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Thanks to all who replied publicly or
privately,
there was some concern that maybe I preferred to
find bad news. Not so. Nor do I think extinction preferable to Extinct in the
Wild.
Some birds have been brought through very narrow
bottlenecks without captive management such as Black Robin, others owe their
continued survival to the aviculturalists. The Lord Howe Island Woodhen is a
classic beneficiary. The loss of a substantial proportion of the remaining
genetic diversity of a species is one of the risks that captive management
entails, the literature is biased towards good news stories, no one rushes to
tell the world that the remainder of a species was lost because of a vitamin
overdose. Thus in trying to write a balanced piece I was after some specifics on
the Helmeted Honeyeater case, I'd still be grateful for a
reference.
Special thanks to :-
Michael Todd
Ian Clark
Chris Tzaros
Alan Leishman
Ralph Reid
Regards
Bob Berry.
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