OTHER CONSERVATION PROJECTS

Over 500,000,000 plastic straws are used in the U.S. every day… and they will last for hundreds of thousands of years. More than 79% of all plastic waste ends up in landfills, or gets stuck in the natural world. As our nation is finding itself with too much plastic to recycle, straws are finding new homes in rivers, lakes and the ocean—clogging waterways and harming animals. Every straw is part of the equation until we say, “no más.” Each straw used is a choice and that choice is yours. Single-use plastic straws should not be our legacy. As consumers, business leaders and global caretakers— we can make straws no más.

Take the pledge today: Click Here

San Antonio Zoo’s Education Department and volunteer staff support the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University by conducting monthly surveys of migratory bird populations.  All data obtained is submitted to Cornell University using the web platform ebird.org.

Website: www.ebird.org

The Department of Herpetology conducted fieldwork in conjunction with the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico for the critical Bolson Tortoise.  Field population monitoring and health assessments of the tortoises took place in the Spring and Fall of 2015.  At this time, the zoo also offered assistance with constrcution and financial support for the new head start facility that will further reintroduction efforts.

Website: www.tesf.org 

San Antonio Zoo’s Department of Aviculture is directly involved in the captive reproduction and release of the Micronesian Kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus). A component to this program is determination of genetic diversity in the remaining population of the Kingfisher in Guam.  In contribution to the captive program, San Antonio Zoo hatched five chicks this past season and successfully reared three chicks to adult age.

San Antonio Zoo volunteers and staff assited Bat Conservation International in the restoration of habitat around Bracken Cave, the largest known bat colony in the world.

Website: www.batcon.org

San Antonio Zoo and volunteer staff collect data on amphibain presence on zoo grounds by evening monitoring of frog calls.  All data collected is submitted to FrogWatch USA and iNaturalist.  As of 2015, San Antonio Zoo’s Frog Watch chapter was listed as the second largest chapter in the state of Texas.

Website: https://www.aza.org/frogwatch

Monarch Butterfly Tagging Project- San Antonio Zoo Education staff and volunteers tag the wings of Monarch Butterflies as they pass through the San Antonio area on their migration

Monarch Larval Monitoring Survey- San Antonio Zoo volunteers and education staff support the University of Minnesota by monitoring our milkweed patch outside the butterfly house. We report population, health, and milkweed species preference of monarch/queen/solidier/and non-milkweed feeding species butterflies in all life stages, populations and life stages of other invertebrates and their interactions with monarch butterflies, number and species of milkweed plants, and rain fall average. From May to November, we try to provide weekly to monthly data. We report all of our data via https://www.mlmp.org/

Monarch Way Station and Monarch Watch- San Antonio Zoo supports Monarch Watch’s Monarch Way Station program by up keeping native milkweed and beneficial nectar plants to serve as an oasis for migrating monarchs and other native pollinators. San Antonio Zoo’s education and horticulture staff have up kept the garden surrounding the butterfly house as a way station since April 2012.

Website: www.mlmp.org