Ranging behaviour of a juvenile Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus meridionalis) in South Africa revealed by GPS satellite telemetry

Abstract

A second-year Bearded Vulture was equipped with a GPS transmitter and located on average 10 times a day from 6 September 2007 to 22 June 2008. During this period, the individual ranged in an area of ca. 38,500 km2 across the mountainous regions of Lesotho and the north-eastern Cape province of South Africa, thus covering on average 66 km/day, mainly in areas covered by scrubland and herbaceous vegetation. Three different activity areas with a temporal overlap of locations within them were observed. The ranging behaviour could be explained by two non-exclusive alternative hypotheses: food searching and territory exploration. The information provided here may serve to identify potential threats for the species, such as poisoning, collision with power lines, food scarcity and persecution.