The migration of Isabel, one of the five Egyptian vultures freed in Basilicata in August 2021, tragically ended on the Island of Malta where, on September 14, 2021, her traces were lost.
The young female left the release site, the Murgia Materana Park, on September 6 to start her first migration to the wintering areas of sub-Saharan Africa. After reaching Sicily and stopping there for three days, Isabel continued her journey and, to cross the Mediterranean, she took the route that passes through the Maltese archipelago.
It is well known that Malta is a black hole in which migrants are welcomed by a multitude of poachers who, regardless of any law, kill dozens and dozens of birds belonging to rare and protected species every year. It is also known that in Malta there is a thriving illegal market for stuffed birds.
Isabel oddly flew for many hours over the island and only landed in the late evening, as if she couldn’t find a quiet and safe place to rest. Then the GPS it was equipped with suddenly stopped transmitting data and, at the same time, members of the BirdLife Malta association, which fights for the protection of migratory birds on the island, reported shots aimed at the poor Egyptian vulture. Despite the research carried out, Isabel’s body has not been found. Volunteers from BirdLife Malta, other ornithologists and staff from the Malta Police were in the area.
The local ornithologists had reported, a few days earlier, that Lucas, the Egyptian vulture freed in Basilicata together with Isabel and landed on September 6 in the Maltese archipelago (island of Gozo), had been given the same welcome with gunfire. However, unlike Isabel, he had managed to take refuge on a cliff overlooking the sea and, miraculously, to leave healthy and safe and to continue the migration trip.
It is therefore very likely that, in a few seconds, a cowardly shot thwarted the enormous efforts made to get Isabel to be born and that chick, weighing a few tens of grams, would grow up and become a splendid young Egyptian vulture, free to live his life and help the conservation of its own species, one of the most endangered in Europe.
It is only thanks to the GPS of which Lucas and Isabel were equipped with and to the availability and collaboration of the local ornithologists that we became aware, at least in part, of what happened to the two young vultures. The fate of dozens and dozens of migratory birds in Malta is no different. They look for a safe spot in which to rest and regain strength before flying thousands of kilometers while, on the other hand, they find their death at the hands of criminal barbarians.
The VCF (Vulture Conservation Foundation) and the CERM association have sent a letter to Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela to report these serious attacks on biodiversity and urge that they be prevented and prosecuted. In particular, the letter calls upon the Maltese authorities to make every possible effort to bring to justice those who killed Isabel, committing a serious crime against a very precious species for the conservation of which many individuals are investing resources and energy in Europe.
