tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/captive-breeding-12842/articlesCaptive breeding – The Conversation2024-03-28T12:47:33Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2244802024-03-28T12:47:33Z2024-03-28T12:47:33ZAs climate change and pollution imperil coral reefs, scientists are deep-freezing corals to repopulate future oceans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584286/original/file-20240326-20-w2d62d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C3964%2C2994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Healthy corals like these on Australia's Lady Elliot Reef could disappear by the 2030s if climate change is not curbed. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rebecca Spindler</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coral reefs are some of the <a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/teachers/coral-reef/background.html">oldest, most diverse ecosystems</a> on Earth, and among the most valuable. They nurture <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-life/coral-reef-ecosystems">25% of all ocean life</a>, <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html">protect coasts from storms</a> and add <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_economy.html">billions of dollars yearly</a> to the global economy through their influences on fisheries, new pharmaceuticals, tourism and recreation. </p>
<p>Today, the world’s coral reefs are degrading at <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/coral09_humanthreats.html">unprecedented rates</a> due to pollution, overfishing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.024">destructive forestry</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.139">mining practices</a> on land. Climate change driven by human activities is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_Ocean.pdf">warming and acidifying the ocean</a>, producing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/corals-are-starting-to-bleach-as-global-ocean-temperatures-hit-record-highs-209770">reef crisis</a> that could cause most corals to go extinct <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002608">within a few generations</a>. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Mary-Hagedorn-2111114778">marine biologist</a> at the Smithsonian’s <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation/about-scbi">National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute</a>. For 17 years, I have worked with colleagues to create a global science program called the <a href="https://global.si.edu/projects/reef-recovery-initiative">Reef Recovery Initiative</a> that aims to help save coral reefs by using the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/cryopreservation">science of cryopreservation</a>. </p>
<p>This novel approach involves storing and cooling coral sperm and larvae, or <a href="https://wi.mit.edu/news/immortality-germ-cells">germ cells</a>, at very low temperatures and holding them in <a href="https://naturalhistorymuseum.blog/2022/07/26/biodiversity-biobanks-an-invaluable-resource-for-the-future/">government biorepositories</a>.</p>
<p>These repositories are an important hedge against extinction for corals. Managed effectively, they can help offset threats to the Earth’s reefs on a global scale. These frozen assets can be used today, 10 years or even 100 years from now to help reseed the oceans and restore living reefs.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Bko2bhQgG0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Smithsonian scientists use cryopreserved coral sperm to increase the genetic diversity of elkhorn coral.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Safely frozen alive</h2>
<p>Cryopreservation is a process for freezing biological material while maintaining its viability. It involves introducing sugarlike substances, called cryoprotectants, into cells to help prevent lethal ice formation during the freezing phase. If done properly, the cells remain frozen and alive in liquid nitrogen, unchanged, for many years. </p>
<p>Many organisms survive through cold winters in nature by becoming naturally cryopreserved as temperatures in their habitats drop below freezing, Two examples that are common across North America are <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/news/how-do-microscopic-creatures-called-tardigrades">tardigrades – microscopic animals that live in mosses and lichens</a> – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb.2022.110747">wood frogs</a>. </p>
<p>Today, coral cryopreservation techniques rely largely on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033354">freezing sperm</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34035-0">and larvae</a>. Since 2007, I have trained many colleagues in coral cryopreservation and worked with them to successfully preserve coral sperm. Today we have sperm from over 50 species of corals <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-species-cryopreserved-global-collaborators">preserved in biorepositories worldwide</a>. </p>
<p>We have used this cryopreserved sperm to produce new coral across the Caribbean via a selective breeding process called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110559118">assisted gene flow</a>. The goal was to use cryopreserved sperm and interbreed corals that would not necessarily have encountered each other – a type of long-distance matchmaking. </p>
<p>Genetic diversity is maintained by combining as many different parents as possible to produce new sexually produced offspring. Since corals are cemented to the seabed, when population numbers in their area decline, new individuals can be introduced via cryopreservation. The hope is that these new genetic combinations might have an adaptation that will help coral survive changes in future warming oceans.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two coral heads, one bleached white, the other still its natural brown color." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Corals in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii during 2014 and 2015 warming events in which over 80% of corals were affected. Some species and individuals, like the coral at left, were resistant to warming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Claire Lager, Smithsonian</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>These assisted gene flow studies produced 600 new genetic-assorted individuals of the threatened elkhorn coral <em>Acropora palmata</em>. As of early 2024, there are only about 150 elkhorn individuals left in the wild in the Florida population. If given the chance, these selectively bred corals held in captivity could significantly increase the wild elkhorn gene pool. </p>
<p>Preserving sperm cells and larvae is an important hedge against the loss of biodiversity and species extinctions. But we can only collect this material during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO_2JJynlOA">fleeting spawning events</a> when corals release egg and sperm into the water. </p>
<p>These episodes occur over just a few days a year – a small time window that poses logistical challenges for researchers and conservationists, and limits the speed at which we can successfully cryo-bank coral species. </p>
<p>To complicate matters further, warming oceans and increasingly frequent marine heat waves can biologically stress corals. This can make their reproductive material too weak to withstand the rigors of being cryopreserved and thawed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elkhorn coral produced through assisted gene flow, showing vigorous growth and development.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cody Engelsma</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Scaling up the rescue</h2>
<p>To collect coral material faster, we are developing a cryopreservation process for whole coral fragments, using a method called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40500-w">isochoric vitrification</a>. This technique is still developing. However, if fully successful, it will preserve whole coral fragments without causing ice to form in their tissues, thus producing viable fragments after they’ve thawed that thrive and can be placed back out on the reef. </p>
<p>To do this, we dehydrate the fragment by exposing it to a viscous cryoprotectant cocktail. Then we place it into a small aluminum cylinder and immerse the cylinder in liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/liquid-nitrogen">minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 Celsius)</a>. </p>
<p>This process freezes the cylinder’s contents so fast that the cryoprotectant forms a clear glass instead of allowing ice crystals to develop. When we want to thaw the fragments, we place them into a warm water bath for a few minutes, then rehydrate them in seawater. </p>
<p>Using this method, we can collect and cryopreserve coral fragments year-round, since we don’t have to wait and watch for fleeting spawning events. This approach greatly accelerates our conservation efforts. </p>
<p>Protecting as many species as possible will require expanding and sharing our science to create robust cryopreserved-and-thawed coral material through multiple methods. My colleagues and I want the technology to be easy, fast and cheap so any professional can replicate our process and help us preserve corals across the globe. </p>
<p>We have created a video-based coral cryo-training program that includes directions for <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-cryopreservation-training-course">building simple, 3D-printed cryo-freezers</a>, and have collaborated with engineers to develop new methods that now allow coral larvae to be frozen by the hundreds on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202303317">simple, inexpensive metal meshes</a>. These new tools will make it possible for labs around the world to significantly accelerate coral collection around the globe within the next five years.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_5DooxgwEiw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Without coral reefs, the world would lose a valuable source of food, coastal protection, medicines and income – and some of the world’s most unique and beautiful ecosystems.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Safeguarding the future</h2>
<p>Recent climate models estimate that if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, 95% or more of the world’s corals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000004">could die by the mid-2030s</a>. This leaves precious little time to conserve the biodiversity and genetic diversity of reefs.</p>
<p>One approach, which is already under way, is bringing all coral species into human care. The Smithsonian is part of the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-biobank-alliance">Coral Biobank Alliance</a>, an international collaboration to conserve corals by collecting live colonies, skeletons and genetic samples and using the best scientific practices to help rebuild reefs. </p>
<p>To date, over 200 coral species, out of some 1,000 known hard coral species, and thousands of colonies are under human care in institutions around the world, including organizations connected with the U.S. and European arms of the <a href="https://www.aza.org/">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a>. Although these are clones of colonies from the wild, these individuals could be put into coral breeding systems that could be used for later cryopreservation of their genetically-assorted larvae. Alternatively, their larvae could be used for reef restoration projects. </p>
<p>Until climate change is slowed and reversed, reefs will continue to degrade. Ensuring a better future for coral reefs will require building up coral biorepositories, establishing on-land nurseries to hold coral colonies and develop new larval settlers, and training new cryo-professionals. </p>
<p>For decades, zoos have used <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/world/captive-breeding-species-cte-scn-spc-intl/index.html">captive breeding and reintroduction</a> to protect animals species that have fallen to critically low levels. Similarly, I believe our novel solutions can create hope and help save coral reefs to reseed our oceans today and long into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Hagedorn receives funding from Revive & Restore; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Volgenau Foundation; CORDAP Foundation; Zegar Family Foundation; Oceankind; Mastriani Family; De Witt Family; Anela Kolohe Foundation; Cedar Hill Foundation; Sidney E. Frank Foundation; Scintilla Foundation; and the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.
She is affiliated with Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. </span></em></p>Just as the world’s zoos breed critically endangered animals in captivity to repopulate the wild, scientists are building a global effort to freeze corals for reef restoration.Mary Hagedorn, Research Scientist, Smithsonian InstitutionLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012262023-03-13T02:13:33Z2023-03-13T02:13:33ZOrange-bellied parrot shows there’s more to saving endangered species than captive breeding<p>Captive breeding of threatened species for release into the wild is an important conservation tool. But where threats to wild populations remain unresolved, this tool may not guarantee population recovery in the long term. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-023-02568-0">new research</a> on one of the most endangered birds in the world shows we need to tackle underlying threats to survival if we are to save species from extinction in the wild. </p>
<p>Captive breeding and release is sustaining the population of orange-bellied parrots, holding extinction at bay. But most of the young born into the population each year die during their migration and winter. </p>
<p>Our modelling shows that if captive breeding and release stopped tomorrow, orange-bellied parrots would soon become extinct. The natural birth rate is too low to compensate for the high death rates of juveniles. So we’re locked into releasing captive-bred parrots until we can solve the underlying problems afflicting the wild population. Unfortunately, it’s not clear exactly what those problems are.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/regent-honeyeaters-were-once-kings-of-flowering-gums-now-theyre-on-the-edge-of-extinction-what-happened-174538">Regent honeyeaters were once kings of flowering gums. Now they're on the edge of extinction. What happened?</a>
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<h2>No guarantees when threats remain</h2>
<p>Globally, captive breeding has prevented the extinction of iconic species such as the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/california-condor-nearly-went-extinct-now-1000th-chick-recovery-program-has-hatched-180972698/">California condor</a>. </p>
<p>However, despite the benefits of captive breeding, success is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12913">not guaranteed</a>. This is especially so when captive-bred animals are released into habitats where threats remain unresolved. In such cases, captive-bred animals will succumb to the same threats as their wild counterparts. </p>
<p>For some species, identifying and correcting threats is straightforward. For example, <a href="https://lhirodenteradicationproject.org/">removing introduced predators from islands</a> may be a way to eliminate a threat and optimise the benefit of releases from captivity. </p>
<p>But the exact nature of threats is often not clear-cut, especially for species that move over large areas. This can create uncertainty about what the threats are, where they occur, and how to resolve them. </p>
<p>Inability to mitigate threats may result in lost opportunities for released animals to learn crucial behaviours such as <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/operation-migration">migration</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJhU_NdrsJ0">song</a>, and ultimately, the decline of wild populations. </p>
<p>Conservationists may sometimes need to “buy time” and prevent extinction in the wild by releasing animals to ensure the continuity of animal cultures in landscapes where threats persist. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Orange-bellied parrot male." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513817/original/file-20230306-20-9pdmuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orange-bellied parrots are among the most endangered birds in the world, and they are dependent on intensive conservation efforts to prevent extinction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Locked into a cycle of dependency</h2>
<p>The orange-bellied parrot is one of the most endangered birds in the world. In 2016, just <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-are-14-wild-orange-bellied-parrots-left-this-summer-is-our-last-chance-to-save-them-69274">four females returned to Tasmania</a> from migration, and only one of them produced a surviving <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/582ea0d1579fb3ef8b09706d/t/6230d692846c9f0a27cd39f4/1647367830536/1-s2.0-S000632072200057X-main.pdf">descendant</a>. (The species migrates from its summer breeding ground in southwestern Tasmania to the coasts of southeastern mainland Australia, but these movements take a toll on the population.)</p>
<p>Fortunately, despite ongoing uncertainty about reducing threats, intensive conservation efforts have grown the population. More than 30 females have returned from migration annually over the past two years. Despite this success, most juvenile parrots (both captive-bred and wild-born) that leave Tasmania on their <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/582ea0d1579fb3ef8b09706d/t/5f39c92c57da8940e9dac29c/1597622576959/Final+published.pdf">northward migration die</a>. </p>
<p>Overcoming the unresolved threats that drive this high mortality is crucial for making this population self-sustaining. Unfortunately due to the practical limitations of studying a small, scattered population across remote areas, it is unlikely that this knowledge gap can be addressed in the short term. In the meantime, there are several options available.</p>
<p>We used <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-023-02568-0">simulations</a> to compare the benefits of different management scenarios on the orange-bellied parrot. We showed that of all the potential intervention options available to the recovery project, releasing captive juveniles in autumn – to learn from wild adults, and increase the size of migrating flocks – was the most beneficial. </p>
<p>However, none of the interventions available to managers can directly address the underlying problem of high juvenile mortality, so their benefits were temporary. When we simulated stopping captive releases, the populations rapidly went extinct. Without addressing the underlying threats faced by the species, we found the natural birth rate too low to compensate for high juvenile mortality rates. </p>
<p>Until a solution is found for high migration and winter mortality rates, orange-bellied parrots will remain dependent on captive breeding and release to prevent extinction and grow the population.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Researcher holds an orange-bellied parrot mother." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513818/original/file-20230306-2602-kco62o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orange-bellied parrot ‘red red D’ is a descendant of the last truly wild born lineage of mothers, and was one of the longest-lived mothers in the contemporary population.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dejan Stojanovic</span></span>
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<h2>Lulled into a false sense of security</h2>
<p>Orange-bellied parrots provide a stark reminder that there is no “quick fix” for most threatened species. Although captive breeding for release can effectively prevent extinction in the short term, long-term self-sustaining populations in the wild depend on <a href="https://theconversation.com/regent-honeyeaters-were-once-kings-of-flowering-gums-now-theyre-on-the-edge-of-extinction-what-happened-174538">finding solutions</a> for the threats that caused their decline in the first place. Until solutions can be found, management agencies may be locked into a cycle of conservation dependency aimed at preventing extinction, but struggle to address the threats that cause the underlying problems. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-red-goshawk-is-disappearing-how-can-we-save-our-rarest-bird-of-prey-from-extinction-200339">Australia’s red goshawk is disappearing. How can we save our rarest bird of prey from extinction?</a>
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<p>Given the global popularity and visibility of captive breeding programs, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that they are a quick fix for the extinction crisis. However, identifying the threats to wild populations early is crucial because re-establishing “extinct in the wild” species from captivity is extremely difficult, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add2889#.Y_e5gYn5pIk.twitter">albeit not impossible</a>. </p>
<p>In the case of the orange-bellied parrot, we hope preventing extinction of the wild population through releases of captive-bred birds may buy enough time to identify and mitigate the causes of high juvenile migration/winter mortality. But we also hope our study is a reminder to policymakers that conservation of wild populations should focus on identifying and preventing threats, negating the need for captive breeding in the first place. </p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/get-the-basics-right-for-national-environmental-standards-to-ensure-truly-sustainable-development-201092">Get the basics right for National Environmental Standards to ensure truly sustainable development</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dejan Stojanovic received funding for this project from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, via NRM South. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Hogg receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and was a member of the Orange-bellied Parrot recovery team from 2011 to 2021.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Heinsohn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows that if captive breeding stopped tomorrow, orange-bellied parrots would soon become extinct. So we’re locked into breeding programs until we can solve the underlying problems.Dejan Stojanovic, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National UniversityCarolyn Hogg, Senior Research Manager, University of SydneyRob Heinsohn, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1865352022-07-24T12:28:50Z2022-07-24T12:28:50ZFinding their song: Reviving the declining western chorus frog population is now critical<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474439/original/file-20220717-12-38fv83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C96%2C4262%2C2747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The population of western chorus frogs has been declining over the past 60 years and continues to be an issue across Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In November 2021, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault declared <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/orders/western-chorus-frog-longueuil-emergency-protection-order-summary.html">an emergency order that put an immediate halt</a> on a residential development in Longueuil, Que., to protect the critical habitat of one of Canada’s threatened amphibian species — the western chorus frog. </p>
<p>While this was one of the few cases where the federal government applied the Species at Risk Act to cease development on private land, the Canadian Shield’s population of western chorus frog — in addition to many other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-021-00425-w">closely related species</a> — has declined over the past 60 years and <a href="https://longpointbiosphere.com/download/Herptiles/Perspectives-on-amphibiam-population-declines-Green-1997.pdf">continues to be an issue in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>It was recently announced that the proposed route of Highway 413 in Ontario will impact the habitat of <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/highway-413-endangered-species/?fbclid=IwAR0sh374OVqgaqor0eLVB8fX-VQT3omUYnUp8FccKe8CcMgQiJ4_QFkMhPI">11 species at risk</a>, including the western chorus frog. The recent disappearance of this frog and its habitat — specially in portions of Ontario and Québec — has caused substantial <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/game-changer-court-ruling-gives-federal-government-right-to-protect-western-chorus-frog-1.4741646">concern and controversy</a>.</p>
<p>As a behavioural ecologist specializing in acoustics and a reproductive endocrinologist who invented an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.03.024">injectable hormone mixture</a> that induces frog breeding, we believe hope still exists. Habitat protection and restoration, advanced reproductive technologies and reintroduction procedures are all at our fingertips. This multifaceted approach could help slow further declines of chorus frogs and other amphibians. </p>
<h2>Global and local threats</h2>
<p>Despite its small size — measuring only two to three centimetres in length and often weighing less than two grams — the western chorus frog produces a loud, clear trill that is reminiscent of running a thumb across a plastic comb. </p>
<p>Historically, it was one of the most abundant amphibians in eastern Ontario and Québec. Now, it is found in <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/western-chorus-frog-canadian-shield-population.html">only 10 per cent of their original range</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A dark brown frog with light brown markings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473222/original/file-20220708-27-8qc00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An adult female western chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Chris Callaghan)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Amphibians, including the western chorus frog and other frogs, toads and salamanders, play critical ecological roles in the environment. They are vital pieces in the local food chain. They are also economically important, as they provide free pest control in residential areas by consuming insect species, such as mosquitoes and blackflies, without the need of <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-mosquito-killing-natural-pesticides-unintentionally-harming-frogs-175194">pesticides that are potentially harmful to wildlife</a>. </p>
<p>Across the world, these amphibian species are rapidly disappearing due to habitat loss, disease, pollution, harvesting, invasive species and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/35070552">climate change</a>. Over 40 per cent of species are <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/sapiens/1406">threatened with extinction</a>. Amphibian declines are part of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801921105">sixth mass extinction</a> event on Earth, on a scale that is approaching the loss of dinosaurs. </p>
<h2>Captive breeding can aid reintroduction of frogs</h2>
<p>One strategy for conserving declining species is to collect individuals from the wild and breed them in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12612">laboratory or captive settings</a>.</p>
<p>This allows the offspring to grow without being threatened by predators, contaminants or other disturbances. The healthy offspring can then be released to boost numbers in the natural environment. </p>
<p>Along with Marc Mazerolle’s team at Laval University, we implemented this strategy through a recent collaborative effort with the Montreal Biodome and Sépaq (Société des établissements de plein air du Québec), with the goal of increasing the number of healthy individuals that can be released into appropriate restored natural sites to the benefit of all.</p>
<p>Two years into the project, adult chorus frogs have been successfully bred in captivity. Hundreds of tadpoles have been reared to froglets and released in constructed wetlands for the species. Some of the introduced individuals survived their first winter and adult males could be heard calling for females this past spring. These methods can be applied to species around the world.</p>
<h2>The critical role of awareness and conservation</h2>
<p>The first step is to spread awareness to emphasize the importance of amphibians and the speed at which species are declining. There are several resources and citizen science projects dedicate to the protection of amphibians, such as <a href="http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/index.html">Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation</a> and <a href="https://www.amphibians.org/">Amphibian Survival Alliance</a>.</p>
<p>Protection of wetlands from destruction and pollution is one of the best ways to help. Wetlands are critical to the survival of amphibians. During the construction of housing developments and infrastructure — such as the proposed Highway 413 — wetlands are often <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view/148062">drained or filled in</a>. Wetlands host many beautiful bird and plant species, not only amphibians, and they act as the earth’s filter to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.11.015">increase water quality</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A wetland" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473266/original/file-20220710-7520-dxircz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wetlands act as typical habitats for western chorus frogs and other amphibians.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jeffrey P. Ethier)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Being careful while walking or driving near wetlands is another way to help on an individual level. Avoid disturbing breeding amphibians. Leave the tadpoles in the water. Observe and enjoy watching them grow legs and climb out of the water for the first time! Protecting the local ponds near your home can also contribute to this conservation.</p>
<p>You can also participate in public forums and let your community know that you support sustainable and responsible land use that keeps wetland habitats connected and protects critical areas for threatened species. Form volunteer groups to help protect frogs as they migrate over roads in the spring breeding season, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233740122_40_years_of_Natterjack_toad_Conservation_in_Europe">as seen in other countries</a>. We all have the power to make a positive difference in the protection of amphibians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186535/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Ethier receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vance L Trudeau receives funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs.</span></em></p>Habitat protection and restoration, advanced reproductive technologies and reintroduction procedures could help slow the decline of western chorus frogs and other amphibians.Jeffrey P. Ethier, PhD candidate, Department of Biology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaVance L Trudeau, Professor, Department of Biology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1663972021-11-23T13:30:30Z2021-11-23T13:30:30ZScientist at work: Endangered ocelots and their genetic diversity may benefit from artificial insemination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432290/original/file-20211116-25-1e4gv3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1384%2C1010%2C3607%2C2267&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wild ocelots hunt alone at night.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ocelot-is-hunting-at-night-at-the-san-francisco-ranch-in-news-photo/1219080513">Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The female ocelot lay anesthetized on the exam table, behind the scenes at the Albuquerque Biopark Zoo. As a veterinarian on the team preparing to artificially inseminate this animal, my palms were sweating at the thought of missing a step, dropping the sperm sample, or finding out our sample did not survive freezing. Any of these possibilities would end the procedure.</p>
<p>It was the first time anyone was trying to produce a pregnancy in a zoo-born female ocelot using sperm recovered from a deceased wild male ocelot. If the July 2021 operation worked, it would give his genes a way to live on past his death. This procedure was an important step in efforts to conserve endangered cat species so they can persist into the future.</p>
<p>Ocelots are medium-sized felines weighing around 20 to 30 pounds (9 to 13 kilograms) with sleek spotted coats. Their diet consists of small mammals, rodents, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Ocelots are primarily solitary cats, most active in the evening from dusk to dawn.</p>
<p>While people manage zoo-housed ocelots’ reproduction to maintain genetic diversity, it’s a different story for their wild relatives. There are <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T11509A50653476.en">currently only 50 to 80 ocelots</a> (<em>Leopardus pardalis</em>) known to exist in the wild in the U.S., and that population is too small to be sustainable long term. <a href="https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/4474">These endangered animals</a> face ongoing threats of habitat loss and fragmentation, and vehicle strikes. And because of their diminished numbers, they are at risk of inbreeding. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="street sign warning of ocelot crossing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With so few individuals left in the wild in the U.S., each ocelot hit by a car could affect the species’ survival.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ocelot-crossing-road-sign-royalty-free-image/855966216">kzubrycki/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the past 25 years, scientists at the <a href="http://cincinnatizoo.org/conservation/crew/">Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife</a>, or CREW, led by veterinarian Bill Swanson, have been working on technologies that may eventually help add some more genetic diversity to the wild ocelot population. They’ve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.12069">developed and refined techniques</a> for sperm collection, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.1060087">frozen storage</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.112.105353">artificial insemination of ocelots</a> and other endangered cat species.</p>
<p>These innovations have played a key role in sustaining the genetic diversity of cat populations within zoos. Now, we’re trying to go a step further and apply these techniques in wild ocelots.</p>
<p>By creating gene flow among zoo-based ocelots and wild ocelots in different regions, we can increase the genetic diversity of both populations. With wild ocelots, we hope to combat their declining ability to produce offspring, fight infection and maintain adequate numbers in the wild for conservation of the species in the U.S.</p>
<h2>Salvaging sperm to increase diversity</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JyYbknYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As a recently graduated veterinarian</a>, I joined my mentor, Debra Miller, at the University of Tennessee’s Comparative and Experimental Medicine Department and in her work at UT’s Center for Wildlife Health. From there, my interests in wildlife conservation led me to this multi-institutional collaboration focusing on the conservation of wild Texas ocelots.</p>
<p>This project relies on the routine collection and freezing of semen from wild ocelots in the field – usually living animals, but sometimes ones that have been found dead. Our semen stockpile lets us preserve genetic material even if these cats are killed by disease, natural disasters or road collisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="tanks containing many frozen animal semen samples" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The CREW CryoBioBank at the Cincinnati Zoo currently holds over 20,000 total semen samples from 82 animal species ranging from elephants to salamanders – including 30 cat species/subspecies – at temperatures of -320 F (-196 C) in liquid nitrogen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the artificial insemination procedure this past summer, the sperm donor was <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/ocelot/">a Texas ocelot</a> that died after being hit by a car. While this male’s death was a tragedy, there is a chance his genes may live on in future offspring thanks to the quick report of his death and the retrieval, shipping and processing of his gonads.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Placing cryovial of animal semen in a storage tank" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thirteen 0.25-milliliter semen straws are in each goblet tube within the canisters inside the frozen storage tank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Back at CREW in Cincinnati, Bill Swanson worked to recover the cat’s sperm for future artificial insemination procedures. He froze 20 plastic straws, each containing about 8 million viable sperm. In addition to this deceased male, I have collected and cryopreserved semen from several living wild males for future use. </p>
<p>By testing thawed semen, our team has found that many of these sperm samples were capable of fertilizing cat eggs in vitro. The next step is figuring out whether the frozen wild ocelot semen really can produce kittens via artificial insemination. So Swanson packed up three frozen straws to ship to Albuquerque in a liquid nitrogen dry shipper tank to make sure they remain at -320 F (-196 C) throughout the journey.</p>
<h2>After the thaw, hoping for kittens</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.1010">Ocelots are induced ovulators</a>, meaning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2006.03.011">a female must mate in order to release an egg</a> into her reproductive tract. The female we were working with was treated with hormones to help her ovulate at the proper time relative to the insemination procedure. The relief was overwhelming when we confirmed, by laparoscopically looking at the surface of the ovary, that the female had ovulated multiple eggs. </p>
<p>After thawing the semen straws, my excitement began to increase because we could see the deceased ocelot’s sperm swimming rapidly across a slide under the microscope. The sperm had survived the freezing and thawing process and was still in great shape.</p>
<p>I took multiple deep breaths to steady my hands as my smile spread from ear to ear. Bill Swanson positioned the insemination needle within each oviduct, I injected the sperm into both sides of the female’s reproductive tract, and the procedure was complete. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, although the female responded well to the ovulation synchronization protocol, and the artificial insemination procedure was performed without a hitch, she did not conceive. That’s not an uncommon outcome when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4320(00)00099-3">using frozen semen</a>.</p>
<p>However, we are optimistic that future procedures – using semen samples from this specific male and other frozen samples from living, wild ocelots – will successfully produce pregnancies. By the end of 2021, we plan to conduct two additional artificial insemination procedures with zoo-managed ocelots, followed by three or four more in 2022.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="leashed ocelot stands atop cryo tanks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sihil the ocelot began life as a frozen embryo in one of these liquid nitrogen cold storage tanks. Kittens born via artificial insemination will be the next step.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If any of these artificial insemination procedures result in the birth of offspring, it will be the first time kittens have been produced with frozen semen from a wild ocelot. They’ll add greater diversity to the ocelot population managed in North American zoos, while improving our understanding of possibilities for increasing genetic diversity within wild ocelot populations. This success would help demonstrate the feasibility of producing kittens using frozen semen from the endangered Texas ocelot population.</p>
<p>Further refinement of the knowledge and techniques to create genetic exchange between wild and zoo-managed ocelot populations or among wild ocelot populations living in fragmented habitats will help ensure that these animals survive into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Reeves is a PhD student within the University of Tennessee Comparative and Experimental Medicine Department and The Center for Wildlife Health. She receives funding from The University of Tennessee and The East Foundation. </span></em></p>There are so few wild ocelots in the US that the cats are becoming inbred, with a bad prognosis for their ultimate survival. But researchers are perfecting ways to get new genes into the population.Ashley Reeves, DVM, PhD Candidate in Comparative and Experimental Medicine, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1556642021-02-26T17:38:13Z2021-02-26T17:38:13ZArtificial insemination in captive lions is bad news for conservation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386687/original/file-20210226-17-g07z94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=628%2C310%2C3477%2C2249&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/regallooking-lion-standing-on-small-hill-547175677">Shutterstock/2021Photography</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is tempting to believe that technology will save the day when it comes to environmental and wildlife conservation crises. The recent success story of a lion cub, Simba, born <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55837829">at Singapore zoo</a> as a result of artificial insemination, is a case in point. </p>
<p>It was widely reported as a success for wildlife conservation. But presenting accounts of technological success against the backdrop of <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15951/115130419">rapidly diminishing</a> wildlife loss could do more harm than good. </p>
<p>The psychologist Robert Gifford called this “technosalvation” in his 2008 study <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254734365_The_Dragons_of_Inaction_Psychological_Barriers_That_Limit_Climate_Change_Mitigation_and_Adaptation">of psychological barriers</a>. Gifford outlines the psychological and cognitive barriers (what he calls “Dragons of Inaction”) that impede human behaviour in response to challenges like climate change.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dm8NhKqMaxo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The argument is simple. While technology has improved our standards of living, overconfidence in its ability to solve complex environmental problems becomes a psychological barrier for human behaviour change. The philosophy that “we don’t need to do anything to save the planet because technology will do it for us” is attractive because it absolves us of responsibility. In other words, it’s a quick fix. </p>
<p>Gifford was writing about human inaction with respect to climate change but I believe technosalvation is also having an effect on conservation.</p>
<p>When Simba the lion cub was born in October 2020 – as a result of artificial insemination – his 20-year-old father, Mufasa, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55837829">didn’t survive</a> the electro-ejaculation procedure required to extract his semen. </p>
<p>Simba wasn’t the first lion cub bred this way. The world first occurred in September 2018, at Ukutula Conservation Center, in South Africa, with the arrival of Victor and Isabel to similar worldwide <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6226411/Worlds-test-tube-lion-cubs-healthy-normal.html">press fanfare</a>.</p>
<p>There are scientific and moral arguments for and against this procedure in lions. Lions breed easily <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-truth-about-lions-11558237/">in the wild</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/captive-lion-breeding-in-south-africa-the-case-for-a-total-ban-121131">captivity</a>, when given the opportunity. So why do we need more of them? </p>
<p>Willi Jacobs, owner of Ukutula, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dmxk9r_bto&t=48s">responded</a> to a “misunderstanding” on the part of the public about the value of such technological advances. He claimed that their aim was not to increase lion numbers, but to offer a conservational tool to increase numbers of other more endangered cat populations, such as the <a href="https://www.scottishwildcataction.org/about-wildcats/">Scottish wildcat</a>, the <a href="https://wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/asia/asiatic-golden-cat/">Asiatic golden cat</a> and the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/petite-cat-worlds-deadliest-killing-more-prey-single-night-leopard-does-six-months-180970695/">black-footed cat</a>.</p>
<p>It is difficult to argue against the usefulness of having this particular tool in the conservation toolbox. But what is concerning is that these stories of technological wizardry are reported, or inferred, as success stories for wildlife conservation. And wildlife conservation is oversimplified as a problem of numbers.</p>
<p>Both the Singapore and the Ukutula cases have been framed as such. The events were reported against a backdrop of rapidly diminishing wild lion numbers. And it’s true that according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/african-lion-populations-drop-42-percent-in-past-21-years/">more than 40%</a> of the wild lion population has disappeared in the last 20 years. Current estimates show wild lion numbers stand between <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/lion-cub-simba-born-singapore-artificial-insemination">23,000 and 30,000</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Male and female lions with three cubs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386689/original/file-20210226-21-14vn8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A family of lions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/family-lions-resting-sun-looking-alert-731828410">Shutterstock/Teresa Moore</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Against this gloomy backdrop, it is tempting to infer that the silver technological bullet in the conservation toolbox will save the day and if numbers get too low of a threatened animal species, science can make more of them. Problem solved.</p>
<h2>Dragons and shortcuts</h2>
<p>But this is the the kind of thinking that feeds the “Dragons of Inaction” Gifford warned of. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010028573900339">Psychological research</a> has shown how humans use cognitive shortcuts to simplify their interaction with the world. For example, the frequency, importance and likelihood of events are judged on the basis of how easily they can be brought to mind. </p>
<p>So humans are selective. We respond to immediate, highly visible and personal dangers while discounting long term and less visible risks. Humans are essentially short term reactors, rather than long term planners. Consequently, the slow creep of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss was not on our radar. We didn’t notice it quickly enough. </p>
<p>Technology won’t fix the quirks in human behaviour responsible for the drop in wild lion numbers. Quirks including, loss of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-012-0381-4?hc_location=ufi/&error=cookies_not_supported&code=b7e0e3c4-90a6-4e95-999a-5a41c0d06668">habitat</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282151189_The_Influence_of_Prey_Pastoralism_and_Poaching_on_the_Hierarchical_Use_of_Habitat_by_an_Apex_Predator">loss of prey</a> due to increased competition for space and food with humans, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989414000122?via%3Dihub">desertification</a>, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/5/1464.full.pdf">disease</a> and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0073808">hunting</a>. All these issues require a change in human behaviour. </p>
<p>Changing the way humans think and behave is fundamental to protecting and restoring wild lion populations. Anything else is a diversion of attention and resources. </p>
<p>So it’s fine to applaud technological advances, such as artificial insemination in lions. But it needs to be seen in context and it needs to be recognised that it is not a success stories for wildlife conservation. The complexity of biodiversity loss – and our collective responsibility for it – needs to be addressed because technosalvation won’t save the day. Changing the way we think and behave, will.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jackie Abell received funding from Coventry University (2016) for research work on human-wildlife conflict (lions) in Zimbabwe.
I am a member of the African Lion Working Group. I'm also a member of the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group. </span></em></p>Presenting accounts of technological success in captive lion breeding against the backdrop of rapidly diminishing wildlife loss lets humans off the hook too easily.Jackie Abell, Reader/Associate Professor in Psychology, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1494002020-12-08T21:08:11Z2020-12-08T21:08:11ZCaribou captive breeding program may come too late to prevent extinction in national parks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373696/original/file-20201208-15-17bjeud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C16%2C988%2C749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Tonquin and Brazeau caribou herds in Jasper National Park are now so small that they cannot recover on their own.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Parks Canada)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October, more than two years after the <a href="https://app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-view-online?ct=tPzA-FS8hzEzdyjH4dDJ5S21A3ywTF9MPnU2sJsLf-npZW-OsmlvDk4kn3E4SzNbhip4a4LxETCSWWp66Sba3Q%7E%7E">last caribou in the Maligne Valley of Jasper National Park died or disappeared</a>, Parks Canada announced a tentative plan for a caribou captive breeding program. Subject to an expert review that will likely take place in January, females from other herds will be rounded up and penned in a facility near the town of Jasper. </p>
<p>Stan Boutin, a biologist from the University of Alberta, sees these <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/alberta/article-parks-canada-plans-first-captive-breeding-program-for-caribou-in/">desperate measures as necessary</a> — and these are desperate times for caribou herds. </p>
<p>There are now only three herds in Jasper National Park. None of them are faring well. The 45 animals in the Tonquin herd are down by a third since 2010, the Brazeau herd is left with just 15 animals, and neither has enough females to grow the population. The last stronghold is the À la Pêche herd, with 150 caribou that move precariously in and out of the north end of the park.</p>
<h2>Decades of planning</h2>
<p>Parks Canada has been looking for ways to save the caribou in its mountain parks for decades. In 2002, it floated a plan to close the Maligne Road that takes vehicles up to the base of the caribou’s alpine winter range, so that it would be harder for wolves to access the dwindling herd.</p>
<p>But officials dropped the idea four days after the plan was made public and the business community complained. The caribou recovery plan never made it to the public consultation phase. The business community high-fived. Park biologists licked their wounds. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caribou ranges for Jasper National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/nature/conservation/eep-sar/caribou-jasper/cariboureport-programmecaribou">(Parks Canada)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists were hugely concerned that a large animal like caribou could disappear from a national park in Canada as the herd in Banff did in 2009. Writing in <em>Conservation Biology</em>, several noted that Banff National Park’s last southern mountain woodland caribou died the same day a coalition of conservation groups announced the Banff Spring’s snail was the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01343.x">only species out of 449 listed under the Canadian Species at Risk Acts to benefit form the fully legally mandated conservation process</a>.”</p>
<p>Federal legislation compels the government to protect species at risk, and in 2011, it launched a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2011/11/government-canada-announces-woodland-caribou-captive-breeding-partnering-arrangement-between-parks-canada-bc-government-calgary-zoo.html">captive breeding program for southern mountain caribou with Parks Canada, the B.C. government and the Calgary Zoo</a>. It was supposed to be a new beginning and the cornerstone of the caribou conservation strategy, <a href="https://www.fitzhugh.ca/caribou-reintroduction-plans-put-on-hold/">but the agreement fell apart in 2015</a>.</p>
<p>Science-based conservation programs in the mountain parks have long been pitted against tourism. Jasper’s resource conservation manager was fired in 2015 without cause, though <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/open-letter-from-former-parks-canada-employees-1.3242812">many suspect</a> that it was because he had pushed for the release of an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jasper-national-park-ski-hill-expansion-threatens-caribou-report-says-1.3162938">overdue report</a> on how a Jasper ski hill expansion would affect the threatened Tonquin caribou herd. His departure coincided with a <a href="https://www.fitzhugh.ca/federal-court-reviews-maligne-lake-development-proposal/">plan to build overnight tourist accommodations in the Maligne Valley</a>.</p>
<h2>Decades of decline</h2>
<p>It’s not just caribou in Jasper, Banff and other mountain national parks that have suffered. In the 1970s, Parks Canada dithered on stopping the serious decline of the woodland caribou in Pukaskwa National Park on the shores of Lake Superior. </p>
<p>There were only about 24 caribou then, and the population collapsed to just <a href="https://doi.org/10.2980/21-(3-4)-3700">five individuals in 2009 and then disappeared entirely</a>. Caribou might never have had a strong foothold in Pukaskwa, but the approach of doing nothing while watching the population’s extirpation wasn’t a plan either. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person holding an antenna in the air near a lake with a backdrop of snow peaked mountains." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=133%2C115%2C3732%2C2469&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Parks Canada biologist holds an antenna aloft to track caribou in the Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ed Struzik)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not that Parks Canada is doing nothing about endangered species and wildlife recovery. <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/gestion-management/bison">Bison were reintroduced successfully into Banff recently</a>, but bison can adapt to almost any ecosystem. To its credit, Parks Canada also proceeded with the difficult challenge of removing exotic trout from many of the mountain park lakes by poisoning them, which could have been a public relations nightmare.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/historical-photo-of-mountain-of-bison-skulls-documents-animals-on-the-brink-of-extinction-148780">Historical photo of mountain of bison skulls documents animals on the brink of extinction</a>
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<p>Caribou are different. Like polar bears, they are climate-challenged animals. They need alpine space, buggy bogs and forested fens in order to escape predators, flee from wildfire and find the food they need to survive. </p>
<p>They’re having hard time doing that outside of national parks, where the peatlands in oil and gas developments, logging and coal mining sites are being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.12.014">carved up and eaten by roads, seismic lines and oilsands operations</a>. </p>
<p>In 1992, naturalist Ben Gadd <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/473929409/">predicted caribou would disappear from Jasper</a> if Parks Canada didn’t set aside two large exclusion zones to protect them. He and other members of the Jasper Environmental Association had the ear of park biologists back then, but not the support of Ottawa. </p>
<p>Senior officials have consistently bent to the will of those in the business community to expand ski hills and build roads and monuments, including the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mother-canada-never-forgotten-tony-trigiani-green-cove-1.4815146">monstrous Mother Canada Monument</a> in Cape Breton National Park, even when it violated the spirit of the National Parks Act. </p>
<p>Ministers rarely come to the rescue because few stay in the job for long. Since 1971, there have been 30 ministers in charge of Parks Canada. Just two lasted more than three years, and 16 held the job for less than or little more than a year.</p>
<h2>Not enough caribou</h2>
<p>In 2018, Catherine McKenna, the longest serving environment minister, realized Parks Canada had lost its way when she said it was <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/catherine-mckenna-wants-to-hit-reset-button-on-parks-canada-and-shift-focus-to-conservation">time to send the agency back on a conservation course</a>. With McKenna now serving as infrastructure minister, judges and environmental groups are trying to hold Parks Canada and the federal government accountable. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-press-the-reset-button-on-canadas-national-parks-96628">It's time to press the reset button on Canada's national parks</a>
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</p>
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<p>The caribou recovery program in Jasper is sorely needed, but it is likely too little, too late. There are just not enough caribou around to grow the herds. </p>
<p>It also suggests that it’s easier for the Canadian government to pen and rear caribou in captivity than it is to deal with the issues threatening them in the wild. <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/agence-agency/mandat-mandate">And that’s a sad commentary on an agency whose “first priority” is to protect the “natural and cultural heritage of our special places and ensure that they remain healthy and whole.”</a> </p>
<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had nothing to say about ecological integrity in national parks when he handed <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/2019/12/13/minister-environment-and-climate-change-mandate-letter">Jonathan Wilkinson his mandate in overseeing Environment Canada and the Parks Canada agency</a>. What’s needed is a national board of advisers with a compelling legal mandate that can hold Parks Canada’s feet to the fire and shield it from political interference. Business as usual will not be successful in this era of climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Struzik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada needs a national board of advisers to hold Parks Canada’s feet to the fire and shield it from political interference.Edward Struzik, Fellow, Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1486372020-12-04T01:16:05Z2020-12-04T01:16:05ZHuman reproductive technologies like sperm freezing and IVF could be used to save threatened species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372695/original/file-20201203-17-c9e1d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5371%2C3573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more threatened species are relying on captive breeding to avoid extinction. Some species on the brink only exist in captivity, and others depend on captive breeding for their recovery before they’re released to the wild. </p>
<p>Captive breeding programs face major challenges to achieve the best conservation outcomes, particularly <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/izy.12150">high economic costs</a>, and <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10020338.x">loss of vital genetic diversity</a> from wild populations after even a few generations in captivity. </p>
<p>Our economic and genetic modelling <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12776">published today</a> shows how freezing genetic material and using assisted reproduction could provide a much-needed support-tool for captive breeding programs, solving genetic and economic issues and allowing zoos to breed more species and expand their valuable work. </p>
<p>These are the same tools and technologies commonly used in <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-animal-030117-014603">animal agriculture</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-biobanks-can-help-improve-the-integrity-of-scientific-research-100035">research</a>, <a href="https://search.proquest.com/openview/a326572fdce22a3c335b9d5785868d1a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=3933135">medicine and disease</a> and <a href="https://www.ivf.com.au/treatments/fertility-treatments/ivf-treatment">human fertility</a> to boost production, lower costs, and produce healthy and strong humans and animals. </p>
<h2>Captive breeding is powerful but not perfect</h2>
<p>No-one should doubt the value of captive breeding to conservation. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/21/-sp-european-bison-europe-romania-carpathian-mountains">European bison</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/106/2/215/5563187">California condor</a> and Australia’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/30/defence-force-flies-experts-to-kosciuszko-in-corroboree-frog-rescue-mission">Southern Corrobboree Frog</a> are three iconic species which would be extinct without captive breeding. Iconic Australian species the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-give-up-on-orange-bellied-parrots-yet-theres-still-hope-42880">Orange-bellied Parrot</a> and <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.21777">greater bilby</a> have been captive bred for over 30 years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Brown bison stands alone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372700/original/file-20201203-19-1gal6ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">European bison would be extinct without captive breeding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Captive breeding is expensive in resources, labour and capital. Programs have high start-up costs, in the hundreds of thousands or <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6255607/new-facility-to-boost-breeding-capability-of-critically-endangered-parrot/">even millions of dollars</a>. High annual on-going costs, on average, are over <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sdFNDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA281&dq=harley+mawson+captive+breeding&ots=tcsttipofe&sig=L5YzagxRSMX2tiCZJf-EtbbM4sc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=harley%20mawson%20captive%20breeding&f=false">$200,000 per year for a single species</a>. Many programs are open-ended and will be required for many years or even decades if they are to achieve their objectives. </p>
<p>The high costs of current programs prevent conservationists from assisting many species that desperately need captive breeding. Amphibians are a case in point. <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6350/454.summary">Disease</a> and habitat loss is <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6434/1459.abstract">decimating wild amphibian populations</a> globally. There are now over 900 amphibian species which need captive populations. Over 200 of these species need it urgently to avoid extinction. Despite hundreds of species in need, the estimated global capacity and available resources can provide captive populations <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/sapiens/1406">for no more than 50 amphibian species</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/swingers-hookup-program-can-find-the-right-match-for-endangered-species-68579">Swingers' hookup program can find the right match for endangered species</a>
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<p>The costs are one thing, the genetics are something else. Captive breeding programs face significant challenges with genetic diversity. These are common even in some of the longest running and well-resourced captive breeding programs, such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23130639/">giant pandas</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02273-3">Tasmanian devils</a>. </p>
<p>Genes are lost after even one generation of captive breeding, and in just a few generations, animals most likely to thrive and breed in captivity show traits of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03399.x">domestication and adaptation to captivity</a>. Inbreeding depression is unavoidable in small captive colonies typical of some captive programs. The loss of wild genes affects the overall fitness of captive bred animals for release back to the wild. </p>
<p>To counter the loss of genes in captive populations, the common global target for captive programs is to maintain 90% of the original captive population’s genetic diversity for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.1430050205">one hundred years</a>. This is considered gold standard practice and aims to ensure reintroductions of animals into the wild long in the future will occur using animals with minimal genetic issues. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Colourful parrot on branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372701/original/file-20201203-21-w0ozhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orange-bellied Parrots are bred in captivity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This target is unachievable in most programs because it is not feasible to keep colonies large enough to reduce inbreeding rates to the level required. But using biobanking and <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/rd/fulltext/RD15466?subscribe=false">existing or developing assisted reproductive technologies</a> could solve genetic and cost issues and finally make this target achievable. </p>
<h2>What is biobanking?</h2>
<p>Biobanking is the frozen storage of various living cells from threatened species, particularly sex cells, including sperm, eggs and embryos. Frozen samples can be kept long-term as insurance against extinction or thawed for use in conservation genetic management. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tasmanian-devils-reared-in-captivity-show-they-can-thrive-in-the-wild-68058">Tasmanian devils reared in captivity show they can thrive in the wild</a>
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<p>Biobanking is not uncommon. Large commercial biomedical biobanks routinely store cell lines for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6047884/">cancer</a> and other medical research. Biobanking is used extensively to <a href="https://time.com/doomsday-vault/">store seeds of crops</a> and <a href="https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-at-wakehurst/millennium-seed-bank">threatened plants</a> and in animal agriculture to store rare or valuable breeds of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00071668.2012.727383">livestock animals</a>.</p>
<p>Biobanks exist for conservation also, for example the <a href="https://institute.sandiegozoo.org/resources/frozen-zoo%C2%AE">Frozen Zoo in San Diego</a>, the <a href="https://www.frozenark.org/">UK’s Frozen Ark</a> and the <a href="http://www.australianfrozenzoo.org.au/">Australian Frozen Zoo</a> store frozen samples of some of the world’s most threatened species. Biobanking is helping save the <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acv.12270">black-footed ferret from extinction</a> after the last remaining ferrets (less than twenty) were brought into a captive breeding program in the 1980s and supplemented with <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12229">frozen sperm after many years to add back lost genes</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Yellow and black striped frog on sphagnum moss." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372703/original/file-20201203-17-1vva4u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Southern Corroborree Frog is critically endangered.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Using <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800916309582">real data</a> on the economic costs of captive breeding, we generated models for the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489458">threatened Oregon spotted frog (<em>Rana pretiosa</em>)</a>, a native of Canada and North America, which predict program costs and rates of genetic diversity loss for captive populations of any size. We then calculated how these costs change, and inbreeding rates reduce, when genes are added back into captive populations each generation using cryopreserved sperm. These models will work on any species where costs of captive breeding are available. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/personality-matters-when-saving-animals-fortune-favours-the-bold-20537">Personality matters: when saving animals, fortune favours the bold</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The results for the Oregon spotted frog model were startling. Biobanking dramatically slowed the rate of inbreeding and required far fewer live frogs to be held. Under normal captive breeding conditions, over 1,800 live frogs were required to meet the genetic target. By using biobanking, this number was reduced to 58 live frogs. </p>
<p>The estimated cost savings and the improved genetic fitness for the Oregon spotted frog were profound. The conventional captive population required to meet the genetic target of 90% genetic diversity would cost over $2.8 million to set up, followed by $537 million in a total 100-year program. The biobanked population would cost $121,000 to set up, followed by total costs of only around $20 million over the same period. This represents a 26-fold reduction in overall costs from normal captive breeding to the biobanking approach. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Brown frogs sits in grass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372705/original/file-20201203-21-1xykuia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We looked at breeding programs for the Oregon spotted frog which is native to North America and Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new era of captive breeding?</h2>
<p>Investment in the biobanking approach could allow captive breeding institutions to maintain animals that are fitter and more like those from wild populations. Captive breeding programs could meet genetic targets which have never been achieved and produce animals more suited for release to the wild. </p>
<p>The drastically reduced costs would allow institutions to hold many more species. With investment in research on the underlying technologies, the approach would not be limited to amphibians and could work in any species. Building in biobanking could usher in a new era of captive breeding for a much greater number of species in desperate need.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/zoos-arent-victorian-era-throwbacks-theyre-important-in-saving-species-78533">Zoos aren't Victorian-era throwbacks: they're important in saving species</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lachlan G. Howell is affiliated with the University of Newcastle and FAUNA Research Alliance. We would like to acknowledge invaluable contributions from various co-authors who made this article possible, including Richard Frankham, John Rodger, Ryan Witt, Simon Clulow and Rose Upton. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Clulow is an Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle. He is affiliated with the Fauna Research Alliance, and chairs Faunabank, an initiative of the FRA. He has received funding in the past from the Australian Research Council to support research into biobanking technologies.</span></em></p>Breeding in captivity is expensive, and means the animal’s gene pool will be sorely depleted. Using sperm and egg freezing and IVF techniques can reduce that.Lachlan G. Howell, Casual Academic and PhD Candidate | School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of NewcastleJohn Clulow, Associate Professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1352792020-04-04T13:56:10Z2020-04-04T13:56:10Z‘Tiger King’ and America’s captive tiger problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325102/original/file-20200402-74874-1kfwa2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3462%2C2528&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many breeders say they're stewards of conservation, but no captive tiger has ever been released into the wild.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Tiger-Attack/836b7b25a7e947b79635b32f85d3894a/99/0">AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: Netflix’s new docuseries “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11823076/">Tiger King</a>” takes viewers into the strange world of big cat collectors. Featuring eccentric characters with names like Joe Exotic and Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, the series touches on polygamy, addiction and personality cults, while exploring a mysterious disappearance and a murder-for-hire.</em></p>
<p><em>To Allison Skidmore, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz who studies wildlife trafficking, the documentary didn’t bring enough attention to the scourge of captive big cats.</em></p>
<p><em>A former park ranger, Skidmore first started studying the issue in the U.S. after the infamous death of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/wildlife-watch-cecil-trophy-hunting-andrew-loveridge/">Cecil the Lion</a> in Zimbabwe in 2015. She was shocked to learn about how little oversight there was stateside. We asked her about the legality, incentives and ease of buying and selling tigers.</em> </p>
<h2>1. How many captive tigers are in the US?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer. The vast majority of captive tigers are crossbred hybrids, so they aren’t identified as members of one of the <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/genomic-study-confirms-theres-six-tiger-subspecies-left">six tiger subspecies</a> – the Bengal tiger, Amur tiger, South China tiger, Sumatran tiger, Indochinese tiger and Malayan tiger. Instead, they’re classified as “generic.”</p>
<p>Less than 5% – or <a href="https://www.aza.org/tiger-conservation">fewer than 350</a> – of tigers in captivity are managed through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization that serves as an accrediting body in the U.S. They ensure accredited facilities meet higher standards of animal care than required by law. </p>
<p>All the rest are privately owned tigers, meaning they don’t belong to one of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ 236 sponsored institutions. These are considered generic and fall outside of federal oversight. </p>
<p>There’s no legal requirement to register these generic tigers, nor a comprehensive national database to track and monitor them. The best educated guess puts the number of tigers <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Blood_of_the_Tiger.html?id=EvcCBAAAQBAJ">at around 10,000</a> in the U.S. Estimates put the global captive tiger population <a href="https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=faculty_scholarship">as high as 25,000</a>. </p>
<p>In comparison, there are fewer than <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42587800_Killing_Tigers_to_Save_Them_Fallacies_of_the_Farming_Argument">4,000 tigers in the wild – down from 100,000 a century ago</a>. </p>
<h2>2. How do tigers change hands?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/">Endangered Species Act</a> and the <a href="https://www.cites.org/">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna</a> prevent the importation of tigers from the wild. So all tigers in the U.S. are born in captivity, with the rare exception of an orphaned wild cub that may end up in a zoo.</p>
<p>Only purebred tigers that are one of the six definitive subspecies are accounted for; these are the tigers you see in places like the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/tiger">Smithsonian National Zoo</a> and generally belong to the <a href="https://www.aza.org/species-survival-plan-programs">Species Survival Plan</a>, a captive breeding program designed to regulate the exchange of specific endangered species between member zoos in order to maintain genetic diversity.</p>
<p>All other tigers are found in zoos, sanctuaries, carnivals, wildlife parks, exhibits and private homes that aren’t sanctioned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They can change hands in any number of ways, from <a href="https://friendlyexoticpets.com/our-exotics/tiger-cubs-for-adoption/">online marketplaces</a> to exotic animal auctions. They can be bought for as little as <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/5400/paper-tigers.pdf">US$800 to $2,000 for a cub and $200 to $500 for an adult</a>, which is less expensive than<a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/pets/most-expensive-dog-breeds/#3"> many purebred dog puppies</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Can I legally buy a tiger?</h2>
<p>The U.S. is plagued with complicated and vague laws concerning tiger ownership. </p>
<p>However, there are no federal statutes or regulations that expressly forbid private ownership of tigers. State and local jurisdictions have been given this authority, <a href="https://wcclas.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CANasserTigerArticle.pdf">and some do pass bans or require permits</a>. Thirty-two states have bans or partial bans, and 14 states allow ownership with a simple license or permit. Four states – Alabama, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada – have no form of oversight or regulation at all.</p>
<p>An overarching, cohesive framework of regulations is missing, and even in states that ban private ownership, there are loopholes. For example, in all but three states, owners can apply for what’s called a “federal exhibitor license,” which is remarkably cheap and easy to obtain and <a href="https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=faculty_scholarship">circumvents any stricter state or local laws in place</a>. </p>
<p>You now <a href="https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?_ID=35543">need a permit</a> to transport tigers across state lines, but there’s still no permit required for intra-state travel. </p>
<h2>4. What’s in it for the owners?</h2>
<p>Some see it as a business venture, while others claim they care about conservation. I consider the latter reason insincere. </p>
<p>Many facilities <a href="http://dadecityswildthings.com/">promote themselves</a> as <a href="https://myrtlebeachsafari.com/">wildlife refuges or sanctuaries</a>. These places frame their breeding and exhibition practices as stewardship, as if they’re contributing to an endangered animal’s survival. The reality is that <a href="http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=philip_nyhus">no captive tiger has ever been released into the wild</a>, so it’s not like these facilities can augment wild populations. A true sanctuary or refuge should have a strict no breeding or handling policy, and should have education programs dedicated to promoting conservation.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=829&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1042&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1042&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325098/original/file-20200402-74895-7tltd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1042&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bottle-feeding at a ‘pseudo-sanctuary’ in Southern California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allison Skidmore</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ultimately, tigers are big money makers, especially tiger cubs. The <a href="https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/animal-welfare-act">Animal Welfare Act</a> allows cub petting from eight to 12 weeks of age. <a href="http://dadecityswildthings.com/animal-encounters/">People pay</a> $100 to $700 to pet, bottle-feed, swim with or take a photo with a cub.</p>
<p>None of these profits go toward the conservation of wild tigers, and this small window of opportunity for direct public contact means that exhibitors must continually breed tigers to maintain a constant supply of cubs.</p>
<p>The value of cubs declines significantly after 12 weeks. Where do all these surplus tigers go? Unfortunately, due to a lack of regulatory oversight, it’s hard to know.</p>
<p>Since many states don’t account for their live tigers, there’s also <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/5400/paper-tigers.pdf">no oversight regarding the reporting and disposal of dead tigers</a>. Wildlife criminologists fear that these tigers can easily end up in the black market where their parts can cumulatively <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468794116668001?journalCode=qrja">be worth up to $70,000</a>. There’s evidence of U.S. captive tigers tied to the domestic black market trade: In 2003, an owner of a tiger “rescue” facility <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-04-24-0304240300-story.html">was found to have 90 dead tigers in freezers on his property</a>. And in 2001, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV0Ep2lNSUM">an undercover investigation</a> led by the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> ended up leading to the prosecutions of 16 people for buying, selling and slaughtering 19 tigers.</p>
<h2>5. What role does social media play?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/global-wildlife-tourism-social-media-causes-animal-suffering/">Posing with tigers</a> on social media platforms like Instagram and on dating apps has become a huge problem. Not only can it create a health and safety risk for <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiger-kills-teenage-girl-in-kansas/">both the human and tiger</a>, but it also fosters a false narrative.</p>
<p>If you see thousands of photos of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-cvkaxD-W1/">people with captive tigers</a>, it masks the true problem of endangered tigers in the wild. Some might wonder whether tigers are really so endangered if they’re so easy to pose with.</p>
<p>The reality of the wild tiger’s plight has become masked behind the pomp and pageantry of social media. This marginalizes meaningful ideas about conservation and the true status of tigers as one of the most endangered big cats.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allison Skidmore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are more captive tigers in the US than there are in the wild around the world – and they can be bought for less than some breeds of dog puppies.Allison Skidmore, PhD Candidate in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa CruzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211312019-07-30T13:24:20Z2019-07-30T13:24:20ZCaptive lion breeding in South Africa: the case for a total ban<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286008/original/file-20190729-43104-78mfnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lion bones masquerade as tiger bones in China.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Africa-Johannesburg-Lion_Park01.jpg">Wikimedia commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/news/lions-and-tigers-being-farmed-bone-wine-and-other-traditional-medicine">new report</a> by global NGO, World Animal Protection, provides a damning indictment on the captive predator breeding industry. Big cats are being bred for the use of their bones in traditional Chinese medicine. China is estimated to house about <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/07/wildlife-watch-news-captive-tiger-farms-trafficking-investigation-vietnam-laos/">8 000 tigers</a> in captivity, while South Africa may have as many as <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-ongoing-disgrace-of-south-africas-captive-bred-lion-trade">14 000 lions</a>. Nontobeko Mtshali asks Ross Harvey to analyse the issues around captive breeding in South Africa.</em></p>
<p><strong>Is the South African government doing enough to manage the fact that it’s got the biggest number of wild cats in captivity?</strong></p>
<p>No. The fact that it has the <a href="https://www.bornfree.org.uk/storage/media/content/files/Publications/Born_Free_Lion_Breeding_Report.pdf">largest number</a> of big cats in captivity in the world – anywhere north of 8 000 – across an estimated 300 facilities – is <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PCEA-Captive-Lion-Breeding-Colloquium-Report-20181108.pdf">evidence</a> of an industry out of control. It remains largely unregulated. </p>
<p>The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/the-economics-of-captive-predator-breeding-in-south-africa-2/">admits</a> that it doesn’t know how many facilities there are. Nor does it know how many predators are in captivity. </p>
<p>Captive breeding is permissible under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The trade in products arising from it is permitted under an annotation. But the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – the world’s foremost conservation body – has <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/congress/motion/009">unequivocally called for its termination</a>. </p>
<p>The South African government has been slow to act against the industry despite significant welfare concerns. These include the fact that regular practices include removing cubs born in captivity from their mothers a few hours after birth. And that they are regularly sold into the captive-origin (canned) hunting industry after they’ve outlived their usefulness, or sold directly into the Asian tiger bone trade. </p>
<p>On top of this South Africa’s legal trade is <a href="https://eia-international.org/report/the-lions-share/">actively encouraging</a> the consumption of tiger parts, which is imperilling highly endangered wild tigers. This is because lion bones masquerade as tiger bones in China, where the purchase of tiger products is illegal. </p>
<p>The government’s interpretation that the industry can continue, provided it draws up legislation to govern it, contradicts <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PCEA-Captive-Lion-Breeding-Colloquium-Report-20181108.pdf">a set of resolutions</a> articulated by the country’s parliament in 2018 that called for laws to be reviewed with a view to shutting the industry down. There is no room in that instruction for the government to continue allowing the industry.</p>
<p><strong>What are the biggest issues it should be addressing?</strong></p>
<p>In my view, any new law should terminate the industry. </p>
<p>There is a counter-argument to this, that breeding <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217409">may provide a buffer</a> against wild lion exploitation. But this remains speculative, as the poaching of wild lions isn’t declining. There are probably fewer lions left in the wild than rhinos. </p>
<p>Also, legal supply availability undermines efforts to reduce demand. And the idea that South Africa and CITES can successfully regulate a legal trade in captive-bred lion parts or govern the industry well is a fantasy. The government has neither the will nor the resources to do this. </p>
<p>In fact it’s <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/lion-numbers-halved-since-original-lion-king/">not clear</a> that a continued legal trade can have any positive conservation value. The price of lion skeletons would have to be just right –- a Goldilocks price that incentivised farming but somehow simultaneously disincentivised poaching. In an <a href="https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/61/WP/wp_2015_33.zp56983.pdf">excellent scientific article</a> on why a legal trade in rhino horn will not solve the rhino poaching problem, Douglas Crookes and James Blignaut show that it is always cheaper for a poacher to extract parts from wild slaughtered animals than to farm them sustainably. </p>
<p>Legal trade only works if it crowds out illegal supply, and that is almost <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40603279">economically impossible</a>. It is further compounded by the fact that some consumers are after evidently wild-sourced product.</p>
<p>Finally, welfare considerations of lions’ lives in captivity bestow a responsibility on the government to end the industry. There are no easy answers. But South Africa’s Constitutional Court <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2016/46.html">has ruled</a> that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>welfare and animal conservation together reflect two intertwined values.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>What useful research has been done to help guide it in its decision-making?</strong></p>
<p>Both sides use research to bolster their arguments.</p>
<p>The government is citing a study it commissioned that was <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217409">published</a> in an academic journal article last year. It conveys findings from a survey of a large proportion of South Africa’s breeders. </p>
<p>The government has indicated that it takes one finding in particular to be concerning – some breeders intimated that they would find illegal channels to sell their skeletons if the government’s export quota was too restrictive. Policy-making to accommodate these threats looks more like a hostage negotiation than a well-considered and impartial plan. </p>
<p>The article also argues that South Africa should continue to allow the legal industry to flourish so as to avoid introducing a price-shock to the market. </p>
<p>But parliamentarians point to a <a href="https://www.bornfree.org.uk/publications/cash-before-conservation">number</a> of <a href="https://emsfoundation.org.za/wp-content/uploads/THE-EXTINCTION-BUSINESS-South-Africas-lion-bone-trade.pdf">reports</a> and a <a href="http://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Harvey_180818_WorkingPaper_PredatorBreedingSA.pdf">working paper</a> have been published to examine the various problematic elements of the lion bone trade and the captive predator breeding industry. These informed parliament’s resolution to shut the industry down. But they have largely been ignored by the government.</p>
<p><strong>What moral issues should it consider?</strong></p>
<p>If welfare and conservation are inextricably linked, then the industry should be terminated on those grounds alone. But there’s a more pernicious moral issue at play. </p>
<p>Justifying the continuation of predator breeding farms on the grounds that there is no causally established relationship between farming and increased poaching is a form of <a href="https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy.uct.ac.za/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F14B8EC7C395C77EB4D803E1A5535B8A/S0265052509090128a.pdf/interpretation_of_maximizing_utilitarianism.pdf">crude utilitarianism</a>. The utility to be maximised is a limited increase in wild lion and tiger poaching. If breeding serves that end, the means are justified. </p>
<p>This calls us to ignore the suffering of individual animals, which is morally objectionable. Science is not value-neutral, nor is its practice always impartial. It should never be used to ignore ethics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Harvey previously worked for the South African Institute of International Affairs, which conducted two research projects for Stop Ivory and the Humane Society International respectively. He is now a freelance economist who works with the Conservation Action Trust. </span></em></p>South Africa has the biggest captive big cat industry in the world and it is largely unregulated.Ross Harvey, Independent Economist; PhD Candidate, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181032019-05-31T15:58:32Z2019-05-31T15:58:32ZScientists race to save the Sumatran rhino as last male in Malaysia dies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277411/original/file-20190531-69059-1mjldmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C933%2C672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rosa in the Sumatran Rhino (_Dicerorhinus sumatrensis_) Sanctuary, Way Kambas, Sumatra, Indonesia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_rhinoceros#/media/File:Sumatran_Rhinoceros_Way_Kambas_2008.jpg">Willem v Strien/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rhino die every day, so why is the world mourning the loss of Tam? Tam was the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/05/last-sumatran-rhino-malaysia-dies/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20190527animals-lastmalesumatranrhino::rid=&sf213370109=1">last male Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia</a> and was thought to have died of old age in his thirties – elderly for a Sumatran rhino. He was taken from the wild in 2008 to a sanctuary in Malaysian Borneo. His health had been deteriorating since April 2019 and he finally succumbed in May. He is survived by a single female, Iman, who cannot reproduce due to a ruptured tumour in her uterus.</p>
<p>The news isn’t good, but an estimated 80 individuals survive in the wilds of Indonesia – not a great number, but <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/javan-rhino">marginally better than the Javan rhino</a> which <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/javan-rhino">may be as few as 58</a>. By comparison, the African white rhino, which draws a great deal of concern, is <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino-info/population-figures/">thought to number 20,000</a>. But populations of the Sumatran rhino – the world’s smallest and hairiest rhino – have declined 70% in the past two decades, mainly due to poaching and habitat loss, and are now <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6553/12787457">classed as critically endangered</a> – the highest possible risk of extinction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-rhinos-hog-the-limelight-while-their-asian-cousins-head-for-extinction-47336">Africa's rhinos hog the limelight while their Asian cousins head for extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The majority of the remaining Sumatran rhino are reckoned to be on Sumatra – the largest island of Indonesia – with a handful likely in the wild in Indonesian Borneo. For such a rare species with a scattered distribution that lives in dense mountain forests, evaluating the population size isn’t easy. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/will-current-conservation-responses-save-the-critically-endangered-sumatran-rhinoceros-dicerorhinus-sumatrensis/E36BC68A94599C82D48D9EB810DFD321">Camera trapping</a> is the main tool for counting this relatively diminutive and shy rhino, but even confidence in the estimate of 80 individuals isn’t high. There may be more but there are likely to be less – possibly <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/worst-case-scenario-there-could-be-only-30-wild-sumatran-rhinos-left/">as few as 30</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277352/original/file-20190531-69055-1hq9bi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sumatran rhino once roamed across Asia, from south-east India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. It’s believed the wild Malaysian populations are now extinct. There may be a small population in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_rhinoceros#cite_note-5">Eric Dinerstein/Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On Sumatra, populations are thought to be isolated as their habitats have <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-loss-doesnt-just-affect-species-it-impacts-networks-of-ecological-relationships-117687">fragmented into smaller pockets due to deforestation</a>. The result is inbreeding and means that genetically these sub-populations have a bleak future. They have been extinct in the wild in Malaysia since 2015. Captive Tam and Iman were already a lost cause at that point. With no possibility of reproduction, the Malaysian population of Sumatran rhino have been functionally extinct for many years.</p>
<p>Low population sizes, few rhinos living close together and the isolation of viable habitats have combined with fatal consequences for the Sumatran rhino. If females don’t regularly mate, they have a tendency to develop uterine cysts and growths. It was this that left Iman infertile. This is what <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/allee-effects-19699394">conservation biologists refer to as an “Allee effect”</a>: the lower a population becomes, the less successful individuals become at reproducing. Ultimately, this <a href="https://conservationbytes.com/2008/08/25/the-extinction-vortex/">leads to an extinction vortex</a>.</p>
<h2>Captive breeding</h2>
<p>Tam’s death may yet encourage an ambitious plan to save the Sumatran rhino – with <a href="https://savesumatranrhinos.org/">a concerted effort</a> to capture as many of the remaining wild rhino as possible, and breed them in captivity.</p>
<p>A young female called Pahu – whose forest habitat was <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/critically-endangered-sumatran-rhino-moved-to-new-home">literally being removed from under her feet</a> by mining companies – was captured in 2018 and is apparently doing well in captivity. Sadly, there is a risk to this strategy. By removing rhino from their habitat, we further reduce the probability of them breeding successfully in the wild.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277393/original/file-20190531-69063-63bai7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mother, Ratu, with four-month-old Andatu at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_rhinoceros#/media/File:Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old.jpg">International Rhino Foundation/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As an ecologist, captive breeding is something that I find hard to celebrate. But it may be the only hope to save a species that, otherwise, appears doomed to slowly dwindle into extinction.</p>
<p>That said, the breeding success of Sumatran rhino in captivity still isn’t assured. There has been some success in US zoos, but from 45 rhino captured since 1984, only <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/will-current-conservation-responses-save-the-critically-endangered-sumatran-rhinoceros-dicerorhinus-sumatrensis/E36BC68A94599C82D48D9EB810DFD321">four calves have been born</a>. Even geopolitics deals this species a bad hand. Malaysia holds Iman and her eggs – the single surviving captive Sumatran rhino on the island of Borneo – and the sperm of recently deceased Tam. But the country must now collaborate with Indonesia, which holds seven rhino in captivity which have <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/programmes/the-sumatran-rhino-sanctuary/">so far produced two offspring</a>.</p>
<h2>Back from the dead?</h2>
<p>The last throw of the dice may have to involve something akin to resurrection – using <a href="https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/death-malaysia-last-male-sumatran-225539255.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAD_kQRJsSBKlJUSaSDDk68L2KSzq0l1A0Dbppp4c9H8kW_qbQ7CDaTExYtSmeVg5Zc3Z2uWm5YpcSesKj9l-EYvSyA6s96xmis7SowVMaFqL-uNv2WDM_3hdI77V9xD6-RfTEVOatbW4TzCqUn7AbM4Ybk82EOKDOQH6CEzRQYat">stored eggs and sperm from rhino</a>, including Iman and Tam, for artifical insemination or IVF in captive surrogates of the same species. Sumatran rhinos are truly unique – <a href="http://www.pachydermjournal.org/index.php/pachy/article/view/464/363">they are the only member of their genus</a>. With no related rhino species, the only surrogate candidate must be another Sumatran rhino. If successful, offspring could potentially come from otherwise lost genes, <a href="https://theconversation.com/hybrid-embryos-raise-hope-of-resurrecting-northern-white-rhino-but-whats-the-point-99249">as has been suggested for the African white rhino</a>. </p>
<p>While the science is developing, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/de-extinction-22997">de-extinction</a>” is still an expensive and unlikely long shot that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-northern-white-rhino-should-not-be-brought-back-to-life-94153">raises its own practical and ethical dilemmas</a>. If successful, we could end up farming an ecologically dead species. I want wild animals to be in the wild contributing to the ecosystems within which they evolved – not living in zoos forever.</p>
<p>Both modes of rescue – captive breeding and genetic resurrection – are too little, too late, like firefighters taking action when the damage is already too far gone. The longer that society waits to help a declining species, the greater the delay in addressing the driving forces of endangerment, be they poaching, habitat loss, non-native species, or climate change. And the lower the probability of success, and the greater the cost of the attempt.</p>
<p>So, Tam was just one rhino. He was not the last of his species, or even the last male of his species, but he is one more loss from an already limited population. The lower the population size, the greater the impact of losing another individual. Tam is another alarm bell alerting us to our inability to act quickly enough to remove the threats to species, and ultimately to save life on Earth. Every dead Sumatran rhino is now met with publicity and concern. Rightly so, but we need to start getting the conservation action right early enough for it to work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Gilchrist does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The world mourns the loss of Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino. Can anything stop the slide of the species towards extinction?Jason Gilchrist, Ecologist, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1138532019-03-21T12:55:57Z2019-03-21T12:55:57ZSouth Africa kicks the can down the road on captive predator breeding<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264870/original/file-20190320-93039-a740u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Once cubs in captivity get too big to be stroked and cuddled by tourists, they're sold into the canned hunting and Asian bone trade industries.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world’s leading lion scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605312000695">argue that</a> captive predator breeding has no conservation value. Successful reintroduction from captivity into the wild among large felids is extremely rare. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the captive predator breeding industry in South Africa operates on the pretext that reintroduction to the wild is a viable strategy, and that it <a href="https://academicjournals.org/journal/IJBC/article-full-text/6AC3AF766598">contributes</a> to broader conservation. </p>
<p>The industry’s proponents also <a href="http://www.sapredators.co.za/images/photos/SAPA-FINAL-MANAGEMENT-PLAN-FOR-CAPTIVE-LIONS-Oct2017.pdf">contend</a> that it may serve as a buffer against wild lion poaching. The logic is that if captive-bred lions can supply the market for lion and tiger bones in East Asia, then wild lions will not be poached. South Africa’s Scientific Authority – a body that advises the Minister of Environmental Affairs on conservation issues – made this speculative argument <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/gazetted_notices/nemba10of2004_nondetrimentfindingsGN41393.pdf">last year</a>. </p>
<p>But speculation is insufficient grounds on which to continue the practice. Growing <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/roaring-trade-in-lion-bones-fills-gap-in-the-market-for-tiger-parts/">evidence</a> shows that wild lions in other parts of Africa are being poached, driven by East Asian demand for their parts. So, while the Scientific Authority is correct that South Africa’s wild lions are not imperiled by captive predator breeding, this does not mean that other lion populations are safe. </p>
<p>Despite these concerns, the latest <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28092/?utm_campaign=minute-alert&utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email">development</a> reveals a gaping hole in South Africa’s governance of the industry. The Department of Environmental Affairs – in its first quarterly report to parliament this year – revealed that the industry is still thriving. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-role-in-the-trade-in-lion-bones-a-neglected-story-101842">South Africa's role in the trade in lion bones: a neglected story</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>South Africa’s parliament has <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Final-PCEA-Captive-Lion-Breeding-Colloquium-Report-13112018.pdf">unequivocally condemned</a> the captive breeding of predators for human interaction, canned hunting and the East Asian lion bone trade. It saw it as a blight on South Africa’s tourism and conservation reputation. <a href="https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Harvey_180818_WorkingPaper_PredatorBreedingSA.pdf">A paper</a> by the South African Institute of International Affairs estimates that the continued protection of the captive predator breeding industry may cost South Africa as much as R54 billion (about US$3.8 billion) in reputation damage over the next decade. South Africans themselves are <a href="http://www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/public_opinion_poll_on_south_african_lion_breeding_08_20_2018.pdf">overwhelmingly opposed</a> to the practice and believe that it harms the country’s brand.</p>
<p>But the government appears to have kicked the can down the road. It does not appear to have taken on board parliament’s or South Africans’ strong views. </p>
<h2>Policy instructions from parliament</h2>
<p>The parliamentary portfolio committee for Environmental Affairs hosted a <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/26878/">two-day workshop</a> in August 2018 entitled: ‘Captive Lion Breeding for Hunting In South Africa: Harming or Promoting The Conservation Image of The Country’. The purpose was to review <a href="https://emsfoundation.org.za/wp-content/uploads/THE-EXTINCTION-BUSINESS-South-Africas-lion-bone-trade.pdf">reports</a> and presentations from conservation and <a href="http://www.cphc-sa.co.za/association-principles/">hunting</a> organisations on the topic. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Final-PCEA-Captive-Lion-Breeding-Colloquium-Report-13112018.pdf">final report</a> by the committee called for the Department of Environmental Affairs to urgently </p>
<blockquote>
<p>initiate a policy and legislative review of Captive Breeding of Lions for hunting and lion bone trade with a view to putting an end to this practice…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It further called for an audit of captive lion breeding facilities throughout the country </p>
<blockquote>
<p>to ascertain the conformity with the current threatened or protected species regulations and other applicable legislation in light of ongoing and increasing disquiet about the (captive lion breeding) industry.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A lucrative industry</h2>
<p>The captive breeding industry is <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/moving-targets-the-canned-hunting-of-captivebred-lions-in-south-africa/929CD0F7D4825D9DB6CD52DEEE1B9B27">lucrative</a>. Lion “encounter” operations buy or rent cubs from breeders. Some conduct <a href="https://emsfoundation.org.za/wp-content/uploads/Artifical-Insemination-UCC-and-UPta.pdf">questionable research</a> on the cats. Unsuspecting tourists pet, feed, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuddle-Kill-Account-Breeding-Industry/dp/1775845931">cuddle</a> and walk with the big cats, mostly for the sake of a selfie. Some even pay for the privilege of <a href="https://www.claws-out.com/my-volunteering-experience">volunteering</a> at these facilities, falsely believing that they are contributing to conservation. The <a href="https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Harvey_180818_WorkingPaper_PredatorBreedingSA.pdf">South African Institute of International Affairs paper</a> estimates that the encounter element of the industry is worth roughly $180 million per year, the majority of which accrues to a handful of beneficiaries. </p>
<p>Once the cubs have exceeded their economic utility to encounter facilities, they are often sold into the <a href="http://www.tinashegroup.co.za/">canned hunting industry</a> and thereafter into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-role-in-the-trade-in-lion-bones-a-neglected-story-101842">Asian bone trade</a>. </p>
<p>Given the recent <a href="http://www.bloodlions.org/">controversy</a> around canned hunting, some breeders sell directly into the bone trade, which has led to the creation of <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/media-articles/lions-in-limbo-at-free-state-abattoir-while-dea-and-daff-point-fingers/">lion abattoirs</a>. These abattoirs execute captive-bred lions for their skeletons. Under the Animal Protection Act of 1962, which prohibits the slaughter of wild animals, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has the power to shut these down. It should do so. </p>
<h2>The problem</h2>
<p>The department’s <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28092/?utm_campaign=minute-alert&utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email">defence</a> of the industry in terms of fulfilling its mandate to conserve biodiversity, enforce international agreements and protect whole ecosystems, appears flimsy.</p>
<p>In 2016 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature issued <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/congress/motion/009">a motion</a> that urged the South African government to </p>
<blockquote>
<p>terminate the practice of breeding lions in captivity for the purpose of canned shooting through a structured, time-bound process. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The motion also called for captive breeding to be limited to those facilities that were evidently conservation-orientated. </p>
<p>The Department of Environmental Affairs didn’t mention this. But it has at least proposed an amendment to regulations covering threatened or protected species that would see issuing authorities – the Provincial Environmental Departments – refusing to grant a permit for breeding listed large predators unless they could demonstrate conservation value. What’s unclear, though, is how such value will be identified or verified.</p>
<p>In respect of the audit it was instructed to carry out, the Department admitted that it still doesn’t know exactly how many breeding facilities there are, or how many big cats are being held in captivity. It inspected a total of 227 facilities between 2015 and 2018, 88 of which (38%) were found to have violated existing regulations.</p>
<p>But the department has <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/anger-over-green-light-given-to-lion-farms/">re-issued permits</a> for most of these facilities. It did not provide reasons for doing so.</p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The department is in the process of establishing a high-level panel to conduct a more comprehensive legislative and policy review of the industry, though its operating terms have not yet been established. Most of the committee members (except for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance) seemed satisfied with the department’s feedback. This is difficult to understand given their vehement dislike of the industry and its negative impact on the country’s reputation.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that, increasingly, ethical tourism is gaining ground. South Africa can ill afford to become a pariah again. It therefore has to move faster against industries that threaten its tourism and conservation brand value.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Harvey works for the South African Institute of International Affairs, which has - in the past - received research funding from the Humane Society and Stop Ivory. </span></em></p>While the international conservation community unites against the captive breeding of big cats in South Africa, the government stalls.Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International AffairsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1073712018-11-23T10:24:09Z2018-11-23T10:24:09ZCaptive breeding has a dark side – as disturbing Czech discovery of trafficked tiger body parts highlights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246828/original/file-20181122-182037-g6tveo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/19/gruesome-discovery-of-czech-tiger-farm-exposes-illegal-trade-in-heart-of-europe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Othe">rotting remains</a> of a number of tigers, lions and cougars were recently discovered in a raid on a house in Prague. This disturbing find was the culmination of a five-year investigation that revealed an illegal trade in exotic wildlife blooming in the heart of Europe.</p>
<p>Czech authorities managed to identify the main figures behind an international crime ring who had been processing and selling wild cat parts as traditional Chinese medicine. Claws, teeth, bones, skin and extracts from their bodies known as “tiger wine” or “broth” were smuggled to Asia or used to supply the domestic demand in tiger products. The slaughtered tigers came from the country’s largest private breeding facility for lions and tigers – where, officially, these protected wildcats are bred for circuses, roadside attractions and petting zoos.</p>
<p>This story provides a stark reminder of the cruelty engendered by captive breeding. Even zoos heralded as the beacons of endangered species conservation play a controversial part in this story. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bath in the house raided by Czech authorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Captive tigers</h2>
<p>With only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/world/asia/wild-tiger-numbers-are-rising-wildlife-groups-say.html">3,900</a> left in the wild, the tiger family (<em>Panthera tigris</em>) is the only big cat listed as <a href="https://www.iucn.org/resources/conservation-tools/iucn-red-list-threatened-species">endangered</a>, with two subspecies critically endangered. The captive population, meanwhile, is abundant. </p>
<p>In 2014, the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/more-tigers-in-american-backyards-than-in-the-wild">WWF</a> alerted us to the alarming news that there are “more tigers living in American backyards than in the wild”. The organisation called on the US government to introduce a ban on private ownership of big cats. No such federal bill has been passed since, but <a href="https://bigcatrescue.org/state-laws-exotic-cats/">21 states</a> ban all dangerous exotic pets, while the rest allow certain species or require permits. Out of 5,000 captive tigers in the US alone, only 350 are held in zoos and other facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The <a href="http://www.stolenwildlife.org/druhy.html">estimated</a> number of tigers in the Czech Republic, meanwhile, is 390, only 39 of which are kept in zoos. </p>
<p>A growing number of cities around the world close their gates for <a href="https://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-bans-enacted/">circuses</a> that use wild animals. According to <a href="http://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/wp-content/uploads/Eurogroup-for-Animals-Exotic-Pet-Report-FINAL.pdf">Czech law</a>, captive breeding of big cats requires special permits, while the environmental inspectorate records each tiger’s birth, sale or death. Following the discovery of the tiger slaughterhouse in Prague, the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums issued a <a href="https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/EAZA-Documents-Other/2018-EAZA-Position-Statement-on-tiger-trade.pdf">statement</a> urging authorities to take immediate action in ensuring that all captive tigers serve noncommercial purposes such as research, education and conservation breeding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bones discovered by Czech authorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regal wildcats</h2>
<p>The idea of protecting endangered species through captive breeding in zoos is relatively new, but has a much longer and darker history. </p>
<p>Exotic animals first entered private collections in Europe as diplomatic gifts. Tigers were particularly highly priced in royal and aristocratic menageries as dangerous predators were seen to embody the political and physical prowess of their owners. Wild cats were also exhibited for popular audiences in circuses and other travelling shows. The intensive traffic in wildlife was largely facilitated by colonial expansion. That is why European port cities, as the centres for colonial commerce, were the first to open public zoos.</p>
<p>In the aftermath of decolonisation and the introduction of the <a href="https://www.cites.org/">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species</a> in 1973, the lucrative business of capturing and trading exotic animals came to an end. Faced with the termination of a supply of specimens caught in the wild, zoological parks resorted to captive breeding. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hunting for tigers, Thomas Williamson & Samuel Howitt, 1808.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_hunting#/media/File:ElephantbackTigerHunt.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They did so, on the one hand to ensure they retained rare species in their collections and, on the other hand, to redirect their mission: from entertainment towards conservation. Devising so-called “Species Survival Plans”, accredited zoos have collaborated since 1981 to breed endangered species and manage all captive individuals of every species as one population to ensure genetic diversity. </p>
<p>But even after this period, research, education and conservation did not always drive captive breeding in zoos. Even non-commercial breeding does not always prioritise animal welfare. </p>
<h2>White tigers</h2>
<p>Many zoos, for example, are still devoted to breeding white tigers. Only two years ago the Czech <a href="https://www.zooliberec.cz/tygr-indicky-bila-forma.html">Liberec Zoo</a> celebrated the birth of two white cubs, that were transferred to Pont-Scorff Zoo in France in July this year. This rare variation of the Bengal tiger has distinctive white fur colouring with pale chocolate stripes and mesmerising blue eyes. The extraordinary coating results from a genetic mutation, which as a recessive trait is expressed only if both parents carry the mutation.</p>
<p>This inclined the zoos to practice inbreeding, often pairing off siblings in hope for a white-furred offspring. All 250 white tigers in captivity today <a href="https://zoostoriesblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/the-dynasty-of-enchanters-white-tigers-in-captivity/">are related</a>, having a common ancestor captured in 1951 – the wild-caught cub named Mohan that was the pride of Maharaja of Rewa, an Indian royalty who was determined to breed these rare wild cats. After several failed attempts, in 1957 the first white cubs were born in India from the union of Mohan and his daughter Radha. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Captive tigers in the Czech Republic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1960, the <a href="https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/where-have-all-white-tigers-gone">Smithsonian Institution</a> procured one of the female cubs for $10,000. Today she would be worth eight times more. While the royal ancestry of this exotic feline vividly stimulated the imagination of American zoogoers, her main task at the National Zoo was to produce more offspring of her kind. The demand for these extremely rare animals often justifies pairing off closely related tigers, even though inbred animals are prone to acquiring crippling defects including shortened legs, kidney problems and crossed eyes, as well as psychological issues. </p>
<h2>Tinder tigers</h2>
<p>The tigers slaughtered in the Czech Republic were not bred in zoos but in a private facility, yet their story should put captive breeding in general into question. </p>
<p>Today, tigers are bred outside of their natural habitats for a variety of reasons: for zoos, exhibitions, circuses performances or as pets. Tiger cubs are often displayed in petting zoos and subjected to the cruel practice of declawing. Adult tigers are drugged to pose in photos. People still see these extremely dangerous carnivores as proxies for luxury and sexiness.</p>
<p>But hopefully attitudes are changing. In 2017, <a href="https://blog.gotinder.com/take-down-the-tiger-selfies/">Tinder</a> launched a campaign to encourage its users to stop posting “tiger selfies”. And most recently, due to public pressure, China was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46190599">forced to reinstate</a> a <a href="http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2018/10/29/content_281476367121088.htm">newly lifted ban</a> on using tiger bone and rhino horn in medicine.</p>
<p>Of course we need to pay attention to the conservation of today’s wild tigers threatened by habitat loss due to human activity, poaching, loss of prey and the swelling human-wildlife conflicts. But more attention should be paid to the plight of the enormous captive population of tigers across the world.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated on November 26 to correct the stated number of captive tigers in the US.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianna Szczygielska does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The slaughtered tigers were not bred in zoos, yet their story should put captive breeding in general into question.Marianna Szczygielska, Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/715712017-02-07T07:29:42Z2017-02-07T07:29:42ZTrading in extinction: how the pet trade is killing off many animal species<p>Global biodiversity loss doesn’t just result from the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112715003400">destruction of habitats</a>, or even <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12785/abstract">hunting species for meat</a>. A <a href="http://www.traffic.org/trade/">huge number of species are threatened by trade</a> – both alive as pets or exhibits, or dead for use in medicines. </p>
<p>Though people have become increasingly aware of the threat posed by the trade of high-value species, such as the elephant for ivory, and various animals such as tigers, rhinos and the pangolin for medicine, few realise the risk that the pet trade poses to the future survival of many less well-known species.</p>
<p>On visiting a zoo or pet shop, you may expect that the reptiles and amphibians on show are bred in captivity, but many of these animals may have been imported live. In fact, 92% of the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5927/594">500,000 live animal shipments between 2000-2006 to the United States</a> (that’s 1,480,000,000 animals) were for the pet trade, and 69% of these <a href="https://comtrade.un.org/data/">originated in Southeast Asia</a>. </p>
<p>These exports are <a href="https://comtrade.un.org/data/">increasing annually from the majority</a> of tropical countries. And without careful regulation, this trade may be disastrous for many species.</p>
<h2>Legal trade?</h2>
<p>Many zoos, aquaria and pet stockists formerly relied on “certified breeders” in many parts of the world (especially <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12240/full">Southeast Asia and South America</a>) to provide stock for pets and exhibitions. But it’s now well established that <a href="http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/Captive-bred_or_wild-taken.pdf">only a small proportion of these animals are, in fact, captive bred</a>. The vast majority may be <a href="https://sapiens.revues.org/1327">harvested from the wild</a> and <a href="http://www.trafficj.org/publication/07_opportunity_or_threat.pdf">laundered to appear legal</a>. </p>
<p>One such case is the common Tokay Gecko (<em>Gecko gecko</em>), of which Indonesia can legally export three million live annually (<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160106-tokay-geckos-indonesia-traditional-medicines-wildlife-trade-traffic/">as designated by CITES which determines legal exports quotas of all internationally traded species</a>), in addition to a <a href="http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/11/16/tokay-gecko-trade-boom-in-south-east-asia.html">further 1.2 million</a> dried for its <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/hunting-the-tokay-gecko/">mythical medical properties</a>. </p>
<p>But breeding <a href="http://www.traffic.org/home/2015/11/6/tokay-gecko-captive-breeding-doesnt-add-up.html">three million</a> of these animals would require at least 420,000 females and 42,000 males; 90,000 incubation containers and 336,000 rearing cages; plus food and hundreds of staff. All that outlay would need to be recovered at the cost of under $US1.90 per gecko, and that’s before considering death rates and the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160106-tokay-geckos-indonesia-traditional-medicines-wildlife-trade-traffic/">1.2 million that are sold dried</a>. As a result, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurel-neme/how-captive-breeding-of_b_8942030.html">majority of these geckos are caught</a> in the wild. </p>
<p>The same is true for an estimated <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711003685">160 reptile species</a>. Around 80% of Indonesia’s green pythons (<em>Morelia viridis</em>) (more than <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711003685">5,337 annually</a>) are estimated to be exported illegally, and almost the entire population of the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/poachers-international-loophole-captive-breeding">Palawan forest turtle was captured by a single group</a> to export across the region. </p>
<p>Due to collector demand for new and rare species, entire populations can be collected using academic publications to target animals as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/01/poachers-using-science-papers-to-target-newly-discovered-species">soon as they are scientifically described</a>. At least <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716301987">21 reptile species have been targeted this way</a> and wild populations may become extinct soon after their discovery as a result. Academics have begun leaving precise locations of new species out of their publications to try prevent this. </p>
<p>Collector demand has driven a number of species to extinction in the wild, including the Chinese Tiger gecko <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/18917684/0"><em>Goniuorosaurus luii</em>)</a> and many other geckos known only to collectors and scientists. Yet these extinct in the wild, critically endangered and unclassified species are easily available from <a href="http://www.ridgeandvalleyreptiles.com/goniurosaurus-luii.html">unscrupulous traders</a> in America and Europe, via the <a href="http://www.ridgeandvalleyreptiles.com/goniurosaurus-luii.html">internet</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/11/lizard-traffickers-exploit-legal-loopholes-to-trade-at-worlds-biggest-fair">reptile fairs</a>.</p>
<p>These threats are a particular risk to any newly described reptile species, particularly the reptiles of Asia <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/lizards/geckos/">as well</a> as <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/7080799/Reptile-collector-who-smuggled-geckos-in-his-underwear-jailed-in-New-Zealand.html">New Zealand</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160712115524.htm">Madagascar</a>. </p>
<p>For the majority of these species, legal trade has never been permitted internationally; all available animals come from illegal stock, and may represent the global population of some of these species. </p>
<p>An estimated <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714004984">50% of live reptile exports</a> are thought to be caught in the wild despite the fact <a href="http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0006320716301987/1-s2.0-S0006320716301987-main.pdf?_tid=c6ae70b8-db48-11e6-97f9-00000aab0f6c&acdnat=1484501809_9877604697e7c193fbf561155ef79124">under half of the 10,272 currently described</a> reptile species have had their conservation status assessed. Under 8% have their trade levels controlled so developing appropriate priorities, quotas or management guidelines is almost impossible.</p>
<p>But this exploitation is not limited to reptiles and amphibians alone. Any species can fall prey to collectors, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/200000-of-perus-primates-trafficked-for-pet-trade-or-bushmeat-yearly/">with primates</a>, and orchid and bird species often suffering the same fate. More than <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-016-1193-8">212 over-exploited amphibian species have been classified so far</a>, with at least 290 species targeted for the international pet trade. </p>
<p>Surveys in Thailand revealed <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071500141X">more than 347 orchid species</a> available in a single market. They come from across the region and include many undescribed species, as well as those illegally transported into Thailand. </p>
<p>These species suffer the same fate as reptiles, with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MistyValleyOrchids/app/190322544333196/">new discoveries often being exploited by the market</a>, sometimes encouraged by <a href="http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/2826/3819">researchers</a>. They’re <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Newly-Orchid-Plant-Paphiopedilum-Rungsuriyanum-Species-/391135217817">easily available over the internet</a>, resulting in the <a href="http://www.rufford.org/files/www.slipperorchid.org__0.pdf">extinction of these species based to trade alone</a> and the <a href="http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40866">refusal to accept the threat of trade</a>.</p>
<p>Many <a href="http://orientalbirdclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Trade-driven-extinctions.pdf">bird species</a> are also under severe extinction threat because of the pet trade. They include thousands of birds in South America, and an estimated <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320712001152">3.33 million annually from Southeast Asia</a> (1.3 million from Indonesia alone). </p>
<p>The pressure on Indonesian birds is so severe that in just one day in a single market over <a href="http://www.traffic.org/publications/in-the-market-for-extinction-an-inventory-of-jakartas-bird-m.html">16,160 birds of around 206 species were reported to be for sale</a>, of which 98% were native to Indonesia, and 20% occurred nowhere else in the world.</p>
<p>Fish have similar statistics. Up to <a href="http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2523460/the_dark_side_of_hawaiis_aquarium_trade.html">98% of those in aquaria are wild caught from reefs</a> and suffer <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/98-of-marine-fish-headed-for-the-aquarium-trade-die-within-a-year-in-the-philippines/">death rates of 98% within a year</a>. As a result, wild fish populations of species, such as the clownfish, have decreased by up to 75%.</p>
<h2>Whose responsibility?</h2>
<p>The illegal wildlife trade is the <a href="http://globalriskinsights.com/2017/01/illicit-wildlife-trafficking-political-crisis/">fourth largest illegal trade globally</a>, worth about <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/problems/illegal_trade/wildlife_trade_campaign/wildlife_trafficking_report/">$US20 billion annually</a>. About <a href="http://www.eastbysoutheast.com/southeast-asias-illicit-wildlife-trade-international-cooperation-necessary-to-find-solution/">half comes from Southeast Asia</a>. </p>
<p>But unlike other illicit trade, much of the <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-arent-illegal-wildlife-traders-using-the-dark-web">illegal wildlife trade is not buried in the “dark web”</a>. Enforcement is generally so weak that traders of the majority of live animals and plants can operate in plain sight with little fear of reprisal.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/05/europe-to-crack-down-on-wildlife-smugglers-following-guardian-investigation">Lacey Act in the US prevents the import of live organisms</a> from their countries of origin, in order to prevent potential laundering of wild-caught animals. But as Europe has no similar legislation, it provides a conduit in addition to an end point for trade.</p>
<p>The majority of the demand for these species, and especially rare species is from European and <a href="https://comtrade.un.org/data/">North American collectors</a>. But, as only a tiny portion of this trade is regulated (<a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-016-1193-8">2% of international amphibian trade</a>, and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716301987">10% of global reptile trade</a>), urgent action is needed to protect vulnerable species from possible extinction. </p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12270/abstract">As many species of reptiles, amphibians and orchids have not been listed by CITES</a> (due to insufficient information, or recent discovery), there is no real regulation in the animal trade. And customs officers cannot be expected to distinguish between a rare and a common orchid or frog, so simpler restrictions are required to prevent this potentially damaging trade.</p>
<h2>Innocent until proven guilty?</h2>
<p>As so many species have no CITES classification perhaps what we need is a paradigm shift so that only species classed as tradeable, and certified as such can be traded. This would mean all specimens without a certificate could not be transported internationally. </p>
<p>At present, tracking trade of whole groups is difficult as organisations that are in position to do this, such as the <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-016-1193-8">World Customs Organisation</a>, do not include records for amphibians. </p>
<p>Many species in the West can only have arrived through illegal routes, yet domestic trade of these species once in a country is currently unrestricted. Licensing or certification systems should be created as a mandatory part of the sale of any taxa vulnerable to exploitation, with confiscations and punishments used to assist compliance.</p>
<p>Collectors of live animals and plants are predominantly hobbyists, so the majority are unlikely to go to great lengths to procure specimens if any level of enforcement were instigated. Such action also needs to extend to finally restrict the <a href="http://www.trafficj.org/publication/16_Trading_Faces.pdf">thriving trade via the internet</a> in these species which currently exists. </p>
<p>Though <a href="https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/EIA-Time-for-Action-main-report-FINAL.pdf">pledges have been made by European governments</a> to restrict wildlife trade, their efforts normally fail to account for the huge numbers of species at risk as pets and live specimens. Given the laundering and corruption in these species ranges, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716301987">restrictions on import by consumer countries are urgently needed</a>. </p>
<p>If we want any future for wild populations of these species, drastic action is needed to control their international and domestic trade. Without such action, we can expect to see the loss of many rare species to greed alone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71571/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Catherine Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If we want any future for wild populations of the numerous species traded for pets, exhibits and use in medicines, drastic action is needed to control their international and domestic trade.Alice Catherine Hughes, Associate Professor in Landscape Ecology & Conservation, Chinese Academy of SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/680582016-11-13T19:05:24Z2016-11-13T19:05:24ZTasmanian devils reared in captivity show they can thrive in the wild<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144741/original/image-20161106-27947-nukkxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Devils released back onto the Tasmanian mainland in the next step to fight the deadly DFTD disease.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wildlife Management Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the concerns of any conservation breeding program is how well a species raised in captivity will survive when released into the wild.</p>
<p>Evolutionary changes that are beneficial for an individual while in captivity may reduce its fitness when translocated to the wild.</p>
<p>For some species, like many fish, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/1/238.full">rapid evolutionary changes</a> can occur within the first generation in captivity. And carnivores raised in captivity have a low chance of surviving the first year following their release. </p>
<p>A review of 45 carnivore translocations, which included 17 different species, including the European lynx, European otter and the swift fox, found that if the animals had been raised in captivity they had on average a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320707004417">30% chance of survival</a> after release.</p>
<h2>Save the devil program</h2>
<p>All this was a concern then for efforts to help save the Tasmanian devil.</p>
<p>The devil plays an important functional role within the Tasmanian ecosystem and is the last of the large marsupial carnivores. </p>
<p>But the Tasmanian devil is <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=299">listed as endangered</a> and their population has declined by 80% over the past ten years. This is due largely to the infectious fatal cancer, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/08-1763.1/full">the devil facial tumour disease</a> (DFTD). </p>
<p>As part of a conservation effort, a disease-free devil population has been established in captivity. </p>
<p>But given the low rate of survival of released captive-raised carnivores in other conservation programs it was important to identify whether their release could play a viable role in the conservation of the Tasmanian devil.</p>
<p>Captive breeding programs are extremely expensive and resource allocation was very tight. So more than 35 institutions helped to set up the captive devil insurance population. </p>
<p>Different types of enclosure setting were used, some intensive zoo style while others had larger pens to allow for a more free range style. The different enclosure types offered different opportunities for the devils to retain their natural behaviours.</p>
<p>We tested the effect of the various captive-rearing methods on the survival and body mass of captive raised Tasmanian devils that were released on Maria Island, off Tasmania’s east coast. </p>
<p>Our study, <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/fulltext/WR15221">published this month</a> in CSIRO Wildlife Research, showed that Tasmanian devils raised in captivity before being translocated into the wild had a high survival success (96%). Most of the devils are still alive two years after their release. </p>
<p>The devils gained weight, are hunting and breeding. This is irrespective of the type of captive-rearing method as both zoo style and free range reared animals are thriving. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144752/original/image-20161106-27925-wnc26h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Release of the devils.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wildlife Management Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Natural born killers</h2>
<p>One cause of translocation failure in other programs has been that the released animals starve. The captive-raised animals had not learnt foraging and hunting skills. Some carnivorous mammals can lose this natural foraging behaviour in captivity. </p>
<p>But the captive-raised Tasmanian devils adjusted to the wild better than other carnivorous species. This was not only because they were released in the relative safety of an island, but it suggests that the devils’ foraging behaviour does not need to be learnt.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144739/original/image-20161106-27925-3nzczf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Devils have bone crushing jaws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wildlife Management Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Devils have a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00844.x/full">massive head with bone crushing jaws</a>, large tough molars and strong shoulders and neck. They have a very broad approach to what they will eat.</p>
<p>Their diet includes all major critters such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Devils have been seen catching gum moths out of the air, slurping tadpoles out of ponds and digging yabbies out of their burrows.</p>
<p>They also live from the intertidal zone to the sub alpine zone. They climb trees like a possum and are good swimmers.</p>
<p>There was less carrion available on Maria Island than on the mainland. Also the captive-raised devils would not have learnt hunting skills while in captivity so we presumed that they would not eat large prey.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lMaIVaiCHDM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Captive devils feeding upon a carcass.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Initially, after the first release, the devils fed on brushtail possums. But relatively soon after we found the devils started to feed on large prey, such as the common wombat and eastern grey kangaroo. These species are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.12936/full">much larger than you would predict</a> for a mammal of the devils’ size to prey on. </p>
<h2>What’s planned for the devils?</h2>
<p>So what does the success of this wild release say for the future conservation of the Tasmanian devil?</p>
<p>The devil facial tumour disease has been detected across the majority of the devil’s range. The wild devil population has been decimated as the disease moved across Tasmania. </p>
<p>It is time to boost the genetic diversity of the wild population. We need to provide the potential for immunity to develop in the species. That’s why it is exciting to have found that the captive-raised devils adjusted so well in the wild. </p>
<p>The next step will be to supplement the wild Tasmanian mainland population by releasing further captive-raised devils, along with those born wild on Maria Island.</p>
<p>But the devils released on the Tasmanian mainland will face other dangers. Alongside the disease they will have to contend with dogs, rodent poison and car collisions.</p>
<p>Clearly there’s some work still to be done, but the Maria Island and captive devils will continue to be an important part of the fight against the deadly facial tumour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Rogers receives funding from ARC. </span></em></p>Some animals bred in captivity often lack the skills needed to survive in the wild. But the Tasmanian devil is showing it’s a natural born killer.Tracey Rogers, Associate Professor Evolution & Ecology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/685792016-11-10T19:14:29Z2016-11-10T19:14:29ZSwingers’ hookup program can find the right match for endangered species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145383/original/image-20161110-26331-arizba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The program can work well for polygamous species such as gorillas.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mary Ann McDonald/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A quick look at the popularity of online dating services like <a href="https://www.okcupid.com/">OkCupid</a> and <a href="http://www.eharmony.com.au/">eHarmony</a> shows us that people are pretty comfortable with letting an algorithm choose them a mate. Now we at the <a href="http://www.molecularecology.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders Molecular Ecology Lab</a> want to do a similar thing for other animals.</p>
<p>With human-driven extinctions on the rise, many species are likely to be left relying on captive breeding for their survival. We hope that our algorithm will help ensure these breeding programs are successful, by pairing up matches who will have healthy, thriving offspring.</p>
<p>Unlike human dating services, we cannot ask a snake, fish or possum to answer questions. But we can look at their DNA. This allows us to breed individuals who are not closely related, avoiding the genetic problems that arise from inbreeding, and thus producing healthy populations with a diverse gene pool.</p>
<p>We have created <a href="http://www.molecularecology.flinders.edu.au/molecular-ecology-lab/software/swinger/swinger/">Swinger</a>, a computer program that uses DNA profiling to matchmake endangered animals for captive breeding - especially those that have multiple mates - and which we describe in a paper <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1755-0998.12609/full">published in the journal <em>Molecular Ecology Resources</em></a>. We envision it helping to conserve many endangered animals, with the first animals being native freshwater fishes in Australia.</p>
<h2>It’s all in the DNA</h2>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_diversity">Genetic diversity</a> is crucial, because it helps populations to adapt and evolve in response to environmental changes that they may encounter in the future. So maintaining a large gene pool is an important consideration for captive breeding programs, particularly in populations that have already dwindled to small numbers. This makes avoiding inbreeding vitally important. </p>
<p>Many species kept in zoos – such as pandas – have clear family relationships or are bred in pairs and so their parentage is certain. Armed with pedigree information, it is relatively easy for zoos to select unrelated breeding pairs, often by working in collaboration with other zoos.</p>
<p>But most animals in the world are polygamous, with each individual naturally having multiple partners, even around the same time. This is where it becomes harder to track family relationships, unless you can examine their DNA.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145365/original/image-20161110-26334-d7urcw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s easier with pandas - well, the choosing part at least.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASichuan_Panda.jpg">Ritesh251123/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The matchmaking algorithm is also ideal for starting a captive breeding program from individuals newly brought into captivity. This is because we often have no idea about their relationships to each other, except through DNA, and they may be highly related individuals.</p>
<p>The very circumstances that brought about the need for captive breeding also often results in inbreeding in wild populations. This is because the population has reduced in size to the point that individuals may unavoidably breed with their close relatives. This makes it especially important to ensure breeding in captivity occurs between unrelated individuals.</p>
<h2>Captive breeding of swingers</h2>
<p>Even when dealing with such serious issues as extinction, we like to keep a sense of humour – hence the name Swinger, which we feel is pretty appropriate given that individuals of most species in the world are naturally polygamous. Indeed, our algorithm is just as suitable for setting up polygamous breeding groups as monogamous ones.</p>
<p>The algorithm is inspired by <a href="http://www.molecularecology.flinders.edu.au/uploads/54834/ufiles/pdf/166_WA.pdf">our efforts to save freshwater fishes in Australia</a>. Native freshwater fish lineages recently became at risk of extinction due to human activities during the Millennium Drought in the Murray-Darling Basin, in southeastern Australia. The fish needed to be saved by their removal from the wild before their habitat completely dried out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145359/original/image-20161110-26334-196bs2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Test species: Running River rainbowfish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Hume</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We created breeding groups of these rescued polygamous fish. This was done by using DNA information to create, by hand, “swinger” groups of unrelated individuals. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-04/pygmy-perch-population-in-lower-murray-darling-recover/7219228">The breeding was successful, with offspring reintroduced to the wild</a>. However, the breeding groups were unavoidably sub-optimal because at that time we had no algorithm to work out the best possible mates for individuals.</p>
<p>Swinger is now being used to <a href="http://www.lateralmag.com/articles/issue-16/watered-down">save native rainbowfish in northern Queensland</a>. Although it is still early days, the rainbowfish breeding has been very successful, producing thousands of fingerlings that our collaborators are releasing to the wild.</p>
<p>We are also using Swinger to inform the design of a breeding program of endangered species of Galápagos giant tortoises previously considered extinct. These tortoises <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-rediscovered-extinct-giant-tortoises-in-the-galapagos-islands-and-how-to-save-them-52073">were rediscovered in a remote volcano and moved to the captive breeding facility</a> of the Galápagos National Park. The aim is to reintroduce the captive-born offspring to the island where they evolved.</p>
<p>The brilliance of DNA is that it is in all living things. This means that Swinger could potentially be used to help breed all endangered species with sexual reproduction - especially, of course, the many polygamous species.</p>
<p>To borrow another concept from the world of human dating, there will hopefully soon be “<a href="http://www.pof.com/">Plenty of Fish</a>” as a result of our efforts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68579/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine R. M. Attard has received funding from the Australian Government and other organisations.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Beheregaray receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Sandoval Castillo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Computer dating for animals? Finding the right matchup - using DNA rather than personality questionnaires - could help select the best partnerships for captive breeding programs.Jonathan Sandoval Castillo, Postdoctoral Fellow Molecular Ecology, Flinders UniversityCatherine R. M. Attard, Lecturer in Molecular Ecology, Flinders UniversityLuciano Beheregaray, Professor in Biodiversity Genetics and ARC Future Fellow, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/443252015-07-20T05:21:35Z2015-07-20T05:21:35ZCaptive giant pandas may need to form a fight club to save the species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87951/original/image-20150709-10904-tkthb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/7753246180/">Seabamirium</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>I felt like putting a bullet between the eyes of every panda that wouldn’t screw to save its species
– “Narrator”, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/quotes?item=qt0479151">Fight Club</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Though Edward Norton’s unnamed movie character was no conservation biologist he was actually pretty close to the solution. Giant pandas don’t choose not to “screw” out of spite, of course, or because they have no natural urge to reproduce – in the wild they have <a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150310-the-truth-about-giant-pandas">perfectly good sex drives</a>.</p>
<p>However, just as Tyler Durden and co felt they needed to turn to violence in order to find meaning in their lives, so it is becoming apparent that male pandas also need to fight – in order to mate. To save their species, captive pandas may need a fight club of their own.</p>
<p>The breeding problems are particularly apparent in Edinburgh, where the zoo has announced once again that its female giant panda Tian Tian has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11697980/Edinburgh-Zoo-panda-Tian-Tian-has-conceived.html">conceived through artificial insemination</a>, but is not yet pregnant. That is, a sperm has entered an egg, which has been placed inside her; but crucially this fertilised egg has not yet implanted. Unfortunately, these attempts at artificial reproduction often don’t work.</p>
<p>Some scientists say giant pandas are so hard to breed that they <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5841175/should-we-just-let-pandas-die-off-already">shouldn’t even exist</a> in nature. Females often don’t accept males, and even if a female is interested in a male this sexual interest is not reciprocated. </p>
<p>None of this makes sense. The meaning of life, as all biologists know, is passing your genes on to the future and to do this you need to mate. But we have arrived at our conclusions on panda reproduction based on our observations of zoo-housed giant pandas and not from data on wild individuals. I suspect herein lies the problem – zoos don’t offer the same sexual opportunities as life in the wild.</p>
<p>The panda situation reminds me of another species, which despite being held in captivity for thousands of years had only bred once before the 1950s: <a href="http://www.cheetahssp.org/PDFs/Cheetah_Zoo_History.pdf">the cheetah</a>. Now the captive cheetah population is growing rapidly. To understand how zoos have solved this problem with cheetahs and where the problem with giant pandas comes from we need to look back in time.</p>
<h2>Nuclear animal families?</h2>
<p>The first modern zoo, in London, was founded in the Victorian era, a time when animal collectors had no qualms about going around the world to gather new species by any means necessary. The animals were housed in a monogamous family unit, in accordance with Victorian standards of morality. Even today zoo visitors explain to their children which animal is the mummy or the daddy and any inconvenient other adults are explained away as aunties or uncles. This situation has been reinforced by zoos describing themselves <a href="http://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/get-involved/unique-gifts-experience/inside-amphibian-ark">as modern arks</a>, creating the image of animals entering two-by-two.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1294&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1294&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87957/original/image-20150709-10899-1mwh18c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1294&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mughal emperor Akbar used cheetahs for hunting – and even successfully bred them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AkbarHunt.jpg">Akbar Nama c.1602</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But once scientists started to study animals in the wild it quickly became obvious that monogamy is not the norm. And even in species that are monogamous there is considerable mate choice or, to be more accurate, reproductive partners are chosen by females. Just like humans, most animals chose their reproductive partners according to their strength and good looks, or the resources they control, as these characteristics affect the perpetuation of their genes.</p>
<p>Captive female cheetahs finally started breeding once they were offered a range of suitors rather than being housed with just one male. This replicated their behaviour in the wild, where female cheetahs like to give several males the once over before choosing who to breed with. It may be that the first male that caught the female’s eye will be the one that she will eventually choose, but confirming he is the best available in the breeding pool seems to be crucial. Zoos who imitate this situation are successful at <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/breeding-cheetahs-20876365/?no-ist">breeding cheetahs</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/klO6oyK9Y5w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The first rule of panda club is you do not film it and put it on YouTube.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Giant pandas are no longer housed in pairs. Instead, males and females are typically kept in adjacent enclosures and the male is introduced to the female during the one to three days a year when she is fertile. But it is just one male. What if he is ugly? Or maybe the female panda wishes suitors would strut their stuff on a mating catwalk, like cheetahs do. </p>
<p>Perhaps males need to impress females with shows of strength, by beating up or chasing off other males. It could also be that males need some competition to put them in the mood – studies of wild pandas show their <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14930876">testosterone levels</a> are low except at mating time.</p>
<p>Female giant pandas advertise their readiness to breed by scent marking around the edges of their territory, leading to the simultaneous arrival of several males who will chase off or beat-up their competition until only the strongest remains. So, the victor gets the opportunity to propagate its genes. </p>
<p>If all of this is correct it suggests zoos wanting to move away from artificial reproduction might be better off instead focusing on panda fight clubs. Alternatively, it may be possible to dupe females into believing certain males are worthy suitors as has been done with <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-003-0465-9">pygmy lorises</a> by making them appear to be winners of fights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44325/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert John Young recently returned from a trip to China where he visited wild panda habitat, panda breeding centres and talked to Chinese and international experts on giant panda reproduction.</span></em></p>Pandas breed in the wild after fighting off competition from other males – something they’re denied in captivity.Robert John Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/323562014-10-30T09:47:10Z2014-10-30T09:47:10ZCan zoos save the world?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60818/original/btxczznr-1412543112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zoos provide succor for species having a tough time of it in the wild.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">B. A. Minteer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, many zoos promote the protection of biodiversity as a significant part of their mission. As conservation “arks” for endangered species and, increasingly, as leaders in field conservation projects such as the reintroduction of captive-born animals to the wild, they’re preparing to play an even more significant role in the effort to save species in this <a href="http://conservationmagazine.org/2013/03/zoo-futures/">century</a>. </p>
<p>It’s a task that’s never been more urgent. The recent Living Planet Index <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/">report</a> authored by the World Wildlife Fund and the London Zoological Society paints a disturbing picture: globally, on average, vertebrate species populations have declined 52% since 1970. Over-exploitation, habitat destruction and alteration, global climate change, and other pressures have created conditions that scientists now suggest signal a <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140724171956.htm">sixth mass extinction</a> episode for our planet. It’s an event rivaling the extinction of the dinosaurs. </p>
<p>The embrace of conservation by zoos, though, doesn’t always sit well with their own history. The modern American zoo that emerged in the late 19th century fancied itself as a center of natural history, education, and conservation, but zoos have also always been in the entertainment business. This priority has led many <a href="http://www.takepart.com/feature/2014/05/02/do-zoos-matter">skeptics</a> to question the idea that zoos can play a helpful conservation role in the coming decades.</p>
<p>Zoos also face a formidable set of practical constraints – namely space, capacity, resources, and in some cases, expertise – that will continue to bedevil their ability to make a dent in the extinction crisis. It’s also true that some of the most endangered animals are <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zoo-illogical-ugly-animal/">not</a> the highly charismatic and exotic species that reliably attract zoo visitors. It’s a challenge that might pit zoos’ conservation priorities against their entertainment goals, and perhaps even their financial bottom line.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/61316/original/b4zfgmp5-1412881236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The bison survives today partly because of the Bronx Zoo’s efforts in the early 20th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_bison_k5680-1.jpg">Jack Dykinga/USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, wildlife protection does run deep in the history of zoos. The Bronx Zoo in New York, for example, led one of the earliest captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, helping to save the American bison from fading into oblivion more than a century ago. In the 1960s and 1970s, zoo conservation was energized by a burst of US federal policy-making focused on endangered species, especially the passage of the <a href="http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/">Endangered Species Act</a> in 1973.</p>
<p>Many zoos went on to develop <a href="http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/speciessurvivalplan">Species Survival Plans</a> beginning in the 1980s, which coordinate breeding and population management programs for threatened and endangered animals among zoos worldwide. The goal is to create healthy and genetically diverse animal populations of these species across the zoo community, an effort that can ultimately aid the conservation of the species in the wild. </p>
<p>Reintroduction is a dicey business given the many biological and social factors that determine the viability of a population over time. Zoos’ track records here are mixed – but the successes are real. In addition to the bison, the California condor, the Arabian oryx, and the black-footed ferret have been saved due in part to the efforts of <a href="http://www.waza.org/files/webcontent/1.public_site/5.conservation/conservation_breeding_programme/extinct_in_the_wild/WAZA%20Magazine%2013.pdf">zoos</a>. </p>
<p>For animal rights critics, however, these outcomes don’t offset what is seen as the basic injustice of keeping captive animals for human amusement. Earlier this year, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/death-of-marius-the-giraffe-reveals-cultural-differences-in-animal-conservation-23052">case of Marius</a> the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/world/europe/anger-erupts-over-danish-zoos-decision-to-put-down-a-giraffe.html?_r=0">giraffe</a> in the Copenhagen Zoo reignited the smoldering international debate over the ethics of zoos. A young and healthy giraffe considered a so-called surplus animal by the zoo managers, Marius was shot and his body was dissected before a public audience. The zoo argued that the decision was made on scientific grounds: Marius’s genes were well-represented in the zoo system and so he was said to have no remaining conservation value. Animal advocates countered that zoos’ noble conservation rhetoric masks a callousness toward the well-being of individual animals. </p>
<p>Whatever you think about the Copenhagen case – and it’s worth noting that the American Association of Zoos & Aquariums <a href="https://www.aza.org/PressRoom/detail.aspx?id=32726">disagreed</a> with it – debates about the ethics of zoos shouldn’t take place today without a serious discussion of our obligation to address global biodiversity decline. That includes thinking about how we influence the future of animals and ecosystems outside zoo walls with a thousand lifestyle decisions, from our consumer habits and energy consumption, to our transportation choices and what we put on our dinner plates. Take just one example, the mass production of palm oil. Widely used for cooking and commercial food production, its cultivation has resulted in severe habitat destruction and fragmentation in Indonesia. This in turn threatens the survival of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/15/orangutans-fight-for-survival">orangutans</a> in the wild.</p>
<p>There is a further challenge. As zoos become more engaged in conservation in the coming decades, the natural world will be further pressured and degraded by human activities. In many cases, nature preserves will likely require more human control than they have in the past in order to deliver the same conservation benefits. As a result, the boundary separating nature and zoo, the wild and the walled, will get even <a href="http://ilarjournal.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/1/41.full">thinner</a>. As it does, our understanding of what zoos are and what we want them to be – entertainment destinations, science centers, conservation arks, sustainability leaders – will also change. So will our idealized views of the <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110112/full/469150a.html">wild</a> as those places in nature that are independent of meaningful human influence and design. </p>
<p>Saying all this doesn’t let zoos off the hook when it comes to caring properly for animals in their charge. We should also expect them to actually deliver on the swelling conservation rhetoric, especially when their entertainment and recreation interests run up against their expanding vision for biodiversity protection. But it reminds us of the scope of the challenge.</p>
<p>To paraphrase Dr Seuss, we all run the zoo.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Minteer receives funding from The National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Today, many zoos promote the protection of biodiversity as a significant part of their mission. As conservation “arks” for endangered species and, increasingly, as leaders in field conservation projects…Ben A. Minteer, Arizona Zoological Society Chair, Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics and Conservation, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.