By working in partnerships, zoos and other conservation agencies can achieve real results in the wild.

Taronga and Western Plains Zoos work cooperatively with conservation organisations across the globe to carry out in situ conservation programs. Involvement in these programs may be in the form of captive breeding, research, financial contributions or on site staff involvement.

Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis minor)

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) manages a cooperative international breeding program for the critically endangered Black Rhino. Western Plains Zoo has been a part of this program since 1993 and now has thirteen Black Rhinoceros, the only Black Rhinoceros in Australasia. Funding is provided to the IRF on an ongoing basis to support further research and in situ conservation of all rhinoceros species. Research is also being undertaken on the endocrinology of the reproductive status of female Black Rhinoceros. In October 2006, Western Plains achieved a world first in successfully harvesting eggs (oocytes) from an infertile female Rhino to ensure her valuable genetics are maintained within the captive herd.

Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)

Taronga Zoo is working to establish a project to protect the largest remaining wild herd in Kuiburi National Park, Thailand. The project involves building a fenceline to halt human-elephant conflict at nearby plantations that have resulted in elephant deaths in the past.

Additionally, the Taronga Foundation has funded the ongoing work of CITES MIKE (Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants) in this national park and other elephant range countries.  Through the provision of satellite tracking equipment, scientists and rangers can monitor wild elephant populations and their movements.

Przewalski's Horse

In June 1995 ZPB staff accompanied 5 female captive-bred Przewalski Horses(known locally as Takhi)  from Western Plains Zoo to Ulaan Bataar as part of program to reintroduce them to their Mongolian homeland. Elderly tribesman travelled many miles to greet the arrival and to show family members the beloved animals they thought they would never see again. Today, the herd numbers 120 horses, including offspring of our original mares.

Sumatran Tiger

The long term survival of tigers rests on their continued existence in the wild. In partnership with 21st Century Tiger, the Taronga Foundation aims to support efforts to protect tigers in the Kerinchi National Park, Indonesia. This is one of the few remaining strongholds for Sumatran Tigers in the wild, however; poaching continues to threaten this population. The 21st Century Tiger programs support ranger training and critical research methods to protect Tigers. 

Silvery Gibbon 

The Silvery Gibbon Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre has been supported to create facilities for Silvery Gibbons that have been recovered from poaching operations. The Centre provides care for the Gibbons, where they gradually learn wild behaviours so that they can be reintroduced to wild populations, which could otherwise become extinct within a decade. 

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

The Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust was established in 1988. This Trust manages the Ngamba Island sanctuary, situated in Lake Victoria, Uganda. The Sanctuary comprises 100 acres of rainforest and houses orphaned chimps that have been saved from poachers and illegal trade. While the Board has supported this project through direct financial assistance for construction of facilities, purchase of equipment and veterinary support it is no longer a Trustee. Taronga Zoo staff members have also participated in educational programme support, behavioural studies and technical assistance.

Fijian Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis)

The ZPB has remained involved with the conservation of the Fiji Crested Iguana since establishing the first field program in 1999. The Fijian crested iguana, listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, has a severely restricted distribution and is secure on only one island in the Fiji group, the Fijian Crested Iguana Sanctuary island of Yadua Taba.

In 2001 the Zoological Parks Board funded the round-up of the last feral goats on the island, a project that involved all the men and boys in the village on the nearby island of Yadua.

An invasive plant assessment and experimental control plan followed in 2003, and a follow up evaluation and training project was undertaken in October 2004. The establishment of an on going monitoring and control program was gazetted at the IUCN/SSC workshops recently organised by Dr Peter Harlow, Manager Herpetofauna, and held on Fiji. Dr Harlow, the ZPB and the Taronga Foundation continue to be the lead agency in the conservation of this species.

he Zoological Parks Board of NSW has a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Trust for Fiji 'to promote cooperation in conservation, species management programmes and research activities'. Activities under this MOU have focused primarily on the critically endangered Fijian Crested Iguana and include egg site studies, habitat studies and veterinary support for Fijian captive populations.

Additionally, an International Conservation Fund for the Fijian Crested Iguana (ICFFCI) (www.icffci.com), involving the National Trust for Fiji, Kula Eco Park, Fiji and the Zoological Parks Board of NSW was established in January 2000. Funds have been provided to local villagers for the removal of goats and for the provision of training and facilities.

Asian Turtle Conservation

Turtles have lived virtually unchanged since 100 million years before the Dinosaurs, and yet most Asian turtles - which represent a third of the world's turtle species - could be extinct within 10 years.

 Since 2003, the Taronga Foundation has provided funding for a three year project with the Cuc Phuong Conservation Centre in Vietnam. Initial funding was able to establish the position of a National Coordinator to oversee national rehabilitation and release programs, provincial ranger training, and a contribution towards operating costs of the Centre, which also conducts interpretive tours and regional education programs. The 2003/04 funding also supported a pilot study for radio tracking of wild Keeled Box Turtle Pyxidea mouhotii.