Conservation reintroductions are a frequently used management tool for the recovery of endangered species. However, many reintroductions fail to establish viable, self-sustaining populations. There are a multitude of factors that can impact the success of a reintroduction program. However, due to a general lack of detailed long-term data sets, little is known about how different reintroduction strategies affect the viability of a population and the long-term reintroduction success. We study the reintroduction of the Asiatic wild ass Equus hemionus in the Negev desert, Israel. This case study provides a long-term data set that enables us to examine the interactions between social, spatial and demographic processes that have a profound effect on species’ genetic structure and its persistence. In this talk we will provide an overview of the research on the reintroduction of the Asiatic wild ass forty year after its onset.
