Following the continual decline of the Cape vulture Gyps coprotheres since the 1960s, captive breeding and rehabilitation programmes have been established to reinforce populations across southern Africa. This study examines the spatial ecology of captive-bred and rehabilitated vultures following release. Our analysis used 253,671 GPS fixes from 20 captive-bred and 13 rehabilitated birds to calculate home range sizes using kernel density estimation. We found that home range size did not differ significantly between captive-bred and rehabilitated birds. The location of home ranges differed: captive-bred birds showed greater site fidelity, remaining close to their release site, whereas rehabilitated birds dispersed more widely across the species' native range. By remaining close to their release site within a protected area, captive-bred birds had a significantly higher per cent of their GPS fixes within protected areas than did rehabilitated birds. Despite fidelity to their release site, captive-bred birds demonstrated innate capabilities for natural foraging behaviours and the same habitat selection strategy as rehabilitated individuals. These findings suggest that captive breeding and reinforcement of populations at declining colonies could provide localized benefits. Future long-term studies should seek to analyse survivorship and identify the breeding behaviour of these captive-bred birds once they reach sexual maturity.

中文翻译：

---

南部非洲圈养和复垦的秃鹫 Gyps coprothers 的家园范围和栖息地选择

随着开普秃鹫的持续衰落Gyps coprotheres自 1960 年代以来，已经建立了圈养繁殖和康复计划，以加强整个南部非洲的种群。本研究考察了释放后圈养和康复秃鹰的空间生态学。我们的分析使用了来自 20 只圈养鸟类和 13 只康复鸟类的 253,671 个 GPS 定位，以使用核密度估计计算家园范围大小。我们发现圈养和康复的鸟类之间的家庭范围大小没有显着差异。栖息地的位置不同：人工繁育的鸟类表现出更高的地点保真度，保持在离它们的释放地点很近的位置，而经过修复的鸟类则更广泛地分布在该物种的原生范围内。通过靠近保护区内的释放地点，圈养鸟类在保护区内的 GPS 定位率明显高于恢复后的鸟类。尽管忠实于它们的释放地点，圈养繁殖的鸟类表现出与生俱来的自然觅食行为能力和与康复个体相同的栖息地选择策略。这些研究结果表明，圈养繁殖和加强衰退殖民地的种群可以提供局部效益。未来的长期研究应寻求分析存活率并确定这些圈养鸟类达到性成熟后的繁殖行为。这些研究结果表明，圈养繁殖和加强衰退殖民地的种群可以提供局部效益。未来的长期研究应寻求分析存活率并确定这些圈养鸟类达到性成熟后的繁殖行为。这些研究结果表明，圈养繁殖和加强衰退殖民地的种群可以提供局部效益。未来的长期研究应寻求分析存活率并确定这些圈养鸟类达到性成熟后的繁殖行为。