This presentation will explore what a historian can offer to a history of reintroductions. While wildlife and conservation have not necessarily been a focus for conventional history work, in recent years fields such as environmental history and animal history have flourished. In this talk, I will look at methods and practices of research and writing that are common to historians and can be applied to conservation science and practice. I will reflect on what constitutes archival material and how contextualization matters. Moreover, I will discuss concepts that animal historians work with, such as animal agency. My presentation will draw on examples from three case studies of historical research: the Przewalski's horse, the Vancouver Island marmot and New Zealand's takahe rail.