Over the last decade, the rewilding of Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains has transformed the landscape into a showcase for nature recovery. Scaling up efforts to support the comeback of cinereous vultures is the perfect way to celebrate this momentous milestone.
Rewilding Europe’s European Wildlife Comeback Fund has supported the release of 13 pine martens in northwest England, helping to advance the recovery of this ecologically important animal in the UK. The fund has disbursed around 540,000 euros in support of 12 wildlife releases so far this year, with more grants in the pipeline.
Five eagle owls have just been released in the Danube Delta rewilding landscape in Ukraine, as part of an ongoing reintroduction programme. The releases represent a significant step forward in the programme, which aims to re-establish a viable population of the birds in the landscape and enhance the overall health of the delta ecosystem.
The Rewilding Ukraine team are engaged in long-term efforts to create a wilder and healthier Tarutino Steppe. The ongoing reintroduction of European hamsters will help to restore local food webs, enhance biodiversity, and boost nature-based tourism.
The Rewilding Rhodopes team have been releasing red and fallow deer in the local landscape for 10 years. As the size and range of deer populations in the Eastern Rhodopes continue to increase, so the positive impact on biodiversity and local food webs will continue to increase too.
The Rewilding Apennines team have begun operating a supplementary feeding station for griffon vultures in the Monte Velino Nature Reserve. By ensuring a safe supply of food for the birds, the station will support the recovery of the species, and is a step towards realising a landscape where vultures are sustained entirely by the carcasses of wild animals.
“The Circle of Life in the Rhodope Mountains”, a 12-minute documentary by Emmanuel Rondeau, tells the hopeful story of rewilding in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. At the beginning of November, a well-attended premiere in the town of Kardzhali helped the local rewilding team engage a wide range of stakeholders.
In the middle of June, a second group of cinereous vultures were translocated to the Rhodope Mountains rewilding landscape in Bulgaria. Their arrival and eventual release is the next step in a long-term programme to re-establish these ecologically important birds as a breeding species.
A long-term release programme means populations of red and fallow deer in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains are gradually recovering. As the landscape becomes wilder and healthier, there are benefits for local communities too.
Following efforts to ensure they stay, survive and thrive in the local landscape, a group of 14 cinereous vultures have just been released into Bulgaria’s Eastern Rhodope Mountains. This will help to strengthen the circle of life and represents another step towards realising the local rewilding vision.