The three-year-old male stork Findus, who began his life in Southern Jutland and later returned to breed, has been tragically killed after being hit on a motorway in Northern Germany. The stork was hit by a car near the town of Jalm in Schleswig-Holstein and died instantly.
Lisa Mäkelburg, board member of Storkene.dk, which registers storks in Denmark, expressed her sorrow in a post on Facebook. “He died on the spot and probably did not suffer, but it is a loss for all of us, which hurts deep in the heart. I am so sorry that I cannot even describe it in words,” she wrote.
Findus came into the world in 2021 as part of a brood of four chicks in Southern Jutland. Earlier this year, he returned to the area and was seen in Saksborg south of Bylderup-Bov. According to Jess Frederiksen, chairman of Storkene.dk, there were high hopes that Findus would breed on Danish soil.
“It is nothing short of fantastic. Findus is three years old, sexually mature, and ready to breed, so if all goes well, he will be back in Denmark to raise chicks himself,” Frederiksen said to TV Syd in March. “He is the first known stork chick to return here to breed on its own, so we cannot contain our excitement.”
The white stork was once common in Denmark, but the population was significantly reduced throughout the 20th century. Around the turn of the millennium, the stork completely ceased to breed in Denmark. Since then, the population has slowly begun to recolonize, and in 2022, there were nine stork pairs residing in Denmark, mainly in southern Jutland. Additionally, several hundred storks visit Denmark in the summer from foreign populations, according to the Danish Ornithological Society.
Findus’ death is a severe blow to Danish stork enthusiasts who were looking forward to following his breeding season.