výroční zpráva 2009 ( 4,12 MB ) - Zoo Ostrava

Monitoring nests of endangered birds of prey speciesJana PluháčkováThe cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) and the bearded vulture(Gypaetus barbatus) - all these three birds of prey species are endangered in the wild and included in Europeanconservation breeding programmes (EEP) and European Studbooks (ESB). For the cinereous vulture, OstravaZoo is even one of two breeders throughout Europe that successfully produced offspring of this species over thelast year. The offspring was released into the wild in the territory of the French Alps within the reintroductionscheme coordinated by the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP). Similarly, a young birdof another species - the bearded vulture - was released from Ostrava Zoo into the wild in Europe in 2009.Although both rearing events were finished with success and without complications, the zoo personnel hadto inspect each of the nests several times, checking if everything runs smoothly. However, any such checkposes some risks - the parents may get frightened, break the egg, trample the chick or refuse to get back tothe nest.Considering this, the zoo decided to acquire a CCTV system to allow nest monitoring in the species above bythe personnel without having to disturb the birds alone. As those systems are not very cheap, an applicationfor funding was submitted to the Czech Ministry of Environment and subsequently satisfied, so the zoo couldbuy and install three cameras in 2009, one per species.Each device is placed out of reach of the birds above the nest and records every movement in theneighbourhood of the nest. All data are stored in a computer and evaluated. The systems provide keeperswith a good overview in that they can check if the birds have already laid the egg and incubate it properly orhow often they take turn in sitting on the nest; in rare cases, they can even see the young one hatch - shortly,they can check everything that could be earlier only estimated from the distance upon the birds' behaviour.Nonetheless, this is not all what CCTV systems can do for bird breeding; indeed, they enable the personnelwatching if the hatched chick is fed properly and prospers or not. If the latter is true and the parental care ispoor, the young one can be taken away in time or even hand-raised where necessary.Thanks to the systems purchased through the MoE grant, the zoo can now monitor nesting behaviour usinga non-invasive technique, which is going to have positive effects on the reproductive success in the threespecies of endangered birds of prey in Ostrava, whilst leading to ultimate sustaining and boosting ex situand in situ populations owing to the intense cooperation with other European zoos, which may representa significant contribution to conservation of those ecologically important species.53