Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVI, Issue 1
Written by Rusko PETROV, Ivanka LAZAROVA, Gabriela BELEVA, Gradimir GRADEV
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is one of the only two taxa representatives of the Family Ciconiidae (Storks) that nest in Bulgaria. The species is protected both on the territory of the country and the EU, and is included in the subject and conservation objectives of many SPAs in the country, part of the European ecological network NATURA 2000. In this paper we present the number, etiology, condition and treatment outcome of over 2,900 specimens of the species accepted for treatment in the period 1999 - 2021. These are patients of the Green Balkans Wildlife Rescue Center in Stara Zagora, which is leading unit for ex-situ conservation of wildlife protected and rare bird species not only in the country but also on the Balkan Peninsula. The outcome of the treatment of all white storks is presented in 4 main categories – returned to nature, housed for aviary breeding, redirected to other ex-situ structurers, as well as lethal outcome. We evaluated the influence of different etiological factors, age and season on the treatment outcome.
[Read full article] [Citation]
