Aiding the recovery of Europe’s endangered vultures

Egyptian vultures are one of Europe’s endangered species and a Canary Isles’ LIFE project has made important progress in ensuring the long term survival of this unique rapture population.

Europe’s endangered species continue to require protection in order to prevent further deterioration of their already threatened conservation status. LIFE Nature projects are providing important support to help improve conditions for these endangered species and this work includes efforts in Spain to increase the Canary Islands’ population of Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus).

Numbers of this endangered raptor species have experienced a dramatic fall, both in terms of overall numbers and its European distribution range, during recent decades. Around 80% of the EU’s last remaining Egyptian vultures are found in Spain and significant population declines have been recorded for the Canarian sub-species of the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus ssp. majorensis). Once widely present in the Canary Islands, this visually striking bird is now restricted to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. The Canarian sub-species, known locally as "guirre", is the most southerly population of EU Egyptian vultures, presenting clearly distinctive features compared to their continental counterparts.

LIFE’s role in supporting the conservation status of this rare EU raptor has focused on reversing regressive population trends, improving the birds’ breeding success and preserving their habitat in optimal conditions within the SPA network of Fuerteventura. Priority actions for the conservation programme included reducing illegal poisoning incidents, avoiding nest disturbances during the most critical breeding periods, reducing mortality from power line collisions, and alleviating famine risks by creating three controlled feeding zones.

A four year project was launched to tackle these immediate conservation issues in the short term and also introduce a guirre recovery plan intended to provide a more favourable status for the endangered species in the longer term. Almost €415 000 of co-finance from LIFE was awarded to the project, which successfully achieved its main objectives by its conclusion last summer.

Success stories

One of the most important goals achieved by the project was its elaboration and approval of the recovery plan for the species. This resulted in the species receiving full legal protection and as such public administrations on the Islands are required to fulfil their conservation commitments and continue to build on the species recovery work initiated by LIFE.

Other notable outcomes involved a 90% reduction in guirre mortality from power line incidents. This followed the identification of high risk points in Fuerteventura’s overhead voltage network by LIFE staff and a programme of associated modifications to limit collisions or electrocution. Furthermore, the new feeding sites have been effective in helping re-colonise certain areas and encourage vultures to remain in the existing protected zones. Captive breeding centres are also now established to help improve overall guirre numbers as part of the species’ long term recovery plan.

Other emphasis in the plan is placed on eliminating illegal poisoning of vultures, since this transpired to be the bird’s main mortality threat at the end of the project’s investigations. An intensive campaign to reduce indiscriminate use of poison was developed throughout the project and this was assisted by wardens from the islands' public authorities. Project staff also sought to limit problems linked with lead ammunition and an awareness raising campaign took place to improve local hunters’ appreciation about the impacts of lead on the islands’ wildlife.

The beneficiary remains satisfied with their project achievements and LIFE’s support has helped to increase the number of breeding territories on Fuerteventura from 29 in 2005, to 38 in 2008. This represents an annual increase of around 10% during the LIFE project and the total guirre population of Fuerteventura in 2008, though still very fragile, was no longer in decline, with around 190 individual birds estimated to be surviving in the wild.

Find out more about LIFE’s involvement with conserving the Canary Isles’ unique population of Egyptian vultures from the guirre project website.

The conservation of guirre in Spas of the Fuerteventura island
LIFE04 NAT/ES/000067