Noland 1 McKenzie Noland Dr.

Kristen Baum ZOOL 2111 26 September 2013

Helping Endangered Species

There are many endangered species around the world. As humans and as neighbors to these species I think it is our job to help these species thrive again. Human destruction is part of the reason more species are becoming endangered. We are taking over their natural habitats and causing pollution. There are many species that have a hard time reproducing in the wild. Some possible reasons species have a difficult time reproducing in the wild are they cant find suitable mates or they live in very harsh conditions and their offspring do not have a high survival rate. Their offspring do not usually survive; therefore it is difficult for these species to increase their population and get off the endangered list. Breeding the endangered species in captivity is a great way to raise the numbers of the species but it is difficult to raise the number of the species that are not in captivity. The importance of helping these species survive is to keep species from going extinct and increasing their population. The question I am going to answer is should captive bred species be released into the wild. It is natural for a species to become endangered and go extinct. Though, in more recent years the causes for the extinction for some of these animals is due to

Noland 2 humans. Many endangered species are bred, and raised in captivity. This is done to help raise the numbers of the endangered species. Zoos Victoria has come up with a plan to release captive bred Tasmanian devils into Australia. They will breed the Tasmanian devils in captivity and then observe the young and make sure that the young know how to survive in the wild. They will conduct the following experiment to ensure the offsprings survival. It is an experiment to release them a few at a time to see if they can make dens and feed themselves without being provided with food directly. If the Tasmanian devils can survive on their own they will be sent to Marina Island, where there is population of other devils present (Milman 2013). A study was done on the Key Largo woodrat, Neotoma floridana smalli (KLWR), to compare how captive bred KLWR could survive in the wild versus KLWR that were naturally born in the wild. The Key Largo woodrat population has been on a steady decline. It was first presumed to be due to destruction of their habitat and the introduction of a non-native species, but now some of the decline is thought to be due to more natural causes. These causes are thought to be the predation of feral cats and raccoons on the Key Largo woodrat. The researchers captured wild KLWR and tagged them with a radio-tracking device. They were then released back into the very same location where they were captured. The captive bred KLWR were taken from different parks and zoos, tagged with the same radio-tracking device, and released into the wild. The captive bred and wild woodrats were tracked until the radio-tracking device lost signal or the woodrat died. The result of this study showed that the population of KLWR was not declining it was actually increasing. After being radio-tracked it was found that all

Noland 3 but one of the deaths of the woodrats was due to predation, which was earlier thought to be the main reason for the decline in the woodrat population. The results also showed that the wild-bred population of woodrats survived and reproduced more than the population of captive bred woodrats. This suggests that captive bred species should be pre-introduced to the wild, and studied to find out how well that species will survive in the wild. Pre-introducing the species would be to slowly get them accustomed to life in the wild. Captive bred species do not know what their predators are or how to defend themselves because they are not used to being around them in captivity. If they were to be introduced to their predators before they were introduced to the wild this could help them survive and protect themselves. I think that it is very important that we help the endangered species. Breeding these species in captivity then releasing them into the wild is a great way to help. Also it is very important for us as humans to not destroy their natural habitats, and to do our best to not introduce any non-native species to their habitats. These animals cannot defend themselves so it is our job to stick up for them and to help them to survive. I think that there is a proper way to introduce the captive bred species into the wild. Since these species are captive bred they do not know what it is like to live in the wild. They do not know what their predators are or how to protect themselves; they might not even know how to find their own food or shelter. I think the proper way to reintroduce a captive bred species back into the wild would be to start at a young age. Their surroundings would be very similar to their natural

Noland 4 habitat. They would need to be introduced to their predators. Their food should not just be handed to them; they should be forced to hunt for their own food. They should then be studied for a certain amount of time to determine whether or not they are prepared to live on their own. Then when that species is thought to be capable of living on its own it should be tagged and then radio-tracked. Also the location of where the species is being introduced to is very important. The location of release should be a location that the species can thrive and where humans will not bother them. I think it is a smart idea to radio-track these captive bred species because that way the people who released it will know the location and the status of that animal. This will help researchers know if they were successful or not. I think that the plan Zoos Victoria has come up with is a great way to introduce a captive bred species into the wild. These are the steps that I think we should use to reintroduce endangered species into the wild. Some people may have other opinions, and might believe different ways. Some people may think that if a species is going extinct that we should just let it because its a natural thing. Other people may believe that captive bred species should never be released into the wild. Everyone is going to have his or her own opinion. My opinion is that we should help the species, and reintroduce them into the wild. They should be reintroduced slowly with the correct steps. I think if the right technique is used we can help many species from going extinct, and even get some of them off the endangered list.

Noland 5 Literature Cited McCleery, R., M. K. Oil, J. A. Hostetler, B. Karmacharya, D. Greene, C. Winchester, J. Gore, S. Sneckenberger, S. B. Castleberry, and M. T. Mengak. 2013. Are declines of an endangered mammal predation-driven, and can a captivebreeding and release program aid their recovery? Journal of Zoology 291:5968. DOI: 10.111/jzo.12046 Milman, O. 2013. Tasmanian devils to be released back on mainland. Online: http:/www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/23/tasmanian-devilsrelease-onto-mainland. Accessed September 2013.