The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American)

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...

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 purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

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 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, 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

California condor The California condor (''Gymnogyps californianus'') is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to nor ...

, 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 i ...

, the

golden lion tamarin The golden lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus rosalia'', pt, mico-leão-dourado , ), also known as the golden marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion t ...

, the Karner blue butterfly, the

Oregon spotted frog The Oregon spotted frog (''Rana pretiosa'', meaning "precious frog") is a member of the frog family Ranidae of order Anura. It is a medium-sized aquatic frog endemic to the Pacific Northwest and historically well distributed in the Puget Trough/ ...

, the palila finch, the red wolf, and the

Wyoming toad The Wyoming toad or Baxter's toad (''Anaxyrus baxteri'') is an extremely rare amphibian that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in the United States. The Wyoming toad was listed as an endanger ...

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 The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...

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 The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. ...

* 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 The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining pop ...

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 this ...

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

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 ...

* 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 ''C ...

* Capuchin, brown * Capuchin, crested * Capuchin, white-throated * Capybara * Cardinal, red-capped * Cardinal, red-crested * Cassowary, Southern (double-wattled) * Cat, black-footed * Cat, fishing * Cat, Pallas * Cat, sand * Chat, snowy-crowned robin *

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

* Chevrotain, greater Malayan * Chicken, Attwater's prairie * Chimpanzee * 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 * 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 * 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 The hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genus ''Scopus'' and the family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but is now placed with the ...

* 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 *

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 wing ...

* Kingfisher, Guam *

Kinkajou The kinkajou ( /ˈkɪŋkədʒuː/ ''KING-kə-joo''; ''Potos flavus'') is a tropical rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, and the ringtail and cacomistle. It is the only member of the genus ''Potos'' ...

* 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 Zim ...

* 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 * 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 *

Okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

* 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 The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller describe ...

* Seriema, red-legged *

Serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in ran ...

* 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 The sunbittern (''Eurypyga helias'') is a bittern-like bird of tropical regions of the Americas, and the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus ''Eurypyga''. It is found in Central and South America, and ...

* 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 * 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-to ...

* 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