First report of a hatched,hand‐reared,and released African oystercatcher |
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| Authors: | Romy Klusener Renata Hurtado Nicola Stander Nola J Parsons |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), Cape Town, South Africa;2. Institute of Research and Rehabilitation of Marine Animals (IPRAM), Espírito Santo, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | The African oystercatcher Haematopus moquini is a near‐threatened wader that is endemic to southern Africa. In the past, the species suffered a drastic decrease in nesting success due to human disturbance. We present the case report of an African oystercatcher that was hatched, hand‐reared, and released in the Western Cape, South Africa. African oystercatchers are semi‐altricial birds that tend to be highly sensitive to stress; as a result, strategies to minimize stress and the employment of surrogate parents and pre‐release acclimatization are important to ensure post‐release survival of hand‐reared chicks. Considering the lack of literature on the incubation and hand‐rearing of oystercatchers, this case report provides a basis for the development of hand‐rearing techniques that might be useful for the protection of this and other threatened wader species. |
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