Around 20 Red Kites – one of the most endangered birds on the Iberian Peninsula – have been found in Leomil, a rural parish in the district of Guarda.
The discovery is all the more poignant as this is the period of year when Red Kites ‘couple’ ahead of nesting.
The deaths appear to have been caused by ‘human hand’, in as much as ‘bait laced with poison’ has been found close to some of the carcasses.
The sad discovery was identified earlier this week by employees of the ICNF (institute for the conservation of nature and forests).
GNR police are now helping with ‘inquiries’.
A statement by the ICNF has said: “procedures established for situations such as this are currently underway. As soon as the results of forensic analysis of the evidence and clues collected at the scene are known, the ICNF will take the necessary measures within the scope of its powers.”
Red Kites are on the Red List of species endangered with extinction, but they are among the category ‘Least Concern’, meaning the species is not as endangered as some others. The list’s ‘remaining threats’ however specifically mention ‘poisoning’ (either deliberate or accidental) “in southern Iberia”.
Sources: SIC/ https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-kite-milvus-milvus
