Conservation is vital to the survival of all species, world-wide. ALL reputable and accredited zoos are tasked with contributing to conservation today. The Monterey Zoological Society Board of Directors believes that zoos are in fact the “insurance policy for the survival of all remaining animal species”, a challenge we take very seriously. To accomplish that task, zoos must share their animals with visitors who obviously can not travel the great distances that might enable them to see and learn about such animals in their native habitats. By sharing, we educate and inspire visitors to recognize the tremendous value of those animals and to hopefully contribute to their conservation. Zoo’s also contribute to the survival of all animal species by participating in breeding and management programs, both captive and in the wild, with the hope of eliminating any further extinction of  animal species in the future. We need to be able to perfect breeding programs in captivity in order to assure the continued existence of EVERY  remaining species should catastrophe strike in the wild. To accomplish all the above, funding is a vital ingredient that once again, zoos are charged with helping to solicit and distribute to those accomplishing such vital conservation efforts.

Monterey Zoo very proudly introduced our unique and rewarding “Conservation Hall” project in 2022. Daily visitors are refunded twenty-five cents of their admission to our zoo in the form of a wooden-quarter, after which they are directed to a special hallway to enter the zoo. This hallway is lined with displays and receptacles that represent over forty different conservation efforts world-wide. Visitors choose which conservation effort their quarter will be donated to. Monterey Zoo carefully chooses which conservation efforts are displayed in our hall to assure that they are in fact non-profit organizations contributing to true animal and/or habitat conservation. We try to represent as many animal species as possible as our display continues to grow. By the end of November, 2023, this display proudly raised over $11,000.00 towards animal conservation efforts world-wide. We also hope other zoos will explore this method of allowing visitors to participate in conservation efforts that they feel the most passionate about… It could also stimulate a thought process in the minds of visitors that could result in additional conservation efforts. In our case, it did just that when a visitor asked if we ever hosted dedicated fund-raising events for a specific species. (see below)

Here are some of the conservation organizations benefiting from Monterey Zoo’s Conservation Hall          

We invite all to explore and visit the websites of all these organizations that are very deserving of your support. You can also learn much more about them by visiting the CONSERVATION HALL at Monterey Zoo.

An Evening of “Saving Rhinos“…   

On November 11th, 2023, Monterey Zoo hosted its first formal fundraiser, dedicated to the conservation of a single iconic species we’ve grown very fond of, Rhinos. This event was unique in that our zoo shared its donor list, a list that most non-profits are very protective of, with another non-profit organization in the hope of achieving a common goal, the protection, survival and conservation of rhinos world-wide. The International Rhino Foundation (representing rhinos in Indonesia) and Care for Wild (representing rhinos in Africa) were the chosen organizations to benefit from this event. Monterey Zoo donated ALL overhead cost for the event so that 100% of the funds raised would go completely to these organizations. By the end of a very special ~ rewarding evening and thanks to an extremely generous and caring Monterey Zoo donor base, $105,000.00 was raised to help assure the survival or the five remaining rhino species on the planet today.

As successful as we feel our “Saving Rhinos” event was, we hope to be able to host similar events in the future at Monterey Zoo as well as to inspire other zoos to consider our template for hosting similar events at their facilities.  

Those who are familiar with our history and that of our founding-director, Charlie Sammut, are very aware of our love and allegiance to African Lions… For that reason we do work a bit harder to support lion conservation in the wild as well as to participate in African Lion Animal Management Programs and Species Survival Plans in captivity. In doing so, we very much ask that you visit, explore and consider supporting both Niassa Lion Project and Zambeze Delta Conservation to support their efforts to conserve and preserve this iconic species in the wild.