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Available until 02/12/2025 About twenty years ago, the vulture had almost disappeared from Europe. Thanks to reintroduction campaigns, griffon vultures, black vultures, Egyptian vultures and bearded vultures are once again flying over the German Alps and mountains. However, various threats are weighing on their return. With a wingspan of 3 metres, the bearded vulture is the largest bird of prey in Europe. After disappearing from Germany, the species is making a comeback, thanks to the efforts of bird conservationists such as Toni Wegscheider. The biologist has been heading the bearded vulture reintroduction programme of the Bavarian League for the Protection of Birds since 2021. Every summer, two young specimens from European breeding centres are released into the Berchtesgaden reserve. The scientist travels to Andalusia to watch the chicks hatch. In France, he and his colleague Pascal Orabi examine the data provided by the GPS transmitters that equip the bearded vultures. Once released, some birds quickly take to the open sea: a few have flown over Germany, while a female released across the Rhine has taken up residence in France. The first couples are breeding again in the wild. From the Cévennes to the Pyrenees, the numbers of griffon vultures, black vultures and Egyptian vultures have recovered. It is in Spain that the large birds of prey are most numerous. But Ernesto Álvarez, president of Grefa, a nature protection organization, is concerned about the threats – old and new – that weigh on them. Victims of collisions with wind turbines or high-voltage lines, vultures are the main patients of the association's veterinary clinic. Another danger for our scavengers: toxic substances stored in the open air in landfills and lead contained in the carcasses of wild animals shot dead. Report (Germany, 2024, 30mn) #vultures #report #arte Subscribe to the ARTE channel / @arte Follow us on social media! Facebook: / artetv Twitter: / artefr Instagram: / artefr