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Joshua Steed
Professor Mike Kimball
Issue Exploration Essay
English 1010
3 August 2012
Troubles of Wildlife Conservation
Is captive breeding of plants and animals more important than wildlife conservation or
reintroduction? For years now, scientists and different environmental organizations have had
varying viewpoints on how to handle wildlife conservation. There have been many advances, as
well as setbacks in the never-ending struggle to save rapidly-depleting species of both plants and
animals. Now they are faced with the question, “Instead of expensive breeding programs in zoos,
should scientists and activists be focused on other goals, like freezing genetic material or
preserving habitats”? I will discuss these four viewpoints on this issue: Protect and restore
habitats, humans can manage wild populations, freezing seeds to save plant diversity, and a
combination of every approach.
The first viewpoint is to protect and restore habitats. According to Reed Noss, Provost’s
distinguished research professor at the University of Central Florida, “Conservation problems
take many forms; therefore, so must solutions.” Noss believes that the protection and restoration
of habitats will be the most effective action in saving endangered species. In order to reduce
extinction rates noticeably, at least one-half of a typical region would have to be protected and
managed with conservation of the habitat as the primary concern. Noss goes on by saying that
the only way to achieve that goal is by reducing the human footprint by limiting consumption
and population growth. Many Zoos help with habitat conservation, but it is not nearly enough.
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Zoos should educate the public on the causes of species loss and how it affects the environment.
With many habitats being destroyed, either by humans or natural causes, taking endangered
species into captivity is becoming one of the only viable options left. Studies have shown that
species relocation is not always the best choice, since there is no way to know how the new
species will react with natives of the environment. Other options include: freezing their tissue in
a gene bank, or simply documenting their extinction in the wild.
The second viewpoint is that humans can manage wild populations. “Biodiversity is
threatened by many changes: habitat loss and degradation, pollution, invasive alien species and
global warming. No single solution can address these.” (Antoinette Kotze, the manager of
research and scientific services at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa). Kotze talks
about how her zoo has been invaluable in conserving the lion population in Southern Africa. She
explains how the lion species in South Africa was decreasing by the early 1900’s to only a few
viable populations, but in 1990 the lions were released into 40 fenced reserves. With the fences
and human management the lion population flourished, proving the potential of human
involvement in the lives of wild animals. The National Zoological Gardens and others have been
working on a collaborative project that allows them to assess fertility, bank genetic material and,
if need be, assist reproduction in the wild with artificial insemination. This is just one example of
how human involvement can be vital in species conservation.
The third viewpoint is to freeze seeds to save plant diversity. Cary Fowler is the
executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. Fowler says, “there is a complexity in
conservation; we may often be best served by compromise.” Since there isn’t a second chance if
captive breeding programs are forgotten and efforts to protect habitats fail. There are other things
Fowler wishes to consider, as well: what if the plant you want to protect is no longer available in
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the wild; what if the plant’s natural habitat is also gone? Another problem to think about is “what
about the plants that were never wild?” Crops, for example, are, by definition, not natural. Their
habitat is not a natural one, because for millennia the interactions between farmers and the plants
they depend on have created a diversity of improvement and adaptation. Farmers still have a big
role to play in conservation; however, a large number of crop varieties do not exist outside of
gene banks because they are no longer used nor wanted. The value of these unwanted crops lies
in the potential of their genetic make-up for adaptation of future crops. Fowler says, “The best
way to conserve such diversity is therefore by storing seeds in gene banks, to which there is
guaranteed free and open access for all. Financing that approach is good conservation and good
economics. Most comforting, it is guaranteed to succeed”. Without the crop diversity that would
available from the gene banks, it would be nearly impossible to produce the food that would be
required in the future.
The fourth viewpoint is that we need every approach. There needs to be a compromise of
every idea. George Amato, the director of the Center for Conservation Genetics at the American
Museum of Natural History, says “While the debate about the value of captive breeding has been
acrimonious, most conservationists agree that it has a role.” The major disagreements about
captive breeding and habitat conservation boil down to these three main questions: What should
the role be of captive breeding in relation to conservation?; Do zoos look at captive breeding to
be an effective conservation strategy?; Would conservation resources be better spent on other
strategies, because they are limited? It seems these questions never get resolved when time is
rapidly running out to act. The most effective conservation would take place in the remaining
habitats that are least affected by humans. Since finding a place that is “untouched” by humans is
nearly impossible, there will have to be a combination of science and public policy to maintain
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what’s left of the biological diversity of these environments. In order to save even a small
number of the critically endangered species, they would have to be intensively managed in their
habitat as well as captivity. For some species, whose natural habitat no longer exists, breeding in
captivity is the only viable option. “We need every approach, including programs focused on
habitats and others focused on species. We need ecology and genetics and behavior and health
studies. We need to ameliorate identified threats in nature and also retain insurance populations
and bank genetic resources (one of the priorities of the Center for Conservation Genetics at the
American Museum of Natural History)” (Amato). Science-based conservation needs to focus and
expand its realm.
Does captive breeding distract from conservation? While captive breeding is important
and crucial to certain species, it remains to show true effectiveness in population management.
This is due mostly to zoos being understaffed and focused on guest experience as well as animal
management and welfare, leaving conservation to be an afterthought. Habitat protection, with
public awareness, and freezing genetic material along with captive breeding, almost as a back-up
plan, seems to be the best approach. A combination and a compromise of all sought after ideas
would be most effective in the fight against species extinction. We need to work smarter, not
harder.
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Works Cited
Amato, George. "We Need Every Approach to Save Animal Habitats and Species - Room for
Debate - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News &
Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/07/05/does-captive-breeding-distractfrom-conservation/we-need-every-approach-to-save-animal-habitats-and-species>.
Fowler, Cary. "Freeze Seeds to Save Plant Diversity - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com." The
New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July
2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/07/05/does-captive-breedingdistract-from-conservation/freeze-seeds-to-save-plant-diversity>.
Kotze, Antoinette. "Humans Can Manage Wild Animal Populations - Room for Debate NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/07/05/does-captive-breeding-distractfrom-conservation/humans-can-manage-wild-animal-populations>.
Noss, Reed. "Protect and Restore Animal Habitats - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com." The
New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July
2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/07/05/does-captive-breedingdistract-from-conservation/protect-and-restore-animal-habitats>.
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