Uvac Canyon's griffon vultures, once on brink of extinction, in "baby boom": 117 hatch this year

Photo: RINA

If the road leads you to the Uvac Canyon, apart from fantastic landscapes, you will be greeted by griffon vultures on the cliffs that surround Lake Uvac. With a wingspan of three meters, they can be described as the kings of the Serbian sky, and their magnificent flight delights visitors of the Uvac Special Nature Reserve located between Nova Varos and Sjenica. A few years ago, these birds fought for survival in southwestern Serbia, and they have emerged victorious from that battle.

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"In the early '70s, a protected area was declared in the territory of the municipality of Nova Varos in order to protect griffon vultures. Back then, there were about 50 nesting pairs, and in the 1990s, that number dropped to only seven. At that time, strict protection measures were put in place, a feeding ground was formed to which about 400 tons of food are taken annually, and in that way we managed to save those birds from extinction and displacement," Steva Radovanovic from the Uvac Special Nature Reserve told RINA.

Today, there is no fear for their future because there are about 500 adults in the Uvac Canyon, and this year a kind of a "baby boom" was recorded because 117 chicks hatched in this bird colony. Some of them are marked in order to follow their movement and learn about their way of life.

"Until the age of five, they behave like real teenagers, travel the world and fly everywhere. When they reach full maturity, they find a partner and stay with them for the rest of their lives. If something happens to one of them, they do not look for another and remain alone. According to the data we received based on monitoring, 62 percent of griffon vultures return to their colony, here on Uvac, and they nest here, while 38 percent find their home somewhere," said Radovanovic.

The colony of griffon vultures in Uvac is the second largest in Europe, with only the one in Spain having more of these birds. Griffon vultures are not predators and do not attack other species, feeding exclusively on carrion of hoofed animals. Although the chicks are also quite large, they are extremely sensitive and fragile, as evidenced by the fact that only ten percent reach maturity. The first flight is usually fatal, when they are still unprepared and trying to take off from a nest on top of a cliff.

(Telegraf.rs)