{"id":13829,"date":"2020-06-08T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T10:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4vultures.org\/?p=13829"},"modified":"2025-05-05T15:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T12:47:13","slug":"tackling-illegal-wildlife-poisoning-to-preserve-the-remaining-griffon-vulture-population-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/es\/blog\/tackling-illegal-wildlife-poisoning-to-preserve-the-remaining-griffon-vulture-population-in-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling illegal wildlife poisoning to preserve the remaining Griffon Vulture population in Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Illegal wildlife poisoning resulted in the plight of the Griffon Vulture population in mainland Greece, wiping out breeding colonies and threatening the remaining ones. To prevent the extinction of the species in the country, conservationists are now tackling the threat head on with a new project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffon Vultures in Greece<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Griffon Vulture population in Greece has suffered a severe decline in recent decades in terms of population size and distribution. The current population of Griffon Vultures in mainland Greece barely exceeds 30 pairs in five colonies spread across western and north-eastern parts of the country. The species has experienced a steep population decline in the country since the 1940s. In the 1980s, the population of the species was estimated at 400-450 breeding pairs with about 200 of them occurring in Crete. The plight of the Griffon Vulture continued at the turn of the 21st century, with several colonies having been wiped out in the last decade, such as Kalamas Gorge, Pineios Gorge, the Valtou Mountains and Nestos Gorge, undoubtedly due to the illegal practice of wildlife poisoning. Etoloakarnania is one of only four areas in Greece where Griffon Vultures have remained and reproduce, and hosts the second largest population of the species nationally, after Crete. The colony of the Acarnanic Mountains as well as the colony of Arakinthos, which are protected areas under the territorial jurisdiction and supervision of the Management Body of Messolonghi lagoon \u2013 Akarnanian Mountains, <\/strong>are their living space and are currently the only sustainable ones in the region of Western Greece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poisoning causing the plight of vultures in Greece<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plight of the Griffon Vulture continued at the turn of the 21st century, with several colonies having been wiped out in the last decade, such as Kalamas Gorge, Pineios Gorge, the Valtou Mountains and Nestos Gorge, undoubtedly due to mass poisoning incidents. The dramatic population decline has unfortunately been confirmed after the recent serious and larger case of poisoning in the country that ever happened. After that case of 2012 in the Straits of Nestos, on 12 February 2020, another massive poisoning<\/a> was recorded in the area<\/a>, with 11 Griffon Vultures found as victims, of which 9 were found dead in Arakinthos and 2 that survived were treated and returned to the area for release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tackling poisoning in Greece<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n