Valuing vultures

The declining strength of vultures in the European skies has resulted in serious conservation efforts in recent times. A 2013 census found only 30 pairs of vultures left in Sardinia, Italy, as reported on www.bbc.com. The decline in vultures since the 1970s was attributed to farmers leaving poisoned carcasses on their land to kill predators.

Griffon vulture in Sardinia Photo: ARTIS, Ronald van Weeren

"Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo set two birds free in Sardinia, a year after they were born in the Dutch capital... The Griffon vultures have been living in an aviary in Sardinia, to acclimatize to their new surroundings ahead of their release. This pair are the latest of 12 Griffon vultures to be released in Sardinia as part of a conservation project called Life Under Griffon Wings,” stated bbc.com
The two chicks hatched in Amsterdam in mid 2017. When the staff found an abandoned egg which the other vultures would not care for, they decided to give it to two gay male vultures who according to the zoo keeper were "in a long-term relationship… a very tight couple… They always build a nest together, bond and mate together.” Whilst there are not many known cases of homosexual animal pairings raising offspring, apparently animals engaging in homosexual behavior is not uncommon. According to experts, it does not mean that they are inherently homosexual but more likely bisexual.
In April 2017, the gay vultures contributed to the zoo’s first successful hatching in five years. The second chick that hatched a month later was raised by heterosexual vulture parents being cared for in captivity after they were hurt in a road accident in Spain.
The director of the Zoo, Rembrandt Sutorius went to the Parco Regionale di Porto Conte in the northwest of Sardinia to set the two birds free. "We could see the vultures floating above the area — a truly magnificent sight,” Sutorius was quoted on the Artis website. To allow them to slowly adapt to their freedom, the zoo staff had made arrangements to continue to feed the birds carcasses in a fenced off area.