You Don’t Own the Planet, You Belong to It

The rare Mexican long-tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) was recorded in El Paso, Texas, in December 2007, marking a significant western Texas record for this species. Climate change is affecting their habitat, and the Zoo is helping to expand their range northward to help ensure their survival. Photo by Gail Hampshire, Wikimedia Creative Common.

by Rick LoBello, Zoo Education Program Manager

Join us on April 25 as the Zoo celebrates Earth Day in support conservation efforts at the Zoo

At the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens, we’re dedicated to wildlife conservation and the vital work of fostering a deeper understanding of our planet’s ecosystem. Here on the US-Mexico border, our mission is to highlight the value of animals and natural resources while helping people reconnect with the beauty of nature. This year, we’re telling the stories of a range of global wildlife conservation projects, and we need your support to make a difference! We hope that you will come and celebrate the wonders of our beautiful planet on Saturday, April 25 when our education partners join us on Earth Day at the Zoo from 10am to 3pm.

You can contribute to our Conservation Fund through a straightforward online donation. This fund is crucial for supporting our various conservation initiatives, all outlined in our Conservation Report available on our blog. When you choose to donate, you are not only aiding in the fight for wildlife preservation but also engaging in meaningful conservation education.

The Zoo has helped to call attention to how Burrowing Owls in El Paso need our help when their habitat is destroyed by urban sprawl.

Additionally, there are other fun ways to help! When visiting the Zoo, consider rounding up your purchases or purchasing a Penguin Plush to support our cause. To donate online, simply visit our donation page and select “Conservation Fund.” Every little bit helps!

Over the past two decades, the El Paso Zoo Conservation Fund has been committed to enhancing our conservation impact by encouraging our community to connect with our animals, adopt sustainable lifestyles, and advocate for wildlife habitat protection. Let’s work together not just to protect species but also to combat climate change. Your action today can lead to a better tomorrow for our planet!

Most of our support for conservation at the Zoo comes from taxpayers in El Paso, and this is vital for keeping the Zoo running.  Thanks to the generous support of our community, we can (1) provide excellent care for our animals, focusing on their health and happiness, (2) actively work to save wildlife from extinction through our conservation efforts both at the Zoo and in the wild, and (3) inspire people to appreciate wild animals and take action to protect their habitats.

Over the past twenty years the Zoo in collaboration with thousands of citizens in El Paso and across the country has advocated for the protection of the Castner Range part of the Franklin Mountains as one of its most important conservation efforts. US Army Photo.

With additional help from partners like the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition, Service Systems and Associates, and the Paso del Norte Foundation, we’re able to deliver quality services to the public, create new exhibits, and fund projects that aim to save endangered species globally.

Our Conservation Committee prioritizes projects that focus on our animals in the wild and engage both our staff and conservation partners. For example, our zookeepers have traveled to Big Bend National Park to enhance habitats for Mexican black bears, to Madagascar to rescue critically endangered radiated tortoises, to Wyoming to search for endangered Wyoming toads and to Arizona to monitor endangered black-footed ferrets.

When sending staff isn’t possible, we still contribute by providing funding to organizations that help protect critically endangered species like Sumatran orangutans, African painted dogs, and Mexican wolves.

One of the keys to our conservation success is building and nurturing relationships with our partners, including those working directly in the field. For instance, one team member is involved with the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan, attending meetings in both the US and Mexico, while another collaborates with the Turner Endangered Species Fund on a bolson tortoise reintroduction project in New Mexico. We also have team members networking in Africa, contributing to the conservation of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes region.

The Zoo collaborates with the Turner Endangered Species Fund on a bolson tortoise reintroduction project in New Mexico.

Our connections with National Parks have allowed us to voice our work at an International Workshop on Transboundary Conservation at Glacier National Park. This networking led to the El Paso Zoo being part of an America’s Keystone Wildlife Grant partnership with Big Bend National Park. To strengthen our ties with the conservation community, this year, the Zoo will host the Chihuahuan Desert Conference in November, bringing together park managers and researchers from across the Southwest and Mexico.

The Pale Blue Dot

The “Pale Blue Dot” is an iconic 1990 photograph of Earth taken by Voyager 1 from a record distance of 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles). Proposed by astronomer Carl Sagan, it shows Earth as a tiny speck—less than a pixel—suspended in a sunbeam against the vastness of space, illustrating humanity’s fragile and insignificant place in the cosmos.