Big birds breeding out of control in Germany

Schattin, Germany - Birds as big as human beings are breeding out of control near Germany's Baltic coast, giving a shock to sparrows, blackbirds and other small-fry native species. The newcomer is the nandu, a tough, ostrich-style avian from Argentina which is normally bred for meat and feathers. Six of them escaped from a German farm eight years ago and began multiplying furiously in a nature reserve south of the German city of Luebeck. Thanks to German nature-conservation laws, the pushy nandus can grin at hunters, because no one is licensed to kill one. Wolf Juergen Menken, a hunter, can gun down deer and ducks, but the nandu is off limits. 'They are practically an established species,' he said ruefully. What is more, the nandus, which are flightless but excellent runners, are spreading eastwards. A German student, Frank Philipp, has taken a close look for a thesis at the birds and counted more than 30 in an 80-kilometre- range. 'I found three nests with more than 50 nandu chicks this spring,' said Philipp, who is studying land conservation at a Dresden university. He does not venture a judgement on how they are affecting native flora and fauna. 'Our information is that they have no ill effects on native species,' said Lothar Woelfel, nature conservation officer for Mecklenburg West Pomerania state. 'We used to find the nests and smash the eggs but stopped doing that a few years ago.' 'We're getting used to one another, but I still say they don't belong here,' said Thomas Boehm, an organic farmer in the small town of Schattin who opposes freedom of migration for animals. He says they eat food needed by large native birds such as cranes. A visit by a nandu is also scary for other animals. Even Boehm's tough Galloway cattle have stampeded in fright after seeing a nandu mating dance and broken down fences. He calls the immigrants 'aggressors' that are seizing space from local animals. Boehm believes the bureaucrats have missed their chance to eradicate the nandus and have misunderstood the law. He argues that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora does not protect any non-native species from extinction in the name of nature purity. 'The birds have established an ecological niche for themselves,' he said, agreeing with hunter Menken that the nandus are snatching protein-rich insects from local birds to feed to their own chicks. But the nandus do have some friends, including a hotel owner in Schattin, Sven Langmaack, who offers nandu-spotting holidays. He keeps a close eye on the big birds' nests to ensure that the anti- nandu faction does not smash the eggs. 'They are such peaceful birds, and a joy to look at,' he said.