Perth Zoo funds raised have been used for the conservation of Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, African painted dog, sun bears, tree kangaroos, Javan gibbons and Australian native species. More than $881,000 has been raised since the program began. Working with the Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth Zoo breeds threatened Western Australian animal species for release into managed areas of habitat in the wild as part of its Native Species Breeding Program. As of 2011, Perth Zoo breeds numbats, western swamp tortoises, dibblers, woylies and threatened Western Australian frog species. The numbat ("Myrmecobius fasciatus") Western Australia's mammal emblem and one
Beijing Zoo collection. Leading Chinese universities also established a research presence in the zoo to study animal behavior and to breed endangered species. The zoo's development came to an abrupt halt during the Cultural Revolution as zoo staff were purged, research work stopped, and contacts with foreign zoos were severed. In the 1970s, as China forged diplomatic relations with the Western bloc, the zoo received animal gifts from the Australia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The zoo also organized a four-year mission to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, which brought back 157 species and 1,000