One third of the pairs of Egyptian vultures left on the Balkan peninsula reside in Bulgaria.

For the first time in many years, there is some ground for optimism as the population of the Egyptian vulture in Bulgaria has slightly increased, private bTV stations reports.

The majority of the representatives of this species of birds in Bulgaria can be found at the nature conservation centre in the village of Madzharovo in the eastern Rhodope mountains.

All 25 vultures born this year have survived and all of them have completed their first flight, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of the Birds informs.

They have survived being harmed by their natural enemies, but people should also take care of them as human negligence often kills them.

Most often, the vultures fall victim to humans when feeding on the corpses of animals, which have been deliberately poisoned.

The volunteers from the conservation centre say that the birds need our help and remind that vultures also help us by clearing the nature from the corpses of dead animals.

In the space of a week, the volunteers have cleaned, painted and refurbished the area of the conservation centre, which attracts hundreds of tourists to Madzharovo annually.

The first Saturday in September each year marks the International Vulture Awareness Day.