Sassari The Sardinian griffon “Arricelli”, released on 9 April from the Villasalto aviary, made a record crossing: in the space of 9 hours it covered a distance of 373 kilometres. The satellite transmitter he is wearing has allowed us to document for the first time the passage from Sardinia to Sicily for this species, which usually avoids flying long distances over the sea. The news was announced by a post published on the Facebook page of the Regional Forestas Agency, which gives a series of information on this extraordinary bird.
«The flight from Sardinia to Sicily is an extraordinary fact which, together with the arrival of the Egyptian vulture in Sardinia in 2019 and the crossing of another griffon vulture in Corsica in 2023, confirms the hypothesis that our island could represent a crucial hub and a fundamental radiation center for vulturid populations in the Mediterranean – we read in the post -. Courage and dexterity allowed him to accomplish a feat that another of the griffins released in April was unable to do, the griffon called Sarrabus, his crossing companion, who died along the way, confirming the fact that the dispersion of griffins always represents a risk and is associated with high mortality.”
“Arricelli”, a name inspired by the toponymy of Gerrei, south-eastern Sardinia, where two weeks ago the first contingent of griffon vultures included in the repopulation plan of the species in that part of the island was released, was born in Sardinia in 2023. Recovered when he was only a few months old, he was cared for by the Regional Forestas Agency in the Bonassai wildlife recovery center. From there he joined four other Sardinian individuals with ten griffon vultures who arrived from Spain thanks to the Vulture Conservation Foundation. Together they spent a long period of adaptation in the aviary built by the Forestas Agency in the wooded construction site of Cea Romana, in the municipality of Villasalto, south-east Sardinia. «Thanks to the LIFE safe for vultures project – continues the post – we have arranged for the discoloration of the pens and the provision of GPS, to be able to track their movements and habits. It was thus possible to verify that Arricelli immediately showed himself to be very enterprising, arriving as far as Aritzo and then continuing his exploratory journey towards Pula and Teulada. Returning towards the Monti Sette Fratelli area, he moved towards Costa Rei and from there he pushed towards the sea, reaching a height of 530 metres. In a few hours, thanks to the favorable wind, he managed to reach Sicily. He will not be alone: on the island where Arricelli has been since yesterday evening there are currently 315 griffon vultures. The main colony is located on the Nebrodi mountains, in the Rocche del Crasto di Alcara li Fusi, but a small nucleus has also found a home on the Madonie».
