{"id":5776,"date":"2018-08-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4vultures.org\/blog\/life-rupis\/"},"modified":"2018-08-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T00:00:00","slug":"life-rupis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/es\/blog\/life-rupis\/","title":{"rendered":"LIFE Rupis – Conserving Egyptian vultures in Portugal and Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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They are Europe\u2019s smallest vultures, and worryingly out of the four species of vultures in Europe, they are the one that is still in decline. The LIFE Rupis conservation project in the Douro Valley that borders Spain and Portugal aims to reduce Egyptian vulture mortalities and improve breeding success in one of the densest and most important nucleus of this species in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Egyptian vultures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Easily spotted thanks to their bright yellow head and black and white plumage, the Egyptian vulture is the smallest vulture in Europe, weighing around 2kg. Egyptian vultures are Europe\u2019s only migratory vulture spending its winters in Sub-Saharan Africa and returning from March to reproduce in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Egyptian vultures in Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2007 the species was declared globally \u2018endangered\u2019 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature\u2019s Red List. In Europe the population of Egyptian vultures has declined by a staggering 50 percent in the last 40 years and on the Balkan Peninsula has declined by 80 percent leaving just 40 pairs. The majority of the European population is found on the Iberian peninsula with an estimated 1,300 – 1,500 pairs, the remaining populations being in France (80 pairs) and Italy (10 pairs).<\/p>\n

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The drastic decline of the species in Europe is the result of loss of habitat, shortage of food through changes in land use, and mortality – due to illegal wildlife poisoning not just in Europe but along the migratory flyway between the summer and winter ranges, electrocution and\u00a0 collision with cables and windfarms.<\/p>\n

LIFE Rupis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Led by the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and launched in 2015, LIFE RUPIS<\/a> projects aims to strengthen the population of Egyptian vultures in the Douro valley, a stronghold for the population on the Iberian Peninsula.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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With funding from the European Union\u2019s LIFE+ programme and the MAVA Foundation, LIFE Rupis will work to reduce the mortality of the 135 breeding pairs in the Douro valley that borders Spain and Portugal to improve the breeding success of the Egyptian vultures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Douro Valley bordering Spain and Portugal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tracking Egyptian vultures<\/strong><\/p>\n

The migratory Egyptian vulture carries out a 7,000km round trip between their summer and winter grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. To better understand their travels the LIFE Rupis has been tracking Egyptian vultures with GPS transmitters, a first for Portugal.<\/p>\n