Diverting predators to artificial feeding sites could give embattled capercaillie populations a lifeline and tackle an ethical and legal dilemma. <\/p>
Capercaillie numbers have slumped in Scotland \u2013 the only part of Britain where the world\u2019s largest grouse breeds \u2013 and are now so low that the species could again face national extinction. <\/strong><\/p> Pine martens<\/a>, badgers<\/a> and other generalist predators eat capercaillie<\/a> eggs, so some people suggest that killing martens could help capercaillie.<\/p> Yet evidence that this would help to boost the big grouse is poor. Both species are also legally protected in the UK, with pine marten numbers only recently increasing after a long history of persecution by humans. It\u2019s part of a common dilemma for people trying to restore healthy populations of both predators and prey: how to live and let live.<\/p> That\u2019s the case within the Cairngorms National Park, both a good place for pine martens and now the last significant Scottish refuge for capercaillie. Almost all of them live in pinewoods to the west of its central mountains. With just over 500 birds remaining, the situation is grim. <\/p> But results from a recent experiment give grounds for optimism about coexistence of both capercaillie and martens.<\/p> From late April to early July in 2021 and 2022, PhD researcher Jack Bamber from the University of Aberdeen\u2019s School of Biological Sciences<\/a> led research to see if providing alternative food for predators could shift their attention from capercaillie nests. <\/p> Fake nests placed at widely separated forest locations were made to mimic capercaillie nests in size, siting and appearance, including natural covering reminiscent of a female capercaillie\u2019s plumage. <\/p> Hen eggs looking like capercaillie eggs were put in each nest, plus a wax-filled egg, tethered so that marks from teeth, claws and bills could help to ID egg thieves.\u00a0<\/p>