At the beginning of November, Rewilding Portugal confirmed the existence of a colony of cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus), which confirmed reproductive success in several pairs in the Malcata Reserve. This is excellent news for a species that is still critically endangered in Portugal and of which only about 40 pairs are known, distributed in two main colonies in the Tejo International Natural Park and in Alentejo.
Until now, the ELP-funded project has confirmed a total of three nests, and there may still be more pairs in this colony. Therefore, in the coming months, monitoring efforts will continue. The discovery of the nests was possible thanks to the tracking of the movements of a juvenile that was tagged by Rewilding Portugal with a GPS/GSM transmitter on the 26th of November, in collaboration with CIBIO. Following the movements of this juvenile allowed the team to discover the first of three nests where the juvenile, born in the reserve, still cohabits with its parents. In the second nest, another juvenile was observed and in the third a pair.
The tagging of vultures with a GPS/GSM transmitter is providing more information about the species’ ecology. The focus of the work carried out by Rewilding Portugal is to obtain more information about its spatial and food ecology and, in particular, how they use the habitat, protected areas, and food resources in the Greater Côa Valley. The team is also trying to determine the impact of environmental restoration actions developed by the organization, for example, promoting conditions to increase the number of wild herbivores, introducing semi-wild horses and promoting the licensing of Private Areas for Feeding Scavenger Birds, where the corpses of ruminants are available to vultures on livestock farms, rather than being buried or collected (provided for in the PACAN – Action Plan for the Conservation of Scavenger Birds, approved in August 2019).
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