Denver Zoo announces wildlife conservation efforts expanding to Africa

The Denver Zoo announced Monday it will expand its wildlife conservation efforts to Africa, working in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.

“Mountain gorillas and their wild habitats are among the species and landscapes that Denver Zoo is focusing on that have a high conservation need,” Regional Conservation Director for Africa at Denver Zoo Dr. Lynn Von Hagen said.

The zoo will be working in partnership with the organization Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) which focuses on the intersection of wildlife and human health in and around Bwindi.

"CTPH regularly monitors the health of the Bwindi gorilla groups through fecal samples, engages with local villagers on zoonotic disease prevention, trains rangers and porters on best practices for gorilla tourism, and supports livelihood projects, such as coffee growing for the local community," according to the Denver Zoo's Monday news release announcing the partnership.

This is not the only international effort the Denver Zoo is working on right now. It's partnering with Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA) to help protect endangered grey crowned cranes, according to its Monday news release.

“We recruit and train Community Conservation Champions who live nearby crane habitats and work hard to monitor and protect the species and raise awareness among local communities to care for the wetland habitats," RWCA Executive Director Dr. Olivier Nsengimana said.

The Denver Zoo also recently announced a new wildlife conservation program in Southeast Asia . These are just a few of more than 600 of the zoo's projects in 62 countries to support wildlife conservation since 1997.

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