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
History of Edinburgh Zoo chimpanzees at Edinburgh were found to use word-like vocal labels for food. In late 2005 the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) threatened action over the holding in captivity of Mercedes, then Britain's only polar bear. The zoo had initially planned to retire their polar bear exhibit after Mercedes died. When zoo officials announced plans to create a new attraction, citing their responsibility to ensure the survival of the species, the ALF threatened damage to zoo workers' property and other scare-tactics. Edinburgh's treatment of polar bears had often been subject to criticism, punctuated by incidents like the death in 1997 of Mercedes'