2019

A translocation program for critically Endangered Ridgway's Hawks (Buteo ridgwayi) in the Dominican Republic initially met with limited success because hawks were being electrocuted on power poles around the translocation site. Many poles are now retrofitted and electrocutions have been drastically reduced. However, some electrocutions continue to occur. To understand why, we examined 150 retrofitted poles around the reintroduction site. We found 96 (64%) were retrofitted correctly. The remaining poles included mitigation plan errors, application errors, and improvisation errors, either singly or incombination. These errors need to be corrected to maximize the success of the translocation program. Given that the success of the reintroduction program for California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) also was initially undermined by electrocution mortality, as are conservation programs for other raptor species of concern, our findings demonstrate the need to fully understand and mitigate electrocution risks when designing translocation, reintroduction, or conservation programs for species that perch on power poles. Given that the pole constructions we observed in the Dominican Republic also occur elsewhere in the Caribbean, we suggest that other endemic, resident, and migratory species may also be sustaining preventable electrocution mortality within the region.