News from Zoos

Oregon Zoo and Woodland Park Zoo Give Endangered Turtles a Head Start
The Oregon Zoo and Woodland Park Zoo recently released 35 endangered western pond turtles—a species on the verge of extinction in Washington a decade ago—in the Columbia River Gorge near Vancouver, Washington.

Working collaboratively with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the zoos "head-start" newly hatched turtles gathered from wild sites. The turtles are nurtured at both zoos for about 10 months until they grow large enough to avoid being eaten by non-native bullfrogs and large mouth bass.

"Giving young turtles a head-start during the first months of their lives, gives them a real edge," explains Dr. David Shepherdson, Oregon Zoo conservation program scientist. "Woodland Park Zoo and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have been working to save Washington's western pond turtles for 13 years. We are glad that we could provide additional assistance in helping save these highly endangered turtles."

The turtles are in trouble due to habitat degradation and disease. The biggest threat, however, is bullfrogs. Found east of the Rockies, this non-indigenous frog has thrived throughout the west, driving pond turtles and a host of other small, vulnerable aquatic species to the brink of extinction. In the past few years, the cooperative efforts have brought the pond turtles' numbers in Washington up from a low of 150 in 1990 to nearly 800 today. Now listed as an endangered species in Washington State and a sensitive species in Oregon, the western pond turtle was once common from
Baja, California to Puget Sound.

Baltimore Zoo Teams Up to Help Butterflies
The Baltimore Zoo, along with a coalition of environmental groups and butterfly enthusiasts, has recently begun work to revive populations of the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, Maryland's official state insect.

The zoo has joined forces with Environmental Defense (ED), a Washington, D.C. based non-profit dedicated to finding solutions to complicated environmental problems. Having recently joined the Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI), a coalition of organizations committed to butterfly recovery, the zoo had been looking for ways to participate in community conservation efforts. Environmental Defense, also a partner in the BFCI, saw the Baltimore checkerspot as an excellent opportunity to encourage local participation by working on a declining, but not yet federally endangered species. Their hope is to provide a model for local partnerships designed to keep butterflies and other species off the endangered species list through targeted conservation action.

As with many other imperiled species, suburban development has been a cause of the checkerspot's population decline. In addition, the checkerspot's host plant is also in trouble in the wild. Deer eat the tips of the turtlehead plant and either kill the larvae or knock them from their leaves. The Baltimore Zoo provides an ideal habitat for the butterfly because its Turtle Bog area supports an abundance of turtlehead plants and is protected from deer. The zoo's butterfly project has two objectives. The first is to start a Baltimore checkerspot captive breeding program at the zoo that will eventually provide stock to take back out to wild colonies. The other is to educate Marylanders about the checkerspot and its plight. As Steve Sarro, the Baltimore Zoo's Curator of Birds explains, "It is easy for the zoo to say we are going to help save tigers and elephants, but here is something local that people can actually relate to."

San Diego Zoo Helps Establish National Park in Cameroon
Field researchers from San Diego Zoo's Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES) have played a key role in the establishment of a new national park and several integral ecological reserves in Bakossiland, Cameroon. According to CRES Director Alan Dixson, PhD, Bakossiland lies within what scientists regard as the top one to two percent of the Earth's most biologically diverse regions. The new protected area within western Africa will cover approximately 580 square miles of montane forest that is home to hundreds of threatened species including birds, amphibians, antelope, and endangered primates including red colobus, guenon, chimpanzees, and drills.

While tracking through dense Ebo forest also in Cameroon, Bethan Morgan, PhD, and other CRES researchers recently discovered evidence of gorillas in a region where gorillas had never been seen before. Nest sites, dung and a gorilla skull were located before researchers discovered a silverback, a few females, and some young. Two subspecies of Western lowland gorillas are native to Cameroon, but neither is known in this particular region. Due to CRES' significant discovery of the gorilla population, the Cameroonian government has recommended that their Ebo forest habitat be protected as a faunal sanctuary.

Calgary Zoo Releases Marmots Into the Wild
Vancouver Island marmots born in captivity and raised at the Calgary Zoo were successfully released into the wild recently, providing hope that the highly endangered mammals will make a dramatic comeback from near extinction. The zoo released four animals, two wild and two born in captivity, and paired the wild animals with the captive-born marmots in hopes of giving any new pups a chance of inheriting natural instincts.

The Vancouver Island marmot is one of the world’s rarest mammals and the most endangered animal in North America, numbering less than 30 in the wild and 81 in captivity. The decline in their numbers has been attributed to clearcut logging of high elevation forests. It is hoped that the population can increase to between 400 and 600 individuals within the next 10 to 15 years (Adapted from an article in the Calgary Herald by Jessica Foster).

New York Aquarium Receives Teen Docent Grant
HSBC in the Community (USA) Inc., the foundation established by HSBC Bank USA, has given a grant of $10,000 in support of the New York Aquarium's Sea Teen programs which comprise the Earth, Sea, Sky docent program with area junior high and high schools. Sea Teen participants serve as docents and/or attend sequential, interactive programs at the Aquarium. Students might wade into the ocean to sample the plankton, collaborate with peers to learn about marine invertebrates, or help visitors understand the animals they are watching. Participants are supervised and guided by staff members of the Aquarium Education Department, which has a 30-year history of teaching and inspiring people of all ages. Working with Sea Teens fulfills an important part of that mission. The fund from HSBC will be used toward ongoing operation cost to sustain these valuable education programs.

 

Information for News and Zoos is provided by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association