ATLANTA-FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC

Over the next three years, Zoo Atlanta is focused on building a stronger Zoo with excellent management, strong fiscal results, expanded programming, increased attendance and greater community access. During the past decade, the Zoo has worked diligently to become fiscally and operationally strong. Zoo Atlanta's new Strategic Plan focuses on six Key Commitments in Animal Care, Conservation, Research, Education, Guest Experience and Resource Management. Each year, the Zoo's leadership team creates a Business Plan that articulates strategies to obtain specific goals and objectives for each Key Commitment to ultimately further the Zoo's mission and vision. The expected outcomes of the Business and Strategic Plans are tracked throughout the year by Zoo staff and evaluated annually by the Board of Directors.

Goal I: Animal Care
We lead in animal care through world-class habitats, health care, animal well-being, and industry-leading staff.

1) Build a state-of-the-art Animal Care Complex.

2) Develop an improved and holistic collection plan that supports animal well-being, research, conservation and guest experience and minimizes the Zoo's footprint and regional climate.

Goal II: Conservation
We guide conservation action, both locally and globally, using our unique expertise and position. We lead by example and are excellent stewards of our environment.

1) Make a demonstrable, meaningful impact to conservation by committing resources, both financial and professional.

2) Educate and empower people to take conservation action.

Goal III: Research
We contribute to the body of scientific knowledge by utilizing the diversity of our living collections and the expertise of our staff.

1) Conduct research to develop best practices for the care of our animal population and conservation.

2) Conduct basic research to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge.

Goal IV: Education
We create fun and engaging experiences to connect our visitors with wildlife, provide and support curricula to improve students' understanding of the natural world, and empower individuals to take action.

Create a pathway of educational experiences allowing individuals to establish a lifelong connection to Zoo Atlanta and our mission.

Goal V: Guest Experience
We create and deliver a guest experience that is fun, interactive, inclusive of our diverse audience and inspires our guests to take conservation action.

1) Instill a guest-centric culture among staff, volunteers, and third-party vendors.

2) Establish Savannah Hall as one of metro Atlanta's premier special event destinations and utilize the space to enhance and expand Zoo Atlanta's events and programming.

3) Develop and implement a comprehensive disruption plan that enables Zoo Atlanta to improve guest experience and exceed guest expectations during the Grand New View construction phase and use this plan as a model for future Master Plan disruptions.

Goal VI: Resource Management
We manage our resources responsibility while serving our community. We ensure our long-term sustainability and pursuit of our mission and are a dynamic contributor to Atlanta's cultural and economic landscape.

1) Develop enhanced systems for collecting accident data to allow the development on concrete accident reduction strategies.

2) Contribute to build a strong foundation for financial and physical resource needs by increasing attendance, providing best-in-class guest experience, growing individual donor base and improving efficiencies through use of analytics and system integration.

3) Ensure the Zoo attracts, develops and retains talent by providing market-base compensation, enhanced professional development, and a work environment that promotes a culture of individual diversity, collaboration and leadership.

Zoo Atlanta team members are experts, educators, biologists and researchers. Zoo Atlanta is a champion of the biological sciences – zoology, ecology, ethology, population dynamics and more. Our staff are skilled experts with the knowledge and experience to evaluate risks to species and biodiversity and to create solutions based on sound science.

The Zoo is a world-class source of education for universities, K-12 schools and students, families and individuals of all age levels and all walks of life. As conservation educators, we make it the business of our profession to educate ourselves on local and global threats facing wildlife and their habitats so that we can share what we know and inspire personal conservation action.

Zoo Atlanta reintroduces animals back to their native ranges in the wild. It is safe to say that species such as the golden lion tamarin would not exist in the wild today without the work of zoos like Zoo Atlanta. Zoo-based reintroduction programs are the basis for some of the most notable conservation success stories of our time.

We know the importance of persistence and long-term commitment to conservation programs, and we have the resolve it takes to follow through when progress may be years or even decades in the making. Zoo Atlanta scientists have the data and the know-how to use population modeling to align new initiatives with past efforts that have worked and to make modifications to efforts that have not.

Zoo Atlanta creates connections that inspire people to care about species and their habitats. In today’s era of mobile technology, people are more disconnected with the natural world than ever before. We are rearing new generations who are becoming increasingly “tuned out” of nature.

We preserve future options for wildlife by maintaining assurance colonies of endangered species in hopes of one day repopulating some species in the wild when current threats are eliminated. We are now in the midst of a mass extinction event, and it is our responsibility to ensure that no one we have an opportunity to touch fails to grasp what that really means.

Zoo Atlanta offsets the threats to wild populations by addressing real-world challenges for animals, plants and their environments. Conservation is a function of hope, and where we see hope, we take action. Zoos have the expertise to assess the long-term ability of animal populations to survive in the face of human-made pressures such as habitat loss, habitat degradation, overharvesting, poaching and disease. Zoos work directly with local, state and federal agencies and with international conservation partners to address challenges we know are contributing to animal population decline.

We contribute to a global body of scientific knowledge and provide aid for our partners in the field. The work of zoos helps us better understand the needs and behaviors of wild animals, enabling all of us to do a better job of preserving species in their native habitats.

There were several activities and partnerships that took place during the last 12 months that furthered Zoo Atlanta’s mission to save wildlife and their habitats through conservation, research, education and enhancing experiences. In 2018, Zoo Atlanta welcomed 856,441 visitors, and 354,442 individuals participated in the Zoo’s public, school and family education programs. The Zoo served more than 105,500 individuals in 2018 through several key community access programs and partnerships to ensure all members of the community can enjoy the Zoo.

The Zoo partnered with KultureCity in 2018 to achieve certification as a sensory inclusive destination, becoming just the third visitor venue in Atlanta to offer certified resources and accommodations for guests with sensory needs. Sensory bags, equipped with noise canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and other resources, are available to all guests at the Member Services Office. Zoo grounds also include three Quiet Areas and six Headphone Zones, marked with signage and are identifiable on the Zoo’s map.

Animal highlights in 2018 included the births of an Angolan colobus infant, Gerri; Guatemalan beaded lizards; crowned lemur twins; Chilean flamingos; cape cobras; Guira cuckoos; and many more. New to the Zoo in 2018 was critically endangered male Sumatran Tiger, Sparky; a pair of critically endangered male African slender-snouted crocodiles; an endangered male drill; and an endangered female giant otter, Tocantins.

Conservation is at the forefront of Zoo Atlanta’s mission, and there is a long history of conservation program support and scientific research focused on enhancing a global body of knowledge on animal behavior. The Quarters for Conservation program, which donates 25 cents of every Zoo admission ticket to projects for wildlife, provided program funding in 2018 for the East Africa Vulture Project, Project Bush Dog and the Tiger Conservation Campaign. The 2018-2019 Quarters for Conservation projects are Lion Guardians, Drill Ranch and Rainforest Trust.

In 2018, Zoo Atlanta had yet another banner year in producing major research publications. Zoo colleagues have now been responsible for a more than 350 publications since 1978, which is when the Zoo started keeping records. Through efforts of Zoo Atlanta team members and collaborations with researchers at other institutions and academia, the animal population at the Zoo continues to further the knowledge about the basic biology of animals, as well improves and advances veterinary care and animal well-being.