Lesser white-fronted goose

Anser erythropus

The lesser white-fronted goose is an impressive long-distance migrant. In autumn, it leaves its breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra and flies to warmer wintering grounds. It does not return to the far north until spring.

Red List

Vulnerable

Breeding programme

The lesser white-fronted goose prefers rocky terrain with shrubs and patches of grass. It builds its nest under shrubs or bushes, not always in the immediate vicinity of water.

lesser white-fronted geese have a highly specialised diet. They require extensive grazing areas with extremely short grass and in a near-natural state. Habitats of this kind have disappeared in many places as a result of the intensification of agriculture. Consequently, the population is declining sharply. Within just a few decades, a once common species has become an extremely rare one.