Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations

The Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (German: Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz e.V., ZGAP) is a German non-governmental conservation organisation founded on 9 April 1982 in Munich by a small group of conservation enthusiasts led by Roland Wirth. It is registered as a non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein) and is based in Munich. Its declared mission is the conservation of highly endangered but little-known animal species and their habitats — species that often lack public attention and media coverage, and whose names are sometimes barely known even to specialists. ZGAP works primarily through in-situ conservation projects and by supporting and co-founding conservation breeding stations. It is a national NGO member of the IUCN, an associate member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), an associate member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and a member of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). Its work spans the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Djibouti, China and Ecuador, among other regions. Among the species ZGAP has championed are the Prince Alfred's deer (Rusa alfredi), the Vietnamese primates including the Hatinh langur (Trachypithecus hatinhensis) and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus), the riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis), the Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi), the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), the Java warty pig (Sus verrucosus), the Java green magpie (Cissa thalassina), the northern river terrapin (Batagur baska), the grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus) and the Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii). Since 2016 ZGAP has annually designated a "Zootier des Jahres" (Zoo Animal of the Year) to draw attention to acutely threatened species, with funds raised going to selected conservation projects. The organisation also maintains working groups, notably the Parrot Working Group known as the "Fonds für bedrohte Papageien" (Fund for Endangered Parrots), founded in 1989. It operates through volunteer effort, with board members and other members elected to various IUCN Species Survival Commission specialist groups. ZGAP publishes a magazine twice a year and runs several foundations, including the Hatta-Gollwitzer-Stiftung, the Stründen-Papageien-Stiftung and, since 2023, the Threatened Island Mammals & More Foundation (TIMM).

The Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP) was founded on 9 April 1982 in Munich by a small group of conservation enthusiasts, including Roland Wirth, as a non-profit association. Its stated goal was to protect highly endangered but little-known animal species and secure their survival. In 1983 the giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani) was chosen as the society's heraldic animal, and an emblem was designed by the illustrator Helmut Diller (1911–1984), a ZGAP member. One of the first species ZGAP drew attention to was the Prince Alfred's deer (Rusa alfredi) in 1984, which was on the brink of extinction. At the time, the IUCN Red List did not recognise the species; until 1983 it had been classified only as a subspecies, Cervus unicolor alfredi, of the sambar, and the Red List then listed only species, not subspecies. ZGAP researched the deer, contacted experts, and contributed organisationally and financially to a rescue programme involving various zoos in Europe, Australia and the USA. In 1990 a conservation breeding project began in close cooperation with the Philippine government; by 2015 the breeding population exceeded 110 animals. ZGAP expanded its activities significantly in the Philippines, helping to initiate a project to research the cat-sized cloud rats (Phloeomys spp., Crateromys spp.). Long-term conservation measures were continued for deer and cloud rats as well as new activities for flying foxes (Pteropus spp.), the Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons), the Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), hornbill species (Penelopides spp., Aceros spp.), bleeding-heart doves (Gallicolumba spp.), Philippine eagle-owls (Bubo philippensis) and sailfin lizards (Hydrosaurus spp.). Similar activities were undertaken and supported in other countries, including Vietnam, where ZGAP conducted and co-financed a search for threatened primates in close cooperation with the IUCN. A breeding and rescue station (EPRC) for primates confiscated from illegal captivity was established in Cuc Phuong National Park. European zookeepers worked there under often difficult conditions, training Vietnamese staff in the care of valuable animals. This led to the world's first captive breeding of the Delacour's langur and the Hatinh langur (Trachypithecus hatinhensis), which had been thought extinct. Projects for the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) in the Na Hang Nature Reserve and for the Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus) were started in 1998 and 2000 respectively and are also conducted long-term. Since 1998 the society has maintained a project for the riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis). Projects for the Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi) on the Tanzanian island of Pemba, the Sichuan partridge (Arborophila rufipectus) in China and the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) in Ethiopia are co-financed and supervised. ZGAP's initiative to survey threatened ungulate populations even in politically unstable regions of the Horn of Africa, creating baseline data for future conservation concepts, received international recognition. Observations of the dibatag (Ammodorcas clarkei), an endemic antelope species in the Ogaden region of south-eastern Ethiopia, and the beira (Dorcatragus megalotis) in Djibouti were collected in various surveys since 1997. Measures to protect the last approximately 200 Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus swaynei) in a small retreat in central Ethiopia are in progress. In cooperation with Allwetterzoo Münster, ZGAP created the "International Centre for Turtle Conservation", a globally unique station for the conservation breeding of critically endangered Asian turtle species. Projects for two more of the twenty-five most endangered primate (sub)species, the black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara) and the white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus), are also supported by ZGAP. The supervision and monitoring of all these activities is carried out exclusively on a voluntary basis, as is the semi-annual publication of the magazine. The two chairpersons of the society and other members are elected to various specialist groups of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, ensuring coordination of ZGAP conservation projects with those of other conservation organisations and effective use of funds. Working groups (AK) include the Parrot Working Group, known as the "Fonds für bedrohte Papageien" (FbP), founded in 1989 for parrot conservation projects, supporting species such as the citron-crested cockatoo (Cacatua s. citrinocristata), the Ecuador amazon (Amazona lilacina), the yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis) and the grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus). In 2023, thanks to private donors, another ZGAP foundation was established: the Threatened Island Mammals & More Foundation (TIMM), focusing on endangered island endemic species. Its first project, starting in spring 2024, will support the conservation of highly endangered Indonesian wild cattle, anoas, on Buton, using camera traps and genetic sampling to estimate populations and potentially establish a conservation breeding programme with confiscated animals.

• 2024

  First TIMM-funded project for anoas on Buton planned to start in spring.

• 2023

  Threatened Island Mammals & More Foundation (TIMM) established.

• 2022

  40th anniversary; ZGAP supported 10 additional projects to mark the occasion.

• 2016

  ZGAP began annually designating a "Zootier des Jahres" (Zoo Animal of the Year).

• 2000

  Project for the Cat Ba langur started.

• 1998

  Project for the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey started; riverine rabbit project began.

• 1997

  Surveys of dibatag and beira antelopes started in the Horn of Africa.

• 1990

  Conservation breeding project for Prince Alfred's deer began with the Philippine government.

• 1989

  Parrot Working Group "Fonds für bedrohte Papageien" (Fund for Endangered Parrots) founded.

• 1984

  ZGAP drew attention to the critically endangered Prince Alfred's deer (Rusa alfredi).

• 1983

  Giant sable antelope chosen as heraldic animal; emblem designed by Helmut Diller.

• 1982

  Founded on 9 April in Munich as a non-profit association by a small group of conservation enthusiasts.

A volunteer-driven German conservation NGO focused on highly endangered but little-known species, operating through international partnerships and conservation breeding stations.

• Conservation breeding programmes

  Breeding programmes for critically endangered species such as the Prince Alfred's deer, Hatinh langur, and various turtle and parrot species.

• In-situ protection projects

  Field projects to protect species and their habitats in countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

• Zoo Animal of the Year campaign

  Annual campaign since 2016 to raise awareness and funds for acutely threatened species.

• Fund for Endangered Parrots

  Parrot Working Group founded in 1989 to support parrot conservation projects.

• Conservation foundations

  Includes Hatta-Gollwitzer-Stiftung, Stründen-Papageien-Stiftung, and TIMM Foundation.

• Zootier des Jahres (Zoo Animal of the Year)

1. 1ZGAP - Hilfe für unbekannte hochbedrohte Arten - Startseitezgap.de
2. 2ZGAP - Hilfe für unbekannte hochbedrohte Arten - Geschichtezgap.de
3. 3ZGAP - Hilfe für unbekannte hochbedrohte Arten - Über unszgap.de
4. 4ZGAP - Hilfe für unbekannte hochbedrohte Arten - Threatened Island Mammals & More-Stiftungzgap.de
5. 5Wikidata: Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populationswikidata.org
6. 6Wikipedia (German): Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutzde.wikipedia.org