I was thinking about helping conservation efforts by breeding some sort of endangered organism - preferably the kind to be re-released back into the wild.

Unfortunately, I'm not a philanthropist with millions of dollars to spend on complex facilities (IE - a gigantic warehouse full of climate controlled terrariums/cages/etc). I most certainly would not have the resources to raise gorillas, or anything I need to feed 100 live rabbits to per month.

Do you know of anything I could reasonably work with? BTW - this includes any endangered plants and trees (if you can think of any).

March 27, 2008
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall announced the sixteen recipients of the Service's 2007 Recovery Champion award. The Recovery Champion award recognizes outstanding contributions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees and their partners toward efforts aimed at recovering threatened and endangered species in the United States.

"The Recovery Champion award not only recognizes the exceptional conservation accomplishments of the honorees, it also provides the public with a unique opportunity to learn about endangered species conservation," said Hall. "These Recovery Champions are extraordinary conservationists dedicated to protecting and restoring our nation's wildlife and ensuring that future generations of Americans enjoy the national treasures we experience today."

March 20, 2008
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced more than $57.9 million in grants to 23 states and one territory to support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants. The grants, awarded through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, will benefit numerous species ranging from the red-cockaded woodpecker to the Lake Erie watersnake.


http://www.fws.gov/endangered/

Thanks for the link --- although the page showing the list of specific animals/plants is down

The page you are trying to get to is no longer available. Please contact the ECOS Help Desk to report this or request more information.

D om

That would depend where you live. Voleentieers for wildlife rescues sometimes breed those who cant be releaced again. If you were in australia i would suggest macupial mice

Thanks for the link --- although the page showing the list of specific animals/plants is down

Try this...

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html#Species

I didn't think private people could have endangered species, at least not animals.

D. om

That would depend where you live. Volunteers for wildlife rescues sometimes breed those who cant be released again. If you were in Australia I would suggest marsupial mice

So something I need to consider is that fact that the organism is local to my area? What would be the problem with breeding "Australian Marsupial mice" from my end of the world?

Try this...
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html#Species

All of those links give me the same error.

I didn't think private people could have endangered species, at least not animals.

Really? Where did you hear that?

you can if you get a licence from the relivent body. Mostly its people who rescue animals that get them

Most of australian wildlife is forbiden to most people but if you can prove you can look after them and have a reason to do it (like you want to help animals that have been hit by a car for instance) then you can get licences of the RSPCA (i THINK) or it could be DOCH (maybe)

D om the first problem you would have is that its COMPLEATLY illegal to capture, sell or import endangioured species so you would never be able to get your hands on them

Wouldn't plants be easier?

you run into the same quarinteen problems with plants as well. Take a gum tree for instance, if it was endanged in Australia where it belongs it might be good to grow them to save them here but if you took it to the US it could well become a noxious weed

D om the first problem you would have is that its COMPLETELY illegal to capture, sell or import endangered species so you would never be able to get your hands on them

Hmmmm.......so it means I would need to obtain a permit *first* before being allowed to breed/grow anything.

Wouldn't plants be easier?
That's the idea. In the first post, I was also looking for examples of specific trees or plants I could reasonably work with.

you run into the same quarantine problems with plants as well. Take a gum tree for instance, if it was endangered in Australia where it belongs it might be good to grow them to save them here but if you took it to the US it could well become a noxious weed

I have no intention of transplanting and creating havok within the local ecosystem --- rather, the intention is simply to "make more copies" to increase available populations.
In the mouse example:
Assuming I were able to breed and build up a stock of marsupial mice - perhaps an Australian park solves some sort of "loss of habitat" problem, and needs a supply to "build up" their numbers. They see me on a a list of registered mouse breeders, so I send them mine to help "seed" the local population.
That's the sort of thing I had in mind.

i realised thats what you ment, i was just responding to orleander. In general plants are a quanteen problem and endagered animals are coustimes (at least here they are) because in the case of plants containment is a problem (for an example look up the "prickly pear")

I cant see a problem with breeding something like masupial mice as long as you had a permit but to get a permit to import endagered species from another country could be rather problematic.

If i was you i would contact your local zoo or an organisation like the RSPCA and see what they say about the idea.

i realised thats what you ment, i was just responding to orleander.....

Umm, he said plants or animals in teh opening post. From what I was reading, I think plants would be easier. I can't imagine anyone trying to save things from going extinct would then dig up one of those plants. :shrug:

Here there are a lot of people (myself included) planting and raising heritage fruit/flowers/veggies. Then we pass the seeds from what we have grown on to each other.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/apples.html

domesticated Om...if you are really commited to the issue, you need to cross boundaries of law to help the animals and not do this for fame or money, risking your life for it. Otherwise how else will you transport the animals or succeed in breeding them?

Also have you considered which species it is you want to breed?

I was thinking about helping conservation efforts by breeding some sort of endangered organism - preferably the kind to be re-released back into the wild. Do you know of anything I could reasonably work with? BTW - this includes any endangered plants and trees (if you can think of any).Authorities take a dim view of laymen breeding endangered species. For starters, where did you get the seed, sprout, egg, baby, etc.? That's one less for the professionals to raise, and they have a much better chance of success than you do.

We've worked with parrots and there are several other issues. When you breed birds, there's always the chance that one of them will get away from you. You're supposed to keep their flight feathers clipped but everybody screws up once in a while. There are whole flocks of feral parrots in America's subtropical cities like LA and Miami, and they're hybridizing so the individual species are disappearing. If any of those birds or their descendants migrate south to the rainforest, they could screw up the wild gene pool.

With plants you have the possibility that even though that species wasn't doing well in its native habitat, it might thrive at your house, and it will spread and become invasive, pushing out native plants.

These are some of the reasons why it's best left to the professionals. You don't have to have a PhD to do a good job of it, but you need a little more than good intentions. Learn enough about it, and then work with some people who do it, so you can call yourself a professional, and then strike out on your own.

There are a number of species that are just "threatened" rather than "endangered," and captive breeding plays an important role in their survival. The numbers of the hyacinth macaw, for example, have been greatly reduced due to deforestation in South America. At this point there may be more of them living safely in living rooms in North America, and since they're spread out over the whole country it would not be easy for a disease or disaster to wipe them out. Hobbyist breeders are doing the world a great service with these birds and they make great pets for people who are not easily intimidated.

We have to accept the fact that civilization is spreading, and the concept of "releasing them back into the wild" may not be realistic for some of these species. Animals like parrots that adapt enthusiastically to the complexity of domestic life, and enjoy forming multi-species communities with humans and our other animals, are becoming civilized in their own way.

One nice simple thing you can do is use your own land (if you have any) to create some habitat - even a small garden can help.

dig a pond - so that birds can have somewhere to bathe - so that amphibians can potentially move in.

Plant some trees and shrubs to give nesting space and shelter to birds and mammals - fruit trees are especially good as they attract insects - the animals that eat the insects and animals that eat the fruit - you can eat it too of course.

create some rocky areas for mammals and insects etc to breed /feed and shelter in.

Keep a compost heap - can attract reptiles and beats chemical fertilizer

plant lots of indiginous flowering plants to encourage bees and butterflies and their associated predators.

leave some it just to grow wild.

You'd be surprised how many rare and unusual things will start turning up after a while - even in a relatively small space - and its way more satifying than a boring manicured lawn.

Thanks Fraggle and Patel for the helpful information

-To Patel: Actually, I did something like that when I was a young boy. My family (mother, brother, me) moved into a house relatively close to where I live now back in the late 80s.

When we first moved there, the back yard was overgrown with weeds and unkempt trees. After we cleared it, I noticed there were quite a few random rocks all over the place, and decided to spend a few weekends removing them all (so the yard would be easier to mow). I also noticed a couple of species of snakes inhabited the yard (garden snakes/green snakes).
I have ALWAYS been a huge fan of snakes, so I decided to make a haven for them out of all the spare rocks. I found an innocuous area in the back yard to build a rock wall, and set it up as the perfect place for them to hide (lots of spaces in between. and flat areas next to the soil for them to coil up). Whenever i would mow the yard and see a snake in the grass, I would stop the mower, catch the snake, and put it on the rock wall.
Four years later, the wall, yard, and bushes around the house were inhabited by hundreds of snakes LOL. I could go out on any day, lift up rocks, and almost certainly find one.
I wasn't able to do the same for the green snakes because they were arboreal. I simply saved them from the cats and the old lady that lived next door (she was afraid of snakes) whenever I found them.
I wonder if they're still there sometimes. My mother was renting that house, and there have been numerous other tenants since then.


To Fraggle: I was able to find a rather interesting link for a group that's attempting to save an endangered conifer. Here's the link:
http://www.torreyaguardians.org/
I still plan to look into it in the manner you've described.

How about honey bees? They are in trouble, so how about planting flowers they are attracted to?
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/bees.shtml

A similar effort (and an easier one for ordinary people to achieve) is to raise Heirloom strains of agricultural products. Many types of corn, tomatoes, etc are in danger of disappearing because they are no longer competitive with modern hybrids.
If you want animals, try breeds of livestock- there are chicken breeds in the same situation.