Griffon vulture in Israel

1
The
disappearance
of
the
Griffon vulture in Israel
Writen by
Avigail Bartal and Keren Orgad
Date
21/ 04/ 2004
2
1. The griffon vulture - Gyps fulvus
Classification

• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family -

Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Falconiformes
Accipitridae
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Discription
Body length - 1.1 m long
Wingspan - 2.8 m
Weight - 6 to 8 kg
Color - light brown except for dark flight
feathers and tail.
Short legs with weak blunt toes.
Almost bald. Head and neck are only thinly
covered with short white feathers, because
getting bloody when eating.
White collar on the base of the neck.
Short pointed beaks.
4
Feeding
Scavengers, they feed on carcasses. As
one of the old world vultures it do not have a
good sense of small and uses its excellent
eyesight as it soar from above over open areas
looking for a kill. Its weak beak is not suited
for tearing up flesh, therefore depend upon other
scavengers to begin the job for it. They eat in
groups. As others see one diving towards a
carrion they join it.
After
they have finished eating they tend to wash near
pools of water together and then stand under the
sun with their wings spread to dry out.
5
Life cycle
The offspring fledge 3-4 month after
hatching. Mature enough to breed after 7 years.
Live around 40 years.
social behavior
The friendliest and most social of the
old world vultures. They are non-territorial and
live in colonies of up to dozens of members.

6
Breeding
As monogamists, they are pair for life.
They tend to fly together, comb each other with
their beaks and build together their nest on
cliffs on the same place they mate. On January
Mars, The female lays one egg on which they share
incubating time up to 55 days. The offspring
stays in the nest for 4 month, after that it
accompanies its parents for a learning period but
still depend on them for food. After that it is
mature enough to live on its own.
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Habitat
Steep cliffs of mountains and river canyons.
Ecological role
As scavengers, it plays a role as the nature
sanitarian as they feed on carrion and by that,
preventing the spreading of diseases such as
rabies.
8
Flight
Due to its huge size almost never in active
flying, instead it uses air currents on which it
can glide for hours without any effort.
It can
pass dozens or even hundreds of kilometers in
search for food.
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2. The Griffon vulture in Israel
Until the 19th century, the Griffon vulture
was abundant in Israel. All over the country
thousands were present, in which 1,000 at list
were nesting in huge colonies. As for today,
their population is only 5 as it was in the past
only 300-350 exist in Israel and only 60-70 are
nesting. Most of the Griffon vultures live in the
Golan at the Gamla reservation, which includes
30 pairs and few young ones. The Griffon vulture
can also be found in the north at river canyons
of rivers in other parts of the Golan and the
galil and the Carmel mountain. At the south they
live at the Juda mountains.
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3. The reasons for the disappearance of the
griffon
Poisoning
The cause
Poison bates for pest
animals, which were spread in fields in the Golan
by farmers, caused the poisoning of the griffon
which ate the carrions.
The result
The griffon dies in
matter of few hours after eating the poisoned
carrion.
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Electrocution
The cause

• The griffon landing on
  electric poles creates a close circuit by By
  spreading its wings as it lands, touches two
  wires simultaneously. Touching the wire with its
  head as it stands on it.By its liquid droppings
  as it stands on the upper wires.

The result

• As many as 65
  electrocution incidents accrue between the years
  80-90. All are fetal.

• so far 2,000
  landing sites have been installed on the electric
  poles have lowered the electrocutions of the
  griffons greatly. Part of the embrace griffon
  vultures of the electric company (July 96).

The solution
12
Noise exposures
The cause

• noise caused by
  tourists, air force air crafts trainings and
  civilian air crafts, frighten the griffon and
  scare them away.

The solution

• Rising the
  awareness of tourists as well as discussions with
  the air force and minimizing the problem.

13
Rickets
Definition

• childhood disorder
  involving weakening and softening of the bones,
  caused primarily by lack of vitamin D, calcium
  and phosphate.

Revelation

• the problem was
  reveled by 2 explorers that when arrived to the
  nest scared a chick causing it to vomit its last
  meal. Surprisingly, they found in it pieces of
  bullet shells and bomb shells. Later other nests
  were also found to contain pieces of metals and 2
  chicks were found with fractures in their wings.
  

The cause
at the growth period the
chicks add 50 grams to its body weight a day. The
past primary calcium source from small mammals
changed as the growing of livestalk took over.
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• The large bones of cows which were not suited to
  feed the little chicks, were replaced
  instinctively by the parents by other shiny
  little objects as bullet bomb shells.

The result

• due to the replacement
  of bones which are the calcium source for the
  chicks by pieces of metals, many of them were
  suffering from rickets which is expressed by bone
  fractures, weakness, decreased muscle tone and
  impaired growth.

The solution
today there are 10
feeding stations all contain meat which will
attract the griffon vultures and beside it a rich
supply of ground bones. This solution almost stop
the rickets completely.
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4. Saving the griffon vulture
Authorities such as the nature and
gardens, natural reservations, the company for
nature protection as well as organizations as
embrace a Griffon vulture and spread wings,
are working today to prevent the causes to the
disappearance of the Griffon vulture and also
introducing them to other habitats in which they
use to live in the past. Latest studies have
shown that the population is indeed increasing.

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5. Bibliography

• http//www.geocities.com/area51/crater/4077/falcon
  page1.htm
• www.images.maariv.co.il/cache/art641926.html
• http//www.golan.org.il/erzgolan/9doc.htm
• http//www.wcssience.com/vulture/page.html
• http//www.tevalife.com/article.asp?id1431
• http//www.vultures.homesteed.com/eurasian/griffon
  .html
• The encyclopeadia of the animals plants of
  Israel pg. 129-131
• The world atlas of animals/ Alessandro Minelli
  Ezio Borella pg.21

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• http//www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/griffon.sht
  ml

• http//www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azgrvult.html

• http//home.hccnet.nl/r.goedegebuur/roofvog/valegi
  ere.html

• http//schoolinkmatar.cet.ac.il/users/n/nurit1/www
  /pages/

• http//www.matar.ac.il/eureka/eagle.asp

• http//www.birds.org.il/show_item.asp?levelId237
  itemId1635birdId13

• http//www.matar.ac.il/mada/eagle.asp

• http//gamla.golan.org.il/ts.exe?tsurl0.386.14651
  .0.0

http//lib.cet.ac.il/Pages/item.asp?item1698

• t