OUR STORY

Our Mission

What is the Animal Park at the Conservators Center?

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.”—Baba Dioum, 1968.

The Animal Park at the Conservators Center strives to provide a premier educational experience at every level of zoological involvement, from the public experience on our park tours to an industry-leading internship program for future animal husbandry professionals. Our goals encompass the development of industry best practices as well as a holistic understanding of infrastructure and care requirements for these species in human care. The Animal Park’s educational initiatives and programs work in tandem with our advisory relationships with other facilities across the continent and around the globe as well as at the local, state, and national levels of government.

The Animal Park at the Conservators Center’s mission is

educating people, caring for animals, and advocating for species.

Predator management is one of the most difficult conservation challenges facing humanity; we have to decide what kind of world we want to leave for future generations. Humanity must choose to live in a world that has lions, tigers, wolves, and other large carnivores and to make the sacrifices to ensure that world exists.

We believe you are more likely to become invested in these species after meeting them and learning about their inherent value. By introducing visitors to rare, threatened, and endangered species, the Park’s animal residents serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts.

Throughout our 25-year history, the Animal Park at the Conservators Center has supported wildlife education and conservation. Our dedication to public wildlife education extends from on-site tours to the multiple educational and institutional partnerships the Park maintains, its participation in statewide educational programming, its advocacy of responsible and deliberate exotic animal husbandry at the state and federal levels of government, and its international support of wildlife facilities across the globe.

When controversy arises, it is part of the mission of the Animal Park to advocate for and educate the public by providing detailed information so that people can make up their minds on a given issue. We will always pledge to provide the most accurate and thorough information to the public as possible.

Family Adventures

Have you ever looked a lion, tiger, leopard, or wolf in the eye? Had a “conversation” with a jungle cat? Witnessed the flickering tufts of a caracal’s ear? What on earth is a binturong—and why is it so important to its natural ecosystem?

Discover all this and much more when you join us for an Adventure tour at the Animal Park!