Q1 2026 closes with framework agreements in place between Grand Wildlife Zoo and three named in-situ conservation programs. The partnerships are designed to anchor the research storyline at three different zones from day one.
The three founding partnerships
- African Savannah — a multi-year partnership with an established Maasai-Mara field research camp. Powers the working field-station hide inside Zone 02 and the open-hours program once a month.
- Big Cat Canyon — a partnership with a Sumatran-tiger recovery program on the island. The canyon’s deepest enclosure is built to international zoo-association standards for ex-situ population insurance.
- Conservation Center — an Iberian-lynx recovery partnership covering habitat-corridor work and reintroduction tracking. Zone 16 is designed around the lynx as a flagship recovery story.
Why named partners, this early
The deck framed conservation as the second of three verbs for every zone, and the master-plan brief was specific: every zone must point at a real program by the time it opens. Naming the founding three this early lets the storytelling, the signage, and the keeper-talk scripts develop alongside the real research — not retrofitted in the year before opening.
What the partnerships do not commit to
The framework agreements cover storytelling rights, animal-welfare protocols, and a small recurring contribution to each partner’s field budget. They do not commit any specific animals to transfer — partner programs operate on their own breeding and reintroduction timelines, and the zoo’s first residents will come from accredited zoo-association breeding loans.
Further founding partnerships in Asia, Oceania, and the Americas are in discussion. The next status update is expected late 2026.