The Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus) is one of the greatest natural values of Tramuntana, the island of Cres and the whole of Croatia. On the island of Cres there are two ornithological reserves (‘Podokladi’ in the middle and ‘Kruna’ on the northern part of the island) where about 70 nesting pairs live.

The reserve on Tramuntana his called Kruna according to a cliff in Podbeli where the griffons (local name ‘orli’ – meaning eagles) are nesting since people can remember.

The island population which lives on Cres (as well as the islands of Krk, Plavnik and Prvić) is unique because here the griffons are nesting on vertical cliffs just above the sea – sometimes even less than 10 metres above the surface. The Eurasian Griffons are one of the largest birds which fly with the wing span up to 2.80 metres and they can weigh up to 15 kg.

They are a long living species. Some griffons have lived for 60 years. The female has one egg a year and sometimes in December each parent takes turn to incubate the egg for over two months.

After the chick hatches, it grows over four months before starting to fly on its own in search of food. However, the young stay with parents for the next two months, learning to fly. The griffons can fly to speeds of 160 km/h and during their search for food they glide without much use of their wings, developing a speed of 40-60 km/h. The Eurasian Griffons eat only dead animals and they do not attack leaving prey.

By finding carcases and eating them, they stop the spread of diseases and epidemics. But, carcases are few and far between so the griffons live in groups: they nest in colonies with of large number of individuals and they search for food in groups. Today, without traditional (extensive) sheep breeding when the sheep live outside throughout the year (and their mortality is higher), the griffons would not survive.

Therefore, griffons depend on people – shepherds, as well as man depends on them – especially in carst areas where is very difficult to find and bury dead sheep. Thanks to this relationship which has existed over the millennia, the griffons are still one of the most beautiful characteristics of our sky. Nevertheless, the emigration of people from the island of Cres, less people living on the island, including shepherds meaning the number of sheep has dropped which means less food for griffons. This is the reason why we have opened feeding places - ‘restaurants’ for them.

These are places have been prepared for leaving dead sheep and other animals. Besides this, these places are also ideal for scientific research of the feeding and daily activities of the griffons. The Ornithological Station Cres, which is also based in the building of the former school in Beli (where the Eko-centar is), also runs research about other birds in the ornithological reserves of Kruna and Podokladi as well as all surrounding areas.

The centre has a special role in saving young griffons which fall into the sea or can be found ill or wounded. Therefore behind the building of Eko-centar we have established a sanctuary for the Eurasian Griffons where the birds recover and are then released.

From 1990 in collaboration with the Ornithological Station Cres, and under the leadership of Goran Sušić PhD, has been ringing the legs and tagging the wings of young Eurasian Griffons on the Kvarner islands. To date we have marked almost 600 Eurasian Griffons with wing tags and metal rings with numbers and signs.

From 2001 we have also been marking them with green plastic rings, which is a part of large international project the European Griffon Vulture Working Group (EGVWG).

After becoming independent from their parents, the young griffons leave the colonies and start their migrations: across Slovenia and Italy to the Alps, and sometimes to Poland and the North Sea, south to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Israel and Africa, east to Ukraine and Russia and west to France and Spain, which is proved by our markers on the birds. When after five years, the young griffon reach sexual maturity, they find a partner and return to the nest, sometimes on the exact same cliff where they were hatched.

The Eurasian Griffon is an especially protected species according to Croatian Law concerning nature protection and their killing, the taking eggs or chicks and disturbance of the birds in the nest is an offence which can be penalised with penalty up to 40,000 Croatian kunas (more than 5,000 Euros). It is also strictly forbidden to keep a stuffed bird!