Re-Introduction of the Red-Necked Ostrich, Struthio Camelus Camelus

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Re-Introduction of the Red-Necked Ostrich, Struthio Camelus Camelus \ -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>$t d<>s<ly rdated ""OOpcci ••• S. c. ro"",/", OCOur_ ring in ""nh...,as'em Afric •• N. been oboson for ... introducti"" in'o Saud i Arabi •. A fow indi­ viduals of this Red·necked Ostrich " ..,," obtained from Sudan in 1988.89 from • mv",e collec_ 'i"" ••r><! in 1994 I fow birds "'ore tnI",loe",ed to M.h",.3' as·Sayd Prot<:<Ied Area into a 2S hII fenced """los""" So far 0 1",.1 of % Red·noded Ostrichc$ has been '01 ....d into the f.nccd M.­ Ita""t , •• Sayd.nd the ..,imated 1'01>",.,..", is bet",,,,," 125 and 15() individuab. Since <apli,'c fioek' of Ostricll,,, ,,= ,ransl()t:ated to Maltazat. th.ir .urvi,'.1 ",te i"""'• ....J by ~41 % up to the end of2000. On an ",'c",1!" 22-30 chick, ore h.tched ,nnually. A 'Olal of 137 Ostriches "'os re­ oorded dead oycr 'he period of 13 )".rs during ttle drought period. Both captiyc·brcd.nd ",i1d· b<>m .dults and )'OU"ll died of ".,,'ation and 'hirst. despite being provisi""ed " 'itb . If.,f. and w'_ 'er during .."'",,,1 }".rs, 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).
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