Griffon vulture Zivka arrived safely at Bulgarian sanctuary

Griffon vulture Zivka from Eindhoven Zoo arrived well at the Green Balkans shelter in Bulgaria. Here she was medically checked by the veterinarians and among other things got tags on her wings so Green Balkans can track her properly.

Zivka will spend several months at this center along with several peers. Here the birds of prey will learn, among other things, how to feed in the nature reserve. Zivka is expected to be released into Sinite kamani Nature Park next spring.

Reintroduction
The griffon vulture was almost extinct in Bulgaria. One of the causes of this was the laying down of poisoned carcasses by farmers, who did so to scare away bears and wolves. As a result, the populations of the griffon vulture, bearded vulture and monk vulture were significantly reduced.

Nature organization Green Balkans is committed to fighting the extinction of vultures. Thanks in part to their efforts, conditions in Bulgaria have greatly improved in recent years, allowing vultures to safely fly around here again.

To restore the population of griffon vultures, young birds from European zoos, among others, are being released into Sinite kamani. Earlier this year, Stanislav, Zivka's brother, was already reintroduced into the Bulgarian wild.