site.btaFirst Bearded Vulture Chick Hatches at Green Balkans Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora

The first bearded vulture chick of the season, and the thirteenth since the start of the breeding program, has hatched at the Wildlife Rescue Centre of Green Balkans in Stara Zagora, the organization said on its official website.

The chick hatched from one of the two eggs laid by the most experienced pair at the Centre. It cracked its shell two days before the expected date, and the egg had to be placed in an incubator and hatched under the supervision of specialists. The organization added that they will care for it for several days until it is ready to be returned to its parents.

For now, the chick is growing rapidly and becoming stronger and more confident each day. When it is returned to the nest, the pair’s second egg will be taken for examination to assess its condition and determine whether it may need to hatch in a controlled environment, the Rescue Centre further said.

The nesting success of the pairs in the breeding program is essential for restoring the species in the wild, the organization said. Whether some of the hatched chicks will be released in Bulgaria depends on their sex and genetic characteristics.

The bearded vulture breeding activities at the Wildlife Rescue Centre of Green Balkans are carried out under the project “Bearded Vulture LIFE,” which brings together eight partners from three European countries. The initiative follows the successful model from the Alps, where a stable population of the species has already been established.

Last year, the first bearded vultures were released into the wild near Tuida Fortress in Sliven, marking the return of the species to Bulgaria after a 50-year absence.