Lammergeiers or bearded vultures are recovering in Europe through reintroduction but remain severely threatened by poisoned carcasses placed for carnivore control.
Poisoned carcass ingestion causes convulsive death. Scavenging habit makes lammergeiers particularly vulnerable to any toxicants placed in or on carcasses. Secondary rodenticide exposure occurs through carrion. Reintroduction involves captive rearing, conditioning, and release stress. The tiny population size means any poisoning death is significant. Power line electrocution is an additional mortality risk.