- Species Survival Plan
The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American)
Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species inzoo s andaquarium s, [cite web | author = Association of Zoos and Aquariums | title = Species Survival Plan Program - SSP Fact Sheet | work = Association of Zoos and Aquariums website | publisher = Association of Zoos and Aquariums | date = 2007 | url = http://www.aza.org/ConScience/ConScienceSSPFact/ | accessdate =2007-09-13] most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.SSP programs focus on animals that are in danger of
extinction in the wild, when zoo conservationists believe captive breeding programs may be their only chance to survive. [http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/ssp.htm] These programs also help maintain healthy and genetically diverse animal populations within thezoo community. [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vets/ssp.html] AZA accredited zoos and AZA conservation partners that are involved in SSP programs engage in cooperative population management and conservation efforts that include research, public education,reintroduction , and "in situ" or field conservation projects. There are currently 181 species covered by 113 SSP programs in North America. [http://www.aza.org/conscience/consciencesspfact/]P Master Plan
An SSP Master Plan is a document produced by the SSP coordinator (generally a zoo professional under the guidance of an elected management committee) [http://www.aza.org/ConScience/ConScienceSSPFact/] for a certain species. This document sets breeding goals and other management recommendations to achieve the maximum
genetic diversity and demographic stability for a species, given transfer and space constraints. [http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/ssp.htm]ee also
*
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)
*Captive breeding
*European Endangered Species Programme or EEP
*Zoo References
* [http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/ssp.htm "Species Survival Plans help preserve wildlife"] on the Central Florida Zoo website.
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vets/ssp.html "Species Survival Plan"] on PBS NOVA Online.
* [http://www.aza.org/Newsroom/CurrentStatistics/ AZA Conservation Program Statistics] on the AZA website.External links
* [http://www.aza.org/ AZA website] Many AZA-accredited zoos engage in SSP programs and discuss them on their websites. The following links are to a small selection of those sites:
* [http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/ssp.htm Central Florida Zoo]
* [http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/speciessurvivalplans/ Saint Louis Zoo]
* [http://www.sfzoo.org/conservation/speciesSurvival.htm San Francisco Zoo]
* [http://www.fossilrim.com/research/species_survival.php Fossil Rim Wildlife Center]
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