Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares

The fragility of many populations of brown hares in Western Europe is a concern for managers, hunters and naturalists. We took advantage of a locally high density population to use wild individuals to restock areas where the species had disappeared or was close to disappearing. The aim of the projec...

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Main Authors: Fischer, C., Tagand, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona 2012-01-01
Series:Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
Subjects:
Online Access:http://abc.museucienciesjournals.cat/files/ABC_35-2_pp_189-196.pdf
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author Fischer, C.
Tagand, R.
author_facet Fischer, C.
Tagand, R.
author_sort Fischer, C.
collection DOAJ
description The fragility of many populations of brown hares in Western Europe is a concern for managers, hunters and naturalists. We took advantage of a locally high density population to use wild individuals to restock areas where the species had disappeared or was close to disappearing. The aim of the project was to assess the evolution of the spatial behaviour after release using radio–tracking. Over 150 wild brown hares were translocated, one third of which were fitted with radio collars. In addition, fifteen individuals were radio–tagged and released back into the source population as a control. Most individuals settled in less than two months and their seasonal home range, once settled, was similar to that observed in the source population. Mean duration of tracking was not significantly different between the two groups. Moreover, two years after the last translocation, tagged individuals can still be observed, but most hares present are not tagged, which indicates natural reproduction of the released individuals. The translocation of wild individuals thus appears to give encouraging results.
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spelling doaj.art-69afbd230b7d40bda646ac96ce486c182022-12-21T19:17:27ZengMuseu de Ciències Naturals de BarcelonaAnimal Biodiversity and Conservation1578-665X2012-01-01352189196Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown haresFischer, C.Tagand, R.The fragility of many populations of brown hares in Western Europe is a concern for managers, hunters and naturalists. We took advantage of a locally high density population to use wild individuals to restock areas where the species had disappeared or was close to disappearing. The aim of the project was to assess the evolution of the spatial behaviour after release using radio–tracking. Over 150 wild brown hares were translocated, one third of which were fitted with radio collars. In addition, fifteen individuals were radio–tagged and released back into the source population as a control. Most individuals settled in less than two months and their seasonal home range, once settled, was similar to that observed in the source population. Mean duration of tracking was not significantly different between the two groups. Moreover, two years after the last translocation, tagged individuals can still be observed, but most hares present are not tagged, which indicates natural reproduction of the released individuals. The translocation of wild individuals thus appears to give encouraging results.http://abc.museucienciesjournals.cat/files/ABC_35-2_pp_189-196.pdfBrown hareLepus europaeusTranslocationHome rangeSurvivalMonitoring
spellingShingle Fischer, C.
Tagand, R.
Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
Brown hare
Lepus europaeus
Translocation
Home range
Survival
Monitoring
title Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
title_full Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
title_fullStr Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
title_full_unstemmed Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
title_short Spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
title_sort spatial behaviour and survival of translocated wild brown hares
topic Brown hare
Lepus europaeus
Translocation
Home range
Survival
Monitoring
url http://abc.museucienciesjournals.cat/files/ABC_35-2_pp_189-196.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT fischerc spatialbehaviourandsurvivaloftranslocatedwildbrownhares
AT tagandr spatialbehaviourandsurvivaloftranslocatedwildbrownhares