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RESCULING THE LESSER WHITE-FRONTED
GOOSE My project is to try,
within four or five years, to save a species of wild goose which is on the
brink of becoming exctinct ( the lesser white-fronted goose: anser
erythropus) using the method of the geese following a microlight. This goose
used to breed in large numbers all over Lapland. Today there only about ten
pairs left in this region. These geese spend the winter around the Black sea
and the Caspian sea. The high pressure of hunting by the local population on
these wintering sites has practically eradicated this protected species in
only a few years. My aim is to use a group of for or five microlights
followed each year by about one hundred fifty young geese bred artificially
in Europe. Migrating birds always return to nest in the area where they have
learnt to fly. The aim therefore, is to achieve migration starting from
Lapland leading the geese with the microlights to more favourable wintering
areas in Holland. The pilots of the microlights have already achieved
migrations with birds (Canada geese: branta canadensis; barnacle geese:
branta leucopsis; and cranes: grus grus). For the past ten years I
have been flying with barnacle geese (branta leucopsis), a species very
similar to the lesser white-fronted goose (anser erythropus) with the aim of
gaining experience of migrating in a microlight with an endangered species of
wild goose (the lesser white-fronted). For the last 20 years, a
team of Swedish scientists has been using barnacle geese as foster parents
for groups of young lesser white-fronted geese. The lesser white-fronted
goose used to nest in very large numbers all over Lapland and then spend the
winter around the Black sea and the Caspian sea. The high pressure of hunting
by the local population on these wintering sites (especially in Greece and
Turkey) has, over the past thirty years, practically eradicated this species.
Some barnacle geese breed in the south of Lapland, but they have always spent
the winter in Holland and the Low Countries where the laws for environmental protection
are respected. During their first migration from the arctic to Holland, the
young lesser white-fronted geese memorise the route they take with their
foster parents. The families artificially assembled by man stay together
until mid-winter. At the beginning of spring the birds come back to Lapland
by themselves. In the years which follow, the lesser white-fronted geese
which have spent their first winter in the Low Countries remain faithful to
this new wintering area. The phenomenon of migration is not completely
instinctive in geese, it is only in the company of adults that the young
discover the migratory routes. This phenomenon seemed to
me to open up a possibility for me to substitute myself in the role of an
adult bird in order to guide a group of young geese over new migratory routes
using a small microlight. My first experiments with the barnacle geese have
been a real success and Swedish scientists have come over to observe the
reality of the facts. On 1996, with a small
microlight, I flew across part of France (650 kms) accompanied by twelve
barnacle geese, from Cantal to La Grande Brière, near the Loire estuary. The
birds were left there in the freedom of an ornithological park waiting to
come back to Cantal by themselves in the spring. In spite of everything, I
had doubts about seeing my geese come back one day, being conscious that in
France too, the pressure of hunting is very strong. The Swedes are counting a
lot on the media coverage of my experiments in order to denounce hunting
abuses in France : hunting by night, when it is not possible to differentiate
between protected and non-protected species; hunting in February and poaching
in spring which kill off, just before the breeding season, animals which have
survived the winter and are therefore genetically perfectly capable of
producing hardy descendants. Certain French hunters, who are aware of their
ecological responsibility, have been criticizing these abuses for years. A
method of hunting which takes no account of the basic necessities for the
survival of our native species (the releasing of game shows our incompetence
in assuring the maintaining of the population of wild animals in our
country), in addition, we take advantage wrongfully and without equivalent of
the measures of protection taken in other countries (where most of the birds
nest) to protect migrating birds which cross our country (where they are
shamelessly shot). The Swedes have been working for 16 years with lesser
white-fronted geese; only five wild pairs of this species left Lapland this
autumn, accompanied by their young, to fly to the Low Countries. Why ? If the
winter is a cold one, these birds fly further south and can be shot in France
until the end of February (France is the only European country where it is still
possible to hunt somewhere from 14th July until...the end of February, 7 1/2
months of the year). To be able to make the migrations with a microlight
would allow the accompaniment of the groups of birds from their future
breeding grounds in Lapland, and especially to establish them in the Low
Countries for the winter. Even in the case of untimely cold spells, it is
sufficient to ensure that they are fed regularly (until the end of February)
on well-determined sites (nature reserves) and also to make sure that they
have open water (which doesn't freeze). The birds used will come from
different European breeders, centres of reproduction which possess some pairs
of captive lesser white-fronted geese. The Forestry Doctor,
Lambart von Essen, was responsible for the project for the protection of the
lesser white-fronted goose in Sweden. This man of 78, who knew Konrad Lorenz
and Sir Peter Scott personally, was curiously enough also responsible for the
"Royal Hunt" of Sweden. It must be said that in the countries of
northern Europe, hunters are veritable technicians of the environment and do
not regard hunting simply as the consequence of a rich, preserved natural
environment (not like in France). My well-grounded
abilities in the field of meteorology helped me to optimize my flights in
Cantal and on the migration route across France (650 kms) and the efforts of
my colleagues in numerous meteorological stations in France helped me a lot.
The venture was filmed by a television crew for the T.V channels Canal + and France
3. The point of my
experiment of 1996, crossing France with 12 barnacle geese, was to test all
the reactions of these birds (a non-threatened species) for future migrations
with lesser white-fronted geese. Moreover, while waiting to realize the
migrations from Sweden with the lesser white-fronted geese, I am making
public the project of the Swedish scientists in denouncing the threat which
French hunters hang over the head of their efforts. My media coverage also
aims to denounce the drainage of wetlands and disappearance of numerous
species of marshland birds throughout the world. N.B: Artificially
changing the migratory routes of certain birds is not un-natural. Certain
species have already modified their traditional wintering areas by themselves
within a few years for reasons of survival only (branta ruficollis). For nearly a month my
group of birds was reported to be free in the area around the estuary of the
river Loire. Then, from November onwards we had no more reports. My birds
will never come back to Cantal. Victims of the ignorance of the population
concerning protected species, we'll hear later what fate has unfortunately
reserved for them. It is important that European public opinion react
concerning the disappearance of migratory birds which cross France and in
most cases do not nest in this country. European natural heritage is not the
property of the 3% of the French population who are hunters. The governments
of the countries of the European Community must put pressure on France to
respect, quite simply, the legislation concerning species of protected
wildlife. "Flying with wild
geese" (the book : 128 pages, 31 x 24 cm, 300 photos) Christian Moullec was
born in Brittany (France) in 1960. Interested in birds since his childhood,
he is a member of the LPO (ligue pour la protection des oiseaux) since the
age of 13. In 1988 as a meteorologist, he spend a full year in the French
island of Amsterdam (50 km²) in the south Indian ocean near position 37°50' S
and 77°50'E. There he had the opportunity to accompany and help one
ornithologist and take a lot of photos of the fauna chiefly Albatross, but
also Skuas, fur seals, elephant seals… In the fall of 1989
Christian arrived in our islands (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, near island of
Newfoundland), he was to stay four years with us. During these years he was
quite involved with the ornithology Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and Nature in
general. He has produced beautiful films that were broadcast on local TV, and
presented exhibition of wonderful photographs. He was so concerned about the
quietness of the birds that he told me about a Short-eared Owl nest he had
discovered on St. Pierre (the first known breeding record) only months later…
This is in Miquelon that he met Paola who became his wife and subsequently
played an important role in the project of flying with the birds. In 1987 he read in a
French nature magazine an article about the Lesser white-fronted Goose (Anser
erythropus). This species, once very common in Scandinavia, is now
endangered, heavily hunted in the eastern part of Europe. Since the early
eighties, the Swedish Professor Van Essen wanted to do something to save this
goose. His idea was to have a few chicks adopted by pairs of Barnacle goose
who spent their winters in the Netherlands. It is well known that young geese
memorize their migrating route during their first trip south with their
parents. The experience was successful, but due to its complexity, he worked
with too few birds. Professor Van Essen was a personal friend of Konrad
Lorenz whose work with geese is well known and had fascinated Christian when
he was only 11 years old : "these readings have determined my future
relations with the birds". For years Christian
wanted to fly with birds. When he returned from St. Pierre with Paola, they
went to work in "Massif Central" in the south-central part of
France and started to hatch Barnacle goose and at the same time Christian
learned how to fly very small aircraft we call "U.L.M." in French.
After a lot of trials and errors, he managed to have the geese following him
into the air. This is where the work of Konrad Lorenz was inspiring, these
geese were imprinted on man and would consider Christian and Paola as their parents. After a lot of training,
the first migration test flight took place in the fall of 1996 from Sept. 11
to 19, with 12 Barnacle geese from near Aurillac (Massif Central) to the
Loire estuary a trip of about 300 km. The experience was entirely successful
with an occasional stress here and there as could be expected in such an
undertaking. Unfortunately, the epilogue of this first adventure is rather
bad : the birds were left in southern Brittany for the winter with a lot of
other anatids. Later on some municipal employees saw them grazing on a field
and thought it would be a nice addition to one city park. They managed to
capture them and of course, clipped their wings ! … These birds were not wary
of humans, a terrible experience for Christian and Paola, a strong lesson
that was going to be taken into account for the "Big project". In 1999 Christian and
Paola, with a lot of difficulties finally got 35 eggs of the Lesser
white-fronted goose. This time they were very aware of the facts that the
birds should not be imprinted on "normal" human silhouette, so they
built special costumes that broke this human appearance. They were going to
wear them any time they were in contact with the geese and imposed the same
constraint to the TV staff that were to accompany them for the trip. The eggs
were hatched in a little shed far from inhabited area. In early July they
left with their birds for Sweden, They had to be there before the birds could
fly by themselves and be trained where they were supposed to have hatched, so
they could come back there the following spring. By now you have understood
that the main idea was to establish new migration routes between safe
wintering areas and breeding territories. They took off from Oster
Malma near Stockholm with 30 geese on September 1, 1999. One unexpected
problem arose then, the birds would not follow the small craft unless Paola
(4 months pregnant) was aboard, so she had to fly with Christian the whole
trip. They arrived safely with 27 geese in Germany on October 7. A trip of
about 1600 km, with an average of a two hour flight a day, weather
permitting. The birds were then left
on a bird reserve for the winter. After some days Christian had to go back to
work while Paola stayed several more weeks with the geese. They had the
opportunity to see them becoming in contact with other species of wildfowl
that were then arriving from the north. Understandably Christian
and Paola were anxiously awaiting for spring news from Sweden. News were very
encouraging, 60% of their geese had been observed with certainty and possibly
others were present but not easy to detect among all the other waterfowl.
Christian went up to Sweden in May an had a marvellous experience, while
wearing the "impregnation costume" to see two birds alighting a mere
20 metres away, and running to its direction " to say hello' ! … New trips will be
organized in the future to ensure that a sufficient population of this geese
is established in safe areas. Hopefully, in regard to the success of this
first experience, sponsors will be numerous ! … This wonderful experience
is related in a book published in France in October 2000 *. This is a
marvellous document, nicely written and illustrated with 300 colour
photographs, most of them absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. You'll be
able to consult this book soon at the Centre for NFLD Studies at Q.E. Library
in MUN. But I am sure that, every bird lover would love to have it on his
shelves. To have a first idea of
the book and the experience in general you may want to visit their website : http://www.vol-avec-les-oies.com/oies.htm |