Animals that need a captive population

beccasunbear said:
Off topic I know, but why Baby, then?
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lintworm said:
I wouldn't be surprised if it were because he came to Duisburg as a baby...
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There's another thread about river dolphins in captivity. The boto at Duisburg were named by the public, hence Oma (Grandma), Mutter (Mother), Vater (Father), Halbstarker (Teenager), and Baby. They also had "official" names in at least some cases.

I have linked the thread to the first relevant post, but the whole thread is worth reading: River Dolphins in captivity!
 
TheEthiopianWolf03 said:
I’m very sad that in my adolescence, I’ll never get a proper chance to see the boto at durisburg as by the time I’m an adult able to go wherever, Baby (I think that’s its name?) will be most likely gone.
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Boto are surprisingly easy to see in the wild and still locally common in some very accessible parts of the Amazon. Scratch Duisberg and head to Manaus.
 
Chlidonias said:
There's another thread about river dolphins in captivity. The boto at Duisburg were named by the public, hence Oma (Grandma), Mutter (Mother), Vater (Father), Halbstarker (Teenager), and Baby. They also had "official" names in at least some cases.

I have linked the thread to the first relevant post, but the whole thread is worth reading: River Dolphins in captivity!
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Thank you very much for this link!
 
PossumRoach said:
Research should be done on the Amami rabbit and its care, the only one I know in captivity was kept probably for treatment and rehab iirc 鹿児島市平川動物公園 on Twitter. It is a distinct rabbit that should be saved for future generations
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I went to Amami and saw the rabbit. It is threatened because of an introduced mongoose and clearly needs careful looking after to survive. However many species of rabbits can be challenging to manage in captivity.
 
Chlidonias said:
There's another thread about river dolphins in captivity. The boto at Duisburg were named by the public, hence Oma (Grandma), Mutter (Mother), Vater (Father), Halbstarker (Teenager), and Baby. They also had "official" names in at least some cases.
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Just as a point of interest, I thought I would note the captive longevity of each individual as recorded on Cetabase. All five were captured on 19/03/1975 in the Apure River, Venezuela.

Oma, the albino adult female, died on 20/08/1975 and as such survived 155 days in captivity (5 months, 2 days)

Mutter, the adult female, died on 30/05/1976 and as such survived 439 days in captivity (1 year, 2 months, 12 days)

Halbstarker, the sub-adult male, died on 31/12/1978 and as such survived 1384 days in captivity (3 years, 9 months, 13 days)

Vater, the adult male, died on 08/10/2006 and as such survived 11,527 days in captivity (31 years, 6 months, 20 days)

Baby, the juvenile male, is still alive as of 06/03/2018 and as such has survived 15,694 days and counting in captivity (42 years, 11 months, 16 days)
 
A few more species from Ethiopia that need a captive breeding program...

Big-Headed mole rat
Mountain Nyala
Bale mountain vervet

Just a thought, is it possible for someone to come to Ethiopia and build a breeding/conservation center for endangered species? I know it’s a third world country but with the right funding could it happen? Then maybe these species can be sent to other zoos.
 
Prezewalski's Gazelle
Dwarf Blue Sheep
Tamaraw (tried but failed, but I don't know any details)
many primates and ambibians as mentioned
 
I have recently found out about some other species that could well need a captive-breeding programme (rather than simply benefiting from one):

- The red-belly toad Melanophryniscus admirabilis is a microendemic species with a global range of possibly less than 35,000 square metres, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is threatened by the installation of a hydroelectric power plant a few metres upriver from its sole known range. Other members of the genus are kept and bred in captivity.

- There is a huge diversity of endemic and threatened small mammals living in the mountains of Cameroon. All the species listed below occur on Mount Oku, which is having its various habitats destroyed by either logging or livestock grazing and all have very limited global ranges. At least some of the genera have been bred in captivity before (with other species):
  • Mount Oku hylomyscus Hylomyscus grandis (Critically Endangered)
  • Assumbo shrew Crocidura picea (Endangered)
  • Eisentraut's striped mouse Hybomys badius (Endangered)
  • Dieterlen's brush-furred mouse Lophuromys dieterleni (Endangered)
  • Mount Oku rat Lamottemys okuensis (Vulnerable)
  • Mittendorf's striped grass mouse Lemniscomys mittendorfi (Vulnerable)
  • Western vlei rat Otomys occidentalis (Vulnerable)
  • Hartwig's soft-furred mouse Praomys hartwigi (Vulnerable)
 
Just thought of a local Californian species that needs a captive population. The marbled murrelet is endangered and I’m pretty sure if the zoos in Northern California and Oregon pitch in they could start a nice captive breeding program similar to the Californian condor.
 
Another species I think could need a captive breeding programme would be the critically endangered Dracula ant Adetomyrma venatrix. It is endemic to a single part of Madagascar about ninety miles from the country's capital city, extremely vulnerable to habitat destruction thanks to its unusual breeding behaviour (the young queens lack wings and so set out to establish a new nest on foot, taking some of her home colony with her) and they are certainly able to be kept in captivity.
Dr Brian Fisher from the California Academy of Sciences (the species' discoverer) moved a few entire colonies of the species into a laboratory setting and a related species, Adetomyrma goblin, has also been kept and bred at the CAofS. They are small enough that a zoo could house multiple colonies of the species and have a lifestyle that could be quite marketable to visitor audiences.
 
TheEthiopianWolf03 said:
Just thought of a local Californian species that needs a captive population. The marbled murrelet is endangered and I’m pretty sure if the zoos in Northern California and Oregon pitch in they could start a nice captive breeding program similar to the Californian condor.
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Auks are quite difficult avicultural subjects, and I would be surprised if any of the smaller species had been captive bred. New Worls vultures are pretty easy in comparison IMHO.
 
Sorry to revive an old thread, but here's my two cents.

- The husbandry of the species as a whole might need to be perfected, but the mainland Flores population of Komodo dragon is much more vulnerable than the main populations on Komodo and Rinca, and somewhat distinct in appearance. The island habitat of Komodo dragons in general is vulnerable to sea level rise, natural disasters and climate change as well, and combine this with their low genetic diversity, skewed gender ratio and apparent stubbornness to leave their home valleys, and the Komodo dragon species as a whole may eventually need to become well-established in captivity, or even reintroduced to Australia (where they originally evolved) in enclosed reserves (similar to Zealandia or Orokonui in NZ) if the species is to survive long term.

- Terror skinks have a similarly vulnerable habitat to Komodo dragons, but are not in captivity at all. However, not much is known of this species in the wild. I think the Maldives and other low-lying islands have endemic reptiles and insects too.

- It's true that some species may not be appealing to zoo visitors. However, it may help to "market" these species. Solenodons, owing to their ancient origins, could be nicknamed "dinosaur shrews". Tooth-billed pigeons could be linked to the extinct dodo. And so on.
 
Just to add to Kawekaweau's last comment: Zoos Victoria here in Australia has a program of 21 "priority" native species. All are critically endangered and were in desperate need of a CBP prior to the zoo developing one. Many of these animals could be described as "unremarkable" at first glance and yet visitors deem them worth of a look because the zoos tells you they are worthy. All it takes is lots of signage, information and pride of place in the zoos reptile houses, aviaries etc. All wildlife is interesting. In my opinion is entirely about whether the zoo bothers to present them in an interesting way or not.
 
toothlessjaws said:
Just to add to Kawekaweau's last comment: Zoos Victoria here in Australia has a program of 21 "priority" native species. All are critically endangered and were in desperate need of a CBP prior to the zoo developing one. Many of these animals could be described as "unremarkable" at first glance and yet visitors deem them worth of a look because the zoos tells you they are worthy. All it takes is lots of signage, information and pride of place in the zoos reptile houses, aviaries etc. All wildlife is interesting. In my opinion is entirely about whether the zoo bothers to present them in an interesting way or not.
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This is a really good point. A lot of it is about the presentation, rather than the animal itself.
 
I think Botos and mostly Appenine chamoises need a conservation programme here in Europe.
In Italy,no zoos has the second species,although the chamois is an Italian endemism...
Well,it's sad
 
Luca Bronzi said:
I think Botos and mostly Appenine chamoises need a conservation programme here in Europe.
In Italy,no zoos has the second species,although the chamois is an Italian endemism...
Well,it's sad
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There are private breeding centres in Italy for the chamois, I believe :)
 
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