Cinereous Vulture
Cinereous Vulture occurs in Europe (mainly in Spain) and Asia. There are several reintroduction projects. The numbers are currently decreasing. The major threats are hunting, poaching, poisoning and habitat destruction.
In 2018 Riga Zoo participated in Cinereous Vulture reintroduction project in Bulgaria, supplying it with two young specimens hatched at the Zoo in Riga and Affiliate Cīruļi respectively.
Conservation
■ Included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1988, listed as Near Threatened (NT) since 1994.
■ The species is managed under the EEP (EAZA Ex-situ Programme). The programme is coordinated by Planckendael Zoo.
■ Listed in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, or Washington Convention).
■ Listed in Appendix II of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, or Bonn Convention) as migratory species that conservation is requiring international cooperation.
■ Listed in Appendix II of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats as a strictly protected fauna species.
■ Listed in Annex I of EU Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the Conservation of wild birds (the Birds Directive).
Read about Cinereous Vulture monitoring in the wild:
Read about Riga Zoo’s participation in Cinereous Vulture reintroduction project:
Taxonomy
■ Phylum Chordata – chordates
■ Class Aves – birds
■ Order Accipitriformes – hawks, eagles, kites and relatives
■ Family Accipitridae – hawks, eagles and vultures
■ Species Aegypius monachus – Cinereous Vulture