Currently, colleagues from the VCF (Vulture Conservation Foundation), together with their partners, are reintroducing Bearded Vultures in 5 different regions of Europe, with all their projects dependent on the 174 birds, part of the European Endangered Species Program(EEP) for Bearded Vultures - a captive breeding bird conservation network run by the Vulture Conservation Foundation, which they have been working on since 1978.
They urgently need to transport 19 bearded vultures to Europe to protect them from disease and find them mates. For this purpose they need your help! For the first time, VCF launched a public fundraising campaign. They want you to be part of the bearded vulture‘ s return to the European skies!
Captive Bearded Vulture Breeding Network
All their bearded vulture conservation projects depend on a network of 36 zoos, five specialist breeding centers and two private collections, home to the 174 birds that are part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP ) for bearded vultures. The captive breeding conservation program has been run by the VCF since 1978.
The story is long and begins in the 70s
Two hundred years ago, bearded vultures inhabited the mountains of southern Europe, from western Spain to the Balkans, through the Pyrenees and the Alps. However, due to a decrease in the number of wild grazing animals, changing agricultural practices, poisoning and persecution of the species, its population declined sharply and by the beginning of the 20th century it disappeared in most of these areas.
The species has completely disappeared in the Alps, and is critically endangered in Europe, with fewer than 60 wild breeding pairs in the Pyrenees, Corsica and Crete. At the same time, there are only 40 birds in captivity, distributed in different zoos and only one successful breeding pair in the Alpenzoo Zoo, in Innsbruck (Austria). The pair‘ s breeding success inspired a handful of people to launch a species reintroduction project based on a breeding program using the 40 birds in captivity.
Since 1986, more than 301 bearded vultures hatched in captivity have been released in Europe, as part of one of the most successful examples of the recovery of an endangered species.
In the last year, 13 birds have been released!
The Bearded Vulture has returned to the Alps (52 breeding pairs) and Andalucia (2 breeding and 2 nesting pairs), and for now our reintroduction efforts are focused on the Alps (Switzerland and Austria), Cazorla (Andalusia, Spain), Central French massif and Corsica (France) and more recently in Maestrazgo (Valencia, Spain).
The wild breeding pairs identified by colleagues have hatched a total of over 300 Bearded Vultures!
What’s next for the Bearded Vulture?
The reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture in Europe is one of the world's most significant achievements in the field, a project as well as an adventure that continues to gather stakeholders, the general public and interest everywhere. From highly endangered, for several decades, the species has been reintroduced in the Alps and Andalusia, and work continues on its recovery in Europe, for which purpose more birds should be released in new release areas in the coming years.
They must be sure that more captive hatchlings are released each year! This means they have to find a suitable partner for some of the captive birds that are part of the breeding program and make sure they are protected from diseases such as West Nile fever, which requires the transfer of birds between network partners.
Colleagues need your help!
They have launched their first ever public fundraising campaign - aiming to raise €7,500 to help find 19 bearded vultures new homes and mates. In the coming weeks they will be transported to the breeding net, in time for the start of the breeding season. Some will travel by plane, others by carThey need your help to provide the necessary transportation. Help will be critical to ensure safe and speedy transport for the birds. They managed to secure funding for technical support, shelter and veterinary care through private funding from themselves, zoos and other organizations. But they don’t have the necessary means of transportation.
Get involved If you would like to support their work, visit their donation page https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bearded-vultures-on-the-move#/ where prizes are included for anyone who supports them, including cards by photographer Hansruedi Weyrich, and t-shirts and tote bags by illustrator Rohan Chak. You can also book a personal visit to one of the specialist breeding centers or contact one of their specialists for a personal skype meeting. Choose a reward and join them in the incredible adventure of returning the bearded vulture to the European skies!
They urgently need to transport 19 bearded vultures to Europe to protect them from disease and find them mates. For this purpose they need your help! For the first time, VCF launched a public fundraising campaign. They want you to be part of the bearded vulture‘ s return to the European skies!
Captive Bearded Vulture Breeding Network
All their bearded vulture conservation projects depend on a network of 36 zoos, five specialist breeding centers and two private collections, home to the 174 birds that are part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP ) for bearded vultures. The captive breeding conservation program has been run by the VCF since 1978.
The story is long and begins in the 70s
Two hundred years ago, bearded vultures inhabited the mountains of southern Europe, from western Spain to the Balkans, through the Pyrenees and the Alps. However, due to a decrease in the number of wild grazing animals, changing agricultural practices, poisoning and persecution of the species, its population declined sharply and by the beginning of the 20th century it disappeared in most of these areas.
The species has completely disappeared in the Alps, and is critically endangered in Europe, with fewer than 60 wild breeding pairs in the Pyrenees, Corsica and Crete. At the same time, there are only 40 birds in captivity, distributed in different zoos and only one successful breeding pair in the Alpenzoo Zoo, in Innsbruck (Austria). The pair‘ s breeding success inspired a handful of people to launch a species reintroduction project based on a breeding program using the 40 birds in captivity.
Since 1986, more than 301 bearded vultures hatched in captivity have been released in Europe, as part of one of the most successful examples of the recovery of an endangered species.
In the last year, 13 birds have been released!
The Bearded Vulture has returned to the Alps (52 breeding pairs) and Andalucia (2 breeding and 2 nesting pairs), and for now our reintroduction efforts are focused on the Alps (Switzerland and Austria), Cazorla (Andalusia, Spain), Central French massif and Corsica (France) and more recently in Maestrazgo (Valencia, Spain).
The wild breeding pairs identified by colleagues have hatched a total of over 300 Bearded Vultures!
What’s next for the Bearded Vulture?
The reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture in Europe is one of the world's most significant achievements in the field, a project as well as an adventure that continues to gather stakeholders, the general public and interest everywhere. From highly endangered, for several decades, the species has been reintroduced in the Alps and Andalusia, and work continues on its recovery in Europe, for which purpose more birds should be released in new release areas in the coming years.
They must be sure that more captive hatchlings are released each year! This means they have to find a suitable partner for some of the captive birds that are part of the breeding program and make sure they are protected from diseases such as West Nile fever, which requires the transfer of birds between network partners.
Colleagues need your help!
They have launched their first ever public fundraising campaign - aiming to raise €7,500 to help find 19 bearded vultures new homes and mates. In the coming weeks they will be transported to the breeding net, in time for the start of the breeding season. Some will travel by plane, others by carThey need your help to provide the necessary transportation. Help will be critical to ensure safe and speedy transport for the birds. They managed to secure funding for technical support, shelter and veterinary care through private funding from themselves, zoos and other organizations. But they don’t have the necessary means of transportation.
Get involved If you would like to support their work, visit their donation page https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bearded-vultures-on-the-move#/ where prizes are included for anyone who supports them, including cards by photographer Hansruedi Weyrich, and t-shirts and tote bags by illustrator Rohan Chak. You can also book a personal visit to one of the specialist breeding centers or contact one of their specialists for a personal skype meeting. Choose a reward and join them in the incredible adventure of returning the bearded vulture to the European skies!
