Here’s some good news gone wild.

The Honolulu Zoo announced Wednesday that it has received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a distinction the beleaguered menagerie lost in 2016.

It’s a praiseworthy milestone on the zoo’s road to recovery. The city-run facility had long been mired in a swamp of management and financial problems — among them, six directors in eight years and a pile of deferred maintenance.

The AZA’s accreditation commission found that the zoo met the organization’s standards for animal care and welfare, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety. This puts the zoo back in the good graces of the larger zoological community, giving it access to breeding programs and other resources it might otherwise not be trusted to receive.

Things started turning around for the zoo when voters in November 2016 amended the Honolulu City Charter to provide the zoo with 0.5% of annual estimated property tax revenues — roughly $6 million.

Having a reliable source of income met a key requirement for accreditation. It also helped to have a steady hand at the helm. Director Linda Santos, a 34-year zoo veteran who rose through the ranks, has been in charge for the last four years, winning praise from Mayor Kirk Caldwell and others for her leadership through difficult times.

All this progress is important. Zoos around the world have evolved from grim displays of animals in bare cages, to key players in the conservation of endangered and threatened species. It’s only fitting that the Honolulu Zoo, located in the endangered species capital of the nation, play a key role in those efforts.

And for generations of schoolchildren, the zoo is where their picture books and nature videos come to life. They can marvel at a real giraffe, or an endangered Komodo dragon, and gain a lifelong understanding and appreciation for the beauty and value of wild animals. That, too, is an investment in conservation.