+ Who we are

The Greater Vancouver Zoo (GVZ) is a CAZA-accredited zoo in British Columbia, Canada, that aims to create a fun and enriching environment for guests to be inspired and learn about animals and their natural world. The zoo houses several endangered species, including Persian onagers, milu, scimitar-horned oryx and addax.

To learn more about GVZ, visit gvzoo.com.

+ How GVZ is involved in conservation breeding

The GVZ aims to be a leader in conservation both locally and globally through participation in the ex situ management of local endangered species, contribution to global conservation initiatives and public education. Through ex situ programs, the GVZ supports the recovery of the three following local endangered species:

• Taylor's Checkerspot butterfly

  The GVZ regularly releases endangered Taylor's Checkerspot butterflies produced through conservation breeding to the wild and ensures the public has opportunities to become involved in recovery efforts.

• Oregon spotted frog

  For over a decade, the GVZ has participated in the Oregon spotted frog conservation breeding program. To reinforce the last remaining populations of this critically endangered species in BC, frogs bred at the Zoo are released annually into suitable habitats in the Fraser Valley.

• Western Painted Turtle

  In 2012, the GVZ began actively participating in the head-start program for Western painted turtles led by the Western Painted Turtle Recovery Team. Eggs found in precarious nesting sites are rescued and brought to the Zoo to be incubated. Turtles are then placed back into the same location where their eggs were originally collected.

+ Why GVZ supports caribou conservation breeding

Ecosystems around the world are being degraded at an unprecedented rate and biodiversity is vanishing. Caribou and the ecosystems they live in need help more than ever. Collectively, we can mitigate threats to their recovery through habitat protection and boost their populations through conservation breeding. Caribou recovery must be prioritized for the sake of caribou themselves but also, since they are an umbrella species, of the many other species that share their habitat.