Thanks to the signal, sent by the cautious citizens, later that night the vulture was taken by a team of the Wildlife Rescue Centre at Green Balkans. The bird immediately received adequate medical assistance and at present its condition has been stabilized. The vulture will soon be transported to the Centre in Stara Zagora, where its rehabilitation will continue.
Almost three years earlier, on August 1st 2008, the same bird was ringed with a colour and a standard metal ring in a nest in Eastern Rhodopes in the Krumovitsa NATURA 2000 site, Municipality of Krumovgrad.
The Egyptian Vulture is critically endangered in Bulgaria and its national population accounts for some 30 pairs. Less than 100 pairs have remained on the entire Balkan Peninsula. For the past few years, as a part of the programme for conserving the species, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds keep ringing all juvenile Egyptian Vultures in their nests and has thus marked a total of 77 birds all over the country.
Egyptian Vultures reach sexual maturity only after their fifth year and spend their lives in Africa, to the South of Sahara in the meantime. When they return to Bulgaria at an age of three or four, they wander over vast areas in search of suitable nesting areas. These wanderings are the most threatening period of their lives and during them the birds are extremely vulnerable to poisoning, electrocution and poaching. The main threat for the species in Bulgaria is the high mortality caused by various poisonings, especially after illegal use of poison. Even poisoned rats thrown out can cause poisoning and death to these extremely rare birds, which cover vast areas during search of food and move over thousands of kilometers.
We are very grateful to Mr. Mesut Alish – deputy mayor of the Municipality of Glavinitsa, Biulent Mumun – forester in the village of Listets, the shepherd of the village of Listets, Basri Ahmet, Krasimir Kirov – expert biologist, who contacted the teams of Green Balkans and BSPB and Dr. Jovko Haralanov, who provided medical assistance and accommodated the weird patient in his clinic. We hope that the bird will soon get better what will allow us to release back into the wild.
For more information on the status of the bird, please contact:
Dr. Hristina Klisurova – Green Balkans
e-mail: hhristova@greenbalkans.org, mobile phone: +359 0886 57 00 53
For more information on the status of the population of the Egyptian Vulture in Bulgaria, please contact: Ivailo Angelov – Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds
e-mail: ivailo.angelov@bspb.org, mobile phone:+359 878 59 93 81
Photoes provided by BSPB from the tagging of the vulture in its nest have been used.
