Griffon vulture to be reintroduced to Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains

The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), a species that has been extinct in the country for over 70 years, will be reintroduced in a project carried out by nature conservation non-profit Conservation Carpathia Foundation (FCC).

The project, part of wider efforts to restore biodiversity in the Făgăraș Mountains, will be carried out in several stages, in collaboration with Romanian and international experts, based on scientific studies and in accordance with European norms, FCC said.

If all administrative and logistical conditions are met as planned, the first birds are scheduled to arrive in Romania in the coming months. The first griffon vultures will be brought from Spain, with the support of partners from the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF), one of the most experienced European organizations in vulture conservation and reintroduction. The young birds will undergo an acclimatization phase of approximately six months in a specially arranged aviary in the Rucăr area, in Argeș county. After this, they will be gradually released into the wild, where they usually remain in the vicinity of the release area and periodically return to the feeding site.

FCC will also build a visitor center dedicated to the vulture in Valea Mare Pravăț, in Argeș county. It will be part of the network of visitor centers that the organization has been developing in the area of the Făgăraș Mountains, highlighting the other species it has reintroduced so far, namely the bison and the beaver.

Locally, the vulture became extinct in the mid-20th century, after being hunted and shot because it was considered harmful, but also due to poisoning and the gathering of eggs for private collections.

Romania is the last country in the European Union where all four species of eagles nest, but which has not yet implemented reintroduction programs for these species, FCC said.

For the project, FCC will collaborate with Asociația Grupul Milvus, while at a local level, a consortium was formed by the communes of Lerești, Rucăr, and Valea Mare Pravăț, together with the Argeș Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate.

The griffon vulture helps clean the natural environment and prevent the spread of disease as it consumes the carcasses of dead animals. At the same time, it helps to quickly restore the nutrient cycle, transforming organic waste into resources that nourish the entire ecosystem, the NGO explains.

If the project to reintroduce the griffon vulture is successful, FCC aims to create, in the coming years, the needed conditions for the return of two other species: the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) – zăganul in Romanian.