Extinct in the wild


A species that is extinct in the wild is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due to massive habitat loss.
has been extinct in the wild since 1986

Examples

Examples of species and subspecies that are extinct in the wild include:
The Pinta Island tortoise had only one living individual, named Lonesome George, until his death in June 2012. The tortoise was believed to be extinct in the mid-20th century, until Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi spotted Lonesome George on the Galapagos island of Pinta on 1 December 1971. Since then, Lonesome George has been a powerful symbol for conservation efforts in general and for the Galapagos Islands in particular. With his death on 24 June 2012, the subspecies is again believed to be extinct. With the discovery of 17 hybrid Pinta tortoises located at nearby Wolf Volcano a plan has been made to attempt to breed the subspecies back into a pure state.
Not all EW species are rare. An example is the Brugmansia family, where all subspecies are widely cultivated but none are found in the wild. Ultimately, the purpose of preserving biodiversity is to maintain ecological function, so when a species exists only in captivity, it is ecologically extinct.

Reintroduction

Reintroduction is the deliberate release of species into the wild, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species survives. This may be an option for certain species that are endangered or extinct in the wild. However, it may be difficult to reintroduce EW species into the wild, even if their natural habitats were restored, because survival techniques, which are often passed from parents to offspring during parenting, may be lost. While conservation efforts may preserve some of the genetics of a species, the species may never fully recover due to the loss of the natural memetics of the species.
An example of a successful reintroduction of an EW species is Przewalski's horse, which as of 2018 is considered to be an Endangered species, following reintroduction started in the 1990s.