Care & Conservation - Peoria Zoo

AZA SAFE PROGRAMS

Peoria Zoo is a program partner of several AZA SAFE programs.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program is a framework that focuses the collective expertise within accredited zoos and aquariums and leverages their massive audiences to save species.

Together AZA’s SAFE programs are saving the most vulnerable wildlife species from extinction and protecting them for future generations. The mission of SAFE is to combine the power of zoo and aquarium visitors with the resources and collective expertise of AZA members and partners to save animals from extinction.

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SSP CONSERVATION

Species Survival Plan® Programs

Species Survival Plans (SSPs) were developed by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) to manage the breeding of captive animal populations in order to maintain healthy, self-sustaining populations that are both genetically diverse and demographically stable. SSP populations could, if necessary, serve as genetic and/or demographic reservoirs in support of wild populations.

The mission of the program is to help ensure the survival of selected wildlife species into the future and to provide a link between zoo and aquarium animals and the conservation of their wild counterparts.

The AZA collaborates with more than 200 zoos throughout North America in SSP breeding conservation programs.

Peoria Zoo is proud to participate in a number of SSPs for the list of the following animals and more.

AFRICAN LION

AMUR TIGER

AFRICAN PANCAKE TORTOISE

BLACK-HANDED SPIDER MONKEY

CHINESE ALLIGATOR

COTTON-TOP TAMARIN

EASTERN BLACK-AND-WHITE

COLOBUS GREVY’S ZEBRA

GALAPAGOS TORTOISE

HOFFMANN’S TWO-TOED SLOTH

LAUGHING KOOKABURRA

MANDRILL

MEXICAN BEADED LIZARD

PANAMAIAN GOLDEN FROG

PREHENSILE-TAILED SKINK

SPOTTED TURTLE

RED-NECKED WALLABY

RED RIVER HOG

RING-TAILED LEMUR

RETICULATED GIRAFFE

SICHUAN TAKIN

SOUTHERN THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO

SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS

THOMSON’S GAZELLE

A LOCAL CONSERVATION EFFORT

ENDANGERED SPECIES – Alligator Snapping Turtles: A Step Towards RECOVERY Through Reintroduction

A cooperative program between Peoria Zoo and IDNR

Peoria Zoo partnered with Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in 2008 and we have been working to reintroduce the native Alligator snapping turtle to strategic watersheds in Illinois in an effort to restore this unique and majestic reptile.

The Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. Unfortunately, Alligator snapping turtles are currently ENDANGERED in the State of Illinois.

The first Alligator snapping turtle specimen in Southern Illinois was documented in 1887. There were no Alligator snapping turtles documented in Illinois from 1887 to 1984.

This initiative is part of a multi-state effort between Illinois, Oklahoma, and Louisiana to recover or augment declining populations of this turtle. A multi-state competitive State Wildlife Grant was awarded to the three states by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. That grant will cover the long term monitoring & tracking costs of the released turtles, which have been equipped with radio transmitters.

The Illinois Natural History Survey has been contracted to conduct the telemetry studies in Illinois and are providing all the transmitters and iButton dataloggers for the three cooperating states. Peoria Zoo has been holding older turtles for the past several years as supplemental releases for the IDNR. The St. Louis Zoo has been breeding Alligator Snapping Turtles from their captive colony to provide hatchlings that will be raised by various schools in Illinois as participants of “Operation Endangered Species” until they are large enough to release.

As illustrated; there are many “Turtle Recovery Plan Partners” who are dedicated to bringing a healthy thriving population of Alligator Snapping Turtles to Illinois. Other partners include the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine, Missouri State University, Tulsa Zoo, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission facilitated permits to transport the turtles from Tishomingo through their respective states.

These turtles and future release turtles play an important role and provide balance to our lakes and rivers. Peoria Zoo is working hard to bring back this rare and majestic animal for future generations to enjoy.

The difference between a Common Snapping Turtle and an Alligator Snapping Turtle Be a Super Hero for Alligator Snapping Turtles

IDNR conducted a pilot release of Alligator snapping turtles back to the wild in Illinois 2009.

IDNR and Peoria Zoo released 97 animals in July 2014. It takes a lot of “turtle coordination” to have 97 animals of mixed ages that are “head started” or prepared for life back in the WILD.

These were the first steps towards recovering of the state-endangered Alligator Snapping Turtle to its natural range in southern Illinois.

After the Illinois Natural History Survey staff recorded data, affixed transmitters & data loggers to the 97 turtles, they were assisted with those releases by IDNR Natural Heritage staff, Peoria Zoo, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale zoology students, along with students & staff from Pontiac Township High School and Whitney M. Young Magnet High School.