Threatened With Extinction:
Many large, exciting animals we see on TV programmes are threatened with extinction. The list includes familiar creatures like gorillas, tigers and elephants as well as smaller and more obscure species. A major reason that population numbers may decline is habitat loss to the ever growing human population.

Isolated Animals:
Some creatures, like Lions, are disappearing faster than their habitats because of hunting pressures. Click here to read more.

The Need For Human Intervention:
Between 2000 and 6000 species of land vertebrate (backboned animal) will need human intervention if they are not to become extinct in the near future. Such help will come from conservation breeding in zoos and captive breeding centres. Well-managed zoos can breed animals quicker and salvage more of them than if they were in a troubled area in the wild. By co-operating with each other, zoos can reduce or eliminate inbreeding by sound genetic management. There are more than 500 captive breeding programmes in operation today and, if good zoos continue to co-operate, they may be able to mount supportive recovery programmes for all threatened land vertebrates.

Successful Captive Breeding Programme:
In order to operate a successful captive breeding programme, the history of each animal should be recorded. These records are then made available to studbook holders so that they can analyse the captive population and make recommendations on animal transfers and breeding. Click here to read more.

Click here to read more about how Zoos are supporting animal populations, the World Zoo Conservation Stategy, and how conservation is being suported.