An ex situ population can serve as a source of individuals to re-establish a species to areas of its former range from which it has disappeared. Having multiple, resilient populations distributed across the species’ range improves its ability to withstand catastrophic events.

Example: 

Greater Vancouver Zoo, BC: Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly

By using a mix of wild-caught and captive born butterflies we create a population to inhabit the habitats we work to restore. Animals are reared until they are deemed old enough to survive in the wild and then released into their protected habitats. By helping them through their most vulnerable life stage the more mature animals have a much better chance of surviving.

Learn more about the Greater Vancouver Zoo's Checkerspot Butterfly Conservation Program. 

Ex situ populations help researchers learn things that can directly support a species’ survival. Sometimes, a non-threatened species is studied as a stand-in to better understand how to help a threatened one. In other cases, keeping a threatened species in human care allows experts to learn how to properly care for and breed them—knowledge that might be needed to help save the species in the future.

Example:

African Lion Safari, ON: Asian Elephant research program

Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) is a type of herpesvirus which can cause fatal hemorrhagic disease in wild elephants and elephants in human care. African Lion Safari has been instrumental in pursuing the latest EEHV monitoring, detection and treatment protocols. We have joined other elephant care facilities and researchers throughout the world in actively supporting a global multi-faced EEHV research effort. It is our hope that our results will lead to advances that will give veterinarians and elephant care professionals more tools and strategies needed to prevent, diagnose and treat EEHV.

Learn more about African Lion Safari's EEHV research.

Ex situ populations can be used to train people—like field biologists or wildlife managers—in important skills such as safely handling animals or checking their health. This training helps prepare them to work with wild animals and supports overall conservation efforts. Sometimes, a non-threatened species is used for training to help protect a similar, threatened species.

Example:

The ex situ population of Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) that forms the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan managed breeding population is used to train professionals in safe-handling procedures.

An ex situ population can serve as a source to supplement an existing population, helping to restore a self-sustaining and viable wild population.

Example 1:

African Lion Safari, ON and Parc Omega, QU; Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Demographic augmentation.

African Lion Safari became a partner in conservation efforts in 2008. The park is one of six conservation breeding centers, along with Parc Omega which joined the project in 2023, breeding a small population of Loggerhead Shrike and releasing young into the wild. The addition to the wild population with birds produced from this program has kept the species from disappearing in Ontario. African Lion Safari’s participation has also helped advance the understanding of genomics, migration routes and wintering grounds, the impact of threats faced by wild birds such as West Nile Virus, courtship and pairing of birds, and developed methods to more accurately differentiate males from females.

Learn more about the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Conservation Programme.

Example 2:

Little Rays Nature Centers, ON: Wood Turtle Headstarting

Exciting news from the Little Ray's team in Canada! In 2023, they welcomed their first North American wood turtle neonates to raise up in the safety of their care for release at a larger and more resilient size. They welcomed more the following year and plan to continue each year going forward! Their head-starts are reaching about the size of a wild five year old in a single year, giving them a significant advantage for survival than an individual left to fend for itself in the wild. After two winters in their care they will be released with enough time to become familiar with their habitat and prepare for winter on their own. This is a species that we know will not continue to survive in Ontario without significant and drastic intervention. 

An ex situ population can form the basis for an education and awareness program that addresses specific threats or constraints to the conservation of the species or its habitat. Education should lead to changes that are essential for the success, and an integral part of, the overall conservation strategy for the species.

Example:

BC Wildlife Park, BC: Addressing targeted actions students can take home

The BC Wildlife Park was first established in 1965, and for the past 57 years we have been promoting our motto "Conservation Through Education" by offering dynamic and engaging educational programming. The parks educational programs often include targeted actions students can take home which impact local biodiversity persistence and address specific threats to local species and their habitat, i.e. Burrowing Owl.

An ex situ population can be used to introduce a species outside of its native range to re-establish a lost ecological function in an ecosystem. This may involve species that are not themselves threatened but that contribute to the conservation of other species through their ecological role.

Example:

To date, there have been no attempts at ecological replacement within Canada, but this management technique has successfully been used to restore the ecological integrity of the Siberian steppe. On the steppe the tundra musk-oxen (Ovibos moschatus), a species native to Canada, was introduced to replace the extinct Siberian musk oxen (Ovibos palantis).

Rescue can involve establishing a temporary or a long-term ex situ population for a species or population of a species that is in imminent danger of extinction due to threats that cannot or will not be reversed in time (e.g. climate change), or have no current remedy (e.g. disease, wildlife trade).

Example: 

Ripley’s Aquariums: Smalltooth sawfish

Recently, scientists have been investigating a troubling mass mortality event affecting smalltooth sawfish in Florida. In response, a groundbreaking rescue and rehabilitation initiative has been launched, involving a collaborative effort among NOAA, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and various academic and aquarium partners, including Ripley’s Aquariums. Ripley’s Aquariums is proud to support this critical effort by assisting with the transportation of rescued smalltooth sawfish for rehabilitation. Our commitment ensures that these endangered animals receive the care they need to recover and contribute to the ongoing conservation of their species.

Learn more about the Ripley's Aquarium Smalltooth sawfish Conservation.

Keeping a healthy ex situ population over the long term helps protect a species from extinction if efforts in the wild don’t work. This "insurance population" can also give conservationists more options in the future. Having a stable population under human care means individuals can be used to support wild populations later if needed.

Example: A species that only exists in Quebec, the copper redhorse (Moxostoma hubbsi) is a fish threatened with extinction. This critical situation has prompted the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks to develop an artificial reproduction technique, in collaboration with the Biodome and the University of Quebec in Montreal. This work has led to the development of methods for hormonal induction, egg incubation and rearing of young. More specifically, the Biodôme plays an important role in the development of a refuge network ("genitarium") aimed at preserving the genetic variability of the species. Since 1994, young copper redhorses resulting from crossbreeding between different genitors have been kept at the Biodôme, the Aquarium du Québec and the Baldwin-Mills provincial fish farm.

Ex situ populations can include maintenance of a long-term ex situ population after extinction of all known wild populations, and as a preparation for reintroduction or assisted colonization if and when feasible.

Example:

Once thought extinct, an isolated population of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) was discovered in 1981. The last remaining eighteen wild animals were caught to establish a breeding colony and for a few years black-footed ferrets lived strictly in captivity. Today, thanks to ongoing international collaborations, ferrets have been reintroduced to the wild at 28 sites in the US, Mexico and Canada. All wild black-footed ferrets are now descended from that initial ark population.