Does Animal Conservation Work?

Thousands of animals are considered "endangered" species, and it seems like more are being added to that list with each passing day. Nevertheless, conservationists work around the clock to prevent those species from going extinct.

Successful large-scale animal conservation requires tireless effort and unlimited funding, and it's not always a successful venture. Unfortunately, these factors fuel criticism from skeptics that believe we would let nature take its course.

So what makes animal conservation so challenging? It depends on the species. In some cases, animals merely refuse to mate, and this makes the job harder for breeders. In others, we don't know enough about the animal or its ecosystem to implement proper conservation techniques.

Animal conservation seems like an obvious choice for anyone that loves wildlife and doesn't want to see species go extinct, but it's tough to ignore the challenges that impede conservation efforts for some animal species. It's ultimately up to conservationists and governments to decide how we should protect wildlife.