PRESS ROOM

ROYAL OAK, Mich., 

Without help, thousands of endangered species – from giraffes and gorillas to toads and butterflies – could be gone in a blink. To recognize Endangered Species Day on Friday, May 20, the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is highlighting some of its critical wildlife conservation initiatives at the Detroit Zoo. Zookeeper talks and enrichment activities will be held throughout the day at the habitats of various animals whose future is uncertain.

“The mission of the Detroit Zoological Society is celebrating and saving wildlife, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect the magnificent creatures that walk, slither, swim and waddle among us,” said Ron Kagan, DZS CEO and executive director.

The DZS contributes to wildlife conservation efforts worldwide, and in some cases has led the revival of species living on the brink of extinction. The DZS is credited with successfully restoring a once-extinct Tahitian land snail called the Partula nodosa – at one point, all the Partula snails in existence lived at the Detroit Zoo. And in 2015, the DZS sent 22,571 critically endangered Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to Puerto Rico for release into the wild as part of a long-running cooperative breeding program aimed at restoring this population. Friday’s activities aim to raise awareness about the plight of these animals, large and small. The schedule is as follows:

• 10 a.m. – Polar bears in the Arctic Ring of Life
• 10:30 a.m. – Gorillas in the Great Apes of Harambee
• 11 a.m. – Southern white rhinoceroses
• 11:30 a.m. –  Reticulated giraffes
• Noon – Western pond turtles in the Holden Reptile Conservation Center
• 12:30 p.m. – Panamanian golden frogs, Wyoming toads, Mississippi gopher frogs, crawfish frogs and Puerto Rican crested toads in the National Amphibian Conservation Center

In addition to the nearly 100 cooperative breeding programs in which the DZS participates, staff is also actively involved in field conservation projects and research programs all over the world and also provides support for wildlife rescues, including those from the exotic pet trade. In May 2015, the DZS joined the Association of Zoos & Aquariums to collaborate on the launch of the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) initiative. SAFE focuses conservation efforts on the species that have been identified as facing the greatest threats in the world. Among those species is the western pond turtle, which can be found in the Detroit Zoo’s Holden Reptile Conservation Center, where breeding efforts are underway to bolster the population.

“It is unconscionable to think that in just a few decades’ time, without our intervention, some of these species may completely disappear from the wild,” Kagan said.

For more information about the SAFE initiative, visit www.aza.org and follow the SAFE conversation in social media using the hashtag #savingspecies.