Abstract: An endangered population of California voles may soon be helped towards recovery by animals raised in captivity.Researchers at the University of California, Davis, announced on 10 April that a breeding programme for the Amargosa vole (Microtus californicus scirpensis; pictured) is preparing to release its first animals into the wild.The subspecies has been driven almost to extinction by loss of habitat and by climate change; only a few hundred are estimated to remain in the Mojave Desert marshes.The programme, started in July 2014 in collaboration with state and federal wildlife officials and the University of California, Berkeley, has grown from 20 to 90 captive voles.The researchers plan to release about two dozen animals into two desert marshes near Tecopa, and will track the voles using radio transmitters for up to a year.