EXPERIMENT ON CREATIING WEST SIBERIAN GROUSE RESERVE POPULATION <i>(FALCIPENNIS FALCIPENNIS)</i>
Siberian Grouse (Falcipennis Falcipennis, Hartlaub, 1855) is an endemic species of Russia, a rare species included in the Red Data Book of Russia and Red List of IUCN. Catastrophic decrease in its population is observed everywhere. As a means to protect its population the authors suggest developing technology of breeding these birds in open-air cages, forming an open-air population in a new area. The study of Siberian Grouse was carried out at Karasuk permanent base of Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals of SB RAS of the jointly with the Novosibirsk Zoo for many years. Methods of keeping, feeding and breeding this species were developed. Two ways of growing fledglings were used: under a female and in brooders. Both technological (mixed fodder, grain mixture and forage additives) and natural feed (larch and spruce needles, berries, greenery and, sometimes, live arthropods) were fed. Natural feed in the ration was a must as a part of the population was intended to be reintroduced into the wild. Taiga forests of Maslyaninsky region of Novosibirskaya oblast were chosen as a new area. Larch and spruce growing there, as well as berries, were a staple diet for the birds. All birds were ringed before release. The birds were taken to the place of reintroduction in a truck at night time and were released in the morning. The area chosen was 12 km away from Maslyanino settlement. The total number of the reintroduced birds was 170 at the age from 3 months to 3 years old. The main part of them was reintroduced in April before the beginning of breeding and the rest of them were released in the beginning of September. Monitoring of their state was done by hunting inspectors, ecological inspectors and local volunteers. The birds were met mostly in autumn both soon after the introductions (several days to several weeks), and several months after them as a rule those were single individuals or couples met on taiga earth roads or on sides of asphalt roads not farther than 30km away from the place of reintroduction, and only once at a distance of 90km. A hunter came across a female bird with its brood of 6 fledglings in June 2008 at a distance of 20km away from the place of reintroduction. The results of forming a reserve population of Siberian Grouse demonstrated that birds grown in open cages survived in new situations during one life cycle. An encounter of a Siberian Grouse brood provided evidence that the process of forming a new population seemed to proceed to the next stage - reproduction of reintroduced individuals.