Bearded vulture killed by golden eagle: What lies behind the incident

In May of this year, a dead bearded vulture was found near La Punt.

The findings of the investigation are now available. The former male of the breeding pair in Val Chamuera was probably the victim of a fight with a golden eagle.

X-rays of the body revealed three encapsulated lead pellets from a previous shooting incident that the bird had survived.

The 12-year-old bearded vulture is the individual GT047. In 2007, this male bird fledged in Val Tantermozza, one of the first wild-hatched bearded vultures in Switzerland since its reintroduction. In 2012 and 2013, he formed the Val Foraz pair together with a female, and from 2014 onwards he belonged to the Chamuera pair. This year he was replaced by another male but remained in the valley.

Territory fight with golden eagle as probable cause of death

At the end of May, GT047 was found dead near the Burdun bridge in Val Chamuera. Like all found carcasses of golden eagles, eagle owls, and bearded vultures, this bird was carefully examined by staff from the Office of Hunting and Fisheries and the Pro Bartgeier Foundation/Swiss Ornithological Institute in Chur. The analysis revealed that he was in all likelihood the victim of a fight with a golden eagle. The tenth cervical vertebra was broken, and the neck musculature and oesophagus showed sharp lacerations consistent with the action of a golden eagle's talons.

Because three lead pellets were found on the X-ray, an in-depth investigation was carried out by specialists from the Centre for Fish and Wildlife Diseases (FIWI) at the University of Bern. It was determined that the shooting had occurred some time ago and that the pellets had not caused the bearded vulture's death. The encapsulated pellets did not lead to elevated lead levels in the bones, liver, or kidneys. The location and time of the shooting could not be established. There are also no indications as to the identity of the perpetrator.

Bearded vultures enjoy widespread acceptance

The act of attempted poaching of a protected bird species is to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It stands in stark contrast to the widespread acceptance that the bearded vulture enjoys in the Engadin and in neighboring Italy. This cross-border area is home to the largest sub-population in the Alps, which produces around a good dozen fledglings every year. To date, 118 bearded vultures have fledged from this sub-population, representing a share of 43 percent. This sub-population is an important cornerstone in the recolonization of the Alps by the bearded vulture.