Vulture Conservation Foundation news bulletin
September 2021

Reintroduction success!
First Cinereous Vulture fledges in Bulgaria's wild

Twenty-eight years after the last nesting, a Cinereous Vulture pair successfully bred in Bulgaria's wild in spring this year thanks to the reintroduction efforts of the Vultures Back to LIFE project. Exactly 145 days after hatching, the young vulture spread its wings and took its first flight, marking another significant conservation milestone for the comeback of the species in the country!

Learn more about this milestone

Diego's first migration to Africa!

A few months ago, the Egyptian Vulture Diego became the first from the Italian restocking project to reach the Balkans. From there, he embarked on a wandering adventure, visiting 12 European countries and covering thousands of kilometres. Instead of returning to Sicily in autumn where he has been wintering for the past couple of years, he migrated to Africa for the first time!

Read about Diego's travels

Latest news about Europe's
vulture species

Bearded Vulture

Extensive wildlife crime investigation in Andalusia reveals what caused the mysterious death of three Bearded Vultures

Our consultation response to ECHA towards restricting the use of lead ammunition for the sake of vultures, nature and people!

Egyptian Vulture

Following Egyptian Vulture Sara’s GPS movements for 6 years – fourth migration from Italy to Niger a success

After wintering in Sicily every year, the Egyptian Vulture Diego migrated to Africa for the first time

Our consultation response to ECHA towards restricting the use of lead ammunition for the sake of vultures, nature and people!

Cinereous Vulture

Extremely rare Cinereous Vulture poisoned to death in Bulgaria

Our consultation response to ECHA towards restricting the use of lead ammunition for the sake of vultures, nature and people!

Griffon Vulture

Poisoned! Mass mortality event of Griffon Vultures in Israel causes significant blow to vulnerable population

Griffon Vultures in the Alps: the results from the 2021 annual summer census are here

Our consultation response to ECHA towards restricting the use of lead ammunition for the sake of vultures, nature and people!

Latest news from our
vulture conservation projects

The BalkanDetox LIFE project, led by us at the Vulture Conservation Foundation, aims to strengthen national capacities to fight wildlife poisoning and raise awareness about the problem across seven Balkan countries.

Latest news
Understanding the perception of wildlife poisoning in Albania and raising awareness about the problem

First wildlife poisoning stakeholder meeting in Croatia generates key insights from the perspective of target groups

Educational initiatives among key local communities on vultures and poisoning in the Republic of North Macedonia

Vultures Back to LIFE, led by Green Balkans and the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna, aims to reintroduce the Cinereous Vulture back to Bulgaria since it was declared extinct in the 1980s.

Latest news
R eintroduction success: first Cinereous Vulture fledges in Bulgari a

L IFE GypConnect led by LPO and co-funded by the MAVA Foundation aims to create a breeding population in France's Massif Central and Department of the Drôme to connect the Alpine and Pyrenean populations of Bearded Vultures.

Latest news
Announcing the draft programme of the Annual Bearded Vulture Meeting 2021 and the Final LIFE GypConnect Seminar

Reintroduced Bearded Vulture Eglazine leaves the Netherlands after six months being away from ‘home'

LIFE Safe for Vultures, led by the University of Sassari, is a new project acting as the first step to the restoration of the vulture guild in Sardinia.

Latest news
Minimising the risk of electrocution for Griffon Vultures in Sardinia

The LIFE RE-Vultures project, led by Rewilding Europe, aims to support the recovery of Cinereous and GriffonVulture populations in the cross border Rhodope Mountain region.

Latest news
WATCH – Anti-Poisoning Dog Units: how working dogs help combat illegal wildlife poisoning

INFOGRAPHIC: Vultures and Sanitary Regulations in the European Union

Investigation in Andalusia reveals what killed three Bearded Vultures

When three Bearded Vultures were found dead in Andalusia, all signs indicated that wildlife poisoning was responsible. Our partners at the Junta de Andalucía acted accordingly and immediately launched an investigation, treating this case with the severity it deserved. They conducted CSI, examined the scene, collected evidence and submitted the evidence to the laboratory for forensic analysis to reconstruct the elements of the incident. In the end, poisoning was not the culprit. After a detailed evaluation of the toxicological analysis, differential diagnosis, injuries observed and relevant weather conditions, the laboratory concluded that the Bearded Vultures likely died due to trauma caused by unusual thunderstorms.

Learn about the investigation process

Following the Egyptian Vulture Sara's
GPS movements for 6 years

The captive-bred Egyptian Vulture Sara hatched at Associazione CERM Centro Rapaci Minacciati in Italy back in 2015 and was released into the wild the same year. Before her release, she was equipped with a GPS transmitter provided by the VCF, enabling us to follow her behaviour and movements for the past six years, gaining significant insight into the life of these fantastic birds. Sara, now an adult bird, has already completed her 2021 autumn migration from Italy to Africa, successfully reaching Niger for the fourth time.

Explore Sara's travels

We here at the VCF follow the movements of several vultures as part of different projects. You can track the movements of all the European vulture species we tagged within our different projects and regions by visiting our online public maps.

Bearded Vulture online maps
Cinereous Vulture online maps
Egyptian Vulture online maps
Griffon Vulture online maps

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Photo credits: Lubomir Andreev, Carlo Fracasso, Hansruedi Weyrich, Bruno Berthemy, Pietro Ferrantes, Junta de Andalucía, Cirenia Sketches and Vulture Conservation Foundation.