Princess

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"Little Princesses" on Endangered Species (2004)

Prinzesschen (* approx. 1990 ; † December 23, 2006 near Hoopstad , South Africa ) was a white stork.

Famous aviator

In 1994 the bird was broadcasted by ornithologist Christoph Kaatz and its bird migration was observed by satellite . In this way ornithology has made important observations. Since 1993, the animal has spent its summer half-year near the Storchenhof Loburg in Saxony-Anhalt . With at least 16 years of age, the stork was one of the oldest observed animals of its kind. As an "east puller", it did not overwinter in Spain , for example, like many of its conspecifics , but on the southern tip of Africa . To do this, she covered more than 10,000 flight kilometers every year. In addition, she set various records, such as a measured flight speed of more than 80 km / h.

Prinzesschen became extremely popular and found its place in the 2004 stamp year of the Federal Republic of Germany . Her life has been the subject of various books and a ZDF report. The people took a great part in their train and their "love life", which was sometimes very dramatic due to the long duration of their annual trips. As of December 21, 2006, your transmitter could no longer be located. On December 23, 2006, her carcass was discovered by a farmer near Hoopstad, south of the Bloemhof Dam reservoir in Free State . Forty minutes earlier he had seen the bird alive. Under a tree at the entrance to the farm, the princess received a worthy grave with a gravestone.

A memorial was erected to her on July 3, 2010 at the Storchenhof Loburg. The bronze monument designed by the artist Heike Landherr is only a few meters away from Prinzesschen's former eyrie. It shows the flying lady stork over a bronze plate with a train map. Her bird ring is attached to one of the three pillars that hold the famous bird. The statue, financed solely by donations, will long remember the achievements of little princesses.

literature

  • Volker Schmidt, Katja Schupp: Out and about with the storks. Stork princess on a world tour . Franckh-Kosmos, 2006, ISBN 3440106659

Movies

  • The journey of the storks. Two-part film by Volker Schmidt and Katja Schupp, Polar Film + Medien GmbH, 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mourning the little princess. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. January 6, 2007, accessed May 1, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Princess. Vogelschutzwarte Storchenhof Loburg e. V., accessed on May 1, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b ZDF two-part series “The journey of the storks”. Press portal, accessed on May 1, 2019 .