The introduction of pen-reared Attwater's prairie-chickens (APC, Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) into the wild to supplement existing populations has met with marginal success. Flight characteristics, predator avoidance behavior, and rearing methods are possible factors contributing to post-release mortality of pen-reared birds. To evaluate flight characteristics and predator avoidance behavior of pen-reared APC's released onto the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, flight characteristics and predator avoidance behavior of pen-reared APC's was compared to wild greater prairie-chickens (GPC, T. c. pinnatus) in Minnesota and Kansas using a radar gun and a trained dog. There was no difference (P = 0.134) in flight speed for pen-reared APC and wild GPC. However, wild GPC had greater (P < 0.001) flight distances than did pen-reared APC. Wild GPC and pen-reared APC that had survived in the wild for at least a year flushed at a greater (P < 0.001) distance from an approaching human than did pen-reared APC that had been released for less than 3 months. A trained dog was able to approach closer (P < 0.001) to APC than GPC before birds flushed, and APC did not fly as far as GPC after being flushed by the dog. Pen-reared APC displayed flight endurance deficiencies and were more approachable by humans and a dog before they flushed when compared to wild GPC, which could explain their increased mortality when released into the wild. To determine if APC chicks could be reared without daily human contact, pelleted food, and water in founts, a greenhouse was used to rear chicks in a semi-natural environment. Planted vegetation and commercial insects provided hiding cover and a food source for the APC chicks. An underground heat source provided chick warmth, and water misters and a sprinkler system simulated dew (a water source for chicks) and rain. The greenhouse provided chicks protection from predators and adverse weather conditions (before they could thermo-regulate) while exposing chicks to natural sunlight, day length, and temperature fluctuations. This technique allowed chicks to be reared in a semi-natural environment which reinforced their natural foraging behavior for food and water, and reinforced their hiding and avoidance behaviors, creating a wilder pen-reared bird.

Once abundant in the Texas and Louisiana coastal prairie, currently the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri, APC) is close to extinction. Efforts to increase the size of the remaining populations at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (APCNWR) and the Galveston Bay Prairie Preserve (GBPP) with releases of captive-reared individuals are part of the APC captive- breeding initiative. However, after a decade of yearly releases, the populations are not reaching viable sizes. I analyzed post-release survival data of individuals released at the APCNWR from 1996 to 2005. Results suggest that age at release or date of release had little influence on survival of captive-breed APC. At two weeks post-release, survival estimates (SE) were 0.76 (0.03) for females and 0.82 (0.04) for males. Approximately 50% of the females and 33% of the males died within the first 60 days post-release. Survivorship during the breeding season showed that male survival (0.36) was higher than female survival (0.23). Survivorship from the median release date to beginning of the breeding season was 52% for males and 39% for females. Mean female survival was 155 days, while median survival was 94 days. For males, mean survival was 135 days and the median was 81 days. Results from a stochastic simulation model, which was developed based on the survival analysis of APC on the APCNWR, confirmed that releasing individuals closer to the beginning of the breeding season and sex ratio at release had little effect on population growth. Regardless of the number of individuals released annually, population sizes immediately prior to the release dates were only 11–12% of the population sizes immediately after the release dates. At current mortality rates, simulated APC populations could not sustain themselves even if reproductive parameters were increased to the maximum rates reported for APC, or to the maximum rates reported for the closely related Greater prairie chicken. Based on these results, the APC may face extinction within the next decade unless conservation efforts succeed on increasing reproductive success and greatly reducing mortality rates.

The introduction of pen-reared Attwater's prairie-chickens (APC, Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) into the wild to supplement existing populations has met with marginal success. Flight characteristics, predator avoidance behavior, and rearing methods are possible factors contributing to post-release mortality of pen-reared birds. To evaluate flight characteristics and predator avoidance behavior of pen-reared APC's released onto the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, flight characteristics and predator avoidance behavior of pen-reared APC's was compared to wild greater prairie-chickens (GPC, T. c. pinnatus) in Minnesota and Kansas using a radar gun and a trained dog. There was no difference (P = 0.134) in flight speed for pen-reared APC and wild GPC. However, wild GPC had greater (P < 0.001) flight distances than did pen-reared APC. Wild GPC and pen-reared APC that had survived in the wild for at least a year flushed at a greater (P < 0.001) distance from an approaching human than did pen-reared APC that had been released for less than 3 months. A trained dog was able to approach closer (P < 0.001) to APC than GPC before birds flushed, and APC did not fly as far as GPC after being flushed by the dog. Pen-reared APC displayed flight endurance deficiencies and were more approachable by humans and a dog before they flushed when compared to wild GPC, which could explain their increased mortality when released into the wild. To determine if APC chicks could be reared without daily human contact, pelleted food, and water in founts, a greenhouse was used to rear chicks in a semi-natural environment. Planted vegetation and commercial insects provided hiding cover and a food source for the APC chicks. An underground heat source provided chick warmth, and water misters and a sprinkler system simulated dew (a water source for chicks) and rain. The greenhouse provided chicks protection from predators and adverse weather conditions (before they could thermo-regulate) while exposing chicks to natural sunlight, day length, and temperature fluctuations. This technique allowed chicks to be reared in a semi-natural environment which reinforced their natural foraging behavior for food and water, and reinforced their hiding and avoidance behaviors, creating a wilder pen-reared bird.