{"id":39295,"date":"2024-12-13T13:18:23","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T11:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/?p=39295"},"modified":"2025-05-05T15:46:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T12:46:40","slug":"first-eggs-of-the-bearded-vulture-captive-breeding-season-laid-early-in-two-bearded-vulture-captive-breeding-centres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/pt\/blog\/first-eggs-of-the-bearded-vulture-captive-breeding-season-laid-early-in-two-bearded-vulture-captive-breeding-centres\/","title":{"rendered":"First eggs of the Bearded Vulture Captive Breeding season laid in two Captive Breeding Centres\u00a0on the same day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2024-2025 breeding season has begun with an exciting twist for the Bearded Vulture<\/a> (Gypaetus barbatus<\/em>) community. On 4 December 2024, two Bearded Vulture EEP<\/a> captive breeding centres\u2014Richard Faust Zentrum (RFZ) in Austria and Guadalent\u00edn<\/a> in Spain\u2014both confirmed the arrival of their first eggs of the season, laid on the same day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both RFZ and Guadalentin share a history of successful breeding and along with the Vallcalent Captive Breeding Unit, are the most important captive breeding centres within the Bearded Vulture EEP network.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bearded
BG201 \u201cAararat\u201d \u00a9 Christopher K\u00e4s\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The story of Aararat and Ricarda <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At RFZ, the first egg of the season was laid by the pair of BG201 \u201cAararat\u201d and BG576 \u201cRicarda\u201d. This egg was laid around 1:30 in the morning. Aararat is a wild-caught bird from Tajikistan and has been part of the EEP programme since the early 1990s, after being captured in 1988 due to a wing-injury that kept him from being released back in the wild.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his old age, Aararat only fathered seven offspring so far, including \u201cGerlinde,\u201d a successful wild breeder in Vercors. As a wild founder, all offspring from him are genetically very valuable, contributing to the European population.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
First egg of the season by BG201 and BG576 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The female, \u201cRicarda\u201d\u2014hatched in captivity. She hatched at RFZ in 2009 and spent 2011-2023 at Frankfurt Zoo, where she struggled to produce viable offspring. After her male partner passed away in 2022, she was transferred back to RFZ in May 2023, where she then paired with BG201. This pair\u2019s journey has included moments of uncertainty, such as a fight in mid-November when BG576 chased BG201 because of being wet, prompting an intervention from caretakers. Thankfully, the pair reunited and successfully mated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of Keno\u2019s egg <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Guadalentin Breeding Centre reported their egg being laid at around 1 p.m. on the same day by Josef and Keno. They are a beautiful and very close couple. The female Keno is 25 years old and experienced and great mother. She laid two eggs last year, resulting in BG1202 \u201cTerre\u201d that was released in Grands Causses on 16 May 2024 as part of the LIFE GypACT project<\/a> and BG1206 that was transferred at the FCQ\u00b4s centre in La Alfranca, Zaragoza at 10 days old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The male Josef is 34 years old and is the second oldest bird at the Guadalent\u00edn centre. Josef is not a very good parent. He does not know what to do with a chick, so he is removed from the cage when the pair is given a chick to raise. Luckily, Keno does an amazing job by herself. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the video of the first egg laid by Keno below! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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