Bernardus goes south again

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Remember the black vulture Bernardus who spent last winter in Andalusia? She is on the way south again!

Bernardus was born in the Pairi Daiza Zoo/Animal park, Cambron, Belgium, within the European captive breeding program (EEP) for the Eurasian black vulture, which tries try to breed the species in captivity to provide the chicks for reintroduction projects in the wild. Bernardus was transferred to Verdon (France) in the summer of 2015, and released there in September. In November 2015 she started her amazing journey south, taking her all across the Iberian peninsula. You can follow the story here:

28.11.2015

29.12.2015

24.06.2016

28.04.2016
 

After spending the winter in southern Spain, Bernardus flew all the way around the Iberian peninsula and continued north to Frankfurt in Germany, and then back south to France.

During this year´s spring and summer she visited the Massif Central, but spent most of the time in the Alps.  In mid-October she started to fly west and spent a day in the Massif Central, before she continued south. Bernardus is currently in the Cabañeros natural park south of Toledo, after a brief stopover near Valencia – will she spend the winter in Andalusia, or move west to Extremadura, another black vulture stronghold?

The VCF has been involved with the reintroduction of black vultures in France, mostly by facilitating the transfer of birds from Spain (wild origin, but coming via rehabilitation centres after they are picked up injured or exhausted), in collaboration with regional administrations in Spain and the French NGOs associated with the reintroduction sites. There are now at least 35 pairs of black vultures breeding in France, in three different nuclei, and soon this reintroduction project will wrap up.

To continue to follow the movements of Bernardus, please click here

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