The mission of Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species and Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center is to safeguard endangered animals for future generations through innovative scientific programs that accelerate reproduction and preserve the earth’s genetic heritage

Audubon Nature Institute’s Center for Research of Endangered Species opened in 1996. It is an ambitious and innovative initiative in species conservation. Located on New Orleans’ West Bank on the 1,200-acre grounds of the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, the Center is a 36,000 square-foot facility designed to house scientists whose research programs include studies in reproductive physiology, endocrinology, genetics, embryo transfer, and the expansion of a “frozen zoo” to ensure the future of endangered species through the banking of genetic materials.
 
The knowledge gained through research at the Center will help scientists and conservationists cope with threats to the most seriously endangered species by developing new reproductive technologies and reintroduction techniques necessary to ensure their long-term survival.
 
The Center’s research team is led by Dr. Betsy Dresser, who has been globally recognized for her work with in vitro fertilization, cryopreservation and embryo transfer for wildlife conservation using species such as bongo antelope, gorillas and exotic cats . She is working to establish international research programs that will take the Center’s science from the lab to the field. Dr. Earle Pope is a reproduction physiologist world-renowned for his work with the advancement of assisted reproduction technologies and their application to wildlife, including interspecies embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization.
 
Understanding that species survival can be achieved only if everyone works together, the Research Center regularly collaborates with the University of New Orleans, Louisiana State University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, habitat preservationists, zoos and other captive animal managers in its global mission to preserve wildlife for the future.

 
Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 4327, New Orleans, LA 70178
 
Phone: (504) 581-4629 OR 1-800-774-7394 (Monday - Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
 
Email: air@auduboninstitute.org