Headstart Programme: Nashville Zoo Released Eastern Hellbenders into the Wild

July 21, 2021

The Nashville Zoo & partners have released 29 eastern hellbenders into the wild, in Tennessee. They were collected from the wild, as eggs, and raised at the zoo for six years, part of a headstart programme for the species. The zoo has been involved in eastern hellbender conservation since 2003, and has made great progress in breeding this species in captivity.

Captive-Bred Alpine Ibex Reintroduced in the Wild in Austria

July 16, 2021

Nine Alpine ibex were reintroduced in the wild, in the Austrian Lessach Valley, where the species has gone locally extinct. Six of the animals were born at Tiergarten Nürnberg, the other three at Alpenzoo Innsbruck & private breeders. Nürnberg Zoo has been involved in reintroduction projects for this species since 1995, but the Lessach valley is a new reintroduction site!

Tennessee Aquarium Releases 250 Juvenile Southern Appalachian Brook Trout in the Wild 

July 12, 2021

The Tennessee Aquarium has released 250 juvenile southern Appalachian brook trout in a new release site - a mountain stream in Cherokee National Forest. The only trout native species in the region, it disappeared from more than 75% of its natural range. The aquarium collects and breeds wild adult individuals and keeps the young over the winter, releasing them in the spring.

World's First: Baby Gorilla Born to Zoo-Bred, Reintroduced in the Wild, Parents! 

June 30, 2021

In a world's first, a baby western lowland gorilla was born to two zoo-bred, reintroduced in the wild, parents! The adult gorillas were born under the EAZA-led European Ex-Situ Programme (EEP) for the species - the male was born in Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve & the female in Zoo de Beauval, and they were reintroduced in Gabon in 2013 and 2019, respectively.e.

Prague Zoo Supporting Conservation of Critically Endangered White-Bellied Heron

June 28, 2021

The white-bellied heron is a critically endangered species with under 60 individuals left in the wild, half of them in Bhutan. Prague Zoo is supporting conservation efforts for the species, which include creating an insurance population by bringing some of the young from wild nests, where they would likely not survive, to captivity. The zoo has supported the development of a breeding facility in Bhutan, has helped training Bhutanese keepers and has provided other resources such as transport boxes and veterinary medicine.