Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center
In large, minimally-developed enclosures, species such as whooping cranes, Mississippi sandhill cranes, giraffe, bongo antelope, and eland have lived and bred in seclusion.
The Audubon Species Survival Center, operated by Audubon Nature Institute, is located on 1,200 acres of U.S. Coast Guard and City of New Orleans land along the Mississippi River. It includes undeveloped acreage around Audubon Wilderness Park and it has served as home base for conservation programs such as Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, where reproductive research produced dozens of world’s firsts in areas such as breeding of wild felids.
The Species Survival Center is a haven species that are declining in population. It includes large, natural-habitat holding areas for groups of herding animals and large-bodied birds with minimal disruption to the surrounding forest while preserving existing naturally wild areas.
With generous donors like Chevron and partners like the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Audubon Nature Institute has been a longtime leader in whooping crane conservation. Efforts to save North America’s most endangered bird from extinction earned Audubon Nature Institute and three other organizations the prestigious 2016 North American Conservation Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Audubon recently expanded its program with the goal of developing a self-sustaining wild population of whooping cranes in Louisiana. This partnership is an example of state agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry collaborating to leverage their strengths to achieve measurable conservation results and make a significant, historic impact on the future of this endangered species.
