He hermit ibis, a bird with dark feathers and a bald red head, disappeared from Europe centuries ago. Today, there is only a wild population and self-sufficient in Morocco and Syria. But thanks to the Eremita project, attempts have been made to populate some points of the Andalusian geography, in the province of Cadiz. The same thing is being tried to achieve in Tuscany. These unstable colonies need reinforcements with release of chicks raised in captivity.
A European program ‘LIFE’focused on recovery of this species, promotes the reproduction of these birds in Austrian zoos and reintroduced populations are being established in Germany. The idea of the professionals is to connect the northern populations with the Andalusian and Italian ones. And to achieve this, these specimens born at the Vienna Zoo travel from Germany to Andalusia guided by a microlight. First, they were trained to learn to follow the flying device. Then they undertook this curious migration in which the ultralight replaces animal instinct and acts as a kind of hermit Google Maps.
This week, the ibis they fly over Catalonia. In fact, they have been making stops at the Ordis, Palafolls or Bellvei airfields. This Thursday, some of the specimens, probably scared by a bird of prey, as members of the environmental group GEPEC (Grup d’Estudi i Protecció dels Ecosistemes Catalans) explained to EL PERIÓDICO, have left the group and have been found in the Siurana reservoir (Priorat). At this moment, they are back with the rest of the flock. The two specialists who accompany them, the only humans these ibis have ever known, are attentive to the meteorology to decide when to resume the trip to the area near the Ebro delta.
The flock is in Penedès pending the weather to continue the trip
If all goes well, this group of hermit ibis will join the existing colony in Jerez de la Frontera. This will be one more step to expand the entire European population. Consolidate migration from Alps until the South of Europe It is an achievement that is still some way off. Up to 10 countries are involved in the program, including Switzerland, which is not part of the European Union.
The idea of the caregivers is to leave the maximum of freedom and tranquility to the animals. They know how to capture and recover them when they get lost and wander in an area far from the stop made during the process, but they try not to resort to these solutions. They spend the nights in a cage for safety, since vans accompany this migration by land with all the necessary infrastructure.
Climate change and electrocutions
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The electrocutions They are the main cause of mortality of this species. The second, the illegal hunting. But despite these difficulties, the reintroduction of the ibis is already beginning to write a success story in the world of conservation. The team leading the LIFE Waldrapp project warns of the complications that climate change imposes on ibises. The change in temperatures has modified the habits of this species and climatic conditions encourage them to migrate earlier than they did. For this reason, this year the guided trip by the ultralight is made in the direction of Jerez instead of Tuscany.
Some specimens, as shown by the animal tracker application, have been found lost in places such as Sarajevo, but they are exceptions. Most likely, the current flock, commanded by their two “mothers” and the two pilots of paramotor devices, I have just crossed the sky of Spain and arrive to Jerez. Then, the future of this highly threatened species will be a little more hopeful.