Great news from Czechia as five Critically Endangered Brazilian Merganser ducklings hatched at Prague Zoo!

This is the first time this species is bred in Europe, as Prague Zoo is the only breeding facility for this species outside Brazil. Since 2020, the zoo has been supporting local organisations with both in-situ research and ex-situ conservation efforts for the species.

With fewer than 250 individuals estimated to remain in the wild, the conservation breeding programme is an important part of the integrated conservation plan for the species.

Zoos Victoria's successful conservation breeding programme for the Baw Baw frog has resulted in the release of over 3,000 frogs and froglets into the forests of the Baw Baw plateau, in Victoria, Australia.
 

This species is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the wild, due to habitat loss and the deadly chytridiomycosis disease, caused by the chytrid fungus. The release of zoo-bred animals aims to boost the wild population and is a key part of the collaborative conservation plan for the species.

A new initiative for the conservation of polar bears has been launched at Saint Louis Zoo!

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The new "Center for Polar Bear Conservation" is one of 17 centres created by Saint Louis Zoo Wild Care Institute for the conservation of species and habitats all over the world. The new centre will support multiple activities for the protection of this threatened species, such as research of their movements and behavioural ecology in the wild, mitigating human-wildlife conflicts, and outreach programmes with local communities.

Over 1,300 critically endangered Desertas Island land snails were released into the wild, in the Bugio Island in Madeira, Portugal. Almost driven to extinction by invasive species, these snails are the last of their kind on the planet.

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Chester Zoo has successfully bred the species in human care, and has since then sent them to other zoos - Bristol and Beauval - as part of a breeding programme. Reintroducing captive-bred individuals into areas where the invasive species that threaten them were eradicated is a vital part of the conservation strategy for the species.

Twenty four kulans were reintroduced into Kazakhastan's Torgai Steppe, part of a larger conservation initiative to reintroduce large herbivores to support biodiversity and ecosystems in the area. This species of wild donkey is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List, and Tiergarten Nürnberg has been supporting local organisations in conservation efforts to re-establish populations of this and other species in the region.