SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:         
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
Public Relations
619-685-3291     

SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE
2022 FACT SHEET

WHAT:                       
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is an international nonprofit conservation organization that operates two world-class parks, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and empowers people to connect with plants and animals, develop an appreciation for nature, and contribute to the safeguarding of wildlife everywhere by becoming Wildlife Allies. With a focus on global health and the interconnectedness of human, wildlife and habitat health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance aims to drive greater conservation outcomes, including improving biodiversity and developing strong ecosystems. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance collaborates, in partnership with hundreds of individuals and organizations in field projects worldwide, to innovate and implement full-spectrum conservation strategies. This synergy between work at home and in the field inspires and catalyzes conservation action on behalf of wildlife in unparalleled ways and helps create a world where all life thrives.

MISSION:                           
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in animal care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.

VALUES:                             
Collaborate: We nurture alliances with diverse teams, peers, partners and communities to expand and deepen our impact.

Innovate: Together, we pioneer new ideas and approaches to ensure the long-term health, welfare and survival of wildlife.

Inspire: We share our passion for nature to increase understanding, empathy, advocacy and action for wildlife.

Thrive: When we collaborate, innovate and inspire, we help people and wildlife thrive together for a healthy planet.

WHERE:                               
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a 100-acre wildlife park and home to over 12,000 rare and endangered animals, representing more than 650 species and subspecies. Located just north of downtown San Diego in Balboa Park, the Zoo is also an accredited botanical garden, caring for more than 700,000 individual plants, including a prominent curated assemblage of close to 13,000 specimens, representing 3,100 species. Guests are invited to take part in exciting educational experiences and create lasting memories, while supporting San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s conservation efforts worldwide.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, an 1,800-acre wildlife park, is home to more than 3,600 animals representing over 300 species. Located in Escondido, California, the Safari Park welcomes more than 1.5 million guests each year to see animals in herds of mixed species, in expansive savanna habitats. The Safari Park is a vast accredited botanical garden featuring more than 1.3 million plants, representing over 3,700 species. Guests are invited to take part in thrilling safari experiences and create lasting memories, while supporting San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s conservation efforts to save wildlife worldwide.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers raises awareness, promotes empathy and inspires a passion for wildlife in a younger audience, including the next generation of wildlife care experts, conservationists and educators. Through a vast array of educational opportunities, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers provides learning experiences for families, students and teachers to experience firsthand our approach to saving wildlife, and support responsible collective action to protect the environment. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers provides free and discounted education programs in San Diego that meet LEAD standards for science curriculum and provides teacher training. Using powerful storytelling, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers channel broadcasts enlightening television programming 24 hours a day to more than 360 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses around the world—providing joy, comfort, laughter and learning to millions of children and their families each year who are experiencing challenging times, and might not otherwise be able to experience the wonders of wildlife. To learn more, visit sdzwildlifeexplorers.org. 

CONSERVATION FOCUS:                      
Over the past 106 years, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has conceptualized, developed and honed a unique set of skills and strengths that showcase the role of zoos in global conservation efforts. This includes expertise in conservation technology, ecological applications, reproductive management, community engagement, disease surveillance, genetic rescue, education, wildlife health, nutrition and care; and is also home to one of the Alliance’s most valuable assets—the Wildlife Biodiversity Bank—a resource consisting of living cells and nonliving samples that can be used to bring species back from the brink of extinction.

The work of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance centers around key species in eight ecoregional “hubs” around the world. The following hubs signify areas of high concern, and some of the key species within them:

• African Forest: Gorilla, chimpanzee, Pseudohydrosme ebo, forest elephant
• Amazonia: Jaguar, Andean bear, giant otter,
• Asian Rainforest: Tiger, orangutan, Asiatic black bear, Komodo dragon, orchid
• Australian Forest: Koala, platypus, Tasmanian devil, Lord Howe stick insect, eucalyptus
• Oceans: Polar bear and African penguin
• Pacific Islands: ʻAlalā, ʻakikiki, Galápagos pink iguana, Fiji iguana, orchid
• Savanna: Elephant, white rhino, black rhino, lion, leopard, hirola, giraffe, cheetah, Grevy zebra, vulture, cycad, and fever tree
• Southwest: Quino checkerspot butterfly, monarch butterfly, burrowing owl, desert tortoise, mountain yellow-legged frog, Pacific pocket mouse, thick-billed parrot, coastal scrub oak, and Torrey pine

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS:                 
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is dedicated to collaborative conservation programs that safeguard and restore biodiversity, engage communities, foster human-wildlife coexistence, reintroduce wildlife into native habitats, contribute to ecosystem restoration and health, mitigate disease, preserve genetic resources, and inspire change through education and outreach. Through its joint efforts with a global network of nearly 200 leading and renowned conservation organizations, in 45 countries and on six continents, San Diego Wildlife Alliance envisions a world where all life thrives. To date, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has helped reintroduce more than 44 endangered species into native habitats, many of which were born at the Zoo, the Safari Park or one of the five conservation stations it manages.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s notable multidisciplinary field conservation programs include collaborative efforts to protect savanna elephant, giraffe, hirola and leopard in Kenya, polar bears in the Arctic, a diverse array of unique wildlife in our own backyard here in southern California and northern Mexico,  forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands; giant otters near the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Peru’s Manu National Park; and gorillas, chimpanzees other wildlife around our three field stations in Cameroon’s Ebo forest. These programs promote and sustain conservation and recovery of endangered wildlife and their habitats, while providing training opportunities for scientists and resource managers.

WHO:                                     
Wildlife care specialists, veterinarians, nutritionists and other team members at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as well as hundreds of wildlife scientists working around the world, are dedicated to the conservation of plants, animals and habitats to save wildlife through innovative wildlife health, science, recovery and management programs, and educational outreach. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance members, donors and guests contribute to the conservation work at each of these world-class facilities.
         
About San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a nonprofit international conservation leader, committed to inspiring a passion for nature and working toward a world where all life thrives. The Alliance empowers people from around the globe to support their mission to conserve wildlife through innovation and partnerships. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance supports cutting-edge conservation and brings the stories of their work back to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park—giving millions of guests, in person and virtually, the opportunity to experience conservation in action. The work of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance extends from San Diego to eco-regional conservation “hubs” across the globe, where their expertise and assets—including the renowned Wildlife Biodiversity Bank—are able to effectively align with hundreds of regional partners to improve outcomes for wildlife in more coordinated efforts. By leveraging these skills in wildlife care and conservation science, and through collaboration with hundreds of partners, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has reintroduced more than 44 endangered species to native habitats. Each year, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s work reaches over 1 billion people in 150 countries via news media, social media, their websites, educational resources and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers television programming, which is in children’s hospitals in 13 countries. Success is made possible by the support of members, donors and guests to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, who are Wildlife Allies committed to ensuring all life thrives. 

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