Vulture Conservation Foundation

The VCF - Vulture Conservation Foundation is the leading international organization aiming to restore European vulture populations across the continent. Focused on the study and conservation of populations of Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Cinereous Vulture (Aegyptius monachus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbabus). Its action is built around the implementation or support of conservation programs in collaboration with nature protection associations, governments and local communities. It integrates the most recent scientific advances to implement conservation programs adapted to each species of vulture and effective in the long term.

The VCF has several decades of experience in the field of vulture conservation and more particularly in the captive breeding and reintroduction of vultures into their natural environment, in the identification of the main threats weighing on wild populations of vultures in Europe (poisonings, collisions with infrastructure, low food availability or persecutions), in the implementation of conservation actions aimed at stopping these threats at different spatial scales, in the marking and monitoring of vultures using GPS transmitters (around a hundred individuals marked across around ten European countries) as well as in the detailed analysis of their movements for conservation purposes.

The Foundation is proud to support the Association Vulture Conservation Foundation in its determined efforts to preserve the Bearded Vulture, an emblematic species of scavenging bird in Europe. Through a strong partnership, the Foundation funds several vital initiatives to ensure the survival and prosperity of this endangered species:

1. Bearded Vulture Reintroduction Program in Europe: The Foundation contributes to financing the Bearded Vulture reintroduction program in several European countries, notably Germany, Spain, France and Switzerland. This program aims to restore Bearded Vulture populations to their natural habitats, by releasing captive-bred individuals into selected areas to promote their successful rehabilitation and reintegration into the wild.
2. Bearded Vulture Movements and Conservation in Western Europe: The Foundation also supports Bearded Vulture monitoring and conservation efforts in Western Europe. As part of this project, five transmitters are installed on young bearded vultures born in the wild within the Alpine Arc, including two in France, two in Italy and one in Austria. These transmitters track the movements and behaviors of birds, providing crucial data to understand their needs and develop effective conservation strategies.

These initiatives, made possible thanks to the support of the Foundation, contribute significantly to the preservation of the Bearded Vulture in Europe, thus ensuring the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of fragile ecosystems.

Did you know ?

The first releases took place in 1986 in the Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria, and in 1997 the first breeding pair successfully raised a chick in the wild in France.