Rare Middle East bald ibis tagged (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Three members of a bird species thought to be extinct in the Middle East until four years ago have been satellite tagged to aid conservation efforts.

Scientists will track the migration of the birds as they leave their breeding sites near Palmyra in south-east Syria.

The northern bald ibis was revered by the Egyptian Pharaohs and was once widespread across the Middle East, northern Africa and the European Alps.

There are now only 13 left in Syria and 100 breeding pairs in Morocco.

Three of the seven adults in Syria have been captured and tagged. Scientists from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife Middle East hope to locate where the animals fly to for the winter and discover why so few birds come back.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5204192.stm

Hope the war stays away from their breeding grounds.

[girl gone mad]

1. It sounds like there are too few for long term survival.

IIRC, there need to be at least 500 members of a species to ensure a large enough gene pool for sustainability.

[whistle]

2. That may mean there is hope yet, Bush's base consists of just

...496 neocon billionaires