Endangered birds
Young Waldrapfel fly south accompanied by humans

The young migratory birds hatched in zoos must be shown the route to their winter quarters in Andalusia. Photo
© H. Wehner/Hellabrunn Zoo/dpa
The Waldrapp was practically extinct in Germany. Conservationists have reintroduced the rare birds. However, they need help flying to their winter quarters.
For several weeks, 36 Waldrapp birds have been travelling to their winter quarters in southern Spain, accompanied by a microlight aircraft. The young migratory birds set off from Lake Waginger in Upper Bavaria in mid-August. The human-led migration has already covered around 1,350 kilometres, and the same distance still lies ahead, explained project manager Johannes Fritz from the Waldrapp team. He hopes that the birds will reach their destination at the end of September.
According to conservation associations, the Waldrapp is one of the rarest Birds of the world. In Germany, the migratory bird with the distinctive feathers on its head and the sickle-shaped beak was considered practically extinct. Since 2011, the scientists from the Waldrapp team have been releasing it back into the wild in southern Germany and Austria.
The 36 young Waldrapp birds were born in various zoos this year, said the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, which supports the Waldrapp team. They followed their human caregivers step by step until they reached their winter quarters. In preparation, they practiced with the animals every day and gradually increased the distance to 300 kilometers a day.
Diary of the migration to winter quarters