One of the most serious poisonings of threatened species ever recorded in Greece is unfolding in the Dadia forest in the Evros region. Since last Thursday, seven black vultures have been found dead, four of them discovered on Monday, while teams with specially trained dogs are sweeping the area and collecting numerous poisoned baits inside the national park.
The first two dead birds were located during a police patrol, said biologist Sylvia Zakkak of the Natural Environment & Climate Change Agency (NECCA) unit in Dadia National Park. Shortly afterward, another vulture was found poisoned but alive, taken to a veterinarian and saved.
Subsequent searches revealed the scale of the incident. Baits have been detected across a vast area, from the park’s core to its western boundary.
Environment Ministry officials mobilized services and an investigative response team, calling the case a felony. Zakkak said the loss of seven breeding-age birds represents 7-10% of the population in Thrace.