Brevard Zoo Conservation Report 2016 | Page 9

Family stays together

nuts used for training
Brevard Zoo oversees the translocation ( capture , transport and release ) of scrub-jays from marginal habitats to restored and managed public lands . Because these birds work together to guard their territory and help raise young , it is imperative that we translocate all family members together .
Before translocation , we spend several months training the birds to be safely captured and transported together in a small enclosure . Each scrub-jay is outfitted with a unique series of colored bands that help Zoo staff and wildlife managers identify individuals after release .
With fewer than 6,000 of these birds remaining , successful translocations are crucial to the species ’ survival .
research partnerships
active monitoring system

13 42 79 % 7 family units saved through translocation since 2007 individual birds within those families of birds remained at the new site after one year known young fledged from translocated families moving as a family unit 8