Offspring in the Nuremberg zoo?

Bearded vulture couple build a nest

Created: 01/13/2022, 02:32 PM

The bearded vultures in the Nuremberg zoo build a nest.

© Jörg Beckmann / dpa

Good news from the Nuremberg zoo: the pair of bearded vultures are expecting offspring.

The boys are to be released into the wild in the Berchtesgaden National Park.

Nuremberg - The released bearded vultures Wally and Bavaria could get reinforcements from the Nuremberg zoo * in the summer.

The pair of bearded vultures there mated and started building their nests, announced the State Association for Bird Protection in Bavaria (LBV) and the zoo on Thursday (January 13).

"With a bit of luck, the female lays one or two eggs in January, which are also fertilized - and the pair begins breeding, which lasts around two months," says the deputy zoo director Jörg Beckmann.

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Nuremberg Zoo: Young bearded vultures are to be released into the wild

Two more animals are to be released into the wild in June. LBV project manager Toni Wegscheider said that there is of course the hope that a Franconian bearded vulture will also be there in Berchtesgaden in the second year of release. In addition to the possible Nuremberg * offspring, animals from other zoos in Europe are also possible. Wally and Bavaria, for example, were bred from Spain - they were released in June 2021.

The female Nuremberg Bearded Vulture is 22 years old, the male 42 years old.

According to the Tiergarten, the couple has had offspring five times.

Three young animals have already been released in other countries.

Wally is currently in the vicinity of the Berchtesgaden National Park and is looking - you can see this from recorded flight movements - avalanche channels for food, said Wegscheider.

Bavaria has not had a functioning transmitter for weeks.

The large amount of fresh snow in the Alps offers her good conditions.

Animals that died in avalanches serve as food for bearded vultures.