On June 11, 2023 Moni and I followed the invitation of the Foundation pro Bearded Vulture and drove to Melchsee-Frutt to attend the reintroduction of bearded vultures. These are the 52nd and 53rd bearded vultures that have been released in Switzerland. It is the second release we were allowed to accompany.
Always in autumn (October) the international bearded vulture observation day takes place in which we always participate. We have been doing this since 2017, when volunteers from different European countries take part and pictures are shared via WhatsApp (Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovenia). Always cool.
For a long time, young bearded vultures from the zoo in Goldau (breeding station) were released here in Switzerland, but in recent years animals from other breedings have been taken to increase genetic diversity.
The Bearded Vultures are Obwaldera (with the black head), female, 3 months from Vienna, Austria and Marco (the one with the lighter head), male, 3 months, 5.3 kg from Talin, Estonia. The animals were transported in wooden transport boxes to their temporary nest in a rocky alcove, an approximately 75-minute walk.
The young bearded vultures will now stay in their rock niche for about a month before flying out and looking for a new territory in the Alps.
(Note from SUST communication: Michi's fascination for flying is also job-related, he is a helicopter mech, which explains the following paragraph😉)
I don't know what you know about this aircraft, so here are some technical data.
Wingspan: 2.6-2.9 meters.
Weight: 5-7 kilograms.
Sexual maturity: 5-7 years.
Reproduction: max. 1 young per year.
Life expectancy (in the wild): 30-40 years-.
Life expectancy (in captivity): up to 50 years.
The bearded vulture is the only vulture species that feeds exclusively on bones, especially ungulates. The young animals also get meat until they fly out.
The last breeding record in Switzerland dates back to 1886 near Vrin GR. The last bearded vulture in the Alps was shot in Italy in 1913. There are several reasons for the extinction. On the one hand, many vultures died from poisoning by bait, which had actually been laid out for other animals. On the other hand, the bearded vulture lacked the food basis, since many ungulates such as ibex, chamois and red deer had completely or almost disappeared from the Alps. In addition, the bearded vultures were actively persecuted by humans. Due to fear of this large bird, there were high premiums for its cull. The bearded vulture was also known by the name 'lammergeier', however this is no longer used today. As a pure scavenger, it does not kill young sheep or other animals and the stories that it carries off small children do not correspond to the truth. In the meantime, there are probably more than 300 bearded vultures in the Alpine region.
In 1986, the first bearded vultures from a Europe-wide breeding program were released in the Hohe Tauern (Austria). This was followed by annual releases in High Savoy (France), in the Maritime Alps (France/Italy) and in the Swiss National Park GR (1991-2007). In Switzerland, the Foundation Pro Bearded Vulture coordinates the reintroductions.
The aim of the reintroduction project is a widespread colonization of the Alps and a link-up with the vital Pyrenean population, but also with the critical populations on Corsica and Crete.
We wish Obwaldera and Marco a good flight.