3 bearded vultures were released last Friday in the Parque Natural de las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas, by staff from the Junta de Andalucía and the Fundación Gypaetus, which manage the reintroduction project there.
The young – from the captive breeding network managed by the VCF – were named Pozo Alcón, after a local municipality, and Seprona and AMA, two Andalusian agencies that have contributed much to the reintroduction project, notably in their fight against poisoning.
The young were born on bearded vulture specialized captive breeding center in Guadalentín (also managed by the Junta de Andalusia), the Liberec Zoo (Czech republic) and the Richard Faust captive-breeding center (Austria). The Consejero de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio (regional minister of environment), José Fiscal, was present. This is the first release of birds in Andalusia this year. So far, and with these three birds, 40 bearded vultures have been released in Andalucía since 2006, and one pair bred successfully last year, after local extinction in the 80s. Of these, 16 birds are alive – their tags continue to transmit –, other 5 are also alive but their tags do not transit any longer, while 11 died and 5 are lost (fate unknown).
