Rescue on the Fly, the Moroccan center that returns birds of prey to freedom
Fatima Zohra Bouaziz
Rabat, July 10 (EFE). – A common buzzard rescued from an illegal market, a long-eared owl with a broken wing, and a spotted vulture with collision trauma: these birds of prey have found a second chance at a rehabilitation center in Morocco that strives to return them to their natural habitat.
Located about 30 kilometers northeast of Rabat in the Maamora Forest, the Bir Lahmer Raptor Care Center specializes in diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey and annually receives between 100 and 150 specimens of different species that have been injured, sick, or harmed by electrocution, collisions, poisoning, or other causes.
200 birds releasedThe center is the result of a partnership between the state-run National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), which is responsible for collecting injured birds through its units distributed throughout the country, and the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Birds of Prey (AMPR), which is responsible for their rehabilitation and monitoring.
"The center's main objective is to receive sick or injured birds and then reintroduce them into their natural environment," Karim Rousselon, president of AMPR and head of the center, told EFE.
While treating an injured Eurasian buzzard, Rousselon explains that the center's mission is to assess the condition of injured birds, provide first aid, and transfer the most serious cases to a veterinary clinic.
GPS trackingOnce treated, the birds are transferred to one of the center's large cages, organized by species. In these rehabilitation areas, they undergo different stages of treatment focused on physical rehabilitation and muscle strengthening, Rousselon explains.
And when they are considered recovered, the center releases them after fitting them with an individual identification ring and a GPS device, which allows their movements to be tracked in real time.
Since its creation in 2021, the center has released around 200 birds of prey, Rousselon notes. He explains that a third of the arriving birds remain in captivity because they are not fit to return to the wild.
"There are cases of birds that we release within a week, others require between six months and a year to recover. But another third of the birds received remain at the center because they can't return to their natural environment. We keep them for scientific purposes; the more we know about these birds, the better we can protect them," he points out.
The rest are euthanized due to their irreversible condition or die from other causes. This is the case of an imperial eagle from Spain that arrived with an injury but couldn't survive the intense heat wave that hit the country in recent weeks.
Another of the center's goals is the captive breeding of several species. Among them are two pairs of the critically endangered spotted vulture, which the center is trying to incorporate into its breeding program to regenerate the population, of which only 25 pairs remain in the Maghreb country.
Reintroduction and environmental educationWith this program, the association and ANEF seek to restore Morocco's role as a breeding ground for various species of migratory birds of prey.
Mohamed Bouamama, head of the Kenitra wildlife unit at ANEF, emphasizes that, thanks to the collaboration between the agency and civil society, the griffon vulture was able to return to nesting in Morocco two years ago after five decades.
Morocco is home to 35 species of diurnal birds of prey and another 7 nocturnal ones, making the country a corridor for some 200,000 birds of prey.
Beyond rehabilitation and captive breeding, the center also emphasizes raising awareness about the importance of these birds in maintaining the balance of biodiversity.
"Birds of prey are predators at the highest level of the food chain and are a bioindicator of the ecosystem's health. When the raptor population is stable, it means the entire natural cycle is functioning well," Rousselon says. EFE
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