Both Waldrapp parents from the Zurich lowlands die
Published: Monday, Oct 14th 2024, 10:20
Back to Live Feed
The two Northern Bald Ibises that produced the first offspring in Switzerland for 400 years in 2023 have both died. The death of the female was announced at the weekend. The male had already died in spring.
Female Rupert died last week near Zurich Airport, as the Waldrappteam organization reported at the weekend. Together with male Enea, Rupert had reared two chicks in Rümlang ZH. The breeding was considered a sensation, as the birds were once considered a delicacy and were extinct in Switzerland.
Rupert bred with another male at Lake Constance in 2024, but the female was repeatedly drawn to the area around Rümlang, where the chicks were hatched on the windowsill of a Harley Davidson dealership.
Northern bald ibises are strictly protected in Switzerland. Nowadays, the birds are mainly threatened by unsecured electricity pylons, which they use as resting and roosting sites like other bird species. Around 40 percent of the deaths of Northern Bald Ibises are caused by electrocution.
It remains unclear why Rupert died. As the Northern Bald Ibis team writes, "an exact reconstruction of the cause of death is not possible due to the circumstances". The dead bird was only found several days later.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic