A rare bald ibis which was the first to settle in Switzerland 400 years after they were wiped out in Europe has died after landing on an unsecured electricity pole.
The bird was reintroduced into Europe by Johannes Fritz who used a microlight to teach birds from a zoo population how to fly south to winter feeding grounds in southern Tuscany.
The birds settled in the Austrian and German Alps, and in the search for new homes, it was revealed that one of the birds, a female called Sonic, had decided to move from Germany and settle in Switzerland instead.
But she has now been killed during the return flight after landing on one of the unsecured high-voltage cables still in use in the Beverin nature park in Graubuenden.
The birds lifeless body was found by a nature reserve worker.
The other colonies which were established in Austria however are continuing to breed and expand.
The project managed to train the birds to follow the microlight by imprinting and when they were born into thinking that the human carers were their real parents.
The project however has been severely hampered by hunters, particularly in Italy, who take their toll on the birds as they fly south and then return to the Alps to breed.
The Northern Bald Ibis, one of the most endangered migratory bird species worldwide, was native in Central Europe until the 17th century before it became extinct due to overhunting and because of people stealing the eggs.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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