Global Efforts

In November 2017, Toledo Zoo played a leading role in rescuing 110 threatened Santa Cruz ground doves from the illegal wildlife trade. Since then, we’ve partnered with the Solomon Islands government to expand conservation infrastructure, most notably establishing the country’s first conservation breeding facility. This facility currently houses an insurance population of Ground doves, with plans to include additional threatened species in the future. We also employ an in-country advisor who offers expert guidance and supports skill-building and knowledge transfer to local counterparts.

Working with our partners at the Talarak Foundation and Bristol Zoo, Toledo Zoo is providing funding and expertise to support the first-ever release of captive-bred Negros bleeding-heart doves into the wild. Our goal is to establish a new population of this critically endangered species in the Bayawan Nature Reserve.

Through the African Parks Foundation, the Zoo has provided funding for a hippo population survey in the Chinko Conservation Area in the Central African Republic. Our support also helps African Parks conduct anti-poaching patrols and collaborate with local communities to address human-wildlife conflict. Most recently, we’ve partnered with the University of Leeds on a pioneering pilot study to explore how AI-enabled trail cameras can help reduce conflict by providing early warnings or triggering deterrent systems. Additionally, the Zoo is sourcing products for our gift shop from Ndara, a social enterprise project based in Bangui, the capital of CAR. A portion of the profits from these sales is being donated to Chinko.

Cheer Pheasant populations have sharply declined in recent decades, with the Dhorpatan Valley in central Nepal being one of their last strongholds. We’ve partnered with the Nepalese Ornithological Union (NOU) since 2022 to monitor populations and engage local communities. This effort will continue in 2025 under the broader Conservation Round Dhaulagiri (CRD) project. Led by NOU and The Biodiversity Conservation Society of Nepal (BIOCOS), efforts will focus on Cheer Pheasants, other pheasant species, Snow leopards and Red pandas in the Dhaulagiri foothills.

Pigeons and doves currently rank as one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world. Since March 2021, the Zoo has hosted the IUCN SSC Pigeon and Dove Specialist Group. This global network of experts aims to assess and monitor the status of pigeon and dove species, raise awareness of their ecological importance and catalyze action to conserve them.

After 75 years, the Blue-eyed ground dove (Columbina cyanopis) was rediscovered in 2015 in Brazil’s Cerrado biome. In response, an international network of partners formed to protect and recover the species through the creation of a managed population under human care. Toledo Zoo joined early efforts in 2019 with SAVE Brasil and Parque das Aves by advising on a conservation strategy for this species, playing a critical leadership role to establish an insurance population in captivity. In 2023, our Manager of International Projects travelled to Brazil and oversaw the successful rearing of the first two Blue-eyed ground doves hatched under human care. The most recent count showed that 11 adult individuals remain in the wild.

Being restricted to diminishing forests in and around Manaus City, Brazil, Pied tamarins have one of the smallest active ranges of any primate. Toledo Zoo has supported Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira since 2022 to restore Pied tamarin habitat and increase the connectivity of forest fragments by planting trees and installing canopy bridges across roads. In 2024, we collaborated with the Tamarin Trust to fund a husbandry workshop in Manaus. This workshop allowed experts from around the world to effectively coordinate tamarin conservation plans and share husbandry expertise. As the national species coordinator, Toledo Zoo oversees protected populations of Pied tamarins in U.S. institutions. As of early 2025, over 40 Pied tamarins reside in AZA-accredited facilities.

The Aruba Island rattlesnake, locally known as the Cascabel, has been the focus of the Zoo’s conservation efforts since 1989, making it our longest-running research program. Led by Toledo Zoo staff, the Aruba Island Rattlesnake Species Survival Plan coordinates captive breeding and transfer recommendations to increase population size and genetic diversity. Our current SSP population includes 103 Cascabels across 24 AZA facilities, with plans to continue expanding this insurance population. Most recently, our team collaborated with the Aruba Conservation Foundation, Arikok National Park and Eckerd College to collect wild genetic samples and provide training and equipment to scientists in Aruba. These efforts will help guide and strengthen future conservation efforts.