Ex situ conservation (Off-site conservation)
▪ This approach involves placing threatened animals and plants in special care units for their protection.
▪ India has 35 botanical gardens and 275 zoological parks where animals which have become extinct in wild are maintained.
▪ By using cryopreservation (preservation at –196°C) technique, sperms, eggs, animal cells, tissues and embryos can be stored for long period in genes banks, seed banks, etc.
▪ Plants are propagated in vitro using tissue culture methods (micropropagation).
▪ It is the desirable approach when urgent measures to save extinction are required.
