Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo

Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo
Location	Gainesville, Florida, USA
No. of species	80
Memberships	AzA
Website	http://inst.sfcc.edu/~zoo/

The Santa Fe Community College Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, Florida is the only zookeeper training facility in the nation with its own Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo on grounds. Students spend 18 months learning about animal husbandry, breeding, nutrition, medical care, physiology, taxonomic relationships, conservation, enclosure construction, proper zoo sanitation, and other topics through classwork and actual work as keepers in the zoo.

The zoo houses 80 species of animals. These include many different types of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and birds. The zoo has around 250 individual animals in its collection. Although the collection may fluctuate. Some of the more well known species housed at the zoo include White handed gibbons (Hylobates lar), Matschie's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), and American bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). The SFCC teaching zoo also participates in several Species Survival Plan(SSP)programs. These include SSP's for Asian small clawed otters (Amblonyx cinereus), Red ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata rubra), White handed gibbon (Hylobates lar), Matschie's tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus matschiei), and Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis).

The mission of the SSP as stated by the AZA, is as follows:

• Organize scientifically-controlled managed breeding programs for selected wildlife as a hedge against extinction

• Cooperate with other institutions and agencies to ensure integrated conservation strategies

• Increase public awareness of wildlife conservation issues, including development and implementation of education strategies at AZA-member institutions and in the field

• Conduct basic and applied research to contribute to our knowledge of various species

• Train wildlife and zoo professionals

• Develop and test various technologies relevant to field conservation

• Reintroduce wildlife bred in zoos and aquariums into restored or secure habitat as appropriate and necessary.

The Species Survival Plan program began in 1981 as a cooperative population management and conservation program for selected species in zoos and aquariums in North America. Each SSP manages the breeding of a species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable. Beyond this, SSPs participate in a variety of other cooperative conservation activities, such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects. Currently, 107 SSPs covering 161 individual species are administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquarium, whose membership includes accredited zoos and aquariums throughout North America.

The teaching zoo was established back in 1970, and sits on 12 acres of forested land west of the main SFCC campus. The Zoo is a very popular destination for members of the local community, university and community college students, as well as families and tourists. The zoo holds several events that are open to the public throughout the year. These include STARS(Sea Turtles At Risk) day, and the "Boo at the zoo"(BATZ), which is the most well known.

Those who come to visit are given free personal guided tours throughout the entire zoo, by the zoo students/keepers. This is done to not only give the visitor a more educational and enjoyable experience, but these student guided tours also give the zoo students more experience in working with the general public, and public speaking.

External links

• http://www.sfcc.edu/zoo
• http://www.aza.org/