2018 ANNUAL REPORT Growing the Movement TABLE OF CONTENTS A Message from Dan Ashe 1 Saving Species 3 Goals and Measures of Success 4 Year in Review: SAFE Species Successes 5 Program Partners, Collaborators and Funders 15 Raising Awareness and Engaging People 19 SAFE Founders Circle 23 “ From the start, SAFE has been about providing AZA members with a way to do enhanced, more focused conservation work. As the threats to wildlife and wild places grow, we have to be more effective in our approach to collaborative conservation. I am impressed with the strides our community has made to grow SAFE to what it is today—an AZA member-led conservation program we can be proud of.” Peggy Sloan, Chief Animal Operations Officer, John G. Shedd Aquarium Chair, AZA Board of Directors 1 2018: Growing the Movement SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction® is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ conservation movement. We are proud of the conservation work of AZA-accredited facilities and, through SAFE, we amplify this work. In partnership with stakeholders, SAFE species programs align with global conservation and recovery strategies, harnessing the power of collective actions. With the addition of five new species in 2018—African lion, American red wolf, Atlantic Acropora coral, eastern indigo snake, and orangutan—we now stand at 19 SAFE species programs. SAFE’s growth, and our collective $220 million investment in field conservation in 2017, demonstrates our community’s commitment to conservation. The promise of SAFE has attracted corporate and philanthropic support in 2018, including a generous commitment by The Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Foundation of $375,000 over three years to fund SAFE projects. In 2018, millions of people learned about SAFE conservation efforts through co-branded corporate partnerships, campaigns on social media, and local and national news stories. AZA members collaborated with SAFE species programs to coordinate awareness efforts for specialized species awareness days. The SAFE African vulture program is a great example, reaching more than two million people on International Vulture Awareness Day. Our success is prompting prominent non-governmental organizations like the National Wildlife Federation and government agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to partner with us on species recovery and public engagement efforts. Over 50 percent of AZA’s membership has already engaged with SAFE, and I hope the 2018 SAFE Annual Report encourages them to redouble their efforts, and others to join them. What will be the next species to join the SAFE movement and who will provide the needed leadership? It is time to ask the age-old questions: If not now, when? If not me, who? Dan Ashe President and Chief Executive Officer Association of Zoos and Aquariums 2 “ With species disappearing all over the world, including in our own backyards, it is more important than ever for passionate people to make their voices heard. AZA SAFE programs allow AZA facilities to work together, focusing their energies and resources to save species and ecosystems before it is too late. The American red wolf SAFE program was started with the hope of increasing awareness for this critically endangered native species. After less than a year, the American red wolf is seeing the advantages of being an AZA SAFE program with the increased exposure of the wolves’ story to a wider audience. As more and more AZA facilities join in the fight to save this native American species from the brink of extinction, the American red wolf and the ecosystems it inhabits have a greater chance for recovery.” Chris Lasher, Animal Management Supervisor, North Woods/Prairie-African Plain, North Carolina Zoo Vision Together we are saving the most vulnerable wildlife species from extinction and protecting them for future generations. Mission The mission of SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction 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. 3 SAFE SPECIES: Saving Species » African penguin » Gorilla AZA SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction® includes 19 species and taxonomic groups » African vulture » Radiated tortoise threatened with extinction—an almost 100 percent increase since early 2017. » Asian elephant » Sea turtles A primary goal of SAFE is to increase the number of members engaged in the » Black rhinoceros » Sharks and rays coordinated and strategic conservation of these species. Species such as giraffe, red » Black-footed » Vaquita wolves and African vultures have seen the number of AZA members engaged in their ferret » Western pond conservation increase significantly. More than half of all AZA members are involved » Cheetah turtle with at least one SAFE species program. By 2027 we hope to see 100 percent involvement. » Giraffe » Whooping crane Through SAFE, the AZA community is helping one another do more and better conservation. In 2018, storytelling and program plan development workshops were offered to SAFE species programs. Partnerships were expanded with International Union NEW IN 2018: for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Specialist Groups and other organizations. AZA’s » African lion Board-level committees—including Field Conservation, Advancement, Animal Health, » American red wolf Conservation Education, Diversity, Human Resources, Professional Development, Public » Atlantic Acropora coral Relations, Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee, and more, in addition » Eastern indigo snake to AZA’s Executive Leadership Development Program—offered SAFE and the individual species teams their expertise. » Orangutan We have saved species before and, with SAFE, we can continue saving species together. “ It’s great to see zoos aligning their conservation initiatives with the goals of the IUCN. The African vulture SAFE action plan pulled heavily from the Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals that had been developed previously and, as a result, contributes to key actions for saving African vultures in the wild.” Andre Botha, Programme Manager, Vultures for Africa, Endangered Wildlife Trust Project Officer, Endangered Wildlife Trust/Hawk Conservancy Trust/University of Reading Partnership Co-chair, IUCN SSC Vulture Specialist Group Overarching Coordinator, CMS Multi-species Action Plan for African Vultures 4 SAFE Goals Measures of Success » Focuses collective expertise and OUTPUTS 2027 GOAL 2018 TARGET 2018 ACTUAL leverages audiences to save species Conservation $2.5 BILLION $200 Million $220 Million » Builds capacity within our spending *based on 2017 data members to engage in meaningful, strategic, collaborative # SAFE species 50 14 19 conservation % AZA members in 100% 90% 89% » Sets clear measures of success at field conservation five and ten years % AZA members 100% 55% 53% » Provides a straightforward in SAFE framework for engagement % Holding facilities Significant difference at three-year intervals » Expands the reputation of AZA engaged members as leading conservation organizations OUTCOMES* Conservation Impact on public Favorability of AZA impact perception zoos and aquariums Awareness of zoos and Conservation culture within aquariums in conservation the AZA community * measured at three-year intervals “SAFE is very relevant and easy to engage with, even for smaller, regionally- focused facilities. We value the ability to be a part of shaping conservation objectives with members within and outside of the AZA community, and find it fulfilling to partner with facilities who share similar goals throughout AZA.” Dr. Tara Riemer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alaska SeaLife Center 5 Year in Review: SAFE Species Successes GIRAFFE Established in 2017 as the first fully member-led SAFE species program, the giraffe program added 11 new AZA-accredited partners this year and now comprises 18 AZA-accredited members and more than two dozen additional government agencies, universities, and non- profit organizations, all working together to achieve conservation goals in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The SAFE program directs funds to and assists with monitoring the health of giraffes in translocations, and providing expertise for GPS tracking and crowdsourcing projects to assess giraffe populations. Using information from AZA’s Annual Report on Conservation and Science, the SAFE giraffe team has documented a more than 50 percent increase in the amount of funding by the AZA community for giraffe conservation since this program’s inception. Program Leader: Dr. Liza Dadone, VMD, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Vice Program Leader: Andi Kornak, Deputy Executive Director – Animal and Veterinary Programs, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo AFRICAN PENGUIN The SAFE African penguin program continues to make a splash. In 2018, the program advanced projects that will help bolster numbers of wild African penguin populations. One year after its successful Kickstarter campaign to design, build, and test artificial nests for African penguins, the team has reported great success in developing the first artificial nest that mimics the biological parameters of natural nests almost perfectly, and the penguins have responded positively. Two hundred artificial nests were installed and monitored at two penguin colonies in 2018 and nearly all (96 percent) were occupied at some point during the year. In 2019, the team will increase nest production and placement in South