7 reasons why the bald ibis MUST become the new Swiss heraldic animal

The reasons why the northern bald ibis has what it takes to become Switzerland’s new heraldic animal will follow shortly. But before that, we need to clarify something because of current events:

The solution (according to Duden) follows at the end of the article. But now to the seven reasons…

It’s been 400 years since a pair of northern bald ibises finally started breeding in the wild in this country.

The local television channel Tele Top was the first to report on the special breeding pair (more on that in a moment). The European Northern Bald Ibis team tasked with reintroducing the bird confirmed the report on Saturday.

It is not clear why the Waldrapps settled near the largest state airport.

One thing is certain: the breeding ground is here on the windowsill of a Harley-Davidson garage in the industrial area of ​​the municipality of Rümlang ZH in Zurich Unterland. So the birds seem to have good taste when it comes to motorcycles.

The northern bald ibis is extinct in Switzerland and the rest of central Europe because it is heavily hunted. The meat was considered a delicacy. The striking bird is 60 centimeters long and has a wingspan of 125 centimeters.

As biologist and team chairman Johannes Fritz explained, the breeding pair consists of young birds that breed for the first time. They come from the northern bald ibis colony in Überlingen (D). Although the migratory birds like to form large colonies, individual pairs fly out alone, Fritz told the newspaper “Zürcher Unterländer”.

According to Fritz, this pioneering existence without the role model of adult birds is not ideal for raising the brood. However, he estimates the survival chances of the Rümlang chicks as intact.

The plan for 2024 is to establish the first migrating Waldrapp colony in Switzerland near Tierpark Goldau SZ. In Switzerland, the animals find ideal living conditions. They feed on worms and larvae, which they find in abundance in meadows and pastures.

In addition to the one in Überlingen, there are three other hand-reared colonies in Germany and Austria. In the wild, there is currently only one sedentary population in Morocco, which has given up its original way of life as a migratory bird.

It prefers to live in large colonies in steep cliffs with niches. This protects the offspring from predators and the weather. The incubation period is 28 days, the lifespan up to 30 years.

In autumn, the northern bald ibis flies out of the region to winter in Tuscany. Animals from hand-reared colonies historically guided light aircraft to their winter quarters.

According to Duden, the plural (plural) of Waldrapp is (unfortunately) not Waldrapper, but Waldrappe.

(dsc/sda)