Efforts are under way to re-establish free-living populations of Przewalski's horse Equus przewalskii from zoo-bred individuals. The time is opportune to begin such initiatives as there are more than 660 individuals dispersed in over 70 zoological collections. In addition, the captive population is now increasing rapidly and has the potential to provide reasonable numbers of animals for reintroduction programmes without jeopardizing the maintenance of the population that serves as an ex-situ gene pool nucleus.

Malawi has a large number of isolated highland forests on either side of the Rift Valley. While those in the north do not at present suffer from serious degradation, in the south several have been much encroached upon for fuel wood and land for cultivation. As a result localized birds, reptiles, butterflies and plant species are threatened. In a two-year exploration of the evergreen forests of the country conducted for the Forestry Department, the authors surveyed the distribution and status of the flora and fauna, and identified threats to the survival of the rarer taxa.

Over the centuries the Ankarana Massif has been home to at least 12 lemur species, reflecting the incredible ecological wealth and diversity of this small forest reserve. Yet almost no systematic biological work had been done there, until the Southampton University team (supported by the Oryx 100% Fund) visited Ankarana in 1981. Oryx published a report of this expedition in January 1987. A new team of nine British biologist–cavers, three doctors, two Malagasy palaeontologists, an entomologist and a botanist spent the end of the 1986 dry season (mid–August to mid–October) producing the first catalogue of the fauna and flora. The team rediscovered the rare white-breasted mesite, an endemic bird last seen at Ankarana in 1931 and known from only two other small areas in Madagascar; special efforts were also made to assess the conservation status of lemurs, bats and the Nile crocodiles, which have refuges there.

This article proposes that serious consideration should now be given to the establishment of banks of genetic material from rare and endangered species. In the light of advances in the technology associated with semen assessment and preservation, the limitations that have so far discouraged the practice of semen freezing and banking can now be minimized and circumvented. The authors review these developments and suggest that semen preservation should be reconsidered as a practical means of preserving the genetic diversity currently contained within captive stocks of wild animals.