Black Vultures reproducing in Greece

Athens, Greece - The Black Vulture, one of the largest birds of prey in the world and nature’s very own cleansing and recycling machine, has started laying eggs in Dadia, northern Greece, where the only population that actively reproduces in the Balkans can be found.

WWF-Greece’s team there has been instrumental in raising the local population from around 25 individuals in 1980 to 90-100 in the last five years. Their efforts, along with those of the local community, have turned the forest of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli, a national park, into the best managed protected area in Greece.

With a wing-span of up to three metres and a weight of between seven and 14kg which makes it one of the heaviest flying birds, the Black Vulture used to live all over Greece and the Balkans. By the 1980’s though there were just two populations of this imposing bird of prey left in the country.

The main reason behind the dramatic decline in the population of the Black Vulture, which was helpful in picking up dead animals, lies in the rapid urbanisation of Greek society and the resulting reduction of free range animal herding in favour of stabling.

The situation was compounded by the widespread illegal poisoning of small and medium-sized mammals that farmers and the authorities deemed “harmful” for agriculture, such as wolves and jackals.

Even though the “harmful” classification has been officially scrapped and poisoning is now illegal, second-hand poisoning is the biggest threat the Black Vulture faces today. Others include problematic site selection for new wind energy parks in the area and a reduction in the number of mature trees the vulture uses to nest.

To counter these threats a feeding site was set up in Dadia so that vultures could top-up their food intake. After concerted WWF efforts in co-operation with other NGOs, an area that encompasses the Black Vulture’s nesting and feeding sites was declared protected and eventually became part of the National Park of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli forest in Evros that was founded in 2001.

WWF-Greece’s team in Dadia monitors the vultures and the area and has recently begun passing on its know-how to its Balkan neighbours in the hope that a second population will someday set up home and reproduce somewhere else in the Balkan peninsula.

To follow the path of Icarus, a Black Vulture monitored by WWF Greece over the course of a single day, please follow this link.