A couple of mating Bearded Vultures has been sighted in Gran Paradiso National Park
(Torino, 03 Feb 11) Last week the Park Keepers of Gran Paradiso National Park have sighted in the Valle d'Aosta section of the protected area a new couple of mating Bearded Vulture specimens.
One month ago the new couple of Bearded Vultures - which is different from the couple that has recently nested in Val di Rhêmes - was observed while collecting material to refresh an old eagle nest situated in the area. The area is constantly under the monitoring of the Park surveillance service, also thanks to modern optical and observation instruments.
"The preparation of the nest and the mating could be the prelude to the egg laying and therefore to nesting" explains Luigino Jocollé, inspector of the Park surveillance service. "However, at the moment we can't be sure whether this will happen or not".
The monitoring activity of the Bearded Vultures carried out by the Park Keepers in collaboration with Valle d'Aosta Forest Service as far as the monitoring of the nests outside the territory within their province is concerned is an activity implying patience and discretion, not to disturb the specimens of this big vulture, whose wingspan can reach the 280 centimeters. Extinct in the alpine chain from the early 20th century and reintroduced in the 1980s, the Bearded Vulture is one of the biggest vultures in Europe.
