CONSERVATION – A COLLECTIVE EFFORT
Did you know?
Twenty-five cents from every Louisville Zoo general admission ticket and one dollar
from every membership goes to conservation. Collectively, these quarters and dollars
can make a huge impact! During the last 12 months ending in July, we collected over
$77,000 toward conservation efforts through your support. Below, learn more about
our involvement with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' SAFE program.
Pause and consider a world
without animals. Imagine there
are no bees to pollinate our food
sources, no birds to disperse plant
seeds, no wolves roaming freely to
keep balance in their habitats. What
would be the repercussions to our
lives, our ecosystems and future
generations?
Our world is currently entrenched
in an extinction crisis. As many as
30 to 50 percent of all species may
be heading toward extinction by
mid-century and 99 percent of cur-
rently threatened species are at risk
due to human activities. What can
we do to slow down or reverse this
trend, mitigate the crisis for critical
animals and habitats and inspire
creative solutions?
How You Already Help
One of the easiest ways to
participate in active conservation
efforts is to visit your Louisville Zoo.
When you visit, you open yourself
up to learning about conservation
while you connect with nature and
wildlife at the Zoo.
Whether you’re watching an
animal presentation, talking to a
keeper, reading interpretive signs to
your children, taking a class or read-
ing this Trunkline magazine, you
are becoming a more willing and
informed advocate.
When you visit the Louisville Zoo,
purchasing admission or member-
ship, you are also directly
supporting conservation
efforts at the Zoo as
well as the collaborative
efforts of hundreds of
researchers, field conser-
vationists and scientists
from AZA-accredited
zoos and aquariums
working to save animals
from extinction.
A portion of your
admission and member-
ship fees go directly to
our well vetted wildlife conservation
partners in the field. See our grow-
ing list of partners at LouisvilleZoo.
org/wildlifepartners.
You may have read the Associa-
tion of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is
building on existing animal conser-
vation efforts with a relatively new
and focused program called SAFE:
Saving Animals from Extinction. This
initiative is a commitment by the
229 accredited zoos and aquariums
to work together to target spe-
cific endangered species and save
them from extinction by restoring
healthy populations in the wild.
These species include gorillas, Asian
elephants, sea turtles and cheetahs.
You can see more about the first 10
focus species at aza.org/aza-safe.
Together we are working on saving
the most vulnerable wildlife spe-
cies from extinction and
protecting them for future
generations.
Look for the Logo
As you visit the animals
and explore the Zoo, look
for signs with our Zoo
conservation logo “You
Help Save Species” as well
as the AZA SAFE logo.
When you see these
logos together, it is high-
lighting the local efforts
of your Zoo to help save
species. Whether through breeding
programs, monetary aid or research,
the Louisville Zoo is working to as-
sist in the fight against extinction.
Without aid, there may come a time
when the remaining wild will cease
to exist and much of our precious
wildlife with it. Help us work to un-
derstand and protect wildlife now.
Let’s do right by
wildlife.
you
helped
save
species
Inside Your Zoo
In September of 2016, the Louisville Zoo was recognized as
a founding member of SAFE. Your Zoo donated $30,000
of privately raised funds toward this conservation initiative.
Learn more at LouisvilleZoo.org/SAFE.
The Louisville Zoo is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by
educating visitors on habitat conservation, encouraging ways to live in better balance with
our planet, and inspiring care and concern for wildlife through amazing animal encounters.
Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Winter 2016 • 7