3D models

Northern bald ibises from printers help with reintroduction

Northern bald ibises like to breed near bodies of water on rocky cliffs and steep coasts.(Bild: TIERGARTEN SCHÖNBRUNN/DENNIS PFLEGHAAR)

The Northern Bald Ibis is one of the rarest birds in the world. An important milestone has now been reached in the attempt to reintroduce these animals, which were once extinct in Europe - thanks to state-of-the-art technology with Austrian involvement. 

For the first time, the animals have now bred independently in a natural rock niche in Germany near Überlingen on Lake Constance. According to Schönbrunn Zoo, they were animated by two Waldrapp dummies that were produced by the Natural History Museum Vienna using a 3D printer.

"The last important milestone has been achieved"
"Until now, the ibis birds have nested in a nearby artificial breeding wall. This was a necessary intermediate step to show the birds, which originally came from zoos, that they can breed in the region. However, the aim was always for the Northern Bald Ibises to return to their natural breeding grounds. The last important milestone has now been reached," said zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck.

The birds on Lake Constance were reintroduced as part of the first EU LIFE project. Since 2022, Schönbrunn Zoo has been leading a second LIFE project to continue the protection and reintroduction of the rare bird species.

"To make the mock-ups, we received a 3D scan of a Northern Bald Ibis. Based on this, the models were built up layer by layer using our 3D printer," explained Katrin Vohland, Director General of the Natural History Museum Vienna.

At the end of February, the dummies were installed in a rock niche at a height of 20 meters by the Waldrappteam association together with the Donau-Heuberg mountain rescue service. The results of the experiment are impressive: There are a total of five breeding pairs raising around a dozen young there.

Flying to Tuscany in the fall
"We expect the young Northern Bald Ibises to leave the rocky niche in mid-August. In the fall, they should make the long journey to their wintering grounds in Tuscany together with their parents. In this way, they will learn the migration route and hopefully later contribute to the growth of the wild colony on Lake Constance with their own offspring," said Anne-Gabriela Schmalstieg from the Waldrappteam support association.

To ensure a stable population of Northern Bald Ibises in Europe, juveniles hatched in zoos will also be released into the wild this year. According to the press release, 36 young Northern Bald Ibises are currently being acclimatized by their human foster mothers to an ultralight aircraft, which will be used to show the birds the way to a wintering area in Andalusia.