Rare Bearded Vultures born in European zoos to be released into the wild

The first chick comes from Helsinki Zoo and was born on March 2. According to the LBV, the birth weight and sex of the chick are still unknown. The little Partakorppikotka – the Finnish name for a bearded vulture – is to be carried on a cargo plane. His older siblings from previous years were released into the wilderness in Andalusia and Corsica.

The Austrian chick was born on March 3 at the Richard Faust Center in Haringsee. At 178 grams when born, according to the LBV, it is the heaviest young bird in the Bavarian reintroduction project so far. The young vulture is raised by a pair of wet nurses.

At the end of May, the two young bearded vultures will be released into the rock space in the Berchtesgaden National Park, where their counterparts were released into the wild in previous years, as also name the nature conservation society.

The first vultures released into the wild – Bavaria and Wally – came from Spain in 2021, as did their successors Dagmar and Recka: Dagmar is Bavaria’s cousin and Recka is a sister Wally, who was the only animal that did not survive. She was killed with a stone. Sisi and Nepomuk – the first male to be released into the wild – came from Austria in 2023.

Bearded vultures have been extinct in Germany for 140 years. From 2021 they are resettled in Berchtesgaden National Park. There are also regeneration projects elsewhere in the Alps. With a wingspan of up to 2.90 meters, the animals are among the largest flying birds in the world.