480 Natural Resources Systems Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Recover and Restore Efforts Many zoos, wildlife reserves, botanic gardens, and other conservation organizations have captive breeding programs in which they attempt to raise animals or plants that have become rare in their native habitats. The term rare indicates that the population is uncommon or infrequently encountered. The goals of a captive breeding program are to cre- ate a stable, sizable, and healthy population and to reintroduce species into their natural habitats. For some species, a captive breeding program is the only chance it has to survive, Figure 19-18. Captive Breeding Programs The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) of North America is a success story of captive breeding and reintroduction sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The black- footed ferret is the only ferret species native to North America, Figure 19-19. The species once inhabited the central plains in the tens of thousands, hunting prairie dogs and small wildlife. Disease, such as the sylvatic plague from Asia, and habitat destruction by agricul- ture and development in the 1900s placed the species on the brink of extinction. There were only 18 remaining in captivity in 1986. Female pandas have one 36-hour window of fertility each year. Did You Know? Bryan Faust/Shutterstock.com Figure 19-18. A series of nature preserves in China protect the giant panda’s (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) forested habitat. As with many endangered species, habitat destruction and fragmentation is the main contributing factor to their low numbers. There is a low success rate for mating in captive breeding programs, but these nature preserves may help pandas mate and birth offspring in the wild. Figure 19-19. Black-footed ferrets were once considered a lost species. The captive breeding program sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service has saved the animal from extinction. Kerry Hargrove/Shutterstock.com