Patterns in the long-term viability of North American zoo populations.

Recent concerns about the viability of zoo populations have motivated studies on the historic and current status of animal populations in North American and European zoos. However, these evaluations may not accurately reflect the populations' long-term viability in the decades to come. Here, we assessed the projected future status of North American zoo populations by conducting standardized population viability analyses (PVAs) for 137 cooperative breeding programs.