Conservation Mission Statement

“To promote, educate and raise awareness of global conservation issues affecting all wildlife whilst supporting conservation initiatives both in situ and ex situ”

Biodiversity is described as the variety of all living things. The world is full of fantastic animals and plants of all sizes and shapes; from a tiny flea to the African elephant and from plants you see every day like a daisy to rare and exotic orchids living high in the rainforest canopy. The range of biodiversity in some areas of the world such as tropical rainforests is so high in-fact scientists are still finding new species every day. But we may now be losing these new species before they have even been discovered. In many areas of the world, both animals and plants alike are becoming endangered and are therefore at a higher risk of extinction.

Why are species becoming endangered?

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation; due to agriculture, logging industry, rural development
• Pollution
• Climate change
• Natural disasters
• Illegal wildlife trade
• Increased competition or predation from introduced species

Extinction does of course happen naturally, but this is normally a very slow process which occurs over millions of years. As one species dies out, another develops; this is the process of evolution. Today extinction rates have increased alarmingly and if we are not careful and do not maintain what we have on Earth now, we will lose some of these species forever. And it is this which we need to do; conservation.

Modern zoos and wildlife parks are an extremely important factor in not only the conservation of captive animals but their wild counterparts too; and without zoos and wildlife parks animals such as Pere David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) and the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) would now be extinct. Captive populations are sustained in the hope that they will be released into the wild in the future, but this can be difficult and is not always possible. Captive populations can also ensure that the species as a whole will not become extinct even if the wild populations do die out. We need to recognise that it is not always the quantity of species and individuals that is important, but the quality. Thus all animals born in captivity are entered into a studbook database, detailing each animal and their origin, in order to prevent inbreeding.

For species, who are threatened by extinction, breeding programmes are arranged. No zoo or wildlife park could go this alone, and these breeding programmes are run co-operatively with other zoological institutions in the UK and Europe. A number of animals at Blair Drummond Safari Park are part of international breeding programmes; our Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) are involved in the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) and our ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) and Californian sealion (Zalophus californianus) in the European Studbook (ESB). Through these we hope that we can help make a difference to the survival of these species.

Mum and baby ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)

Unfortunately you can not always rely on captive populations to rebuild the species as a whole, and sometimes animals must be taken from the wild to be entered into a conservation strategy. This was the case with our Southern White rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum). Our breeding programme with the rhinos has been so far successful with the birth of our first female Mazumba in 2007, Ailsa in 2009 and Angus in 2011.

Baby Angus and Mum Dot, two of our Southern White Rhinos
(Ceratotherium simum simum)

In our role as a modern safari park we find it particularly important to educate and raise the awareness of our visitors to the plight of these endangered species; and it is through conservation campaigns that we can achieve this. By use of talks, signs and activities we can open the eyes of our visitors and educate them about the needed and/or on-going conservation of a particular species or habitat as a whole. Annually we contribute to conservation campaigns run by EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria), and in recent years we have won awards for our involvement toward the cause.

Not only do we contribute toward EAZA campaigns and fund-raising events, but we annually donate money toward other conservation campaigns that we feel close to our hearts. One of these is Friends of the Mau Watershed (FOMAWA) in Kenya, to which we donate £5,000 annually. With our donation we hope we can help protect the forests in Kenya, the wildlife found there, the surrounding environment and the people, through in situ conservation. We also feel it important to help and recognise, not only Kenya, but all of Africa as this is where most of our animals come from.

A wild Blair Drummond red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

We feel that it is important not to take our native flora and fauna for granted, and to remember that habitats in this country are just as fragile as exotic ones. There are a number of natural habitats in the grounds of the park, all of which are maintained to a sufficient level to allow our native plants and animals to flourish and live alongside their exotic companions.

In 2008 we hosted our own conservation campaign, SOS: Save Our Squirrels; raising awareness of the plight of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Britain and using the funds raised to help our own red squirrel population which live in the grounds of the park.   To see what we are doing now to help conserve red squirrels click here.