SmartBirds
Neslihan was given three chances to live in the wild — but sadly, they were not enough. Fate had other plans.
The young Egyptian Vulture hatched in 2024 in a nest near Madzharovo. Despite her parents’ efforts to raise her, she was simply born too late in the season and did not have enough time to gain the strength and experience needed for the greatest challenge of all — her first migration. To give her a better chance of survival, the BSPB team took her from the nest and entrusted her to the Wildlife Rescue Centre of Green Balkans for further care. There, she grew stronger, learned to fly, and spent the winter months safely under their care.
© Dimitar Gradinarov, BSPB
In the spring of 2025, Neslihan became part of the 2025 Class of the “Egyptian Vulture School” in the Eastern Rhodopes, together with five other young birds. After over two months of adaptation and socialization, she was released, equipped with a GPS transmitter, and proudly carried the name given to her by the students of a local school.
From the very first day, Neslihan showed her adventurous spirit. Unlike the other released vultures, she dared to follow her own path — roaming across the mountains of Greece and back, spending nights on the ground, risking attacks from predators. After wandering for days and starving for more than 10 days, her strength began to fail. It was then, thanks to the persistence of the BSPB team, the help of volunteers Neva Dryankovka and Elena Nankova, and a bit of luck, that she was recaptured and rescued just in time before it was too late for her.
© Volen Arkumarev, BSPB
After two weeks of recovery, Neslihan took to the skies once again, wiser and more cautious. This time, she stayed close to the other vultures, fed regularly at the supplementary feeding station, and remained within the safe release area. She had been given a third chance to live in the wild, and it seemed she was determined not to waste it.
But in autumn, her adventurous spirit awoke again. Instead of migrating to Africa via the Middle East, Neslihan headed west — spending few weeks in Albania, then moving south through Greece, reaching the very tip of the Peloponnese Peninsula. Standing before the endless sea, she seemed to realize she needed to find a safer route and returned north to central Greece.
Yet instinct drew her south once again, and for the second time she reached the edge of the Peloponnese. This time, at the brink of the sea, fate was merciless. Neslihan was suspected to have been attacked by a local pair of Bonelli’s Eagles and did not survive. After liaising with HOS/BirdLife Greece, a local team from the Greek Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA) confirmed the tragic news after finding her remains at the site of her last GPS signal.
A sad story — but one that reminds us that even when we give our best, fate still has the final word.
Neslihan was a bird with spirit, brave, curious, and free. She reminds us that in the wild, as in life, there are forces beyond our control. Yet as long as there are birds like Neslihan, there is hope. Because every flight, every struggle, and every story leaves a mark, inspiring us to continue fighting for the survival of her species.
BSPB expresses gratitude to the teams of the Management Unit of the Southern Peloponnese Protected Areas (NECCA) and HOS/BirdLife Greece for their cooperation and support in uncovering Neslihan’s fate.
© BSPB, 2025
The conservation work for the Egyptian vulture is carried out under the “From the Iron Curtain to the Green Belt” project, funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme (ELSP) that is managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative – a collaboration between the Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge of The Old Schools and leading internationally-focused biodiversity conservation organisations. The University and the ELSP are supported by Arcadia – a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing.
