The Government of Aragón has begun to collaborate with the Junta de Andalucía in the conservation of the bearded vulture.

Yesterday, we received the visit of the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón and the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Manuel Blasco at the Center for the Recovery and Breeding of the Bearded Vulture in Human Isolation (CRIAH) of the Fundación Quebrantahuesos. Bearded Vulture Foundation (FCQ). During their visit to our facilities (located at Finca de la Alfranca, in Zaragoza), the Aragonese leaders were accompanied by the FCQ director, Gerardo Báguena, and the rest of the Foundation’s management team.

First of all, the regional president and his advisor saw first hand the restricted area for bearded vulture hatchlings. There they attended a demonstration of how the chicks of this endangered species are fed by the center’s specialized staff. This is done by simulating natural feeding to prevent any human imprinting and thus ensure their survival in the wild once they are released.

Azcón and Blasco then went to the upper floor of the CRIAH from where they saw the bearded vultures that are currently in the facilities. The president of Aragon has highlighted the growth in the number of breeding pairs and the crucial role of Aragon in the conservation of this emblematic bird. In this sense, the Aragonese president thanked the work that has been carried out for decades, which has made it possible to go from 38 pairs of bearded vultures that inhabited the Autonomous Community in 1994 to more than 90 at present.

Shared objective
A great conservation work led by the FCQ that extends to the communities of Cantabria, Castilla y León and Asturias. In them, with the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Democratic Challenge (MITECO) and the company Endesa, different actions are being developed within the framework of the LIFE Pro Bearded Vulture project aimed at the recovery of this necrophagous bird.

The good health of bearded vulture populations in Aragon (it is estimated that the number of individuals that make up the Aragonese population of this bird is around 400 specimens) has allowed the release of specimens in the Sierra de Gredos, the National Park of Picos de Europa and Maestrazgo. In addition, the Government of Aragon has recently begun to collaborate with the Junta de Andalucía by exchanging two lammergeier chicks from clutches laid in the Pyrenees for two chicks born in Cazorla, which will improve the genetic quality of the existing populations in the two areas.