Arctic fox populations in Sweden, Norway and Finland are in serious trouble. In the early 1900's these Foxes were prized for their fur and hunters nearly wiped them out. Even though hunting has decreased, the populations never really rebounded. Also climate change seems to have been increasing their struggle. With a dwindling population, inbreeding has been a serious concern.
In Sweden, conservationists have employed a controversial strategy called genetic rescue. 3 male foxes that were bred in captivity were introduced to the wild population. The introduction of new genetic material has helped the population nearly double in five years. The first generation of pups born after genetic rescue were twice as likely to survive their first year of life, and were more reproductively fit.
Genetic rescue has a history of mixed success. There have been cases when individuals introduced disease, or hybrid offspring could not survive, resulting in extinction of the population. However there have also been many successes with this technique. While some people feel the risk of genetic rescue is too great, I feel that if a species looks like it will go extinct, it is worth taking the chance.
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