Dalmatian Pelicans have nested successfully this summer on innovative wooden platforms which lifted their eggs and chicks above seasonal floods and a raid by a Golden Jackal at Bulgaria’s Srebarna Biosphere Reserve.
Absam/Austria, October 2011 – The threatened water bird, which has suffered long-term declines in its global population leading to its listing by the International Union of Nature Conservation as Vulnerable to extinction, is the largest of the world’s eight pelicans. The subject of intensive conservation action by a partnership of Le Balkan-Bulgaria Foundation and Austrian sporting optics manufacturer Swarovski Optik, the Srebarna Dalmatian Pelican colony has benefitted hugely from the construction and maintenance of a pair of 2 metre high wooden pile breeding platforms. The platforms have allowed pairs of pelicans to nest above seasonal flood levels and out of the reach of predators. The importance of the raised platforms was demonstrated earlier this spring when a Golden Jackal raided part of the colony and destroyed around 25 eggs laid on a ground platform.
Funded by Swarovski Optik, the raised platforms have proved very popular with nesting pelicans, with figures provided by Le Balkan-Bulgaria in August 2011 showing that 21 pairs successfully fledged an impressive 20 chicks this year. This represents a quarter of all the breeding pairs at the colony, the only one in Bulgaria and the last remaining in the Lower Danube where several colonies had existed until the end of the 19th century.
Pavel Simeoneov, President of Le Balkan-Bulgaria Foundation, has commented on the conservation importance of the Swarovski Optik platforms, saying that their effectiveness has been proven and that they show how future management efforts should be oriented.
While other threats and limiting factors effecting the recovery of the species have still to be investigated, particularly in the neighbouring Romanian wetlands and along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast where many Dalmatian Pelicans overwinter, Swarovski Optik is delighted that the platforms they have funded are proving so critical to the breeding success of the Srebarna colony.
“According to our company philosophy of commitment to people, animals and nature, we are very pleased that the population of the Dalmatian Pelican has risen so dramatically in Srebarna Biosphere Reserve over the last 13 years since we have been involved in the project. This is one example of our projects and demonstrates, once again, how consistent long-term support of conservation can make a real difference to species in need”, says Carina Schiestl-Swarovski, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of SWAROVSKI OPTIK.
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SWAROVSKI OPTIK
SWAROVSKI OPTIK, headquartered in Absam, Tyrol, is part of the Swarovski group of companies. Founded in 1949, the Austrian company specialises in the development and manufacturing of long-range optical instruments of the highest precision in the premium segment of the market. The binoculars, telescopes, rifle scopes, range finders and night sight devices are products of choice for demanding users. The company's success is based on its innovative strength, the quality and intrinsic value of its products and their functional and aesthetic design. The appreciation of nature is an essential part of its company philosophy and is reflected commendably in its environment-friendly production and its long-term commitment to selected nature conservation projects. The turnover in 2010 was 94 million euro (2009: 87 million euro) and the export ratio is 90%. The company has approx. 700 employees.