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WORKING tOGETHER continued
WAHNA TS’SSP? I work with a population biologist at Lincoln Park Zoo. I go every other year and
make a formal breeding and transfer plan. I send them the data file that has my studbook
An AZA Species Survival in it. They put it into their software program*. When I show up, we look at where I need
Plan® (SSP) is a cooperative to move animals and how different pairings will affect my genetics. We might move
population management and animals around because we left them together for a couple of years and they didn’t breed.
conservation program for We try to figure out why. Maybe they just didn’t like each other. I talk with Australia and
select species of animals. Europe with regards to their populations and needs. To help with genetics, we can export
Many, but not all, of the one of ours or import one of theirs.
SSP species were chosen
because they are vulnerable or A lot of zoos want ambassador binturongs right now. I work with zoos that are
endangered in the wild. building new exhibits to see whether or not binturongs are a good fit for them. I can help
them get their binturongs on a good diet and get acclimated to the new exhibit. I can
The goal of the program is provide information on introduction protocols, containment requirements, and how to
to maximize genetic diversity introduce animals in a breeding pair. I work with the SSP’s veterinarian advisor at Saint
of animals in managed care Louis Zoo on overall population medical issues and trends.
through selective breeding and
the prevention of inbreeding and The binturong population is a special population because half of the animals are
hybridization. Another goal is to on exhibit and half are ambassador animals. Since half the babies born will leave the
ensure that animal populations breeding population to become ambassador animals, we need to breed binturongs to have
are demographically stable and a sustainable population in managed care. Without a binturong SSP, we wouldn’t have
self-sustaining. The studbook is binturongs in zoos for very long. They would eventually all age out.
a vital and necessary tool.
* Senior Conservation Scientist Emeritus for the Chicago Zoological Society Robert Lacy, Ph.D.,
An SSP is managed by an has been a giant in the fields of conservation biology and population genetics. Working with some
SSP coordinator who works collaborators, he created population modeling software that has been used by scientists at Lincoln Park
with the studbook keeper, a Zoo and the world over. He retired from CZS in 2019.
steering committee, advisors,
and other professionals. The BLUE-GREY TANAGER
SSP coordinator and the
studbook keeper are often the Tim Snyder, our curator of birds, has chaired the Passerines
same person. Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) for the past 10 years. Passerines
are songbirds and perching birds. The Passerines TAG currently
The AZA administers SSP oversees 42 SSP and monitored species of songbirds and perching
programs for more than 500 birds that are in professional care. AZA-accredited institutions
species of animals; Brookfield hold more than 5,000 individual animals covered by the TAG.
Zoo participates in 125 of them. A Taxon Advisory Group is a group of experts who organize conservation and breeding
The size, structure, and goals programs for a specific taxa, or group of animals. The Passerines TAG covers selected
of each SSP are based on the species of songbirds and perching birds in AZA-accredited facilities.
needs of the particular species.
There’s a Bear TAG, an Elephant TAG, a Waterfowl [Anseriformes] TAG, a Marine
Fishes TAG, a New World Primate TAG, and an Old World Monkey TAG. There’s a
Taxon Advisory Group for any major group of animals kept in our institutions.
A TAG includes all the program managers, SSP coordinators, studbook keepers,
and species monitors. It is governed by a steering committee made up of a chair, and 12
committee members who are elected by institutional representatives from [participating]
AZA-accredited institutions.
The TAG creates a Regional Collection Plan or RCP. An RCP provides institutions
with guidance on long-term goals and planning for their animal collections—for
example, which animals to keep in their facilities, what exhibits to build, what animals
to put in them. Recommendations are based on factors such as each institution’s level of
18 GATEWAYS | TAG TEAMS
