Successful captive breeding programs include those for the Guam rail, scimitar-horned oryx, and Przewalski's horse.
Some species in danger of extinction in the wild are brought into captivity to either safeguard against imminent extinction or to increase population numbers. The primary goals of captive breeding programs are to establish populations via controlled breeding that are: a) large enough to be demographically stable; and b) genetically healthy (Ebenhard 1995). These objectives ensure that populations will exhibit a healthy age structure, resistance to disease, consistent reproduction, and preservation of the gene pool to minimize and/or avoid problems associated with inbreeding. Successful captive breeding programs include those for the Guam rail, scimitar-horned oryx, and Przewalski's horse. (See iucnredlist.org for details.)