100 chukars and 100 grey partridges released in Borjomi-Kharagauli

Two hundred birds were released into the wild in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park: 100 chukars (Alectoris chukar) and 100 grey partridges (Perdix perdix). Agency specialists released the birds. The charity foundation Cartu had donated them to Gori Municipality. According to the agency, the aim is to restore the species and strengthen their populations.

Sputnik Georgia published the report based on information from the Agency of Protected Areas. By 18 October we could not find the agency’s own publication. The article text says 200 birds, while the Russian photo caption says three hundred. This article uses the figure from the text.

According to the agency, similar events took place in the same period in the Algeti, Tbilisi, Mariamjvari, Kolkheti and Tana protected areas. The article does not say which species or how many birds were released at each of them.

Some background: since 2016, the National Wildlife Agency has run a project to breed and restore local species. The agency says the populations of the Colchian pheasant, the chukar and the Western swamphen grow every year. According to the article, several thousand pheasants, chukars and grey partridges have already been released into Georgia’s nature on the initiative of the Ivanishvili family, which also funded the releases.

The report does not say where or how the birds were raised, in which part of the park they were released, or whether they will be monitored afterwards. So it is not yet possible to say how many birds will survive or what effect the release will have on local populations.

In Georgia, the chukar lives mainly on treeless, stony slopes with Christ’s thorn shrubs in the east. It was once widespread around Tbilisi too. The grey partridge lives in open fields and on plateaus edged with shrubs, up to 2,600 metres above sea level, and wanders in winter. More birds are on the birds hub, and protected-area stories are in News.