http://www.nature.com/news/poachers-...c-ibis-1.11621
Seriously? What - The - F... Hell?
Synopsis:
Poachers gun down iconic ibis
Set back for researchers as illegal hunters kill rare birds.
The northern bald ibis has been extinct in the wild in Europe for nearly 400 years and is critically endangered in North Africa and the Middle East. A team led by biologist Johannes Fritz from the University of Vienna has been hand-raising the birds and teaching them how to migrate from breeding areas north of the Alps in Germany and Austria to wintering grounds in Italy.
Goja initially learnt the migration route in autumn 2009 by following an ultralight aircraft. She made headlines in 2011 when she became the first of the team’s birds to fly back on her own to Germany for the summer.
Goja's fate is not unique, last autumn the project lost up to 15 of 37 migrating birds to hunters in Italy.
When Goja was shot on Saturday, she was leading two juveniles; one was shot dead along with her and the other is missing, presumed shot.