Gypaète barbu : Relations intraspécifiques entre un couple territorial reproducteur et la réintroduction de deux jeunes issus d'élevage

Like other species in the early parts of the 20 th century, Bearded Vulture, a large, mountain dwelling vulture, has suffered from misconception in its diet and belief in old legends accusing it of hunting sheeps and even children. Although it feeds exclusively on carcasses and bones, it had completely been extinguished from the Alps by 1920. In 1972, a small international group started a project of reintroducing the species in the Alps. After some failures it was decided to raise young birds in captivity in before releasing them. Preliminary experiments were conducted in the valleys of Rauris in Austria in 1986 and at Reposoir in Haute-Savoie (France) in 1987. Three more areas have since been included in the project and now these annual reintroductions of young vultures have been taking place for 12 years. In 1997, all this work of reintroduction, protection, information and monitoring was rewarded by the first birth in natura. The establishment of breeding pairs is a new step in this international programme. What was striking was that the adult birds built their nest close to the site where they had been released earlier in their lives. This observation asked new questions. The present study was planned to find out more about the relationship between reintroduction and breeding and to draw consequences for further wildlife protection. This analysis presents the nature of the relationship between the newly introduced birds and the older couples in their nests. The findings are the compared to the situation in the year 1996 when no nest were built. The contacts in the summer of 1998 were particularly frequent and violent, sometimes even threatening the lives of the young vultures. Thus, it can be concluded that the reintroduction of Bearded Vultures is more successful when it is not close to the territory of an already established pair.