When you visit Woodland Park Zoo, you can do more than just see animals, you can help save wildlife. The Woodland Park Zoo has made wildlife and habitat conservation the heart of its mission. A portion of every dollar that guests spend at the zoo goes toward supporting animal conservation projects. Their strategy towards animal conservation involves the preservation of species, protection on habitats, local capacity building, and community livelihood. The zoo’s Partner’s for Wildlife focuses its projects in, Africa , Asia-Pacific, and the Pacific Northwest.
In Africa, for example, the zoo is taking on projects such as the Maasi Association Waterhole Restoration Project, the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study, and the Tarangire Elephant Project. Why support conservation projects in Africa? Africa is becoming more urbanized, and national parks and reserve areas, where most wildlife is confined to, are under threat. Resource extraction and agricultural needs, are just two of many factors that are threatening wildlife in Africa. The Tanagire Elephant Project is working to save the African Savanna Elephant, Plains Zebra, and Wildebeest. These species are under threat due to agricultural expansion and poaching.
The Woodland Park Zoo also makes annual donations to various field projects and initiatives, which are selected based on a set of stringent criteria. Some of these projects and initiatives include: Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Butterfly Conservation Initiative, Chilean Flamingo Conservation, Egyptian Tortoise Conservation Program, and International Elephant Foundation.
What’s great about the zoo’s website is that they dedicate a page to explaining what it means for a species to be endangered and explain the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red list” and how it categorizes the status of wild animal populations. They also inform people what they can do to help wildlife other than making donations, things you can do in your very own backyard.
Check out the Woodland Park Zoo website to learn more about the types of conservation projects they support and to find recourses on how to help wildlife.