Why Conservation through
Captive Propagation?
Why Conservation through
Captive Propagation?
Although wildlife is capable of continual renewal as long as the environment can support it, habitat alteration and destruction continues to move along spurred on by man’s activities.
Conservation on the other hand, has often been defined as 'the wise use of renewable resources'. Bearing this in mind, what wiser insurance for wildlife's continued existence, in the face of mankind's relentless expansion is there, than captive propagation for conservation purposes?
Too few people take the time to realize the value of Captive propagation and reintroduction programs. Even fewer people support them. Although interest has increased in recent years regarding the conservation of natural habitats, the process of securing these habitats remains a painfully slow one. Sadly it is all too often a case of far too little far too late.
Today, more and more species are being added to Endangered Species lists, daily, even hourly. In fact, it is now estimated we are losing at least 141 species a day, which works out to nearly one species every ten minutes. With such a vast number of species becoming endangered or extinct, (some as fast as they can be scientifically named and classified, and even more terrifyingly an unknown number becoming extinct before they are even discovered), it is biologically possible, since mankind also is positioned precariously within the web of life, that we will find ourselves the next endangered species.
In other words, if our planet’s natural order is damaged beyond an as of yet undetermined point, the tragic fact is that our delicate ecosystem would come crashing down like a fragile house of cards, wiping out all human life as we’ve come to know it. We may already be seeing this beginning to unfold.
One example among many that illustrates how delicate the ecosystem really is, and just how vital it can be to not only breed a species in captivity, but to perfect the techniques for doing so, are outlined by the predicament that Herpetologists around the world are facing. They are sounding the alarm because amphibians are disappearing in record numbers, for reasons as yet unknown.
The first of two examples of this phenomenon is the Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus silus). It used to be plentiful in South Eastern Queensland, Australia, and particularly in a National Park along the Sunshine Coast. The reason for its extinction is unknown. It was last seen in 1981. The Gastric Brooding Frog's unique adaptation was never fully understood by the time of its extinction. It had been the only animal known on earth which converted it's stomach into a breeding chamber; the mother swallowed her tiny tadpoles, and later released them as juveniles.
The second example is the Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes). It was first discovered by Jay Savage in 1967 in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Twenty-six thousand acres of its habitat were set aside as the Monteverde Cloudforest Preserve. In 1987 its population numbered in the hundreds. In 1988 fewer than a dozen were sighted, and in 1989 only one was found. It was only listed by CITES as an Appendix I Endangered in November 1994, 5 years after its extinction! There were 20 years during which it could have been captive bred, but sadly nobody took up this challenge, and today we are without the Golden Toad.
These examples both clearly illustrate that habitat preservation alone, even when a species population is plentiful, is obviously insufficient to prevent the extinction of a species. Hopefully, these two recent examples of the loss of a species, where captive propagation was never even attempted, will have impressed upon you the importance of the value of Captive propagation!
Mankind’s unwitting and continuing environmentally destructive practices amount to virtually an act of suicide; a bizarre form of Roman death whereby, in bleeding the world white we are in effect killing ourselves!
Historically mankind has usually had to learn what this means the hard way.
Unfortunately in North America there have been two vivid examples of the unwise use of our renewable resources. One was the North American Buffalo. First killed only for meat, then it was killed as a deliberate act of policy, to try to starve the native people to death, as their entire society revolved around the buffalo. The much lauded ‘Buffalo Bill Cody’ once killed 250 buffalo in a day. Passengers traveling in trains through buffalo country had to close their windows because of the stench of the rotting carcasses. By then, they were being killed only for their tongues which were a delicacy, The bodies were left where they fell. The buffalo was saved in the nick of time, but even now we have only a remnant of the millions of animals that used to thunder magnificently over the North American Prairies.
The other, the Passenger Pigeon was the most numerous species of bird that has ever been or will ever be in existence. Flocks estimated at 2 billion used to literally darken the skies. The sheer weight of their numbers perching would break off large branches of trees. It was thought impossible that the Passenger Pigeon so plentiful and delicious to eat could ever be exterminated. In 1869 seven and a half million birds were killed in one spot. In 1879 a billion were killed in Michigan alone. The last Passenger Pigeon was named Martha and died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.
What is required is the maintenance and propagation of sufficient numbers of enough diverse varieties of species by as many capable conservation oriented facilities as possible. This is necessary in order to maintain the integrity of, and when required, to replenish our world's essential genetic bio-diversity.
That this is possible and very necessary has been proven throughout history. During the boxer rebellion, the Père David’s Deer became extinct in China. Thankfully due to the late Duke of Bedford, a breeding colony was established at Woburn Abbey. This magnificent deer has been reintroduced to China, and is now safe.
Another accomplishment along these lines was the prevention from extinction of the Hawaiian Goose by Peter Scott’s Wildfowl Trust. Due to these efforts large breeding colonies were established in various zoological and avicultural institutions around the world. This bird has been reintroduced to Hawaii, and is now spreading over its former range.
The list of Captive Breeding successes is a long one, including such creatures as the European Bison, Przewalski’s Wild Horse, the Saiga Antelope, the wild turkey, the Peregrine Falcon, Arabian Oryx, and so on.
However, there are many diverse and exotic species that precious little is known about. The truth of the matter is that mankind cannot afford to overlook any species, no matter how distasteful or repugnant a species may seem, be it a venomous snake of even a lowly virus! Phage research being conducted mainly in Russia is proving this.
Life is so complex that we are not sure if we know the full potential scientific and medical value of even a single one of the many species in our world. We cannot afford to take any chances or we may inadvertently cause the cure for a disease like Cancer or AIDS to become extinct without even discovering our own tragic and irreversible mistake!
Once a species is routinely bred in captivity, it is no longer possible for it to become extinct. Hence, captive breeding projects function as conservation`s insurance policy by ensuring the continued existence of any species utilized in such projects in the event their habitat is damaged or even destroyed. At the very least, they drastically reduce pressure on wild populations. Any knowledge gained in the captive propagation of a species has often been applied with minimal modification to related species, thus increasing the wealth of knowledge available to dedicated professionals in this crucial field.
Insuring that animals are humanely and properly cared for and propagated eliminates the possibility of extinction. Unfortunately, at present, there are species that are already extinct in the wild, and as a result exist only in captivity. Tragically the California Condor is a vivid example of this. It would not be facing such a dire predicament had efforts been underway to breed it in captivity long before it's numbers had dwindled so drastically in the wild.
In the long run, we wish to continually expand the number of species that are captive bred at the Centre, focusing upon those that require this assistance the most urgently. Also we wish to expand the volunteer base of the Centre, and to assist and contribute to the development of more similar captive propagation facilities in the world wherever and whenever possible. This is a vital and monumental undertaking that we are committed to.
The future of the quantity and quality of life on earth is, to a very large extent, dependent upon the efforts of ourselves and groups like us. For this reason, we are placing no limits upon our aims, and the diversity of our efforts. We welcome public involvement and input into the future of the Centre. After all, the world, its wildlife, and the environment belong to each and every one of us. The responsibility to care for it is something inherent in our humanity.
For all the above reasons The Centre for the Conservation of Specialized Species was established.
Conservation on the other hand, has often been defined as 'the wise use of renewable resources'. Bearing this in mind, what wiser insurance for wildlife's continued existence, in the face of mankind's relentless expansion is there, than captive propagation for conservation purposes?
Too few people take the time to realize the value of Captive propagation and reintroduction programs. Even fewer people support them. Although interest has increased in recent years regarding the conservation of natural habitats, the process of securing these habitats remains a painfully slow one. Sadly it is all too often a case of far too little far too late.
Today, more and more species are being added to Endangered Species lists, daily, even hourly. In fact, it is now estimated we are losing at least 141 species a day, which works out to nearly one species every ten minutes. With such a vast number of species becoming endangered or extinct, (some as fast as they can be scientifically named and classified, and even more terrifyingly an unknown number becoming extinct before they are even discovered), it is biologically possible, since mankind also is positioned precariously within the web of life, that we will find ourselves the next endangered species.
In other words, if our planet’s natural order is damaged beyond an as of yet undetermined point, the tragic fact is that our delicate ecosystem would come crashing down like a fragile house of cards, wiping out all human life as we’ve come to know it. We may already be seeing this beginning to unfold.
One example among many that illustrates how delicate the ecosystem really is, and just how vital it can be to not only breed a species in captivity, but to perfect the techniques for doing so, are outlined by the predicament that Herpetologists around the world are facing. They are sounding the alarm because amphibians are disappearing in record numbers, for reasons as yet unknown.
The first of two examples of this phenomenon is the Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus silus). It used to be plentiful in South Eastern Queensland, Australia, and particularly in a National Park along the Sunshine Coast. The reason for its extinction is unknown. It was last seen in 1981. The Gastric Brooding Frog's unique adaptation was never fully understood by the time of its extinction. It had been the only animal known on earth which converted it's stomach into a breeding chamber; the mother swallowed her tiny tadpoles, and later released them as juveniles.
The second example is the Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes). It was first discovered by Jay Savage in 1967 in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Twenty-six thousand acres of its habitat were set aside as the Monteverde Cloudforest Preserve. In 1987 its population numbered in the hundreds. In 1988 fewer than a dozen were sighted, and in 1989 only one was found. It was only listed by CITES as an Appendix I Endangered in November 1994, 5 years after its extinction! There were 20 years during which it could have been captive bred, but sadly nobody took up this challenge, and today we are without the Golden Toad.
These examples both clearly illustrate that habitat preservation alone, even when a species population is plentiful, is obviously insufficient to prevent the extinction of a species. Hopefully, these two recent examples of the loss of a species, where captive propagation was never even attempted, will have impressed upon you the importance of the value of Captive propagation!
Mankind’s unwitting and continuing environmentally destructive practices amount to virtually an act of suicide; a bizarre form of Roman death whereby, in bleeding the world white we are in effect killing ourselves!
Historically mankind has usually had to learn what this means the hard way.
Unfortunately in North America there have been two vivid examples of the unwise use of our renewable resources. One was the North American Buffalo. First killed only for meat, then it was killed as a deliberate act of policy, to try to starve the native people to death, as their entire society revolved around the buffalo. The much lauded ‘Buffalo Bill Cody’ once killed 250 buffalo in a day. Passengers traveling in trains through buffalo country had to close their windows because of the stench of the rotting carcasses. By then, they were being killed only for their tongues which were a delicacy, The bodies were left where they fell. The buffalo was saved in the nick of time, but even now we have only a remnant of the millions of animals that used to thunder magnificently over the North American Prairies.
The other, the Passenger Pigeon was the most numerous species of bird that has ever been or will ever be in existence. Flocks estimated at 2 billion used to literally darken the skies. The sheer weight of their numbers perching would break off large branches of trees. It was thought impossible that the Passenger Pigeon so plentiful and delicious to eat could ever be exterminated. In 1869 seven and a half million birds were killed in one spot. In 1879 a billion were killed in Michigan alone. The last Passenger Pigeon was named Martha and died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.
What is required is the maintenance and propagation of sufficient numbers of enough diverse varieties of species by as many capable conservation oriented facilities as possible. This is necessary in order to maintain the integrity of, and when required, to replenish our world's essential genetic bio-diversity.
That this is possible and very necessary has been proven throughout history. During the boxer rebellion, the Père David’s Deer became extinct in China. Thankfully due to the late Duke of Bedford, a breeding colony was established at Woburn Abbey. This magnificent deer has been reintroduced to China, and is now safe.
Another accomplishment along these lines was the prevention from extinction of the Hawaiian Goose by Peter Scott’s Wildfowl Trust. Due to these efforts large breeding colonies were established in various zoological and avicultural institutions around the world. This bird has been reintroduced to Hawaii, and is now spreading over its former range.
The list of Captive Breeding successes is a long one, including such creatures as the European Bison, Przewalski’s Wild Horse, the Saiga Antelope, the wild turkey, the Peregrine Falcon, Arabian Oryx, and so on.
However, there are many diverse and exotic species that precious little is known about. The truth of the matter is that mankind cannot afford to overlook any species, no matter how distasteful or repugnant a species may seem, be it a venomous snake of even a lowly virus! Phage research being conducted mainly in Russia is proving this.
Life is so complex that we are not sure if we know the full potential scientific and medical value of even a single one of the many species in our world. We cannot afford to take any chances or we may inadvertently cause the cure for a disease like Cancer or AIDS to become extinct without even discovering our own tragic and irreversible mistake!
Once a species is routinely bred in captivity, it is no longer possible for it to become extinct. Hence, captive breeding projects function as conservation`s insurance policy by ensuring the continued existence of any species utilized in such projects in the event their habitat is damaged or even destroyed. At the very least, they drastically reduce pressure on wild populations. Any knowledge gained in the captive propagation of a species has often been applied with minimal modification to related species, thus increasing the wealth of knowledge available to dedicated professionals in this crucial field.
Insuring that animals are humanely and properly cared for and propagated eliminates the possibility of extinction. Unfortunately, at present, there are species that are already extinct in the wild, and as a result exist only in captivity. Tragically the California Condor is a vivid example of this. It would not be facing such a dire predicament had efforts been underway to breed it in captivity long before it's numbers had dwindled so drastically in the wild.
In the long run, we wish to continually expand the number of species that are captive bred at the Centre, focusing upon those that require this assistance the most urgently. Also we wish to expand the volunteer base of the Centre, and to assist and contribute to the development of more similar captive propagation facilities in the world wherever and whenever possible. This is a vital and monumental undertaking that we are committed to.
The future of the quantity and quality of life on earth is, to a very large extent, dependent upon the efforts of ourselves and groups like us. For this reason, we are placing no limits upon our aims, and the diversity of our efforts. We welcome public involvement and input into the future of the Centre. After all, the world, its wildlife, and the environment belong to each and every one of us. The responsibility to care for it is something inherent in our humanity.
For all the above reasons The Centre for the Conservation of Specialized Species was established.
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