Accreditation for Pittsburgh Zoo will help save red pandas and reintroduce American bison

Mary Ann Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 25, 2024

Published in Outdoors

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PITTSBURGH — With recent gold standard accreditation, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is poised to lead in saving the endangered red panda and reintroducing the American bison.

The Zoo announced last Thursday that it regained accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums at the AZA convention in Calgary, Canada.

More than nine years ago, the Pittsburgh Zoo voluntarily left the AZA because of a disagreement about a then-new AZA safety policy calling for limiting unprotected contact between elephants and handlers.

The AZA represents more than 235 facilities in the United States and overseas, setting the most rigorous standards for animal care and other work.

“It’s a huge celebration not just for our zoo but for Pittsburgh and the region,” said Jeremy Goodman, president and CEO of the zoo, during a phone interview from Calgary.

“It’s something we are committed to — being the best every single day.”

The zoo plans to keep its other certifications and hopes to unite other organizations for a greater impact to benefit animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo and other institutions.

”The board of directors is delighted and has supported Dr. Goodman and the entire team throughout the process and appreciate the outcome,” said Donna Hudson, zoo board president.

AZA reaccreditation

Although the zoo left the AZA, it was accredited by the Zoological Association of America, which had more flexible policies.

A little more than three years ago, the zoo board voted unanimously to rejoin the AZA, Dr. Goodman said.

Shortly thereafter, the zoo hired Dr. Goodman, who has led three other zoos through accreditations.

When he arrived, the Pittsburgh Zoo already had policies and facilities ready for an accreditation process that is open just once each year.

“With all of our other certifications, the zoo was still in good shape,” Dr. Goodman said.

Physical modifications had to be made for the elephants, including facility requirements such as a taller barrier wall, he said

For years, Pittsburgh zookeepers had free contact with the elephants; a keeper was crushed to death during a morning exercise walk in 2002.

A 2006 report from the Zoological Society of London found the majority of elephant keeper injuries and deaths occurred in free contact management systems.

Red panda and American bison

The AZA accreditation is more than a certificate and bragging rights.

The zoo will take a lead role in helping to save the endangered red panda through AZA’s SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program, Goodman said.

Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh Zoo’s director of conservation, Shafkat Khan, was co-leader of a new AZA SAFE program for the red panda.

Numbers of the charismatic panda with red tear-dropped eye markings have plummeted by about 50% in the last two decades in its native Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and southern China.

Mr. Khan recently visited Nepal for two weeks to teach residents about replantings in panda habitats and other work.

The zoo is working with tribal nations to re-introduce the American bison to lands where they were historically found.

“We are very excited and have been prepping our International Conservation Center for breeding bison to release in the wild,” Dr. Goodman said.

Although elephants have been the primary animal historically at the center, more species will be coming, he said.

Other reintroduction programs in the works include native mussels and the Allegheny woodrat.

“So much of what we have been doing with these conservation programs now is a part of AZA, and we will be strong together,” Dr. Goodman said.

The public won’t notice a big difference at the zoo with the new accreditation, he said.

Behind the scenes, however, the zoo will become more involved in diversifying animal genetics among AZA institutions.

For example, the zoo has had the same pair of leopards for many years, and the AZA could recommend switching up the animals with another zoo.

The public will still see leopards, but those cats will become part of a larger population of leopards at other AZA zoos, Dr. Goodman said.

“We have quite a number of unique animals that are very valuable,” he said. “The fact that we get to participate in a program isn’t just for us, but benefits animals all over the place.”