NICOSIA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Spain has sent Cyprus some unusual immigrants -- 14 Griffon vultures -- in a bid to boost the local population of the species.
Cypriot environmentalists including the Game and Fauna Service of the Interior Ministry and BirdLife Cyprus said in a statement that the arrival of the birds was part of a program called "Life with Vultures," aimed at preventing the extinction of the Griffon.
Cyprus was home to a large population of Griffon vultures as recently as 50 years ago, but their numbers have seriously declined due to the rapid expansion of inhabited areas. A large number of the birds also died from accidentally eating poisoned baits used by farmers against vermin.
"Due to the slow breeding rate of the species and the frequent poisoning they suffer, the Griffon vultures' population in Cyprus cannot recover without human intervention," the environmentalists said.
Currently, experts predict that the species will disappear within 15 years if targeted conservation action is not taken.
The Game and Fauna Service has created protected feeding grounds for Griffon vultures, providing animal carcasses for the birds to eat in remote mountain areas.
In 2015, it also imported vultures from the Greek island of Crete, but they were not enough to boost Cyprus' Griffin population.
"Spain is the ideal country to donate birds as it boasts the healthiest European vulture population, hosting 90-95 percent of all vultures on the continent," the environmentalists said. There are 30,000 vulture pairs in Spain.
The Spanish birds donated to Cyprus will now be kept in a special acclimatization cage for five to six months, before being released into the wild.
They will also be fitted with special transmitters to monitor their movements, so that rescue assistance can be provided in case of danger. ■