An Egyptian Vulture with acute poisoning was treated at the Green Balkans Rescue Centre and released into the wild!
02.05.2023
An Egyptian Vulture in serious condition caused by acute poisoning was released after successful treatment in the Green Balkans Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre.
The bird was found paralyzed and helpless by a local man grazing his animals in the area. The vulture was urgently transported to the Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora. Several days followed, in which the Centre's veterinarians fought for its life, applying symptomatic treatment methods, since the cause was still unknown. In the meantime, the BSPB's anti-poison team together with the local authorities searched the area in order to find and dispose of the source of the poisoning. No poison baits were found during the search, but the locals and the authorities were informed of the case.
Thanks to the efforts of the Centre's team, the vulture's condition began to improve and a week after admission, it was released in the area where it was found. The bird is female and is part of one of the last pairs of Egyptian Vultures nesting in the Eastern Stara Planina range. The event was attended by locals and representatives of the local government. They named the vulture Victoria! And to make sure that it will adapt successfully in the wild, before the release, the BSPB tagged the vulture with a GPS transmitter.
During the Egyptian Vulture's stay at the Centre, samples of its blood and feces were sent to a laboratory for analysis. It showed high sulfur and alachlor content. These are substances included in various pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture, and alachlor is a substance banned for use throughout the EU.
In our team's opinion, the vulture was not intentionally poisoned. However, the bad practices of using prohibited substances; improper discarding of chemicals' packaging, any residue or treated seeds; as well as the lack of control of active and inactive landfills for agricultural chemicals, are all dangerous and could lead to the poisoning not only of wild and domestic animals, but also of people!
The teams of Green Balkans and BSPB continue to monitor the bird, which fortunately seems to feel great at its home. We also maintain contact with the locals and the authorities in the area. We hope that this is an isolated case and we will not have another occasion for sharing such news.
The bird was found paralyzed and helpless by a local man grazing his animals in the area. The vulture was urgently transported to the Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora. Several days followed, in which the Centre's veterinarians fought for its life, applying symptomatic treatment methods, since the cause was still unknown. In the meantime, the BSPB's anti-poison team together with the local authorities searched the area in order to find and dispose of the source of the poisoning. No poison baits were found during the search, but the locals and the authorities were informed of the case.
Thanks to the efforts of the Centre's team, the vulture's condition began to improve and a week after admission, it was released in the area where it was found. The bird is female and is part of one of the last pairs of Egyptian Vultures nesting in the Eastern Stara Planina range. The event was attended by locals and representatives of the local government. They named the vulture Victoria! And to make sure that it will adapt successfully in the wild, before the release, the BSPB tagged the vulture with a GPS transmitter.
During the Egyptian Vulture's stay at the Centre, samples of its blood and feces were sent to a laboratory for analysis. It showed high sulfur and alachlor content. These are substances included in various pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture, and alachlor is a substance banned for use throughout the EU.
In our team's opinion, the vulture was not intentionally poisoned. However, the bad practices of using prohibited substances; improper discarding of chemicals' packaging, any residue or treated seeds; as well as the lack of control of active and inactive landfills for agricultural chemicals, are all dangerous and could lead to the poisoning not only of wild and domestic animals, but also of people!
The teams of Green Balkans and BSPB continue to monitor the bird, which fortunately seems to feel great at its home. We also maintain contact with the locals and the authorities in the area. We hope that this is an isolated case and we will not have another occasion for sharing such news.
