Through the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, North American zoos work together cooperatively to manage populations and establish conservation programs, called Species Survival Plans(or SSPs). Each SSP carefully manages the breeding of a species to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining captive population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable. Beyond this, SSPs include a variety of other cooperative conservation activities, such as research, public education, reintroduction, and field projects. SSPs help zoos keep track of information about the entire captive population of a species, including births, deaths, where the animals are located, and their lineage. This information helps zoos make sound breeding recommendations.

There are currently 116 species covered by SSPs, and Brookfield Zoo has 44 of the species in its collection. Several of these animals are considered Critically Endangered or Endangered by IUCN-The World Conservation Union. This listing indicates that the species faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. Conservation breeding within zoos will hopefully help reduce that risk, ensuring that many species of animals survive to help us learn to care.

SSP Animals at Brookfield Zoo

Addax (Addax nasomaculatus)

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus pictus)

African Lion (Panthera leo)

Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

Bali Mynah (Leucopsar rothschildi)

Black Lemur (Eulemur macaco macaco)

Black Rhinoceros(Diceros bicornis michaeli)

Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus)

Colobus (Colobus guereza)

Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)

Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis)

Cotton-top Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus)

Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda)

Fishing Cat (Felis viverrinus)

Goeldi's Monkey (Callimico goeldii))

Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia)

Guinea Baboon (Papio hamadryas papio)

Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi)

Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)

Lesser (Pygmy) Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus)

Mandrill (Papio sphinx)

Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz)

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

Okapi (Okapia johnstoni)

Oriental (Asian) Small-Clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus)

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)

Red-Capped Mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus torquatus)

Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)

Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)

Rodrigues Flying Fox (Pteropus rodricensis)

Sand Cat (Felis margarita)

Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus)

Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)

Sooty Mangabey (Cerococebus torquatus atys)

Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus)

Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)

Syke's Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis)

Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

White-cheeked Gibbon (Hylobates leucogenys)

Follow-up ultrasound shows procedure successful

Beta Gorilla Passes Another Test

Follow-up ultrasound on Beta Gorilla shows first-ever documented uterine fibroid embolization on a nonhuman primate helps shrink tumor.
continue reading story...

Get Involved