The Last of Their Kind - endangered species - includes related articles on Endangered Species Act, and 10 threatened species

E: The Environmental Magazine, May, 1999 by Jim Motavalli, Jennifer Bogo

Americans can perhaps be forgiven for thinking that endangered species are yesterday's problem, since threatened "charismatic megafauna" (from bald eagles to cheetahs) are pervasive on television and in magazines, where their computer-manipulated images are used to sell products and create brand identities. A commercial featuring herds of rhinos and tigers thundering through Manhattan may convince viewers that the real animal is not going to disappear. Writing in Double Take, Bill McKibben observed that we've already archived so much wildlife imagery that we need never disturb the real animals again.

The film Fierce Creatures satirized the growing corporate involvement in the world's zoos, which use endangered species as calling cards. The San Diego Zoo is hardly immune from this, having set up the Giant Panda Research Station in partnership with Pacific Bell. The visiting public can get up to date on the latest news from Bai Yun and Shi Shi, who are on a 12-year loan from China, by calling the Giant Panda Hotline.

The zoo calls its arrangement with Chinese authorities a "research loan," but that belies the pandas' role as a major zoo attraction. San Diego's Georgeanne Irvine admits that the pandas are "one of our most popular animals," but she insists that the zoo is also gaining valuable insights into panda communications and breeding activity. In addition to scientific studies of panda scent markers, DNA and stress physiology, the zoo sends $1 million annually to aid China in habitat preservation efforts. Delegations from the zoo travel frequently to the Wolong Giant Panda Preserve in China to study pandas in the wild. But if casual zoo visitors can buy an encounter with such rare animals along with their modest admission price, not to mention a plush talking version in the gift shop, are they going to worry about the species' long-term survival?

The role of zoos in endangered species protection gets more complex when one considers that, for some species, they have become the best hope for survival. In too many cases, zoos and research institutions hold the most viable breeding populations as natural habitats are devastated. That's certainly the case with the once-plentiful black-footed ferret (see page 33). But can a species be truly said to have "survived" if it no longer has any wild identity?

And reintroducing captive-bred animals to the wild is a frustrating and often-heartbreaking business. Efforts to repopulate the thick-billed parrot into Arizona, for instance, have recently failed because birds raised in zoos or by breeders lack the vital herding instincts that keep them safe from predators. A plan to bring the lynx back to what had become unfamiliar territory in New York State also ended disastrously.

But scarcity in the wild is actually a plus to wildlife traders. As Jeff Gee notes, a brutal law of supply and demand is in effect when it comes to endangered species--the fewer there are, the more they're worth. Simon Habel, director of TRAFFIC North America, an arm of the World Wildlife Fund that tracks the endangered animal trade, says the business fluctuates according to "the flavor of the month." Collectors have what Habel calls "a postage stamp mentality" meaning they'll pay almost anything to get a rare specimen, sometimes alive or dead. The CITES Appendix I-listed (the most endangered) Australian palm cockatoo, which is difficult to breed in captivity, sells for up to $20,000 a pair.