On the 10th of September, Anahita, a three-month-old Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), began her journey from the Balkans to travel thousands of kilometers to spend her winter in the African Sahel.
For young birds especially, this journey is full of risks and dangers. Sadly, many birds never make it.
But BirdLife Partner, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), is committed to the goal of protecting and strengthening the Balkan population of Egyptian vultures, and securing their flyway.
They tagged her with a GPS transmitter prior to her departure to be able to follow her journey through the skies and across the Mediterranean.
BSPB followed her journey through Turkey, but on the sixth day of her journey, Anahita’s transmitter stopped emitting signals.
There was no time to waste. Our Lebanese BirdLife Partner Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) sent out their anti-poaching unit to find Anahita. With the help of Lebanon’s Internal Security Force (ISF), Anahita was soon found, badly injured, and unable to stand on both legs.
The SPNL field officer brought her to the vet and it was soon discovered that she had been shot by 13 pellets which were still inside her, and had a broken wing.
Anahita’s life was hanging by a thread.
