North African ostrich conservation program in Morocco
In Morocco, the North African ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) population in the wild has very significantly declined since the 19th century, to the extent of entirely disappearing from the Oued Eddahab region in the second half of the 20th century. Since the nineties, a reintroduction program has made it possible to bring the North African ostrich back to its original Moroccan distribution area.
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In 1996, some thirty ostriches living in the wild in Chad were transferred to Souss-Massa National Park (PNSM) in Agadir, to enable this population to develop and thus prepare for later in situ reintroduction programs.
North African ostrich in situ reintroduction program
Between the reintroduction in PNSM and the late 2000s, the number of ostriches increased to around 150 adult individuals, making up the largest semi captive population in the Sahelo-Saharan region.
This semi-captive population has made it possible to begin translocation operations, to create breeding groups in the ostrich’s historic and potential distribution area. Currently, in addition to the one present in PNSM, four semi-captive populations are situated in the south (provinces of Essmara, Boujdour and Dakhla) and south-east (Tinghir), counting over 300 individuals. Moreover, a group of around thirty individuals was created in the south-east (province of Zagora) from 2018, to begin the release program into the wild.
In February 2023, Morocco carried out the first operation to release the North African ostrich into the wild. A group of 16 ostriches, consisting of 10 males and 6 females, was released. Three weeks after being released, the ostriches are timidly exploring their new
habitat and contenting themselves with roaming in a 4-km radius from the release site.
Artificial incubation program
The program to reintroduce the species to its historic distribution area is determined by the success of the annual breeding season, which remains linked to different endogenous factors for the species, such as the low survival rate of young ostriches in the natural habitat and the abandonment of nests, or factors linked to climatic hazards, particularly irregular and scarce rainfall.
In 2019, Morocco set up an ex situ conservation program for the North African ostrich, based on an artificial incubation protocol, to complement the natural breeding program in the reserves. This protocol falls under a partnership with the Forestry Research Centre, GIZ and Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover, and has led to good results over three breeding seasons. The hatching rate varies between 25 and 34%, which has allowed the transfer of 47 ostrich chicks to the different acclimatisation stations. The survival rate is estimated at 93% during the first weeks of life and up to 44% at over 18 months old.
The conservation program for the North African ostrich in semi-captivity in Morocco has made it possible to form significant semi-captive populations. The main challenge for the future is re-establishing viable wild populations of the North African ostrich in its historic distribution area.
Latifa Sikli
Veterinarian
FORESTRY AND WATER NATIONAL AGENCY – MOROCCO
