The State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) will release two bearded vultures in the Berchtesgaden National Park again this year. As reported by the Bavarian Nature Conservation Association, these are two young animals from Austria. The chicks hatched at the end of February in a breeding station in Haringsee and in the Alpenzoo Innsbruck. The two young vultures are to be released into the wild in Upper Bavaria at the end of May.
Four animals had already been released there in 2021 and 2022, all of which had been bred in Spain. However, one of the females died. Bavaria, Dagmar and Recka are currently on the move in the Alps as part of the project. The animals are equipped with GPS transmitters and can thus be monitored.
The sex of the two Austrian bearded vulture chicks was initially unknown. “Whether after the four female bearded vultures there will be a male this year will only be known after the blood samples of the chicks have been evaluated,” said National Park project manager Ulrich Brendel. There are no external characteristics in this species to clearly distinguish between males and females.
The two chicks didn’t have names at first either, they were listed under their studbook numbers BG1168 and BG1171. According to the LBV, more than 35 bearded vulture chicks hatched this year as part of the various species protection programs in Europe.
Bearded vulture reintroduction project
