Habitat destruction, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming and poaching. These ecological actions and events are creating a world where animals are becoming extinct at rapid rates. Our world is on the brink of what scientists believe is the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the five previous mass extinctions, the last of which killed most of the dinosaurs, the main causes of the current extinction are anthropogenic causes and not natural events. Scientists estimate that without humans, one to five species would die per year, which is considered the background rate of extinction. But in our current society, human activities are destroying many of the possibilities these animals need to survive. As a planet we are killing species at a rate 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than expected. Unlike previous extinctions, 99% of species listed on the Endangered Species Act's Endangered Species Act have become threatened due to human activities, such as the introduction of invasive species, habitat destruction and global warming (The Extinction Crisis). What can we do to stop all this? How can we save the same animals we have endangered and threatened? The Species Survival Plan: The AZA, Associations of Zoos and Aquariums, has created a worldwide system to try to save these highly threatened animals. The program is called the Species Survival Plan. As part of the Species Survival Plan, zoos and aquariums in partnership with AZA follow a system of rules and plans to help promote the care of these endangered animals in facilities. Each animal, of the over 500 species protected by AZA, has its own management system set up by the various. The plans are aimed at maintaining genetically diverse populations... half of paper... long old and are ready to try to bring the species back to life. At Turtleback Zoo, the lead leopard zoo keeper, Danielle, agreed to be interviewed for the project. He said that as part of the Species Survival Plan, each zoo with the facilities to house leopards is allocated a breeding pair in the hope that they can produce viable offspring. After the birth of the cubs, the father is sent away and the cubs remain with the mother for about a year. After this year, the cubs, from zoos around the world with Amur leopards in the Species Survival Program, are mated based on the genetic variation of the new offspring. They are sent to a different zoo with their breeding pair to repeat the process. Some pairs may even be sent back to their natural habitat and released into the wild to boost the wild population (Interview with Turtleback Zookeeper Danielle).