Fighting Extinction - Waza

WAZA magazine Vol 13/2012
Markus Gusset
Editorial
1 & Gerald Dick2 The Red List of Threatened Species,
compiled by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
is widely recognised as the most
comprehensive, objective global
approach for evaluating the conservation
status of animal and plant
species. Each species assessed is
assigned to one of eight different categories
(see figure), based on a series
of quantitative criteria. Species classified
as Vulnerable, Endangered and
Critically Endangered are regarded as
threatened; Extinct in the Wild means
that these species are known only to
survive in human care.
There were 68 species that underwent
an improvement in conservation
status according to a recent
assessment of the status of the
world’s vertebrates on the IUCN Red
List (Hoffmann et al. 2010; Science
330: 1503–1509), all but four due to
conservation measures. For these
64 species, conservation breeding
was implemented as a major or
minor conservation action that led to
an improvement during the period
of change in 16 and three species,
respectively. Therefore, according
to Hoffmann et al. (2010), 19 of the
64 species showing genuine improvement
in IUCN Red List status due to
conservation measures benefitted
from conservation breeding.
1 WAZA Conservation Officer &
International Studbook
Coordinator
2 WAZA Executive Director
Adequate data
Evaluated
All
species
Fig. 1
Structure of the IUCN Red List categories.
© IUCN
These figures were subsequently contested
(Balmford et al. 2011; Science
332: 1149–1150) and updated (Conde
et al. 2011; Science 332: 1150–1151):
there were 13 instead of 16 species
identified for which conservation
breeding was implemented as a major
conservation action. According to
Conde et al. (2011), for at least nine of
these 13 species, zoos and aquariums
also provided substantial logistical,
technical and/or financial support.
Overall, it seems that conservation
breeding in zoos and aquariums has
played a role in the recovery of onequarter
of those vertebrate species
whose threat status was reduced
according to the IUCN Red List.
Breeding animals in human care
followed by reintroducing them back
into the wild was one of the most
frequently cited conservation actions
that led to improvements in IUCN
Red List status (Hoffmann et al. 2010).
For birds, conservation breeding and
reintroduction helped prevent the
extinction of six out of 16 species that
would probably have gone extinct in
the absence of conservation meas-
Extinct (EX)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
Vulnerable (VU)
Near Threatened (NT)
Least Concern (LC)
Data Deficient (DD)
Not Evaluated (NE)
Threatened
categories
Extinction risk
ures (Butchart et al. 2006; Oryx 40:
266–278). For mammals, conservation
breeding and reintroduction
were more successful in improving
conservation status than other
conservation actions (Hayward 2011;
Biodivers. Conserv. 20: 2563–2573) and
contributed to the genuine improvement
in IUCN Red List status of nine
species (Hoffmann et al. 2011; Phil.
Trans. R. Soc. B 366: 2598–2610).
According to the above-mentioned
evaluation (Hoffmann et al. 2010,
2011; Conde et al. 2011), species
previously classified as Extinct in the
Wild that have improved in IUCN
Red List status thanks to the reintroduction
of captive-bred animals
include the Przewalski’s horse (Equus
ferus przewalskii), black-footed ferret
(Mustela nigripes) and California
condor (Gymnogyps californianus).
Thanks to the same conservation actions,
the threat status of the Arabian
oryx (Oryx leucoryx), European bison
(Bison bonasus) and red wolf (Canis
rufus) was reduced from Extinct in the
Wild already before the time period
considered.
1
»