Abstract
Eurasian black vulture (Aegypius monachus) belongs to family Accipitridae and is a raptor preying small birds and mammals. It is a wintering bird residing from the mid of November to the late of March in Korea. Although Eurasian black vulture population wintering at Korea is gradually increased, the efficient rescue and treatment for injured Eurasian black vultures are still problematic, due to lack of basic data. Therefore, in this survey, to obtain basic resources for establishing more efficient rescue system, we surveyed the number of Eurasian black vultures wintering at Gangwon province, wintering ecology and injury state of Eurasian black vulture. Survey area was Togyo reservoir at Cheorwon, Seonan basin at Yangoo and Wolsong reservoir at Chuncheon from November 2004 to March 2005. From 12 rescued Eurasian black vultures, physical examination, total plasma protein (TPP) and packed cell volume (PCV) were measured. To survey injury state of Eurasian black vultures wintering at Gangwon province, we surveyed the cause, morbidity and mortality from 103 Eurasian black vultures, based on medical records from animal rescue teams. The number of eurasian black vultures were gradually increased from November, peaked at Feburary, then steeply decreased at March. Eurasian black vultures showed the most vigorous activity around 1 PM within a day. In physical examination, mean body weight was $9.6{\pm}1.22kg$, body length was $1130{\pm}45.4mm$. No statistically significant difference in body weight and length between male and female eurasian black vultures was observed. Mean PCV was $40.2{\pm}2.7%$, while mean TPP was $5.86{\pm}0.8mg/dl$. The most common cause of injury and mortality was intoxication, while that of morbidity was fatigue.
