Endangered Species & Breeding

Breeding Programmes

We are part of the European Ex situ Programme where we hold and breed threatened species to bolster their populations.

We are members of both EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) and BIAZA (The British Association of Zoos and Aquaria). Our keepers and management team work to high ethical standards to ensure Drusillas remains one of the best zoos in the country both for visitors and for our animals. EAZA Ex situ Programmes (EEPs) are population management programmes for animal species that are managed by EAZA Members.

The aim of EEPs is to have and maintain healthy populations of healthy animals within EAZA and beyond. Currently EAZA manages programmes for over 400 different species.

We are part of 24 EEPs that include some of the most threatened species in the world. Our EEP species ratio within our collection is just over 50%. As part of our conservation strategy and collection plan, we want to boost that number to 75% by 2030.

We have the privilege of caring for many vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered species at Drusillas, and are proud to have been successful in our breeding efforts for many of them:

Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactylus)
Red panda (Ailurus fulgens)
Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)
Rodrigues fruit bats (Pteropus rodricensis)
Two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
Golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia)
Binturong (Arctictis binturong)
Black lemur (Eulemur macaco macaco)
Black-capped squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis)
Common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)
Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus)
Emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator)
Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii)
Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)
Lar gibbon (Hylobates lar)
Pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea)
Red-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas)
Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)
Silvery marmoset (Mico argentatus)
Eastern black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)
Sulawesi crested macaque (Macaca nigra nigra)
White-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia)
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta)
Yellow Breasted Capuchins (Sapajus xanthosternos)

Studbook Keeping

For many animal species, there will be a studbook keeper or coordinator tasked by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to monitor captive animal populations throughout Europe.

Drusillas cooperates closely with studbook keepers who collect data on animals held in collections, and enter it into a studbook. This information includes details on which animal is related to which and monitors all the births, deaths and movements of animals between collections.

Record Keeping

Drusillas has been recognised by the Zoo Information Management System (ZIMS) for its high level of data accuracy. Animal records are important to animal collections; they are a bit like the records that doctors keep on humans. ZIMS maintains the information provided by the zoological community on an international scale, so its members can track the movement of an animal along with its genetic background. Drusillas fall into the top 5% of all zoos worldwide that use the animal record-keeping system for their high level of data precision.

Keeper Training and Studies

So that we can ensure our animals receive the best care, keeper training is paramount at Drusillas, both in-house and through external courses. Most keepers study the Diploma in the Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals which allows them to gain a broader understanding of how zoos work and improve their knowledge of animal care, husbandry diets, and enclosure design which enables them to carry out research into areas that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to explore.

Drusillas Zoo Keepers and external students also undertake research at the Park, which is used by other zoos and can sometimes be published. For example, our Head Keeper, Mark Kenward, won the Best Presentation Award at the mammal working group conference for one of his research projects which not only benefits the animals at Drusillas but also animals at other collections.

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