Of course, having the right facilities is only part of the story. Ex situ conservation consists of a complex network of facilities, techniques, organizations, experts, and partnerships that come together to give species the best possible chance of recovery. A diverse team of people with a variety of expertise will be involved in a project at different stages, from initial goal setting and logistics planning to implementation of daily operations, and eventually returning individuals to the wild, when appropriate. At this point, it has likely been years or even decades of collaborative efforts, and still the work doesn’t stop! To evaluate the success of reintroductions, this network will work together to coordinate long-term monitoring programs and communicate the importance of the work being done. Ex situ conservation depends on wildlife biologists, species experts, conservation geneticists, Indigenous and community knowledge holders, government representatives, field researchers and technicians, animal care workers, veterinarians, data scientists, volunteers, and science communicators. Each member of the team is crucial for the ultimate success of the project.

The importance of collaboration becomes especially clear when we look at WPC’s ex situ conservation work in action. Through many of our programs, WPC collaborates with a range of partners, including conservation breeding facilities, researchers, habitat management organizations, and local communities. This collaborative approach is central to WPC’s success, with an excellent example being WPC’s ongoing involvement in massasauga rattlesnake recovery. Once significantly more widespread across Ontario, this species now faces threats including habitat loss and road mortality, and experts recognize that protecting habitat alone is not enough to ensure long-term survival. This is where ex situ conservation comes in. WPC’s Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery Team (OPRREC) serves as on-site researchers and technicians, carrying out the day-to-day work of protecting and monitoring snakes, managing habitat, and reducing threats. This team is fortunate to be a part of a collaborative network of partners that share the same goal. The Toronto Zoo has maintained massasaugas for decades, and Scales Nature Park also contributes to captive care and breeding. Various local community partners also contribute to this species’ recovery, through habitat stewardship, public education, and outreach. Together, these partners bring vastly different resources to the table, playing an essential role in the recovery of these snakes and allowing for the OPRREC team to successfully release captive massasaugas back into the wild!

Conservation is a team effort. Ex situ conservation doesn’t happen in isolation, and it doesn’t replace the work being done in the wild. Instead, it can be an important piece of a much bigger recovery effort. By bringing people and organizations together, sharing knowledge and resources, and working toward the same goal, we can give vulnerable species a better chance at a future in the wild. And as species like the massasauga rattlesnake, loggerhead shrike, and Oregon spotted frog show us, when we work together, we can accomplish incredible things for species at risk.