In the wide green sweep of Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary in northeastern Cambodia, more than 356,000 hectares of forest and floodplain, a June census brought news the rangers had waited ten years to write down. A white rumped vulture, one of the rarest birds on Earth, glided in and settled at a feeding station as if it had never been away. It is the first time the species has been recorded in the sanctuary in a decade, and it did not arrive to an empty table. The census also counted five red headed vultures, and two of them were juveniles, which means these majestic birds are nesting and raising chicks right there in the sanctuary.
The secret is a wonderfully simple idea called a vulture restaurant. The team at NatureLife Cambodia lays out safe, reliable meals at feeding stations so the great birds always have somewhere dependable to dine while the wild herds they once relied on recover. “The return of the white rumped vulture shows that our conservation efforts are making a difference by improving habitat conditions and ensuring reliable food source,” says Bou Vorsak, the organisation's chief executive. The sanctuary still needs careful guarding, with mining and dam proposals pressing at its edges, and the people protecting it say so plainly. But this June, high over Lomphat, patience grew feathers: the chicks are hatching, and an old friend found its way home.
Our short take: the full story is by Naina Rao for Mongabay, 20 July 2026. Photograph: a white rumped vulture by Prasan Shrestha, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA 4.0).