Photo credits: Olivier Teilhard & Alain Herrault
The Bearded Vulture, known scientifically as Gypaetus barbatus barbatus, is one of Europe’s most iconic yet imperiled raptors. With fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs left across the continent, this species remains under acute threat despite years of recovery efforts. The dangers are not abstract: power lines, poisoning, and illegal hunting continue to push the bird toward ecological precarity.
Against this backdrop, a new conservation effort has taken flight. Building on the successes of the earlier LIFE GYPCONNECT reintroduction program, the LIFE GYP’ACT project was launched by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) with the support of the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco. Its ambition is both clear and urgent: to reintroduce as many as 60 vultures into the Alps and Pyrenees, while simultaneously addressing the structural threats that endanger their survival.
Photo credits: Olivier Teilhard & Alain Herrault
The program is designed not simply to replenish numbers, but to create resilience. By establishing 10 to 20 new feeding areas and reinforcing the ecological link between the Alps and Pyrenees, LIFE GYP’ACT aims to consolidate a sustainable European metapopulation. The approach acknowledges that wildlife conservation is not only about isolated species, but about ensuring connectivity across landscapes, habitats, and borders.
This initiative represents more than an act of preservation. It is a symbol of international cooperation in an era when biodiversity loss is accelerating worldwide. The project underscores that conservation is not the domain of one nation or one organization, but a shared responsibility that requires persistence, science-based strategy, and long-term collaboration.
The survival of the Bearded Vulture may hinge on these collective actions. For Europe’s skies to once again hold the enduring silhouette of this great bird, commitment and vigilance remain indispensable.