Study Highlights Threats Facing Lanzarote’s Hubara Bustard

A scientific study claims that ravens are the principal predator of newly-hatched Hubara Bustard chicks.

Researchers from the National Museum of Natural Sciences and the University of Granada placed 229 artificial nests around the island to monitor and discovered that 57% of them were raided by ravens.

Unleashed dogs and feral cats also posed a lesser threat to the endangered bustard, Lanzarote’s largest land bird.

The study concluded that care must be taken to control the raven population to prevent “excessive growth”.

The scientists also pointed out that humans were responsible for the decline in the bustard population, by destroying their natural habitat through sand extraction or creating fatal obstacles such as powerlines and roads.