The Conservation project: "Reason for Hope" Reintroduction of the Northern Bald Ibis in Europe
My project develops in the context of a European LIFE + Biodiversity project ( LIFE12 BIO/AT/000143 ) lead by Waldrappteam. The main objectives of this project are the reintroduction and conservation of the Northern bald ibis in Europe, the constitution of a wild and self-sustaining population and the establishment of a seasonal pattern of migration.
This Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) got extinct in Europe around 400 years ago due to excessive hunting. Only some survived, in Morocco and Middle East. It is a migratory species. Adults migrate north of the Alps in spring and spend the summer there, to mate and reproduce. In autumn they migrate southwards and they spend the winter in Central Italy, in Spain or North Africa. Juveniles usually learn the migratory route from adult individuals, memorizing it for their lifetime.
One of the main activities of the conservation project is to teach the juveniles the migration route. How is this achieved? Every year a group of Bald ibises is hand-raised by two foster mothers. The chicks are imprinted on them as they hatch from their eggs and the foster mothers take care of them in every moment of the day. After fledging, the juveniles slowly learn to first familiarize and then fly together with two motorized paraplanes, each with a pilot and one of the foster mother. Teaching the birds to trust and follow the microlights is not an easy task, however by now there is a good method behind it, which was fine-tuned in many years of experience. Foster mothers start by presenting the "strange object" to the birds (the microlight) and by sitting in it. Then they begin to move it around, to start the engine and then to do short flights. In little time, birds learn to trust it, thanks to the social bond that they have with the foster mothers, and to fly behind it. Before the migration, the group of juveniles does several training flights of increasing lenght.
Migration starts usually in the middle of August. It is a journey that goes from South Germany/upper Austria to the WWF Oasis in Orbetello, Central Italy. The journey is divided into several flights, usually 5 to 7. It is something really amazing, adventurous and challenging. There is a big team working behind it. We have also many visitors, in the camp before the migration and during the stopovers.
Once arrived in Orbetello, the foster mothers will take care of the juveniles for some more time, however they also start to leave them more and more on their own. These birds need to learn to be wild. Juveniles will stay in Orbetello until they are sexually mature (i.e. when they are 2 years old) and then they will migrate back north, to reproduce. The birds remember the way back and will return in the place where they grew up.
There are already some free-standing colonies in Europe (for example in Salzburg and Burghausen, in Austria) and every year the number of individuals is growing. However, the population is still restricted and therefore the project will continue, until the population will be self-sustaining.
The project does not only engage in reintroducing this species, but also in other causes that are closely related to it, like electrocution and poaching. In fact, quite a few wild Bald ibises get killed every year because of these reason. Of course, these are problems that do not affect only Northern bald ibises, but also a lot of other bird species, some endangered as well. Therefore, raising awareness and creating solutions about these unconsidered problems is part of the Waldrappteam’s work.
This is a brief story of the conservation project. If you are interested to know more, I invite you to support my project and follow the campaign, to visit the Waldrappteam website and to contact me, at any time. You are always welcome.
Thanks for your attention!
0 comments