It is a presentation about the genetic and population management of captive stock of wild animals which can be eventually reintroduced into the wild. It covers basically the aspects of setting genetic and demographic goal before starting a captive stock and also measures to reduce adaptation to captive environment which is detrimental in the wild. At the end some success stories have been added basically for captive programs conducted in India. All the references from where the data have been taken are given with the file.

2. 1. INTRODUCTION
2. WHY IS CAPTIVE BREEDING NECESSARY?
3. OBJECTIVES OF CAPTIVE BREEDING
4. PHASES OF CAPTIVE BREEDING
5. GENETIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC GOALS
6. GENETIC DETORIATION IN CAPTIVITY
7. MANAGEMENT TO MINIMIZE ADAPTATION IN CAPTIVITY
8. SOME SUCCESS STORIES
9. FUTURE PROSPECTS
10. CONCLUSION

4.  It is the process of breeding “endangered animals” outside of their
natural habitat in restricted conditions.
(WWF Policy Statement – 2007)
 It is the act of bringing rare or endangered animals into captivity with the
hope of rearing sustained captive population for eventual reintroduction
into the wild.
 “Captive animal” means any animal, specified in Schedule I, Schedule II,
Schedule III or Schedule IV, which is captured or kept or bred in captivity.
(Wildlife Protection Act,1972)

5. The ever expanding human population is putting increased pressure
on endangered species and many of them are already in the verge of
extinction.
Conservation of rare and endangered species has come forward as a
demanding need over recent decades and many strategies have
been taken for preventing the extinction of any more species and
also to protect the threatened ones.
Captive breeding along with re-introduction programmes were
embarked upon by conservation experts as a strategy to save
endangered species by increasing their population in their natural
habitat.
(Ijeomah and Choko, 2014)

6. INDIAN AUROCH
www.breedingback.blogspot.com
GIGANTOPITHECUS
EXAERETODON
www.upload.wikimedia.org
Live science

7. PINK HEADED DUCK ASIATIC CHEETAH
SUNDERBAN DWARF RHINO HYPERODAPEDON
www.walkthroughindia.com
www.upload.wikimedia.org

8. Source : IUCN red list

9. Source : IUCN red list

10. SOURCE: IUCN, 2020

11. SOURCE:
IUCN RED LIST, 2020
As of 19th March 2020
 Mammals 93
 Birds 93
 Reptiles 54
 Amphibians 75
 Fishes 235
 Molluscs 7
 Other
invertebrates 131
 Plants 428
 Fungi & Protists 2
Total 1118

12. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN INDIA
Protected areas like National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation
reserves, etc. in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Project Crocodile, Indian Rhino Vision
2020, UNDP Sea Turtle Project, etc.
Banning Veterinary use of Diclofenac drugs for Gyps Vulture population.
Establishment of Wildlife crime control Bureau and deployment of anti-
poaching squad.
Starting of e-surveillance in Kaziranga National Park in Assam and borders
of Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh
(Wildlife Institute of India, 2010)

14. In accordance with IUCN- the world conservation union, WWF
have stated that CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMMES may be
necessary in situations like:
1) Greatly
reduced in
overall nos.
2) Highly
fragmented
population
3) Disturbed
habitats
Must be a “last resort” strategy with the aim of eventual
reintroduction.
Must not be seen as a substitute for in-situ conservation except in
rare circumstances like designed and applied as part of science based
conservation management plan for species.
(WWF Policy Statement – 2017)

15. 1) Production of stock for
reintroduction
2) Preservation of genetic
variability
3) Developing a self-sustaining
captive population
4) Production of animals for public
education
5) Provision of insurance against
extinction
(Ralls and Ballou, 2013)

16. • Zoos and other ex situ wildlife institutions have
played a critical role in the growth and
maintenance of many species.
• 73 critically endangered species are in the
conservation breeding stage in Indian Zoos.
• The need for scientifically managed captive
programme with properly formulated species
specific population management, behaviour,
feeding, nutrition, housing, husbandry and animal
care practises in carefully selected areas.
(Singh and Kaur, 2018)
(CZA, 2019)
ROLE PLAYED BY ZOOS

17. 2. Mysuru zoo
1. Nandankanan zoo
The Hindu (8th Jan, 2018) Source : Odisha Dairy Bureau, 2017
 Mysuru zoo : Indian gaur, Lion tailed
macaque, Grey wolf, wild dog, grey
jungle fowl and giant squirrel
 Himachal zoo: Snow Leopard
 Nandankanan Zoo: Indian pangolin
 Hyderabad zoo: Barring mouse deer,
gharial, Vulture species
 Assam State Zoo: Clouded leopard,
One-horned Rhino, Stumped tailed
macaque, Binturong, Golden langur,
Pigmy hog
 Darjeeling Zoo: Red panda, Grey
peacock pheasant, Himalayan
salamander, blood pheasant
 National Zoological Park: Manipuri
brow antlered deer

18. 1) Founding the captive
stock
2) Growth of the captive
stock
3) Maintenance of the
captive population
4) Beginning of
reintroduction
(Ralls and Ballou, 2013)
Phases of developing a captive population

19. A fully representative sample of founders is required, if the
population is to encompass the genetic diversity in the wild
and minimize subsequent inbreeding.
More founders will enable to set a lower target size of the
captive population which will take less generation in
captivity
Removal of animals should have minimum impact on the
wild. We can go for injured ones, juvenile ones or left out
infants.
Captive population should be founded from at least 20-30
contributing breeding individuals of known source .
(Tripathy, 2017)

20. Many captive populations of wildlife have been
founded when only small numbers were left
( e.g Speke’s Gazelle).
Population bottlenecks at foundation lead to loss of
genetic diversity, resulting in inbreeding, and
reduced fitness.
Less numbers of founders will take more
generations in captivity to reach the target
population size which will increase behavioral
changes.
(Alberts, 2017)
(Frankham et al., 1986)
(Ralls and Ballou, 2013)

21. • Before a program's purpose can be determined, analyses must be done to
examine the potential of the population to serve that purpose.
• Populations that are to be reintroduced soon after a captive colony is
established will require less concern about long-term maintenance of
genetic diversity.
• Populations primarily managed for zoo display will need less ambitious
genetic management only inbreeding should not be allowed.
• A species that is extinct in the wild will require long-term intensive genetic
and demographic management.
•This involves a detailed analysis of the population's current demographic
and genetic status.
DETERMINING THE PURPOSE
Farquharson et al., 2021

22. COLLECTING INFORMATION FROM NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL SOURCES
 The best source of compiled data is a studbook which
provides information on animal birth, death, sex,
parentage as well as information on animal movements
between institutions.
The latest edition of International Species Information
System (ISIS) and World Associations of Zoos and
Aquariums (WAZA) studbook and husbandry manual
DVD includes 190 international and 1350 regional
studbooks and 292 husbandry manuals.
 ISIS is a computerized database which has developed
a single web-based global Zoological Information
Management System that provide, a single unbroken
record of an animal's events throughout its life.
Golden Langur stud book
“Development and maintenance of
studbooks for selected endangered
species in Indian zoos”
CZA, 2014
 In India, The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has started a project to tag all zoo animals in a
comprehensive database and developing stud books for endangered species which is fed
into the ZIMS.
CZA, 2018; International Zoo Yearbook, 2018

23. SOFTWARES
ZOO RISK
SPARKS
POPLINK
VORTEX
Uses the current demographic and genetic structure of a population along
with historic fecundity and mortality rates to stochastically model and
categorize a population's viability in captivity.
Ain et al., 2015

24. 5. SETTING THE GENETIC AND
DEMOGRAPHIC GOAL

25. GENETIC GOAL
• The genetic goal is to retain the founders' genetic diversity, as unchanged
as possible over time, so that the population can serve as a genetic
reservoir for the species till it is reintroduced successfully into the wild.
• Setting genetic goals essentially asks HOW MUCH for HOW LONG and
HOW MANY.
• The time scale for management programs will vary according to the
generation interval and risk status of the species.
• Once a genetic goal has been selected, then the number of animals
needed to achieve that goal can be calculated
•A common goal is 90% heterozygosity and at least 25 founders
Tripathy, 2017
Hailun and Ying., 2019

26. The relationship between number of founders(N) and the proportion of
heterozygosity (H) that they capture is given by:
For a locus with two alleles, the probability that a random sample of n
founders contains at least one copy of each allele P(A1, A2) is given by:
P(A1, A2) = 1 - (1 - p)2n - (1 - q)2n
where,
p is the frequency of A1,
& q is the frequency of A2.
(Ralls and Ballou., 2013)
Computer programmes packed with pedigree data are used to create
detailed genetic management plans that in turn dictate those
individuals to be mated. Eg: ZOOEASY, PMX, ONEEARTH.

27. DEMOGRAPHIC GOAL
Once the population's potential
growth rate, effective size, current
level of and gene diversity
generation interval are found, a
genetic goal can be directly
translated to answer the
demographic question of how many.
The overall demographic goal for
captive populations is to increase
the population to a sufficient size so
as to avoid extinction due to
accidental or chance events.
To maintain that population
with an age and sex
structure that promotes
reliable reproduction when
needed.
A population with more young
members and higher ratio of
females will have greater
probability of growth.
Holzer et al., 2013

28. Rapid growth
of the
Captive stock
till desired
numbers are
achieved
Giving proper
husbandry
measures (nutrition,
environment,
treatments,
vaccinations)
Genetic and
demographic
management and
prevention of
loss of genetic
variability
Doloman et al., 2015

30. (Carroll et al., 2014; Hailun and Ying, 2019)
i. Small population dynamics:
Genetic diversity (both allelic diversity and
heterozygosity) are lost leading to inbreeding
depression, accumulation of new deleterious
mutations and genetic drift.
ii. Unreliable reproduction:
Risk of extinction outweighs the risk of a few
less than idea mating
iii. Unstable age/sex structure:
The underlying structure is important for
viability, fertility and genetic structure of the
population.
iv. Genetic adaptation to captivity:
Caused by both natural and artificial selection
on the organism in the captive environment
which reduces the species’ ability to survive
after reintroduction.
b. Diminishing population
a. Growing population

32. Number
Of
Founders
Generations
in
captivity
No. of
animals in
the
captive stock
Number of
immigrants
from wild
Mean kinship
between
breeders
McPhee, 2003; Frankham et al., 2010; Alberts, 2017
In general, the smaller the population, the faster the loss; the longer the
period of time, the greater the total loss.

33. I. MINIMIZING GENERATION IN CAPTIVITY (t)
 Minimizing the number of generations that a population remains in captivity
before reintroduced into the wild.
 It reduces the number of generation for artificial and natural selection to act
upon. Thereby reducing the amount of possible adaption.
 Some examples: Species like oldfield mouse, Mallorcan midlife toad, large white
butterfly, maned wolf etc.
 All demonstrated greater change in behavioral traits and fecundity as a result of
more generation in captivity.
 To reduce the time spent in captivity the population must reproduce well in
captivity.
 Different studies on the wild species specific reproductive behaviour have come
forward and techniques like cryopreservation and IVF have been performed in
some captive population in order to reduce the number of live animal in captivity.
Kraaijeveld et al., 2006; Doloman et al., 2015
Farquharson et al., 2021

34. Initially was thought to be of great help to breed
sexually incompatible pairs which are genetically
ideal or reducing the cost of moving animals from
one zoo to another
Species specific reproductive mechanism inhibited
the rapid deployment of AI in wildlife
Has been successful in species like gaur, banteng
belonging to same family as cattle due to same
reproductive anatomy.
Unsuccessful for animals with complicated
reproductive tract such as elephants, rhinoceros,
etc.
Gaur
(Source: Altina Wildlife Park, 2017)
Banteng
USE OF MODERN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

35. Methods Achivements Challanges
2. Cross fostering Sand hill cranes incubating and
raising for whooping cranes
Behavioral
differences
3. IVF / ICSI and ETT Gaur calf born to a Holstein cow in
1981
Bentang born to a cow,
Zebra to a domestic horse
 Indian desert cat to a domestic cat
 Water buffalo, Armenian red
sheep, Red deer
Difference in
reproductive and
parenting
Space in a facilities
for housing extra
recipent
 lack of fundamental
biological information
4. Cryopreservation
of embryos and
oocytes
Successful for wild Bovidae (Gaur,
Benteng, Bongo)
Non human promates and African
cats.
Limited information
related to the medium
and protocols required
5. Somatic cell
cloning
Gaur and benteng calf born to
domestic cow
Lack of information for
surrogate species
Ijeomah and Choko, 2014

36. II. MINIMIZING SELECTION (sh²)
Three types of selection may act upon the captive
animals:
i. Directive/intentional artificial selection:
-This can be easily controlled accordingly.
ii. Unconscious/unintentional artificial selection:
-Can often be hard to control
-Individual that reproduce well or are easy to handle gets to
pass their genes to the next generation.
iii. Incidental selection:
-It is a result of captive environment such as lack of
predators, abundant food and water, medical care, etc.
-This inadvertent selection for adaptation to captive
environment is similar to natural selection.
 The incidental selection can be controlled to some
extent by creating an environment similar to the natural
environment of the animals which also helps in reducing
stress level.
 Breeding strategies like reducing the mean kinship
must be practised.
a) Animals provided with all
the necessities without having
to compete for them
b) Environment similar to
natural conditions
Source: Altina Wildlife Park,
2017
Wakchaure and Ganguly, 2016

37. III. MINIMIZING MEAN KINSHIP (f)
The kinship between two individuals is the probability that two alleles at a given
locus, one randomly drawn from each individual are identical by descent from a
common ancestor.
Pedigree records of the individuals help in calculating kinships among individuals
and the inbreeding coefficients give us genome-wide average levels of diversity in
individuals.
But due to the unavailability of proper pedigree records in the present time
molecular markers are used.
Genetic variation is typically measured by collecting a sample of DNA from an
organism (blood, tissues, hair, feathers, bones, feces, etc.).
Falconer, 1981
Farquharson et al., 2021

38. A combination of pedigree and microsatellite information can infact be an optimal
method for measuring genetic relationship specially when pedigree information are
not complete. Krishnan, 2021
Table 1 : Contribution of molecular data in various captive breeding programs
Lacy, 2012

39. IV. INCREASING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS & FRAGMENTATION
The founding population can be sub-divided (fragmented) and maintained in different
facilities and then pooled immediatedly before reintroduction.
Whenever, there is a question of inbreeding depression, migration between these
populations may be necessary.
Migrants can be brought from the wild too if possible and as many as 10 immigrants
per generation has been suggested by many studies.
But this number is not considered realistic due to transport, cost and disese
transmission issues.
Therefore, at least 1 migrant every one to two generations has been recommended
and is in practise in Indian zoos as well.

40. IN SOME CASES META POPULATIONS MUST BE MAINTAINED FOR
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
AND CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES
(Carroll et al, 2014)
Fig: Exchange of animals between zoos
Source: http://vetonthewildside.blogspot.com

41. (Singh and Kaur, 2018)
Any “EXTRA” offsprings can be prepared for
reintroduction gradually.
Only the GENETICALLY OUTSTANDING
individuals must be mated for the maintenance
population
The individuals to be reintroduced must be
kept in seperate space in zoos to undergo
PROPER TRAINING

43. An attempt to establish a species in an area which was once
a part of its previous historical range.
It may be defined as the release of animals into an area in
which they have either declined or disappeared due to
natural causes, human pressure or some other factors.
Reintroduction is a realistic goal only when habitat protection
is an integral part of the species’ overall conservation
programme.
Ralls and Ballou, 2013
Tripathy, 2017

44. Rules for a Successful Re-introduction
• Enough breeding stock to provide a surplus. For big
animals, this requires a lot of space.
• Good genetic management
1. A SELF-
SUSTAINING
CAPTIVE
POPULATION
• Conduct field studies to determine the amount and
type of habitat required by new population
• Habitat restoration is must before planning for
reintroduction
• The habitat must be within the species’ historic
range
• Must be protected from whatever caused its
previous decline
2. ADEQUATE
AND
PROTECTED
HABITAT
The IUCN and AZA have developed guidelines that discuss the
biological, socioeconomic and legal requirements of a successful
Reintroduction.

45. • Train the animas to be re-introduced
prior to release
• Anti-predator training must be included
in pre-release preparation procedure
3. EFFECTIVE
TECHNIQUES TO
PREPARE ANIMALS
FOR RE-
INTRODUCTION
• Constant monitoring provides
opportunity to evaluate and modify
program.
4. POST-RELEASE
MONITORING AND
EVALUATION
IUCN, 2015

46. 5.PROFESSIONAL AND
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Public education about what,
how and why it has been
done
Initially the genetically
most expandable
individuals are released
and later emphasis is given
on choosing the least
related individuals to the
ones already present in the
wild
IUCN, 2015 (Ralls and Ballou, 2013)

47. 8.
SUCCESS
STORIES

48. Pigmy Hog
Release of Pigmy
Hog in Manas
National park, 2021
Source: Times of India, June 25, 2021
 Six hogs (2 males & 4 females) were captured from
Manas national park in 1996.
 Reintroduction began in 2008 in three protected areas:
• Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary (35 hogs)
• Orang National Park (59 hogs)
• Barnadi Wildlife sanctuary (22 hogs)
 Last year 14 and this year 12 more captive bred pigmy
hogs were reintroduced in the Manas National Park on
25th June, 2021 .
 With this release the total number of pigmy hog
reintroduced into the wild will be 142 (67 males and 75
females)
 By 2025, the PHCP plans to release a target of 60 more
pigmy hogs in Manas, its last natural habitat.

49. Source: Tiger Census Report (India), 2018
 Except Mizoram and Chhattisgarh all
other states has reported positive
growth.
 Currently more emphasis given on in-
situ conservation by habitat enrichment
methods.
 Recognition of tiger landscapes and
the importance of the corridors
and their physical delineation at the
highest levels of governance
 Lidar-based survey technology being
used for the first time to deal with man-
animal conflict challenges by training
proper officials for these situations.
 Genome wide molecular analysis in
Indian tigers showed that they have
high genetic diversity as compared to
Amur, Sumatran and Malayan tigers
Krishnan, 2021

50. By the start of 20th century the
greater One horned Rhino had a
population of around 200
individuals.
Now, there are more than 3,600
found in North east India and Nepal.
Since 2009, the government of
Assam, WWF and other partners
have work to establish a new
population of Greater One horned
rhino in India’s Manas National
park.
18 birth with 3 rhino birth recorded
last year in the park, with a total
population of about 40 individuals.
WWF, 2019
 Significant increase in woodland and
grassland cover has strong positive
association of R. unicornis.
 With increase in grassland the fodder
availability increases; helps in better
survival as habitat improves.
Mukherjee et al., 2020

51.  Whooping crane
 Bison
 American condor
 Perigrine falcon
 Golden lion tamarin
 Large blue butterfly
 Arabian Oryx
Golden Lion tamarin
(source: www.iberlinx.com)
(WWF 2015; Dance, 2019)
Arabian Oryx
(source: wwf.panda.org)

52. INDIAN PANGOLIN
Source: CZA
GOLDEN LANGUR
Source: CZA
BRAZILIAN CAPYBARA
Source: Hailun and Ying, 2019
BLACK FOOTED FERRET
Source: https://nationalzoo.si.edu
MAURITIUS KESTREL
Source: https://ebird.edu
CALIFORNIAN CONDOR
Source: https://www.thecut.com
(Mohapatra and Panda, 2013; Dance, 2019)

53. 9. FUTURE PROSPECTS
Breeding for
disease resistance
using MHC related
technologies
Census and
status
estimation
using DNA
from faecal
materials
(Tripathy, 2017; Dance, 2019)
1. Technologies such as
artificial insemination,
cryopreservation and
cloning have the
potential to enhance
genetic management of
captive populations in
future however they
must be standardized
for the wild species.
2. To find out genetically
closest species for cross
fostering or somatic
cell nuclear transfer,
etc.
Resurrection
of some
extinct
species
having intact
DNA in
museums.

54.  Many species have gone extinct from the wild owing to
causes like loss of habitat, danger from poaching and illegal
trades concerning them and their body parts.
 Captive breeding aiming for future reintroduction have been
recognized as an emergency and “last hope” for this purpose.
 With proper studies regarding management, nutrition, health
care and informed selection and mating, this programs have
the potential to re-populate the endangered species and
conserve them.
After all, the plans to protect the wild life and the wilderness
are infact plans to protect man and the quality of life of humans.
10. CONCLUSIONS

55. THANK
YOU