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Fossil Rim Wildlife Center started as a private wildlife ranch with the name "Waterfall Ranch". -
Tom Mantzel changes name property from Waterfall Ranch to Fossil Rim Wildlife Ranch.
Within the same year the property open up to the public to generate additional income. -
The animals were brought to the U.S. on loan from the Natal Parks Board in South Africa by Game Conservation International.
Black Rhinos can be found in the Jim Jackson Intensive Management Area. -
Entering the Grevy's SSP marks Fossil Rim as the first non-traditional zoological facility to participate in a Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Program (SSP).
Today, Fossil Rim is apart of 24 different SSPs in which some staff are program coordinators. -
FR receives SHO and cheetah for the first time. Both species will go on to act as a keystone species of Fossil Rim's mission of the conservation of species in peril. -
Fossil Rim becomes the first ever non-traditional zoo to be accredited by the AZA, Association of Zoos & Aquariums*. Subsequently reaccredited in 1988, 1993,1998, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2018.
*AZA was formerly AAZPA - American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums -
First cheetah cubs are born at Fossil Rim, allowing us to pave the way for research into husbandry and breeding for cheetahs. Today, Fossil Rim is one of the top breeding facilties in the U.S. for cheetahs with a total of 220+ cubs born and raised on site. -
Fossil Rim Wildlife Ranch purchased by Krystyna Jurzykowski and Jim Jackson. Krystyna and Jim were a couple looking to invest in a conservation related property which lead to them finding Fossil Rim. -
Under Krystyna and Jim, Fossil Rim's name was changed to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. -
By this time enough red wolves were bred in captivity to be released into Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern NC.
As of July 2022, there are approximately 10 known red wolves in the wild. There are 243 red wolves in 49 SSP facilities across the country. In the 2021-2022 breeding season, 28 breeding pairs were established and 46 pups in 13 litters were born - of which 29 survived, adding to the SSP population. -
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Red Wolves arrive at Fossil Rim and also have their first litter of pups in the same year. -
Maned Wolves & Mexican Grey Wolves also arrive at Fossil Rim. -
International Black Rhino Foundation was founded to put a stop to the increase of poaching of Zimbabwe’s black rhino population. The origination of the foundation was the importation of southern black rhinos from Zimbabwe to Fossil Rim.
In 1993, recognizing that all five rhino species were at risk, , the International Black Rhino Foundation expanded its mission and became the International Rhino Foundation (IRF). -
Attwater's Prairie Chicken, APC, is one of the most endangered birds in the U.S.
Currently there are only 4 breeding facilties for APCs including Fossil Rim, Caldwell Zoo, Houston Zoo, & Sutton Avian Research Center.
After hatching and additional growth, birds are released with the help of US Fish and Wildlife at preserves near Houston. -
The International Cheetah Conservation Fund recognizes Fossil Rim for it's role in cheetah conservation. -
Fossil Rim receives Conservation Service Award from the US Department of the Interior and US Fish and Wildlife Services for it's role in the red wolf recovery program. -
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Mexican wolves were released to the wild for the first time in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area within the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area.
In 2019 there were 163 individual wolves in 42 packs of two or more animals in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico. -
Receive AZA's North American Conservation Award for the Attwater's prairie chicken recovery program. -
Jurzykowski transfers the daily operation to "Earth Promise" an independent registered non-profit 501(c)3 corporation.
These were beginning steps of Fossil Rim becoming it's own non-profit organization. -
Receive AZA's North American Conservation Award for the Mexican Gray Wolf recovery program. -
The Edward H. Bean Award recognizes a significant captive propagation effort that either significantly enhances the population of a species, or represents a breakthrough in husbandry or breeding strategies that are significant milestones for creating a new zoo and aquarium population. -
Fossil Rim, San Diego Zoo, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, White Oak, and the Wilds met together to form the Conservation Centers for Species Survival (C2S2).
The consortium was born out of the need for greater collaboration and programs that could save species if they partnered together.
C2S2 breeding programs FR is involved in are Addax, Addra Gazelle, anoa, Arabian Oryx, Cheetah, Grevy's Zebra, Bongo, Red Wolf, Roan, Sable, SHO, Black Rhinos, Whooping Crane, and Wattled Crane. -
Fossil Rim is awarded accreditation by the Zoological Association of America (ZAA). -
Receive AZA's North American Conservation Award for the Red Wolf recovery program. -
Krystyna Jurzykowski donates Fossil Rim land and infastructure to Earth Promise.
This makes Fossil Rim its own functioning 501(c)3 non-profit organization. -
Jim Jackson, co-owner with Krystyna Jurzykowski, passes away and IMA is named after him. -
Since 2010, FR has been active with sending related staff to Northern Africa to assist with the Scimitar Horned Oryx reintroduction project. -
Memorandum of Understanding developed with Tarleton State University and Glen Rose ISD. Both MOUs allow for a strong relationship between organizations into the future. Fossil Rim works with Glen Rose to ensure every student has a chance to visit Fossil Rim. Fossil Rim works closely with Tarleton in research and student opportunities.
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The Source Population Alliance (SPA) brings together private landowners, conservation centers, and zoos, each with an existing group (herd) of hoofstock. -
Between 2015 & 2017 major construction completed. These include:
- Nature Store (previous burned down)
- Wastewater treatment plant for Overlook buildings
- Expanded Overlook parking and new tour route paved
- Upgrades to education facilties including: cabins, EcoCenter, and Activities Center
- Construction of aviaries at CAC
- Upgraded bathrooms at Admissions
- Membership office
- Construction of necropsy building
- Accessed county water for Admissions, Admin, and Support Services -
To further improve the use of GPS collaring for Scimitar Horned Oryx when released into the wild, scientists needed to understand if the collars impacted the animals behavior.
While results have not been published, they found that the collars had no significant long term affects on SHO behavior. -
In March 2016, 25 oryx were flown to Chad and transferred to the pre-release pens for acclimatization. In August that year, they were released into the reserve; the first scimitar-horned oryx to be reintroduced since they were declared Extinct-in-the-Wild by IUCN in 2000. -
Dr. Condy retires in September of 2017 and Kelley Snodgrass takes his place. Snodgrass worked for Fossil Rim for as long as it has been open and worked his way up in the organization. Snodgrass is now retired, but visits frequently as he is Fossil Rim's next-door neighbor. -
In 2019, the scimitar-horned oryx project enters its phase II, precisely switching to a multi-species reintroduction approach that will allow the return to the wild of a first batch of 25 individuals in November of this same year. -
Despite 2020 bringing difficulties with the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes a landmark year for Fossil Rim with 98,000+ cars visiting via self-guided drive. -
Fossil Rim's contribution to the first birth of cheetah cubs from in vitro fertilization was semen from one of our males. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/first-cheetah-cubs-born-result-embryo-transfer -
Fall of 2021, post pandemic, Environmnetal Engagement reopened their new Learning Programs that were created in 2019. -
Fossil Rim recieve Long-Term Commitment & Significant Propagation of a Single Species Award for the Addax -
Kelley Snodgrass retired, allowing for Dan Simon to take on the role of Executive Director. Dan comes to Fossil Rim from South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks, the Great Plains Zoo, and Zoo Tampa.
Pictured 2nd from the right -
Staff from Fossil Rim had the opportunity to help reintroduce peninsular pronghorn to their natural habitat. Along with teams from San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the El Paso Zoo, as well as the Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project (PPRP) -
American Institute of Rhinoceros Science, involves studying many aspects of white and black rhino health and behavior. At Fossil Rim, our rhinos were observed every day to track behaviors, monitored by activity devices to track movement and had consistent blood draws to compare vitals. -
The IUCN downlisted the Scimitar Horned Oryx from 'Extinct in the Wild' to 'Endangered' after the wild herd increased to more than 600 individuals. Sahara Conservation Fund writes, "the SHO is a flagship species for an entire community of desert wildlife, plans and habitats. Its restoration and the related protection of its environment has had immense knock-on benefits for other species, such as other gazelles, carnivores, bustards and vultures." -
Lorenzo was born in 2018 at Fossil Rim and was chosen for wild release in early 2023. Lorenzo was not only picked for his genetic diversity, but also his behavior and temperament. Lorenzo was released with a female in hopes of producing a wild litter. -
Texas horned lizards are a threatened species in Texas, and Fossil Rim is now proud to join with organizations like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the San Antonio Zoo to conserve them. The ultimate goal of this acquisition is to breed and release new individuals on land across Texas.
