The lives of Geese

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland today for thousands of farmers worry about lead that flock of geese can be a carefree life - day after day, year after year.

The arduous migration of small geese

To the genus of the field belonging geese geese have become one of the rarest bird species in Europe.
declined in their natural breeding areas in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the number of geese in a frightening way. From the territory of the Urals to Siberia, where the dwarf is also native goose, positive numbers are also not learn. Although it was on the imminent extinction of this species of goose meanwhile reacted with global conservation, the decline in stocks could not be stopped. Reason for the dramatic development this time neither climate change nor the restriction of the natural habitat of the birds that prefer to run away from danger than fly.

The reason for the impending extinction of the geese, the hunting of migratory birds, which is obviously impossible to prevent by threats of punishment. geese that migrate into the winter months from Scandinavia and Siberia south to the Black Sea are either shot down deliberately illegal or they become victims of a fatal resemblance. They fly in formation with a common them superficially similar species of goose, the white-fronted geese. In flight, both species are difficult to distinguish from each other. must also looked closely at the floor. The dwarf goose is a little smaller than the white-fronted goose. Their plumage is somewhat darker.

Her forehead high and pale enough to the eyes. To her eyes the only dwarf goose has the characteristic yellow ring. If hunters aware of these differences, it is often too late for the Lesser White. The white-fronted goose is a common way in Eastern Europe, particularly in the Balkans, is hunted like and a lot. make animal and conservationists in Sweden, Finland and Germany for several years thinking about how the populations of dwarf goose can be rebuilt. Since all efforts to prevent the hunting good, have been proven useless, the reintroduction of captive reared juveniles has not had any success. New projects are hoping to alter the migratory behavior of the geese so that they are waiting on the areas where the hunters are kept away. The routes to the wintering sites are passed on from their mothers to the pups. Initial tests of the Finnish side, fronted goose eggs from other geese places who feel no urge to fly over eastern Europe, to be hatched, must be stopped, had to because genetic mixing was feared.

A new project aims to shape young birds so that they have a pilot and look at his light aircraft as a mother substitute. The birds come in the train-ability age, they are led by light aircraft to a safe migration routes to wintering grounds in protected areas, for example at Niederrrhein.