Release Strategy
A key mission of HRH Prince Sultan International Foundation for the Conservation & Development of Wildlife is the release into the wild of the Houbara Bustard. The first release took place in Errachidia in the summer of 97 under the sponsorship of HRH Prince Faisal bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and attended by a high level of officials and dignitaries from Morocco and other countries.
To implement such a policy and to support its release into the wild the Houbara Bustard, new facilities were built in the Errachidia, including among others, holding pens, research and monitoring facilities, equipped with the latest technologies.
For over two years (97-99) the Foundation hired Dr. Lubimor Pesk an international expert to lead the team in monitoring and following the movement of the Houbara Bustard and to validate the success of the release program. Utilizing both land and satellite monitoring of the movement of the birds, several studies were published confirming not only the survivability of the Houbara in the wild, but its ability to travel some distances (i.e. from and to Algeria ) and its ability to cohabitate with the wild flocks.
Working with Local Tribesmen
A key factor in the success of the release program is the cooperation and understanding with local tribesmen, who keeps watchful eyes on wild houbara and protect the nests from predators. The Foundation for the last several years has implemented a “nest protection program” that has proved to be very successful and continues to involve local tribesmen as partners in its release program.
Why are Field Studies Important?
Field Studies are an important element of the work of the Foundation. For the Houbara, ecological studies were carried out concerning habitat type, habitat use, invertebrate and plant utilisation, telemetry work using satellite and radio tags, and breeding biology of the species. Surveys to assess the status of the Great bustard in Morocco were carried out from 1998 to 2002. Studies in captivity and in the field are complementary and their combination is necessary for the success of the long-term goals of the Foundation.
