations; two in India, with the largest colony in Assam, a smaller one around Bhagalpur; and another breeding population in Cambodia. They disperse widely after the breeding season. This large stork has a massive wedge-shaped bill, a bare head and a distinctive neck pouch. During the day, it soars in thermals along with vultures with whom it shares the habit of scavenging. They feed mainly on carrion and offal; however, they are opportunistic and will sometimes prey on vertebrates. The English name is derived from their stiff "military" gait when walking on the ground. Large numbers once lived in Asia, but they have declined to the point of endangerment. The total population in 2008 was estimated at around a thousand individuals.
context_section_description: Loss of nesting and feeding habitat through the draining of wetlands, pollution and other disturbances, together with hunting and egg collection in the past has caused a massive decline in the population of this species. The world population was estimated at less than 1,000 individuals in 2008. The greater adjutant is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  Conservation measures have included attempts to breed them in captivity and to reduce fatalities to young at their natural nesting sites. Nearly 15% of the chicks are killed when they fall off the nests and die of starvation, so some conservationists have used nets positioned below the nests to prevent injuries to falling young. These fallen birds are then fed and raised in enclosures for about five months and then released to join their wild siblings.
  In Kamrup district, Assam, which is home to one of the few large colonies of greater adjutants, outreach efforts including cultural and religious programming, especially aimed at village women, have rallied residents to conserve the birds. The locals, who formerly regarded the birds as pests, now see the storks as special and take pride in protecting them and the trees in which they breed. Locals have even added prayers for the safety of the storks to hymns, and included stork designs to the motifs used in traditional weaving. Similar measures have been used with success in other parts of India where adjutants breed.
caption: Engraving showing adjutants at the cremation ghat in Calcutta, c. 1877
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