Animals born in captivity are HALF as likely to breed successfully

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Animals born in captivity have only half the odds of successful breeding compared to wild animals, scientists have revealed.

And the discovery puts into doubt the future success of animal breeding programmes which increasingly prevent the extinction of thousands of species.

Scientists found captive-born animals had, on average, almost half the odds of reproductive success compared to their wild-born counterparts in captivity.

And the effects were particularly pronounced among marine species, according to the findings published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers based in Australia analysed more than 100 results, from 39 animal studies of 44 diverse species including shrimp, fish, mice, ducks, lemurs and Tasmanian devils.

Study supervisor Dr Catherine Grueber, of the University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences and San Diego Zoo Global, said the researchers were surprised by how universal the patterns were.