The Cinereous Vulture

Main Threats

Main threats

Once common in Iberia, the Cinereous Vulture became increasingly rare over the 20th century due to habitat loss, mortality from widespread poisoning campaigns against predators and direct persecution, among other threats. As a result, the breeding population of Portugal was wiped out in the 1970s, and only 206 pairs remained in Spain by 1973. Thanks to conservation efforts in both countries, the population in Spain recovered, which led to the natural recolonisation of the species in Portugal. However, the Cinereous Vulture still faces serious threats that could endanger its survival in the future.

#1 Threat

Illegal wildlife poisoning is the single most significant threat to vultures worldwide and the Cinereous Vulture in the Iberian Peninsula.

Illegal killing and poisoning

Despite being illegal, wildlife crimes such as shooting and poisoning are still prevalent and continue to harm vultures. The use of poison baits is a common method to eliminate predators and pests that are considered harmful to human activities such as hunting, livestock farming, and agriculture, and this dangerous practice is still prevalent in many rural parts of Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula. Vultures are particularly vulnerable to poisoning incidents as they inadvertently consume these poison baits or poisoned animal carcasses.

Illegal wildlife poisoning has been identified as the biggest threat to vultures by the Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP). In fact, a single poisoning incident can result in the death of multiple vultures, even wiping out entire vulture colonies.

To address poisoning, LIFE Aegypius Return aims to reduce vulture mortality due to poisoning enhancing the implementation of the national anti-poisoning programme and developing local capacity to deal with and follow-up poisoning and other incidents involving target species. Two new anti-poisoning dog units will also be established within the Portuguese police, located in an area that is essential to at least three of the Portuguese breeding colonies.

Lead poisoning

The use of lead ammunition during hunting activities has emerged as a severe threat to the survival of vultures and birds of prey in Europe. These scavenging birds often feed on the meat of shot game species that are not retrieved by hunters or on the offal (internal organs) that hunters leave on the ground. When lead ammunition hits the targeted animals, a large number of lead fragments form, which spread into the various tissues of the prey, facilitating lead ingestion by scavenging birds.

In a study of 252 Golden Eagles, Bearded, Griffon, and Cinereous Vultures collected from a large area of south-central Europe, 44% (111 individuals) showed chronic lead values higher than normal and 26% (66 individuals) had clinical poisoning levels. This high prevalence of lead poisoning is detrimental to raptor populations, which are often rare and scattered, and subject to conservation programmes funded by the EU and its Member States. To mitigate this issue, LIFE Aegypius Return aims to reduce the risk of lead intoxication by encouraging a transition to non-lead ammunition in 14 hunting areas (28,380 ha) within the Cinereous Vulture distribution range in Portugal, covering a total of 300 hunters.

Veterinary drugs

Vultures face a significant threat from veterinary drugs, particularly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like diclofenac, which have caused vulture deaths and are still legally available in Spain. Additionally, other drugs like ketoprofen, aceclofenac, flunixin, and nimesulide, commonly used for livestock, also pose a threat to vultures. In the LIFE Aegypius Return project areas, Cinereous Vultures and other vulture species are at risk of exposure to these drugs since they are used in free-ranging cattle, and pets treated with human medicines without veterinary supervision may also indirectly expose vultures to these substances.

Habitat degradation and increasing fires

The Cinereous Vulture, a species that primarily nests in trees, is threatened by habitat degradation, particularly through the increasing risk of fires. Agricultural abandonment, the expansion of shrub vegetation, the progressive desertification of rural areas and other extreme weather events caused by climate change increase the frequency and intensity of fires in Mediterranean systems. This puts the evolved climax states of trees at risk, as they take a long time to recover from damage and are precisely where the Cinereous Vulture nests. Protecting these trees from fire is vital to ensure the long-term sustainability of the population.

With only four Cinereous Vulture colonies in Portugal, a single destructive forest fire could wipe out a significant part of the Portuguese breeding population. In 2017, the breeding colony in Douro already suffered a setback when the only nest was destroyed, killing the nestling inside. Managing the habitat to prevent forest fires in colonies, securing fragile footholds, and increasing the resilience of woods for stronger nests are essential to enable a sustainable recovery of the Cinereous Vulture population into their former breeding range.

Human disturbance during the breeding season

Human disturbance to vulture breeding sites is a significant threat that can cause breeding failure or even abandonment of nesting sites. While many nesting sites are located within Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Natural Parks, some activities such as forestry, agriculture, hunting, leisure, and tourism can still cause negative impacts due to disturbance. Furthermore, pairs located outside protected areas are even more vulnerable to disturbance, which is sometimes the case for the Cinereous Vulture in Portugal.

The lack of integration of protection measures for the species and its breeding habitat in Territorial Management Instruments, which cover a broad range of themes and spatial scales, exacerbates the issue. Moreover, there is a conflict between some Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies and vulture conservation efforts. For example, subsidies that require shrub clearing or forestry interventions can cause disturbance to breeding habitats. To address this problem, measures need to be implemented at the local, regional, and national levels to minimise disturbance impacts from all activities, including conservation actions. The LIFE Aegypius Return project will identify activities that may cause disturbance to existing or potential breeding colonies, analyse potential conflicts with CAP subsidy rules, and define rules, restrictions, and alternatives for each sector and activity at different levels. Relevant stakeholders and holders of plans will also be informed to ensure the effective protection of vulture breeding habitats.

Limited food availability

The decline of extensive farming and strict carcass disposal legislations have resulted in a reduction in vultures’ food availability in recent years. In 2001, the EU prohibited the abandonment of livestock carcasses in the field in response to the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease, crisis. These policies greatly impacted scavenging birds, including vultures.

However, in Spain, farm animal cadavers are now allowed to remain in the fields for vultures to consume, while in Portugal, they are collected by the authorities. Due to this difference in sanitary policies, Cinereous and Griffon Vultures rarely cross the border into Portugal to forage, creating an ecological barrier.

To address this threat, LIFE Aegypius Return will first estimate the trophic resources needed for the scavenger community in the project area, allowing the definition of a feeding strategy to be implemented for the Cinereous Vulture. The project team will further improve food availability in Portugal and border areas by enhancing the network of existing and new vulture feeding stations, but mainly through the establishment of 66 non-fenced feeding areas.

Emerging human-wildlife conflicts

The conflict between vultures and livestock farmers has been brewing in Europe since the 1990s, fueled by unjustified allegations that vultures are attacking and killing livestock. This misperception is due to a lack of validated scientific data and media magnification. Livestock breeders in some areas of Portugal, such as Tejo Internacional, have been increasingly complaining to the authorities about this conflict, but they have not been able to follow the situation closely.

There is a lack of knowledge about the vulture-livestock breeders’ conflict in Portugal, and it is urgent to identify its real dimension to achieve an adequate human-wildlife coexistence. The conflict needs to be evaluated and addressed quickly to prevent retaliatory killings of wildlife. The project aims to characterise the conflict and its causes in the border area between Portugal and Spain, involving historical information from livestock breeders and assessing media framing of vultures and vulture incidents on livestock. This will help define tailored conservation measures, mitigation strategies, and targeted awareness strategies to prevent and mitigate the conflict across the project area.

Electrocution with overhead powerlines

Electrocution is an important yet underestimated threat to vultures, causing thousands of deaths of protected bird species every year. Vultures often touch wires and die from electric shock when flying or landing on dangerous pylons, contributing to population declines. The Vulture MsAP has identified this as a significant problem.

To address this issue, the project will provide data from the movements and mortality of at least 60 GPS-tagged Cinereous Vultures to the existing projects mitigating electrocution risk and mortality. This information will be used to mitigate the risk of electrocution by identifying dangerous electricity pylons and taking relevant actions such as putting bird markers and insulating the pylons.

Discover the concrete steps the project will take to mitigate threats and reduce vulture mortality.

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www.4vultures.org

The Cinereous Vulture

Main Threats

Main threats

#1 Threat

Illegal killing and poisoning

Lead poisoning

Veterinary drugs

Habitat degradation and increasing fires

Human disturbance during the breeding season

Limited food availability

Emerging human-wildlife conflicts

Electrocution with overhead powerlines

Discover the concrete steps the project will take to mitigate threats and reduce vulture mortality.

Project actions

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The LIFE Aegypius Return project

The Cinereous Vulture

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Contact

Milene Matos - LIFE Aegypius Return Project Manager

Funding

Coordinating beneficiary

Associated beneficiaries