According to the IUCN Red Book, more than 40,000 species are endangered out of the 142,500 assessed (data from 2022)! It is almost 28%. This is the case for 41% of amphibians, 37% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 63% of cycads, 33% of reef corals, 26% of mammals, 21% of reptiles and 13% of birds. It is only a per mille of all species living on Earth. It is estimated that currently between 2 and 100 million species may live on our globe.

Although new, new ones are constantly described, most of them immediately go to the endangered list.
The massive loss of biodiversity will drastically affect our lives, both in the economic, biological and social spheres. It is closely related to the climate catastrophe. That is why it is so important to fight to preserve it. These little battles are fought, among others, by zoo with a mission.

– Species protection is basically the only justification for the existence of zoos today – emphasizes Radosław Ratajszczak, President of the Wrocław Zoo, a trained biologist who was the first Pole to sit on the EAZA and WAZA Management Boards.

Currently, it is estimated that only 4 percent. the terrestrial mammals’ biomass are wild animals. The remaining 96% are us, humans and our farm animals. Although various types of menageries already existed in antiquity, the Vienna Zoo, established in 1752, is considered to be the first modern zoo.

Zoos have come a long way since then. From the maxim “nature should serve man” to “man should serve nature”, the role of gardens has also changed.

The activities of modern zoos include primarily: breeding endangered species of animals, broadly understood nature education and scientific research.

The zoo in Wrocław is the oldest facility of this type in Poland (opened in 1865). At present, the Wrocław zoo is home to about 12,000 individuals representing over 1,100 species! Most of them are threatened with extinction. This applies to both charismatic and well-known species such as elephants, rhinoceros and tigers, as well as to those less known, but equally important for ecosystems, such as kebabs (called mousyrells), saber-horned oryx or okapi.

For this purpose, the Wrocław zoo has established the Wrocław DODO ZOO Foundation, with which it collects funds annually and donates over half a million zlotys to over 30 projects supporting wild animals in their natural environment around the globe.

By visiting the Wrocław zoo and selecting the “DODO ZOO to rescue ticket” (only PLN 1 more expensive), you support not only conservative breeding of endangered species in the zoo, but also their survival in nature.