Long-term lead intoxication of Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus Hablizl, 1783) supposedly the result of illegal shooting

Anton Stamenov,Nikolay Terziev,Atanas Delchev,Volen Arkumarev,Dobromir Dobrev,Ivanka Lazarova,Stefka Dimitrova

doi:10.2478/orhu-2021-0014

Anton Stamenov, Nikolay Terziev + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2021-0014

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Abstract

Abstract The European Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is a large-sized scavenger exploiting carcasses of livestock and wild ungulates and thus having a paramount importance in the natural ecosystems. In this study, we report on an adult Griffon Vulture detected with lead levels in the bones over the threshold. After two years of tracking, the bird died. The corpse’s clinical examination and radiography detected the presence of two embedded lead pellets from a healed gunshot wound in its right wing. Quantitative laboratory analysis of lead in bone and liver samples evidencing subclinical/chronic lead intoxication of the Griffon Vulture could potentially be a result of the long-term exposure to the lead originating from the pellets in its wing.

Highlights

The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is a large Old World vulture that scavenges carcasses of livestock and wild ungulates (DeVault et al 2003)
On the Balkan Peninsula, the species breeds in Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia (Sušić 2004, Xirouchakis & Tsiakiris 2009, Grubač 2013, Sušić & Radek 2013, Velevski et al 2013, Demerdzhiev et al 2014)
We document a case of a Griffon Vulture from the Balkan population that was a victim of an illegal shooting and carried lead pellets inside its body

Summary

Introduction

The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is a large Old World vulture that scavenges carcasses of livestock and wild ungulates (DeVault et al 2003). Its breeding distribution extends from Kazakhstan and Nepal in the east, throughout the Caucasus, southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula to the west (BirdLife International 2020). On the Balkan Peninsula, the species breeds in Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia (Sušić 2004, Xirouchakis & Tsiakiris 2009, Grubač 2013, Sušić & Radek 2013, Velevski et al 2013, Demerdzhiev et al 2014). The Griffon Vulture population in Bulgaria has steadily increased in the past 30 years as a result of intensive conservation actions and reintroduction programmes (Dobrev & Stoychev 2013, Demerdzhiev et al 2014, Stoynov et al 2018). Absorption of a low concentration of lead may result in a wide range of sublethal effects in animals, and higher concentrations may result in acute intoxication and consequent death. It is an accumulative metabolic poison that is non-specific, affecting a wide range of physiological and biochemical systems including the hematopoietic, vascular, nervous, renal, immune and reproductive systems (Franson & Pain 2011, Pain et al 2019)

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