Zoo Knoxville Honored with Award
We are excited to have received top honors for the Edward H. Bean Population Sustainability Award at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums 2026 Annual Conference. Out of the 96 applicants across all award categories, we were recognized for exceptional work in the Madagascar Flat-Tailed Tortoise Species Survival Plan (SSP).
The Association announced this year’s winners at the AZA Honors and Awards Lunch, held on September 30, 2026, at AZA’s Annual Conference in Portland, Ore., which recognized the achievements of AZA-accredited facilities, from conservation efforts and facility design to volunteer engagement and more.
“Congratulations to the team at Zoo Knoxville for their hard work and dedication in achieving this remarkable recognition,” said Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “This award recognizes the best of the best in the global aquarium and zoo community. The work being done at Zoo Knoxville further strengthens the impact of our entire community and is something Knoxville can be proud of.”
We’ve been a leader in the conservation of critically endangered Madagascar Flat-Tailed Tortoises for more than 50 years. In 2002, we became the first facility in the United States to successfully hatch a Flat-Tailed Tortoise and maintain the largest breeding population of the species outside Madagascar. Our herpetology team recently celebrated a record-breaking breeding season, successfully hatching 10 Flat-Tailed Tortoises, doubling its previous record of approximately five hatchlings in a single season.
The Edward H. Bean Population Sustainability Award recognizes Zoo Knoxville’s decades of dedication to the long-term survival of this critically endangered species and its continued commitment to conservation through collaborative breeding and population management.
We are honored to receive this award and continue our work with Madagascar Flat-Tailed Tortoises.
Our collection of Madagascar Flat-Tailed Tortoises is currently staying warm in a greenhouse behind the scenes for the fall and winter months. When the weather warms up in the spring, you can see them outside of the Clayton Family Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus (ARC) building.
Learn more about AZA Honors and Awards!
Our Mission
Every story at Zoo Knoxville is built on one topic: conservation. Like ecosystems link animals across the world, stories link people to action. Every event, birth, challenge and update tells us one more way we can connect with wildlife and improve both our futures.
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