Insurance population

What an insurance population is

An insurance population is a backup. It's a group of animals of a threatened species kept and bred in human care, usually in zoos, aquariums or dedicated breeding centers, so the species won't disappear if something goes wrong in the wild.

You'll also see it called an assurance population, an assurance colony (especially for frogs and other amphibians) or a safeguard population. All mean roughly the same thing.

Why insurance populations exist

Some threats move faster than conservation can respond. A new disease, an invasive predator or a sudden loss of habitat can wipe out wild animals in a few years, while fixing the problem can take decades.

An insurance population buys time. It:

• Keeps the species alive if the wild population collapses
• Preserves genetic diversity that would otherwise be lost
• Provides animals for reintroduction once the habitat is safe again
• Supports research into the threat itself

What makes a good insurance population

A backup is only useful if it's healthy. That means:

• Enough founders, so the group starts with a broad range of genes
• Careful breeding management, using a studbook to avoid inbreeding
• Spreading animals across several institutions, so one disease outbreak or disaster can't wipe them all out
• Keeping natural behaviors, so animals could survive if released

In U.S. zoos, many insurance populations are managed through Species Survival Plans.

Examples

• Panamanian golden frog: Conservation groups collected frogs into captive assurance colonies before chytrid fungus reached their streams. The species may have been gone from the wild since about 2007. Releases are on hold until the disease can be controlled.
• Guam kingfisher: After the invasive brown tree snake wiped out the wild birds on Guam, the species survived only in human care.
• Puerto Rican crested toad: Zoos breed toads and send tadpoles to Puerto Rico for release, adding to the wild population.
• Red wolf: Zoos hold most of the world's red wolves while the wild population in North Carolina remains very small.

The bigger picture

An insurance population is a form of ex situ conservation. It's a safety net, not a solution on its own. The goal is always a secure future in the wild. Read more about how zoos help conservation.