site.btaNew Group of Black Vultures from Spain to Help Restore Rare Species’ Population in Rhodope Mountains

At the end of last week, a group of six cinereous (black) vultures arrived in the eastern Rhodope Mountains from Spain, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) reported on Tuesday. In the spring of 2025, the new group of the vultures will join the birds which have already been released in the past two years, in order to form a colony in Bulgaria.  

Activities for the return of the vulture to the Bulgarian part of the Eastern Rhodopes started in 2022. In May of that year, the first group of 17 birds was brought here and in November it was released from the aviary at a location between the towns of Madzharovo and Ivailovgrad. A total of 16 birds are currently in the wild of the Rhodopes.

The coordinator of the project, Dr Dobromir Dobrev of BSPB, said that this will support the survival of the species in the Balkan Range by strengthening the natural population of the species in Greece and creating a new one in the Bulgarian part of the mountains. The aim is to support the long-term recovery of the cinereous vulture in the former breeding grounds of the species.

The 3,300-kilometre journey of the birds across Europe took three days. It ended after the birds were carefully transferred into individual shipping boxes and transported to their new home. The vultures were provided by the Spanish NGO GREFA (Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona), which has worked for years to rescue and rehabilitate injured wild birds.

"The reintroduction of endangered species is strictly regulated and coordinated internationally to achieve greater efficiency in carrying out this nature protection work. The BSPB and Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation have been working with their international partners for six years to implement this in Bulgaria," said Dr Dobrev.

The cinereous vulture is one of the rarest birds on the Balkans. The species was widespread in Bulgaria in the past but disappeared as a breeding species about 25 years ago. The birds released in the last two years are successfully adapting to life and their new home in the Eastern Rhodopes. On February 14, for the first time in 31 years, two pairs have settled in nests in the Eastern Rhodopes.

The activities for the return of the black vulture to the Eastern Rhodopes are implemented by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in cooperation with the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation and funded by Rewilding Europe.