[Hollzy]

You need to focus on species like the tiger. It's appealing to the public and it has a large territory, so if you conserve an area of land for tigers, you're protecting an awful lot of other species too. I agree that we shouldn't just let pandas go extinct but we've got to come up with a new strategy to conserve them, which will hopefully leave more resources for other endangered species.

[Birdnuts]

Originally Posted by Adam Khor

I agree.

I'm not saying-like someone said recently- that we should let pandas go extinct, but by now it should be obvious that captive breeding won´t save them.
There are many species that are being bred on captivity but their habitats aren´t being protected as they should. Where will those animals go once they are numerous enough? What's the point of having hundreds of endangered animals behind bars if there's no place for their descendants to go back to? I think the money should be used to designate and mantain protected land where the entire ecosystem (not just one or two charismatic species) can recover. Just my two cents...

Habitat protection is key - sadly some of the richest habitats on the planet are the ones under most threat eg. Indonesia's rainforest are rapidly disappearing thanx to palm oil plantations, wood pulp and the callous indifference/dysfunctionality of the government. Hard to see species like the Sumatran Tiger, Rhino, Orang Utan etc. surviving much beyond 2020 in the wild

[Hollzy]

And many of the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats on the planet are also some of the most densely populated by humans.

[recedite]

Originally Posted by Adam Khor

What's the point of having hundreds of endangered animals behind bars if there's no place for their descendants to go back to?

You don't know what will happen in the future; maybe human populations will drop, or priorities will change and they will just decide to re-establish wildlife habitats.

Re Cheetahs in India, the cynic might say that if the tigers become extinct there in the wild, they will want to have some wildlife reserves containing wild cheetahs and lions to help keep the tourism industry going.

[Hollzy]

It has to be said though... The chances of the human population dropping or even plateauing in the foreseeable future are incredibly slim.

[recedite]

In most developed countries (not Ireland) people reproduce at less than the replacement rate. Populations are sustained through immigration. What happens if/when all countries become developed?

[Mickeroo]

Originally Posted by recedite

In most developed countries (not Ireland) people reproduce at less than the replacement rate. Populations are sustained through immigration. What happens if/when all countries become developed?

I don't think all countries can become developed to the level of the west in the world we live in. The planet would not be able to sustain the levels of consumption that would entail. If there's a population crash it will be for a lot more drastic and catastrophic reason than countries becoming developed imho. Considering we'll be hitting carrying capacity within the next 50 years I don't think its all that unlikely that our society will have some sort of collapse either.

[Birdnuts]

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news...h-cheetah.html

This would be great news for the conservation of this species if proven to be true

[recedite]

Hmmm.... the eco disaster of the Aral Sea might turn out to be beneficial to cheetahs; depopulation of fishing towns and expanses of flat grassland where formerly there was a lake.