'A really sobering moment:' English zoo fights extinction of freshwater Boxer pupfish
A zoo in southwest England is working to rescue a freshwater fish species, considered one of the "most imperiled groups of animals on earth" from extinction.
Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable, a town in Bedfordshire about 30 miles north of London, initiated a "dramatic" conservation effort to safeguard the "near threatened" Boxer pupfish, which is indigenous to Lake Chichancanab in Quintana Roo, Mexico, according to a Tuesday press release. Boxer pupfish are one of seven pupfish species native to that specific habitat.
Whipsnade Zoo aquarists were recently told by conservation partners that that the world's last remaining Boxer pupfish was in their care, prompting the zoo to carry out the immediate transport of all the "precious" Boxer pupfish eggs to another local conservation and education charity in the name of species preservation.
A total of 50 of the tiny and translucent eggs were sent to Bristol, where a new population of Boxer pupfish will soon emerge from the conservation breeding program, the zoo said.
The move, according to Whipsnade Zoo, will ensure both zoos preserve a healthy and genetically viable back-up population which can one day be used to restore the fish to the wild.
"Finding out that the last remaining wild Boxer pupfish could be extinct was a really sobering moment, but we knew we didn’t have time to dwell and had to act quickly to safeguard the future of this species," Alex Cliffe, the zoo's assistant fish curator and European program coordinator for the pupfish said in the press release.
'Fast response' saves 'vital' fish species from extinction, zoo says
Breeding efforts for the Boxer pupfish will continue across both institutions while Whipsnade Zoo and others "confirm" the status of the freshwater species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species following recent conservation efforts, according to the press release.
However, findings from a survey conducted by a conservation charity with ties to Whipsnade Zoo suggests that the wild population has been "completely decimated" by the introduction of invasive fish species in the waters.
Boxer pupfish are "vital" to the ecosystem and their extinction puts other animals like birds and reptiles in that environment at risk.
"Thanks to the fast response of the keepers at Bristol Zoological Society, and the skillful care of our aquarists at Whipsnade, within just four days we had collected and transported the precious eggs to be hatched, reared and cared for by our fellow conservationists," Cliffe said.
Human-caused threats like climate change, habitat destruction, or the introduction of invasive species puts a number of fish species, including the Boxer pupfish, "facing a perilous future," Cliffe said.
"Freshwater fish are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on Earth, with more than 3,000 species at risk of extinction," Brian Zimmerman, director of conservation and science at Bristol Zoological Society, said in the press release. "By strengthening the numbers of the Boxer pupfish across more than one institution, we will ensure that the species survives, even if it is lost in the wild.”