Filenews 4 May 2023
Pablo, a young vulture born in 2021 in Spain and released in Cyprus as part of the "LIFE with Vultures" program to strengthen the local population, was the result of a collision with power lines.
As BirdLife Cyprus points out, Pablo's death is the third confirmed incident of vulture colliding with energy infrastructure in Cyprus, the first being Nefeli's death in 2022. It calls on EAC to implement relevant measures.
BirdLife Cyprus' announcement is as follows:
Sad news from the Diocese of Limassol. Last Sunday we lost Pablo, a young vulture born in 2021 in Spain and released in Cyprus under the "LIFE with Vultures" project to strengthen the local population.
Like all Spanish vultures, Pablo was closely monitored through its satellite transmitter. When the project team realized that something was wrong, they visited the area in Episkopi from where the signal was coming and found Pablo dead, near high-voltage cables.
The Game and Fauna Service as well as the Police rushed to the spot, which was called to investigate the causes of death of the Griffon Vulture as provided for by the procedure for investigating an incident of death of a protected species.
Pablo's death was the tragic result of an impact on power lines, which was confirmed by autopsy, X-ray as well as satellite transmitter signals.
Unfortunately, Pablo's death is the third confirmed Griffon Vulture impact on energy infrastructure in Cyprus (the first was Nefeli's death in 2022). Electrocution and collisions with overhead cables pose a serious threat to Griffon Vultures across Europe and Cyprus, unfortunately, is no exception. However, there are solutions in place to make this infrastructure safer for wildlife. We are in contact with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus for the marking of overhead power lines with the highest risk of collision with special equipment (fireflies) and the insulation of potentially dangerous pylons.
We hope that EAC will implement these measures as soon as possible, before we lose any more vultures, but also other raptors such as eagles that also die due to impacts and electric shock.
