Successful Captive Breeding Programme:
Personnel at Twycross Zoo are responsible for the European studbooks for the Saddle Billed Storks, Red Fronted Macaws and Patagonian Sea-Lions.

Although the ultimate aim of a captive breeding programme is to release animals ‘into the wild’, it is unlikely that many species will be released, since there is little habitat left that is not under threat from human activities. Half the world’s tropical forests have disappeared already, utilised for cash crops and more roads and buildings for the rapidly growing human population. Despite this, there have been some successful reintroduction programmes with a number of zoo-born animals e.g. the Golden Lion Tamarin.

The reintroduction of the endangered Golden Lion Tamarin into the wild is a classic example of how zoos can contribute to the conservation of animal species in the wild. Twycross has Golden Lion Tamarins which are on a European breeding programme.

The zoo has had much success in breeding these South American monkeys which are technically on loan from the Brazilian Government as part of a captive breeding programme. It is thought that by the 1970’s, habitat protection alone would not have stopped the Golden Lion Tamarin from becoming extinct. Many zoos successfully bred these animals and trained them to survive in the wild before releasing them into a protected forest reserve in Brazil. Zoos also donated money to fund the programme. There are now over 1000 Golden Lion Tamarins in the wild and approximately 600 in captivity.