CONTROL IN NATURE RESERVE SREBARNA WILL BE STRENGTHENED

The control in Srebarna nature reserve in the North-East of Bulgaria will be strengthened after 21 pelicans were found dead on 25th of March. The security guards will now make regular inspections, despite the ban for entry in the territory of the lake during nesting.

Employees of the nature reserve and local people claim that there has not been such a mass death of pelicans so far in Srebarna reserve.

No traces of animal bites or aggression were found on the carcasses of the pelicans. According to experts, the cause of the death may be different - overpopulation of the territory, poisoning or virus. Two of the dead birds have been sent to the Veterinary Medical Laboratory in Sofia for examination.

Dr Sebastian Halid, director of Regional Directorate on Foods in the North-East Bulgarian town of Silistra says that the dead birds will also be tested for bird flu. The results are expected to be ready by the end of the week or the beginning of the next week.

According to the ornithologist Ventsislav Petkov, it is difficult to determine the causes of the mass death of the pelicans at this stage, but it very unlikely to be bird flu, because the dead birds are only from one type. He suggests it is a group food poisoning. He explains that when eating, pelicans gather and form something like a circle. They push the fish to one place and then start rowing and catching it. If there is a problem with the fish or a particular water stretch with poisoned fish, the whole group of pelicans may get poisoned, he added.

Currently, there are 65 nesting pairs of pelicans, which arrived in the reserve at different times. There are newly born pelican chicks.