Cimatella (female) and Muntagnolu (male), the two young bearded vultures released in a hacking platform in Corsica in the begging of May were last week equipped with a small gps device. This marking is done only shortly before the birds fledge to be able to fit the harness better to the flight muscles and wings, now fully developed. Thanks to this GPS device the movements of Cimatella and Muntagnolu can be followed after their first flight. This is expected to be in about 1 week.
The release of Cimatella (female) and Muntagnolu was a milestone in the efforts to save one of the last western European autochthonous populations of bearded vultures. The restocking of the population with captive-bred individuals is one of the actions included in the Conservation Strategy for the Bearded Vulture in Corsica. The goal of this action is to reinforce the wild population introducing news genes and consequently to increase the genetic variability of this island population. A genetic study done by the VCF, with more than 90 samples collected from the wild population, showed that this isolated population is suffering from low genetic variability, the lowest of all European populations.
We will report here again news of the two birds and share with you their whereabouts.
Photos VCF
