Re-introduction of the Ural owl into the Austrian Alps

Summary

The Ural owl (Strix uralensis), extinct as a breeding species in the Austrian Alps since the mid-20th century due to shooting and loss of large tree cavities under modern forestry, was targeted for reintroduction by Vienna's Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology following a 2006 European workshop and action plan, after an earlier unadvised 2001 attempt in Oberosterreich failed. Since 2007 the project built public support specifically among hunters and foresters to avoid repeating the persecution that caused the original extinction, while installing over 120 nest boxes in two protected areas, the Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve core zone and the Durrenstein Wilderness Area, selected through habitat suitability modeling. Fifty captive-bred juvenile owls, genetically matched as closely as possible to the extinct Alpine population through a coordinated European breeding network, were released between 2009 and 2010, with 36 more in 2011; juveniles were separated from parents around 75 days old, held in forest aviaries for three more weeks to develop hunting skills on live prey, and never hand-fed to avoid imprinting. By the second breeding season after release, one pair successfully fledged a chick from a nest box in the Wienerwald, and two to three more pairs had settled and established territories, monitored through microchip rings, radio telemetry, and bioacoustic surveys. Major difficulties included a poor 2010-2011 seed year reducing small-mammal prey, and the high cost of tracking dispersing juveniles. The project rates itself Successful, citing strong post-release survival of released birds through harsh winters.