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Review of trial reintroductions of the long-lived, cooperative breeding Southern Ground-hornbill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2020

LUCY V. KEMP Open the ORCID record for LUCY V. KEMP [Opens in a new window] ,
ANTOINETTE KOTZE ,
RAYMOND JANSEN ,
DESIRÉ L. DALTON ,
PAUL GROBLER  and
ROB M. LITTLE
LUCY V. KEMP*
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. Mabula Ground-Hornbill Project, P.O. Box 876, Bela Bela 0480, South Africa. National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
ANTOINETTE KOTZE
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
RAYMOND JANSEN
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental, Water and Earth Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria0001, South Africa.
DESIRÉ L. DALTON
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
PAUL GROBLER
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
ROB M. LITTLE
Affiliation:
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch7701, South Africa.
*
*Author for correspondence; email: project@ground-hornbill.org.za
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Summary

Reintroduction to, or reinforcement of, threatened wild populations are commonly used conservation strategies. Reintroductions of the Southern Ground-hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri have been tested as a potential conservation tool for this vulnerable species since 1995. Forty-two individuals have been reintroduced under varying management strategies. We analysed the outcomes of these attempts to assess which factors contributed most to success or failure. The species exhibits complex social learning and hierarchy, and is long-lived, with delayed sexual maturity. Immediate survival was significantly affected by the season in which the release was done and by the quality of the released birds. The best-quality release birds were reared with wild behavioural characteristics and were well-socialised to captive conspecifics prior to being placed into managed groups (‘bush schools’), where social learning was led by an experienced, wild alpha male. Once reintroduced birds had survived their first year after release, continued wild experience and wild mentorship significantly affected their survival. Since sample sizes limited the rigour of some statistical analyses, other factors were considered that may also determine success. These quasi-experimental reintroductions revealed novel threats to the species, such as the importance of a nest to group cohesion, that harvested second-hatched chicks provide viable release birds, which essentially doubles wild productivity, and that reintroductions generate valuable civil society awareness of the plight of the species.

Keywords

Bucorvus leadbeateribush-schoolsmentorreintroductionSouthern Ground-hornbill
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 533 - 558
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

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