This year, Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance (DZCA) is expanding our global wildlife conservation efforts with two new programs in Africa—one, to help protect Endangered mountain gorillas, and another to preserve wild populations of Endangered grey-crowned cranes.
Conservation Through Public Health
We’re honored to provide world-class animal care to Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas. But more than 8,500 miles away, in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, their wild counterparts face a variety of threats. Through our new partnership with Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), an organization focused on the interdependence of wildlife and human health in and around Bwindi’s protected areas, DZCA and our partner will be working towards sustainable solutions.
CTPH regularly monitors the health of habituated Bwindi gorilla groups through fecal samples, engages with local villagers on zoonotic disease prevention, trains rangers and porters on best practices for gorilla engagement with tourists, and supports livelihood projects for the local community. By funding a veterinary technician’s salary for one year, DZCA will ease the workload of the organization’s current team as they continue to monitor the health of mountain gorilla groups in the region. The Zoo is also looking for future opportunities to support CTPH in multiple ways as they continue their important work with the hopes of expansion to other areas where gorillas are found.
Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association
The Zoo is also partnering with Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA) to help protect Endangered grey crowned cranes. which face threats from human-wildlife conflict and the illegal wildlife trade. RWCA continues to expand its crane conservation program through a trans-boundary partnership with Nature Uganda, Nature Tanzania and the International Crane Foundation that employs local people as “Community Conservation Champions” to survey and monitor crane populations and raise awareness with their fellow community members. The Zoo’s investment in RWCA will support these champions and provide field supplies for one year, contributing to the program’s efforts to increase the cranes’ numbers across their ranges in three East African countries.
Global Conservation: An Inside Job
Like the Asian field conservation initiatives, both of our African programs are rooted in capacity strengthening—using our knowledge and resources to support the skills, abilities, processes and infrastructures of the organizations already doing incredible work in their respective fields.
Wondering how you can help? All visits, memberships and donations support our wildlife conservation efforts in Colorado + worldwide. For updates on our conservation work, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.
