Editorial: The Role of Zoos and Aquariums in Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations

The world is facing a biodiversity crisis and populations of surviving species have substantially declined. This has led to small and fragmented wildlife populations that are then at greater risk of extinction from intrinsic population factors and chance events. Conservation translocations can counter and reverse some of these effects by demographically or genetically augmenting small wild populations or re-establishing new ones. Zoos and aquariums are developing into conservation organizations, and have a suite of expertise and experience that can be applied to securing populations of threatened species through conservation translocations. The papers in this volume provide examples of this, and highlight some of the challenges and solutions associated with this area of conservation. (Post-release monitoring of released Spur-thighed tortoises Testudo graeca in Boukornine National Park, Tunisia. Photo: Marie Petretto, Marwell Wildlife)