The Armenian viper is one of 30 endangered species of amphibians and reptiles in Armenia. A new crowd-funding campaign aims to start a new conservation center to save them (Source: Ray Meibaum / Saint Louis Zoo)
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SAINT LOUIS (St. Louis Public Radio)—Armenia may be getting its first conservation center for reptiles and amphibians thanks to a crowd-funding campaign launched by the Saint Louis Zoo.
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The goal of an online fundraising campaign is to raise $40,000, so the zoo’s WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in Western Asia can buy a building to help breed and ultimately save endangered species like the Armenian viper.
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Center director and zoo herpetologist Jeff Ettling has been working in Armenia for more than a decade, particularly studying the viper. In that time, he said he learned a lot about how important conservation efforts are to the country that’s one of 24 unique biodiversity hotspots in the world.
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“It has a high level of endemism; quite a few species of reptiles and amphibians occur there and nowhere else in the world,â€
