Environmentalists join efforts to save bird species from extinction in Cyprus

NICOSIA -- Several Cypriot environmentalist groups have made joint efforts to save a threatened bird species from extinction under a four-year project co-funded by the European Union, an emailed statement said on Wednesday.

The Griffon Vulture, Gyps Vulvus, is the largest bird in Cyprus with a wingspan that can reach 2.8 meters. With only 20-25 vultures remaining, their "LIFE with Vultures" plan is aimed at providing a lifeline for the threatened bird species, the statement said.

"The project aims to prevent the extinction of the Griffon Vulture population in Cyprus and to protect it through concerted actions to address the species' main threats," it said.

The project includes actions against the use of poison baits, actions to counter collisions with overhead power lines, and actions to expand the feeder network that provides safe supplementary food to the vultures.

Through the project, Griffon Vultures will be brought from Spain for release in Cyprus, to strengthen the extremely diminished Cypriot population.

The groups involved in the project are BirdLife Cyprus, the Game and Fauna Service, Terra Cypria-The Cyprus Conservation Foundation, and the Vulture Conservation Foundation.