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Article ID: CBB178294700

Undoing Extinction: The Role of Zoos in Breeding Back the Tarpan Wild Horse, 1922–1945 (2022)

Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Volume: 64
Issue: 3
Pages: 729-750

DOI: 10.1484/J.CNT.5.132107

URI: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.CNT.5.132107

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Knowledge circulation Biological specimens Hybridization Heredity Endangered species Wildlife conservation Horses Breeding 20th century, early Germany Poland

Although episodes of captive breeding for display and acclimatization purposes date back to the 19th century, systematic breeding forspecies conservation first became the central mission for European zoological gardens in the interwar period. While most scholars explain this shift as a result of a decline in the global trade of exotic animals, my analysis points to the simultaneous renewed interest in native endangered and extinct species as a catalyst for captive breeding experiments. This article considers the role of zoos in one of the earliest de-extinction projects, namely the breeding back of the Eurasian wild horse. By investigating two breeding programs, those initiated by Tadeusz Vetulani in Poland and the Heck brothers in Germany, my analysis reveals not only the political stakes, but also the different methods employed in these attempts to resurrect the tarpan. More specifically, I explore how scientific ideas about heredity and hybridization, as well as understandings of the porous boundary between domestic and wild horses, paved the way for selective breeding to be mobilized as a means of bringing back the extinct species. This ambitious goal reinvigorated the scientific function of the zoo by making it an experimental ground for undoing extinction, and laid the groundwork for its future role in the emergent wildlife conservation movement. In addition to mapping out knowledge exchange between zoologists, geneticists, and paleontologists, this article traces the circulation of specimens between natural history museums, zoos, and wildlife reserves to underscore the material dimension of ex situ conservation practices.

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Article Oliver Hochadel (2022) Science at the Zoo: An Introduction. Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (pp. 561-590). unapi

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