Monitoring

The post-release period is extremely sensitive for young Egyptian vultures because they must acquire mastery in flight, learn to obtain food, identify safe perches and interact with conspecifics and other bird species.

Near the release area, a team of experts monitors their movements and state of health both visually and by analyzing the data provided by the GPS devices the juveniles are equipped with. Webcams and camera traps in feeding areas are also helpful. Furthermore, small VHF transmitters attached to the animals allow us to precisely locate and assist individuals in difficulty.

Juveniles born during the year typically spend an average of 15 days in the release zone, starting to take exploratory flights in the surrounding area just a few days after release. At around 95 days old, they leave the area to migrate to Africa. If they manage to reach their wintering areas in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly Mali and Niger) safely, they return to Italy at three or four years old to spend the spring and summer.

Instead, many juveniles released at one or two years old do not migrate to Africa and remain to winter in southern Italy (Sicily or Calabria) for one or more years, facing all the associated human-caused dangers.

When the juveniles released into the wild begin to make erratic movements or undertake their first autumn migration, they are monitored mainly through the analysis of GPS data.

The monitoring and surveillance network

A network of around 80 operators collaborates with CERM to monitor and manage the movements and the migration of young vultures released into the wild. This network includes numerous Italian ornithologists, volunteers from various associations, ISPRA staff, and specialists from Tunisia, Algeria, and Malta.

Thanks to real-time sharing of the animals’ GPS positions, this network effectively checks their health status, monitors them in areas at risk of poaching, provides food support, and, when necessary, carries out recovery operations. It is also instrumental in rapidly locating deceased individuals to ascertain the cause of death.

Furthermore, members of this network have activated supplementary feeding sites along the migratory route, at stop-over points, and in Italian wintering areas.