Expanding Sacramento Zoo would help save endangered animals worldwide

UC Davis veterinarians recently performed a rare surgery on a snow leopard cub named Coconut at the Sacramento Zoo, attracting observers who watched live through glass windows and an online audience who played a video of the surgery more than 8,000 times.

The successful procedure draws attention to a partnership between UC Davis and the zoo that contributes to preservation efforts around the world. Davis vets shared what they learned with their peers, adding to a knowledge base that could help keep endangered snow leopards alive in zoos and in the wild.

Sacramento risks losing some of the benefits of this partnership if it doesn’t make improvements to the zoo. The zoo recently shared that it received a warning from its accreditation agency, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, that without improvements it could lose its good-standing status.

The zoo, which is home to more than 500 native, rare and endangered animals, is exploring a move to a larger site. A larger facility would enable the zoo and UC Davis to treat a larger number of animals, bringing world-class health care to the growing number of endangered species while preserving the zoo’s accreditation.

The two organizations that rank veterinary schools — US News & World Report and QS World University Rankings — ranked UC Davis number 1. Davis can help the zoo make the most of any expansion. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine helped establish the field of zoological medicine, bringing global notice to the 90-year-old zoo.

Zoo veterinarians trade information and procedures to ensure that all animals are kept healthy through caregiver training and well-informed procedures and policies. The zoo facilitates conservation through species care and breeding programs, research, education, and advocacy for climate action and environmental sustainability.

New exhibits and improved animal habitats could also help bring tourists to Sacramento, creating a local economic driver.

There are many questions to be answered regarding the future of the Sacramento Zoo, but a larger footprint would provide a home to more animals like Coconut, who has recovered well from the surgery. It would also enable the region to be a greater leader in global conservation.