Vulture Conservation Foundation news bulletin
October 2021

The first Spanish Griffon Vultures
arrive in Cyprus

The first 15 Spanish Griffon Vultures arrived in Cyprus safe and sound within the LIFE with Vultures project. Shortly after their arrival, all Griffon Vultures entered a special acclimatisation aviary, where they will spend 5-6 months getting used to their new Cypriot home until their release into the wild. This action is part of the project's restocking efforts to help boost the highly-threatened local population of the species.

Read about this milestone

The Advanced Course of the
Wildlife Crime Academy

The ultimate objective of the Wildlife Crime Academy (WCA) is to provide the opportunity to as many people as possible across Europe and eventually the world to receive the training necessary to combat wildlife crime. Following the Basic Course that took place in the summer, the Advanced Course brought together the same key stakeholders working in conservation, law enforcement and forensic science in early November, equipping them on how to improve forensic and police investigation on poisoning incidents in the Balkans and beyond.

Learn more about the WCA

Latest news about Europe's
vulture species

Bearded Vulture

Every captive Bearded Vulture counts: Remodelling aviary to meet Flamadel’s needs

Vulture conservation works: Status of Bearded Vulture and Egyptian Vulture in Europe improves

Bearded Vulture pairs in captivity are already busy with the new breeding season

Egyptian Vulture

Vulture conservation works: Status of Bearded Vulture and Egyptian Vulture in Europe improves

Cinereous Vulture

First Rüppell’s Vulture and two more Cinereous Vultures tagged and released in Portugal

Two impressive collisions involving vultures highlight the increasing conflict between transport infrastructure and bird conservation in Spain

Griffon Vulture

Two impressive collisions involving vultures highlight the increasing conflict between transport infrastructure and bird conservation in Spain

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
Educational workshops about poisoning in Bosnia and Herzegovina raise awareness about the issues in hotspots to help preserve wildlife

Wildlife Crime Academy: Advanced Course equips participants to improve forensic and police investigation on poisoning incidents in the Balkans and beyond

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
LIFE Safe For Vultures makes Sardinia more and more a land of Griffon Vultures

The LIFE with Vultures project, led by BirdLife Cyprus, aims to save the threatened Griffon Vulture population in Cyprus by tackling key threats and restocking their population.

Latest news
The first Spanish Griffon Vultures are arriving in Cyprus

Wildlife Crime Academy: Advanced Course equips participants to improve forensic and police investigation on poisoning incidents in the Balkans and beyond

Status of Bearded Vulture and Egyptian Vulture improves in Europe

Vulture conservation works! Although poisoning, electrocution, collision and direct persecution, among other threats, caused adverse effects on vulture populations in Europe in the late 20th Century, long-term and extensive cross-border conservation actions have facilitated the comeback of vultures in our continent. The status of the emblematic Bearded Vulture and Egyptian Vulture improved in Europe, while Cinereous Vulture and Griffon Vulture numbers are increasing.

Read all the details

The Bearded Vulture captive breeding season has already begun

Even though the previous Bearded Vulture captive breeding season officially finished only a couple of months ago, the new one has already begun! Bearded Vulture pairs started playing with nesting materials such as sticks and wool, constructing their nest, engaging in mutual preening, exhibiting aggression towards neighbouring pairs and copulating. Let's hope for a fruitful breeding season again!

Learn more about the breeding season

First Rüppell’s Vulture GPS-tagged in Portugal already travelled to Africa

As the sightings of the African Rüppell’s Vulture continue to grow in Europe, especially in Iberia, we intend to monitor the situation by equipping individuals with GPS transmitters to help determine how long they stay in Europe and where they come from. A couple of weeks ago, we equipped the first Rüppell’s Vulture with a GPS transmitter in Portugal, and the bird named "Vouzela" has already left for Africa, making good progress south.

Explore Vouzela'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: Silvio A. Rusmigo, Irene Zorrilla/ Junta de Andalucía, Hansruedi Weyrich, Bruno Berthemy, Vulture Conservation Foundation and Rui Telmo Romão.