I've been buying some really cool exotic species of waterfowl and that got me thinking, of the species that are raised in captivity, which ones cannot be hunted anymore? I know that there are a few that are endangered in the wild but thrive in captivity, so like to get a few ideas and thoughts about it from everybody and get an idea of how many there really are.
Thanks,
Eric
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Nene's are very easy to breed in captivity yet they have lost so much of their natural habitat their numbers are poor.alot of the ones that are endangered in the wild are not doing that well in captivity, mainly because the lack of "new blood" in the gene pool.for example ducks like the stellars and spectacled eider.very few are raised each year and are typically raised by one or two breeders.without new blood introduced in to the pool they slowly but surely end up breeeding birds that are distantly related. this compounds the problem by taking something that is already hard to breed and throw in weaker young due to inbreeding and we all know where that leads.straight down hill.
Nene is an interesing cute little goose, it seems to raise rather easily. The hen lays the eggs, and incubates, hatches and raises 2 to 4 at a time. She will often have two clutches a season. They seem very difficult to get rid of, Here in California the buyer needs to also be in California, and have a federal permit. To kill one for taxidermy is a different situation and most difficult. The feds seem to care about "killing" it. If one dies, and that is usually out of plumage, it has to have a lot of paperwork with it too, and always will.
You're right, the others are tough. Bob.
I actually ended up getting a Nene from a breeder as a surprise, such a beautiful bird, and it'll definetly be a great addition to the collection.
Eric
Nene's are actually all from the same gene pool, I think it was an original 19 geese that were left! I think the reason eiders and stuff dont do so well in captivity is because they simply dont have an original habitat like the one they would be accustomed to in the wild. Anyway your right though genetics do play a role in all of the rarer captive bred birds eventually.