News from Zoos

North Carolina Zoo and Zoo Society Launch "Field Trip Earth" Website
The North Carolina Zoo and the North Carolina Zoological Society recently unveiled Field Trip Earth. This online learning project, located at www.fieldtripearth.org, is the result of more than a year of work by a team of zoo researchers and several conservation organizations. Financial support came from the Zoo Society and a
$258,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Field Trip Earth helps teachers and students in K through 12 classrooms around the world with the integration of fundamental conservation issues into their
learning of more traditional subjects such as languages, mathematics, fine arts, natural and social sciences and technology. In addition to communicating information about key issues such as species endangerment, habitat protection and captive management, the website encourages students to better understand how their daily decisions affect the world around them. An extensive library of background readings about various wildlife conservation projects, species and regions is available from the site. Students have the possibility to communicate directly with field scientists, as well as with other classrooms using the site, forming a community of learners around the project. Other highlights of the program include a study of black bear (Ursus americanus) population dynamics in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and a multi-faceted look at Atlantic sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) conservation efforts. A number of other field conservation programs focusing on species ranging from white-winged wood ducks (Cairina scutulata) to Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) and Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalski), taking place around the world, are under development and will be added to the site in the coming months.

Zoo Atlanta Updates Virtual Gorillas
Cybernet Systems Corporation recently announced the completed upgrade of Zoo Atlanta's Virtual Gorilla computerized educational tool. Partly funded by a National Science Foundation project led by Dr. Kenneth Hay at the University of Georgia, the Virtual Gorilla program is used to help students become familiar with the scientific method and form a better understanding of gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) using a virtual environment and virtual gorillas. Cybernet Systems improved the program's realism by giving the virtual gorillas newly enhanced physical features and motion detection capabilities, and by placing them in a more realistic habitat. Users now can become a virtual gorilla and actually experience the species' social structure through interaction while other students view the exchange on a screen.
Before entering the exhibit in the Zoo's Conservation Action Resource Center, students learn about the social structure of the gorilla and develop a hypothesis on how different gorillas will react to certain behavior. Upon entering the
virtual environment as a gorilla, students then test their hypotheses by interacting with a silverback male and two adult female gorillas. Through different vocalizations and gestures that gorillas use to communicate, including screams,
grunts and chest beatings, students can gauge the gorillas' reaction and change their own behavior accordingly.
The project is currently a part of Dr. Hay's Gorilla Modeling Project, which combines the use of a virtual environment, a set of modeling tools and videostreaming experiences with on-site observations. Students use gorilla observations
to develop virtual reality biomechanical models of gorilla movement, and then produce an interactive model using a rule-building system. The inquirybased approach fosters understanding of animal behavior that includes biomechanics
and individual gorilla interactions. Further information about the Virtual Gorilla exhibit is available at www.openskies.net/gorilla.

Zoo Cats Help Wild Cousins
By introducing the public to animals the average person might never see, wildlife institutions perform an important educational service. Over 70 million people visit zoos each year in the United States where they learn about the plights of endangered species such as pandas, rhinos, and snow leopards through signage, lectures, and guided tours. But zoos do more than provide a glimpse of exotic animals. Zoos are in an excellent position to help in the fight to save endangered species. Over two hundred zoos in North America are accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums. Membership in the AZA requires a commitment to save and protect the wonders of the natural world. Research in zoos enhances in situ conservation efforts. For example, over thirty zoos and wildlife parks have supported work of the International Snow
Leopard Trust's (ISLT) Natural Partnerships Program (NPP) since its inception in 1997. By sponsoring specific conservation, research, and education initiatives in Mongolia, the Kyrgyz Republic, India, Pakistan, and other countries where snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are found, NPP supporters are ensuring that the
species has a chance of surviving in the wild. In 2002, NPP projects included a cooperative ISLT/Peace Corps Mongolia education and research mission (funded by Blank Park Zoo, Mill Mountain Zoo, Great Plains Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, Tautphaus Park Zoo, Colchester Zoo, and Marwell Zoo); the expansion of Snow Leopard Enterprises to Pakistan (funded by Milwaukee County Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Oklahoma City Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, Tulsa Zoo, Lee Richardson Zoo, and Societe Zoologique de Granby); and the implementation of a multi-pronged conservation
program in India (supported by Binder Park Zoo and Sacramento Zoo). Woodland Park Zoo of Seattle is a major supporter of ISLT and in situ conservation in general. Since joining the NPP in 1998, Woodland Park Zoo has provided more than $200,000 in support of snow leopard conservation programs. The AZA also manages the captive populations of endangered species through coordinated breeding programs called Species Survival Plans (SSPs). SSPs are responsible for maintaining healthy, self-sustaining, and genetically diverse captive populations; raising public awareness through education and outreach; and in some cases introducing captive-bred animals into the wild.

 

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