Images of a violent fight between an adult bearded vulture and an intruding griffon were registered some days ago by French photgrapher Raphael Grinevald at the southern slopes of the Bargy massif, in Haute Savoie, in France.
The Bargy couple – one of the 15 bearded vulture breeding pairs registered this year in the French Alps – successfully fledged a young, and in this instance one of the adults is vigorously defending its territory against a griffon.
The fight – a combat of titans – lasted about 20 seconds, and had of course the expected winner.
The Bargy couple is breeding in an area covered by the EU-funded LIFE GYPHELP project, led by ASTERS (Conservatoire d´Espaces Naturels de Haute Savoie), and in which the VCF is also participating, thus benefiting from a series of conservation actions that are minimizing threats to the species.
Photo: Raphael Grinevald
