For the first time in about 100 years, a pair of bearded vultures has successfully raised a young bird in the Canton of Bern. The young bearded vulture flew out of its eyrie in the western Bernese Oberland in mid July. In recent years bearded vultures have been present in the Bernese Oberland time and again, but no successful breeding has been observed so far.

This spring it worked: a pair of bearded vultures built their eyrie in the western Bernese Oberland and successfully nested there. The foundation Pro Bartgeier and the Cantonal gamekeeping authorities assume that the young animal hatched in mid-March 2020. After about four months, the young bird has successfully completed its first flight and left the eyrie.

The Bernese Oberland is a good habitat for the bearded vulture – often called the King of the Alps. As a result, bearded vultures have been regularly spotted for some years now, but no successful breeding has yet been confirmed. “The bearded vulture is an enrichment for the animal fauna in the Canton of Bern. Unfortunately, the bearded vultures disappeared from the Bernese Alps for a long time. I am all the more pleased that they are making their home again in our canton,” says hunting inspector Niklaus Blatter. The hunting inspectorate does not disclose the location of the nest in order to protect the sensitive bearded vultures from possible disturbances.

Bearded vultures have been resettled in the Alpine region for 35 years. However, they are still rare. The population in the entire Alps is estimated at around 300 animals and it is continuously growing.

BASED ON AVS