Conservationists are dealing with a setback after Ionas, an endangered white scavenger vulture, vanished during his first migratory journey, according to an article of Tassoula Eptakili in ekathimerini.com.
Born in Meteora, central Greece, last June, Ionas was tagged with a tracking device and set off on his first migration to Africa in September. The young, inexperienced male vulture was tracked to the East Attica port of Lavrio before heading towards the Aegean. Instead of taking the safer overland route via Turkey at Amorgos, Ionas flew south across the Mediterranean. His signal was lost south of Kasos.
“Even though there’s a slight hope that the transmitter malfunctioned, the most likely outcome is that Ionas suffered the same fate as a significant number of young white scavenger vultures that become exhausted as they try to cross the Mediterranean and drown,” the conservation society said.
The white scavenger vulture is Europe’s most endangered bird species, with its population critically low. Only five breeding pairs are known to remain in Greece, mostly in Thessaly and the Dadia Forest.
Source: ekathimerini.com
