Recent developments in the breeding center Cantabrian caper chickenIt is located within the Valsemana farm in the Leonese municipality of La Ercina. let us imagine the long-awaited goal of achieving captive breeding of this iconic species that lives in the forests of the northwest peninsula.
It is one of the endangered birds in the Iberian Peninsula and its current condition is critical. census barely exceeds 200 copies wild, all are found In León with almost 80 percent and in Asturias.
“Steps are being taken to achieve the goal, but we must be extremely careful and insist on the effort made in applied research into breeding caper chicken, which we understand is a priority,” the department chair said. Efe. Junta de Castilla y León Natural Areas, Flora and Fauna Service, by David Cubero.
This expert confirms that the fragile state of this iconic genre does not help in any way. The existing imbalance between males and females, with a considerable majority, which makes reproduction extremely difficult in its natural environment, a large region in southwestern Asturias that includes the Alto Sil region in Leon and the councils of Cangas del Narcea and Degaña, among others.
In 2018, Cubero announced that the work plan, which is currently structured in two basic lines, has begun to be prepared. The first is experimental in nature for the fine-tuning of all health, management and reproductive protocols, with special emphasis on reproduction and everything related to germplasm preservation by artificial insemination and incubation.
These tests are carried out with non-reproductive samples originating in Central Europe.but its results will be applicable to this ultimate goal.
first wild clutches
These lines of business resulted in the first wild clutches and twelve eggs were obtained, out of which ten spawned. The center now has the number of almost one-year-old chickens to begin building the breeding stock.
The claws of these eggs were wild, and what was done at the Breeding Center was to make them easier to live, because the early days of these birds are very complex in terms of survival and even more difficult once the chicks are past three months.
“We finished the incubation at the Breeding Center. and then we work with these examples so that they successfully get through the first three months of life, both on the food and health level, and the success for now is that they survived the first year of business. practically 90 percent chicken,” explained this expert.
And as with any breeding program, he added: It is necessary to build a breeding stock and the only option is for it to come from wild fauna populations.
To identify the aforementioned stock, work is being done across Spain to compare the affinity between the Cantabrian and Pyrenean specimens and it has been confirmed that they form parts of the same evolutionary unit.
this is not the case Central European specimens belonging to a different evolutionary unit, and its transfer to León was to try to fine-tune all the protocols that should be applied to the target species (Cantabrian).
“Their arrival in León allowed us to start working with other specimens whose evolutionary integrity is not so threatened, and we were able to apply all the knowledge we had gained to the Cantabrian spice, and specifically to the first chicks born at the Breeding Centre. It is what they are called to breed in captivity,” he adds.
And he points out: “These chickens must be the Center’s breeders, and the habit methodology applied to them is different from those that would be reintroduced into the wild.”
So, Breeding samples should be conveyed to Correctional Center personnel so that they do not get stressed. something that cannot happen in the administration with those who will be reintroduced into their habitats to ensure their survival.
survival challenges
Regarding the difficulties of surviving this species in the natural environment, the expert stated the following: It should not be forgotten that the caper chicken is a wild chicken and a prey species that is exposed to numerous dangers in its environment.
An alternative being considered is control of mesocarnivores that prey on this species in their habitats, such as ungulates in burrows in search of eggs, but experts feel that although this is the biggest threat, the conservation strategy should go in several directions. like fixing the gaps.
Regarding the presence of more males than females, Cubero pointed out that this may be due to their larger size than before, which makes the females more vulnerable to their predators, particularly marten and foxes. genetic problems should be added to the hypothesis.
Cubero pointed out that a greater balance of sex would favor grouse conservation, such as the brown bear, which cites another Cantabrian Mountains landmark species, whose recovery “comes from an increase in the number of she-bears”.
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