Blank Park Zoo is proud to be an organization committed to conservation. Blank Park Zoo Continually works to raise funds to support organizations and projects around the world dedicated to the same conservation ideals.
The Blank Park Zoo is involved in AZA’s SAFE program, which allows for all AZA accredited zoos and aquariums to work together to save species on the brink of extinction.
AZA SAFE will focus on 10 different species, saving them from extinction: African penguins, Asian elephants, black rhinoceros, cheetahs, gorillas, sea turtles, sharks, vaquitas, Western pond turtles, and whooping cranes.
Blank Park Zoo is proud to be an organization committed to conservation. Blank Park Zoo continually works to raise funds to support organizations and projects around the world dedicated to the same conservation ideals.
Here are many of the projects we have supported and the animals we are saving in the WILD.
The International Rhino Foundation helps to protect threatened rhino populations in the wild, as well as supports research improving the chances of long-term survival of all rhino species. Black rhinos remain critically endangered in the wild, but help from zoos is allowing for conservation messages to be spread all across the United States and even the globe. In May 2013, the Blank Park Zoo opened the Jaama Kwa Africa exhibit, which highlights the Prairie Meadows Rhino Savanna. Ayana and Kiano are the two black rhinos that act as the Zoo’s ambassadors to their wild black rhino counterparts.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) is dedicated to securing a future for all giraffe populations and (sub) species in the wild.
Blank Park Zoo provides financial support to GCF through Coins for Conservation. These donations support the ongoing work on the Giraffe Conservation Status Report. This project gathers current and historical data on giraffe numbers, distribution and threats from across their range in Africa, working collaboratively with African governments, NGOs, Universities and independent researchers.
Conservation Fusion is an international non-profit organization. Established in September 2010, Conservation Fusion engages with individuals and communities in education about the world's unique biodiversity. Conservation Fusion’s current focus is the island of Madagascar. Grant funds from the Blank Park Zoo were put to good use at the Itampolo village. This area is one of the few strongholds for the beautiful radiated tortoise. Sifakas and ring-tailed lemurs also are found in this area, and Conservation Fusion used Blank Park Zoo funds to create a mural on the local school and purchase supplies for environmental education. The children of Itampolo village made tortoise puppets, learned songs with environmental messages, role played with the lemur puppets, and danced like the sifakas.
The Blank Park Zoo supports the Tiger Conservation Campaign through financial means as well as helping with education efforts so that tigers will be around for many years to come. The Tiger Conservation Campaign is a conservation program that is working on gathering resources, research, and information about the diseases that affect tigers and are trying to find ways to prevent disease outbreak. They are also working on anti-poaching efforts, tiger-themed education and outreach while trying to combat wildlife crime and human conflict.
The Seafood Watch Guides assist consumers in making ocean-friendly seafood selections. This is something we can do, right here in Iowa, to help keep our oceans healthy!
Blank Park Zoo participates in breeding and releasing species back into our local environment. The trumpeter swan re-introduction program is one that has been a success at the Zoo. To date, thirty-six trumpeter swans have been hatched and released from Blank Park Zoo.
The work of the Red Panda Network is community-based and benefits the livelihoods of the local people. They partner with local non-profits and community organizations throughout the implementation of red panda conservation programs.
Project Golden Frog is a conservation consortium among scientific, educational and zoological institutions in the Republic of Panama and the United States joining forces to better understand and protect the declining Panamanian Golden Frog populations. The project also looks for this charismatic species to rally public support for amphibian conservation throughout the Neotropics.
