Der Waldrapp

The waldrapp is not beautiful - that is the sentence most often heard from adult visitors during observations at the Alpenzoo Innsbruck. Notably from adults; children see this bird quite differently. To them, it is funny or exciting, a punk, a witch, as if it has stepped out of a fairy tale. It is also an intriguing partner for research. Its pronounced social behavior makes it a highly interesting bird species. Its story reads like a crime novel: lost in Europe about 400 years ago, it was rediscovered in the Orient at the end of the 19th century, but it may now be on the brink of extinction. Remaining populations exist in Morocco, and a tiny colony has survived in Syria. Even these last wild birds are still threatened by direct human influences and ongoing environmental destruction.