Two more vultures to be released

The reintroduction of vultures into the wild is one of the most important conservation projects of our zoo. On Thursday, November 20, the breeders boarded the reared fledglings of the cinereous and griffon vultures. The both of them arrived at their new home safely.

 The transported vultures, a male and a female, are going to spend the first few weeks at the rescue center in Stara Zagora. Once adapted to the new environment, the staff of the center is going to move them to the acclimatization aviary located in the Stará Planina mountain to have them used to the company of the other vultures, establishing social ties between them. After about a year of stay, they are going to be released into the wild. The reintroduction process itself is carried out very carefully, meeting the individual needs of every vulture. For their successful protection in the wild, every released vulture is equipped with a GPS transmitter, providing important information not only about their adaptation itself, but also about their feeding customs, reproduction and the threats they can possibly face.

The transit of the reared vultures was financed by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic repeatedly. Ever since 2009, when the collaboration with the Green Balkans organization begun, the Zlín Zoo handed to the team of Bulgarian and Spanish rescuers 20 fledglings of griffon, 3 fledglings of cinereous and 3 fledglings of Egyptian vulture species. On a global scale, our zoo is one of the most successful vulture breeders. More importantly, it is one of the very few zoological gardens rearing vultures naturally, under parental care. Overall, the Zlín Zoo itself rears 7 species of vultures, including not only the cinereous, Egyptian and griffon ones, but also hooded, Rüppell’s, Himalayan and white-headed species.

Did you know? Vultures belong to the most endangered bird types. Its populations decreases rapidly due to countless threats, including the loss of natural habitat, the use of pesticides in agriculture, the medicine used in animal husbandry, poisoning of carcasses and illegal hunting.