MIGRATION OF FENNOSCANDIAN LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE ANSER-ERYTHROPUS MAPPED BY SATELLITE TELEMETRY

Since staging and wintering sites of the globally threatened lesser wh ite-fronted goose Anser erythropus are poorly known, satellite transmi tters were used to map autumn and winter migration routes of four indi viduals. After having spent c. 2 weeks at a post-moulting staging plac e in Finnmark, north Norway, ail individuals flew directly to the Kani n Peninsula, northwest Russia. Later, two of the geese migrated along a westerly route to East Germany, where one of the geese disappeared, and to Hungary and Greece. The other two individuals followed an easte rly route. One was shot close to the west side of the Ural mountains, whereas the other individual disappeared in the Ob valley, Russia. The results might indicate a higher hunting pressure along the eastern ro ute than along the western route. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.