Giraffe Conservation Foundation

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) is the only organization in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffes in the wild throughout Africa. The GCF focuses on increasing giraffe numbers through anti-poaching units, educational awareness, and translocating animals for improved genetics, research, and equipment.

There has been a 40% decline in wild giraffe populations since 1999 due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, human population growth and illegal hunting (poaching). The Gulf Breeze Zoo is committed to protecting giraffes and participating in captive breeding programs. Zoo guests assist us in this mission each time they participate in our giraffe encounter program or by attending the annual World Giraffe Day celebration.

As seen in the National Zoological Association of America Journal, "No Tall Tale: The Plight of Giraffe" by Katy Massey, Conservation Coordinator

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The International Rhino Foundation (IRF)

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) began in 1989 as the International Black Rhino Foundation in response to organized poaching decimating black rhino populations. In 1993, the organization recognized the escalating crisis facing all five rhino species, expanded its mission, and changed their name.

The IRF works in habitats across Africa, Indonesia, and India solving issues with poaching, forest loss, agricultural development, and human settlement conflicts. Dedicated to the survival of the world’s rhino species through conservation and research, IRF provides technical (scientific, educational, administrative) and financial resources necessary to facilitate the conservation of rhinos.

The Gulf Breeze Zoo is honored to house and breed white rhinos while participating with the Zoological Association of America’s Southern White Rhino Animal Management Program. Our rhino ambassadors also raise awareness and financial support for their wild counterparts through our encounter programs.

View video of our baby white rhino born at Gulf Breeze Zoo

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BirdLife International, Vulture Crisis

The BirdLife International Partnership, striving to conserve birds, habitats, and global diversity, works with people toward sustainability in the use of natural resources. Eleven out of 16 species of vultures are at risk of extinction. Experts believe over 60% of vulture deaths are due to poisoning.

In 2017, the BirdLife International Partnership assisted with the first-ever Multi-species Action Plan for African-Eurasian Vultures. This ambitious plan outlines steps to conserve all threatened vultures in over 128 countries. The Gulf Breeze Zoo recognizes the important role vultures play in minimizing the spread of disease and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

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Okapi Conservation Project

The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) is devoted to protecting the okapi and preserving its habitat. The OCP supports the management of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, helps local communities find sustainable ways of living, and provides an extensive refuge for the region's endangered creatures.

The reserve contains 101 mammal species, some of the most notable are: okapi, chimpanzee, forest elephant, and the forest antelope bongo. One of the lesser-known species found in the region is Schmidt's guenon, which is facing growing concerns due to deforestation and hunting.

The Schmidt's guenons at the Gulf Breeze Zoo were bound for the bushmeat trade in Africa when they were rescued and received a new home. The zoo partners with the Zoological Association of America's Schmidt's Guenon Animal Management Program to maintain healthy guenon populations.

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Wildlife Alliance

Wildlife Alliance is the leader in the direct protection of forests and wildlife in the Southeast Asian tropical belt with the mission to combat deforestation, wildlife extinction, climate change, and poverty by partnering with local communities and governments.

One of the most successful programs has achieved zero elephant poaching since 2006 while proving 24/7 ranger patrols across nearly 1.5 million acres of land. With a high success rate minimizing poaching in the region, the Wildlife Alliance is now working on a tiger reintroduction plan in Cambodia. The last recorded tiger in Cambodia was in 2007. Populations were wiped out largely due to poaching of tigers and their prey for the illegal wildlife trade.

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Anteaters & Highways

The grasslands and forests of Brazil's Cerrado biome support some of the largest remaining populations of the iconic New World species, giant anteaters. Today the Cerrado is undergoing rapid agricultural development and is fragmented by an ever-increasing network of roads.

Unfortunately, giant anteaters are among the animals most frequently killed on these roads, and road mortalities now pose a serious threat to the species’ long-term survival. The Anteaters & Highways Project works to address this threat by collecting data on how anteaters interact with the roadways.

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Panthera, Jaguar Corridor Initiative

Panthera is the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species and their landscapes with a team of biologists and law enforcement experts on the front lines developing strategies to protect habitat, address poaching and human conflict.

The Jaguar Corridor Initiative is the most ambitious corridor project globally, working with 14 countries to connect habitats for jaguar and associated biodiversity habitats. Panthera partners with governments, corporations, and local communities to preserve genetic integrity and the future of wildlife threatened by habitat loss. The Gulf Breeze Zoo supports the important work being done by the Panthera team protecting wildlife in Latin America.

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Fundación Proyecto Titi

Proyecto Titi combines field research, education, and community programs to protect critically endangered cotton-top tamarins and their habitat in Colombia. The cotton-top tamarin is a one-pound monkey found only in the tropical forests of northwestern Colombia.

Populations are threatened by extensive forest destruction and the illegal pet trade. Proyecto Titi uses the cotton-top tamarin as a flagship species to assist with the overall conservation of Colombia's natural resources.

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Sahara Conservation Fund

The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) was established in 2004 to address the largely ignored and catastrophic wave of extinction threatening the large bird and mammal fauna in North Africa. SCF focuses on reserve management, humanitarian assistance, and providing regional expertise. SCF is a leading source of technical expertise in the conservation and restoration of highly threatened species in the Sahele-Saharan ecosystem.

They are known for their flagship project, reintroducing Scimitar-horned oryx back into the wild. In January 2020, the Gulf Breeze Zoo sent staff to the Republic of Chad to assist the SCF with their addax and dama gazelle conservation programs in the field.

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ECO-CELL, Electronic Gadget Recycling

Electronic waste has a tremendous impact on the planet, more so than any other consumer product. It takes a lot of energy, resources, and rare materials to make gadgets. Many gadgets contain conflict minerals (natural resources extracted in a conflict zone). The four main African conflict resources that are essential to creating cell phones are gold, tantalum (coltan), tungsten, and tin.

Many of these minerals are mined inside the Congo, home to the several species found at the Gulf Breeze Zoo, including the critically endangered gorilla, Schmidt's guenon, and bongo. This recycling program allows guests to directly impact troubled wildlife and provides a positive way for individuals to create actual results. The zoo is a registered drop-off site for the ECO-CELL gadget recycling program, accepting items such as cell phones, iPods, iPads, tablets, adapters, chargers, MP3 players, handheld gaming systems, and their accessories.

The Gulf Breeze Zoo partners with ECO-CELL to help:

• Extend technology lifespan
• Reclaim gadget precious metals to create jobs
• Reduce environmental stress
• Deter landfill toxic waste

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Source Population Alliance

In 2010, it was determined that a new alliance was needed to create sustainable hoof stock populations in order to prevent extinction. In the following years, Source Population Alliance (SPA) was formed, creating a working relationship between wildlife parks and private landowners.

SPA originally launched with four program species and now has successfully grown to 12 species, such as the Arabian oryx, dama gazelle, mountain bongo, roan, addax, Scimitar-horned oryx, sable, anoa, banteng, Grevy's zebra, Nubian ibex, and the Trans Caspian urial. The Gulf Breeze Zoo works with the SPA program to ensure healthy captive populations of exotic ungulates and assist efforts to save their wild counterparts.

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Cheetah Conservation Fund

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was founded in Namibia in 1990 and has become a world-class research facility providing groundbreaking research in the biology, ecology, and genetics of the cheetah. With a 90% loss of cheetah populations in the last 100 years, organizations like CCF are imperative for cheetah survival.

The majority of cheetahs are found outside protected areas in areas populated by humans. Saving cheetahs requires innovative conservation methods that address the welfare of both cheetah and human populations. CCF is a global leader in cheetah conservation and has been able to effectively stabilize and even increase the wild cheetah population in Namibia.

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Penguin Conservation; Dyer Island Conservation Trust

Founded in 2006, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) is located on the southern tip of South Africa, to address the growing issues facing local wildlife. The Dyer Island ecosystem is home to thousands of seabirds including the iconic African penguin, Cape fur seals, great white sharks, and Southern right whales. Many of these species have been labeled as endangered, likely it will become extinct.)

Populations are threatened by pollution, the decline in fish abundance, coastal development, and oil spills. The Gulf Breeze Zoo works with the Zoological Association of America’s African Penguin Animal Management Program and provides financial assistance to the Dyer Island Conservation Trust to help save wild penguin populations.

LEARN MORE: As seen in the National Zoological Association of America Journal, "African Penguins: The Cold Truth" by Katy Massey, Corporate Conservation Coordinator.

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Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Cheetahs are considered Africa's most threatened 'big cat.' Nearly 25% of wild cheetah populations are found in Botswana, and more than 70% of the population live outside of protected areas. Cheetah Conservation Botswana focuses on saving cheetahs in the Kalahari, which has the highest density of cheetahs in the country.

One of the most successful programs has been placing livestock guardian dogs with farmers, working with locals to avoid human-wildlife conflicts. CCB also works to save cheetahs by empowering local communities through educational bush camps, adaptive livestock management, and researching cheetah behavior.

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Grevy's Zebra Trust

Established in 2007, the Grevy's Zebra Trust is the only organization in the world solely focused on saving this endangered species of zebra. With an 80% decline in the population since the 1970s, there are barely 3,000 remaining in the wild.

Zebras compete with local livestock for adequate food in the drylands of Kenya and Ethiopia. The Grevy's Zebra Trust’s most important role has been working with communities to develop healthy rangeland management to correct overgrazing in the region.

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Pollinators Partnership

Since 1997, the Pollinators Partnership has been the world's largest organization working on pollinator issues that affect the world's food supply. Pollinators come in many shapes and forms, such as birds, bees, butterflies, bats, and more. There has been a steady decline in these populations due to disease, parasites, pesticides, and habitat loss. The Partnership works with scientists, governments, conservationists, and private industries throughout North America to promote pollinators health.

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