27 Northern Bald Ibises died in a storm in their winter quarters
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As only became known on Tuesday, 27 of the rare northern bald ibis died in a storm in their winter quarters in Orbetello in Tuscany in November. Among them were five birds from the northern bald ibis colony on Georgenberg in Kuchl (Tennengau).
The European Waldrapp project had to accept a serious setback. As those responsible for the project announced on social media on Tuesday, 27 of the rare birds – an ibis species – have died. They died on November 20th and 21st when Cyclone Denise triggered numerous storms in Italy and France.
The birds were surprised by the storm in their winter quarters in Laguna di Orbetello. Part of the Waldrapp group had been torn from their sleeping place in the middle of the night. The following day, the transmitter data could only be used to determine the death of 27 northern bald ibises, according to those responsible for the project: “We began the search immediately, but were only able to secure a few positions of bodies, which we brought to the forensic institute in Grosseto. Forensics confirmed the cause of death was trauma resulting from collisions. Due to predation, we have only been able to find feather remains and the transmitters in the other positions”.
Salzburg young animals spared
Waldrapp foster mother Corinna Esterer confirms that among the deceased animals there were also five from the colony on Georgenberg in Kuchl. But there was luck in misfortune: the young and some adult birds from the Salzburg colony caught each other only when approaching their winter quarters. They are not affected by the storms. Another six of the dead animals come from the colony in Rosegg in Carinthia.
The entire population of the project currently comprises around 200 animals. The stock is not threatened, so Esterer. It is still the “blackest day since the project was founded”.
Bald Ibises had been extinct for 350 years
The project has been running since 2002 – the aim here is to resettle the northern bald ibis, which is one of the ibis birds, in the Alpine region after around 350 years. Without the journey south, the animals would not survive the winter in the Alps. They should return to Austria in the spring themselves. The bald bald ibis lived in the Alps and the Mediterranean until the 17th century. Illegal hunting is the main cause, accounting for three quarters of deaths.
Katharina Garzuly, salzburg.ORF.at