I had no idea that vultures lived in Crete until one flew right over my head and landed on the ruins of an ancient wall in Ithanos.
We were like that together, me and the vulture, for a few minutes, looking at each other. I have never been so close to any wild animal. I did not know what to do. When his huge wings covered me with their shadow during landing, because he was landing right above my head, I was transported to the land of dragons. In fact, if instead of a vulture a dragon landed in front of me, it would seem equally unreal.
The vulture was sitting on the wall and dozing off from time to time. However, he woke up every time I tried to take a step towards him. He was very tired. Torn between curiosity and fear, I couldn't leave for a long time. When I woke him up again, I felt sorry for him and with a beating heart I left so as not to disturb him with my presence. However, this meeting left me uneasy.
When Tom and I reached Heraklion after a few days, I accidentally visited the Museum of the Natural History of Crete. When I entered, I saw huge stuffed birds hanging from the ceiling in the hall. They were vultures. Their spread wings were monstrous. The museum was empty, but there was a woman sitting at the ticket desk with whom I had an interesting conversation.
I couldn't have made a better choice. It turned out that in addition to museum and educational activities, the Museum runs wildlife protection programs in Crete. And above all, bird protection. I wanted to find out more. And that's how I got to Spiros.
Spiros Liapakis is a conservator of paleontological specimens by profession. And a great storyteller.
At the Natural History Museum of Crete, he is involved in the conservation of fossils. He takes part in paleontological excavations from which they bring back fossils and prepare them in the laboratory for exhibition in the Museum. However, a world that had been dead for millions of years was not enough for him and he was so drawn to wild nature that as soon as the opportunity arose, he is with one foot to the paleontological laboratory and with the other to the Museum's wild bird protection program.
Spiros has been feeding wild vultures since 2019. There are special feeding stations located in the Asterousia Mountains and eastern Psiloritis.
We provide vultures with safe food, he says.
The feeding ground is mainly used by Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) - Gryffindors (, but it is also visited by Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus), which pass through Crete.) It is becoming more and more difficult to find safe food. Hungry birds often eat poisoned carrion and this ends up killing them.
The authorities have been trying to educate the local population for years that poisoning homeless cats and dogs is not only unspeakably cruel, but also destroys the entire ecosystem.
By eating carrion, a vulture neutralizes the diseases, bacteria and viruses contained in it. If an animal is killed by rabies, the vulture's body neutralizes it. This is a very important role, because if a dog or rat eats such a carcass, it becomes its carrier. The people of India found out about this. Almost all Indian vultures died within a short period of time, due to a drug commonly given to cows, which turned out to be poisonous to the birds. They were replaced by stray dogs and rats as cleaners. The number of rabies cases has increased at an unprecedented rate in the country.
There are over a thousand Gryffindors in the whole Crete. One of the tasks of the Museum's program is to save poisoned, weak or injured birds. Sometimes it is difficult for young birds to find food.
I remember two years ago when a vulture drowned in the sea near Tsoutsouros - says Spiros - The north wind was blowing, so the bird couldn't fly properly and landed in the sea. My friend who was lying on the beach saw a bird. He went into the water to save him. And he did it! It was incredible!
The vulture I met must have been young, hungry and tired. Spiros says that
Vultures do not approach people and rarely fly alone. They live in herds and never hunt. They are only made to eat carrion. I didn't know about it at the time and I didn't tell anyone who could help him.
We provide first aid to all injured or poisoned vultures. Then we send them to ANIMA - Wild Animal Hospital in Athens. Before releasing them, we put a ring on their leg and a tag with a number on their wing - this is their ID. We place a transmitter on some birds, thanks to which we can observe how they move - Spiros explains to me.
There is still a Bearded Vulture in Crete. The rarest and most endangered species of vulture. There are only 10 pairs and 45 individuals of them on the island. Pairs of Bearded Vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) occupy huge areas. There is only one pair living in the entire Asterousia Mountains. The birds wouldn't accept another one.
A Bearded Vulture is the only bird in the world whose diet consists almost entirely of bones. When these are too large, they break them into pieces on special rocks. A bone diet accounts for 80 percent of their needs.
A Bearded Vulture lays two eggs when nesting. But the chick, unlike adults, cannot yet digest bones. The chick need meat. However, the Bearded Vulture parents easily lose in the competition for carrion with the Gryffindors. Usually, the older and stronger chick eats its younger brother or sister to survive. This cruel habit allows the species to survive.
During the breeding season, Museum employees try to spread dead rabbits and other small animals around the nest to increase the chances of survival of both chicks.
That is why the feeding stations to which Spiros delivers food are so important.
Spiros agrees to take me and Tom for such a feeding experience next week.
Text: Zofia Pregowska / ZoPre based on interview with Spiros Liapakis
Photos: Tomasz Stankiewicz/ @Webskitom,
Photo of Voulture Closeup ZoPre,
Photo of All three - nice people we met on the road