An important milestone has reached the project for the reintroduction of the Cinereous Vulture in Bulgaria – two out of the three expected results have been achieved – more than one individual of the species to be present in the area of release and the presence of the species in the same region to be year-round.
The planning of the project for the reintroduction of the Cinereous Vulture in the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria in 2014 provided for three expected results as follows:
1. Because prior to the start of the project there were single observations and short stays of single individual of the species in the release areas, the desired result was the achievement of the simultaneous presence of more than one individual. After the start of the release of Cinereous Vultures from aviaries in the Eastern Balkan Mountain from March 2019, this condition was achieved with between 5-15 individuals simultaneously present in the area (Table 1).
2. Prior to the release of the Cinereous Vultures in the Eastern Balkan Mountains, single birds stayed briefly – the longest reported stay was in 2015 when a young individual spent about 20 days in the company of the already local Griffon Vultures between Sliven and Kotel. Therefore, one of the goals of the project was to increase the species’ presence to a constant throughout the year. After the start of the release of individuals from the aviaries in the Eastern Balkan Mountain in March 2019, we now close at the end of February 2020 a full year in which Cinereous Vultures were permanently present in the area (Table 1).
Table 1. Number of observed Cinereous Vultures in Eastern Balkan Mountain by months during the last year.
3. Since 1985, when the first Red Data Book of Bulgaria was published and until now the Cinereous Vulture has been listed as “Extinct” as breeder from the country. The next important milestone of the project is the recording of a breeding attempt, with which the species will be considered as restored. Than, instead of “Extinct”, its conservation status will have to be changed to “Critically endangered” species in the country. This is what the project team hopes, and the indications are that if everything goes well, this significant success can be reported within a year at the latest.
The activities of the Cinereous vulture restoration in Bulgaria, with a focus on the Balkan Mountains, are being implemented within the framework of the “Vultures Back to LIFE” project LIFE14NAT / BG /649 funded by the LIFE instrument of EU, in partnership of Green Balkans, FWFF and international organizations – VCF, EuroNatur and the Extremadura Regional Government.
