Captive Breeding and Reintroduction

Abstract

Captive breeding programs, also known as conservation breeding programs, enable zoos to exhibit many species of animals without capturing new individuals from the wild. Furthermore, the establishment of a captive breeding and reintroduction program may be the only hope for preserving a species that has been reduced to a very small number of individuals. Captive breeding programs are also used to support research and conservation education. A substantial research effort is often necessary to develop successful methods for raising a particular species in captivity and reintroducing it to the wild because these methods tend to be specific to a single species or a group of related species. However, methods for the demographic and genetic management of captive populations are similar across species. A captive breeding and reintroduction program should always be part of a larger conservation program for a species that also addresses the problems facing the species in the wild. Captive breeding and reintroduction programs require sustained long-term, adequately funded efforts and success is far from guaranteed.