ZOOS & AQUARIUMS
On the SAFE side
AZA chair Dennis Pate on the association’s historic initiative to save endangered animals, and why his zoo in Omaha has been voted the best in the world
Alice Davis, managing editor, Attractions Management T 46
he Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is launching a major conservation campaign in response to the rapid rate of decline of species in the wild. The man in charge of the strategy is Dennis Pate, who’s halfway through his AZA chairmanship and director
and CEO of Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska – voted TripAdvisor’s number one zoo in the world. When Pate met with Attractions
Management, he explained how the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) initiative is setting a new standard in conservation, and why it’s down to the AZA and its members to take responsibility for protecting vulnerable species at this critical time.
What is SAFE? Saving Animals from Extinction, or SAFE, is a new initiative by zoos and aquariums to direct more resources towards saving animals from extinction – those in the wild as well as those in zoos. The mission is to combine the power of zoo and aquarium visitors with the resources and collective expertise of AZA members and partners to save the most vulnerable wildlife species from extinction. That can mean intensive management in the zoo or aquarium or less intensive management in the wild.
AZA chair Dennis Pate has been active at the top level of the association for a number of years
How did SAFE come about?
California condors have been greatly helped by zoos’ conservation efforts
attractionsmanagement.com
What precipitated this is the rapid rate of decline of animals in the wild. We also have recent data about animals in zoos that show in some cases the populations are not as healthy over a long period as we would like. We may be lacking founders, there may be problems with some species reproducing, or there may not be enough space to build a suffi ciently large population to sustain some species well into the future. Some animals, such as gorillas, are doing well; but others, like elephants, not so well.
Is it a global initiative?
Other regions recognise the same issues as AZA zoos and aquariums – the escalating decline of animals in the wild. The SAFE initiative includes zoos and aquariums in the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Singapore, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Hong Kong.
What are you doing fi rst? It is really a simultaneous effort. First, we need to better understand the populations in the wild and those we keep in zoos and aquariums, and fi nd out what the issues
AM 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
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