A second griffon vulture chick born in Cyprus this year has been fitted with a GPS tracker, allowing conservation teams to monitor its movements after it leaves its nest.
The chick hatched in mid-May in the Limnatis valley special protection area and was tagged last Monday by the game and fauna service in cooperation with BirdLife Cyprus.
A professional climber assisted in the procedureA professional climber assisted the team in safely reaching the nest, which is perched on a cliff, and returning the chick after the transmitter was fitted.
The GPS device will provide information on the young vulture’s movements, while its behaviour will be closely monitored during the first months after leaving the nest.
The period is considered particularly critical as young vultures gradually become independent and integrate into the wider population.
Both parents of the chick were among griffon vultures transferred from Spain as part of efforts to strengthen the species’ population on the island.
The initiative received support from the Spanish embassy in Cyprus.
Three pairs of griffon vultures successfully bred in Cyprus this year, the first time since 2021 that three pairs have done so.
The breeding success in Limnatis valley is particularly significant as the area had not recorded a breeding pair for some 16 years.
Vultures continued to use the site as a roosting area, but the last recorded breeding there was in 2010.
