Zoos are seen by some as dark places that hold captured animals prisoner behind concrete walls and electric fences. Some people compare them to prisons, but worse, because a zoo creates a spectacle out of these saddened creatures. The animals are gawked at day after day, trapped in their glorified cages unnaturally set up to reflect each animal's natural habitat. With plastic, foam, and concrete painted to resemble rock and water, and wire cages blotting out the sun and sky. Yet, there are more positive aspects of a Zoo's purpose besides this dark picture we paint in our minds.
Zoos that are accredited by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are some of the only institutions standing between numerous endangered species and their extinction. Zoos help save endangered species through research, education, and habitat protection. Zoos also help by supporting programs led by world renowned conservation organizations, sometimes Zoo staff even spearhead the conservation programs themselves. Apart from field conservation and environmental education work, many zoos have taken on the additional role of breeding a growing number of species that only exist in those facilities. 29 of the 34 animal species currently classified as Extinct in the Wild are actively bred in zoos, aquariums and other animal propagation facilities. (link)
 |
| Classified as Endangered (EN B2ab(i-v); C2a(i)) on the IUCN Red List 2004 (1), and listed on Appendix 1 of CITES (4). Golden Headed Lion Tamarin |
As for endangered animals, there are currently more than 500 SSP Programs, each managed by their corresponding Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs), within AZA. Each is responsible for developing a comprehensive population Studbook and a Breeding and Transfer Plan which identifies population management goals and recommendations to ensure the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse, and demographically varied AZA population. (link)
At least 10,000 species go extinct each year, which is anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than the “natural extinction rate,” according to WWF. Furthermore, we have recently made great progress in preserving endangered or extinct species. The Institute for Conservation Research, or the “Frozen Zoo,” is a collection of fat metal canisters filled with the cells and biological make-up of 10,000 individual animals of 1,000 different species, many are endangered and some are already extinct. (link) Here is a list of 20 Critically Endangered Species That Zoos are Helping to Preserve.
At least 10,000 species go extinct each year, which is anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than the “natural extinction rate,” according to WWF. Furthermore, we have recently made great progress in preserving endangered or extinct species. The Institute for Conservation Research, or the “Frozen Zoo,” is a collection of fat metal canisters filled with the cells and biological make-up of 10,000 individual animals of 1,000 different species, many are endangered and some are already extinct. (link) Here is a list of 20 Critically Endangered Species That Zoos are Helping to Preserve.
#1 Houston Toad
The Houston toad (Anaxyrus [Bufo] houstonensis) is only found in areas of deep, sandy soil in east-central Texas and nowhere else in the world! Though previously found in high densities in twelve Texas counties, which of course included Harris County, urban expansion, habitat fragmentation, pollution, and drought have significantly diminished their range. In fact, the Houston toad hasn’t been seen in the Houston area since the 1970’s! While it was once one of the most abundant toads found at ponds in early spring, it is estimated that only to 150 to 300 Houston toads remain in the wild. Now more than ever it is critical that we help this native Texan in need!
The Houston Zoo has partnered with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas State University, and Texas Parks and Wildlife in an effort to recover the wild Houston toad population. Their goal is to keep this unique amphibian species from being lost to extinction forever!
 |
| link Critically-endangered American burying beetles have been released at the Fernald Preserve |
The American burying beetle (ABB) once ranged throughout the Central and Eastern United States as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. ABBs now inhabit only 10% of their historic range. The reasons for their decline include habitat degradation, the extinction of the passenger pigeon and increased competition for prey from mammalian scavengers. In 1986, the IUCN designated ABBs as endangered and a short time later the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated a project to save the species from extinction. The idea was to collect a limited number of beetles from the wild, establish a captive population and eventually reintroduce them to their former habitats.
Project Saving Species funds funneled through the Ape Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) have been directed towards work with The Bonobo and Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI). BCBI studies and protects bonobos in Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo through ecological research and monitoring, anti-poaching support and guard training, and community assistance.
Bonobo Monkeys are especially interesting due to their odd sexual behavior. For Bonobos sex is used for non-reproductive goals such as tension reduction, reconciliation, bartering for social favors, and even food exchange. Another interesting thing that has been observed is females’ Genito-genital rubbing. The two females will embrace and rub their genital swellings together with rapid sideways movements. This has been observed in females in every group ever observed both in the wild and in captivity. The reason this behavior is so unusual is because no other primate uses sex so casually. The closest relative of the Bonobo is the Chimpanzee and their habits are quite different. The Bonobos are also known to have a more female-dominant society or “co-dominant” as some researchers like to say. The sexual rubbings could be the females’ way of forming bonds and making sure that males don’t take advantage of them.
 |
| The Cincinnati Zoo cares for the largest collection of kea – a highly intelligent mountain parrot from New Zealand – in North America and is committed to the conservation of this species. (Image Link) |
Project Saving Species funds support the efforts of the Kea Conservation Trust to conserve wild kea in their natural habitat and increase the husbandry standards and advocacy potential of kea held in captive facilities. Projects include comprehensive population research (inclusive of satellite and VHF radio tracking, nest monitoring, screening for disease and lead poisoning, etc.), removal of lead products from kea habitat, development of kea repellents, and implementation of the Arthurs Pass Community Kea Conservation Pilot Project. This project will examine the status of kea in the village area, develop an education/advocacy program directed towards residents, students and visitors to the area, identify conflict issues present, and identify solutions to resolve these conflicts.
#5 Texas Tortoise
The Texas tortoise, Gopherus berlandier, is a native tortoise to south Texas and the northern regions of Mexico. It is a protected species in Texas and is currently listed as state threatened with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Decades of illegal collection and breeding of tortoises has resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of Texas tortoises in captivity. Escaped or released tortoises often wind up far outside of their natural range and many are encountered in inappropriate habitat for the species. The Houston Zoo has partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Gladys Porter Zoo to help implement an awareness campaign in south Texas.
The Pallas’ cat of Central Asia could be the poster child among small cats for demonstrating the power of science for species conservation. Importation of wild Pallas’ cats from Russia in the mid-1990s as a founder population for North American zoos was followed by frustration in getting these cats to breed and their offspring to survive. Research at CREW and the National Zoological Park established that Pallas’ cats have a pronounced reproductive seasonality controlled by light exposure and that newborns are extremely susceptible to infection with a parasite called Toxoplasma. Improved reproductive and disease management based on these findings has enabled the captive population to grow from 20 cats at seven institutions in 1996 to more than 50 cats in 15 zoos today. Another key to this success was comparative health studies with wild Pallas’ cats in Mongolia. Research conducted by CREW collaborator Dr. Meredith Brown determined that Pallas’ cats are rarely exposed to Toxoplasma in the wild and likely lack strong immunity to this parasite.
#7 Black Warrior Waterdog
Expanding upon a pilot investigation, CREW scientists and Cincinnati Zoo amphibian staff are continuing a multi-year mark recapture study of black warrior waterdogs in the wild. In addition, they are assessing if the infectious fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, that has been responsible for decimating amphibian populations worldwide is present in black warrior waterdog populations. To help support the conservation of black warrior waterdogs and its genetic diversity, a captive assurance population has been initiated at the CREW. Through a concerted research effort with a model species, gulf coast waterdogs (Necturus beyeri), researchers are attempting to develop novel, captive breeding techniques for maximizing the probability of long-term species survival.
The black-footed ferret had all but disappeared from the face of the earth by 1985, when an intensive conservation breeding program was launched by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The last 18 ferrets known to exist in the wild were captured from prairie dog colonies near Meeteetse, Wyoming in hopes of breeding them in captivity.
Attempts to breed ferrets from South Dakota in the 1970s resulted in no offspring survival. Biologists consulted with domestic ferret breeders and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to develop a successful breeding program. The main goal of the breeding programs is to produce as many ferrets as possible (with as much genetic diversity as possible) to support ongoing reintroduction efforts. As of 2011, over 7,000 black-footed ferrets had been born in captivity, and more than 2,600 of those captive-raised ferrets had been reintroduced into their natural habitat.
#9 Arabian Oryx
 |
| image source Photo by Tamar Assaf / Wikimedia |
One of the first species to be successfully reintroduced to the wild via a captive breeding program was the Arabian oryx, which were hunted to extinction in the wild in 1972.
Ten years prior to the oryx's extinction, the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona started a captive breeding program with nine individuals. From those animals, over 200 young were successfully reared and distributed to other zoos worldwide, where more herds were created.
The first Arabian oryx were reintroduced to Oman in 1982, and their numbers continued to increase over the next twenty years. Now, there are wild populations in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Oman totaling over 1,100 animals. The populations in Saudi Arabia and Israel are increasing, but illegal hunting and habitat destruction threaten the survival of the reintroduced oryx in Oman.
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are a part of the heritage of Texas. They were widely distributed throughout Texas prior to 1820, but due to colonization and habitat loss, bears vanished from all but a small portion of the Big Thicket. Today, they are returning to their historic range, but a plan must be formed to ensure public and political support to be sure they will continue to flourish. The Houston Zoo has partnered with the East Texas Black Bear Task Force and the Black Bear Conservation Committee in the development of educational outreach and awareness programs related to Black Bears in the East Texas region.
q(95)/d091e4772f7f1eadd0e1208bea1b434d.jpg)
Fossil remnants, prehistoric wall paintings and other artifacts, testimonies by Roman naturalists, and medieval texts prove that wild horses once roamed all over Eurasia. Successively the range of the once abundant species - more than 40,000 animals having been killed at the paleolithic site of Solutré (near today's Mâcon, France) alone - has shrunk from west to east, favored by climatic change but probably mainly due to human impact. In Asia, the species had become exterminated in most parts of its previous distribution by the second half of the 19th Century. For some decades, the numbers of the Przewalski horses seem to have been fairly stable, but the population rapidly declined after the Second World War. Since 1967, no herds of wild takhis have been seen in their last retreat in the south-west of Mongolia, in spite of several expeditions sent out specifically to look for them. The last wild takhi, a single stallion, was sighted in 1969 near a spring called Gun Tamga.
The Przewalski's horse, a wild equine species that historically lived in large herds on the plains and steppes of Eurasia, was declared extinct in the wild in the 1970s (the last wild Przewalski's horse was seen in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in 1969). Fortunately, a handful of horses existed in captivity that were used to begin a global breeding effort that has contributed to the reintroduction of more than 400 horses in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China.
The reintroduced populations are monitored by the Conservation Centers for Species Survival, a group of non-profit institutions that perform satellite tracking of horses and work with rural communities to coordinate livestock grazing with the needs of wild horses.
 |
| France: Lascaux Cave Painting |
About 1,500 Przewalski's horses are currently alive in captivity.
The Przewalski's horse has been of great importance to the WAZA Conservation Project already in the early days when the association was still known as the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens. It was soon recognized that efforts had to be undertaken towards a more organized approach to breeding if the species should be saved from extinction and, in 1992, it was also proposed to IUCN to choose the Przewalski's horse as the first candidate for Global Heritage Species status.
#12 Golden Tamarin
Golden lion tamarins are small monkeys that are native to Brazil's Atlantic coastal forest. In the early 1970s, tamarin populations had dropped to fewer than 200 individuals.
Zoos around the world are now participating in a concerted breeding and reintroduction program coordinated by the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. On average, over 50 golden lion tamarins are born each year in captivity, and it is estimated that approximately 1,600 tamarins are living in the wild.
Because tamarins are vulnerable to starvation and predation when released in the wild, they are now being released into large enclosed areas of natural rain forest where they can become acclimated to the new habitat while being protected from predators and provided with food.
In order for golden lion tamarin populations to be successfully reestablished in the Brazilian forest, efforts are being made to preserve critical habitat and connect fragments of habitat that tamarins need to survive.
#13 Whooping Crane
The number of whooping cranes fell from over 10,000 to just 16 individuals recorded in 1941. Finally declared endangered in 1967, whooping cranes were narrowly saved from extinction by biologists who began collecting eggs from the last migratory flock of wild cranes to initiate a captive breeding program.
Populations of wild whooping cranes are being reestablished in Florida and Wisconsin. While neither population is self-sustaining yet, their numbers are rising about four percent each year, and over 200 cranes are living in the wild. Conservationists are working to protect habitat in crane breeding areas as well as along migration routes, and an organization called Operation Migration help lead birds along their annual migration routes with ultralight aircraft.
#14 Autumn Buttercup
Added to the endangered species list in 1989, the Autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis) is one of the rarest plant species native to the western United States, known only to exist on a single preserve in Utah owned by The Nature Conservancy. It is a wet meadow perennial that grows up to two feet tall and produces bright yellow flowers. In the early 2000s, CREW propagated Autumn buttercup plants through tissue culture and sent them to the Arboretum at Flagstaff for acclimatization over several years in robust, healthy plants in soil, ready to take on the dry winds and heat of their new Utah home.
#15 Sand Cat
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Cat House maintains and breeds some of the most genetically-valuable small cats in the world, including founders for the Brazilian ocelot, Pallas’ cat, black-footed cat and fishing cat SSP populations. In 2004, sand cats were added to their founder population following the importation of four breeding pairs from Qatar by the Living Desert Zoo in California. Although these new founders provided a substantial boost to sand cat genetic diversity, the small size (~35 cats) of the SSP population requires improved breeding management as well as the periodic introduction of more founders over the next 50 years. CREW scientists, working in collaboration with the Living Desert, other U.S. zoos and the Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates, are attempting to address both of these management needs. A two-year research study funded by the Morris Animal Foundation supported our application of fecal hormone analysis and semen evaluation to characterize basal reproductive traits in sand cats to help zoos to optimize natural breeding. In an ongoing project, semen was collected from four male sand cats at the Al Ain Zoo, frozen and then imported to be used for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedures with female sand cats in U.S. zoos. Any offspring that are produced will represent new founders for the SSP population – without requiring the transoceanic transport of living sand cats from the Middle East.
#16 Cirl Bunting
Historically, cirl buntings were common in southern Britain particularly along the south English coastline. Due to changes to farming practices and urbanisation the species is extinct in most of its former UK range and limited to south Devon. Isolated pockets of suitable habitat limit the potential for the species to expand its range naturally. The key UK BAP objective for cirl bunting is to establish other populations in southern England. Hence, in 2000 a plan was conceived to re-introduce birds from Devon to Cornwall.
)
From 2001 to 2005, a few birds were harvested each year and brought to Paignton Zoo to develop protocols for rearing, fledging, weaning and releasing. Once their strict success criteria were being met they began working in Cornwall. From 2006 to 2011 we harvested, under licence, over 70 birds annually. In 2013 there is a Cornish cirl bunting population numbering over 80 birds, which has not been supplemented since 2011. Many of these birds have been wild-bred in Cornwall. The population in Devon has maintained good numbers throughout the harvesting period.
#17 White-Naped Mangabey
The white-naped mangabey, is now only found in the Upper Guinean Rainforest of eastern Ivory Coast and western Ghana (West Africa), and has been classified as Endangered by the IUCN, which states that the population has reduced by as much as 50% in the last 27 years.
Deforestation is the greatest threat according to a recent report; the Upper Guinean Forests has been reduced to a mere 15% of its original forest cover.
In 2013 the captive population is 71 individuals including those at the WAPCA* Endangered Breeding Centre in Ghana.
In 2007, ZSL received two females from European collections and a male from the center in Ghana, providing a unique blood line to the European population. The species historically have a high rate of neonatal death (over 54% neonatal deaths between 1999-2011) producing an unstable predicted survival rate in captivity (Abello 2012). With this prediction and the genetic significance successful breeding was of paramount importance.
ZSL have established accurate reproductive management techniques through detailed record keeping. Better knowledge of the species reproduction has resulted in 5 offspring including the successfully hand-reared and full integration of a female.
#18 Florida Manatee
Also called the sea cow, the manatee is the only herbivorous mammal specially designed to live its entire life in the water. The Florida manatee is at home in saltwater, as well as fresh water, but needs access to fresh water frequently. Its forelimbs are reduced to simple paddles for swimming yet are flexible enough to bring food to its mouth. The tail pumps up and down to propel the body. Though it is streamlined in shape to reduce water resistance, the manatee is a slow swimmer, averaging a speed of about three to five miles per hour.
Fortunately, the manatee has no natural predators from which it must flee. Avoiding collisions with speed boats, however, is another story. Speed limits are posted in manatee zones to prevent boats from crashing into manatees.
* Manatees spend up to a third of their lives eating, and can eat up to 7.5% of their body weight everyday.
* A constant supply of molars erupts from the back of each jaw and pushes forward, forcing out the old teeth at the front as they wear out.
* Solid rib bones weigh the manatee down so it can feed on the river bottom without using a great deal of energy.
The Florida manatee is a native species found in all parts of the State. Protections for Florida manatees were first enacted in 1893. Today, they are protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act (§379.2431(2), Florida Statutes) and are federally protected by both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
#19 Northern Wild Monkshood
Also known as wolfsbane, the rare northern wild monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense) is a showy perennial of the buttercup family with blue, hood-shaped flowers. The remaining known populations are found beneath rocky cliffs or along cool streams in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio and New York. CREW propagated plants from shoot tips collected from wild plants. The new plants were then planted in the Gorge Metro Park near Akron, Ohio, to augment the population in 2006. The 300 plants growing in the park today may be the largest patch in the country.
#20 Blue-Eyed Black Lemur
The male is black and the female is a reddish brown color. Lemurs are the only primate species, other than humans, that have blue eyes. They are the most endangered primate species in the world, owing to the destruction of their tropical forest habitat.
Blue-eyed lemurs are found south of the Sambirano region in northwest Madagascar. Pure populations are found south of the Andranomalaza River near Moromandia and east to the Sandrakota River near Befotaka. Researchers have recently discovered a hybrid zone in the far northern part of its range, where Eulemur macaco macaco might breed with Eulemur macaco flavifrons. This region is considered a transition area between the rain forests of the east coast and the dry deciduous forests of the west coast.
Blue-eyed lemurs are not found in any protected areas in Madagascar, and they are severely threatened by hunting, trapping and forest destruction (especially from slash and burn agriculture) across their entire range. It is thought that there are probably less than one thousand individuals of this species left in the wild. Blue-eyed lemurs are consistently placed in the top ten of the most endangered varieties of lemurs. A reserve in the Befotaka region has been proposed by a collaboration of European Institutions, but so far it has not been legally created.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recently elevated the status of E. flavifrons from Endangered to Critically Endangered and add them to the Top 25 Most Endangered Primates list. Efforts to breed this subspecies in captivity began in the mid 1990s with the importation of four wild caught animals to the Duke Lemur Center. There is an SSP in place for this lemur and all North American institutions holding this species are working together cooperatively to maintain genetic diversity. The DLC houses North America’s only 2 breeding females with long term plans to increase the population of this rare lemur. A total of 10 males and 3 females live at Duke.
List-of- 20-Critically-Endangered-Species-That-Zoos-are-Helping-to-Preserve, endangered species, conservation, activism, environment, climate-change, global warming, invasive species, extinct, extinct animals, pollution, over fishing, over hunting, poaching, poachers, zoos, breeding programs, blue eyed black lemur, wolfsbane, manatee, white naped mangabey, cirl bunting, closest relative to humans, sand cat, wild cats, buttercup, whooping crane, tamarin, przewalski's horse, cave paintings, cave horse, extinct horse, texas bear, east texas black bear, texas, oryx, arabian oryx, ferrets, black footed ferret, waterdog, pallas cat, texas tortoise, kea, galapagos, bonobo, bonobo, burying beetle, american burying beetle, houston toad, houston, lion tamarin
List-of- 20-Critically-Endangered-Species-That-Zoos-are-Helping-to-Preserve, endangered species, conservation, activism, environment, climate-change, global warming, invasive species, extinct, extinct animals, pollution, over fishing, over hunting, poaching, poachers, zoos, breeding programs, blue eyed black lemur, wolfsbane, manatee, white naped mangabey, cirl bunting, closest relative to humans, sand cat, wild cats, buttercup, whooping crane, tamarin, przewalski's horse, cave paintings, cave horse, extinct horse, texas bear, east texas black bear, texas, oryx, arabian oryx, ferrets, black footed ferret, waterdog, pallas cat, texas tortoise, kea, galapagos, bonobo, bonobo, burying beetle, american burying beetle, houston toad, houston, lion tamarin
