{"id":41317,"date":"2026-01-16T10:47:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T08:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/?p=41317"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T09:46:15","slug":"bearded-vulture-in-the-pyrenees-2025-breeding-results-and-conservation-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4vultures.org\/pt\/blog\/bearded-vulture-in-the-pyrenees-2025-breeding-results-and-conservation-actions\/","title":{"rendered":"Bearded Vulture in the Pyrenees: 2025 Breeding results\u00a0and conservation actions\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year 2025 brought mixed results for the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) <\/em><\/a>population in the Pyrenees, with some encouraging breeding outcomes in the French side of the mountains but continuing very poor breeding success on the Spanish side, while conservation efforts to reduce human-related threats are continuing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent report for the 2025 breeding season in the Pyrenees was published at  \u201cCirculaire Gypa\u00e8te barbu dans les Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es fran\u00e7aises \u2013 N\u00b092 (2025)\u201d<\/a>,  by LPO Aquitaine and its partners within the framework of the French National Action Plan for the Bearded Vulture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bearded Vulture \u00a9 M. Kaczmar\/ Circulaire Gypa\u00e8te barbu dans les Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es fran\u00e7aises \u2013 N\u00b092 (2025) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bearded Vultures across the Pyrenees: an international perspective <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Across the entire Pyrenean range (France, Spain and Andorra), only 50 young Bearded Vultures fledged in 2025 from 209 territorial units identified across the Pyrenean range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were a total of 151 territorial units in Spain (87 of which in Arag\u00f3n, 51 in Catalonia and 13 in Navarra), 57 units in France and 1 in Andorra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While France showed\u00a0relatively strong\u00a0breeding performance with a breeding success (number of fledged young divided by number of pairs who laid eggs) of 0,53, breeding output was much lower in all the Spanish regions, and no fledging was recorded in Navarre this year. The breeding\u00a0success\u00a0for Navarra was therefore\u00a0nil, and only 0,34 for Arag\u00f3n and 0,36 for Catalonia.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding Summary from Pyrenees (France, Spain & Andorra) \u2013 Data from Circulaire Gypa\u00e8te barbu dans les Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es fran\u00e7aises \u2013 N\u00b092 (2025) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong> <\/td>France<\/strong> <\/td>Navarre<\/strong> <\/td>Aragon<\/strong> <\/td>Catalonia<\/strong> <\/td>Andorra<\/strong> <\/td>Total<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Territorial pairs \/ trios<\/strong> <\/td>57 <\/td>13 <\/td>87 <\/td>51 <\/td>1 <\/td>209<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Clutches<\/strong> <\/td>36 <\/td>7 <\/td>62 <\/td>25 <\/td>1 <\/td>131<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Egg removals<\/strong> <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>7 + 1* <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>8<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Hatchings<\/strong> <\/td>30 <\/td>3 <\/td>32 <\/td>13 <\/td>1 <\/td>79<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Fledglings <\/strong><\/td>19 <\/td>0 <\/td>21 <\/td>9 <\/td>1 <\/td>50<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Failures <\/strong><\/td>17 <\/td>7 <\/td>34 <\/td>15 <\/td>0 <\/td>73<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Breeding success <\/strong>
Fledglings \/ clutches <\/td>		0.53 <\/td>0 <\/td>0.34 <\/td>0.36 <\/td>1.00 <\/td>0.38<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Productivity<\/strong> 
Fledglings \/ territories <\/td>		0.33 <\/td>0 <\/td>0.26** <\/td>0.18 <\/td>1.00 <\/td>0.24<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

* One removed egg was not viable 
** Includes the 7 removed eggs in productivity calculations <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall productivity for the Pyrenean population (number of fledglings divided per number of territorial units) was only 0.24, <\/strong>a very low breeding output that suggests that the Pyrenees have long reached their carrying capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just for comparison, in the Alps in 2025 68 young fledged from 118 territorial pairs. In the Pyrenees, with almost double the number of breeding pairs (209), only 50 birds fledged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding results in the French Pyrenees <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The breeding outputs in the French side of the Pyrenees were better than on the Spanish side with the overall breeding success (0,53) being above the average of the last ten years <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The departments with the highest number of fledglings were Ari\u00e8ge with 7 fledglings and Hautes-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es with 5 fledglings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding Summary from French pyrenees \u2013 Data from Circulaire Gypa\u00e8te barbu dans les Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es fran\u00e7aises \u2013 N\u00b092 (2025) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong> <\/td>Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es-Atlantiques (64)<\/strong> <\/td>Hautes-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es (65)<\/strong> <\/td>Haute-Garonne (31)<\/strong> <\/td>Ari\u00e8ge (09)<\/strong> <\/td>Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es-Orientales (66)<\/strong> <\/td>Aude (11)<\/strong> <\/td>Total<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Territorial pairs \/ trios <\/strong><\/td>16 <\/td>15 <\/td>5 <\/td>12 <\/td>7 <\/td>2 <\/td>57<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Clutches<\/strong> <\/td>9 <\/td>11 <\/td>2 <\/td>8 <\/td>5 <\/td>1 <\/td>36<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Hatchings<\/strong> <\/td>6 <\/td>11 <\/td>2 <\/td>8 <\/td>3 <\/td>0 <\/td>30<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Fledglings<\/strong> <\/td>3 <\/td>5 <\/td>2 <\/td>7 <\/td>2 <\/td>0 <\/td>19<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Productivity<\/strong> 
Fledglings \/ territories <\/td>		0.19 <\/td>0.33 <\/td>0.40 <\/td>0.58 <\/td>0.29 <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>0.33<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Breeding success <\/strong> 
Fledglings \/ clutches <\/td>		0.33 <\/td>0.45 <\/td>1.00 <\/td>0.88 <\/td>0.40 <\/td>\u2013 <\/td>0.53<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some territories recorded remarkable successes, including the Sentein territory, where a chick fledged for the first time in 14 years, and Gavarnie, which continues to show consistently strong breeding parameters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, breeding failures were also frequent, often occurring during incubation or the first weeks of chick rearing. These failures highlight the continued vulnerability of the species to disturbance, weather conditions, and adult mortality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservation actions: reducing human-related risks <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Numerous conservation actions were carried out in 2025 in the French Pyrenees to reduce human-induced threats: <\/p>\n\n\n\n