site.btaNew Pair of Egyptian Vultures Settle in Eastern Rhodope Mountains

A new pair of Egyptian vultures have settled in the Eastern Rhodope area, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) reported Friday. The pair exhibit territorial behaviour but have not built a nest, as is normal for their young age.

The female bird, tagged with a GPS transmitter upon release into the wild in Bulgaria, hatched in Austria's Schonbrunn Zoo and was donated to the BSPB. The male is an unmarked wild bird, the environmentalists said.

The BSPB has recorded a total of 35 Egyptian vulture pairs, and one of the nesting territories has been claimed by a lone bird.

The Egyptian vulture is one of the most endangered bird species on the planet. Its population in the Balkans has declined by over 80% in the last 25 years due to poisoning, poaching, and electrocution caused by the power grid. In Bulgaria, the conservation efforts for this species are carried out under the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project, coordinated by the BSPB. Last year was reportedly the most successful year for the project in Bulgaria, with vultures released the previous year returning to the Eastern Rhodopes to settle, and the first successful breeding of captive-bred Egyptian vultures in the wild.