PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The conservation status of the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is listed as vulnerable on the European IUCN Red List and endangered in France. Before vulture reintroductions started, the Alps represented a huge barrier separating the Pyreneo-Iberian populations and those of the Balkans. To bridge the distance between the populations of the western Alps and the Oriental Pyrenees, it is essential to establish a new core population of bearded vultures and to favour an exchange of populations with a view to forming a true European meta-population.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE GYPCONNECT project aimed to develop new vulture populations in the Department of the Drôme and the Massif Central, thus creating a connection between the two existing populations, currently confined to the Alps and the Pyrenees.
The project’s main objectives were to:
- Strengthen the population of bearded vultures by creating core populations in the Drôme and the Massif Central; and
- Facilitate bird movements between the Alps and the Pyrenees and thus enhance exchanges and genetic diversity of bearded vulture populations.
The project team comprised raptor conservation experts, managers of the electricity grid networks and sociologists. Specifically, the team planned to: 1. Coordinate a captive breeding programme and to reintroduce vultures on specific sites; 2. Enhance the availability of food resources; 3. Reduce existing threats; 4. Draw up a communication plan to increase the public’s awareness and to spread results; and 5. Regularly assess the impact of the project and to develop a strategic implementation plan.
RESULTS
GypConnect contributed to the establishment of a corridor between the Alpine and Pyrenean populations of bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). In particular, the project partners released 44 young bearded vultures, plus 2 wild-born birds from the Alps that were rescued and then released. 15 of these birds died prematurely from various causes, but the project team improved their protocols (e.g. post-release surveillance) to reduce risks, for example, in Grands Causses they mitigated risks caused by power lines close to release sites. The release strategy was adapted, increasing the number of individuals released each time, based on observing the first young vultures fly away from their release sites. These operations are now leading to concrete results.
To support the reintroductions and help birds move between the Pyrenees and the Alps, the project team created 29 natural rendering areas, and 7 feeding stations were supplied with bones, specifically for the supplementary feeding of bearded vultures. To reduce mortality risks, the project team:
- Equipped 19.3 km of power lines with anti-collision devices or buried them underground.
- Intervened in the planning of 4 wind farm projects, which were rejected by relevant authorities due to their potential impact on bearded vultures.
- Cared for 5 injured bearded vultures, some of which were re-released or transferred to breeding centres.
- Trialled lead-free ammunition, with 51 volunteer hunters; the positive feedback helped promote the replacement of toxic lead ammunition.
- Established a Decree prohibiting paragliding and base jumping in the "Hauts plateaux du Vercors" Natura 2000 site. The bearded vulture was also added to the standard data forms of 12 Natura 2000 sites.
- Autopsied 153 birds, including 16 bearded vultures, to identify the causes of death. In most cases, mortality was linked to human activities or infrastructure, especially collision/electrocution on power lines. However, intentional killing (shooting, poisoning) is not negligible, and a follow-up project (Gyp'Act) will address this.
- Implemented numerous communication and awareness-raising activities, including over 220 events that reached about 231 000 people. This led to increased support for vulture reintroductions among communities near to the release sites.
At the end of the project, increased numbers of bearded vultures were observed flying in the project areas (e.g. 11 in spring 2022 in Grands Causses), 5 to 6 pairs became established, and there was the first wild-born fledgling in Vercors (150 years after the species became extinct in the wild and 12 years after the first reintroductions in the area). The project is fully embedded in the European conservation strategy for the bearded vulture, and has significantly contributed to the development of a European meta-population. It also substantially contributes to the implementation of the EU Birds Directive and of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
