In the United States the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has Species Survival Plans, to help animals in captivity be a spokesperson for their kin in the wild while also educating guests.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a non-profit organization that focuses on conservation, education, science and recreation through their representation in over 230 facilities (AZA About Us, 2020). The AZA has the highest standards in animal care and welfare while providing a fun, safe and educational family experience (AZA About Us, 2020). Less than 10% of the 2,800 wildlife exhibitors are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act and meet the more comprehensive standards of AZA to become AZA accredited (AZA About Us, 2020). Each year they dedicate millions of dollars to support scientific research, conservation and educational programs (AZA About Us, 2020). To date, the AZA conservation grants fund has provided $7.7 million to support over 800 species in 130 countries resulting in over 400 projects (AZA About Us, 2020).
The AZA created the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program that is a cooperative animal management, breeding and conservation efforts that focus on ensuring a genetically diverse and self-sustaining populations of over 500 species (AZA About Us, 2020). The SSPs include a breeding and transfer plan that focuses on the current demographic and genetic status of the population (AZA SSP Programs, 2020). The SSP ensures that a healthy, genetically diverse and demographically stable population is available for long-term use (AZA SSP Programs, 2020).
It is believed that snow leopards were first brought into captivity in 1891, at the London Zoo (Wharton, 1997). The first recorded captive snow leopard breeding occurred in 1906, but none of the cubs lived long enough to breed until the 1950’s (Wharton, 1997). The AZA created a SSP for the snow leopard in 1984 (Wharton, 1997). The AZA captive snow leopard population can be traced back to the same 38 wild caught snow leopards, with many of them being brought into captivity in the 1960’s (Wharton, 1997). This SSP states that the AZA captive snow leopard population needs to be at least 298 individuals and a goal of 25 snow leopard cubs every year (Wharton, 1997). Snow leopards are now in over 70 AZA zoos in North America and 150 zoos worldwide (Wharton, 1997).
You can help by AZA zoos, especially those that are a part of the snow leopard SSP. By supporting organizations that help snow leopards you are indirectly helping snow leopards in the wild. Protecting wildlife is a team effort, and we can all play a role in protecting the species we care about.
Literature Cited
Association of Zoos and Aquariums. (2020). About us. https://www.aza.org/about-us
Association of Zoos and Aquariums. (2020). Species survival plan programs.
Wharton, D. (1997, November). AZA species survival plan profile: The snow leopard.
Zoo New England. (2015, June 3). Protecting the “ghosts of the mountains”: Learn about Stone Zoo’s snow leopards [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4ZhdnCGeBk&t=17s
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