Status of the Bearded Vulture
The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is one of the four species of vultures present in France.
A scavenger, it feeds exclusively on bones.
The species
While the Bearded Vulture is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN global red list (2017 assessment), the species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) at European level (2015 assessment). In France, it is classified as Endangered (EN) on the Red List of breeding birds in mainland France (assessment 2016).
In Corsica, it is classified as Critically Endangered (CR), on the IUCN regional red list of breeding birds (2017 assessment), category D (less than 50 mature individuals).
In Europe
In Europe, the species can be observed in high mountains where herds of wild ungulates (isards, chamois, ibex, mouflons...) are theoretically present all year round; it is the presence of food and the absence of disturbance that condition its habitat, more than the altitude. One of the main threats to the species in Europe today is the fragmentation and isolation of its populations. In the past, there were exchanges between populations, from North Africa to the Pyrenees, from the French Alps to the Rhodope Mountains, from one Mediterranean island to another, but also from the Pyrenees to the French Alps.