The northern bald ibis was extinct in Europe. Now it’s back, and people are helping it to migrate for winter
Journeying to warmer climes for the winter, a flock of northern bald ibis tails a microlight aircraft, spurred on by whoops of encouragement from their human foster parents.
This annual ritual is the culmination of months of painstaking conservation work. Since 2004, Austria’s Waldrapp team has been teaching captive-bred ibis chicks their long-forgotten migration routes from breeding grounds north of the Alps.
“It’s a special time,” says ‘bird mum’ Barbara Steininger, one of Waldrapp’s foster parents. “You’re not flying alone, you’re flying with the birds. And not any birds: they’re the birds you raised by hand. We know each of them individually. It’s very cool.”
The northern bald ibis, also known as the Waldrapp, was once a common sight across Europe, north Africa and the Arabian peninsula.
Hunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction in central Europe, and breeding efforts faltered as reintroduced birds had no ancestral knowledge of where to fly for the winter.
Enter maverick biologist and microlight pilot Johannes Fritz, who hit on the idea of hand-raising chicks from Austria’s Rosegg zoo, using human caregivers. Using an intense period of contact to create an imprinted bond of trust between bird and human, he has been able to lure the young ibis to follow their ‘parents’ in flight.
The climate crisis has made the species’ usual passage south over the Alps and into Tuscany too dangerous in recent years. In response, The Waldrapp team has devised a new – and far longer – migratory route to Andalusia in Spain, a journey of 1615 miles (2600km) taking around 50 days.
It’s a special time. You’re flying with the birds you raised by hand. We know each of them individually. It’s very cool
Inevitably, this epic voyage ends with a bittersweet parting, and it will be another three years until the birds reach sexual maturity and consider the long flight back to their childhood home.
“You’re not responsible for them any longer. You can’t hang out with them any more,” says Steininger, of the moment of separation. “It’s sad to leave them, but it’s also the moment you’ve been working towards all summer.
Cover Photo: Helena Wehner
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