THE NORTHERN BALD IBIS PROJECT
Italy’s first “hotel” for the reintroduction into the wild of a species that has become legendary
THE STORY.
In the early 2000s, researcher Johannes Fritz had a visionary idea: to teach migration once again to a species that hadn’t migrated for centuries.
With the support of the Natura Viva park, Johannes took off in a microlight, with a group of young northern bald ibises following him from Austria to the WWF Oasis in Orbetello, crossing the Alps. Not only did these birds reach their destination, but years later they returned independently to the north to breed and teach the route to the new young ibises.
Today, the Waldrappteam Conservation & Research continues this mission: human “surrogate parents” raise the chicks and fly with them, rebuilding, kilometer by kilometer, the future of this species.
THE LIFE PROJECT .
Following an initial effort that brought the population to 142 birds, the challenge continues today with the European project “LIFE20 Northern Bald Ibis” (LIFE20 NAT/AT/000049 – LIFE NBI; 2022–2028).
Under the leadership of the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna and in collaboration with the Waldrappteam Conservation & Research, nine partners from Austria, Germany, and Italy (represented by the Openature Foundation and the Natura Viva) are working toward an important goal: the reintroduction into the wild of at least 360 individuals capable of migrating between the northern Alps and Tuscany. This is the minimum threshold to ensure the species’ self-sustaining survival.
MIGRATION .
Migration is not just a journey, but a matter of survival. Although arduous, this movement toward warmer, milder regions is the only way to survive the cold months and return, in the spring, to their places of origin to reproduce. Teaching them the migratory route once again means giving this species back the key to its survival and its future.
CHRONICLES OF A LEGEND.
The northern bald ibis disappeared from Europe in the early 17th century and was considered a legend for many centuries. Today, most wild northern bald ibises no longer migrate in the traditional manner, and the few remaining populations have lost their migratory habits due to human impact, becoming sedentary.
1
LOCATION
INDIVIDUALS*
STATE
Morocco
~600
Sedentary
2
Turkey (Birecik)
~250
Forced Sedentary
3
Syria (Palmyra)
0
Extinct (2013)
4
Spain (Andalusia)
~300
Sedentary
Proyecto Eremita
5
Austria
~100
Sedentary
Europe
320
Migratory
LIFE project
*Data updated as of April 2026
THE AVIARY.
In an area of Caprino Veronese, identified by the Waldrappteam as an ideal stopover after crossing the Alps, the Openature Foundation has built Italy’s first open aviary: a protected space, with food and water, where northern bald ibises can rest, breed, and raise their chicks.
How does it work?
The first 12 birds - six males and six females between the ages of 2 and 5 -come from the Nordhorn Zoo in Germany and the Natura Viva Park.
In the fall, the newly hatched chicks will leave the aviary to join the flocks arriving from Austria and fly together toward Tuscany. After wintering at the WWF Oasis in Orbetello, these birds will be able to return right here, where it all began, to form new pairs and breed, thus creating a colony capable of migrating and ensuring the species’ survival.
The goal is for this colony to produce 30 chicks capable of joining the migratory population, which will help ensure the wild population has the genetic diversity necessary to become a sustainable population.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF THE AVIARY
Area: 100 sqm
Height: 4.90 m
Width: approximately 16 m
Number of nests: 12
Initial number of internal cameras: 4
PARTNERS.
PARTNERS.
