Jennifer Gray, CEO at Zoos Victoria, has been a powerhouse in the zoo and aquarium industry for more than 20 years. She has pioneered change in animal ethics, welfare and conservation, and initiated Reverse the Red – a global coalition committed to accelerating and amplifying successful species recovery strategies. Additionally, she served as president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) for two years.
Under Gray’s leadership, Zoos Victoria has become a world-leading conservation organisation dedicated to fighting wildlife extinction. Its four zoos are Healesville Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo. Each zoo provides a unique and immersive experience that attracts visitors from around the world. Zoos Victoria’s conservation work includes breeding and recovery programmes.
“Zoos can do a couple of things really, really well. One, we can look after animals that other people aren’t able to look after,” Jennifer Gray told blooloop in 2020. “For species that are in trouble or on the brink of extinction, we can hold them through the dangerous times in their lives, and head-start them back to the wild.”
She added: “I could use a hundred examples from my zoos, but at Port Moresby [Nature Park] in Papua New Guinea they have 47 pig-nosed turtles. In the wild, out of a clutch of turtle eggs, one or two make it to adulthood. In a zoo, we can get 100 percent through to being adults. When you put them back into the wild, suddenly there’s a whole clutch of adults there.”