Habichtskäut return: Returning in the Almtal!

Habichtskäut return: Returning in the Almtal!

The return of the hawk owl (Strix Uralensis) in Europe recently opened a new chapter. Experts from the Konrad Lorenz Institute have been working for comparative behavioral research and the Austrian bird station on the resettlement of this kind in Austria since 2009. The main responsibility for the extinction of the hawk owl are kills and the loss of their habitat, especially natural deciduous forests with old trees. The Almtal is viewed as a new suitable location, whereby the project in Vienna and Lower Austria is showing promising progress, even if the population is still fragile, the Kleine Zeitung .

The first hawk owls were released more than 15 years ago in the Wienerwald Biosphere Park and in the Dürrenstein wilderness in Lower Austria. These animals are not joyful and usually remain from their place of birth within 50 to 60 kilometers. In the coming weeks, five to ten other hawk owls are to be kept in one enclosure in order to finally relieve them of their 90th day of life. Supported by food until you can hunt independently, the project aims to achieve a stable population of 20 to 30 breeding pairs.

successful return to Germany

Another positive aspect of the return of the hawk owl is the success of resettlement projects in Germany, where the breeding population of the hawk owl was first found outside the Bavarian Forest National Park. Two breeding pairs with a total of five young animals were discovered in the Steinwald Nature Park. This is a significant success that goes back to a resettlement project by the Association for Landscape Care, Species Protection and Biodiversity (VLAB), which was initiated eight years ago. Project manager Michaela Domeyer describes the discovery of these breeding pairs as an important milestone for the efforts in species protection.

A total of 83 young Habichtskäuze has been released since the beginning of the resettlement, which come from zoological facilities and falconry in Germany, France and Belgium. The aim is to create a genetically diverse population in northeast Bavaria and Northwest Bohemia and to network with the isolated population in the Bavarian and Bohemian Forest. The return of the hawk owl not only contributes to the protection of species, but also to increase the biodiversity in Germany, such as underlined.