SummaryReintroduction to, or reinforcement of, threatened wild populations are commonly used conservation strategies. Reintroductions of the Southern Ground-hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri have been tested as a potential conservation tool for this vulnerable species since 1995. Forty-two individuals have been reintroduced under varying management strategies. We analysed the outcomes of these attempts to assess which factors contributed most to success or failure. The species exhibits complex social learning and hierarchy, and is long-lived, with delayed sexual maturity. Immediate survival was significantly affected by the season in which the release was done and by the quality of the released birds. The best-quality release birds were reared with wild behavioural characteristics and were well-socialised to captive conspecifics prior to being placed into managed groups (‘bush schools’), where social learning was led by an experienced, wild alpha male. Once reintroduced birds had survived their first year after release, continued wild experience and wild mentorship significantly affected their survival. Since sample sizes limited the rigour of some statistical analyses, other factors were considered that may also determine success. These quasi-experimental reintroductions revealed novel threats to the species, such as the importance of a nest to group cohesion, that harvested second-hatched chicks provide viable release birds, which essentially doubles wild productivity, and that reintroductions generate valuable civil society awareness of the plight of the species.

中文翻译：

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长寿命、合作繁殖南方地犀鸟试验再引入的回顾

摘要重新引入或加强受威胁的野生种群是常用的保护策略。南方地犀鸟的重新引入鸬鹚自 1995 年以来，它已被测试为这种脆弱物种的潜在保护工具。根据不同的管理策略，已经重新引入了 42 只个体。我们分析了这些尝试的结果，以评估哪些因素对成功或失败的贡献最大。该物种表现出复杂的社会学习和等级制度，寿命长，性成熟延迟。即刻成活受到放归季节和放归鸟类质量的显着影响。最优质的放归鸟饲养具有野生行为特征，并在被放入管理组（“丛林学校”）之前与圈养同种进行了良好的社会化，其中社会学习由经验丰富的野生阿尔法雄性领导。一旦重新引入的鸟类在释放后的第一年存活下来，持续的野外经验和野外指导极大地影响了他们的生存。由于样本量限制了某些统计分析的严谨性，因此考虑了其他可能决定成功的因素。这些准实验性的重新引入揭示了对该物种的新威胁，例如巢穴对群体凝聚力的重要性，收获的第二次孵化的小鸡提供了可行的释放鸟类，这基本上使野生生产力翻了一番，并且重新引入产生了宝贵的公民社会意识物种的困境。