Movement patterns and habitat use of soft-released translocated spur-thighed tortoises, Testudo graeca

Wildlife translocations, the deliberate movement of animals from one part of their distribution to another, are increasingly used as a conservation method for the reestablishment of rare and endangered species. The objective of this study was to examine the movement patterns and macro- and microhabitat use of translocated and resident spur-thighed tortoises. This translocation was considered a soft-release as the tortoises were forced to be relatively inactive due to their being released at the beginning of the aestivation season. Our results suggest that forced aestivation soft-releases may succeed in reducing dispersal by forcing spur-thighed tortoises to spend time at the release site as the majority of translocated tortoises had similar activity range sizes and movement path tortuosity as resident tortoises. Spur-thighed tortoise conservation will require protecting habitat at multiple scales, with the remaining native forests in the country of Jordan being important to the spur-thighed tortoise during the activity and aestivation/hibernation seasons, as this macrohabitat was used significantly more than the human-modified habitats. Microhabitat structures such as leaf litter and availability of large stones may also be especially important in human-modified landscapes, as these microhabitats may help reduce the effects of habitat degradation.