Bulgaria – Great potential for ecotourism?

Bulgaria's ecotourism initiative embraces birds, bears and bees

January 2012. Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism has reaffirmed its commitment to ecotourism and sees the potential of this tourism product.

It has also thrown its weight behind the European Union's Natura 2000 programme which aims to ensure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats.

320 Special Areas of Conservation
Bulgaria has registered more than 320 Special Areas of Conservation with Natura 2000 which, in total, cover a third of the country. Of these, 114 of the territories are associated with rare birds. Bulgaria is a birdwatcher's paradise with more than 400 different species. It is also home to more than 27,000 species of invertebrate fauna and over 12,000 different types of plant, making it one of the most biodiverse countries in Europe.

Central Balkan National Park
One of the largest protected areas and easily accessible to tourists is the Central Balkan National Park which stretches 85 kms from west to east. More than half the flora and fauna in the country has been identified as existing within the Park including 130 plants and animals listed in the World Red Book of Endangered Species; and 12 species which can be found nowhere else in the world. The Park also features the highest waterfall in the Balkans, the tallest peak in the Balkan Mountains and Bulgaria's deepest precipice cave.

The Park is very popular with hikers, providing an extensive network of walking trails. It also has the largest area of protected beech forest anywhere in Europe.

Wolves and bears
Within 50kms of Sofia, one can find wetlands and the lush, mountainous, forested landscapes of the Rila and Pirin mountains (Rila National Park), which are also inhabited by more than100 species of wild mammals including wolves and brown bears.

The councillor of Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Mrs Alexandra Lang, said: "We see great potential in the ecotourism sector. More and more people are eager to find places where they can relax away from their daily routine, where they can feel at one with nature and observe rare birds and animals and enjoy sights of untouched beauty. This is what Bulgaria can offer."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bulgaria-ecotourism.html

Bulgarian Roma Clan Member Gets Suspended Sentence over Tortoises (Via Herp Digest)

Bulgarian Roma Clan Member Gets Suspended Sentence over Tortoises
1/2/12, Sofia News Agency

The 33 tortoises seized from properties of notorious Roma clan leader Tsar Kiro have been placed at the Gea Chelonia Foundation Tortoise Centre in the vilage of Banya. Photo by BGNES

The court has approved a plea agreement between Sophia Hristova, daughter-in-law of the notorious Roma clan leader Kiril Rashkov, and the prosecution, under which she will get a one year suspended sentence with three years of probation and a fine of BGN 5000 for illegally keeping 33 tortoises.

The 34-year-old woman pleaded guilty to charges of illegally keeping 33 tortoises in the period May 27, 2011 - November 16, 2011 in the Izgorqlata Vodentisa ("The Burnt Mill") locality on the territory of the southern Bulgarian village of Katunitsa.

3 of the 33 land-dwelling reptiles are spur-thighed tortoises, which are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while the other 30 are Hermann's tortoises, which are protected under Bulgaria's Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The plea agreement is final and takes effect immediately.

The tortoises have been seized by the state and have been taken to the the Gea Chelonia Foundation Tortoise Center located in the village of Banya.

The reptiles were found in early November, when Bulgarian police officers and archaeologists started inspecting Rashkov's properties in Katunitsa using metal detectors because they had been led to believe that his clan had buried vast amounts of gold there.

However, the authorities only discovered the tortoises instead.

Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, and his clan triggered massive tensions across Bulgaria in September after the murder of a teenager in Katunitsa.

On September 23, a van driven by associates of Rashkov ran down and killed 19-year-old ethnic Bulgarian Angel Petrov.

On November 22, another representative of the notorious Roma clan, Kiril Rashkov-Jr, the grandson of Kiril Rashkov, aka Tsar Kiro, was sentenced to 8 months of imprisonment for issuing a murder threat to Veselin Hristov.

Rashkov-Jr vowed to appeal the verdict.

Tsar Kiro has been placed at the Plovdiv Prison's dispensary and faces the same charges.

English man arrested in Bulgaria for egg collecting

RSPB officers help Bulgarian police in wildlife crime raid on English man's home in Burgas


December 2011. A tip-off to the RSPB has led to an international wildlife crime operation to raid the home of an Englishman in Bulgaria. A collection of eggs has been seized, including the egg of a griffon vulture which is a threatened species in Bulgaria.

Officers from the RSPB - and its Bulgarian partner BSPB - assisted Bulgarian police with the raid, which took place at an address in the coastal city of Burgas. The case - the first of its kind in Bulgaria - has involved information being passed from the RSPB to the Bulgarian authorities via the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU).

Egg collection
Guy Shorrock is an RSPB investigations officer who has been involved with this case. Speaking from Burgas, he said: "We've been investigating this lead with keen interest. We're delighted that this international operation has led to the seizure of wild birds' eggs. In addition to the eggs, officers also seized egg-collecting equipment and climbing gear."

Five clutches of wild birds' eggs from four species were seized by the police, namely griffon vulture; collared pratincole (a scarce southern European wading bird); ortolan bunting and blackcap.

Guy Shorrock added: "It is disturbing that a collection of wild birds' eggs has been seized in Bulgaria which has so many threatened and vulnerable species. We are very concerned that countries like this may be vulnerable to egg collecting as they have no history of investigating these types of offences."

Bulgaria has a number of bird species which are facing global extinction, including: imperial eagle, saker falcon, Egyptian vulture, great bustard, white-headed duck and the Dalmatian pelican.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bulgaria-bird-eggs.html

Political party enters a donkey to run for mayor in Bulgarian elections

A donkey has been submitted as a candidate for the upcoming elections for a new mayor of Bulgarian town Varna.

Marko the donkey has been chosen by the Society for New Bulgaria political party to represent them for the elections on October 23.

It was reported that the party see Marko as the ideal alternative to the current mayor Kiril Yordanov, who they feel is not doing a good enough job for the town.
Angel Dyankov, head of the campaign headquarters of the Society for New Bulgaria party, said: 'Unlike the other mayor candidates and politicians, the Donkey has a strong character, doesn’t steal, doesn’t lie, and gets work done.'

Fellow Society for New Bulgaria member Doychin Dimitrovmade made his point clear about his dissatisfaction with the current mayor of Varna.

'Marko’s life is difficult because the green areas in the Bulgarian sea capital are disappearing.

'Let the residents of Varna draw the line and decide who has more positive qualities – the donkey or the incumbent Mayor.' 

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/876750-political-party-enters-a-donkey-to-run-for-mayor-in-bulgarian-elections#ixzz1ZFFh5kE0

Tarpans returned to the wilds of Bulgaria

Twelve tarpans have been reintroduced for the first time into the Eastern Rhodopes region of Bulgaria.

The reintroduction of the back bred wild horses is part of a wilderness restoration project backed by Bulgarian and Dutch authorities.

The tarpans have been released near Sbor, in the municipality of Krumovgrad, in the expectation their grazing will improve the natural environment.

They were imported from a free-living population in the Netherlands in a project that received funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery.

In the first year of the Bulgarian experiment, wildlife experts will keep the tarpans fenced for appropriate habituation to the Rhodopian wilderness.

Once the horses are acclimatised, they will be released into the wild.

Their role in Eastern Rhodopi will be the same as in ancient times - to graze the wild vegetation and support a natural ecosystem.

Wild tarpans have a reputation for being tough and easily adapted to the harsh conditions of semi-open wilderness landscapes.

Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus), also known as the Eurasian wild horse, is an extinct subspecies of the wild horse.

The tarpan is a prehistoric wild horse type that ranged from Southern France and Spain east to central Russia.

There are cave drawings of what are considered to be tarpans in France, Spain and Scandinavia, as well as artifacts from southern Russia, where Scythian nomads domesticated a horse of this type around 3000 BC.

Also, in Bulgaria, paleaontologists found tarpan bones, proving this wild horse once lived there.
Tarpans became extinct in the wild between 1875 and 1890, when the last known wild mare was accidentally killed in Russia during an attempt to capture it.

The last captive Tarpan died in 1909 in a Russian zoo.

Beginning in the 1930s, several attempts were initiated to recreate a look-a-like tarpan through selective breeding with domestic breeds which allegedly retained much Tarpan DNA in their genome.
The look-a-like Tarpan reintroduced in Bulgaria is also known as the konik (Polish for 'little horse'). This breed originated from Polish tarpan re-creation projects.

In 1936, Tadeuzs Vetulani was fascinated by the exterior resemblance of some specific primitive farmer's horses and the extinct tarpan.

He started a breeding programme with 35 such horses from an area where a century earlier the last tarpans were captured in the wild and distributed to farmers.

In some countries, such as in the Netherlands, the konik was reintroduced to nature parks successfully about 30 years ago.

Tarpans, which stand about 137-149cm tall and weigh 400-500kg, are robust horses with well developed social behaviours.

A social herd of horses helps provide protection against predators - wolves.

The total number of tarpans in the world at this moment is estimated at 4000, almost half of them in the Netherlands.

In 2010, 21 Dutch tarpans were reintroduced to the wild in Latvia. In previous years, tarpans from Holland have gone to wilderness areas in England, France, Belgium and Germany.

Before implementing the reintrodution of the Tarpans in Bulgaria, the team explored the Eastern Rhodopes for a suitable area and checked Bulgarian legislation and official requirements.

The team organised meetings with local authorities and local people, because local co-operation was necessary in such unique experiment.

Bringing tarpans to the Eastern Rhodopes is part of the wilderness restoration plans of the five-year New Thracian Gold project, to develop the area environmentally.

Last year, semi-wild Karakachan horses were reintroduced in the area of Chernichino. Red deer reintroduction is also planned.

Ecologists believe the reintroduction of ancient herbivores to the wild improves the biodiversity and makes the ecosystems more complete.

Free-ranging wild horses are rare in Europe and unique in Bulgaria.

The combination of beautiful landscapes, rich biodiversity and wild tarpans is a potential key factor in boosting eco tourism as a new economic driver in the Eastern Rhodopes. Eco tourism helps to support the Eastern Rhodopes as a prosperous and attractive place to live and work.
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/09/171.shtml

Tarpan wild horses to be reintroduced to Bulgaria

SOFIA — Tarpan horses, a breed that disappeared from the wild in Europe two centuries ago, will soon be reintroduced in southeast Bulgaria, organisers said Wednesday.

The prehistoric horses will be brought to the Rhodope mountains in southern Bulgaria, a region they are believed to have inhabited in the past, as part of a joint Dutch-Bulgarian project.

"Twelve tarpans will be transported Sunday to the southeastern region of Krumovgrad from their breeding ground in the Netherlands," Stefan Avramov, a biodiversity expert with the New Thracian Gold project told AFP.

Once in Bulgaria, the horses will be raised in enclosures until they adapt to the mountainous conditions here, he added.

The enclosures will be gradually enlarged until the animals get used to the surroundings and are ready to be released into the wild, Johan Bekhauis from the Dutch ARK foundation added.

The experts were however unable to say how long the adaptation might take.

"In the Netherlands they have never seen a rock, a mountain. They have to be used to the landscape: rocks, valleys, different vegetation, to find water, to protect themselves," Bekhauis said.

Ordinary horses will be used to "teach" the newcomers how to protect themselves from wolves, for example, he added.

The tarpans died out in the wild between 1875 and 1890, but Polish peasants continued to raise them together with ordinary horses up until the 1930s.

They were then introduced in the Netherlands and from there to some regions in western France, northern Germany, Britain, Belgium and Lithuania, Avramov explained.

The New Thracian Gold project received funding from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery in 2009 and has since worked to develop natural grazing, organic agriculture and eco tourism in the eastern Rhodope mountains.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jM0J9Ib2qBk8LsE94JUT03FEN3tw?docId=CNG.96f9ad25900131336388af4e36e3a985.271

The Egyptian Vulture – What’s going on in Africa?

Since 2003 BSPB (BirdLife Partner in Bulgaria) has been working to conserve the Egyptian Vulture in Bulgaria. The gained knowledge during these years firmly shows that the main reason for the species decline is the increased adult mortality due to various anthropogenic threats. A significant part of the loss of birds is happening outside Bulgaria during the migration and non-breeding period. In the last seven years probably more than 20 adult birds did not return from their wintering areas.


In 2009 BSPB started an initiative for creating of partnerships with the countries from the Middle East and East Africa aiming to survey the threats and and propose conservation measures s for the Egyptian Vulture along its migration route and in the wintering areas. Three expeditions were held-two in Ethiopia (2009 and 2010) and one in Sudan (2010) together with the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS/BirdLife in Ethiopia) and the Sudanese Wildlife Society.

Ethiopia
The Ethiopian expeditions were implemented in December 2009 and November-December 2010 by a BSPB team together with colleagues from EWNHS. The main study areas was the Afar triangle, where is located the biggest known congregation of Egyptian Vultures from the Palearctic, wintering in East Africa. The work also included parts of South Ethiopia and the Highlands., The team members were Ivaylo Angelov, Tsvetomira Yotsova, Vladimir Dobrev Nikolay Terziev (BSPB), Bruktawit Abdu, Yilma Dellelegn Abebe and Tesfaye Bikilla-driver)(EWNHS), Alazar Daka (WildCODE) and Samson Zelleke.


Results:In both years of the study, for one and the same transect in the Afar triangle respectively 1358 and 1400 Egyptian Vultures were counted. The vultures were recorded in a semi-desert area at an altitude between 140 and 1230 m. a. s. l. The vultures were recorded through counting of the individuals roosting on electricity poles along the main road in the region from the southwestern corner of the Afar triangle to the Djibouti border and in the region of Dire Dawa town (only in 2009). The count was implemented before sunset between 16:30 and 18:00.

The data gathered by interviewing local people shows that nowadays the Afar triangle is a relatively safe wintering place for the Egyptian Vultures. The use of poisons against carnivores seems to be not practiced, the electrocution is probably a very minor threat (no electrocuted birds were found) and the local people traditionally do not harm the vultures. Given the huge importance of Afar for the wintering birds from big parts of Asia, long-term work on the species needs to be initiated and the limiting factors closely monitored.

However, the developing and expanding medium voltage electricity network in Ethiopia, which is built mainly by dangerous for the birds pylons gives a strong alert for the future of the large birds of prey. We recorded electrocuted White-backed Vulture and the local people on a number of sites mentioned the deadly impact of the power lines on vultures. Another issue is the practice for control of the stray dogs, which was recorded to exist at least in the municipalities of Negele, Awassa and Addis Ababa. We collected information that poison is regularly used for control on the populations of stray dogs and in two sites we found poisoned Hooded Vultures.

A very interesting observation was the first in Africa record of an individual from the Indian subspecies of the Egyptian Vulture (N. percnopterus ginginianus). This observation enlarges the supposed area of origin of the vultures wintering in Afar to Pakistan and India to the east.

Sudan
In Sudan a joint expedition of BSPB and Sudanese Wildlife Society (September-October 2010) has found 17 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures. The main study area of the was the Red Sea coast in North-Eastern Sudan.

The finding of the dead birds under a particular power line in the surroundings of Port Sudan confirms a threat there which is known to cause the death of many birds since many years and continues to take victims. Still in 1982-83 the German ornithologist Gerhard Nikolaus found under the same power line almost 55 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures and during next visit in the area 21 years later, he found another 5 dead birds. With the new data until now there are found almost 80 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures but this is only the tip of the iceberg since the power line is built in the 50’s and probably has caused the death of many hundreds Egyptian Vultures.

Not only the Egyptian Vultures were found to be electrocuted by this particular dangerous power line, but also Lappet-faced Vulture, Steppe Eagles and Bonelli’s Eagle which was not found to breed in Sudan previously.

The probable high mortality during the non-breeding period is considered to be one of the main reasons in the complex of threats leading to the fast decline of the Egyptian Vultures in the Balkans. We assume that the decades of impact on the species by side of this dangerous power line may have caused the extinction the population of Egyptian Vultures which traditionally migrates along the western Red Sea coasts and breed in Eastern Europe and Asia. Following the results from the expedition, a huge priority in the species conservation will be the insulation of the dangerous power line near by Port Sudan and convincing the Sudanese Electricity Company to use a safe model of poles.

The results from the three African expeditions (Ethiopia 2009 and 2010 and Sudan 2010) will be published in a report which will mark the priorities for future conservation work for the Egyptian Vulture and the other scavenging birds of prey in Ethiopia and Sudan. The report will be available on BSPB’s website by the end of February 2011.
The work on the Egyptian Vulture in Africa was funded by Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Program, African Bird Club, Stitching Vulture Conservation Foundation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to which we express our gratitude.

http://www.birdlife.org/community/2011/01/the-egyptian-vulture-what%e2%80%99s-going-on-in-africa/

The Egyptian Vulture – What’s going on in Africa?

Since 2003 BSPB (BirdLife Partner in Bulgaria) has been working to conserve the Egyptian Vulture in Bulgaria. The gained knowledge during these years firmly shows that the main reason for the species decline is the increased adult mortality due to various anthropogenic threats. A significant part of the loss of birds is happening outside Bulgaria during the migration and non-breeding period. In the last seven years probably more than 20 adult birds did not return from their wintering areas.


In 2009 BSPB started an initiative for creating of partnerships with the countries from the Middle East and East Africa aiming to survey the threats and and propose conservation measures s for the Egyptian Vulture along its migration route and in the wintering areas. Three expeditions were held-two in Ethiopia (2009 and 2010) and one in Sudan (2010) together with the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS/BirdLife in Ethiopia) and the Sudanese Wildlife Society.

Ethiopia
The Ethiopian expeditions were implemented in December 2009 and November-December 2010 by a BSPB team together with colleagues from EWNHS. The main study areas was the Afar triangle, where is located the biggest known congregation of Egyptian Vultures from the Palearctic, wintering in East Africa. The work also included parts of South Ethiopia and the Highlands., The team members were Ivaylo Angelov, Tsvetomira Yotsova, Vladimir Dobrev Nikolay Terziev (BSPB), Bruktawit Abdu, Yilma Dellelegn Abebe and Tesfaye Bikilla-driver)(EWNHS), Alazar Daka (WildCODE) and Samson Zelleke.


Results:In both years of the study, for one and the same transect in the Afar triangle respectively 1358 and 1400 Egyptian Vultures were counted. The vultures were recorded in a semi-desert area at an altitude between 140 and 1230 m. a. s. l. The vultures were recorded through counting of the individuals roosting on electricity poles along the main road in the region from the southwestern corner of the Afar triangle to the Djibouti border and in the region of Dire Dawa town (only in 2009). The count was implemented before sunset between 16:30 and 18:00.

The data gathered by interviewing local people shows that nowadays the Afar triangle is a relatively safe wintering place for the Egyptian Vultures. The use of poisons against carnivores seems to be not practiced, the electrocution is probably a very minor threat (no electrocuted birds were found) and the local people traditionally do not harm the vultures. Given the huge importance of Afar for the wintering birds from big parts of Asia, long-term work on the species needs to be initiated and the limiting factors closely monitored.

However, the developing and expanding medium voltage electricity network in Ethiopia, which is built mainly by dangerous for the birds pylons gives a strong alert for the future of the large birds of prey. We recorded electrocuted White-backed Vulture and the local people on a number of sites mentioned the deadly impact of the power lines on vultures. Another issue is the practice for control of the stray dogs, which was recorded to exist at least in the municipalities of Negele, Awassa and Addis Ababa. We collected information that poison is regularly used for control on the populations of stray dogs and in two sites we found poisoned Hooded Vultures.

A very interesting observation was the first in Africa record of an individual from the Indian subspecies of the Egyptian Vulture (N. percnopterus ginginianus). This observation enlarges the supposed area of origin of the vultures wintering in Afar to Pakistan and India to the east.

Sudan
In Sudan a joint expedition of BSPB and Sudanese Wildlife Society (September-October 2010) has found 17 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures. The main study area of the was the Red Sea coast in North-Eastern Sudan.

The finding of the dead birds under a particular power line in the surroundings of Port Sudan confirms a threat there which is known to cause the death of many birds since many years and continues to take victims. Still in 1982-83 the German ornithologist Gerhard Nikolaus found under the same power line almost 55 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures and during next visit in the area 21 years later, he found another 5 dead birds. With the new data until now there are found almost 80 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures but this is only the tip of the iceberg since the power line is built in the 50’s and probably has caused the death of many hundreds Egyptian Vultures.

Not only the Egyptian Vultures were found to be electrocuted by this particular dangerous power line, but also Lappet-faced Vulture, Steppe Eagles and Bonelli’s Eagle which was not found to breed in Sudan previously.

The probable high mortality during the non-breeding period is considered to be one of the main reasons in the complex of threats leading to the fast decline of the Egyptian Vultures in the Balkans. We assume that the decades of impact on the species by side of this dangerous power line may have caused the extinction the population of Egyptian Vultures which traditionally migrates along the western Red Sea coasts and breed in Eastern Europe and Asia. Following the results from the expedition, a huge priority in the species conservation will be the insulation of the dangerous power line near by Port Sudan and convincing the Sudanese Electricity Company to use a safe model of poles.

The results from the three African expeditions (Ethiopia 2009 and 2010 and Sudan 2010) will be published in a report which will mark the priorities for future conservation work for the Egyptian Vulture and the other scavenging birds of prey in Ethiopia and Sudan. The report will be available on BSPB’s website by the end of February 2011.
The work on the Egyptian Vulture in Africa was funded by Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Program, African Bird Club, Stitching Vulture Conservation Foundation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to which we express our gratitude.

http://www.birdlife.org/community/2011/01/the-egyptian-vulture-what%e2%80%99s-going-on-in-africa/