Worldwide Conservation
Association of Zoos & Aquariums
The ABQ BioPark is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium. This is your assurance that you are supporting an organization dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and your family and a better future for all living things.
AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums offer visitors a fun and easy way to discover connections to their environment and teach them how to make a difference in protecting and preserving our planet. Connect with conservation by visiting your accredited zoo or aquarium today!
Species Survival Plans
A handful of the zoo’s residents are part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) for their species. This program, managed by the AZA, aims to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species at AZA-accredited facilities. Read about some of the animals involved in SSPs at the ABQ BioPark.
Participating in Conservation Initiatives Abroad
Since 2014, ABQ BioPark staff have provided on-site consultation and training to staff at the Zoo National d'Abidjan (ZNA) in the Ivory Coast to help save the critically-endangered West African slender-snouted crocodile. Learn more about the project here.
Funding International Conservation
New Mexico BioPark Society donations today help protect endangered species for tomorrow.
The NM BioPark Society's Conservation Fund has been providing funds for conservation initiatives since 1987. Annually, thousands of dollars are contributed to local and global efforts to protect endangered animals—at the ABQ BioPark and in the wild—working to ensure that species listed as critically endangered or threatened today are still with us tomorrow.
A dedicated, long-term fund, the Conservation Fund supports the following types of conservation initiatives:
- Programs dedicated to species and habitat protection, non-invasive study, and education
- Species procurement
- Exhibit upgrades
- Equipment to meet specialized animal needs
- Reference books and resources
- Training of wildlife and Zoo professionals
In recent years, the following programs have been supported:
- Cheetah Conservation Fund
- Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program
- Grevy’s Zebra, Northern Rangelands Trust
- Hornbill Research Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand
- International Elephant Foundation
- International Rhino Foundation
- Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan
- Monarch Watch, Kansas
- Ocean Project, Rhode Island
- Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA)
- Panama’s Amphibians, Center for Species Survival
- Silvery Minnow Refugium, ABQ BioPark - a research, breeding, and reintroduction program supporting a sentinel fish native to the Rio Grande River
- Snow Leopard Trust
- Xerces Society, protecting invertebrates
- Zoo Conservation Outreach Group for Latin American species conservation
Special focus is put on supporting endangered species in the wild that reside at the ABQ BioPark. For additional questions, please contact the Development Office at (505) 764-6291 or e-mail [email protected].