Chicks give new hope to declining vulture species

ANDOVER, U.K. - Aug. 10, 2023 - PRLog -- The hatching of three vulture chicks at the specialist bird of prey charity - the Hawk Conservancy Trust - is a hard-fought win for two of the world's most threatened species of bird.

The two African White-backed Vulture chicks and one Hooded Vulture chick are among the most threatened species of birds globally.  Some 70% of vulture species have an unfavourable conservation status meaning they are at risk of extinction.

The recently hatched chicks are particularly important because they represent vital and substantial progress towards creating a sustainable safety-net population. African White-backed and Hooded Vultures are Critically Endangered with rapidly decreasing populations across their African range. Over the last 30 years Hooded Vulture numbers have declined by around 83% and White-backed Vultures by 90%.

All three chicks are thriving after a complex and labour-intensive effort by the Trust's Bird Team who are dedicated to international breeding programmes that work to create sustainable and healthy populations of birds in zoological institutions.

Coordination of such populations is important because they can represent the survival of a species if it becomes extinct in the wild. Should the unthinkable happen, chicks like these three will be vital for future conservation efforts and reintroduction to the wild, once the threats have been minimised.

In the wild, the reasons for dwindling populations of vultures are complex. Aside from the threats to life such as poisoning by poachers, vulture breeding takes a long time in terms of success–some species only breed once a year and produce just one egg.  If parent skills, including their own survival, climatic and environmental factors all align, and the chick hatches successfully, the young vulture will face a host of challenges before it can reach adulthood.

The workings of international breeding programmes are also complex and fraught with challenges. The Hawk Conservancy Trust has produced a video telling the tale of the three new chicks and illustrating just how delicate the journey can be from nesting to fledging.  It can be watched on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/GCfYzvuA7NM



While the team at the Hawk Conservancy Trust is obviously delighted with this year's successes, there will be no resting on laurels. As the breeding pairs experience and succeed with parenting, it adds fresh hope they these pairs can be expected to contribute future chicks to the breeding programme that could then add to the breeding stock internationally and move closer towards the potential for release back into the wild when conditions are improved.

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