However, certain species have not been so fortunate — their reintroduction programs have failed for different reasons. Examples of such species include the Andean condor, the western lowland gorilla, the giant panda and the snow leopard.
Of reintroduction programs carried out by zoos in the last century, only 16 truly succeeded in restoring wild animal populations to the wild. Nonetheless, zoos are continuing to make efforts to help endangered species in every way they can. So even though zoos are doing their best to conserve species both ex-situ and in-situ, there are pros and cons of captive breeding.
The pros include restoring population of threatened species or those losing habitats, maintaining numbers and genetic diversity through periodic release, research on captives and formulating new strategies for conserving wild species. Research on captive animals increases knowledge of animal biology, genetics, behaviour, interactions, food habits etc. Zoos engage in research, preserve biodiversity genetic and species that may be threatened or at times even extinct in the wild, and they provide much needed funding for research and conservation projects across the world.
They also provide inspiration and fascination for children who very often get to interact with and learn about nature and wildlife only at zoos. On the flip side, the negatives of captive breeding are the heavy costs involved, the possibility of inbreeding depression, and only a limited portion of the gene pool being conserved.
Sometimes zoos have to compromise the crucial skills for wild survival and captive breeding can also affect animal health and well-being. There are certain points that all captive breeding programs need to consider to minimize any negative impacts on animals held in zoos.
In the case of the Arabian oryx, its reintroduction program in Oman had failed because the community was not sufficiently involved. There has been a great deal of debate going around zoos and they have faced plenty of criticism on welfare and ethical issues. While some people argue that zoos play an important role in conservation and research, others counter that they do more harm than good.
Most of them held a positive opinion and felt that zoos care for their animals. Most modern zoos set up naturalistic enclosures to give animals a feel of their natural habitat and design enrichment programs to emulate the natural behaviour of the captive animal. The vet departments at zoos also take care of animal health and well-being and treat sick or injured animals not only in captivity but also in the wild.
Zoos face some serious challenges, the main one being how to balance the public experience with conservation. For most zoos, it is a challenge to be a force for conservation while continuing to put up a show. Another big challenge is prioritizing animals to be saved because very often there are too many animals in need of help and very little room and resources available with zoos.
This forces zoos to make bitter choices at times. For example, American zoos are soon planning to drop the ion-tailed macaques even though there are only 4, left in the wild in the tropical rainforests of India. The macaques are being phased out because they can carry a form of herpes potentially deadly to humans. In order to house more animals of a single species for maintaining a viable population, zoos are forced to drop others.
In another instance, the Mhor gazelles that had been squeezed out of the Saharan grassland by increased cattle ranching had to be phased out by the St. Louis Zoo because with only 50 of these left in American zoos, there was not enough genetic diversity without the risk of inbreeding depression. Zoos prioritize animals for conservation based on the following criteria: the animal must be endangered; it must have an important ecological role; and it should have a captive population big enough to grow the population without inbreeding.
Another challenge zoos face is funding constraints which often tend to interfere with conservation efforts. Lastly, there is a potential danger from destruction caused by natural disturbances especially when zoos and aquariums are concentrated distribution of animals from all over the world. When everyone goes to the zoo, they all have different feelings towards the conditions. While in very few areas these concerns may be true, in the majority they are not, many zoos actually participate in various conservation programs.
Your zoo is most likely even participating in at least one program. The most common effort that zoos put forward is breeding programs. Zoos will take in a variety of different species and care for them. While caring for them, endangered, extirpated, and sometimes even animals extinct in the wild participate in a breeding program.
The program is an effort to reintroduce animals back into their native homes. Once bred, zoos end up preparing the young animals for a life in the wild through enrichment, then release them into areas of their native range. The new numbers are closely monitored to see what new efforts may be needed.
Rest assured, this is not the case. In the future, I will most likely not visit any zoos, but instead support animals through donating to PETA and other organizations that work towards helping animals live healthy lives.
Hi, I am Dongyuan Li. I have watched a famous documentary called Dolphin Cave. It won the Oscar prize. I that movie it mentioned that actually dolphin show is very harmful for them. The loud music, applause from audience are all making damage to dear audition. Your blog is bascially tell the same thing.
Captive animal maybe can reduce the danger from outside for them. But it also take away freedom from them.
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