Griffon vulture from Eindhoven Zoo is named Zivka, 'she who lives'

The griffon vulture that hatched in April this year is a female. The sister of griffon vulture Stanislav, which was released in Bulgaria early this year, has been named Zivka.

That name emerged as the winner in a name contest on Eindhoven Zoo's social channels and means "she who lives. "A beautiful name and a fitting meaning," says head of animal care Stephan Rijnen. Zivka will leave for Bulgaria later this year to be released in a nature reserve there.

Together with Green Balkans and Stichting Wildlife, Eindhoven Zoo is working to reintroduce the vulture to Bulgaria. Several European vulture species, the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture and the monk vulture, were completely extinct in that country. This was in part because farmers laid down poisoned carcasses to outlive wolves and bears. However, vultures also fell victim to this, causing a rapid population decline since the 1970s.

Through reintroduction and other means, Green Balkans seeks to maintain and increase the population of vultures. This June, as part of this project, griffon vulture Stanislav from Eindhoven Zoo was released into a Bulgarian nature reserve.