OUR WORK
Using the species you see to save the ones you don’t.
Over 200 million people connect with black-and-white colobus in AZA zoos every year. Yet their highly vulnerable red and olive relatives—too sensitive to survive in human care—are disappearing in West Africa, far beyond public view. SAFE Colobus bridges that gap. By leveraging the visibility of zoo ambassadors, we coordinate the strategy, funding, and field partnerships required to protect the species most at risk.
HOW WE WORK
From zoo ambassador to forest lifeline.
Conservation doesn't happen in a vacuum. We connect public scale directly to frontline protection through a 3-stage coordination model.
01 / PUBLIC VISIBILITY
Activating Unmatched Reach
We tap into the 200 million annual visitors across AZA institutions to bring a silent crisis into focus, converting passive zoo appreciation into sustained conservation engagement.
02 / INSTITUTIONAL FOCUS
Shared Strategy & Rigor
We provide the first-ever centralized U.S. framework dedicated solely to colobus conservation, aligning funding, research, and zoo resources so effort compounds rather than scatters.
03 / FRONTLINE IMPACT
Direct Field Execution
We route resources straight to trusted, in-range partners on the ground, empowering local communities and protecting critical forest habitats where risk is highest.
WHY COLOBUS MATTERWHY SAFE COLOBUS
Making the invisible impossible to ignore.
Conservation urgency rarely reaches the species out of sight. SAFE Colobus exists to unite AZA institutions under a single, high-yield conservation strategy—turning fragmented zoo support into a focused, measurable force for West Africa’s most endangered primates. We provide the infrastructure, field access, and strategic alignment necessary to ensure every dollar, campaign, and institutional resource delivers direct, long-term impact where it is needed most.
IN-RANGE PARTNERSHIPS
Anchored by those who live with what’s at stake.
Conservation endures only when rooted where impact is felt. We work alongside dedicated in-range partners who bring deep local knowledge, lived experience, and on-the-ground accountability to protect colobus and their forest systems.
WAPCA (West African Primate Conservation Action)
Connecting field expertise and community action across Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to safeguard threatened primate corridors.
Community Field Stations
Establishing locally manned monitoring hubs that safeguard intact forest fragments and dramatically curb illegal hunting pressure.
Institutional Anchor Facilities
Linking major AZA facilities—including North Carolina Zoo, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and Columbus Zoo—directly to field deployments.
Changing the course for Colobus takes all of us.
Whether you represent an accredited zoo, lead field conservation, educate the public, or support from afar, your involvement directly powers species survival. Discover how you can strengthen frontline defense for West Africa's most vulnerable primates.
GET INVOLVED