'Reason for Hope'

Johannes Fritz

is head of the Waldrappteam, which he founded in 2002. Since 2014 he is the General Project Manager of the project "Reason for Hope".

Johannes studied Biology at the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna. In 2000 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Vienna. He then worked in several postdoc positions at the Konrad Lorenz Research Station Grünau, at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research Altenberg near Vienna and at the University of Cambridge.

Johannes is Associate Member of the Department of Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna, Board Member of the International Advisory Group for the Northern Bald Ibis (IAGNBI) and member of the IUCN SSC Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4691-2892

Bernhard Gönner

is a member of the Waldrappteam since 2010 and as Project Assistant he´s part of the Project Management Team since 2014.

Bernhard studied biology at the University of Vienna, focusing on zoology.

Daniela Trobe

is a member of the Waldrappteam since 2010 and as Field Manager she´s  part of the Project Management Team since 2014.

Daniela studied Behavioral Biology and Zoology at the University of Graz. In 2010 and 2011 she worked as a Foster Parent for the Waldrappteam.

Corinna Esterer  

is part of the Project Management Team since 2013 and from 2014-2018 she worked as Foster Parent. Since 2019 she´s part of the Field Management Team.

Corinna studied Environmental Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf.

Anne-Gabriela Schmalstieg

is a member of the Waldrappteam since 2012 and as Foster Parent she´s part of the Project Management Team since 2014.

Anne studied Landscape Planning at the University of Osnabrück.

Nicoletta Perco

is a Cooperation Partner of the Waldrappteam since 2010 and part of the Project Management Team since 2014. In 2011 she worked as a Foster Parent for the Waldrappteam.

Nicoletta graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Trieste. In addition to her work for Waldrappteam, Nicoletta works as Nature Guide and Ornithologist-Naturalist.

Angelika Fritz

is a member of the Waldrappteam since 2002 and as Project Assistant she´s part of the Project Management Team since 2014.

For five years Angelika participated in the hand rearing of Northern Bald Ibises at the Konrad Lorenz Research Station Grünau.

Markus Unsöld

is a member of the Waldrappteam since 2003 and as a Consultant he`s part of the Project Management Team since 2014. In 2008 and 2009 he worked as a Foster Parent for the Waldrappteam.

Markus´ primary occupation is Curator of the Ornithology Section at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich.

Christian Sperger

is a technical staff member of Waldrappteam since 2014. 

Christian studied Geography at the University of Innsbruck.

Walter Holzmüller

is a cooperation partner of the Waldrappteam. As a Pilot, Walter guides the Northern Bald Ibises to the wintering area in the Tuscany since 2007. As a trained car and aircraft mechanic Walter is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the aircrafts.

Walter works as a test pilot and flight instructor and is technical manager of the paramotor department of the DULV. 

Alexandra Scope

is a Cooperation Partner of the Waldrappteam. Since 2008, Alexandra is responsible for the medical care and scientific study of the Northern Bald Ibises. What began as project collaboration has now become a systematic management of the population with the aim of preserving the health of the birds and establishing a medical database for Northern Bald Ibises.

Alexandra´s primary occupation is professor of avian medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

Michael Schroll

is a Cooperation Partner of the Waldrappteam. For several years he was responsible for the management of the breeding colony in Burghausen and the local public relations.

Michael is full-time museum educator at the Landesmuseum Niederösterreich and zookeeper at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna. 

Bernhard Völkl

is the Scientific Coordinator of the Waldrappteam and significantly involved in research projects and scientific publications.

Bernhard studied Biology at the University of Vienna. As a researcher he worked at the CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) in Strasbourg and at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He currently works as a Behavioural Ecologist at the Edward Grey Institute for Ornithology, University of Oxford, where he studies the evolution of social behaviour and cooperation in the animal kingdom.