DESIGNING THE ARK - SETTING PRIORITIES FOR CAPTIVE BREEDING

Zoos can help conserve only a small minority of the species threatened with extinction, Clear and rational criteria for identifying which th reatened taxa zoos should focus on are therefore essential. Current pr iorities for ex situ conservation stress the importance of large verte brates. We show that this hampers the efficient use of resources becau se such species are less likely to breed will in captivity than smalle r-bodied taxa and, despite longer generation lengths, are more costly to maintain in long-term breeding programs. Moreover, although reintro duction to the wild frees zoo space for other species and is the ultim ate aim of captive breeding, zoos show no tendency to target species f or which continued habitat availability makes reintroduction a realist ic prospect. We suggest that zoos adopt selection criteria that reflec t the economic and biological realities of captive breeding and reintr oduction if they are to maximize their contribution to species conserv ation, and we present data on the preferences of zoo visitors indicati ng that doing so need not adversely affect zoo attendance.