On the national holiday, we received an alert from the griffon vulture Búval, donated by Paris Zoo (Parc Zoologique Paris), equipped with a GPS transmitter, indicating poisoning in the area of the village of Moshtanets, Blagoevgrad municipality, within the Natura 2000 zone Oranovski Prolom – Leshko. A rapid site visit revealed a cow sprinkled with poison and two dead vultures nearby.
Fortunately, we received a swift and appropriate response from the responsible institutions – police, Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), and the Municipal Inspectorate on the holiday. Two griffon vultures were revived with an antidote at the wildlife center in Rakitna, while two others were found dead.
Today, March 4, two more distressed vultures were found, but still alive. There are 17 pairs already nesting or preparing to nest in the Kresna Gorge. Some eggs will never hatch due to the absence of one parent (dead or captured for treatment).
Poisons are one of the main threats facing vultures in Bulgaria and Europe. We are working hard to counteract this threat, and these activities are also included in the Life for the Bearded Vulture project.
Transmitters are one of the measures that work and save lives. Thanks to this alert, hundreds of animals will not die in the coming days. You can donate to help purchase more devices.
