In August, our teams concluded their field surveys across the Arda River basin. Behind this crucial phase of the “Rewilding Arda” project lie hundreds of kilometers covered on foot – through thorns, thickets, and steep riverbanks. For every 10 kilometers of river surveyed, our experts logged an additional 2 to 4 kilometers in the wildest and most inaccessible corners of the Rhodope Mountains, where the rivers become almost impassable.

Around 200 people, mainly families with children, took part in the festive programme in Madzharovo marking International Vulture Awareness Day. For another year, the town brought together nature lovers, local residents and visitors from across the country to celebrate these important “sanitarians” of nature.

From 13 to 16 July, the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) organized a study visit to the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria as part of its project “Study Visit to the Vulture Reintroduction Center in Eastern Rhodopes.

A team from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria) has ringed and tagged the two Cinereous Vulture juveniles hatched this year in the Bulgarian part of the Eastern Rhodopes with GPS/GSM satellite transmitters. These are the first chicks of the species to hatch in the region in more than 30 years.

The Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation, in partnership with leading scientists and conservationists, is launching a large-scale initiative to survey obsolete artificial barriers along the Arda River in Bulgaria.

We are pleased to announce that three project proposals have been awarded grants for the implementation of Replication Projects under the open call launched within the framework of the LIFE Rhodope Vulture project.

REWILDING RHODOPES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS
NEW DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: 24TH NOVEMBER 2025 – 18.00 H. CET
ALL THE REMAINING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE OPEN CALL STAY THE SAME.

Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation announces:

OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Nine European bison – seven females and two males – were released into the wild in the Zhenda area, part of the 3,800-hectare Zhenda rewilding site in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains near Kardzhali. The initiative is led by the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation, in partnership with the Zhenda State Hunting Enterprise and with the support of international partners.

The return of wildlife in the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria marks another exciting step forward. In June, eight more European bison were introduced in two stages to “Zhenda” – one of the priority landscapes for the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation. The European bison is one of the endangered large herbivores and a symbol of the rewilding efforts in Europe.