Zoological Society of San Diego DBA San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

The core tenets of our culture:
1. Make a difference for wildlife.
2. Share the wonder of nature.
3. Feel the passion for what we do.
4. Breed financial stability.
5. Succeed together.
6. Remember the Roar...and pass it on!

Unite: Focus on stemming the tide of species extinction by rallying our internal stakeholders around our vision, and building a mighty league of external collaborators.

Strategies to unite:
1. Build Capacity
Focus internally and externally on organizational capacity building: select critical collaborators whose strengths increase our reach, and boost the bench strength of our staff, board, and volunteers.
2. Maximize our Resources
Ensure that we have the financial capacity and fiscal responsibility to become the most effective wildlife conservation organization in the world...both now and in the future!


Fight: Fight extinction with an integrated conservation approach that includes both the species in our care as well as animals and plants in the wild.

Strategies to fight:
1. Pick our Battles
As much as we want to, we can't save every species, and we can't do it alone. We will prioritize and focus our work on the species that are the best fit for our niche.
2. Lead the Change
Enhance our emphasis on full-spectrum conservation, applying leading-edge scientific methods and husbandry solutions to our priority species.
3. Sustain the Momentum
Collaborate with others who can maintain our conservation efforts as long as necessary.


Ignite: Awaken a global audience to take personal responsibility for the future of wildlife.

Strategies to Ignite:
1. Ignite Passion
Spark an obsession for saving wildlife.

2. Recruit Champions
Use grand gestures and unique methods to attract advocates to our cause.

3. Inspire Personal Responsibility
Provide people with a new way of life: specific individual actions that we each must take in order to make a change in the wildlife conservation landscape.

San Diego Zoo Global is uniquely qualified to lead the fight against extinction. Our core strength is in the thousands of people over the course of 100 years who have built a credible knowledge base and history of caring for the most rare and endangered plants and animals on the planet. We are collaborative, innovative, and hopeful--all key attributes for succeeding in the position.

Skills:
Leadership. We've been the first to initiate many things, such as housing rare animals for the first time in the U.S. and having the first of many species born at a zoo. But leadership is not about doing things first, it's in teaching others how to replicate our first-time successes. It's also in collaborating with global partners to further mutual goals.

Communication. We reach tens of millions of people each year, either through media or by visitation to one of our parks. Each person we reach is someone who can make a choice to support ending extinction. Our communication style is factual and hopeful, with intent to inspire people to positive action.

Science. Our knowledge and application of natural sciences is second to none. We are the ones people come to when they need expertise for saving critically endangered species. We are training the next generation of conservationists.

Experience:
Koala Breeding and Conservation, 1925-present
San Diego Zoo Global was the first to host koalas outside of Australia, starting in 1925. In 1960, we were the first to breed them in the U.S. Today we not only manage the largest colony outside of Australia, we also provide research support to koala conservation projects in the wild.

California Condor Recovery, 1982-present
A bird that was nearly extinct in the wild is now flying again in its native range, thanks to the leadership of San Diego Zoo Global and its collaboration with many partners. Once considered an impossible project, the California condor program has not only been successful, it has become a model for other bird conservation projects worldwide.

Hundreds of additional examples available upon request.

Conservation Results
Here are a few key metrics and results that demonstrate the scope of our work and reference the power of recruiting champions to join us in the fight against extinction:
*Currently, over 230 at-risk species (IUCN- or USFWS- listed) are the focus of active SDZG conservation work.
*Of these, 48 species were successfully bred at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park last year.
*SDZG conservation projects highlighted 143 of these species.
*In 2014, SDZG carried out or supported conservation work in 76 countries worldwide, in collaboration with over 250 partner organizations.

Collaborative Reintroduction Programs
Key species reintroduction programs that demonstrate collaborative conservation success:
Addax - 14 partners
Andean condor - 6 partners
Anegada iguana - 6 partners
California condor - 8 partners
Desert tortoise - 3 partners
Guam rail - 3 partners
Indian rhino - 3 partners
Light-footed clapper rail - 9 partners
Pacific pocket mouse - 3 partners
Mountain yellow-legged frog - 6 partners
Nene - 8 partners
Peninsular pronghorn - 8 partners
Przewalski's horse - 4 partners
Puaiohi - 8 partners
San Clemente loggerhead shrike - 4 partners
Saiga - 5 partners
Scimitar-horned oryx - 13 partners
Southern ground hornbill - 6 partners
Stephens' kangaroo rat - 5 partners
Tasmanian devil - 4 partners
Turks & Caicos iguana - 6 partners