Eurasian Griffon Vulture

The Eurasian Griffon vulture lives in colonies in habitat that meet two primary criteria: (1) availability of cliffs for nesting and (2) abundance of medium-sized or large animals for availability as carrion. The vulture prefers landscapes with hills or mountains, as these support the formation of thermal currents, allowing it to cover great distances while conserving energy.

The species build nests predominantly in small caves, recesses, or on a ledge under a rock, using twigs and dry grass as materials. One egg is laid in March with both parents incubating and feeding the chick.

Globally, major threats to Griffon vultures are:

• ingestion of poisoned baits intended for predatory mammals
• electrocution
• collisions with wind turbines
• food shortages due to changes made in livestock management practices.

Another threat to the raptor’s survival is unintentional poisoning from drugs used in veterinary medicine; specifically, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). These medicines are found in the bodies of domesticated livestock in carrion dumps.

The Griffon vulture was once considered to be a common species in Kazakhstan. However, this assessment may have been misleading, since most solitary birds identified as Eurasian Griffon vultures were, in fact, Himalayan Griffons.

Today, a recent estimate indicates that only a few dozen breeding pairs of Griffons remain in Kazakhstan. Two studies conducted in 2010 and 2022 in the Karatau breeding enclave, where the Eurasian Griffon vulture is the most common, show sharp declines in population. In comparison with the 2010 study, the 2022 study revealed that the number of active nests had decreased by 95 percent and documented individuals by 99 percent. Tragically, all previously known nesting colonies had disappeared by 2022, with the species nesting in single pairs only.

Causes driving the staggering decline of the Griffon vulture in Kazakhstan are unknown, though unintentional poisoning from drugs used to treat livestock (NSAID) likely inflicted a toll, not only in the species’ breeding area but along migratory routes and in wintering areas as well. Ingestion of poison baits set by farmers to kill wolves in areas of intensive grazing are likely another culprit.

Dating as far back as the early 2000s, ornithologists in Kazakhstan urged the inclusion of the Eurasian Griffon vulture in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. Today, they point again to the 2022 study results, emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize protection for this species’ conservation and halting its alarming decline.

Kazakh scientists further recommend banning the use of the NSAIDs with proven negative impacts on vulture populations – diclofenac is particularly deadly – and replacing it with safer veterinary treatments. Restricting farmers’ use of poisons to kill wolves is also key to restoring Griffon vulture populations in Kazakhstan.

Lastly, research on species distribution in the vulture’s main habitats in Kazakhstan, identifying nesting colonies and monitoring nests, and studying migration behavior, among other topics, are needed to secure the Griffon vulture’s future both domestically and throughout its range.