Conservation Organizations Receive $104,000 from Oakland Zoo
Quarters for Conservation, an innovative program at the Oakland Zoo in California, raises money for both on-site and worldwide conservation efforts.
Over the course of 2016, the Oakland Zoo in Oakland, California raised over $104,000 through its Quarters for Conservation program, which is aimed at helping wild animals worldwide through conservation partnerships with the zoo. The funds were donated to wildlife conservation programs across the globe.
The program uses $0.25 from every ticket sold to fund wildlife conservation institutions. Many conservation organizations have been chosen as recipients of a portion of the funds collected in 2016. Fifty percent of the funds will go to three programs that help save wolves (California Wolf Center), chimpanzees (Budongo Snare Removal Project in Uganda), and Bay Area birds (Golden Gate Audubon Society).
Twenty-five percent of the monies are allocated for use in the zoo’s onsite conservation programs, including the provision of veterinary care to wild California condors. Other funds will be used in the Western Pond Turtle head-start program, with the goals of increasing research opportunities; providing on-site help for the turtles; releasing young, healthy turtles back into the wild after fostering at the zoo; and developing educational outreach programs with the intent of increasing interest in conservation of the species.
The remaining 25% of the funds will help support the zoo’s conservation field partners worldwide. There are several recipients of portions of this total, including the Bay Area Puma Project, the Reticulated Giraffe Project, and the Uganda Carnivore Program.
Currently, the Oakland Zoo is home to more than 660 native and exotic animal species. The zoo is dedicated to the humane treatment of animals and wildlife conservation, with efforts to promote conservation occurring both onsite and in the field worldwide.
Since its launch in 2012, Quarters for Conservation has raised over $500,000. In 2017, the zoo has added new partners to benefit from the program:
- Proyecto Tití (Project Tamarin) in South America, which will help to guarantee a future for cotton-top tamarins by protecting their habitat and boosting conservation education
- The Iinnii Initiative in Montana, dedicated to returning bison to Native American tribal lands and promoting education and cultural preservation of the species
- Oakland Zoo’s own Biodiversity Program, focused on saving threatened frogs and toads
