Bearded Vulture - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

The Bearded Vulture is locally threatened. It naturally occurs at low densities, with anywhere from a dozen to 500 pairs now being found in each mountain range in Eurasia where the species breeds. The species is most common in Ethiopia, where an estimated 1,400 to 2,200 are believed to breed. Relatively large, healthy numbers seem to occur in some parts of the Himalayas as well. It was largely wiped out in Europe by the beginning of the 20th century, but has been locally reintroduced and is beginning to re-establish itself in protected areas. The Bearded Vulture has been successfully reintroduced to the Pyrenees of Spain and the Swiss and Italian Alps, with both populations have spread themselves over into France. They have also declined somewhat in parts of Asia and Africa as well, though less severely than in Europe. Declines today are usually due to poisons left out for carnivores, habitat degradation, the disturbances of nests, reduced food supplies and collisions with power lines. It was formerly persecuted in significant numbers because people feared (without justification) that it regularly carried off children and domestic animals; the bird was also hunted as a trophy. Despite the declines, the species clearly occupies a large range and, as such, it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. Probably less than 10,000 pairs exist in the wild worldwide.

Read more about this topic:  Bearded Vulture

Famous quotes containing the words conservation and/or status:

    The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.
    William Howard Taft (1857–1930)

    What is clear is that Christianity directed increased attention to childhood. For the first time in history it seemed important to decide what the moral status of children was. In the midst of this sometimes excessive concern, a new sympathy for children was promoted. Sometimes this meant criticizing adults. . . . So far as parents were put on the defensive in this way, the beginning of the Christian era marks a revolution in the child’s status.
    C. John Sommerville (20th century)