2023-07-05 14:28:00
German ecologists reported on a successful experiment, during which in one of the national parks in Germany they managed to photograph two dozen griffon vultures (German: Gänsegeier) at once, which disappeared from the wild more than a hundred years ago. Following the wolves and brown bears, now, apparently, after a long break, they can again become inhabitants of these places or at least occasionally appear here for a while from other European countries.
As stated in a press release from the University of Würzburg, the Eifel National Park (Nationalpark Eifel), located in the western part of the country on the German-Belgian border, has become one of the participants in the federal scientific project. Its purpose is to study the role of scavengers in the ecological system and the importance of wild animal carcasses for the maintenance and development of biological diversity.
Experiment in the national park
During the experiment, which took place in June this year, scientists placed the corpse of a European roe deer hit by a car in the reserve. According to the Federal Association of Hunters, as a result of road accidents in Germany, more than 200 thousand of these animals die every year, as well as about 20 thousand wild boars, 4 thousand European fallow deer and 3 thousand red deer. Road services usually deliver these carcasses to special disposal points.
At the site of the first experiment carried out under the program, special surveillance cameras were installed. Soon on the same day, two dozen Griffon Vultures gathered near the corpse of the roe deer. The flocked carrion vultures completely gnawed the carcass in a few hours, leaving only a few bones in the meadow.
White-headed vultures. Photos
Griffon vulture in a bird zoo in Bavaria Photo: Olaf Krüger/ imageBROKER/picture alliance Griffon vulture in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park in Spain Photo: Dirk Rüter/Zoonar/picture alliance Griffon vultures in Monfragüe National Park in Spain Photo: Hinrich Bäsemann/ picture alliance
Griffon vultures are large birds of prey from the vulture genus, representatives of the hawk family. They used to live in Germany, but disappeared completely at the beginning of the last century, probably due to the fact that the amount of carrion in the forests has noticeably decreased.
Large wild animals have become less likely to die here for natural reasons – for example, due to illness or old age. The main role in the control of the populations of these species began to be carried out and is still carried out by hunters – professionals and amateurs.
Rare guests in Germany
Now the main distribution areas of griffon vultures in Europe are the southern regions of the continent – arid and mountainous landscapes. They are also found, for example, in the Caucasus. In recent years, German environmentalists began to occasionally observe these birds in Germany – they began to fly here for a short time or just fly over the territory.
We are mainly talking about young griffon vultures that have not yet nested, that is, they do not breed. One of the first such observations was made back in 2006, with at least 160 individuals observed. In 2017 – about 90 birds, while two griffon vultures and one black vulture stayed in Germany for several days.
After carefully examining the photographs and records taken during the experiment, scientists determined from the marks on the rings that several vultures flew to Germany from Spain and France. On the same day, the birds left the Eifel National Park in a southwesterly direction.
Ruhr Reservoir in the EifelPhoto: Andre Bonn/Shotshop/picture alliance
Nature reserve in the Eifel
In total, there are 16 national parks in Germany. Several of them will participate in the project that has just begun. Eifel National Park (www.nationalpark-eifel.de) was founded in 2004. More than 900 species of protected animals and plants are found here, the total number of species exceeds 11 thousand.
For tourists, 240 kilometers of hiking and more than 100 kilometers of cycling routes have been laid here. About a million visitors visit this park every year.
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