Species Survival Plan

The Species Survival Plan (SSP), is a program that gives Zoos a chance to acquire endangered species, for the purpose of conservation and education. Through this project, endangered species can be preserved for the benefit of future generations.

Right now, the Little Rock Zoo is home for a number of species on the SSP list. Included are a Black Rhinoceros, Lowland Gorillas, Siamangs, Siberian Tigers, Red Panda and Red-Ruffed Lemurs. By supporting the Zoo and its programs, you can help save these animals and hundreds of others from vanishing forever.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

The Little Rock Zoo's Education Department works with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and several Arkansas state parks on bald eagle and raptor awareness community programs. These educational programs help inform the public on the importance of these natural predators in the ecosystem. By utilizing non-releasable raptor ambassadors, the public gets a bird's eye view of these individual birds of prey. We also assist with statewide Raptor Research Projects, which address behavioral and scientific issues. Visit the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission web site at: www.agfc.com

AZA Bear TAG (Taxon Advisory Group) - Alaska Brown Bear Project

The AZA Bear TAG is a group of zoo professionals working to improve methods of captive husbandry and to support the conservation and study of wild bears around the world. In 2004 the AZA Bear TAG will be participating in a research project being conducted by The Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is conducting a multi-year survey to determine the effect of humans on bears at Alaskan salmon streams. The Bear TAG will be participating by providing funding to help establish the base camp area for the study and by recruiting volunteers from zoos across the country to participate. Volunteers will spend four to six days at the study site assisting the research biologists with data collection. Four members of the Little Rock Zoo Staff will travel to Alaska in September 2004 to participate in this project. To learn more about the AZA Bear TAG visit their web site at: www.bearden.org

Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust

Chosen districts of Sir Lanka, where there are continuing incidents of human-elephant conflict, have set up School Awareness Programs. The purpose is to carry out the suggested program for children living in human-elephant conflict areas, to make them aware of elephants and the need for their conservation for the future. The Trust being conscious that elephants cause much destruction and were considered a nuisance and danger to the people living in these areas, designed for these sessions accordingly. The program is implemented through lectures, slide presentations, discussions and a question and answer session. The Biodiversity & Elephant Conservation Trust also purchases several books on wildlife, nature and the environment and presents them to the school libraries after the program.

Bushmeat Crisis Task Force

The Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, founded in 1999, is a consortium of conservation organizations and scientists dedicated to the conservation of wildlife populations threatened by commercial hunting of wildlife for sale as meat. Their primary goals are to: a) work with the general members of the BCTF to focus attention on the bushmeat crisis in Africa; b) establish an information database and mechanisms for information sharing regarding the bushmeat issue; c) facilitate engagement of African partners and stakeholders in addressing the bushmeat issue; and d) promote collaborative decision-making, fund-raising and actions among the members and associates of the BCTF. For more information on each of these programs please visit: www.bushmeat.org

Cheetah Conservation Fund

The Little Rock Zoo has been an active supporter of CCF's goals including promoting conservation awareness through the support of the CCF Lecture Program. This non-profit organization located in Namibia actively works to create and manage long-term conservation strategies for the cheetah throughout their range, develop and implement better livestock management practices, eliminating the need for ranchers to kill so many cheetah, conducts conservation education programs for local villagers, ranchers and school children, and continues intensive scientific research in cheetah genetics, biology and species survival. For additional information go to: www.cheetah.org

Chiquitano Forest Conservation Program

The Zoo along with MESA Architects brought in Hermes Justiniano to discuss long-term plans for conservation and sustainable development for a large region in eastern Bolivia. The objective of the Program is a long-term funding plan for more than eight million hectares in eastern Bolivia, which includes the Chiquitano Dry Forest, the Cerrado and the Bolivian Pantanal ecoregions. The Chiquitano Dry Forest is the only endemic forest ecosystem to Bolivia and one of the best preserved and the largest area of tropical dry forests in the world at present.

Conservation Breeding Specialist Group

CBSG is an international conservation organization whose mission is "to assist conservation of threatened animal and plant species through scientific management of threatened animal and plant species through scientific management of small populations in wild habitats, with linkage to captive populations where needed."
CBSG, originally known as the Captive Breeding Specialist Group, was formed to meet the need for interface between the academic or field conservation community. From 1982-84, Dr. U. S. Seal developed the first model for a Species Survival Plan (SSP) following the International Tiger Symposium in Leipzig. In 1985, CBSG became involved with the development of the recovery program for the critically endangered black-footed ferret. Today, it is involved extensively in global conservation. For additional information go to: www.cbsg.org

International Elephant Foundation

The mission of the International Elephant Foundation is to support and operate elephant conservation and education programs both ex situ (in captivity) and in situ (in the wild), with emphasis on intensive management and protection as well as scientific research that assists these actions. The Little Rock Zoo donated monies to help with the support of a delegate to attend the International Elephant Foundation "Human -- Elephant Relationships and Conflict Symposium" in Sri Lanka. Many of these range country delegates would not be able to attend these very important meetings without monetary help. For more information on each of these programs please visit: www.elephantconservation.org

International Otter Colloquium

The International Otter Colloquium is a meeting that brings together field and captive biologists from all over the world for an opportunity to learn about otters and compare experiences. Results of the colloquium will form the basis of the recommendations made by the Otter Specialist Group for conservation of otters for the next three years.

The Little Rock Zoo is providing support to bring an international researcher to the 9th International Otter Colloquium being held at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland June 4th - 10th 2004. For additional information go to: www.frostburg.edu/events/otter

Jane Goodall Institute - "Roots & Shoots"

Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute's international program for young people. The mission is to foster compassion and respect for all living things, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for the environment, animals and the human community. The Jane Goodall Institute oversees the following conservation, research and educational programs. Roots and Shoots -- educational program for young people; TACARE -- Reforestation project in Tanzania; Congo Basin Project -- Addressed the commercial bushmeat trade in Central Africa; Chimpanzoo -- International research of captive Chimpanzees; Sanctuaries -- Place where wild orphaned chimpanzees can be provided long-tern care and rehabilitation; Gombe Stream Research Centre, where Goodall and her staff of researchers continue to contribute significant findings on chimpanzee behavior and social relations; Jane Goodall Center for Primate Studies, where Center Director Dr. Anne Pusey and her team examine years of data on Gombe chimps whose entire lives have been studied and the Jane Goodall Center for Environmental Studies, at the University of Western Connecticut through which student interns work with the Director of Educational Programming for the Jane Goodall Institutes. For more information on each of these programs please visit: www.janegoodall.org

Kabul Zoo

In 2002, the Little Rock Zoo donated funds to help relieve the suffering of the Kabul Zoo in Afghanistan.
Gifts to the Kabul Zoo Fund provided food, shelter and veterinary care to its animals and to pay their keeper salaries.

Gifts also provided humane and compassionate care to their companion and working animals and to provide food, shelter, veterinary services and other necessities to native wildlife, domestic animals and animals in zoos. Additionally as soon as the situation stabilized, the fund helped send an international team to Kabul to address the animals needs, provide immediate staff support and to assess the zoo's immediate and long-term needs. 100% of all monies raised helped animal relief efforts in Afghanistan.

Maned Wolf SSP Research Fund

The Little Rock Zoo is supporting the Conservation of the Maned Wolf in the Brazilian Cerrado: Ecological, Behavioral, Epidemiological, and Reproductive Aspects -- The Little Rock Zoo has been an active supporter of this expansive field project for two years in cooperation with the AZA Maned Wolf SSP. This large-scale study is dedicated to examining the biology, ecology, and reproduction of Maned wolves living in the Serra da Canastra National Park located in Brazil. Funds have been used for emergency repairs of radio telemetry tracking collars and to purchase additional equipment to study this species in the wild.

Maned Wolf SSP Education

The Little Rock Zoo is now the sponsoring facility for the production of the Maned Wolf Educational Range Bulletins. These youth-friendly educational bulletins are printed by the Little Rock Zoo in Spanish and Portuguese and are then distributed to students throughout Central and South America. Each bulletin is filled with information on behavior, habitat, and taxonomy to promote an environmental awareness of this species in its native range countries.

Mbeli Bai Study/Nouabale-Ndoki Project

Research and monitoring of gorillas and other large mammals. Many of these populations are becoming fragmented due to illegal hunting, diseases such as Ebola and habitat destruction through logging. This research is providing baseline data to evaluate the status and viability of various western gorilla populations. Additionally this organization monitors and provides data on large mammals including elephants, forest buffaloes, blue and red duikers, several primate species and sitatungas. Research at Mbeli focuses on the social dynamics of western lowland gorilla groups, and a continuous research presence means that observers can now identify over 130 individuals, comprising 13 social groups and eight solitary silverbacks. Researchers have compiled detailed life histories for all the groups that have used the bai regularly during the duration of the project, and this provides a unique insight into the social behavior of these elusive apes. Mbeli bai is currently the only long-term site that enables the study of western lowland gorillas using direct observations. Specific research projects include grouping patterns, inter-group interactions, infant development, male mating strategies through paternity testing using DNA, and feeding ecology. For more information on each of these programs please visit: www.wcs-congo.org

Norristown Zoological Society (sponsored the Jaguar Husbandry Manual)

The Little Rock Zoo, Ft. Worth Zoo, and Elmwood Park Zoo in a collaborative effort produced the first version of the AZA SSP Jaguar Husbandry Manual. This manual provides critical information for zoological managers worldwide on the daily management of this species including, captive Management, taxonomy, nutrition, hand rearing, transportation, and natural history.

Pandrillus Foundation

Limbe Wildlife Foundation works with wildlife orphaned by the bushmeat trade and recovered from illegal wildlife dealers in Cameroon. Among the species this assists: the western lowland gorilla, the chimpanzee and the red-capped mangabey. The project addresses the conservation situation of these species through public educations.

Rhinoceros Conservation programs

Bowling for Rhinos is an AAZK (American Association of Zookeepers) national bowl-a-thon to raise monies to save Rhinos and their habitats. 100% of all money raised is sent directly to the places in need due to this fundraiser being done totally by volunteers. All donations are sent directly to three Rhino Conservation Areas. Lewa Wildlife Conservancy for Black and White Rhinos, Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia for Javan Rhinos and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park for the Sumatran Rhino. For more information on each of these programs please visit www.bfr.aazk.org

AAZK Bowling For Rhinos 2002 Funds Raised Distribution

Small Carnivore Conservation

Small Carnivore Conservation is the newsletter and journal of the IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid and Procyonid Specialist Group. IUCN (The World Conservation Union) is made up of scientists and experts from all over the world who work to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature. SSC (The Species Survival Commission) advises the union on the technical aspects of species conservation. Small Carnivore Conservation provides those interested in mustelids, viverrids, and procyonids with brief papers, news items, abstracts, and titles of recent literature. For more information visit www.iucn.org

The Little Rock Zoo has contributed funds to help print Small Carnivore Conservation, which is distributed biannually to several hundred zoos. Although the Little Rock Zoo does not currently house any members of the procyonid family (raccoon, coatimundi and ringtail), we do house members of the mustelid family (otters) and viverrid family (binturong).

WesternGorilla.org

WesternGorilla.org is a network of researchers and conservationists committed to ensuring the survival of western gorillas. Its members are currently working in all the major western gorilla research and conservation sites across Central Africa, and together possess unparalleled insight into the threats faced by western gorillas in the wild. Westerngorilla.org is currently supported by a grant from the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Great Ape Conservation Fund. For additional information go to: www.westerngorilla.org

Zoo Conservation Outreach Group

The Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG) is a consortium of North American zoological institutions, corporate partners, and individuals dedicated to assisting Latin American zoos and aquariums in their regional wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. The group is headquartered at the Audubon Zoological Garden in New Orleans and gives direct technical, material, and financial assistance to zoological institutions throughout Latin America. ZCOG also serves as an important information, training, and resource clearinghouse by transferring technical training information and appropriate technology to zoo and aquarium professionals in Latin America. By developing and coordinating partnerships among zoological institutions, zoo-related organizations, and conservation professionals, ZCOG plays a critical role in linking collaborative zoo and aquarium -based wildlife and habitat conservation initiatives throughout the Americas. For additional information go to: www.zcog.org