As of June 13, 2025, aviaries at the Aspromonte National Park release center will be home to ten young red kites born in Switzerland. Here they will spend a short acclimatization period prior to their release into the wild.
Born about a month and a half ago in the canton of Fribourg, the raptors were taken to the nests by an efficient team of Swiss ornithologists and climbers. Coordinating all the operations was ornithologist Adrian Aebischer, who was joined in the search and monitoring of the nests and the taking of the chicks by collaborators Christian Grand, Pascal Grand, Valentijn van Bergen and Henri Vigneau. The activities were also carried out with the help of a drone operated by Paul Ducry.
After retrieval, the animals were cared for for several days by Caroline Chatton and her team at the “Rita Ruch” rescue center in Freiburg while veterinarian Dirk Hamburger examined and microchipped them before they left for Italy.
On June 12, project manager Luca Pelle left Freiburg with the ten red kites aboard the LIFE MILVUS project pickup truck, accompanied by Mario Pucci, a member of the StOrCal association.
The willingness of the Ente Monti Cimini allowed the animals to stop and rest at the Centro Recupero Animali Selvatici (Wildlife Recovery Center) of the Riserva Lago di Vico (VT), where they were entrusted to the care of Giampiero Tirone and other CRAS staff.
On June 13, the kites were placed in the aviaries of Aspromonte National Park, ready to receive them thanks to the management of the Cooperativa Tutela dell'Aspromonte, where they will remain for a few weeks before being fitted with identification rings and GPS and then released into the wild.
In 2023 and 2024, the cooperation of the Canton of Fribourg and other Swiss entities had already enabled the release of 18 Swiss red kites in the Park.
