Vulture from Spain dies of electrocution in Cyprus

A vulture born in Spain and released in Cyprus to help repopulate the island was tragically killed on Sunday, when the magnificent bird collided with power lines in Limassol.

According to a Facebook by BirdLife Cyprus, volunteers noticed something was wrong with Pablo, a two-year-old Griffon Vulture, who was tagged with a GPS tag, for close monitoring.

“When we noticed that something was wrong, we visited the area where the signal was coming from only to find Pablo dead, near overhead powerlines,” BirdLife said.

The organization also said forensic tests confirmed Pablo's tragic collision with overhead electricity cables, citing forensic tests including an X-ray as well as the signals from the GPS tag.

BirdLife also called on authorities to take measures in order to help make infrastructure safer for wildlife.

“We are in contact with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus to install anti-collision markers in identified high-risk power lines and insulate potentially high-risk pylons,” the group said.

BirdLife also pointed out that Pablo's death marked the third confirmed incident of energy infrastructure impacting vultures in Cyprus.