Griffon vultures on Cres Island - Croatia
The birds are on the money in Croatia
By Powell Ettinger - Wildlife Extra
Goran Susic launched the Eco centre in 1993, purely as a rescue centre for Griffon vultures. However he soon realised that there was little point in rescuing a few Griffon vultures purely to release them back into the same habitat and cirumstances that was causing the problems in the first place.
The Griffon vultures on Cres are the only ones that roost by the sea anywhere in the world, possibly a legacy of when the sea level was much lower, as far back as 9000 years. So when young vultures are fledging, making that all important first flight, they often hit the sea if they make any mistakes. They can sometimes make their way back to the beach, but that is as far as they can get so if they don't drown, they usually die on the beach. This can happen at anytime, but when the young birds are startled into that first flight before they are really ready, they crash land in the sea. And what makes them go early? Often as not tourist boats going much too close to the colony, frightening the birds into a premature flight.
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Goran collected a few of these traumatised birds, and started looking after them. At the time, Cres vulture colony numbered just 20 pairs, but now, with the help of Goran and the Eco centre, there are some 70 pairs on Cres and 40-50 more on surrounding islands. There are more problems though.
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| There is less and less carrion available to the wild vultures on the island of Cres due to the decline in sheep farming. The birds in the sanctuary are fed with a sheep carcass every couple of days. Photo credit Wildlife Extra. |
Lack of carrion
The vultures feed almost exclusively on the carcasses of dead sheep, and the local shepherds are happy to have the carcasses removed by the birds. However as sheep farming wains on the islands, and there are fewer sheep, the vultures are struggling for a food source. The problem has been exacerbated by the introduction of wild boar by hunters. Just 30 boar were introduced 20 years ago, and within 10 years their number had escalated to 1000. These boar were damaging the habitat, and even attacking sheep and lambs as a food source. In fact some farmers suffered so badly, they gave up farming. Others tried poisoning the boar, with disastrous consequences. In 2005 20 vultures died after being poisoned after eating a lamb that had been put out as bait for boar.
There are currently (September 2009) 22 vultures at the centre, 8 of which were 2008 hatchlings, which will be released into the wild next month. A further 10 were rescued this year, and they will be released in 2010. The last four will, sadly, remain in the centre for the rest of their lives; 1 has 48 shot gun pellets in his neck and head; 2 have recovered from being poisoned, but will never be fit enough to be released; and the fourth is actually an African Griffon that has escaped from captivity. These birds need a sheep's carcass every two days to feed them, and the centre has to buy these from local farmers. Feeding time is a frenzy, but there is a strict pecking order and the African Griffon gets to go first.
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| The Eco-centre has a unique vulture veiwing room to enable you and the researchers to observe the birds close up. Photo credit Wildlife Extra. |
Hunting & migration
There are very strict rules against shooting these birds in Croatia, but vultures are no respecters of international boundaries, and several have been shot in Italy. In fact the birds from Cres have been recorded amazingly far afield, with sightings in places as diverse as The Alps, Israel, Spain, Russia and even 1 in Chad.
Holistic solution
Goran has progressed from saving a few vultures, to being the leading light behind making Cres into a viable habitat for vultures, and all the other local wildlife, while preserving the culture and history of the island. Cres has a long history, and the name Caput Insulae was given to the region by the Emperor Tiberius, it is the Latin for "Head of the island." In fact the islanders had to pay tribute to Rome in the form of marten skins, or Kuna as they were known, and today the Croatian currency is called Kuna and the coins have pictures of wildlife, including a marten.
Cres Island - Remarkable biodiversity
Cres sits astride the 45th parallel, so lies half way between the north pole and the equator, and covers just 400 square kilometres and reaches a height of 650 metres above sea
| Feeding time for the vultures at the Eco centre. Credit Wildlife Extra |
level. The island has just 2,800 inhabitants, of which 2,500 live in the town of Cres. The UK has some 1650 native plant species, but Cres has 1400, including 65 native trees to the UK's 39. For such a small island, Cres has a remarkable amount of biodiversity, including 24 species of reptile, 200 birds, 87 butterflies, 15 bats (half of all European bat species), 7 amphibians and 31 dragonflies. There is also a colony of 120 bottlenose dolphins that live around the archipelago. There are many very old trees on the island as the practice has always been to cut branches from the tree, but never to cut the tree down. This also has the advantage that there is a lot more dead wood around than in many places, which provides the perfect habitat for insects.
2 bird reserves have been created on the island, one centred on the vulture cliffs, and an attempt by a religious group to buy a huge swathe of the island to create a meditation centre for up to 30,000 people has been fended off. Cres remains a very wild island, and is becoming an important conservation project.
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| The Eco centre is based in the beautiful coastal village of Beli. Copyright Wildlife Extra. |
Volunteering at the Eco centre
The Eco centre is situated in the beautiful village of Beli, and is open from 1st March - 31st October every year, and takes in many volunteers. Volunteers have to be over the age of 18, or younger if with their family. Volunteers are expected to help out with many jobs, including helping tend the captive birds and with the ‘vulture restaurant', set up to provide wild birds with carrion. Other tasks might include repairing stone walls, clearing old ponds or helping host visitors. The centre has created a system of 7 eco trails,
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including a 10 kilometre sculpture trail. There are many labyrinths, copied form some of the world's best known examples. There are some strong beliefs that the area that is special, and has some spiritual importance, and the area is strewn with prehistoric monuments, ancients town ruins and Roman remains.
More about the wildlife of Croatia
The reward. A griffon vulture flying over the island of Cres in Croatia.
