NICOSIA, March 6, 2008 (AFP) - The majestic sight of vultures hovering over Cypriot skies may become a thing of the past if the island's fast dwindling griffon predator population is not protected from extinction.

No more than 20 survivors remain on this eastern Mediterranean holiday island, well below the 40 breeding pairs experts say are needed to ensure their survival.

'Griffon vultures are rapidly declining; they are close to extinction and the young aren't making it,' said Michael Miltiadou, a research officer at conservationist group BirdLife Cyprus.

'They will become physically extinct if nothing is done to sustain the population,' he told AFP.

Some experts warn they could be gone in five or six years if new measures planned by conservationists and officials do not reverse the trend.

While non-enthusiasts may know the birds only as the rapacious and scary specimens of Hollywood Westerns or Disney's 'Jungle Book', admirers see this huge breed as spectacular role players in a well-balanced eco-system.

Old World scavengers feeding mostly off dead animals, vultures like the griffon are in decline not only in Europe but across the globe.

Modern farming methods, in which carcasses are no longer left to rot in fields, as well as diminishing green areas, and, in Cyprus, the widespread poisoning of stray dogs and foxes have all played a part in their demise.

And since griffons are social animals, one poisoned carcass can have a devastating effect on an entire colony. In Cyprus, for example, a spate of poisonings a decade ago wiped out 30 percent of the 15 to 20 surviving Griffon pairs.

To compound the situation, female griffons lay only one egg a year and they cannot reproduce until they are six, although they do have an average 50-year life span.

At an average 110 centimeters long (more than 3.3 feet), 13 kilos (28 pounds) in weight and with a 265-centimetre wingspan, the griffon is the island's largest bird of prey, affectionately nicknamed the 'flying barn door.'

Under European Union law, Cyprus is duty-bound to safeguard it and other endangered fauna and flora populations.

But a key reason these mercurial scavengers still survive at all on Cyprus is almost coincidental: their last refuge is the cliff tops surrounding Episkopi garrison, a British sovereign military base area (SBA).

-- The vultures are safe behind the military base fence --

'They are only here because the bases are herel they are safe behind the wire,' Ian Davidson-Watts, environment department chief for the SBA administration, told AFP.

'The reason why the bases have the best wildlife is because they are behind the fence and not a lot goes on; there are few disturbances and far away from people.'

The SBA has joined forces with a working committee involving two government agencies -- the forestry department and the Game Fund Service -- and BirdLife Cyprus to outline a strategy to boost the vulture population.

An earlier, 10-year programme to breed griffons in captivity failed miserably when only one bird was produced and become totally dependent on humans.

The new tack will be to import healthy birds from places where population reintroduction projects appears to be working, like Spain.

Permanent feeding stations will also be set up, along with awareness programs to dissuade local farmers from using poisons.

'We are studying the best way to reintroduce birds most probably from Spain,' game and wildlife officer Nicos Kasinis told AFP, and 'there is an effort underway to introduce secure sites where the vultures can feed safely from being poisoned.'

The Spanish newcomers will be acclimatised at separate locations for two years before being released among the local griffons, to ensure the donor population is not damaged.

'Vultures have a right to exist. Certainly they don't do us any harm and they are a very good waste disposal system; they can strip a carcass in minutes,' said Davidson-Watts.

Sustaining a vulture population on Cyprus is seen not only as an ethical imperative but also as a boost to the island's green image and lucrative tourism industry.

'They are great for tourists; people like to see these magnificent looking birds,' said Davidson-Watts.

'People want a natural environment. Griffon vultures are what's special about Cyprus and visitors come here specifically to watch them,' he said.