South America Brazil Busch Gardens supports conservation efforts to protect the endangered Lear s macaw and its food source, gather behavioral data and monitor nest sites. Busch Gardens is the only zoological park in the world to have successfully bred the Lear s macaw. Asia Sabah, Malaysia Busch Gardens supports an ecological study on the endangered Bornean orangutan, a primate native to the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra. The research project studies the social and behavioral habits of these primates in a secondary growth forest. With the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Busch Gardens funds research in China to protect, preserve and learn about the giant panda.
Special attention is paid to habitat requirements and current threats to survival.
Australia Busch Gardens animal care specialists have traveled to Australia to help map existing koala habitat. Due to habitat destruction in its native country, the koala s survival may ultimately depend on this study as well as successful breeding programs at reserves and zoological facilities like Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. England SeaWorld created a World of Whales education program, including a teacher s guide and video, for schoolchildren throughout England. Antarctica Hubbs-SeaWorld researchers studied penguin vocalizations in the field to determine of all things gender. This information is shared with SeaWorld California, which in 1980 became the first zoological park to successfully breed emperor penguins outside of Antarctica.