The establishment of a captive breeding colony of Little or Fairy penguins: at Melbourne Zoo

Evolution of Avian Conservation Breeding With Insights for Addressing the Current Extinction Crisis

“…During this time, there was also a growing recognition of the need for behavioral, physiological, and nutritional considerations in pairing and breeding endangered animals in captivity (Dunn 1986;Kear 1986;Wielebnowski 1998); and by the late 1990s, a modern integrated approach to captive management was in place: Now [in 1998] the need for a broader approach to captive management has been recognized (e.g., Hutchins et al 1995;Maillinson 1995) and research efforts incorporating behavior, nutrition, disease, physiology, genetics, population biology, and various interdisciplinary studies are seen as necessary to facilitate responsible and successful captive propagation and conservation (Wielebnowski 1998, p. 137). This modern integrated approach has resulted in consistently successful breeding programs for some bird groups (e.g., gamebirds, waterfowl, cranes, parrots, raptors, Australian finches [Passeridae], and fringillid finches [Fringillidae]); however, some species have proven difficult to breed in captivity. For example, attempts to breed the 'alalā or Hawaiian crow Corvus hawaiiensis in captivity have been ongoing since 1973 (Duckworth et al 1992;Banko et al 2002), but success in breeding and releasing the 'alalā has, so far, proven elusive, despite the involvement of numerous ornithologists and aviculturists.…”