Glossary
Reintroduction
Releasing animals into part of their former range where the species has died out, to re-establish a wild population.
Also called: species reintroduction, translocation, wildlife release, reinforcement
Reintroduction means putting a species back into an area where it once lived and has since disappeared. Conservation groups use the word differently from reinforcement, which adds animals to an existing small population. Animals may come from other wild populations, in which case the move is a translocation, or from breeding programmes in zoos and centres.
Cats have been part of several projects. Eurasian lynx have been released in Switzerland since the 1970s and in other parts of Europe. Iberian lynx have been bred and released in Spain and Portugal. Cheetahs from Africa were brought to India from 2022 as an introduction, because the cheetah that once lived there died out in the 1950s, and the plan has been debated.
A project needs suitable habitat, enough prey, a cause of the original loss that has been fixed, and the support of local people, especially farmers who fear for livestock. Planners monitor released animals with collars or camera trap images and often compensate losses. Failures happen, and not every site is right. Reintroduction is a tool, not a fix for habitat loss, and it works best alongside captive breeding and protected corridors.
Last reviewed November 7, 2026