ZAA Conservation
ZAA offers two distinct grant opportunities to support conservation efforts:
ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grants
ZAA Global Conservation Fund
ZAA Conservation Initiative Grants are awarded to exceptional proposals focusing on conservation research, education, and community engagement. Each year, ZAA awards up to US $5,000 to projects that emphasize field programs, scientific studies, and multidisciplinary approaches aimed at species conservation, habitat preservation, and biodiversity enhancement.
Awards from the ZAA Global Conservation Fund are provided to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) whose missions align with ZAA’s conservation goals. Formerly known as the Lynn Hall Conservation Grants, these awards support NGOs dedicated to the conservation of species represented in ZAA animal collections. They support NGOs that prioritize species sustainability/reintroduction and focus on education, the promotion of conservation ecology, human/wildlife conflict resolutions, population reinforcement, habitat and landscape restoration, anti-poaching and the bushmeat crisis, and even economy-related engagement by local communities and local governments.
To learn more about these grants, including the selection process and past recipients, please watch our informative webinar: https://youtu.be/4MKpM1DxGlk
Beyond NGO support, ZAA members are also heavily involved in reintroduction programs and rescue and rehabilitation work. Some of the species our members work with include mountain bongo, Attwater’s prairie chicken, Texas horned lizard, Anegada ground iguana, Kemps Ridley sea turtle, and San Joaquin kit fox.
Sadly, modern-day conservation of threatened or endangered species cannot simply be limited to protecting or reintroducing animals in their native ranges. For many, the “wild” is disappearing as humans encroach on their natural habitats. To ensure a species’ long-term survival, managed propagation of wildlife has become an essential part of the conversation and the only insulation against a potential collapse of wild populations.
ZAA's species management program (Animal Management Program, AMP) is coordinated across the family of ZAA accredited members to ensure the greatest genetic variability.
2027 Conservation Initiatives Grants
Applications will be open from March 1, 2027, to March 31, 2027.
2026 ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grant Recipients
1. Ambiance: An Open-Source, Solar-Powered Automatic Playback Speaker for Mitigating HumanWildlife Conflict in Multiuse Landscapes in Laikipia, Kenya
Organization: University of California Santa Cruz
Principal Investigator: Mr. Michael Kowalski
Location of Project: Laikipia County, Kenya
Human encroachment into protected areas and the expansive space requirements of large mammals, such as African elephants and large carnivores, have increased human–wildlife conflict (HWC) in multiuse landscapes. HWC has profound consequences for wildlife persistence and conservation outcomes due to its negative socioeconomic impacts on subsistence agropastoral communities and the prevalence of retaliatory killings. In Laikipia, Kenya, where more than five HWC events occur daily, lethal retaliation is the leading cause of large mammal mortality. Our pilot playback experiments demonstrate that simulated human presence—broadcast through acoustic playbacks of local languages—can effectively elevate landscapes of fear and substantially reduce crop raiding and livestock depredation. However, most HWC interventions are rarely evaluated using extended, randomized, controlled experiments capable of testing long-term effectiveness and habituation. We will implement a landscape-scale playback experiment across multiple agropastoral communities in Laikipia to assess the sustained effectiveness of automated human playbacks in deterring African elephants, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs from crop raiding and livestock depredation. We hypothesize that large mammals in human-dominated landscapes will not habituate to these cues over time, and that our preliminary reductions of 83% in crop raiding and 90% in livestock depredation will persist throughout the study. ZAA funding will directly extend this experiment from four months to a full year, allowing robust evaluation of seasonal variation, habituation risk, and long-term conservation impact. Beyond reducing HWC locally, these findings will inform scalable, cost-effective deterrent strategies and increase global adoption of these devices to mitigate HWC.
2. Assessing Habitat, Population Dynamics, and Human-Wildlife Interactions of Giant Otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) in the Middle Paraguay River Basin: Initial Study and Conservation Actions for an Endangered Carnivore in a Critical Ecosystem
Organization: S.P.E.C.I.E.S. - LifeScape International, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Anthony Giordano
Location of Project: Paraguayan Pantanal
Our project is dedicated to the conservation of the Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) in the Paraguayan Pantanal, with the goal of assessing its current population status, evaluating habitat quality, understanding humanotter interactions, and leading conservation initiatives in collaboration with the government. We aim to address the "threat landscape" facing the species, including illegal trade, revenge killings, and habitat degradation. To achieve these objectives, we will implement key strategies, including field research to map otter distribution, estimate population size, and assess environmental threats such as habitat degradation. Through community engagement, we will conduct workshops, interviews, and participatory monitoring to ensure that local knowledge and perspectives guide conservation actions. A threat assessment will help us identify the limiting factors for otter populations, such as human-otter conflicts, and evaluate the potential for coexistence with local communities. Additionally, we will focus on conservation planning by working with Paraguay’s Ministry of Environment to integrate our findings into strategies for protecting otter habitats and creating national policies for the species. By collaborating with local partners like the Eco Pantanal Association and the Local Government of Bahía Negra, and engaging riverdependent communities, we aim to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability through community-based conservation efforts and supporting policy development. Consequently, this initiative will lay the foundation for the first-ever National Conservation Plan for Pteronura brasiliensis in Paraguay.
3. Preventing imminent habitat collapse: an emergency translocation with pilot evaluation of a critically endangered rock-dwelling rodent in southern Ecuador
Organization: Fundación Amazonía Productiva (FAP)
Principal Investigator: Mr. Jimmy Luis Japon Abad
Location of Project: Ecuador-Loja
A small family group of a critically endangered rock-dwelling hystricomorph rodent in southern Ecuador, located in the Toronche outcrop (upper Sauce sector, Quilanga), is facing imminent habitat collapse due to severe soil erosion and slope instability driven by recurrent wildfires and increasingly intense rainfall. This microhabitat shows active structural degradation, placing this isolated group at immediate risk of local extirpation. This project will implement an emergency translocation to a nearby suitable refuge (~3 km away) that meets the ecological requirements of the species. The intervention is designed as a carefully planned pilot, structured in three phases: (1) a pre-capture familiarization phase, including gradual habituation through non-invasive feeding and camera trap monitoring; (2) a capture and relocation phase involving trained handling, safe sedation, individual data collection, and GPS tagging; and (3) a post-release monitoring phase using camera traps and tracking devices to assess movement, habitat use, and behavioral adaptation. Expected outcomes include the successful relocation and short-term persistence of the family group, as well as the generation of key insights into the feasibility of conservation translocation in this poorly studied species. Funding from the Zoological Association of America will support the rapid implementation of this time-sensitive intervention and contribute to evidence-based conservation under increasing environmental instability.
4. Initiating Habitat Recovery for the Critically Endangered Abronia campbelli in a Newly Protected Area
Organization: Foundation for the Endangered Species of Guatemala FUNDESGUA
Principal Investigator: Mrs. Monica Torres
Location of Project: Jalapa, Guatemala
This project will initiate habitat restoration within a newly secured 26.65-hectare high-elevation cloud forest protected area, the first site permanently dedicated to the conservation of the Critically Endangered Campbell’s alligator lizard (Abronia campbelli) in Guatemala. The species is a microendemic restricted to a single mountain system with a historical range of approximately 10,000 hectares, of which only 360 hectares remain (3%). The remaining habitat persists as a mosaic of mature forest remnants, fragmented pine–oak and secondary forest, and isolated trees under increasing pressure from expanding industrial agriculture.
ZAA funding will support the implementation of habitat restoration through the planting of 10,000 native tree seedlings to restore 16.11 hectares of degraded forest within the protected area, using species selection informed by ecological studies along the elevational gradient. This intervention will establish the structural foundation for long-term habitat recovery and directly address a key limitation of previous efforts constrained to fragmented landscapes. It will also support an initial, site-based community engagement activity, strengthening local stewardship and long-term support for the newly protected area.
This project represents a critical first step in a long-term strategy to expand and reconnect habitat for one of Guatemala’s most threatened endemic species
2025 ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grants Recipients
Flamingo Lakes Conservation Network Project Location: Kenya
Guardians of the Flamingo Lakes: A School-Based Conservation Education and Awareness Initiative for Lake Nakuru and Lake Elementeita
Khamai Foundation
Rapid-response project to save the Mindo Toad: Urgent expansion of the Arlequín Reserve
GeoEnvironment & Biodiversity Conservation NGO
Sustainable conservation of the white-bellied pangolin through suitable habitat mapping and community engagement in Lama Forest Reserve in Benin.
Institute for Mitigation of Environmental Problems with Traditional Communities and Jaguars (IMPACTO)
Coexistence as a Result of the Adoption of Mitigation Practices in Conflicts Between Predators and Traditional Communities in the Brazilian Pantanal
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Detection of vaccine-associated Leptospira antibodies in captive white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) and black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis).
2024 ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grants Recipients
The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College
Butterfly Project-Housing Replacement for Captive Stock
Namibia University of Science and Technology and Namibia Development Trust
Investigating human behavior based on their perceptions and attitudes towards rhino conservation in north-central Namibia.
Turtle Survival Alliance
Reintroducing radiated tortoises to community protected forests in Southern Madagascar
Royal Society for Protection of Nature
Breeding Biology and Post-fledging Behavior of the Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis
Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Gabon
Mandrill Conservation and Research in Lope National Park, Gabon
2023 ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grants Recipients
Jemma University, Ethiopia
Spatial Ecology of the Endangered Beisa Oryx in Omo National Park, Ethiopia
Mbeya University of Science & Technology (MUST)
SARKERT- Saving Highland Mangabey from Extinction Risk in Tanzania
BirdLife Zimbabwe
Secretary Bird Research and Survey
Biodiversity Conservancy Nepal
Integrating camera traps for critically endangered Chinese pangolin
Mt Suswa Conservancy, Kenya
The Protection and Conservation of Threatened Harrison’s Giant Mastiff Bat
The Niabi Zoo in partnership with the University of Dubuque
Invertebrate and ichthyofaunal diversity across protected and altered riparian habitats in Paraguay
2022 ZAA Conservation Initiatives Grants Recipients
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
US - Texas Horned Lizard Project
Seaside Seabird Sanctuary
US - Understanding the Effects of Red Tide, Karenia brevis, on the Health of Vulnerable Gulf Coast Seabirds
National Eagle Center
US - Geographic Expansion of Well-Established Wintering Golden Eagle Survey
Partnership between Wildlife Medicine Research Center (CEMPAS) from Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, SP; Baruru Zoo, Bauru, SP; and Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG
Brazil - Dietary Nutritional Composition, Health Status and Cortisol of Free-ranging and Captive Collared Anteaters,
Tamandua tetradactyla.
Photo: Jolene Westerling
ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipients
Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project’s (PPRP) primary objective is the conservation and restoration of the peninsular pronghorn (Antilocapra americana peninsularis) to the desert regions of the Baja California Peninsula and southern California. Currently all PPRP activities take place within El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve and the Valle de los Cirios Flora and Fauna Protection Area, in the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. Due to expansion of agriculture and extensive ranching along with unrestricted hunting, the peninsular pronghorn population had decreased to fewer than 160 individuals by 1993 and was restricted to the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (SEMARNAT 2009).
Re:Wild Sumatran Rhinos
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
Re:wild works to protect Sumatran rhinos and their dense forest habitat on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinos are now found only in small, isolated populations, which has made it hard for them to easily find each other to breed. Experts with the Sumatran Rhino Survival Alliance are carefully working to help move rhinos to Sumatran Rhino Sanctuaries where they can live in natural forest and breed under human care. Eventually, future generations of rhinos will return to forests that are capable of supporting larger populations of rhinos.
Worth Wild Africa Namibian Vet Fund
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
Worth Wild Africa supports projects that research, monitor and conserve African wildlife; cultivating respect and understanding between people, animals and the environment. The Namibia Vet Fund is a specially dedicated conservation fund established by WWA to reimburse the costs of surgical equipment, disposable medical materials and drugs to veterinarians in Namibia when they carry out conservation and wild animal welfare work in the field - free of professional charges.
BirdLife International, Vulture Crisis
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
Old World Vultures have suffered some of the fastest bird declines ever recorded, some populations have decreased by 98%. Vultures have one of the most important roles in the ecosystem, keeping it clean. Vultures minimize the spread of diseases such as anthrax, rabies, and tuberculosis. The greatest threat has been poisoning, which has severely impacted all scavenger and predator populations alike throughout Africa. In 2017, the first ever Multi-species Action Plan for African-Eurasian Vultures was completed. This ambitious plan outlines steps to conserve all threatened vulture species over 128 countries.
BirdLife International's projects include:
Identifying poisoning – both intentional and unintentional – as the main
threat.
In the field, the first African Vulture Safe Zones – areas free of poisoning and persecution – was supported or implemented in six African
countries.
In Europe, a new phase of the ‘Ban vet diclofenac’ campaign was launched with the aim of banning the drug or preventing the renewal of its license in Spain in
2018.
In Asia, BirdLife ensured the MsAP was fully compatible with SAVE, the existing initiative to conserve Asia’s vultures.
To read BirdLife's most recent report and financial overview, click here.
Mabula Ground-Hornbill Project
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Mabula Ground-Hornbill Project's mission is to "To slow, then reverse the decline of the Southern Ground-Hornbill in South Africa."
The primary aim of the Southern Ground Hornbill Recovery Programme release was to establish a “Bush School” which would house young ground hornbills, so that they could acquire the necessary skills to survive free flying in Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency's Loskop Dam Nature Reserve. Two monitors, employed from the local community,
care for the birds during their time of adaptation, including feeding and daily recording of behaviour which alerts to nesting, egg laying, the fledging of chicks into the group and the dispersal of young birds from the group.
Per their website: Southern Ground-hornbills are considered internationally as "Vulnerable" throughout their sub-equatorial range in Africa by the IUCN, but within South Africa and Namibia they have already been classified as "Endangered", with their numbers outside of formally protected areas still declining. Their populations continue to decline towards being "Critically Endangered" in South Africa.
Chacoan Peccary - Chaco Center for Conservation and Research
2024-2025 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2023-2024 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
Chaco Center for Conservation and Research is the only facility within the natural range of the tagua that has an active breeding program for this endangered species. The goal is to use CCCI as the source population for the reintroduction of the tagua to former areas where it is now extinct. This would include both Argentina and Bolivia. In addition to the breeding program and on going research on the tagua and other two peccary species CCCI is a natural laboratory with a huge biodiversity that very little is known or has been studied. Starting in 2019 CCCI began a multi-year project looking at the habitat use and abundance of the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) in the Dry Chaco of Paraguay.
The Sahara Conservation Fund
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Sahara Conservation Fund focuses on reserve management, humanitarian assistance, and providing regional expertise. The SCF is a leading source of technical expertise in the conservation and restoration of highly threatened species in the Sahelo-Saharan ecosystem.
Some program highlights include:.
Protecting the biodiversity of the Ouadi Rime-Ouadi Achim Wildlife Reserve
In 2015, began the reintroduction of the scimitar-horned oryx. Long-term goals are to rebuild a free-living population of healthy numbers throughout their historical range
Assists with providing healthcare, health education, and dental services to locals.
Giraffe Conservation Foundation
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation's objective is to raise awareness and support towards securing a future for giraffe and the conservation of their habitat in 15 African countries across 45,000,000 acres. GCF identifies and evaluates threats to giraffe survival and develops ways to mitigate risks. They conduct research through collaring and tagging giraffes to learn more about their movement and habitat uses or needs. GCF is also involved in giraffe translocations taking giraffes to places where populations are too small or have gone extinct. GCF recognizes that giraffes will only be saved in Africa, by African people, so they are working to make communities proud of their giraffe.
International Rhino Foundation
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The International Rhino Foundation operates on-the-ground programs in Africa and Asia range countries, supporting viable populations of the five remaining rhino species and the communities that coexist with them. Through grants and field programs, IRF has funded rhino conservation efforts in 10 countries, focusing on scientific research, anti-poaching, habitat conservation, captive breeding, environmental education, and demand reduction. Over the last decade more than $20 million has been invested in rhino conservation. It conserves rhinos through a network of hundreds of conservation organizations, private foundations, corporations, government agencies, and individuals.
To view their most recent annual report, click here.
Wildlife Alliance
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Wildlife Alliance is an organization that works to protect one of the last unfragmented rainforests in Southeast Asia. Some of the most successful programs have achieved zero elephant poaching since 2006 and provided 24/7 ranger patrols across nearly 1.5 million acres, resulting in the arrest of 3,100 wildlife traffickers and seizing over 71,000 live animals and 36 tons of bushmeat.
Some program highlights include:
Rainforest Protection
- Reforestation
- Cardamom Rainforest Protection, currently at risk of being cleared for agriculture
- Southern Cardamom REDD+ (focuses on off-setting carbon admissions through forest protection and community development)
- Tropical tree species protectionWildlife Rescue and Care
- Tiger reintroduction
- Combat wildlife trafficking
- Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue CenterEducation and Communities
- Environmental education
- Livelihood and community
- Community rangers
To read the Wildlife Alliance's most recent report and financial overview, click here.
Turtle Survival Alliance
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) is a global force for reptile conservation that takes action on behalf of critically endangered turtles and tortoises. TSA studies turtle and tortoise populations worldwide. TSA is involved in the recovery efforts where a managed breeding component is part of an overall species survival strategy. TSA uses a comprehensive strategy for evaluating the most critically endangered species, which helps determine how they will address the problem – whether through a captive breeding program or through range country efforts, or a combination of both.
Ewaso Lion
2022-2023 ZAA Global Conservation Fund Recipient
Ewaso Lions is dedicated to conserving lions and other large carnivores by promoting coexistence between people and wildlife in Kenya. Through the creation of projects like Warrior Watch, Ewaso Lions transforms relationship that people have with the wildlife. Young Samburu warriors collect data on wildlife sightings and respond to community issues like livestock depredation. They warn farmers about where predators are to decrease the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict by simply avoiding areas with their livestock where a predator is known to be. Ewaso Lions also works with Kenyan women and children. Through Lion Kids Camp, Ewaso Lions educates and inspires young wildlife conservationists through a combination of wildlife education, safaris and conservation themed games and activities. Mama Simba is a program that empowers women to participate in lion conservation through providing them with the knowledge and skills to reduce their environmental impact while improving their livelihood and ability to coexist with wildlife.
To read their most annual report, click here.
Honorable Mention: The ZAA Global Conservation Fund
Formerly known as the Hall Family ZAA Wildlife Conservation Fund, this fund was established in memory of Lynn Hall's wife and two sons, and they honor the enduring legacy of the Hall family. For many years, the Hall family has made significant contributions to the art of captive animal management and propagation. This fund has supported vital wildlife projects, including conservation efforts, species propagation, and habitat restoration. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Hall family for their dedication to the survival of keystone species and numerous other threatened or endangered species across all seven continents.