FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO WILD: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF BREEDING PROGRAMMES FOR ENDANGERED MAMMAL SPECIES

Abstract

Heavy deforestation leads to the threat of extinction of various mammals’ species in near future due to the habitat loss, which imposes a great risk at survival of these species in a particular area. Another cause of mammal’s extinction is the increasing demand of their body parts that leads to uncontrolled hunting and decrease in their number. Protection of sustainable population of endangered mammals is a great challenge. Therefore, in-situ and ex-situ conservation techniques of captive breeding are being practiced for many years to protect the endangered mammals. These techniques have been proved successful in many cases of mammals. The main problem that we face in ex-situ conservation is the reintroduction of mammals in their natural habitat because natural habit is different from captive environment. However, this problem has been solved to a greater extent by the in-situ conservation in which population of organisms are protected in their natural habitat. In this review we will highlight the history and types of captive breeding. We will also review the in-situ and ex-situ conservation techniques and compare the effectiveness of each of these techniques. It also contains the challenges faced in reintroduction of organisms in their habitat and policies to face these challenges