The status and conservation of Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Armenia

The national conservation status of the globally threatened Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Armenia was last updated in 2009, and there is an obvious need to revise it. The data collected in 2022–2024 show that there are 39–43 breeding pairs of Egyptian Vulture in Armenia, while its population trend declined by 25% in the years between 2003–2024 (p<0.01), which equals a decrease of 48% in 40 years (three generations of the species). The Area of Occupancy is 976 km², and the Extent of Occurrence is 19,024 km². The species’ national conservation status is marginal between the categories of Vulnerable and Endangered; however, the existing conservation measures remain insufficient for either category. To improve the status of the species, it is necessary to mitigate hazardous waste management policy, to secure proper Environmental Impact Assessments of construction and other developments in the buffer zones of known nests, and to restrict outdoor activities, including drone filming or photography in the same buffer zones in the breeding season, to review the policy on burial of dead cattle, and to study the influence of electric infrastructure on Egyptian Vultures. The implementation of conservation measures should be accompanied by continuous monitoring with minimum disturbance.