at a zoo event highlighting the conservation work of different condor species, with the
Andean condor in view. The Oregon Zoo collaborates with wildlife agencies and conservation organizations on recovery projects for imperiled species including
California condors,
Mazama newts,
western pond turtles,
northern leopard frogs,
Oregon silverspot butterflies and
Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies. The zoo manages a community science project to monitor the
American pika and was the first zoo in the world to successfully breed critically endangered Columbia Basin
pygmy rabbits and Oregon silverspot butterflies. In 2012 the Oregon Zoo became the first zoo to draw blood samples from polar bears without the use of anesthesia, leading to the development of a groundbreaking polar bear conservation science program. The zoo has since partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey on polar bear diet, energetics, and movement studies. In Borneo, the zoo supports elephant conservation by funding two ranger positions, and partners with Malaysian and Indonesian organizations to mitigate human-wildlife conflict and improve animal welfare for elephants and orangutans.
California Condors In 2001 the zoo joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program. California Condors are slow to reproduce, laying only one egg every one to two years. In 2003 the first six condor breeding pairs were brought to the zoo's 52-acre Johnsson Center for Wildlife Conservation. More than 140 chicks have hatched at the Jonsson Center since 2003, and more than 100 Oregon Zoo-reared birds have gone out to field pens for release. Some Oregon Zoo hatched condors were among the first released by Yurok Tribe in Redwoods National Park in their historic effort to return species to their ancestral homeland in 2022. https://www.hcn.org/issues/54-6/indigenous-affairs-birds-the-yurok-tribe-is-bringing-condors-home-to-northern-california-skies/ The zoo also manages community-based conservation education efforts, including the Lead-Free Hunting Education Program, to protect condors and other wildlife from lead poisoning, the greatest cause of wild condor mortality. Ingesting carcasses riddled with toxic lead fragments results in approximately 50 percent of known causes of condor deaths since 1992.
Mazama Newts The
Crater Lake newt or
Mazama newt,
Taricha granulosa mazamae, is a
subspecies of the
rough-skinned newt. Found only in
Crater Lake,
Oregon. Crater Lake newts are genetically and morphologically distinct from neighboring rough-skinned newts, with the most notable differences being a comparative lack of
tetrodotoxin in their skin, and a darker ventral surface. While other members of their species have orange lower surfaces, in an example of
aposematic coloration to warn predators of their toxicity, Crater Lake newts were the
apex predators in their environment for thousands of years, and lost the highly toxic skin of their ancestors. The Crater Lake newt population is under threat due to predation from invasive
crayfish and rainbow trout that have been introduced into the lake. Beginning in 2025, the Oregon Zoo partnered with the National Park Service and the High Desert Museum in an effort to remove a population of newts and bring them to the Oregon Zoo where they are attempting to breed newts in captivity with the ambition to return them to the lake once the invasive species problems can be mitigated.
Pacific Northwest Frogs and Turtles From 1998 to 2012 the zoo partnered on a recovery effort for endangered Oregon spotted frogs, a candidate for listing under the federal
Endangered Species Act, and currently collaborates on a head-start and release program for northern leopard frogs. Frog eggs are collected and hatched at the Oregon Zoo or the Cedar Creek Correction Center, which has partnered with the zoo since 2009. Juvenile frogs are then released into the wild, with a goal of creating a self-sustaining population. The captive rearing project works in collaboration with regional zoos and aquariums to save Pacific Northwest frog species imperiled by loss of habitat, invasive predators and the deadly
chytrid fungus, which has quickly spread from Africa to threaten amphibian populations worldwide. The Oregon Zoo's Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project has helped establish two new western pond turtle populations in the
Columbia River Gorge, where invasive bullfrogs have driven the tiny species to the brink of extinction. Infant pond turtles are collected and raised in the project lab at the zoo until they large enough to be safely released back into the wild. More than 1,500 turtles have been released in the Columbia Gorge since 1990, with a 95 percent annual survival rate.
Butterflies In 1999, at the request of the
US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Oregon Zoo joined with Seattle's
Woodland Park Zoo in an
Oregon silverspot butterfly captive rearing program to save a species once found from California to British Columbia and now reduced to five isolated populations. Around 2,000 butterflies have been raised from larvae and released each year at the Oregon coast. For this work the two zoos were jointly awarded the 2012 AZA North American Conservation Award. In 2019, the Oregon Zoo successfully bred a captive silverspot butterfly for the first time in the world, producing in 269 viable offspring. Additionally, the zoo has partnered with the
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility to train inmates who volunteer to help raise and care for the critically endangered Taylor's butterfly. Habitat degradation due to invasive species, urban development and agriculture have reduced the Taylor's checkerspots' native habitat by 99 percent. The Taylor's checkerspot captive rearing project has raised and released over 28,000 butterflies.
Borneo Elephants Oregon Zoo’s Care and Conservation of Borneo Elephants program supports projects in Sabah, Malaysia, to reduce human-wildlife conflict, create safe travel corridors for elephants and other wildlife in degraded landscapes and provide care for injured or orphaned elephants. The Zoo partners with Seratu Aatai to promote co-existence between people and elephants through research and educational outreach to local communities, government agencies, the
palm oil industry and academics. In 2015 the
Woodland Park Zoo,
Houston Zoo, Oregon Zoo and HUTAN-KOCP founded the “Borneo Elephant Zoo Alliance” with the goal of ensuring long-term survival of the Bornean elephant in the wild. The alliance focuses on enhancing scientific knowledge of elephant ecology and conservation status and reducing human-animal conflict in the Kinabatangan River area through community outreach, public policy, and use of technology. In recent years, Oregon Zoo’s work with HUTAN-KOCP has focused primarily on forest preservation and reforestation for the benefit of both elephants and orangutans.
Pygmy Rabbits The
Pygmy rabbit is the smallest native rabbit in North America, principally found in the
Great Basin. There is a small isolated population in the Columbia basin in eastern Washington state, which was formally listed as severely endangered in 2003 . At the request of
US Fish and Wildlife Service and
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Zoo partnered with
Washington State University,
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and others to develop a breeding and rescue plan from 2002 -2012. Sixteen remaining rabbits were brought into captivity. To increase genetic diversity and the chances of survival, this small population was crossbred with pygmy rabbits from the larger populations in Idaho and Nevada. When the captive breeding program was closed in 2012, approximately 90 rabbits had been raised and released, into semi-wild and protected areas . Ongoing monitoring by WDFW has shown encouraging signs that a self sustaining population may eventually survive and the Pearl Hill fires in 2020 . A vaccination program has been started to protect them from a viral
rabbit hemorrhagic disease which has emerged in neighboring states. ==Notable incidents==