site.btaFour Griffon Vultures Found Poisoned near Blagoevgrad

Four griffon vultures were found poisoned in a pasture fenced with an electric fence in the village of Moschanets in the municipality of Blagoevgrad, the press centre of the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna reported. Two of the vultures were found dead and the other two were rescued.

These birds are an endangered species and are listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. The lists of animals that are protected and what their status is are being updated there, Nadia Vangelova of the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna told BTA.

According to the Fund's representatives, more than ten vultures may have been poisoned and their bodies will be found in the coming days. In previous similar cases, various species of wildlife victims of the poison have been found in nearby forest and bush. Currently, about 17 pairs of vultures are brooding in the Kresna Gorge, and this means that if one parent is killed by the poison, the other will be waiting on the egg to change, and when this does not happen, it will leave the nest, driven by hunger, and the egg will cool, with no chance for the chick to hatch.

The team explained that many vultures now have GPS transmitters attached, which are monitored remotely by conservationists. Any unusual behaviour or death of the bird is quickly identified, the problem is located, and the responsible authorities urgently react. The use of poison baits is strictly prohibited by law, the organization stressed in a Facebook post.

The release into the wild of the two griffon vultures hatched in Stara Zagora Zoo is scheduled for March 10, said the Green Balkans - Stara Zagora Association, which coordinates the project in partnership with the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna.

Thanks to their efforts, the griffon vulture species in the Kresna Gorge has been restored. The reintroduction of griffon and black vultures in Bulgaria is a complex of activities, some of which include transportation, adaptation and release of birds, tagging and satellite tracking of about 130 vultures, combating poisons in nature, conducting nature tourism, scientific activities, educational activities, etc.