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Species Survival Plan® Program (IUCN/SSC) & Red List of Threatened Species

The global population of "Power Cats" introduced in the film is disappearing at an extremely alarming rate. As human population expands the farms, villages and cities dominate the areas that formerly comprised their territory. This encroachment results in diminished habitat and degraded prey stock for these predators that require large amounts of territory to survive in the wild.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ANIMAL WEBCAMS

IUCN - The World Conservation Union, through its Species Survival Commission (SSC) has for four decades been assessing the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations on a global scale in order to highlight species threatened with extinction, and therefore promote their conservation.

The Species Survival Plan® Program (SSP) began in 1981 as a cooperative population management and conservation program for selected species in zoos and aquariums in North America. Each SSP manages the breeding of a species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable.

SSP sponsors participate in a variety of other cooperative conservation activities, such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects. Currently, there are over 106 Species Survival Programs in place covering 161 individual species as administered by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, whose membership includes accredited zoos and aquariums throughout North America.

Primary targets for achievement of species preservation as implemented by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's follows these missions:

• Organize scientifically-controlled managed breeding programs for selected wildlife making every to prevent extinction.

• Cooperate with other Institutions and Agencies to ensure integrated conservation strategies.

• Increase public awareness of wildlife conservation issues, including development and implementation of educational strategies at American Zoo and Aquarium Association's
(AZA's) member institutions and in the field.

• Conduct basic and applied research to contribute to their knowledge of various species.

• Train wildlife and zoo professionals in all aspects of conservation.

• Develop and test various technologies relevant to field conservation.

• Reintroduce captive-bred wildlife into restored or secure habitat as appropriate and necessary.

Our mission at TigerHomes.org is to create and promote a desire in everyone to support wildlife and habitat conservation as well as captive breeding programs, like the SSP. In the case of the Siberian Tiger, for instance, wild populations are estimated at only around 350 to 410 animals therefore this animal faces a very real threat of extinction. However, another 490 individuals are managed in conservation programs like the SSP.

IUCN - The World Conservation Union, (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. IUCN Red List provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have been evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information (i.e. are Data Deficient); and on taxa that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation program (i.e. Near Threatened).

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