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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Royal Society Open Science

Evaluating wildlife rehabilitation: successful return of rehabilitated gulls to the wild

  • Reinoud Allaert1,2,3,4
  • Tine Uytterschaut1,3
  • Wouter Courtens3,5
  • Claude Velter4
  • Wendt Müller6
  • Eric Stienen5
  • An Martel3,7
  • Luc Lens1,3
  • Frederick Verbruggen1,2,3
7 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Biology, Ghent University 1 , Gent, Belgium
  2. 2Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University 2 , Gent, Belgium
  3. 3Centre for Research on Ecology, Cognition and Behaviour of Birds 3 , Ghent, Belgium
  4. 4Wildlife Rescue Centre Ostend 4 , Belgium
  5. 5Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) 5 , Belgium
  6. 6Department of Biology, University of Antwerp 6 , Belgium
  7. 7Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Ghent University 7 , Merelbeke, Belgium
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Abstract

The expansion of human activities has increased the need for animal rehabilitation, especially for urban-breeding species such as herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), which now commonly nest on buildings and industrial sites. This study evaluates rehabilitation effectiveness by comparing survival and post-release reintegration, measured through habitat use and the degree of association with human-dominated environments, between rehabilitated and wild juvenile gulls along the Belgian coast. From 2012 to 2023, 3443 juveniles were ringed and monitored. Estimated apparent survival varied with age and species and was broadly similar between rehabilitated and wild birds, although rehabilitated lesser black-backed gulls showed slightly lower apparent survival than their wild counterparts. Differences in habitat use and association with local human population density were largely confined to juveniles: rehabilitated juveniles were resighted more often in intertidal areas with lower human population densities, with patterns converging in older age classes. Our results suggest rehabilitation can support urban gull populations by yielding broadly wild-like apparent survival.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{allaert2026evaluating,
  title = {{Evaluating wildlife rehabilitation: successful return of rehabilitated gulls to the wild}},
  author = {Reinoud Allaert and Tine Uytterschaut and Wouter Courtens and Claude Velter and Wendt Müller and Eric Stienen and An Martel and Luc Lens and Frederick Verbruggen},
  journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1098/rsos.251784},
  url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/9/251784/483416/Evaluating-wildlife-rehabilitation-successful},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Evaluating wildlife rehabilitation: successful return of rehabilitated gulls to the wild
AU  - Reinoud Allaert
AU  - Tine Uytterschaut
AU  - Wouter Courtens
AU  - Claude Velter
AU  - Wendt Müller
AU  - Eric Stienen
AU  - An Martel
AU  - Luc Lens
AU  - Frederick Verbruggen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - Royal Society Open Science
DO  - 10.1098/rsos.251784
UR  - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/9/251784/483416/Evaluating-wildlife-rehabilitation-successful
AB  - The expansion of human activities has increased the need for animal rehabilitation, especially for urban-breeding species such as herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), which now commonly nest on buildings and industrial sites. This study evaluates rehabilitation effectiveness by comparing survival and post-release reintegration, measured through habitat use and the degree of association with human-dominated environments, between rehabilitated and wild juvenile gulls along the Belgian coast. From 2012 to 2023, 3443 juveniles were ringed and monitored. Estimated apparent survival varied with age and species and was broadly similar between rehabilitated and wild birds, although rehabilitated lesser black-backed gulls showed slightly lower apparent survival than their wild counterparts. Differences in habitat use and association with local human population density were largely confined to juveniles: rehabilitated juveniles were resighted more often in intertidal areas with lower human population densities, with patterns converging in older age classes. Our results suggest rehabilitation can support urban gull populations by yielding broadly wild-like apparent survival.
SN  - 2054-5703
ER  -