All around the world, animals face threats to their survival. Many have lost their habitats. Others have been hunted for food, for their fur or pelts, or for the pet trade. In some cases, these threats are so serious that they place the species itself at risk.
The Philadelphia Zoo is helping. Our staff members work in situ (in the wild) to study endangered species and help save them and their habitats. For example, our scientists have traveled to the rain forests of Liberia, where many animals are threatened, and to the rocky coasts of Peru, to come to the aid of Humboldt penguins. We also support other conservationists and organizations working to help species at risk.
But that's not all. We also do important conservation work right here at the Philadelphia Zoo. We work with other zoos to manage the captive populations of species at risk. We breed endangered species here at the Zoo - sometimes with the aim of releasing these captive-bred animals into the wild, to shore up the wild population, sometimes simply to keep the captive population diverse and healthy.
With other species, we're doing research here at the Zoo so we can better understand the animals and learn how best to care for them in captivity.
Choose a project from the menu on the left and learn how we're helping animals all around the world - from tiny tamarins in Brazil to mighty tigers in Asia and giant otters in Guyana.