Museo del Gipeto

Site overview

From ruthless hunting to scientific monitoring: the story of the bearded vulture is a symbol of nature being reborn. Visit the exhibition dedicated to this raptor to learn how to recognize it among the clouds and to understand the importance of this scavenger in the alpine food chain. A fascinating journey through science, volunteering, and wings spread over the Alps.

In 1913, the last specimen of the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) disappeared from the Western Alps, a victim of ruthless hunting by humans who erroneously believed it to be dangerous to herds and harmful to livestock, to the point of earning the nickname “vulture of the lambs.” By 2006, the presence of the bearded vulture in the Lanzo Valleys returned to being regular after years of absence, and the Association created a specific section for monitoring this raptor. Starting from 2012, the Municipality of Balme provided the Association with an office in a facility near the town hall for the meetings and organizational activities of volunteers; in 2016, a small exhibition space was also granted for the material collected by members and volunteers over the years. Initially a mobile display, it is now permanent. Since 2006, the association has collected more than a thousand observations of the bearded vulture. Many specimens are identified by the coloring of the plumage on their wings or by the characteristic black mask surrounding the eyes and extending under the beak, giving it the name “bearded.” The hunting territory of the bearded vulture can be very extensive, sometimes covering an area of about 300 km². The bearded vulture is a scavenger—a very important element in the food chain—and prefers to feed on the bones of carcasses, which it crushes with its beak or by dropping them from above onto rocks.