The goose-sized black bird with the long beak had stopped flying towards Tuscany and found shelter in a factory in Turin, where it had established itself. Here he had caused problems because he often triggered the alarm system at night.
The Upper Austrian team, who observed Oskar on his flight to Italy, contacted a stork center near Turin and thanks to cooperation with local bird protection associations, Oskar was able to return to Austria by car. He was accompanied by two volunteers from a Turin bird protection association, local media reported. Oskar had already flown to Italy in the past few years. Its migration route is tracked by the Austrian Waldrapp team via GPS.
Zoological research project
The northern bald ibis are part of a zoological research project involving Austria, Germany and Italy. As early as 2007, the first birds born in Austrian zoos and raised by Upper Austrian researchers started their long journey to Italy. In order to show the young animals the routes for their autumn flight south, they are guided by biologists with light aircraft.
The “Waldrapteam” project has been running since 2002. The goal is to reintroduce the Ibis birds to the Alpine region after around 350 years of absence. Without this migration south, they would not survive the winter. The waldrapp chicks that hatch in zoos and wildlife parks do not know the flight route to their winter quarters. Therefore, the human foster mothers have to fly them the way to Tuscany in an ultralight aircraft. The bald bald ibis lived in the Alps and the Mediterranean until the 17th century. Illegal hunting is the main cause, accounting for three quarters of deaths.
Source: Nachrichten
