Relocating ground squirrels within their natural distribution
range is a popular tool in wildlife management in Central–
Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, wildlife management lacks both a
carefully developed and tested translocation guide and methods.
We evaluated conditions of release method (time of release and
retention of animals) that affect short-term settlement of
translocated ground squirrels in the central region of Hungary.
In a field experiment, we translocated 117 individuals from an
international airport to a protected site in 2000. We found that
release time should precede the animals' natural, daily activity
peak. The use of retention caps combined with artificial burrows
instead of complex acclimation cages works successfully to
prevent animals from dispersing from the release site.
