Your Impact in 2025: How You Helped Protect Wildlife and Advance Conservation
As a new year begins, it is the perfect time to reflect on the impact made possible through the generosity of supporters like you. In 2025, donor support helped the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy protect endangered species, strengthen conservation partnerships, and advance critical programs both in Canada and around the world.
Because of you, real and measurable conservation progress happened. From species recovery efforts to community education and world-class veterinary care, your support helped turn commitment into action.
Below are some of the key conservation milestones you helped make possible in 2025.
Protecting Canadian Species at Risk
Canada is home to many species at risk, and donor support plays a vital role in protecting them. In 2025, conservation efforts for the Blanding’s turtle continued to move forward through the Toronto Zoo’s Headstarting Program.
Thanks to your generosity, 52 Blanding’s turtles were successfully released into Rouge National Urban Park last year. This brings the total number of turtles returned to the wild since the program began to nearly 800. These releases help strengthen wild populations and give this threatened species a better chance of long-term survival.
Protecting native wildlife is a core part of conservation work at the Toronto Zoo, and donor support ensures these programs can continue year after year.
Creating Space for Conservation Connection
Conservation does not stop in the field. It also begins with education, inspiration, and community connection.
With your support, the Community Conservation Centre is coming to life at the Toronto Zoo. This new space is designed to bring people closer to conservation through hands-on workshops, school programs, and community learning experiences. The Centre will inspire future conservation leaders by giving visitors the tools and knowledge they need to protect wildlife and wild spaces in their own communities.
Your generosity is helping create a place where learning turns into action.
Reaching an Important Conservation Milestone
Some conservation successes take decades, and your support helped bring one of those journeys to a meaningful milestone in 2025.
After more than 30 years of dedicated effort, the black-footed ferret breeding and reintroduction program concluded. Between 1993 and 2025, a total of 502 kits were raised through the program, including 18 kits in its final year. Once considered nearly extinct, black-footed ferrets have been successfully restored to the wild thanks to long-term commitment, scientific expertise, and donor support.
This milestone represents what is possible when conservation is sustained over time.
Advancing Expert Veterinary Care
World-class animal care is at the heart of conservation, and donor support helps make advanced treatment possible.
In 2025, supporters helped power the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy’s most successful Giving Tuesday ever, raising more than $210,000. This incredible generosity allows the Zoo’s veterinary team to deliver more complex and advanced care for animals.
From specialized treatments to cutting-edge medical equipment, your support strengthens the level of care provided to animals at the Toronto Zoo and supports conservation efforts worldwide.
Partnering With Indigenous Communities for Lasting Conservation
Effective conservation is built on collaboration, respect, and shared knowledge.
Your generosity supported critical caribou conservation research in partnership with Indigenous communities. By bringing together scientific expertise and traditional knowledge, this work helps protect caribou populations and the ecosystems they depend on.
These partnerships are essential for creating conservation solutions that are respectful, inclusive, and built to last for generations.
Looking Ahead to 2026
None of this work would be possible without you. Every milestone reached in 2025 reflects the commitment of people who believe in protecting wildlife and wild spaces.
As we look ahead to 2026, we are inspired by what your continued support is already helping to shape and excited for what we will accomplish together.
Thank you for believing in conservation and for being an essential part of the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy community.