• Permalink Dr. Erik Runquist (second from left) and Minnesota Zoo Director John Frawley (right) accept the North American Conservation Award at the Association of Zoos & Aquariums 2025 Conference in Tampa, Florida.Gallery

    Award for Minnesota Zoo is Major Win for Endangered Butterflies

Award for Minnesota Zoo is Major Win for Endangered Butterflies

Big news for butterfly conservation! The Minnesota Zoo, John Ball Zoo, and Assiniboine Park & Zoo have been awarded the prestigious 2025 North American Conservation Award from the Association Read More


Saving Butterflies from Midwest to Manitoba – and Beyond

Powering Up Poweshieks Butterflies fly freely across borders – so saving butterflies means making friends across borders, too. Minnesota Zoo butterfly conservation scientists traveled to Winnipeg, Manitoba for Read More


  • Permalink Article on Minnesota Zoo's butterfly conservation work has been included in the anthology Best American Nature and Science Writing 2023.Gallery

    Butterfly Conservation Work Featured in Best American Nature and Science Writing

Butterfly Conservation Work Featured in Best American Nature and Science Writing

The Poweshiek skipperling is one of the most endangered species on the planet. Minnesota Zoo researchers are working tirelessly to save the prairie butterfly from Read More


Indispensable Interns: In the Field, Wetlands, and Lab

Brendan Lewis has been sitting in the dark and damp of a forest for six hours. He’s wrapped in bug netting, swarmed by mosquitoes, and Read More


  • Permalink Zoo's Dr. Erik Runquist at HIMPP conducting butterfly survey.Gallery

    Working for Wildlife: Zoo Scientists Prepare for 2023 Field Season

Working for Wildlife: Zoo Scientists Prepare for 2023 Field Season

The days are lengthening, the temps are rising (slowly), and the Minnesota Zoo’s Conservation Department is busily preparing for an active field season ahead. The Read More


Critical Season to Save Endangered Butterflies

It’s likely that you have never seen, or maybe even heard of, two of Minnesota’s vanishing wildlife species. Small in size and increasingly less easy Read More


Plant for Pollinators: How to be a Backyard Wildlife Hero

As the saying goes, “not all heroes wear capes!” With or without a cape, you can be a hero for local wildlife by taking action Read More


Partner Spotlight – The Nature Conservancy

The Minnesota Zoo’s Prairie Butterfly Conservation Initiative has been a pioneer in butterfly conservation for years, creating the world’s first rearing and breeding program for Read More