ANIMAL CONSERVATION
To participate effectively in the preservation and conservation of selected wildlife species, natural biological diversity and natural habitat not only on our own land but also, whenever possible, in the natural range of the selected species.

IUCN RED LIST CATEGORIES
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), which makes animal population assessments and categorizes them by criteria based on these reports. The IUCN categories below will help identify the the level of threat each species faces.
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NOT EVALUATED: A taxon is “not evaluated” when it has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.

DATA DEFICIENT: A taxon is “data deficient” when there is inadequate information to make a direct or indirect assessment of its extinction risk based on its distribution and/or population status. A taxon in this category may be well-studied, and its biology well-known, but appropriate data on population is lacking. Data deficient is therefore not a category of threat.
Listing of taxa in this category indicates more information is required and acknowledges the possibility that future research will show that threatened classification is appropriate. It is important to make positive use the available data. In many cases, choosing between this status and threatened requires great care.

LEAST CONCERN: A taxon is “least concern” when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for near threatened. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

NEAR THREATENED: A taxon is “near threatened” when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for vulnerable yet. However, it is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

VULNERABLE: A taxon is “vulnerable” when the best available evidence indicates that it is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

ENDANGERED: A taxon is “endangered” when the best available evidence indicates that it is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (CR): A taxon is “critically endangered” when the best available evidence indicates that it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

EXTINCT IN THE WILD: A taxon is “extinct in the wild” when it is known to only survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population(s) well outside the historic range. A taxon is presumed extinct in the wild when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat – at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual) – throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual. Surveys should be over a timeframe appropriate to the taxon’s lifecycle.

EXTINCT: A taxon (organism grouping for biological classification) is “extinct” when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A taxon is presumed extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat – at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual) – throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual. Surveys should be over a timeframe appropriate to the taxon’s lifecycle.
SPECIES MANAGEMENT
While not all of Fossil Rim’s animals are threatened, the vast majority of them are. Fossil Rim participates in the AZA’s Animal Programs, which include Species Survival Plan Programs. These SSPs strive to manage and conserve an ex situ species population through the cooperative actions of AZA institutions and other
conservation partners. Most SSPs manage threatened or endangered species, and are in place to create sustainable captive (or ex situ) populations over a 100-year timespan, thus establishing populations for assurance, study and sometimes reintroduction to the wild. There are more than 500 SSPs.
ENDANGERED OR THREATENED SPECIES ON THE GOSDIN SCENIC DRIVE
While on the Gosdin Scenic Drive, you can see these species that are so rare in the wild they are considered threatened or endangered by the IUCN. Some, like the addax and addra gazelle, are critically endangered with only about 100-200 individuals remaining in the wild. The scimitar-
horned oryx was extinct in the wild until 2016, when a small group was reintroduced into Chad. One of the scimitar-horned oryx calves you see at Fossil Rim may end up in the wild, considering we have and will continue to contribute to the released population!