Headstarting
Headstarting is a conservation technique for endangered species, in which young animals are raised artificially and subsequently released into the wild. The technique allows a greater proportion of the young to reach independence, without predation or loss to other natural causes.[1][2][3][4]
For endangered birds and reptiles, eggs are collected from the wild are hatched using an incubator.[1][2] For mammals such as Hawaiian monk seals, the young are removed from their mothers after weaning.[5]
The technique was trialled on land-based mammals for the first time in Australia. In the three years prior to May 2021, young
feral cats, more than doubled over this period.[6]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-23854-1.
- ^ a b "Blanding's Turtle Headstart Reintroduction".
- ^ Perez-Buitrago, Nestor (2005), "Successful Release of Head Start Mona Island Iguanas" (PDF), Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter, 8 (1): 6, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-12
- ^ Pitches, Adrian (March 2018). "Headstarted Godwits relocate to Portugal". British Birds. 111 (3): 128–129.
- JSTOR 2385936.
- ^ Jurss-Lewis, Tobias (25 May 2021). "Hope for wallabies so endangered they were thought to be extinct". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
External links
- Toronto Zoo Blanding's Turtle Headstarting Project on YouTube
- Video of Spoon-billed sandpiper chicks at WWT Slimbridge. The Guardian, July 2012.