HomeScience and ResearchAnimal StudiesEndangered Cinereous Vulture Makes Historic Return to Bulgaria after 36 Years

Endangered Cinereous Vulture Makes Historic Return to Bulgaria after 36 Years

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Conservationists Celebrate the Return of Europe’s Largest Bird of Prey to Bulgaria

After being extinct for 36 years, the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), the largest bird of prey in Europe, has returned to Bulgaria. Once abundant in southern Europe, the population of these vultures has been declining dramatically since the late 1800s, leading to their disappearance from most of their distributional range by the mid-1900s. In Bulgaria, the species was locally extinct since 1985. However, thanks to the “Vultures Back to LIFE” project, initiated in 2015 by three Bulgarian non-governmental organizations, including Green Balkans, the oldest environmental protection NGO in Bulgaria, the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna, and the Birds of Prey Protection Society, the vulture has now been reintroduced to the country.

The initiative, named “Vultures Back to LIFE”, involved the Vulture Conservation Foundation (Switzerland), EuroNatur (Germany), and Junta de Extremadura (Spain) as partners. The project was partially funded by the LIFE+ financial instrument of the European Commission.

By mid-2022, the team had imported a total of 72 vultures from Spain and European zoos. These birds were released in carefully selected sites in the Eastern Balkan Mountains and the Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park in Northwestern Bulgaria. Of the 72 birds, 63 were immature birds rescued in Spain and rehabilitated in aviaries. The remaining nine juveniles were captive-bred in zoos and released via hacking, which involved placing them in an artificial nest from which they could gradually take flight into the wild.

A research article, published in the Biodiversity Data Journal, details the re-introduction efforts thus far. The scientists, led by Ivelin Ivanov of Green Balkans, provide an analysis of the effectiveness and challenges associated with various release methods, and also offer recommendations on conservation and re-introduction.

The researchers found that the hacking technique was not effective in establishing a new core population of Cinereous Vultures in the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria, nor did it supplement a small settled group of individuals. Instead, they suggest using the aviary method and delayed release, where captive-bred birds are gradually introduced to a new location after a period of acclimatization, allowing them to gain familiarity with the local environment.

The authors of the research article report that the establishment phase of the Cinereous Vulture re-introduction in the first two release sites in Bulgaria is proceeding as planned, and the initial outcomes are encouraging.

They state that two separate groups have been established, and the vultures have started breeding. As a result, the authors suggest that the bird’s conservation status in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria be changed from “Extinct” to “Critically Endangered.

The formation of these two breeding centers for the Cinereous Vulture marks the second and third instances of their kind in the Balkan Peninsula.

According to the authors, the Cinereous Vulture species had experienced a significant decline in the 20th century, with only one breeding colony remaining in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park in northeastern Greece. However, with the establishment of two new breeding nuclei in Bulgaria, exchange between the three colonies is now possible. This will allow for the exchange of individuals, promote long-term stability, and contribute to the growth of the regional population.

The team notes that ongoing monitoring, modeling, and adaptive management are essential for the sustained survival of the newly established national population. While there is already evidence of successful breeding of the imported vultures in Bulgaria, one final step remains before it can be officially declared that the Cinereous Vulture species has been successfully reintroduced to the country. This assessment can only be made when the core breeding populations start producing approximately ten chicks annually, and locally fledged individuals start reproducing independently. These outcomes are anticipated by the year 2030.

Source: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e100521 

Image Credit: Hristo Peshev, Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna

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