The success in restoring the populations of the griffon vulture and the cinereous vulture in Bulgaria raises hopes that the bearded vulture can be reintroduced as well. "All four vulture species found in Europe will hopefully breed in Bulgarian mountains again in the not-so-distant future," Deputy Environment and Water Minister Nikolai Sidzhimov said in Sofia on Monday, presenting a project called "Life for the Bearded Vulture".
A pair of bearded vultures are breeding successfully in a shelter run by the Green Balkans organization in Stara Zagora, South Central Bulgaria. The people who look after them have amassed invaluable experience, which should be expanded and shared with others, Sidzhimov said. He noted: "The loss of a given biological species affects the lives of humans. Climate change causes additional danger to a number of animal species as many of them fail to adapt quickly enough to the new conditions, and therefore risk extinction."
Reintroducing an extinct species into the wild is not an easy job, Sidzhimov commented. He pledged that the Environment and Water Ministry will assist conservationists in protecting and restoring species. He recalled that a national plan to suppress the illicit use of poison in wild areas was drawn up in 2021, and a taskforce combating crimes against the environment became operational earlier this year.
The ultimate goal of the "Life for the Bearded Vulture" Project is to strike the species off the Bulgarian and Balkan extinct wildlife lists while also completing the reintroduction of the cinereous vulture as a breeding species in this country. The broader effort involves a vulture reintroduction programme in Romania. "Life for the Bearded Vulture" is financed under the EU's LIFE programme. Eight organizations in Bulgaria and Europe are taking part in the seven-year project. The Green Balkans is the coordinating organization.
Bulgaria used to be home to all four vulture species of Europe: griffon, cinereous, bearded and Egyptian. Two of them, griffon and Egyptian, breed here at present. The cinereous vulture and the bearded vulture are absent as a breeding species in the wild in today's Bulgaria. Individual cinereous vultures from a colony in Northern Greece can sometimes be spotted in Bulgaria. The bearded vulture has remained only as a symbol of nature conservation in this country, experts say.
Building artificial nesting platforms, creating breeding habitats and improving the food base are some of the activities planned under the project. Utility poles will be rendered safe to keep the birds from getting electric shocks. Hunters will be discouraged from setting poisonous bait and poaching.
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