THE Department of the Environment and Climate Change (DECC) together with the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS) have released another 50 Barbary partridges in selected areas of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve as part of the continued efforts to safeguard the species locally.
The birds have been bred in a purpose built breeding and release facility which is proving to be extremely effective as shown by an on-going monitoring programme.
The Barbary partridge has long been one of Gibraltar’s emblematic bird species whose numbers decreased over the past two decades. As a result of this joint collaboration between the two organisations, the local population is now recovering steadily and even showing signs of inhabiting new habitats within and outside the reserve network.
The re-population programme forms part of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve Management Plan which also includes the re-introduction of other species known to previously inhabit the nature reserve.
Minister for the Environment Dr John Cortes commented, “This is a success story in so many ways. It shows the benefits of the department working together with the expertise at GONHS. Most important is the success of the programme which has brought our Barbary partridges back from the brink of extinction locally.”