The most rewarding captive breeding programmes are those where animals can be reintroduced into the wild again. This can be a very difficult, expensive and risky process, and is not often possible. When it can occur, however, animals are usually returned to an area where the popuation of an animal is declining, or into part of its former range, depending on the state of the habitat. Find out more about reintroductions
.
Though individuals from healthy populations elsewhere are more easily used for reintroductions than captive bred animals, ZSL is involved in a number of breeding projects that have already released animals or intend to in the future.
Whether reintroduction is possible relies on there being a suitable habitat for animals to be released into, which is certainly not always the case. In addition, animals have to be carefully prepared in terms of acclimatisation to wild conditions and undergo health checks.
The ultimate aim is to establish a self-sustaining, healthy population that should not need too much management or supplementation with new animals. In some cases this has been possible, and you can read about our breeding and reintroduction programmes below. Many of these have been animals bred at ZSL London Zoo
and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
.
Idmi breeding and reintroductions The Idmi, or mountain gazelle, used to roam across the whole Arabian Peninsula. De to habitat loss and illegal hunting, its populations have dwindled and this elegant animal is now classified as Vulnerable to Extinction. In the hope of boosting Idmi numbers, ZSL has been running a breeding programme at the King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, from which hundreds of animals have been released.
* Red-barbed ant breeding and reintroduction* The red-barbed ant was in dire straits, with only one colony in Chobam Common in Surrey and a small population on the Scilly isles. Thanks to the collaborative work of ZSL and partners, including the captive breeding and release of 300 of these scarce insects into specially selected reintroduction sites in Chobham Common, there is a brighter future ahead.
Przewalski's Horse breeding and reintroduction The Mongolian Przewalski's Horse is the last species of wild horse on the planet. Though it was recently extinct in the wild, thanks to a breeding and reintroduction programme run by ZSL, there has been a recommendation to reclassify the Przewalski’s horses from ‘extinct’ to ‘endangered’ on the IUCN red list of threatened species.
Corncrake breeding and reintroduction The Corncrake used to be a familiar sound in the English countryside, but began to decline dramatically over a century ago due to new farming methods. In 2002, ZSL, RSPB and Natural England created a partnership for the captive breeding and release of corncrakes. The birds are bred and hand reared at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and then released at the RSPB's Nene Washes nature reserve in Cambridgeshire.
:Hihi reintroductions Hihi are an evolutionarily distinct bird endemic to northern islands of New Zealand. Because of human activities and introduced mammals, Hihi are a threatened species listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and there is only one remaining wild island population. Because of breeding and reintroduction programmes, however, there are now five small reintroduced populations and hopes for the future.
Rescuing India's vultures Populations of three of India’s commonest griffon vultures have declined by more than 90% in a decade due to widespread presence of the drug Diclofenac in cow carcassees on which vultures feed. Part of the Vulture Recovery Plan developed by ZSL, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the RSPB has been to set up breeding centres to build up a viable captive population that can be used to re-found wild populations in the future.
Saving Field Crickets Habitat loss and alteration of grasslands has led to the drastic decline of the UK's field cricket, to the point that during the late 1980s this species was reduced to a single surviving colony in Sussex of less than 100 individuals. A captive preeding programme begun in 1990's at ZSL London Zoo has resuled in several new wild colonies and a secure captive population.
Partula snail EEP and reserve building The Partula tree snails of French Polynesia suffered massive population crashes and many extinctions after the introduction of the predatory rosy wolf snail. The International Partula Conservation Programme has been co-ordinated by ZSL since 1994, and has breeding programmes for 25 species in 15 collaborating zoos worldwide. We have 13 species of Partula snails in London Zoo. There is an exciting new reintroduction project underway, in which a reserve is being developed for reintroduction of a small population of snails back into their native habitat.
FishNet The plight of freshwater fish is extremely serious. Over half the freshwater species assessed by the IUCN are endangered or extinct in the wild. As the leading organisation in Fish Net, a consortium of zoos and aquaria, ZSL runs breeding programmes for freshwater fish species on the brink of extinction. The Aquarium at ZSL London Zoo breeds 14 species, including the Corfu killifish, Mexican pupfish and livebearers, 5 of which are extinct in the wild. The programme hopes to be able to reintroduce some species in the future.
Frégate Island beetle breeding The introduction of rats to tiny Fregate Island in the 1990's drove this unique insect to be listed at Critically Endangered by the IUCN. ZSL led a captive breeding programme to prevent extinction, which soon became a cooperative EEP. We now have a healthy captive population that may well be used for reintroductions in the future, if the habitat of Fregate Island can be made sufficiently rat-free.
