Abstract

Imagine how it would feel to fly through the sky on wings so wide, when you catch some rising warm air you soar for miles! This is how vultures fly as they look for their next meal.

Unfortunately, places that are best for vultures can also be good locations for wind farms because there’s lots of wind to turn their turbines and make electricity. When vultures fly close to these turbines, the moving blades can hit them, killing or severely wounding them.

We collected data on existing and proposed wind farms in south-eastern Europe, and compared them with data on the areas that cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) live in. We found that if the new wind farms go where planned, this population of vultures could be at serious risk of extinction.

We suggest an approach that would allow Greece to exceed its wind power targets while protecting these vultures.