Starving Black Griffons Being Saved In Maritime Territory

The black griffon-vulture population which comes to the Maritime Territory for hibernation from Mongolia every year is threatened with death of hunger because of the extraordinarily snowy winter. The birds began to gather in flocks in rural localities at the dumps of domestic waste, which testifies to the shortage of food in nature. As deputy chief of the Tigr /Tiger/ special inspectorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation Vitaly Timchenko said, five feeding grounds and a rehabilitation centre for the weakest birds have been opened in the Khasan district of the Maritime Territory to save the birds. To fulfil this programme the Phoenix Nature-Conservation Fund has allocated 2,000 dollars which will make it possible to maintain the population of 200-250 black griffons which have come for wintering. Such a programme has been operating for the third year after in winter 2000 the population of black griffon-vultures decreased by almost 50 per cent in the Maritime Territory.