Wild animals Release into the wild to strengthen the Swiss bearded vulture population
Soon Joschi and Wildi will also be flying through the air. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
The newly released bearded vulture huddles in its new nest.
Image: Keystone
Soon Joschi and Wildi will also be flying through the air. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
The newly released bearded vulture huddles in its new nest.
Image: Keystone
Two young bearded vultures were released into the wild in the canton of Obwalden on Monday. The young animals were released by the Pro Bartgeier Foundation in a niche at Melchsee-Frutt, 2200 meters above sea level.
25.05.2026, 18:00
25.05.2026, 19:00
SDA
The release into the wild in the Huetstock federal wildlife sanctuary went off without a hitch, Daniel Hegglin, managing director of the Pro Bearded Vulture Foundation, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday. They had already eaten and were now exploring their new home.
The young birds are called Joschi and Wildi. They are male, around three months old and have not yet fledged. They are learning to fly without their parents. The bearded vultures are monitored during their first weeks in the wild.
Unjustly discredited
The bearded vulture, which feeds mainly on the bones of dead hoofed animals, was long unjustly denounced as a lamb thief. By 1913 it was extinct throughout the Alps.
Since 1991, 56 young vultures have been released into the wild in Switzerland, 18 of them at Melchsee-Frutt since 2015. According to the Pro Bartgeier Foundation, there are currently 35 successful breeding pairs in Switzerland.
The fact that young birds continue to be released into the wild is due to the fact that the genetic diversity of the bearded vulture population is low and there is a risk of inbreeding. A new five-year phase of targeted reintroductions has therefore been launched in Obwalden, according to the Pro Bearded Vulture Foundation.
Targeted selection
The two young birds released into the wild were specifically selected from breeding lines that are rarely represented in the wild population. One animal comes from the Austrian owl and bird of prey station Haringsee, the other from the Spanish wildlife center Vallcalent.
The two birds had spent the last few days at the Goldau Nature and Animal Park in the canton of Schwyz. There they were fitted with a GPS logger so that they can be monitored even after they have flown out.
