Naples Zoo Conservation Projects
Click the red icons on the map below to see a sampling of recent conservation projects supported by your Zoo! You can also view them all on one page.

What You Can Do
You have incredible power to change the world by what you buy, whom you support, and how you live. Find out what you can do today for conservation.

If you'd like to help support the nonprofit Naples Zoo in our overall conservation and education mission, please consider making a donation to Naples Zoo. (Learn more about supporting our award-winning nonprofit organization.)

A History Rooted in Conservation . . .

Today's nonprofit nationally accredited Zoo has a rich history in conservation. The stewards of the Naples Zoo have long supported this ethic. In 1904, founder Dr. Henry Nehrling (pictured at left) urged "It is high time to protect and preserve what is still left in Florida." In the 1950s, Julius Fleischmann rescued and expanded Nehrling's forgotten trees and planted new species to create a tropical garden attraction. In 1969, zoo founders Lawrence and Nancy Tetzlaff (shown below at the Toledo Zoo) introduced wild animals into the garden. For decades, they taught programs on the need for conservation through film footage they'd taken on four continents. These programs included domestic concerns like the mid-1960s presentation "The Vanishing Everglades" and international issues in programs like "Brightest East Africa."



Inside the botanical garden, the natural atmosphere has promoted the reproduction of many rare and difficult to breed species. Today, a volunteer Board of Directors oversees the organization and works with a dedicated staff including the Tetzlaff's sons David and Tim to carry on the original vision.

Join with us in continuing their work by becoming a zoo member and helping to support at least one program for wild animals. We're in this together. Click here for the zoo's history.