Zoo Programme is breeding success

'NOBODY should allow a species to go extinct without at least trying to prevent it happening. You never know what is going to happen around the corner."

So says Edwin Blake, head keeper of reptiles at Edinburgh Zoo, where he's worked for more than 30 years. And that, in a nutshell, is the reasoning behind the zoo's breeding programme which has been going for two decades, the results of which are now being felt – and seen and heard – all over the world.

The latest example of the zoo's success was revealed yesterday. Florence, born in July, is a Grevy zebra, one of an endangered breed, yet while she'll prove a huge draw for the Edinburgh attraction, the zoo's staff never just think of their work as just benefiting the city.

Jo Elliot, animal registrar, says their breeding is now done on a Europe-wise basis. "We work collaboratively with all the big zoos to create captive populations of animals to have a nice genetically stable population so there's no sudden crashes and never any need to take animals from the wild again."

Edinburgh Zoo's breeding programme, which has evolved rapidly, first started being strictly managed around 20 years ago. Today, formal breeding programmes exist for most of the endangered stock they hold.

According to Jo, one of the main reasons formal breeding began was to ensure zoos stopped taking animals from the wild. Then it was discovered there was no management of the species – or coordination on a Europe-wide level. As a result, many species floundered.

Edwin agrees. "Breeding has allowed for banks of genetic material, so if the problem that caused the extinction can be put to rights, they can be put back into the country of origin.

"Breeding is like a giant jigsaw – you've got to take little bits and put it all together, but stop it becoming extinct at the same time."

Conservation is also key for Edinburgh Zoo and it sponsors the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda and helps fund rangers who patrol the Amur Valley in Russia. Last year alone Edinburgh zoo spent £208,000 on projects in the wild.

"The Amur Valley is just one of the projects which help with the species out in the wild," adds Jo. "Because the Amur tiger is so endangered and there's the threat of poachers, there's was the real threat of extinction."

She adds: "The public do their bit by coming through the gates. The money runs the zoo, to breeding the species and into the conservation efforts. So the public are, in their own way, helping us breed too and continue the generations."

Here are just four of the zoo's breeding success stories.

SOCORRO DOVES
Once found on Socorro Island, off the coast on Mexico, died off on the island in 1972. A small number were being held in zoos across the world. A few years ago, it was established that the birds could be successfully reintroduced to their native home due to a population drop of their main predator, feral cats.

Edinburgh Zoo has been caring for Socorro doves since 2005 and seen 15 chicks hatch. These birds have helped to boost the population and will contribute to the return of the species to Socorro, which is expected to begin within the year.

Jo adds: "We're about to ship some doves back to Mexico, where they'll go into aviaries where they'll be managed. It's the initial stage before the eventual reintroduction into the wild. We don't often get the chance to do this, but because we are pretty sure we know why they are extinct we can do this. And it's brilliant to be involved in this."

PARTULA SNAILS
Once inhabiting the French Polynesian islands, this tree snail, now extinct in the wild, ranges in size from 15.8 mm to the largest 25.12 mm. In 1967, the Giant African land snail was introduced to some of the Polynesian islands and rapidly spread, becoming an agricultural pest. A biological carnivorous snail Euglandina rosea was introduced to a few islands to control it, but they ended up eating the local Partula snails.

"We've been involved with Partula snails since 1985, and were starting from the very beginning – it was very much trial and error on temperatures, diets, light, humidity," says Edwin. "Eventually we developed a successful breeding programme and husbandry techniques that are now used in all the zoos that care for this species."

AMUR TIGERS
There are only 300 of them left in the wild, and the Amur tiger – which hails from Russia – is critically endangered because of habitat loss and poaching. According to the latest inventory, the number of animals fell from 1201 to 1018 in 2006, and the number of species represented fell by 25.

Edinburgh Zoo introduced two Amur tigers, Sasha and Yuri – who were closely related to wild stock – more nine than years ago and since then they've gone on to have two litters of cubs, in 2000 and 2003. When the cubs were old enough they went to join other zoos in Denmark, Hungary, France, Sweden and two to Ireland.

Jo explains: "It's not just about breeding, but getting the right animals to breed throughout Europe. Because ours are important they bred twice, with three offspring both times. They have since gone on to continue the breeding programme. They get paired up, according to the stud book as it makes sure it's with the right animals. It's all very carefully managed."

To expand their breeding programme – and the species in general – Sasha and Yuri are leaving the zoo in the next couple of weeks for a new home at Aviemore's Highland Wildlife Park, with the Army transferring the tigers to the Cairngorms.

DIANA MONKEYS
The endangered monkeys are under threat through loss of habitat and being hunted for bush meat. Edinburgh Zoo's first Diana monkeys arrived in 1974 – one male and two females. The trio had 13 offspring and lived into their mid 20s, with most of their offspring distributed throughout Europe as part of the breeding programme.

"We began breeding in 1987 and developed the stud book for the Diana monkey," explains Jo.

"This has gone to on become an international studbook so all the Diana monkeys in the whole world are registered here. We have a really good idea of the captive population and we can strictly manage them on a genetic basis and ensure there is the best possible future for them. And all of this is done at Edinburgh."