Reid Park Zoo's Threatened Species

First – A Pop Quiz

What do African Elephants, Asian Fishing Cats, Baird’s Tapir, Sloth Bears, Komodo Dragons, Red Pandas, Siamangs, Galapagos Tortoises, Lar Gibbons, Malayan Tigers, African Wild Dogs, Giant Anteaters, Poison Frogs, Lion-Tailed Macaques, Lions, Speke’s Gazelle, Rodrigues Fruit Bats, and Reticulated Giraffes all have in common?

1. Members of these species are already, or will soon be, in the care of the Reid Park Zoo
2. All are threatened in the wild and need our help
3. Both a and b

Very good – now a tougher question:
What do Asian Fishing Cats, Sloth Bears, Giant Anteaters, Komodo Dragons, African Lions, and Reticulated Giraffes have in common?

1. They each have four legs
2. They are classified as vulnerable in the wild and need our help so they don’t become endangered
3. Both a and b

Next Question: What do African Elephants, Baird’s Tapir, Poison Frogs, Red Pandas, Siamang Gibbons, Lar Gibbons, African Wild Dogs, Lion-tailed Macaques, and Speke’s Gazelle have in common?

1. All of them either come from the Americas, Africa, or Asia
2. All of them are endangered in the wild and need our help
3. Both a and b

Here’s another one: What could Malayan Tigers, Rodrigues Fruit Bats, and Galapagos Tortoises possibly have in common?

1. All three are fascinating and crucial to their own ecosystems
2. All three are critically endangered in the wild and will be extinct if we don’t do something soon
3. Both a and b

How did you do? Don’t you love multiple choice tests where the answers are always “c?” This may be an easy quiz, but its purpose is completely serious. The Reid Park Zoo is not large as zoos go, but as you can see, the amazing staff there cares for many, many species which are now threatened in the wild.

Who informs zoos and conservationists?

But who makes the determination? The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) is an organization based in Switzerland, and it is the largest and oldest global conservation network in the world. The IUCN is respected and consulted by government agencies around the world, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) related to conservation, the media, educational institutions, of course zoos and aquariums, and even the business community. Its signature accomplishment is the IUCN Red List, which has to date determined the conservation status of 134,425 species. More than 35,000 of those assessed have fallen into the” threatened” category, which means they have been designated as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered.

Three levels of threat

What exactly do those labels mean to a species? Well, in order for a species, say the Malayan Tiger, to be considered Critically Endangered, its numbers in the wild must have plummeted (over the last 10 years or over the last three generations) precipitously, from 80 to 90%. A species designated as Critically Endangered by the IUCN is “considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.”

The other two designations, Endangered and Vulnerable, are a sort of step-down from Critically Endangered status – but just a small one. In simple terms, an Endangered species is on the brink of becoming Critically Endangered if its circumstances in the wild don’t change; likewise, a Vulnerable species is just about to become Endangered, again if humans don’t intervene to protect habitat, limit poaching and the illegal pet trade, and do our best to mitigate climate change. Just this week (the week of June 20, 2021) the unwelcome news arrived that the IUCN has upgraded the status of African Savanna Elephants, like the herd at the Reid Park Zoo, from Vulnerable to Endangered.

The IUCN’s latest conclusion is that approximately 28% of the species they have assessed (and this includes amphibians, mammals, birds, conifers, sharks and rays, reef corals, and crustaceans) are now threatened with extinction. The role of SSPs (Species Survival Plans) and SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) programs is especially critical for such species in AZA-accredited zoos such as the Reid Park Zoo.

Zoos are important

The Reid Park Zoo expansion will be protecting not only the Critically Endangered Malayan Tiger, but also the lesser-known but equally endangered Rodrigues Fruit Bat. The Zoo would not be able to house and breed these species without the new, specialized habitats planned for them. Likewise, The Pathway to Asia expansion will also welcome and protect Red Pandas, Komodo Dragons, Asian Fishing Cats, and Siamangs – and the humans at the Zoo will do all they can to prevent these species from facing extinction.

Members of the public can help by supporting reputable zoos and aquariums; in a visit to a wonderful zoo like the Reid Park Zoo, we can see amazing creatures, but also learn about conservation initiatives to protect and save them, including what individuals can do to mitigate climate change, the biggest threat of all. So go to the zoo, love the animals, and join the good work of saving them!

For more content like this please visit reidparkzooexpansion.org.