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Captive Breeding: PCR Services Corp. 1 Venture Suite 150, Irvine, CA 92692 U.S.A

The document discusses the history of captive breeding of birds of prey, noting that while some species had been bred in captivity as early as the 1950s, it was not until efforts to save declining populations of species like the Peregrine Falcon in the 1960s that organized captive breeding programs were established at institutions across North America and Europe. These programs helped researchers gain understanding of raptor breeding behavior and management, and by 1985 over 80 species of raptors had been successfully bred in captivity. Captive breeding has since proven critical to the recovery of at least 13 declining species, including large raptors and vultures.

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54 views1 page

Captive Breeding: PCR Services Corp. 1 Venture Suite 150, Irvine, CA 92692 U.S.A

The document discusses the history of captive breeding of birds of prey, noting that while some species had been bred in captivity as early as the 1950s, it was not until efforts to save declining populations of species like the Peregrine Falcon in the 1960s that organized captive breeding programs were established at institutions across North America and Europe. These programs helped researchers gain understanding of raptor breeding behavior and management, and by 1985 over 80 species of raptors had been successfully bred in captivity. Captive breeding has since proven critical to the recovery of at least 13 declining species, including large raptors and vultures.

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Aulia OM
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Captive Breeding 21

JOSEPH B. PLATT In the early 1960s, Willoughby and Cade (1964)


PCR Services Corp. demonstrated that it was feasible to breed American
1 Venture Suite 150, Irvine, CA 92692 U.S.A. Kestrels (F. sparverius) in large numbers for scientific
study. The Raptor Research Foundation was formed in
DAVID M. BIRD AND LINA BARDO 1966 by a group of falconers and biologists mainly
Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University focused on saving the Peregrine Falcon. Under its aegis,
21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue information and ideas were exchanged between private
Quebec, H9X 3V9 Canada breeders and institutions. In North America, govern-
ment and institutional programs were begun; the largest
included The Peregrine Fund at Cornell University, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s program at Patuxent,
Maryland, the Canadian Wildlife Service’s facility in
INTRODUCTION Wainwright, Alberta, the Saskatchewan Co-operative
Falcon Project at the University of Saskatchewan, and
Birds of prey have been held in captivity for thousands the Macdonald Raptor Research Centre at McGill Uni-
of years by many cultures. However, it was not until the versity. At the same time Europe saw the creation of the
20th century that they were bred in captivity and manip- Hawk Trust in the United Kingdom, and various falcon-
ulated in the manner of domestic species. In his review ry groups in Germany to promote breeding of large rap-
of breeding records of aviculturists, zoos, and falconers, tors for falconry and conservation.
Cade (1986) found reports of 15 species that had bred in Within 10 years significant progress had been made
captivity by the 1950s, and 22 by 1965. None of these in understanding the behavior and management of
occurrences was part of an organized or sustained pro- breeding pairs as well as the art of incubation and the
gram. care of young. Survey articles by Cade (1986, 2000)
It was the idea of saving a diminishing species that documented that hundreds of large falcons were being
provided the catalyst to bring together the people and produced each year and at least 83 raptor species had
resources needed to overcome the challenges of consis- been bred by 1985.
tently breeding these highly aggressive birds. Peregrine The successes have continued. Captive breeding
Falcons (Falco peregrinus) were disappearing from and the related manipulation of wild-produced eggs
breeding sites in North America and Europe because of have proved critical in the re-establishment of at least
the contamination of their prey by DDT (Ratcliffe 13 species. These include the California Condor
1980). Western nations were committed to clean up the (Gymnogyps californianus), Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
food chain, but would declining species such as Pere- in Britain, Bald Eagle, White-tailed Eagle (H. albicilla)
grine Falcons, Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) and Bald in Scotland, Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus),
Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) recover? Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Harris’s Hawk (Parabu-

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