Eagles and vultures survive Tbilisi Zoo flooding

The Tbilisi Zoo’s eagles and vultures survived the devastating floods of June 13, 2015, in which more than 300 animals died and the zoo was completely destroyed. Animals housed in the upper part of the zoo all survived. These included the eagles and vultures.

The zoo has an Andean condor, Cinerous (black) vultures, Griffon vultures, Long-legged buzzards, Golden eagles, Imperial eagles, and Steppe eagles.

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is from South America and is distinctive for its large wingspan of 3.2 metres (10 feet 6 inches) and featherless pink neck and face.

The Cinerous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture or Eurasian black vulture, is one of the world’s heaviest flying birds. It has dark black feathers with a blue-grey neck and head.

Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) have white heads with white neck feathers and a yellow-white beak.

The Long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) has a variety of colours, although usually an orange-brown tint with white underwings, and a pale head. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are quite common in the Northern Hemisphere. They don’t look golden – instead, they look dark dusty brown with lighter golden-brown feathers on the back of their necks (the nape).

The Eastern Imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is found in southeastern Europe to central Asia. It has golden-brown feathers with a lighter feathers interspersed throughout. It also has a yellow eye lid and base of the beak. The Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) has a pale throat, brown feathers and blackish flight feathers and tail. It is found from Romania to Nepal, and the steppes of Mongolia.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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