Hey, take it easy. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion, and almost every species listed is in fact endangered to some degree (species conservation status changes so often, it can be difficult to keep track of). The Northern White Rhino for example is, in fact, only in existence in the form of two surviving females and frozen gametes and can only be revived by conservation breeding in zoos.
In terms of the rest of your statement, I have to respectfully and professionally disagree: many species have been brought back from extinction by captive breeding efforts (Przewalski Horse, Giant Panda, Whooping Crane, Corroboree Frog, California Condor, Arabian Oryx, Bongo, Blue Iguana, Red Wolf, Regent Honeyeater, Golden Lion Tamarin and Amur Leopard, to name a small few iconic species).
You are right about one thing: there is little point in captive breeding if the reason for population decline is unaddressed habitat loss. We need a holistic approach towards conservation to have a real effect: that includes educating people and having cultural change, protecting habitats, implementing sustainable farming, fishing and land use and also putting a stop to poaching, habitat fragmentation, disease spread, human/wildlife conflict and so many other issues. Conservation focussed zoos have programs that contribute greatly to all of these areas and so much money, staff labour and research go into these programs - I think that is something that can be brought into Planet Zoo in an expansion pack. Not all species are at risk due to habitat loss alone, and many of those species are fantastic candidates for captive breeding success - species like the Bellinger River Turtle, which was almost wiped out by a suddden disease emergence.
You should look up some more captive breeding success stories and read more widely on the efforts of accredited, conservation driven zoos - they do incredible work and are vital wildlife allies!
More to the point of this thread, I think an expansion pack built around endangered species would be awesome! Not just a bunch of endangered animals, but some new interactive educational items to expand on what’s already in game in the form of conservation boards.
Edit: your article “Tragedy of the Common” was an interesting read. I remember the devastating disease outbreaks in the white-rumped vultures.
Here is a website that has information about how captive breeding has helped (and is still helping) restore these birds to a healthy population. Conservation breeding requires money, space and research - those resources need to go to the most urgent cases, while we resolve the underlying causes. Those causes never impact the critically endangered species in isolation, but entire ecosystems, so by saving the most desperate species, we lift the other less endangered species up right alongside them and prevent those animals/plants from ever getting to a situation of such high risk of extinction.
