\ -20~- c'ol
Re-introduction of the Red-necked Ostrich, Slrlllltio camelllS ,·umeills, in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in central Saudi Arabia
by M. Za ra r- ullslam, Kha iri Ismail and Ahmed Boug
Ab ...... 1. As the Arabi.n Os,rieh Slrulhio c~me/... ,yr;","US. ' distinct .ubspccics. became c."i"", in the wild duri"ll the mid.20'" ..... tury. the rrx>$t d<>s
t.: O)' ,,·ord •. Red·necked Ostrich. "'introdUC1ioo. Mahaza, a$.Sayd Proteclcd A", •• Saudi Arabi •• drought. Middle Ea".
Introduction The Arabian Ostrich. 51rlllhio came/lis syri(lCIIs. has been completely los( from (he Ambian avi fauna. It had remained in balance with its human preda(Qrs probably for thousands of years as it could compete on equal temts against hunters anned only wi,h lances and moumed on horses. In Ambia. it became edinc( in the latc 19305. after only a short period when its hunters gained the advantage through modem fireanns and mo(orised vehiclcs (JENNIl-iGS 1986). The sad S(ory of the fa(c of the Os(rich in Ambia is a sobering pointer to the des(ructive potcn(ial of man. especially when hc is emhused by the chance of a reward Or by (he exci,emenl of (he chase, The ~pecics was his(orically diS(fibutcd across Africa. Arabia. and parts (he Middle EaS( (CRAMP & SIM~10NS 1977). The fom, that occurred in Arabia was generally accepted as a dislinc( subspecies (5. c, syrillCllS R01hsehild, 1919: also sec BKOWN cI al. 1983) and was known as (he Arabian Ostrich (JENNINGS 1986). It became eXlinct in the wild due (0 over hunting and commercial exploilation (J ENN Il-iGS 1986). Ambian Ostriches be<:amc cx,inct in captivity al about the same (ime. Os(richcs wcrc often captur~..-:I whilst young and raised in cap(ivity. There are records of impom..-:l capti"C birds at Taif as early as 1917 and an escaped chick was caught near Jeddah in 1978, Since the 19705. Os(rich fanns and privale collec(ions con(aining Ostriches of vari ous subspecies have been reponed from all comers of Ambia, and escapes havc occurred
Zoology in \he Middle East 44. 2008: 31-40. ISSN 0939-71 40 Cl K aspare ~ Ve ~ag, Heidelberg Zooklgy in the Middl. Ent 44, 2008
There is even a repon of a road kill in Kuwai! in 2005_ Since 1997 there have been attempts to rc-introduce the nominale subspecies of the Ostrich back into the wild in Arabia_ The Ostrich has been released into the Mahazat as Sayd reserve in central Saudi Arabia. into a semi-wild environment in a large fenced enclosure_ Restoration of the Ostrich is one of the aims of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and [)e"elopment (NCWCD). which has initiated a conservation programme to captive breed and re-introduce ostriches into the Mahazat as Sayd Protec1ed Area_T he ex1ant S. c. camcl"s, a red-necked fonn that occurs in nonheastern Africa and is considered most closely related to the eXlinct Arabian form (BROWN e1 al. 1983). has been chosen for the re-introduction. in accordance with existing international guidelines on re-introductions (ANONYMOUS 1992). The reintroduc1ion programme was staned in 1988-89 by obtaining Red-necked Ostriches from Sudan from a private collection. and in 1990 a couple of birds were translocated to the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in a 25 ha fenced enclosure. In 1994. seven ostriches were released inlo the wild in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area (lSM ... tL & OSTlWWSKt 2003).
Study area Mahazat as-Sayd PrOiected Area was declared in 1988 and ratified in 1989 by the Council of Ministers. It is in Makkah pro" ince and in area corrsi.ts of about 2200 km' with a fairly le,·e]. sandy plain. The substrate at Mahazat is sand. sm,·d. or al luvial clays. and is usually loose bU1 not shifting. forming an even surface. Maha>.al as-Sayd is one of the world's large51 fenced pro Ie<:tcd areas. The entire 220 km perimeter is fenced with 2 m high chain-link fencing. topped wilh 3 strands ofbarl>cd wire. with 0.9 m ofmcsh buried in Ihe ground. and lying behind a large eanh embankment. Situaled in central Saudi Arabia, Mahazat as-Sayd is a vast undulating plain. Pro te<:tion from livestock grazing has allowed a spectacular TttO"ery of nati"e "egelation - the grasslands of the reserve arc a reminder of whal much of c"1I1ral Saudi Arabia must have once looked li ke_ The vegetal ion recovery allowed the re-introduction of Arabian Oryx (Dry'" fru _ roryx). Sand Gazelles (G,eel/a subgwrurosa). Houbara Bustard (Chfamydo/is undulate mac queen;,) and Red-necked Ostrich. The reserve holds large natural populations of Red Fox and Ruppe]]"s Fox (V"lpes rlleppc//i) and significant numbers of Sand Cat (Felli margadw). Wild Cat (Fe/is si/,,,,s,ris). Ratd (Mdlil'()ru caperuis) but rarely. and the Spiny-tailed lizard (Uro nt'IS/):-r sp_)_ It is a major breeding area for the threatened Lappel-faced Vulture (TOTg<>J" /rachefil) ms) and an important stopover site for migrating birds (IS\..AM et al. 2007). The climate of the area is tropical and arid. Between 1991 and 2007. the mean minimum and maximum tempernturcs measured were 9"C and 42°C. respecti"ely (Fig. 1). During the lame period. the mean monthly humidity ranged from approximately 18 to 72%. We31her dala from the last 10 years shows considerable inter-annual varialion in the amounl (range 0-22 mm) and tim ing of rainfall. Subslantial rainfall typically occurs between March and May each year. Since the weather data showed some missing values. a droughl is defined as one year with ex tremely high temperatures and no or very liltle rainfall , or as two to threc years in a row with very linle rain. This has been shown to happen in Mahazat as-Sayd in about 2 out of I S years. so thai the probability of a drought occurring is: p(droughtFO.12S. Rainfall has a slrong influence on the presence or absence of annual plants. and is also the masl important factor in the production of grazing. Poor rainfall had a major delrimen1al impact on forage in the rescrve in 2006. The a"crage rainfall at Mahazat from 1991 to 2005 was 7.2 mm (Fig_ I). Very linle rainfall was recorded in 2006. and there were a few showers (2-3 mm) in April 2007. •
•
Fij. 1 M .... minimum and m.. ;"",m ~,\lfeSand ...... pm:'pi.. ,;"., .. MohauI ..·S&yd Proo~ ~.
Results
The objcctives (lfthe initial, e~pcTimcn!al 'e-introduction in Mahaut were: (I) restoration of Ihe ().;Irich populat ion in Saudi Arabia: (2) captive-breed,n!! of S. c. came/us: (3) u§cssmcnl whether captive-born Ostriches can survive and successfully reproduce in the area w;llIoul supplemental food and water: (4) and. if so, 10 begin nlablishing a free-mnging. sdf sustaining population; (5) monitoring pauems of daily movement and the 1Iorne-r.rngc of released Oslriches; (6) determination of 1m: age a1 whkh ",leased birds bo:come irw;kpendelll of provisioned food and water; (7) identification of lcchniqucs for handling and releasing this speo;ies into !he ",ild; and (8) assessment of the species' diet
Main stages of re-introductioll The introduction ofOslrichcs into the Mahazal as-Sayd Protccted Area began in June 1994. when seven birds were released. four-and·a·half years (since ] 990) aller having bttn trans ]ocated from the NWRC to the In-release enclosure in Mahalal as-Sayd (Fig. 2). Three: of these birds died "'ithin one year. T,,·o Ostriches translocated to Mahazat as-Sayd in May ] 99S were re]eased two months ]ater and died during the following year. Of the four birds translocated in Ju]y ]99S and released in December ]996. twO died in the summer of ]997. Three of the four Ostriches which were translocated in June 1996 and released in December ]996 died during the ]997 dry season. Over half (S8.8%) of captive-bred adults released ~ince 1994 have thus died aller being released. irrespective of the duration of the pre-release period. Between 1997 and 2001. more birds were tran~located from NWRC to Maha7.at as Sayd. compensating for deaths rdated to an outbreak ofNewcast\e Disease in the flock. and bringing the total flock siu to 20 (12.8) birds (NWRC 2001). From 1994 to 2001. a IOtaI of 96 Rcd-nedcd Ostriches has bcoen released into the Mahala\ as-Sayd Protected Area. Bttausc ortlle inability ofOsuid.. :s to survive al Maha7.at as-Sayd during the summer of 1995. tbe release project wu stopped in 1996 until beller forage conditions were a,·ailable. I • I • • • ! .. •
• I I II I I ------
Surv;I'ors we"" ",-captured and kept in lhe pre-release coclosure. [n 1999 birds were again r<:lcascd ;1110 the protected arca and finally, after 200 1. the rc_introduction of Ostriches was slopped as the prole<:tcd area had a self-sustainable number. The current number of Ostriches in M aha~l as-Sayd is roughly estimated 10 be between 125 and 150 birds using vehicle 1r.Itl!tCets (ISL'lM 20(6). 1l is essential that some of these birds arc capturW and marked again. as Ihis will faci litate both the monitoring of the birds and the cslimlu ion orllle population Si7-C (lSMIIIL 2005).
Breed ing succc's5 In 1994, during [~ fim four months following the release of the first group. the behaviour orllle birds "'as rclalil'dy unifonn. They associated in a cohesive group. and uhibiled only minor, oo::casiQRaI agonistic behaviour. However. the social behaviour changed in the second week of Oclober: lhe Ihree adult males urne into bn.:<.:ding plumage and appeared 10 have eSlablished lerrilories al various localions. After an irwubation period of 42-45 da~s. the first eggs hatched in 1997 in M~ha ~a1 as Sn~d. and onl~ IWO of Ihe 12 chicks had died by the end of the summer (HAQUE 1997. GUt . NAItI) 1997). Thc eight sur.'iving chicks joined the other four and their parents, fonning a single group soon after halching. Two more chicks hatched. but they died soon after hatch ing. Sevcn cgss wcre feMile and onc "'as infcMilc (HAQUE 1997). The hatching of wi ld chicks in Mahant as-Sayd is an undeniablc success. The su ..... i"al ofmost ofthc chicks (on!y t,,·o of t~ twelvc chicks died). compared "'ilh lhal or,duhs. appears 10 suJ'POl1 t~ hypothe sis that wild-hatched chicks arc bc1ter adapted to nalural conditions than upli"e-brro adullS (SIIEPII(ROSON 1994), ~ially in IcrrtIS of their foraging ability. In 2001. five roests within the 200 Ita pre-rclcuc coclosuR! were found in lhe reser.·e. Be tween No,'ember WOO and Fcbruary 2001. the progress of the incubation and halching c"ems was rcrordcd. f rom lhe first neSl, 10 eggs incubated with 40% of crude hatchability and a 25% $u ..... i"31 r'Jtc at one month old: from the second nest. 12 eggs incubated with 7~ % Table I. Frequency of vllriOllS planlS in the diet of OslTkhc1 f«ding on natural v~gC\.Otion (N - 145) . • S...... I.,. Puoutalt I ,,,,I/go!rro ,pi"""" H.2 F"I(OtI/a Indka 22.0 Tribal", morroxpl""" 16.S !o~io It,,_ 6.9 MOrfltiopan'if/ora 3.S if.,...,.;" Sf>p. 5.S Trim"","" srp. 5.S Citrullus co/ocf'lIhu 7.5 Pun/rum "'rgith,m 4.1 StII' R a nge of O striches During 1997.3 few bird. that remained in two groups were tagged and the average range of the birds was approximately 363 km' (HAQUE 1997). There was a significant variation in mnge size in different seasons: from 97 km' (S0-46.1) during cool wet conditions (Febru ary-Mny) to 563 km' in the cool dry season (October-December). Mail'S and females showed differences in their ranges in different seasons. Malcs had compal1llive1y smaller home: rangcs than did femaks. except in the wet «JOI $Cason when the horne range of the females " 'as 62 km' whereas thaI of Ihc males was 109 knI'. This differ o:nce can be partly explaincd by the fa.c1 that only one female was present in the rt'Sef\ I • • I, • I • • • I • •------•------Fi". 3. Number ofo.(~che> ,h.1 di«ldurillJllht '11""""'''''''''1'1$ ill Mohv.a'• u-S.yd Protec",d A~., Food and feroing habits Direcl observations ",ilh the hdp or binoculars and a spouing scope ""ere made 10 ~n!;fy the pl.nlS on ","hich birds "'"ere feeding. Altogether 145 feeding obse ...alion "'ere made (Ta ble I). Among the food plants identified. lhe ITI()SI f~ucmly consumed "'TIl: Im/igo/era spint).J", Fagon! .. indica and T,ib,llus mocropleros. which constituted &4% of the food plants catcn by Ostriches. The remaining 16 ~. consisted also of vegetable matter. Ostriches were also seen oonswning bones and small pebbles on a few occasions. and on IWO occasions lhey wert seen feeding on faeces dropped by anottler Ostrich. Morialily Until 2001. introductions "'"en' carried 00\ 10 determine whether Ostri<.:hn OOlIld wrvi\"C in the reseTve without supplementary food and waler. The results irMIicalc Ihal capcive-bred aduh individuals have difficulty surviving during tile SUI1UTlCT. e,'en with food provickd. bttaus.c: of the absence ofw3ter (six of tile 1hir1een aduhs died in 1997) (Fig. 3). In 2005 mQre than 50 individuals died during a drought period. In 2006 and 2007 three birds were found dead. "'hilst most of the Ostrich flocks with chi,ks gathered in the vicinity of the Mammal Camp at the boundary of the Reser.e, In 2006. water "'as provided from 29 June to 15 July, and 8T01lnd 2S Ostriches managed to drink, but others did OOt drink. espe" cially chicks, as tliey "'ere fri&htened by the presence of tile ~hers and of1he 0ryJc that "'CfC coming 10 drink from Ihe Ostrichc$' "'liter conuincr. Since tile reintroduction pro gl'1lmITlC' SIartW, a total of 140 Red-necked ClsIriches ""ere found dead during dTOllght-like situations over the period of 13 years. Mahaut as-Sayd is fenced, which prevents the migration of Ostriches to more favourable sites. Some release methods therefore need to be changed to reduce this high adult mona\ity_ Manage ment The main qUCSlion that should be addressed is: "Should introduced ostriches be provickd with food and water, and if so, what should tile provisioning strategy be'.'" Released ostriches should be supponed during tile dry KaSOll bttausc of the limitations on their movements imposed by the fence, and also bttausc then: arc tOO few Red-necked Ostriches a"ailablc for introduction to pennit brgc 10SKs of these birds. Ayt' " .+, . • • •• .-- • • • • , •. ~ • • $~- • 1·"'·'.. ' .. • ....• ..• ,,; ·--. ~~ Fig_ 4 . Mortolity ofo.'richc, in Mahazal .,·Sayd Pro1cc1Cd Art. in 2006. /'lOlc Ib., death, occum:d mainly 0lon8 lhe fcnct,h., prc,-cnlllhe migralion of Ostriches 10"""" f"'",,robl. ,it . .. In July 2005 and 2006, water was provided for the Ostriches ncar the pre-release enclo sures in the Mahaut as-Sayd Protected Area. Despite this management regime, 53 OSlrich carcasses werc recorded during 2005 and 2006. wilh 96% oflhe dead birds being chicks that had halchL'<.l al the beginning of the year. The 51 dead chicks represenl 55% of all the chicks lhat were found al Ihe time of hatching. However, it is believed Ihat a significantly higher proportion of the chicks actually died during 2005 and 2006. II is essemial lhat all allempl is made efTe<:tivcly to monitor lhe Oslrich popululion in the Mahazat as-Sayd Prote<:led Area_ This could best be done by filtillg radio-lr,Jflsmilk..-s 10 15-20 birds and marking an addi lional 10-20 birds wilh numbered leg rings. Discussion In any introduclioll programme. Ihe firsl Slep is 10 find release sites with favourable e<:ologi cal parameters for Ihe introduced species. to promote survival of the animals alld allow popu latiol1s to grow with minimum humall support and illtervenlion. Introduction or reintroduc tion sites should be in areas where the species used to live before its extinction (WOLF et 31. 1987. IUCNISSC 1995). Over-grazing in milch of Saudi Arabia has resulted in a lack offood resources for wild animals. The important factors influencing sp'-'Cies survival in arid Zoology in the Middle Ust 44. 2008 Fig. S. Female Red-occked Ostrich with Y'>ung in M.la.,.t ..-Sa)'" Ptot""ted Are. (C NWROl). KtFLEj. areas are water and food. the ability of species to find reSQurces and the availability of these resources. The fence enclosing Mahazat as-Sayd prote<:ts vegetation from over-grazing and the fauna from disturbance and hunting, but it also prcvents animals sueh as the Ostrich from searching for water sources outside the reserve. Moreover, the Ostrich has apparently never occurred in historkal times within about 200-300 km of the Mahazat as-Sayd Prote<:ted Area: perhaps the habitat is not suitable for them. or Ihere are some other unknown reasons (JENNINGS pers. comm 2008). It has been shown in a variety of species that introduced eaptivc-bred animals need to learn survival skills. such as foraging slrntegies. before being relcaS<...-:I (Ilox 1991, CiUVERS 1991. CARBVN et aL 1994_ SItF.PItEROSO~ 1994). This also seems to be tT\le for Ostriches in Mahazat as-Sa yd. as wild-hatched chicks survived the dry season better than captive-bred animals. The best solution for Ostriches appears to be to hold them for a long time (two years minimum) in a large pre-release pen (200 ha in Maha7-3t as-Sayd), where they have access to all the plant specics of the protected area. By reducing supplementary food (al falfa). birds can be encoumgc..-:l to feed on the natural wgctation. After their relea!;C, Ihe ostriches will havc to cope with reduced food availability. and no water during the long dry season. Captive-bred and wild-born adults and young Ostriches died of starvation and thirst. despite being provisioned with alfalfa and water in several years. It is necessary to modclthe population demography of Mahazat as-Sayd to detennine Ihe critical number of animals we need to introduce in the future and 10 know the threshold number of introduced ostriches necessary for the establishment of a viable population (FYFE 1977. FOOSE 1991.IUCN/SSC 1995. WOLF ct aL 1996). KLEIMAN et al. (1986) and IUCN/SSC (1995) stress that without detailed monitoring of the behaviour and the productivity of released animals. the success of an introouction cannm be properly a!;Ccrtain~' i\< ~n o " ' lctlg. m ' nt ' . We "M' 10 n.cnd ' •• IT 'hank' aOO gra'i'ude to IlH Prin References ANONYMOUS (1992): Draft guidelines for ",-in'roductions. - Reintroduction New. 4: 2- 3. Box. H. 0, (1991): Training for life afier rei,.",: primales as example. In: J II. W. GI?I'S (t:d.). Be yond capi;,'e bre<:ding, Re-;n,rod""ing Endange,,-'c Wild. - Zoological Society of London Symposia 62: 111-123. New York. BROWN L. 11 .. E. K, URDA~ & K. NEWMAN (1983): The birds of Africa. Volume I. - London. S21pp, CARlini. L. N .. H. J. ARMDRUST~R & c. MAMO (1994): The .,,·ift fox ",.inlroduction program in Canada from 1983 to 1992, In: M. L. BOWLES & C. J. Wl lElAN (Eds). Rrstoration of endan~ercd species. C(lncq>tUAI issues. planning and implementation, p, 24 1- 271. Cambridge, CIlIVERS. D. J. (1991): Guideline for re_introduction proccdu,""s and problems. In: J. H. 11'. GIPI'S (Ed.). Jkyond cap'i'·. breeding, Rc·int,oducing endangered mammals to the wild, - Zoological $0. ciely of lAndon Symposia 62: 89-99. New York CRAMP. S, & K, SI .'t~IONS (1977): The birds of the Western Palcarctic. Vol, 1. - Oxford. 722 pp. DH HOYO. J. A. lOl.lI0IT & J. SAROATAl (Eds) (1992): Handbook oft"" birds. of the world. Vol. 1. Bareelona. FOOSE. T. J. (1991): Viable pOpulation s,ra'cgies for rc·introduction programm .. , In : J. H. W. GIPI'S (Ed,). Jkyond capti"e breeding, Re.introducing endangered mammals to the " 'ild, - Zoologic.1 So ciety of lAnd on Symposia 62: 165- 172. New Yott, FYFE. R.W. (1977): Rc_introduction. cndange.-.:d birds 10 'he wild A ro\'iew In S A. T~MPlE (Ed.). Endangered birds, Management techniques for pre ..T\·ing threatened species. p. 323-329. London, GUINARO. E, (1991): Red'necked ollrich S;nilhio come/us comc/'JS programme in Mahaza, as·Sa)·d and al_Khunfah prolected are ... - NWRC Annual Report 1997. p. 197-206 HAOUE. M, N. (1997): Reintroduction of red-nccked os,rich SIn/fMo came/liS come/us in Mahazat as Sayd, - Unpublished re""n. NCWCD. R.iyadh. 40 pr. ISLAM. M. Z. (2006) Ecological studies of Red·necked ostrich StYli/hio come/us c"melus in Mahazat as Sayd Pro,ceted Arca. _ NWR.C Annual R<:pOn ISLAM, M, Z .. M . S. SIIAII.M, p, BASIIEf.R.H. SU8AI & M. SII08RAK (2(07): Houbara buSiard re_ introduction in the Kingdom ofS.udi Arabia. _ Re-introduction News (lUCN) 26: 21 - 23, Zoology in the: Middle East 44, 2008 IS.'1AtL. K. (2005): Ostrich monitoring a! Mahazat as-Sayd Protectoo Arca. - NW~C Ann",,1 report. P 81-82. IS).tAtL. K. & S. OSTROWSKt (2003): Ostrich monitoring at MahazataS_Sayd !'rotect<:<.! Area. _ NWRC Annual R"PO" IUCNrsSC RSG (1995): Guidelin Autho... ' add ..." 1>\, lofar_ul Islam. Khairi Ismail and Ahmed Boog. National Wildlife Research CenttT. P.O, So, IOS6. Taif. Saudi Arabia. - Email: zafar@nwrc· ...org,