We’d like to share with you the story of Dryan, a cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) in his third calendar year, who, after an astonishing journey of over 10,000 km, found himself in trouble — but was fortunately rescued successfully!

Who is Dryan?
Dryan is a young cinereous vulture who arrived in Bulgaria from Spain and was released on April 19 near Kotel, as part of a repopulation program. Since then, he has covered impressive distances and visited 14 countries: Bulgaria, Romania (where he set a record by visiting six times!), Moldova, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Trouble in the Delta:
Dryan arrived in the Danube Delta on June 30, but on July 1, due to a miscalculated landing, he ended up in a dense reedbed from which he couldn’t escape. Since the habitat type wasn’t clearly visible on the map, the search team only set out on July 3.

Rescue Mission Timeline:

Day 1 (July 3):
A joint team from ARBDD (Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority) and INCDD (National Institute for Research and Development of the Danube Delta) went to the area, but due to the thick vegetation, they couldn’t reach the bird. Our local nature photographer friends and local fishermen also tried, without success. Dryan couldn’t be located even with drones due to the density of the reeds.

Day 2 (July 4):
A team of four firefighters from ISU Crișan, and later a local from Mila 23 (organized by Iliuță Goean), approached the site from two different directions. Unfortunately, they couldn’t locate the bird before nightfall.

Day 3 (July 5):
A team of four veterinarians from Tulcea and an expanded team of two people from Mila 23 searched in parallel. Eventually, Dryan was found dehydrated, and he was immediately transported to a veterinary clinic for further evaluation.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in this heroic rescue mission!

Without your help, Dryan’s fate could have been much worse!

             

With gratitude to:

• • Dr. Maximilan Alexandru

• • Asociația Anim All Delta

• • Laurențiu Popa

• • Marcel Iacovici

• • Iliuță Goean and his colleagues

• • The firefighters from ISU Crișan

• • The leadership and staff of ARBDD

• • Cornel Cotorogea

• • Mihai Marinov (INCDD)

• • Mihai Baciu

• • Petrencu Laurențiu

• • Daniel Petrescu

We hope Dryan makes a full recovery soon and can continue his incredible journey!