Last week two new young bearded vultures were released in Meyrueis by LPO Grands Causses, in the the Cévennes National Park.
Students from private and public schools from Meyrueis, Florac, and Sainte-Enimie, councillors from the local villages, representatives of the institutional and financial partners of the program, residents and many observers coming from far, gathered at the campsite “La Cascade” to welcome these two birds.
After their presentation to the public, the young bearded vultures, named Cayla and Aigoual by the children, were placed in a cavity on a cliff of the “Causse Mejean”. They will spend a few weeks there, prior to take off. Until they fly in the sky of the Massif Central, the two vultures will be closely monitored by a team of observers of LPO Grands Causses and the Cévennes National Park.
Cayla and Aigoual, aged 97 and 90 days were born in the breeding center of Guadalentin (Andalusia, Spain). Both females are the tenth and eleventh bearded vultures reintroduced in the Great Causses since 2012.
Visitors to the area can observe the young vultures from a reception point at the campsite “La Cascade” in Salvinsac, in the municipality of Meyrueis. For more information, check the tab “Lâcher 2016” from the website: http://rapaces.lpo.fr/gypaete-grands-causses/lacher-2016 or contact the Meyrueis Tourist Office at 04.66.45.60.33. To secure the tranquillity of the birds and guarantee the success of the operation, it is not possible to go on the release site.
This release, carried by the LPO Grands Causses, in close partnership with the Cévennes National Park, the Regional Park of Grands Causses, and the VCF, is implemented within the framework of the European LIFE-funded project GYPCONNECT, in which the VCF also participates, and which is partly funded by MAVA. The objectives of this project are to recreate a population nucleus of bearded vultures in the Massif Central and Drôme and thus enhance genetic exchange between the Alpine and Pyrenean populations of this species. This project is part of a international strategy to recover the bearded vulture in Europe.
Photos: LPO Grands Causses
