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 in

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

s and

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

s, most of which are threatened or

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

in the wild.

SSP program

SSP programs focus on animals that are near threatened, threatened, endangered, or otherwise in danger of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in the wild, when zoo and zoology conservationists believe

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that ...

programs will aid in their chances of survival."Species Survival Plans help preserve wildlife"
on the Central Florida Zoo website. These programs help maintain healthy and genetically diverse animal populations within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited

community.

AZA Aza or AZA may refer to: Places *Aza, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality *Azadkənd, Nakhchivan or Lower Aza, Azerbaijan *Aza, medieval name of Haza, Province of Burgos, Spain *Aźa, a Tibetan name for the Tuyuhun kingdom *Aza, a Hebrew roman ...

accredited zoos and

conservation partners that are involved in SSP programs engage in cooperative population management and conservation efforts that include research, conservation genetics, public education,

reintroduction Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

, and ''in situ'' or field conservation projects. There are currently 172 species covered by 116 SSP programs throughout North America. The SSP has been met with widespread success in ensuring that, should a species population become functionally extinct in its natural habitat, a viable population still exists within a zoological setting. This has also led to AZA species reintroduction programs, examples of which include the

black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (''Mustela nigripes''), also known as the American polecatHeptner, V. G. (Vladimir Georgievich); Nasimovich, A. A; Bannikov, Andrei Grigorovich; Hoffmann, Robert S. (2001)''Mammals of the Soviet Union''Volume: v. 2, pt. 1 ...

, the California condor, the

northern riffleshell The northern riffleshell (''Epioblasma torulosa rangiana''), is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This subspecies is endangered. This species was formerly found widely in ...

, the golden lion tamarin, the Karner blue butterfly, the Oregon spotted frog, the palila finch, the

red wolf The red wolf (''Canis rufus'') is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (''Canis latrans'') and gray wolf (''Canis lupus''). The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate s ...

, and the Wyoming toad.

SSP 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) for a certain species. This document sets ''ex situ'' population goals and other management recommendations to achieve the maximum genetic diversity and demographic stability for a species, given transfer and space constraints.

List of SSP programs

There are currently 478 species and subspecies that have an SSP program.While these are called Species Survival Plan programs, some animals on this list are subspecies. Other animal names on this list are not the commonly used name, however they are the official name of their respective SSP program. * Aardvark *

Addax The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara Desert. The only member of the genus ''Addax'', it was first described scientifically by Henri de Blainvil ...

* Agouti, Brazilian * Alligator, Chinese * Anteater, giant * Antelope, roan * Antelope, sable * Aracari, curl-crested * Aracari, green * Argus, great * Armadillo, screaming * Armadillo, six-banded * Armadillo, southern three-banded * Ass, Somali wild *

Aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

* Baboon, Hamadryas * Barasingha * Barbet, bearded * Barbet, red-and-yellow * Bat, Egyptian fruit * Bat, Rodrigues fruit * Bat, straw-colored fruit * Bear, Andean spectacled * Bear, polar * Bear, sloth * Beaver, American * Beetle, American burying * Bettong, brush-tailed * Binturong *

Bird-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of thi ...

* Bird-of-paradise, superb * Bluebird, fairy * Boa, Jamaican * Bongo, eastern *

Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

Bontebok The bontebok (''Damaliscus pygargus'') is an antelope found in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. ''D. pygargus'' has two subspecies; the nominate subspecies (''D. p. pygargus''), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the W ...

* Bulbul, collared finchbill * Bushbaby, Mohol * Bushmaster, South American * Cacique, yellow-rumped *

Callimico The Goeldi's marmoset or Goeldi's monkey (''Callimico goeldii'') is a small, South American New World monkey that lives in the upper Amazon basin region of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. It is the only species classified in the genus ''Call ...

* Capuchin, brown * Capuchin, crested * Capuchin, white-throated *

Capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

* Cardinal, red-capped * Cardinal, red-crested * Cassowary, Southern (double-wattled) * Cat, black-footed * Cat, fishing * Cat, Pallas * Cat, sand * Chat, snowy-crowned robin * Cheetah * Chevrotain, greater Malayan * Chicken, Attwater's prairie *

Chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

* Chuckwalla, San Esteban * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Argens * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Degeni * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Esculentus *Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Lip, two-stripe white * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Melanopterus * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Perrieri * Cichlid, Lake Victoria - Piceatus * Coatimundi, white-nosed * Cobra, king * Cockatoo, palm * Colobus, Angolan * Colobus, guereza * Condor, Andean * Condor, California * Conure, golden * Coua, crested * Crane, black crowned * Crane, Demoiselle * Crane, grey crowned * Crane, red crowned * Crane, wattled * Crane, white-naped * Crane, whooping * Crocodile, Cuban * Crocodile, Orinoco * Crocodile, Siamese * Crocodile, slender-snouted * Curassow, blue-billed * Curassow, helmeted * Curassow, wattled * Cuttlefish, flamboyant * Deer, Eld's * Deer, Père David's * Deer, western tufted * Dikkop, spotted * Dog, African painted * Dove, beautiful fruit * Dove, black-naped fruit * Dove, grey-capped emerald * Dove, jambu fruit * Dove, luzon bleeding heart * Dove, Mariana fruit * Dove, Mindanao bleeding heart * Dove, pink-necked (Temminck's) fruit * Dove, white-throated ground * Dragon, Komodo * Duck, spotted whistling * Duck, West Indian whistling * Duck, white-winged wood * Duiker, blue * Duiker, red-flanked * Duiker, yellow-backed * Echidna, short-beaked * Eland, common * Elephant, African * Elephant, Asian * Falcon, African pygmy * Ferret, black-footed * Flamingo, Caribbean * Flamingo, Chilean * Flamingo, greater * Flamingo, lesser * Flying fox, Indian * Flying fox, island * Flying fox, large *

Fossa Fossa may refer to: Animals * Fossa (animal), the common name of a carnivoran mammal of genus ''Cryptoprocta'' endemic to Madagascar * ''Fossa'', the Latin genus name of the Malagasy civet, a related but smaller mammal endemic to Madagascar Pla ...

* Fox, bat-eared * Fox, fennec * Fox, swift * Frog, dusky gopher * Frog, Panamanian golden (ahogado) * Frog, Panamanian golden (marta) * Frog, Panamanian Golden (sora) * Frogmouth, tawny * Galago, northern greater * Galliwasp, Hispaniolan giant * Gazelle, addra * Gazelle, Nubian Soemmerring's * Gazelle, slender-horned * Gazelle, Speke's * Gazelle, Thomson's * Gecko, giant leaf-tailed * Gecko, Henkel's leaf-tailed * Gecko, mossy leaf-tailed * Gecko, satanic leaf-tailed *

Gemsbok The gemsbok or South African oryx (''Oryx gazella'') is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is native to the extremely dry, arid regions of Southern Africa; notably, the Kalahari Desert. Some authorities formerly classified the East Afric ...

* Gerenuk, southern * Gharial, Indian * Gharial, sunda * Gibbon, lar (white-handed) * Gibbon, white-cheeked * Giraffe, generic * Giraffe, Masai * Goose, African pygmy * Goose, Indian pygmy * Goose, nene * Goose, Orinoco * Goose, red-breasted * Goose, swan * Goral, Chinese * Gorilla, western * Guineafowl, crested * Guitarfish, bowmouth * Hamerkop * Heron, boat-billed * Hippopotamus, pygmy * Hippopotamus, river * Hog, red river * Honeyeater, blue-faced * Hornbill, Abyssinian ground * Hornbill, great * Hornbill, red-billed * Hornbill, rhinoceros * Hornbill, southern ground * Hornbill, trumpeter * Hornbill, wrinkled * Horse, Asian wild * Hwamei, Chinese * Hyena, spotted * Hyrax, rock * Ibex, Nubian * Ibis, African sacred * Ibis, hadada * Ibis, Madagascar crested * Ibis, scarlet * Ibis, southern bald (cape) * Ibis, straw-necked * Ibis, waldrapp * Iguana, Fiji banded * Iguana, Grand Cayman blue * Iguana, Jamaican *

Impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

* Jay, plush-crested * Kangaroo, eastern gray * Kangaroo, red * Kangaroo, western gray *

Kea The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wings ...

* Kingfisher, Guam * Kinkajou * Kiwi, North Island brown *

Klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimm ...

* Koala, Queensland * Kookaburra, laughing * Kudu, greater * Kudu, lesser * Langur, Francois' * Langur, silvered leaf * Lapwing, masked * Lapwing, spur-winged * Laughingthrush, white-crested * Lechwe, Nile * Leiothrix, red-billed * Lemur, black-and-white ruffed * Lemur, blue-eyed black * Lemur, collared * Lemur, crowned * Lemur, gray mouse * Lemur, mongoose * Lemur, red ruffed * Lemur, ring-tailed * Leopard, clouded * Leopard, snow * Liocichla, scarlet-faced *

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

* Lizard, Caiman * Lizard, Chinese crocodile * Lizard, Rio Fuerte beaded * Loris, pygmy slow * Lynx, Canada * Macaque, Japanese * Macaw, blue-throated * Macaw, hyacinth * Macaw, red-fronted * Magpie, azure-winged * Magpie, red-billed blue *

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

* Mangabey, black * Mara, Patagonian * Markhor, Turkmenian * Marmoset, Geoffroy's * Marmoset, pygmy *

Meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

* Merganser, scaly-sided * Mongoose, banded * Mongoose, dwarf * Monitor, black tree * Monitor, crocodile * Monkey, Allen's swamp * Monkey, Bolivian gray titi * Monkey, Central American spider * Monkey, common squirrel * Monkey, DeBrazza's * Monkey, diana * Monkey, Mexican spider * Monkey, patas * Monkey, robust black spider * Monkey, Schmidt's red-tailed * Monkey, southern black howler * Motmot, blue-crowned * Mouse, Perdido Key beach * Muntjac, Reeves' * Murre, common * Myna, Bali * Mynah, golden-crested * Nyala, lowland *

Ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

* Okapi * Onager, Persian * Orangutan, Bornean * Orangutan, Sumatran * Oropendola, crested * Oryx, Arabian * Oryx, scimitar-horned * Otter, Asian small-clawed * Otter, giant * Otter, North American river * Otter, sea (northern spp.) * Otter, sea (southern spp.) * Otter, spotted-necked * Owl, burrowing * Owl, Eurasian eagle * Owl, snowy * Owl, spectacled * Owl, Verreaux's eagle * Panda, giant * Panda, red (fulgens) * Panda, red (refulgens) * Parrot, hawk-weaded * Parrot, thick-billed * Partridge, crested wood * Peafowl, Congo * Peccary, Chacoan * Pelican, Dalmatian * Pelican, great white * Pelican, pink-backed * Penguin, African * Penguin, chinstrap * Penguin, gentoo (ellsworthi) * Penguin, gentoo (papua) * Penguin, Humboldt * Penguin, king * Penguin, little blue * Penguin, macaroni * Penguin, Magellanic * Penguin, southern rockhopper * Pheasant, Palawan peacock * Pheasant, Vietnam * Pig, Visayan warty * Pigeon, green-naped pheasant * Pigeon, nicobar * Pigeon, Victoria crowned * Pigeon, western (blue) crowned * Pitta, hooded * Pochard, Baer's * Porcupine, cape and crestedCurrently this is the Species Survival Program that contains more than one species. * Porcupine, North American * Porcupine, prehensile-tailed * Pronghorn, peninsular * Pudu, Chilean * Puffin, Atlantic * Puffin, horned * Puffin, tufted * Rattlesnake, Aruba Island * Rattlesnake, Eastern Massasauga * Rattlesnake, Mexican lance-headed * Rattlesnake, Santa Catalina Island * Ray, spotted eagle * Rhinoceros, eastern black * Rhinoceros, greater one-horned * Rhinoceros, southern white *

Ringtail The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed as Least Co ...

* Roadrunner, greater * Roller, blue-bellied * Saki, white-faced * Sawfish, largetooth * Sawfish, longcomb * Sawfish, smalltooth * Screamer, southern * Sea lion, California * Sea eagle, Steller's * Seahorse, big-bellied * Seahorse, lined * Seal, grey * Seal, harbor * Secretarybird * Seriema, red-legged * Serval * Shama, white-rumped * Shark, blacktip reef * Shark, sand tiger * Shark, zebra * Sheep, desert bighorn *

Siamang The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...

* Sifaka, Coquerel's *

Sitatunga The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...

* Skink, prehensile-tailed * Sloth, Hoffman's two-toed * Sloth, Linne's two-toed * Snail, partula * Snake, eastern indigo * Snake, Louisiana pine * Spider, gooty sapphire ornamental * Spoonbill, African * Spoonbill, roseate * Springbok, South African * Squirrel, Prevost's * Starling, emerald * Starling, golden-breasted * Starling, grosbeak * Starling, violet-backed (amethyst) * Stilt, black-necked * Stingray, bigtooth river * Stingray, ocellated river * Stingray, Tiger River * Stingray, white-blotched river * Stork, Abdim's (white-bellied) * Stork, marabou * Stork, milky * Stork, saddle-billed * Stork, white * Stork, yellow-billed * Sunbittern * Swan, coscoroba * Swan, trumpeter * Takin, Sichuan * Tamandua, southern * Tamarin, bearded emperor * Tamarin, cotton-top * Tamarin, golden lion * Tamarin, golden-headed lion * Tamarin, pied * Tanager, blue-grey * Tanager, silver-beaked * Tanager, turquoise * Tapir, Baird's (Central American) * Tapir, Malayan (Asian) * Teal, marbled * Teal, Madagascar * Tenrec, lesser Madagascar hedgehog * Tern, Inca * Terrapin, painted * Thrush, chestnut-backed * Tiger, Amur *

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

* Tiger, Malayan * Tiger, Sumatran * Tinamou, elegant crested * Toad, Houston * Toad, Wyoming * Tortoise, African pancake * Tortoise, brown forest * Tortoise, Burmese black * Tortoise, Burmese star * Tortoise, Egyptian * Tortoise, Forsten's * Tortoise, Galapagos (microphyes) * Tortoise, Galapagos (porteri) * Tortoise, Galapagos (vicina) * Tortoise, Home's hinge-back * Tortoise, Madagascar flat-tailed * Tortoise, Madagascar spider (common) * Tortoise, Madagascar spider (northern) * Tortoise, Madagascar spider (southern) * Tortoise, radiated * Toucan, keel-billed * Toucan, Toco * Tragopan, Cabot's * Tree kangaroo, Matschie's * Tree shrew, northern *

Troupial There are three extant species of bird in the genus '' Icterus'' that are named troupial (''turpial'' in Spanish), formerly considered one species: * Venezuelan troupial, ''Icterus icterus'' * Campo troupial, ''Icterus jamacaii'' * Orange-backed t ...

* Turaco, great blue * Turaco, Lady Ross' * Turaco, red-crested * Turaco, violaceous * Turaco, white-cheeked * Turtle, Arakan forest * Turtle, black-breasted leaf * Turtle, Blanding's * Turtle, bog * Turtle, Coahuilan box * Turtle, four-eyed * Turtle, Indochinese box * Turtle, keeled box * Turtle, Malaysian giant * Turtle, McCord's box * Turtle, Northwestern pond * Turtle, Pan's box * Turtle, Rote Island snake-necked * Turtle, southwestern pond * Turtle, spiny * Turtle, spotted * Turtle, Sulawesi forest * Turtle, Vietnamese pond * Turtle, wood * Turtle, yellow-blotched map * Turtle, yellow-headed temple * Urial, Transcaspian * Vulture, African white-backed * Vulture, cape * Vulture, Eurasian black * Vulture, hooded * Vulture, king * Vulture, lappet-faced * Vulture, Ruppell's griffon * Wallaby, Bennett's * Wallaby, tammar * Wallaroo, common * Warthog, common * Waterbuck, common * Weaver, white-headed buffalo * Whale, beluga *

Wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...

* Wolf, maned * Wolf, Mexican gray * Wolf, red * Wood hoopoe, green * Zebra, Grevy's * Zebra, Hartmann's mountain * Zebra, plains

SSP program

SSP master plan

See also

List of SSP programs

Notes

References

External links