Return of the giants

For the first time in a century, the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) has returned to breed in the Iberian Highlands, in the heart of the Alto Tajo Natural Park.

Over recent centuries, human pressures—including the loss of forest cover used for nesting and poisoning campaigns targeting predators—caused the cinereous vulture—once widespread across Europe—to almost disappear from the landscape. Thanks to long-term reintroduction efforts led by Rewilding Spain and the Spanish NGO Terra Naturalis since 2020, during which 50 individuals have been released, a chick has now been found alive and well in Alto Tajo. This marks a major milestone in the recovery of one of Europe’s largest and most ecologically important birds of prey.

Veterinarians and ornithologists, together with park managers and environmental officers from the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, gathered valuable data on the chick’s development, such as wingspan and beak size, and fitted it with a GPS tracking device, enabling scientists to monitor its future movements after fledging.

The establishment of breeding pairs is of even greater long-term importance than the chicks themselves. Cinereous vultures generally breed close to where they were born and, once paired, remain in the same territory for life. The reintroduction team hopes these birds and their offspring will form the nucleus of a stable breeding colony that will continue to grow in the years ahead.

Links to articles: Rewilding Europe, El Diario, La Tribuna de Cuenca, La Región, Cuenca News, Informaciones de Cuenca.