|
|
|
|
National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
|
|
|
||
|
"World Record" Stork Killed by French Power Lines |
||
|
Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version
|
||
| BELGIUM: March 10, 2005 | ||
|
BRUSSELS - A satellite-tagged white stork whose progress was monitored by scientists for over 2,000 days was killed after it was electrocuted by power lines in France, a conservation group said on Wednesday.
|
||
|
BirdLife International said the stork, named Donna, had been tracked by satellite longer than any other bird on record and her death highlighted the dangers power lines pose to the elegant birds. Wim van den Bossche, leader of the Storks Without Borders project which tracks storks, had followed Donna's progress for the 2,033 days of her life after she started her first autumn migration. "No other bird has been tracked on a daily basis for such a long period. Donna provided us with a mass of unique scientific data," Van den Bossche was quoted as saying in a statement. Donna had left her wintering grounds in southern Spain and died after reaching her breeding site in the Calvados region of France. A stork specialist found her dead under power lines near the estuary of the river Seine on March 5. The much-travelled bird originally hailed from Belgium. White storks travel huge distances and some travel as far as southern Africa from their European nesting grounds. Electrocution and collision with power lines are the main known causes of death among white storks. Their nests, which can weigh up to half a tonne, are also a headache for utility companies as they are often built on electricity pylons, causing power cuts.
|
||
|
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
|
||
|
