Dispersal and Survival of Three Captive-bred Great Horned Owls Bubo virginianus in Southeastern Minnesota

摘要

Captive-bred owls reared by adults of their own species with minimal human contact develop a natural fear of humans and can be successfully released to the wild after training on live prey in a flight pen (McKeever 1987). Captive-bred Eurasian Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo) and Eurasian Pygmy-Owls (Glaucidium passerinum) have even been used to successfully reintroduce viable populations of their species into the wild in Germany (Radler and Bergerhausen 1988; K?nig 1998).