International Zoo News .

VoI.5611 R (No. 370) JanuaryIFebruary 2009

INTERNATIONAL ZOO NEWS A magazine for the exchange of news, information and ideas between the zoos and aquariums of the world.

o+OGICAL G Published by the North of England Zoological Society, %Q Registered U.K. Charity No. 306077. Chester Zoo, Caughall

Road, Chester CH2 1 LH, U.K. Editor: Nicholas Gould, Fealquoy, Rousay, Orkney W 1 7 2PS, U.K. (Tel. and Fax: ++(0)1856.821381; E-mail:

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CONTENTS International Zoo News Vol. 5611 (No. 370) JanuaryIFebruary 2009

EDITORIAL 2

FEATURE ARTICLES

The Hand-rearing and Mixing of African Wild Dogs at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Sarah Wills 4

Zoo Primate Exhibits: What is their Ecological Message? Spartaco Gippoliti 12

Paris Zoo - a Personal Reminiscence Jonas Livet 18

Working with Celebrities to Raise the Profile of your Zoo John Regan 21

Cheeta - the World's Oldest Chimpanzee? Richard Weigl 24

Letter to the Editor 26

Conservation 27

Miscellany 33

International Zoo News 37

Recent Articles 57

Cover Illustration: An integrated group of African wild dogs at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, U.K., consisting of six hand-reared pups and an adult pair (not their parents).

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 2-3 -

EDITORIAL

The breakdown of the business partnership between Cincinnati Zoo and a Kentucky museum dedicated to 'aligning the Bible's literal account of creation with natural history' [see ZZN 55 (a), p. 5001 will come as a relief to anyone with an interest in maintaining zoos' credentials as serious scientific institutions. The partnership is reported to have involved not merely an offer giving people the chance to visit both places at a discounted rate, but also an agreement that each would 'promote' the other. A brief comparison is all that is needed to prove the total incompatibility of the two institutions. The zoo, managed by the Zoological Society of Cincinnati, houses one of the U.S.A.'s foremost animal collections, as well as incorporating a botanical garden with more than 3,000 plant species. Its recent successes with Sumatran rhinos are only the latest in a string of notable breeding achievements - okapi, giant eland, Panay cloud rat (a world first, in 19961, Tasmanian devil, Komodo dragon, gorilla (over 50 since 1970) and many more. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Cincinnati was one of the few zoos to make serious - though ultimately unavailing - efforts to save the passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet by captive breeding. Its insect house is one of the best in any zoo. With its Center for Reproduction of Endangered Wildlife, the zoo is at the forefront of research into high-tech reproductive methods.

The Creation Museum, by contrast, is run by an organization whose name, Answers in Genesis, sufficiently indicates its objective - 'to change minds and rebut the scientific point ofview'. The museum's website tells visitors to 'prepare to travel back 6,000 years to the dawn of creation' and 'witness the true time line of the universe'. Its exhibits suggest, inter alia, that natural disasters, disease, carnivorous and venomous animals, weeds, thorns, and even entropy (referred to as 'cosmic pain') were among the unfortunate consequences of the Fall of Man, and that dinosaurs were among the animals created by God on the Sixth Day and survived long enough to be passengers on Noah's Ark (why they subsequently died out is apparently not explained).

Any association of a reputable zoo with such a weird establishment is clearly not a good idea, and it is surprising that the Cincinnati management should ever have agreed to it. Cooperation with real museums, though, is quite another matter. Here, unfortunately, zoos seem to be largely missing an important opportunity. Over ten years ago Andrew Kitchener of the Royal Museums of Scotland argued for 'a renaissance in the relationship between museums and zoos' (Kitchener, 1997b). The call is repeated in the latest issue of Thylacinus, the journal of the Australasian Society of Zoo Keeping (Romer and Christidis, 2008; see summary below, p. 631, where Liz Romer and Les Christidis discuss the areas in which natural history museums, zoos and aquariums can work together. These institutions have much in common: they all house zoological collections whether living or dead, share the goal of conserving biodiversity, and have among their missions the conducting of scientific research and the educa- tion of the public. There is an even greater overlap in those cases (a growing number, I believe) where museums house collections of living animals - for example, Manchester Museum (U.K.) with its outstanding collection of amphib-

ians and other species [see ZZN 54 (31,175-1761, or Melbourne Museum, which Romer and Christidis describe as 'one of the forerunners in the development of husbandry techniques for Australian invertebrates'.

Andrew Kitchener's use, above, of the word renaissance is explained in his article. In some cases, the relationship between museums and zoos was actually closer during the 19th century than it is today. The Zoological Society of London established both a museum and a zoo in the 18208, but passed its preserved animal specimens on to the British Museum in 1855. (In Paris the link established in the 1790s between the Muskum d'Histoire Naturelle and the Mbnagerie du Jardin des Plantes is still maintained.) Many scientific descrip- tions of new,species were made in museums from specimens which had died in zoos. But thib close relationship has greatly declined in more recent times, partly, Kitchener suggests, because of a widespread perception that 'the taxo- nomic identificati~n of birds and mammals is more or less complete'. This, he says, is not the case: 'although taxonomy at the species level is well established for most mammals and birds, there are considerable problems at the subspecies level', and these have obvious relevance for conservation both in the wild and in captivity. Closer collaboration between zoos and museums could help to deter- mine which variations are of genuine importance and which are not - for example, Kitchener voices doubts over the validity of the currently recognized subspecies of Asiatic black bear and tiger.

In some cases, of course, taxonomic research can lead to 'splitting' rather than 'lumping', with even more serious implications for conservation. In recent years museum studies, mostly based on specimens collected in the 19th century, have led to the re-classification of some former monospecific taxa into several distinct species. But for some taxa - even ones relatively common in captivity - museums have too few specimens available for research. In 1990, for example, not a single siamang skeleton was held in any British museum: five years later, though, there were three, thanks to an initiative of the National Museums of Scotland encouraging zoos to donate dead animal specimens for research purposes. Taxonomy is not the only discipline which can benefit from such donations: others mentioned by Andrew Kitchener are anatomy, functional morphology, ageing, reproductive biology, pathology, mortality and some aspects of ecology, and some studies resulting from his own work have been published in ZZN (Kitchener, 1997a, 2004). For other examples, I urge those interested to read, or re-read, the Yearbook article for themselves. I hope it has already borne fruit; but the fact that, more than a decade later, Romer and Christidis have found it necessary to make a similar appeal suggests that zoo/museum cooperation still has a long way to go before i t can realize its full potential.

Nicholas Gould

References

Kitchener, A.C. (1997a): Ageing the Sumatran rhinoceros: preliminary results. International Zoo News 44 (l): 24-34.

Kitchener, A.C. (1997b): The role of museums and zoos in conservation biology. International Zoo Yearbook 35: 325-336.

Kitchener, A.C. (2004): The problems of old bears in zoos. Znternational Zoo News 51 (5): 282-293.

h e r , L., and Christidis, L. (2008): Natural history museums, zoos and aquari- ums -making the most of our animal collections. Thylacinus 32 (4): 3-6.

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (20091, pp. 4-11

THE HAND-REARING AND MIXING OF AFRICAN WILD DOGS AT PORT LYMPNE WILD ANIMAL PARK BY SARAH WILLS

Brief history of African wild dogs at Port Lympne

There have been African wild dogs (Lycaonpictus) at Port Lympne for 30 years. In the last decade we have had great success with both breeding them and rearing youngsters within packs. We have, though, had our fair share of problems. Calcium deficiency (rickets) has been among the biggest problems faced. We have found that healthy litters of pups can deteriorate very quickly. Now, however, we have overcome most of these problems and seem to both keep and breed the dogs with a high level of success. We currently have 21 doge at Port Lympne.

Brief history of Tunis (alpha female) and Mzungu (alpha male)

Tunis arrived at Port Lympne in 2004 from Tunisia and was originally paired with a male, Tsenga. Shortly before Tunis gave birth to their first litter of pups Tsenga had a transient ischaemic attack and died. This left Tunis to bring up her first litter of six (3.3) pups all by herself, which she did well. When the pups were three months old we tried to introduce Tsenga's brother Mzungu to the pack. We wanted the pups to have a dominant male to look up to and Tunis to have another alpha partner. But after getting on well initially, the three male pups got very carried away and excited and unfortunately turned on Mzungu. We therefore decided to remove them from the group. This left the three female pups with Tunis and Mzungu, which was a stable situation. Tunis and Mzungu went on to breed the following year (2006). Tunis gave birth to 11 pups, all of whom were raised apart from one who died at four months. In 2007 they mated again and .. Tunis became pregnant once more.

Case history

Tunis (alpha female) was near the end of her pregnancy after 70 days (the usual gestation period is 72-75 days). On 4 November 2007 she was found by keepers at 8 a.m. lying down at the top ofher enclosure, taking laboured breaths and whining. I t was possible that she was in labour but was having great difficulty, so the vet was called. After seeing how weak she was the decision was made to take her to the vet hospital to perform an emergency Caesarean. This was done and 16 pups were delivered. Keepers from all sections helped to stimulate the puppies by clearing their throats and rubbing their bodies. A drop of doxapram hydrochloride, a respiratory stimulant, was also put on the puppies' tongues and one by one they all started to breathe, apart from two who were stillborn.

Tunis was stitched back up and was taken off the anaesthetic gas but did not start to wake up. Her body temperature was dangerously low at 20°C (38°C is

normal). She was wrapped in bubble wrap and blankets and given warm fluids. By 4 p.m. her temperature had come back up to 35°C and she was starting to look around. Later, however, she became dangerously acidotic - a pH imbalance in the blood. This was a complication from her illness combined with the anaes- thetic. She was given bicarbonate which perked her up briefly, but sadly a t 10 p.m. she died, leaving us to hand-raise her pups. Quite a few of them looked very weak from the start, probably due to their having been born by Caesarean and prematurely. We did not hold out much hope of any surviving, especially as infant mortality is very common in this species. So we are very pleased to have successfully raised six of them to weaning and beyond.

The post mortem revealed that Tunis died from a massive infection in one lung which had caused i t to collapse and dissolve and had also started to infect her heart. This was all possibly caused by a grass seed working its way into her body. Up until the morning of 4 November she showed no signs of ill health - a real testament to how tough these dogs are.

Feeding and weaning

There is a lack of documentation on the diet and hand-rearing of African wild dogs. An artificial mixture of milk was used consisting of 10.6 g of high-protein powder, 0.4 g high-carbohydrate powder and 15.9 g high-fat powder per 73.1 m1 of boiled water, cooled slightly. The pups were fed every two hours day and night by the four keepers on the carnivore section with help from the veterinary department. Initially they were fed 2 m1 of the milk mixture at each feed from

5

a syridgekth a teat on the end. All the pups took this without any problems. By Day 3 all the puppies were drinking well. We therefore changed the sy~inge to a bottle and an ad lib feeding protocol was adopted. We found the pups drank from 2 to 5 m1 at each feed. If a pup did not want to feed from the bottle, it was syringe-fed 2 ml.

On Day 4, feeds were reduced to ten, at two-hourly intervals through the day and four-hourly intervals through the night. By seven days of age the pups were averaging around 10 m1 at each feed; the amount gradually increased over time and by 14 days of age they were taking around 20 ml at each feed. At thie time the milk was changed to Lactol puppy milk. This was because the puppies were all suffering from diarrhoea. On Day 9 one pup died, and six more died over the next seven days. No diagnosis was reached ante or post mortem - they were suffering from "fading puppy syndrome'.

The p u p at three weeks old.

The strength of Lactol used was one scoop (in tub) to 100 m1 of boiled, slightly cooled water. The pups took well to the new milk and seemed to really enjoy it. At 21 days of age they were taking from 10 to 30 m1 at each feed. At some feeds they seemed to drink more while at others they showed little interest. This seemed to have no specific pattern. At 28 days of age feeds were slowly reduced from ten down to five by 35 days. As the feeds were reduced the quantity of milk they were drinking went up, sometimes to as much as 100 m1 at each feed.

At 32 days of age the pups were given their first taste of meat. They were offered canned puppy food (Hills canine puppy meat) along with a skinned rabbit 6

leg to chew on. Although they were offered the puppy food they instinctively favoured the 'real' meat. Puppy food was continued, however, because of all the essential nutrients it contains. By 35 days of age the sixremainingpuppies were each eating two skinned rabbit legs and a can of puppy food daily, along with five milk feeds averaging around 100 ml at each feed. Throughout the following three weeks they were offered a range of food each day: rats, chicken, rabbit, horse heart and strips of horse meat along with the puppy food and milk. Over the course of the following two weeks the amount of food offered gradually increased until they were eating two skinned rabbit legs, two skinned duck legs and a tin of puppy food each day, and also drinking from 60 to 120 m1 of milk each at every feed. At 49 days of age they were getting harder to feed from a bottle as they were getting boisterous and stopped concentrating on the milk. Therefore they were offered their milk in a bowl at a couple of feeds and all tucked in getting equal amounts. By 56 days of age they were only drinking from bowls, taking on average 150 m1 each at each feed. All our feeding and husbandry methods were aimed at encouraging their natural pack behaviour, such as all feeding together, not associating us with food and therefore not imprinting on us.

At 67 days of age the strength of the milk was weakened to three scoops per 1000 ml. At this time they were also given water in a bowl to drink ad lib. At first they showed no interest, but they began drinking small amounts over the next week, especially after eating. By 73 days of age they were drinking 1,600 m1 with four scoops of milk powder between them at each feed and having just three milk feeds throughout the day, along with two tins of puppy food and three rabbits (not skinned any more). The meat was always given as one piece. This was again to encourage natural pack behaviour. By 77 days they were going off the milk and were more interested in meat, so by 80 days they were fully weaned, drinking just water and eating meat. The pups were averaging around three rabbits or 4 kg of meat a day between the six of them.

Housing

When the pups were first born they were kept in a small incubator with vet beds and towels to sleep on. The temperature in the incubator was kept at a constant 30°C with a room temperature of 16"-18°C. The bedding was changed every two hours as it became soaked with urine and faeces. As the puppies grew they became too big for the incubator, so at 21 days of age they were moved into a specially built hand-rearing box measuring 153 cm X 60 cm X 66 cm high. They continued to sleep onvet beds and towels with heat mats underneath to keep the temperature at 30°C. Over the next two weeks they became stronger and more alert. This caused fighting in the box as there was nowhere for them to get away from each other. Therefore at 38 days of age they were moved to a room which was sectioned off measuring 305 cm by 305 cm with the box in the corner. Plastic sheet8 were placed on the floor and were cleaned every few hours. The pups were left out to run around in the room throughout the day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then put in the box to sleep at night. There were heaters in the room keeping it at 24"-27"C, and heat mats in the box for when they were sleeping.

When the pups were 60 days old we took up the plastic sheets from the floor and replaced them with straw which was cleaned and changed daily. Also at this time the heat mats were taken from the box to start to acclimatize the pups to the temperatures they would experience when outside. One of the heaters was also turned off, so the room temperature went down to 19°C. At 70 days we

stopped putting them in the box overnight and simply left them to sleep on the straw. At this time we also started to introduce them to the outside world, taking them into a spare enclosure for an hour a day. At first they were all very unsure, vocalising and not straying far from us. Over the next few days they became more confident and went off exploring the enclosure. Soon they were being left to explore on their own. We gradually increased the time they were outside from just an hour a day up to five, six, and then seven hours a day. Meanwhile we also slowly reduced the heat in their room until there was no supplemental heating. At 82 days of age they were left outside overnight for the first time with a heated shed fdled with straw. The temperature in the shed was 17°C and the outside temperature was 9°C. The pups were checked in the morning and seemed to have coped well with staying out. They seemed to really enjoy it and so were left in the enclosure day and night from then on.

Problems, medical treatment, losses and supplements

Starting off with 14 puppies was very hard work. We unfortunately lost eight of them, leaving us with six. However, we were very pleased with this result as we hadn't held out much hope of any surviving due to the volatile nature of the species and the problems we faced from the start. We started to lose the puppies at Day 9; one by one they seemed to keep dying. By Day 15 we had lost seven. Post mortems were performed on all the puppies who died but no abnormalities were found by the post mortem or h i ~ ~ ~ a t h o l o g y . The only slightly aberrant thine was that thev had a bit of air in their stomachs. This was ~robablv a chanae occukng at or ne& the point of death; but as it could have been d u e 6 the puis swallowing too much air whilst drinking, the teats were changed to bigger ones. The teats were also changed regularly as they were becoming chewed and this increased the risk of aspiration pneumonia. At 14 days of age the milk was changed as we were losing the puppies and they all seemed to have diarrhoea. The diarrhoea cleared up soon after the milk was changed, and only one more puppy died three weeks later at 35 days old.

From Day 1 after every feed we stimulated them to produce faeces and urine. This was stopped a t 21 days of age as they were defecating well on their own. Some of them seemed to have very sore, swollen and bleeding genitals. This was due to the puppies sucking on each other. Nothing could be done to prevent this, but they were cleaned daily with a dilute Hibiscrub (antiseptic skin cleanser) solution. When the pups were given access to the room the sucking stopped as they were able to get away from each other and were more interested in running about. They really started to develop individual characters at this time. They were wormed at regular intervals - first at 16 days old, then 29 days, 55 days, and finally at 77 days old. Each treatment consisted of a three-day course of oral fenbendazole.

Between 28 and 42 days of age all the pups were given clavulanic acid potentiated amoxycillin (15 mglkg) injected daily. This is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and was given because they had an increased rate of respiration and wheezy chests. This could have been due to an infection or to aspiration of milk. Their respiratory problem seemed to clear up after two weeks and no further medical treatment was needed.

Another problem we encountered was that most of the pups began to get large abscesses in the scruff of the neck. This was possibly due to the antibiotics they were being injected with or to the fact that they were biting each other. These

8

abscesses were left untreated unless they were very large, in which case they were lanced and drained. At around 63 days of age we encountered another problem; all six pups began to get very red, sore feet. This was possibly due to walking on the plastic flooring that was soaking up the urine. Therefore the flooring was taken up and replaced with straw, the pups had their feet washed and Vaseline (petroleum jelly) was rubbed into their feet twice a day for five days until the problem cleared up. Due to the volatile nature of this species and because they are prone to calcium deficiency (rickets), we actively supplemented every piece ofmeat to prevent this. At 38 days of age we started them on a quarter of a Pet Cal tablet for each pup daily (a calcium supplement with a high calcium to phosphate ratio). This was stopped a t 91 days old. We also sprinkled SA37 powder onto their food daily from 56 days. This contains all the essential vitamins and minerals they need. This is still given a t the time ofwriting and will continue up to at least eight months old.

Table 1. Weight record of pups.

Age of pups (days)

Weight of pups (g)

Introducing the pups to adult dogs After giving the pups a week to settle into their enclosure and get used to the

outside world, we started a plan to introduce them into their family group. Initially this was done by shutting the pack - ten dogs from Tunis's previous litter (now 16 months old) and alpha male Mzungu, the pups' father - into the large main enclosure and putting the pups in the large shut-off area next door. No extra fencing was put in place, so only the standard 2-inch [50-mm1 chain link was separating them. The process was done as quickly and smoothly as possible, so it was not a big deal and did not stress the dogs out or make them more excited than they were. This appeared to go well. There was lots of noise and lots of interest from the pack, but no real aggression was shown. The pups didn't seem f d by the adults and went right up to the mesh to investigate. The same was tried the following day and again i t went well. However, this time all the dogs

were a little calmer, having seen each other the day before. So on Day 3 the alpha male was put in the shut-off and the pups were let out from their transport 'sky kennels" with him. The keepers were on guard in case anything went wrong. The introduction went really well. The pups went up to greet the alpha male, they were submissive to him and didn't hassle him too much. The alpha male was very interested. He kept sniffing them and trying to pick them up, but no aggression was shown. On Day 4 the alpha male was shut in the shut-off and the pups were let out with him again. All went well again, so the plan was to start introducing the other dogs one by one. We hoped that the alpha male would become protective of the pups whilst keeping control of the whole pack. We let the two males through into the area first, as past experience has shown us that males seem to be better with offspring. Initially all looked well, but within minutes the two males tried to attack the pups. Therefore the four keepers went in to get the puppies. Whilst two keepers kept the adult dogs cornered the other two grabbed the pups and put them into their sky kennels. The pups were not injured. The section had previously discussed possible outcomes, and it was now obvious that the pack wasn't going to accept them into the group. Therefore Plan B was put into place.

Plan B was to mix the pups with two old adult dogs. Ben is a male who was born at the park and has had lots of experience of being in a pack environment, and Masai is a female who was the first bitch ever to raise pups in captivity in the U.K. Both dogs are around 14 years old, and are very calm, relaxed animals. The pups were given a few days to get over their meetingwith the pack, although they didn't seem at all bothered by what had happened. By this time they were all very confident and active and nothing seemed to worry them. So at 94 days of age the pups were taken to Ben and Masai's enclosure and released with them, with the four keepers at each corner of the enclosure keeping a close eye on the situation. Everything went really well. The pups went up to greet Ben and he was very interested, sniffing them and following them about. Masai took more of a back seat. She seemed more nervous about what we were all doing in there. After standing guard for 30 minutes we all went out of the enclosure and watched from a distance. The pups all greeted Masai, who was a little unsure at first but showed no aggression. The pups spent the next hour just running about, with Ben and Masai looking on. Within a few hours they found a warm spot in the sun and settled down to sleep, with Ben and Masai resting eight metres away but in visual contact. There were plenty of sheds, tunnels and space for the pups to get away if necessary, but this didn't seem to be needed. A keeper kept watch all day and there was no aggression shown at all, so they were all left together overnight.

All was well the next day. At feed times food was placed in the enclosure and the pups all tucked in straight away. Ben and Masai seemed to let them have first pickings and take what was left. As the pups were so confident and used to being alone, there were worries that they might only coexist and not become a pack, but after being in together for some time now (two months) they have actually 'gelled' as a pack. All are still getting on well: Masai has really taken them under her wing and always makes sure they get food first, while Ben stands guard as they are eating. All are sleeping in the same shed together, and the pups have learnt how to be dogs rather than being under our feet when we are in the enclosure. Ben and Masai are very protective of them and always looking out for them -we couldn't have asked for anything better with this pack now.

Conclusion

In summary, 16 pups were delivered: two of these were still-born, six died in the second week from fading puppy syndrome, and one died several weeks later. Six survived and were successfully hand-raised to reach adulthood and be mixed with other dogs. This experience ofhand-raising has shown that it is not an easy task. The pups naturally have a high mortality rate in the wild, and this was shown by the fading puppy syndrome, which we seemed able to do little about. We are unsure if the milk formula had anything to do with their success, but the pups really seemed to like the change to Lactol puppy powder and i t appeared that using this cleared up their diarrhoea. Therefore we would consider using this from the start next time. Our experience has shown that it is possible to successfully hand-raise African wild dogs without them imprinting on us. Their natural instincts are always there and they have grown up to live and work as well as any mother-raised pack.

Sarah Wills, Port Lyrnpne Wild Animal Park, Hythe, Kent, CT21 4PD, U.K. (monkeybird300O@hotmail.co.uk)

International Zoo News Vol. 56, NO. 1 (2009), PP. 12-16 !

PRIMATE ZOO EXHIBITS: WHAT IS THEIR ECOLOGICAL MESSAGE? BY SPARTACO GIPPOLITI

1 1

I There is increasing evidence of the importance of informal features of zoo and 1 museum exhibits in shaping public experience and knowledge. This is of great ' interest if zoos are being asked to change public knowledge and attitudes

towards the problems of wildlife conservation. However, the precise form these informal 'conservation messages' should take has rarely been properly dis- cussed. The general principles of exhibitry proposed by the 'landscape immer- sion' school during the 1970s remain the most complete attempt to formalise a conservation philosophy for zoo design. Thirty years ago, however, conservation

I l '

biology was in its infancy, and a lot of data have been gathered since, in particular concerning primate conservation (Cowlishaw and Dunbar, 20001,

1 while, on the other hand, zoo exhibits have often greatly departed from the original naturalistic and landscape immersion theoretical background. Actu- ally, a growing concern in conservation biology is focused on the effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation with its many consequences (summarised for primates in Marsh, 2003). Should today's zoo exhibits informally convey any message regarding the importance of habitat integrity and the dangers of fragmentation, including increased exposure to hunting and diseases? Apart from the obvious fact that not all primates lives in primary forests, we must honestly say that most exhibits provide a really poor idea of what a tropical forest is - in some cases, captive primates seem to inhabit something like a

1 burned, highly degraded forest, with some upright dead trunks and some plant I regrowth on the lower strata at best. If, moreover, most captive primates are

seen on the ground, their dependence on trees and forests becomes still less obvious to the casual visitor. (Anyone who has been lucky enough to see wild primates in a forest knows that one has to keep one's head constantly up, a situation rarely occurring in even the best zoos.) Further, many of these captive

l habitats are of really limited size and, where water is utilised as a barrier, primates are effectively - and easily perceived as -living on physical islands, i.e. the ultimate results of habitat fragmentation. I have some concern that these exhibits may send an informal message that overlooks the importance of habitat size and quality, as we are showing healthy and happy monkeys in a relatively small area. Some will argue that space limitation is typical of the zoo environ- ment, yet landscape architects have traditionally offered some guidance to overcome this problem (Hancocks, 1996). Thus an inevitable tension arises between zoo biology- which stresses how each species perceives its environment - and conservation education, which is primarily concerned with how one species - Homo sapiens - perceives the zoo environment, and needs to be anthropocentric by definition (Gippoliti, 2006). It should be added that the main concern of many zoo designers seems to have been the elimination of visible barriers between visitors and animals, with little concern for the rest of the

story, i.e. creating an exhibit that elucidates the uniqueness of a given species or of a whole habitat.

It is intriguing to analyse how often such spectacular features as waterfalls are included in modern rainforest exhibits while essential elements such as African bai (swampy forest clearings), Neotropical vdrzeas (flooded forests) or Asian karst cliffs have received little attention from zoo designers despite their great ecological significance. The final result of all these factors is often zoo exhibits that (copying one another) meet most current zoo biology goals, are aesthetically pleasant, but - aside from interpretation panels - convey no sense ofwonder and inspiration, and send no firm, informal conservation messages concerning the ecological needs of primates and the effects of human activities.

In recent years there has been a trend towards the development of walk-in exhibits for some primates such as lemurs. We knownvery well that interacting with a living primate can be a spectacular and exciting experience, yet the informal message of these exhibits is one that obviously overlooks the conse- quences of close encounters between humans and wild primates for the health and behaviour of the latter. Diseases represent a serious threat to the survival of many ape populations (Hanamura et al., 2008) which should be considered thoroughly in zoo design. In particular, as close encounters between primates and tourists became commoner in the 'wild' and in rehabilitation centres, zoos could play a positive role by explaining potential threats and offering some guidelines to minimise risks. Perhaps walk-in exhibits might be allowed with some limitations - for example, if a no-feeding policy is adopted and animals roam a really naturalistic, large enclosure that is not bisected centrally by the visitor pathway, even to reinforce the great danger the building of roads poses in pristine habitats (Fig. 1). In such a situation primates may more easily be found in the canopy, encouraged by ad hoc enrichment techniques.

I I I I Fig. 1. Schematic view of two walk-in exhibits showing public pathways. Left, one that maximises easy visibility with a pathway that physically bisects the exhibit; right, the public pathway leaves untouched the core of the exhibit.

Another old-fashioned trend now re-emerging is that of exotic buildings linked to the culture of the country of origin of the exhibited animals. Among primates, a small number of species (sometimes referred to as 'weed species') are so linked to human activities, such as agriculture, that they have historically benefited from deforestation and nowadays live even in urban areas (e.g. some macaque species). In such a case, the presence of ethnographical features may seem appropriate to illustrate the behavioural plasticity of these species. Other species may well display greater adaptability than is usually believed (such as

red colobus living in deteriorated forests in Senegal and elsewhere), but most primates are typical of primary forests and many are hunted for food by local oommunities. In such cases, the presence of ethnographical features, combined with a small exhibit area and poor canopy structure, fail to convey any message about the real conservation needs of most primates and their habitats. In this regard it is interesting to note that Car1 Hagenbeek's famous panoramas were completely devoid of exotic buildings, so as to represent what he perceived as genuine wild habitats. Hagenbeck's only primate naturalistic exhibit, the AffenfeZsen ('Monkey Hill') created at Stellingenin 1913 [photo, below], shows all the features of the modern landscape immersion school. Yet most later moated exhibits followed a more artificial model, emphasising easy visibility [photo, opposite]. It should be stressed here that while animal visibility can be a cause of concern for many exhibits, primates are so active that there is no serious excuse not to create more natural habitats.

' "W-

The 'wenfelsen' for hamadryas baboons at Stellingen Tierpark (19131, an impressive immersion exhibit even by today's standards.

The importance of protecting large wild areas is one of the primary messages for a conservation institution. The relationship between area size and number of species is one of the firmest in ecology and needs to be continuously reaffirmed if biodiversity conservation is a serious goal. The increased susceptibility of wildlife to hunting due to logging, road construction and habitat fragmentation is a well-known phenomenon, sometimes leading to 'empty forests' (Redford, 1992). The importance of hunting in primates' demise should not be overlooked, but it should be put in a broader context, for instance through the creation, close

to a rainforest zoo habitat, of a special exhibit that explains where coffee (or tea or cocoa or soya) come from and how they impact on tropical rainforests. The failure of three decades of environmental education was explained by Blumstein and Saylan (2007) as 'because out of the classroom, people have failed to make the link between their individual actions and the environmental condition'. In this context, it is absolutely necessary that both the formal and informal messages of zoos concentrate on the root causes of tropical biodiversity loss and be morally fair, recognizing that often environmental problems have their prime cause in our current socio-economic model - all the opposite of what has sometimes been done even in the best zoo in the world (Van Reybrouck, 2004).

The Villaggio delle Scimmie CMonkey Village') at Rome Zoo (19121, created by then director Theodor Knottnerus-Meyer, showing anthropomorphic house.

Serious biodiversity conservation efforts may well depend on a complex mix of different approaches often seen as irreconcilable, such as strict protectionism, community-based habitat conservation and planning at the landscape level, depending mainly on human density (Sanderson et al., 2002). This complex situation offers more than one challenge to zoo educators and designers. Thus it should be really important, given the high costs of zoo exhibit renovation, that from the beginning the design teams include ecologists and conservation biologists able to identify a few crucial issues (about a particular species or habitat) that deserve maximum attention from the beginning.

Acknowledgements I wish to thank Ken Kawata for constructive criticism of previous versions of my manuscript, Klaus Gille (Hagenbeck Tierpark) for the photo of the Stellingen exhibit, and Nicholas Gould for much needed assistance.

15

References

a Blurnstein, D.T., and Saylan, C. (2007): The failure of environmental education (and how we can hit). PLoS Biology (httpJ/biology.plosjournals.org) 5 (5): 973-977.

Cowlishaw, G., and Dunbar, R. (eds.) (2000): Primate Conservation Biology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Gippoliti, S. (2006): Applied primatology in zoos: history and prospects in the field of wildlife conservation, public awareness and animal welfare. Primate Report 73: 57-71.

Hanamura, S., et al. (2008): Chimpanzee death a t Mahale caused by a flu-like disease. Primates 49: 77-80.

Hancocks, D. (1986): The design and use of moats and barriers. In Wild Mammals in Captivity -Principles and Techniques (eds. D.G. Kleirnan, M.E. Allen, K.V. Thompson and S. Lumpkin), pp. 191-203. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Marsh, L.K. (ed.) (2003): Primates in Fragments: Ecology and Conservation. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

Redford, K.H. (1992): The empty forest. BioScience 42: 412-422. Sanderson E.W., Jaiteh, M., Levy, M.A., Redford, K.H., Wannebo, A.V., and

Woolmer, G., (2002): The human footprint and the last of the wild. BioScience 52: 891-904.

Van Reybrouck, D. (2004): New tiger exhibit a t Bronx Zoo imbued with post-91 11 rhetoric. International Zoo News 51 (4):19&199.

Spartaco Gippoliti, Istituto Italiano di Antropologia, c/o Dipartimento diBiologia Animale e dell'uomo, La Sapienza Universitb di Roma, Via Borelli 50,00161 Roma, Italy (E-mail: spartacolobu&hotmail.com).

IZN Back Numbers and Binders

All available back issues from 1985 to 2005 are now offered for sale at £1.50 (€2.00 or $3.00) each post free. (Nos 189,195,197-205,210,212-215,217-219, 222-228,231,240,245-249,251,253, and 255-257 are out ofprint.) Issues from 53:l (No. 346, Jan./Feb. 2006) on may be purchased only as part of a full year's subscription. A list of past feature articles is available on request. Photocopies of entire out-of-print issues can be supplied for a charge of £2.00 (€3.00 or $4.00) each, including postage.

Binders to hold a year's issues, bound in dark green simulated leather material, with 'IZN' and our lemur logo in gold on the spine, are available at £4.00 (U.K. only) or £4.50 (€7.00 or $9.00) overseas, postage and packing included. Send your order with a cheque for the correct amount to ZZN, Fealquoy, Rousay, Orkney KW17 2PS, U.K.

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International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 18-20

PARIS ZOO - A PERSONAL REMINISCENCE BY JONAS L E T This article was written following my most recent visit to Paris Zoo [Parc Zoologique de Paris, Vincennes] in October 2008, shortly before its closure for extensive renovation work. I shall recall my visits and observations at Vincennes up to and including my latest trip.

I was born in Paris and lived there for several years, but my first experiences of the zoo world took place in other European capitals. Berlin, Vienna, London and Barcelona, among others, left me with some crucial impressions. It was only in April 1997, when passing through the French capital, that I finally discovered Paris Zoo. This institution, opened on 2 June 1934, was designed entirely in accordance with the principles developed by Car1 Hagenbeck in Hamburg in the early 1900s. Even in the 21st century, up until its closure on 1 December 2008, the zoo remained a perfect illustration of Hagenbeck's 'panoramic' concept, so revolutionary in its time. The little 'Zoo de la Coloniale', constructed for the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition, aroused Parisians' enthusiasm and inspired the National Museum of Natural History to create a bigger - and permanent - zoological park. Over the years, the park took on the role of a national zoo where high-powered research, breeding of rare species, and spectacular displays could take place. Nevertheless, from the 1970s on, the public authorities and the news media were uneasy about the zoo's long-term prospects without a far-reaching renovation. As long as 30 years ago, on 8 January 1978, the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche printed a headline 'The zoo must be saved'.

In April 1997, at the time of my first visit, Paris Zoo had already lost a little of its former glory. But though there were no longer a million visitors jostling a t the zoo gates, I nevertheless came away with an abiding memory of this first encounter. Yen Yen, one of the two giant pandas given to President Georges Pompidou in 1973, was still there and I clearly recall seeing him in his grassed enclosure, peacefully sleeping in his grotto. The important, prolific group of giraffes and the troop of yellow baboons were also interesting sights on this first visit. The renovation of the Grand Rocher rGreat Rock'] had just been completed and I paid an extra charge to take the lift up to the. 65-metre summit. I unfortunately did not see Siam, the famous breeding bull Asian elephant, who died a few months later in September 1997. (I finally saw him several years later, now a mounted specimen, in the Grand Gallery of Evolution, where he has been since 2001.)

Another stay in Paris in July 2001 enabled me to pay a further visit to Vincennes. This was an especially memorable time for me, as it saw the launch of my website www.leszoosdanslemonde.com, itself one of the main reasons for my trip to Paris. I took the opportunity to spend an afternoon at the zoo. It was then that I saw my first aye-aye in the little 'Nocturama'; but the day's real highlight was Coco, the famous African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), imported from Sierra Leone in 1963. In April 2002 he was transferred to El Castillo de las Guardas in southern Spain (where he died a few months later), so I did not see him on my next trip to Paris Zoo in July 2002. Work had already

started on the famous Sifaka House, a magnificent project, directly linked to the Malagasy people and the in situ conservation of the biodiversity of Madagascar: but this ex situ component, greatly reducedin scale, was only completed in 2006, four years behind schedule.

Just a year later, in July 2003, I returned to Vincennes. One of the six bear pits, long the pride of the zoo, had just been refitted to give its occupants a more natural and enriched environment. At one time the management had prided themselves on displaying every known bear species. On this visit I was still able to see four - spectacled, brown, polar and sun bears. It was also interesting to see the otters fishing: they were publicly fed with live fish, but -disappointingly -without a commentary for visitors.

In December 2003, an important conference organised by the Soci6t6 d'Encouragement pour la Conservation des Animaux Sauvages ('Society to Promote the Conservation of Wild Animals') brought me back to Paris. The polar bears were no longer there, having been transferred to Amsterdam Zoo. The last white rhinoceros, a male named Gus, father of a young rhino born in 1992 (a French first), had been transferred to Thoiry in October. A giraffe had been born a few days earlier, the latest addition to the incredible number of these animals bred at Vincennes since 1934. With a view to the renewed breeding of Asian elephants, a new bull was expected shortly to join the sexually mature cows Kaveri and Nina. There was talk of a bull in Singapore who might arrive in the following spring - but it was not to be. The penguin exhibit was going to be renovated, with glass viewing panels added and the rockwork strengthened. But in spite of all that, I was aware - more than on my previous visits - of the passage of time and the progressive deterioration of many of the installations. The raised tiger enclosure was in a particularly poor state - electric wires had been fitted to keep back the sole remaining tiger from the edges of the platform, which were beginning to collapse, and the background rocks were held in place by scaffolding.

After that my visits became a little less frequent. In the months that followed, rumours came thick and fast about renovations -partial or total, with or without the complete closure of the zoo. After receiving some slightly more reliable information, I decided to make one more trip to the zoo a t the end of October 2005. I had the feeling that it would be a last, historic visit, and I spent the whole day there soaking up the atmosphere of the place. Many of the paths were already closed and many exhibits stood empty. The two elephants, Kaveri and Nina, had finally been transferred to Zoo le Pal, Dompierre, several months earlier; the big cats, too, were not on their plateaux and the bears were no longer lying in their pits. Weeds were gradually reclaiming their territory. It was a strange experi- ence, this visit to a dying zoo. I climbed the Grand Rocher once more (the lift had been closed long before). But a meeting with the then director, Dr Claude-Anne Gauthier, gave me renewed confidence and hope - she was so optimistic about the zoo's future. She proudly showed me the new indoor quarters for crowned sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi coronatus) and the old giant panda enclosure, now refitted for a new group of black howler monkeys. I left in the confident expectation that I would come back in a few years to find the French national zoo compIetely overhauled and in the front rank of modern zoological gardens.

In the event, things didn't happen so quickly. Dr Gauthier left to pursue other activities; she was succeeded by Christine Morrier, whom I had met some years earlier when she was in charge of Amiens Zoo. Plans for the renovation of Paris Zoo were elaborated and finally 1 December 2008 was chosen as the day when the park would close for several years to allow a complete renovation to take place.

t Thanks to the recent opening of an East European high-speed rail link, making it possible to reach Paris from Strasburg in two hours, I spent a weekend in the capital to repeat my last' visit in 2005. On a sunny Sunday in mid-October 2008, I found myself again in front of the zoo's Paris Gate for what really was to be my last visit before the closure. Little had changed in three years except that the number of species had decreased further. Lodja, the last okapi, had gone to Bristol Zoo, U.K., in 2007. In the past, Paris Zoo had had outstanding success in breeding this species, with no fewer than 36 births between 1957 and 1995. Their neighbours, the Kordofan giraffes (G. c. antiquorum), whose subspecific status was only recently established, were always an important group, and I spent some time observing the 15 remaining individuals, five of them the current year's calves. These exceptional animals, the important group of yellow baboons, and other species still present such as a pair of hippos, were not enough to satisfy the curiosity of all the sauntering visitors this bright weekend. Many of them didn't understand, partly, perhaps, because of the shortage of information for the public -by far the commonest signs were those reading 'no entry' or 'no way through'. There were commands of this kind everywhere in the zoo, even in places where it was virtually a physical impossibility to get through, or where toilets and washrooms were out of order and a simple 'not in use' was all that was needed. This sort of thing increased my feeling of uneasiness at being in a place so rich in historical associations but now becoming abandoned, with nothing growing but weeds and with ruins everywhere. Even some of the signs saying There are no animals in this enclosure' had become illegible with the passage of years.

Today, though, the time has come to look to the future and set all our hopes on the project that is coming into being, which may make Paris Zoo once again an institution known around the world. It will be necessary to avoid repeating past mistakes, to create modern, well-designed animal houses, form the necessary links between ex and in situ conservation, and yet preserve as far as possible the historic features, the essential character of this place, which presents - or used to present - a complete picture of a key moment in the evolution of the modern zoo. Though I still vividly recall images from many other zoos, my visits to Vincennes, and the shadows of wild animals M the rocks, remain etched on my memory.

Jonas Livet, 8 rue de l'Aqueduc, 67500 Haguenau, France (E-mail: jonaslivet @leszoosdanslemonde.com).

Zoohistorica 20 - Amnhville 2009 The 20th international meeting of collectors of zoo literature and memorabilia will be held on the last weekend (29th-30th) of August 2009 at Amn6ville Zoo, France. Zoohistorica 2009 will be the 20th since the first meeting in 1990 a t Hannwer Zoo, Germany; it will also be the first time this event has taken place a t a French zoo. Registrations will be taken from March 2009, and the first programme, as well as information about the organization of the event and accommodation opportunities in Amnbville, will be published a t that time. All information will be available online a t www.zoohistorica.org. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me a t jonaslivet@zoohistorica.org.

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 21-23

WORKING WITH CELEBRITIES TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF YOUR zoo BY JOHN REGAN

1. Why try to involve a famous person in your zoo event?

Celebrity figures and zoos have a long association. Many prominent actors (and especially actresses) seem to have a strong affinity with wildlife and animals. Such figures can immensely enjoy, not just visiting a well-kept zoological collection, but also, perhaps, becoming actively involved in zoo projects. Con- versely zoo sites can (normally) only stand to benefit by sharing a little of the public profile and 'glamour' that a widely recognised and acclaimed figure can command.

John Regan Associates (JRA) is, of course, focused mainly on attaining major transformational funding for our various client zoos, rather than more general PR benefits as such. So we see the advantages of celebrity association primarily in the context of strategic funding plans. Putting together a pleasant and inspirational event - opening a new exhibit, presenting an award, launching a new conservation or fund-raising initiative, etc. - and involving a suitable, well- known figure creates a unique platform to invite major decision makers to come and celebrate your zoo's success. Some of these will be in a position to assist with major external funding. Indeed, even those whose diaries do not allow them to attend that particular day (and the 'decision-making class' are some of the busiest people of all) will certainly notice and remember the institution whose invitation c-ed a name that Tumped off the page'.

There are of course other advantages: (1) Press and media will normally provide much more elaborate coverage for your event, and for your organisation in general, than they would without the patina endowed by the given VIP; (2) Your board, civic contacts, management and staff will also usually enjoy a celebrity visit. Most of us (and especially, I am afraid, the author of this article) are, perhaps despite ourselves, rather shallow in this respect, and find it difficult to resist the opportunity to meet someone famous - and talk about it afterwards. That is not to say there may not be a certain amount of grumbling and pretended dissent in certain quarters ( but see Section 3 below).

On behalf of Chester, T~ycross and Marwell Zoos, as well as museums and other institutions in the U.K., we have worked with figures such as Elizabeth Hurley, Julie Christie, Miranda Richardson, Betty Boothroyd (formerly Speaker of the House of Commons), Richard Leakey (celebrated Kenyan conservation- ist), Douglas Adams (the late author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Harold Pinter, George Melly, Susamah Yorke, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Brian Blessed and many others. This activity should not be underestimated as a very useful part of the mix in winning transformational funding.

l 2. So what are some of the secrets to successfully securing the services of a celebrity figure and working with them thereafter?

(a) First of all, think beyond the obvious. Do not try to do what everyone else is doing. If I had a pound for every time someone has said 'Let's ask David Attenborough,' I would be doing very well indeed! A celebrity does not have to be already associated with wildlife to be appropriate, and the definition of a celebrity goes far beyond show business. A figure unused to approaches from zoos or the conservation world has two advantages: -they are actually more likely to say yes in the first place, given the very novelty of the gesture; - an unusual association is by its very nature newsworthy and will generate more publicity and more attention (a royal visit, whilst certainly prestigious, is hardly breaking news; presiding at such events is after all one of the functions of the royal family). (b) Spend some time considering whose name will seem truly 'stellar' to your target audience. Who might your clientele really want to meet (and, having met, talk about)? Whose name will leap out of the invitation? Since, despite the allegedly egalitarian times in which we live, the majority of decision makers stubbornly remain middle-aged men, female film stars of a certain calibre are one obvious option, but not the only one. (C) Allow your target celebrities as much latitude as possible in terms of timing. Narrowing the invitation to one particular day is unlikely to be successful, but equally a vague, open invitation to nominate a date 'sometime' may not trigger any decision at all. There is little point in issuing an invitation six months in advance, and one month is probably too late. Two months or so is anice timescale. (d) Although some can be very helpful indeed, as a policy, where possible, circumnavigate agents and assistants. It will a t least slow down the response time, and you may come up against a standing rule to refuse all such requests. Thus your beautifully crafted letter never actually gets the chance to impact on, and persuade, your would-be guest. I once invited Rolling Stone Ronnie Woods in very clear terms to a prestigious event a t the House of Lords, only to receive an agent's letter to the effect that, regrettably, I could not have an autograph! (e) Craft the letter very carefully indeed: come to the point straight away; reference other prestigious figures (members of the royal family?) who have visited your site; make it clear that this is not a 'supermarket opening ' but rather, in terms of guests at least, a private event; stress the ethical and environmental benefits of the project they will be endorsing; etc. (D Never offer to pay. The person involved should understand that it is an honour to be asked to officiate a t such an important, prestigious event. Whether your organisation has official charitable status or not, your project will have essential environmental and social benefits, and the time invested by the public figure involved should be seen by all as a 'donation'. (g) Once you have a contact or a relationship, look after it - 'feed and water it'. (h) Gradually build up a database of appropriate figures. JRA now have quite a considerable resource as to contacts and other relevant details for such figures. (i) Work to maximise the day's benefit to your zoo and its programmes. Make sure that your most important contacts get a special invitation, and will 'rub shoulders' as appropriate. Who will sit next to the celebrity? Remember, it is not a public event as such. Although media and special guests will be alerted in advance to the VIP presence, the general public (your visitors) should not be.

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3. What a r e some things that can go wrong, and how can these be avoided?

(a) Staffor other stakeholders canget hold of the wrong end of the stick and spread canteen rumours as to 'wasting resources on a celebrityJ or 'pandering to a VIP's demands'. Make sure everyone knows that the VIP's otherwise very costly time has generously been donated and that there are very good, practical reasons for involving them in keeping with both your organisation's mission and the prosperity of all who work there. (b) Some last-minute hiccup prevents the VIP's involvement. Ensure you have a backup plan, and another person to step in. There is no reason, by the way, not to have both an officiating personality and a 'guest of honour' for an event. (C) The celebrity goes o f f message and makes some remark that is inappropriate. In identifying the given celebrity, carry out careful research to ensure their values are in keeping with yours. In advance of the event, make sure he or she receives and has absorbed a full briefing on your organisation and its pro- grammes.

Conclusion

It is by no means straightforward to attract the involvement of a sufficiently high-profile personality and then to derive true value for your conservation or other programme. Success is certainly not guaranteed. In general media expo- sure alone, however, the costhenefit ratio is very attractive. It is worth weighing the time and expense involved against the column inches achieved. What would the equivalent costs be in 'above the line' advertising to achieve the same impact?

Much more importantly, however, all too often we have found that when beginning to workwith organisations, whilst a given zoo may be warmly regarded bv elements of the business and aolitical communitv. it can recede into the back oi the mind as little more t h k a pleasant, bG.essentially trivial leisure proposition. The huge splash made by a celebrity invitation can be a kind ofwake- up call for an entire pantheon of influencers and deciders. By drawing attention to your site in this unusual way, you can begin the process of positioning it as an obvious vehicle for development and the funding required for this.

John Regan of John Regan Associates Ltd (www johnreganassociates.com) assists zoos, botanic gardens and similar organisations to attract major trans- formational funding. Achievements have included: - negotiating a $3million sponsorship with Jaguar Cars for Chester Zoo; -drawing down a six-figure sum to plan the development of Chester Zoo's wider estate; - lobbying through the CBI in successful zoo VAT repayments amounting to some tens of millions of pounds; - attaining a £3 million grant for Twycross Zoo from the East Midlands Development Agency. JRA Ltd is currently making rapid progress towards a E5 million package for Marwell Zoo's redevelopment. Enquiries welcome: e-mail John~ohnreganassociates.com; tel. 0044 (01161 434 1681; mob. 07534 379309.

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International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 24-25

CHEETA - THE WORLD'S OLDEST C H PANZEE? BY RICHARD WEIGL

In April 2008 the male chimpanzee Cheeta, well known for his appearances in the Tarzan films of the 1930s and 1940s, was reported to have celebrated his 76th birthday in a primate sanctuary, Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (CHEETA), in Palm Springs, California. Cheeta is famous for being - allegedly - the oldest great ape in the world. His longevity is even given 'official' recognition in the Guinness Book of Records.

However, Cheeta's curriculum vitae raises questions which cast considerable doubt on the whole story. Between 1932 and 1949 Cheeta appeared in 12 Tarzan films alongside Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker. Astonishingly, all the photos of the Tarzan actors aver more than a decade show that the chimpanzee was virtually the same size in all the films. Two clearly distinct photos from 1939 and 1949 show 'Cheeta' - first in the 1939 Tarzan Finds a Son with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, and then in Tarzan's Magic Fountain (19491, with the alleged Cheeta in his last Tarzan role standing alongside Lex Barker and Brenda Joyce. The chimpanzee in the 1949 photo is actually even smaller than the one photographed ten years earlier. Were several 'Cheetas' employed for the same film role? There are also some indications that the 'Cheeta' who appeared in other films between 1951 and 1955 remains something of a mystery. Then, in 1967, a so-called 'Cheeta' made a final appearance alongside Rex Harrison in the film Doctor Doolittle, still wearing baby clothes at - supposedly - around 30 years old.

Some chimpanzees, especially in the U.S.A., are reported to have reached the age of 60. However, if there are uncertainties of one kind or another over the duration of any animal's life in captivity, I have chosen not to list i t in my publication Longevity of Mammals in Captivity (Weigl, 2005). This book in- cludes a female chimpanzee, Fifi, who was living a t Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia, in August 2004. Fifi, who was wild-born in 1947, arrived at St Louis Zoo, Missouri, on 1 July 1948 via the New York animal importers and dealers Henry Trefflich, and moved from there to Sydney on 19 November 1954. She died a t Taronga on 19 July 2007, and was the first chimpanzee known definitely to have reached the age of 60.

Currently the proven record longevity for a living ape is held by a male chimpanzee, Kongo. He was born on 28 February 1948 in one of Bob and Mae Noell's show trucks, and later appeared as a boxing chimpanzee in their 'gorilla touring show'. The former Noell's Chimp Farm (Palm Harbor, Florida) became the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary, where Kongo was still living as of 30 September 2008 at the age of 60 years and 7 months (Jan Stiffler, e-mail comm.). This is so far the greatest known age reached by a chimpanzee. Kongo is also the first great ape -or non-human primate of any species -to have lived for more than 60 years in captivity. The previous record was held by a female chimpanzee, Gamma, who was born on 21 September 1932 at the Yerkes Center (Orange Park, West Orange, Florida), moved in 1965 to Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Atlanta,

24

1 I Kongo, the world's oldest chimpatwe, at the age of 60 years and 7 mntlas. (Photo: Jun Stifier, 29 September 2008)

Georgia, and died there on 19 February 1992 after living in captivity for 59 years and 5 months (Jones, 1995). The claim that Cheeta is 76 years old is incompletely documented and his past

life remains in obscurity. His great age can now finally be relegated to the realm of legends.

References

Y o n s , M.L. (1995): Mammalian Longevity Records, an Update, December 1995. (Unpublished typescript.)

Weigl, R. (2005): Longevity ofhfarnnaab in Captiuity;From the Living Collections ofthe World, E . Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart.

E8ee further IZN 53 ($1, p. 484, where primatologist Jane Goodall, after a visit to Palm Springs in 2006, is quoted as commenting that Cheeta looked about 45. h r t h e r details of the story, suggesting that there were indeed several 'Cheetas', WWB recently unravelled by R.D. Rosen m 'Lie d the jungle', Washington Post 7 Deoember 2008, pp. 14 ff. (see www.washh~ngoet.eom) - Ed.]

Echard Weigl, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (WEIGL.ZOOWt-online.de).

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), p. 26

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - . 7J

Dear Sir,

I feel that the overall summary in your editorial in the last edition of IZN I55 (81, 4501 regardingconditiona for zooelephants was very balanced, fair and accurate.

A problem, as I see it, is that many other related issues arise directly from your last sentence. To take the matter of cage or enclosure substrates, for exam- ple, should we also (using different but related criteria) say the same about cer- tain primate species in zoos? Should they be kept on soft substrates, or specifically on grass?

If one has observed groups of primates such as patas monkeys or baboons in the grasslands of Africa, as I have, one can- not help being aware of the demeanour of these animals compared with that of the same species in almost any form of cap- tivity. In the wild they move through the grassland with every sense actively at work, looking intently at almost every blade of grass for a grasshopper or other food, listening to every sound, sifting through the soil with their hands as they advance, communicatingwith each other by gesture and voice. They are alive.

When I see these same species in a zoo, their demeanour is usually significantly different for much or most of the time. They use their cage or enclosure furni- ture with what comes across to me, in

simple terms, as a boredom born of con- stant repetition and lack of new chal- lenges. If they do have access to an area of grass, obviously consisting of locally available grass species, they move around on it with relative disinterest. They be- have conspicuously differently from the way they do in the wild, despite any efforts by zoo staff to provide them with additional activities. Many such provi- sions, or behavioural enrichment, repre- sent comparatively minor diversions com- pared with the constant and multi-fac- eted challenges of the wild.

So, to return to your editorial, one can- not avoid considering how fundamen- tally important natural wild conditions are to the 'normal' development, life- quality and behaviour of many wild spe- cies kept in zoos. Zoos must try con- stantly to evaluate these complex issues and must also consider the implications of their conclusions. All I can say is that, when I watch many primate species in zoos, I experience a sense of unease and dissatisfaction, as i t is clear there are important natural elements missing in their captive environment as well as in their behaviour and demeanour.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Golding, Bristol, England (formerly Director, Zoological Garden, University of Ibadan, Nigeria)

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International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 27-32

CONSERVATION Iberian lynx update

The Iberian Lynx Conservation Breed- ing Programme follows a multidis- ciplinary approach, integrated within the National Strategy for the Conservation of the Iberian Lynx, which is carried out in cooperation with national, regional, and international institutions.

The main goals of the ex situ conserva- tion programme are to maintain a ge- netically- and demographically-managed captive population, and to create new free-ranging populations through reintro- duction. To achieve the first goal, the programme aims to maintain 85% of the genetic diversity presently found in the wild for the next 30 years. This requires developing and maintaining 60170 Ibe- rian lynxes as breeding stock. Growth projections indicate that the ex situ pro- gramme should achieve this target by the year 2010. Once this goal is reached, reintroduction efforts can begin. Thus, current ex situ efforts focus on producing behaviourally and physically sound cap- tive-born individuals. To achieve this goal, we use management and research techniques that rely on multidisciplinary input and knowledge acquired on the species'life history, behaviour, nutrition, veterinary and health aspects, genetics, reproductive physiology, endocrinology and ecology.

As of November 2008, there were 52 (28.24) lynxes in the captive-breeding programme, 14 ofwhom were cubs of the current year (13 captive-born and one wild-caught). In addition, the programme is quarantining three (1.2) additional lynxes and also maintains a post-repro- ductive female. Altogether, out of the 52 potential breeders present in the pro- gramme, there are 24 from the Sierra Morena population, four from Dofiana, and 24 born in captivity (ten of whom descend from crossings between Doiiana and Sierra Morena founders). To help

maintain genetic diversity, the pro- gramme also collaborates in the mainte- nance of a biological resources bank for conservation of biomaterial gathered from wild and captive lynx populations.

To provide the captive space needed to achieve programme goals, construction of two new breeding centres - one in Spain and one in Portugal - is ongoing. Two additional centres in Spain are also scheduled for future construction. The breeding centres will function as a net- work, following EEP standards, each managing approximately eight breeding pairs. Presently, the programme is slightly ahead of the growth projections established in the Iberian Lynx Captive Breeding Action Plan. Updated projec- tions indicate that, starting in 2010-11, the captive-breeding programme will be able to provide from 20 to 40 animals per year for reintroduction efforts. This ac- tion plan was updated in 2007 and offi- cially endorsed by the highest adminis- trative authorities of Spain in May 2008.

Abridged from Astrid Vargas et al. in Cat News (newsletter of the IUCN Cat Spe- cialist Group) No. 49 (Autumn 2008)

Translocating a Pacific lory

Last year the Loro Parque Foundation (LPF) supported the translocation of 27 Kuhl's lories (Vini kuhlii) from the island of Rimatara in French Polynesia to Atiu, one ofthe CookIslands. The translocation was done by San Diego Zoo with the relevant authorities of the islands. The lories were reintroduced to Atiu as an insurance against their extinction by es- tablishing a population on an island free of black, or ship, rats (Rattus rattus). This little species of lory is extremely vulnerable, but also one of the most beau- tiful birds in existence.

The story started in 1980, when con- cerned authorities in Polynesia asked

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San Diego Zoo to monitor populations of rare Vini lories. This resulted in the translocation of the exquisite ultrama- rine lory (V. ultramarina) to another is- land in the Marquesas group - one that was then rat-free.

The next Vini species of conservation concern was Kuhl's lory, found naturally only on the island of Rimatara in French Polynesia. It was introduced to two ofthe Northern Line Islands (Kiribati), 3,000 km away, probably in prehistoric times, but its status there is currently uncer- tain. Rimatara is tiny, only nine km2 in extent, whereas Atiu extends over 29 km2. Surprisingly, Atiu has remained free of the black rat that has caused the extinction of small lories on numerous Pacific islands. If rats ever reached Rimatara, the lory population there would be wiped out in a very short time. In 1992 Gerald McCormack, Director of the Cook Islands Natural HeritageTrust (CINHT), and Judith Kunzle made the first lory population estimate on Rimatara and concluded that there were about 900 in- dividuals. They mainly inhabited the agricultural zone of the island, which is dominated by introduced trees and shrubs.

In the same year Gerald McCormack started the process and continued to play a pivotal role that led to the negotiations along with the Ornithological Society of French Polynesia (MANU). The plan was that this lory should be reintroduced to islands free ofblack rats within its former range in the southern Cook Islands. By 1994 it was known that only two islands were rat-free, Atiu and Aitutaki. The latter island is home to an introduced population of the Tahiti blue lory (Vini peruviana), so that was eliminated on the grounds of competition, leaving only Atiu. Fortunately, the topography and vegetation on Atiu and Rimatara are similar, both with central volcanic hills surrounded by forested fossilised lime- stone reef known as makatea.

A WWF-sponsored expedition to Rimatara in 2000 estimated the lory's

population at 750 birds, and at this point the people of Rirnatara agreed to the CINHT suggestion to provide 20 birds with which to re-establish the species on Atiu. The original offer was renegotiated in January 2007 and a new quota of 27 birds was set. An important issue was the risk involved in trapping tiny lories and moving them 600 km. San Diego Zoo had a vital practical role. The zoo's vet- erinarian, Bruce Rideout, developed and implemented a protocol to ensure that the translocation, which took place on 24 April 2007, did not introduce an avian disease that would destroy the endemic birds of Atiu.

Since then, according to local reports, the lories appear to have dispersed quite widely over the island. On Atiu they feed on Pacific ironwood (Casuarina equi- setifolia), albizia (Falcataria rnoluccana), hibiscus, banana, and the flowers of the Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia) and of coconut palms. Clearly, food sources on the island are abundant so, more than a year after their reintroduction, are the lories thriving? This is quite difficult to assess. On 21 February 2008, the first juvenile was seen by three people and photographed. Then, on 22 June, an ac- tive nest was found about nine metres from the ground in an albizia tree, inside a stub of a branch broken off by a cyclone. It was reported that the two adult birds visited the nest every hour to half-hour during the day, spending two to three minutes inside, and finally two young birds fledged. Another nest was found in August, and prizes were awarded to local people for finding these nests.

To safeguard the future of Kuhl's lory on Atiu, a programme has been imple- mented to increase vigilance at the wharf and around arriving cargo, and to watch for certain types of rat-gnawed holes in coconuts. The project has received funds from LPF and several other sources, most of which were used for the reintroduc- tion, with the remainder to be used for monitoring, and to ensure that the black rat does not become established on the

island. It would be a tragedy if the re- introduction failed from same cause that has wiped out lories and other birds on so many Pacific islands. It is a sad fact that this region has seen a higher rate of bird extinction, due to introduced predators, than any other in the world. Over the past 500 years there have been 68 known bird extinctions there, and currently 37 spe- cies are critically endangered. Another problem is the presence of numerous in- troduced common mynahs (Acridotheres tristis), who periodically become involved in serious contact conflict with adult and fledgling lories. It has therefore been rec- ommended that the number of mynahs be drastically reduced on Atiu to give the few pair8 of lories a head-start in establishing a more robust population.

Abridged and adapted from Cyanopsitta No. 90 (September 2008)

An international organization working to save gorillas The Gorilla Organization works interna- tionally to save the world's last remain- ing gorillas in the wild, by tackling the real threats to their long-term survival. During the past 40 years these threats have changed immensely, and with these changes the organization has evolved and built one of the most holistic and effective gorilla conservation pro- grammes that exists today.

Gorilla conservation started in the 1960s when Dian Fossey, a scientist from America, was sent to Africa by Dr Louis Leakey to study the gorillas. Dian lived among the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for nearly 20 years until she was brutally murdered in 1985 while trying to protect them. Fossey developed an extraordinary bond with the gorillas she encountered, who accepted her into their lives and allowed her to experience their threatened exist- ence. She saw their future slipping away to uncontrolled poaching, and made it

her mission to bring the world's atten- tion to the plight of the last remaining mountain gorillas. In 1978 she estab- lished the Digit Fund, named after one of her favourite gorillas who was killed by poachers. With a mission to protect the last gorillas from illegal hunters, the Fund financed the first-ever ranger pa- trols and marked the beginning of a jour- ney that would see gorilla conservation evolve with the changing political and environmental demands of Africa.

In 1989 the Digit Fund UK(which later became the Gorilla Organization) opened in London, to support the work Dian Fossey started. Exponential population growth was affecting Africa in the early 1990s and, increasingly, the gorilla habi- tat was threatened by surrounding hu- man populations. With nowhere else to turn, communities used the national parks to collect basic resources they needed to survive. The gorillas, once threatened by poachers, now faced a far greater threat - habitat loss. The Gorilla Organization quickly became aware of the impact the local communities were having on the gorillas' long- term survival, and realised that the only way to save this precious species was to work with them. In 1996 local Gorilla Organization staff carried out surveys in the communities near gorilla habitat to identify the main reasons why people used the forest. These community con- versations built relationships which would prove invaluable to the gorillas' future, and formed what would become the foundations of the Gorilla Organiza- tion's unique approach. From there on in, the Organization funded the projects of local African NGOs that would im- prove the lives of communities bordering the gorilla national parks and lessen their dependency on the forest - commu- nity conservation had arrived and would dramatically improve the gorillas' long- term chances of survival. The Gorilla Organization's programme includes pov- erty alleviation and environmental edu- cation projects in the communities around

the gorilla habitats, providing viable al- ternatives to the unsustainable use of forest resources and involving the com- munities in conservation initiatives. The network of local partners, supported by local resource centres near the gorilla habitat and strengthened by the Organi- zation's strong management structure across central Africa and high level of communication from its international headquarters in London, enabled the Gorilla Organization to maintain its con- servation programme around thevirunga Volcanoes throughout one of the most turbulent times in the region's history.

The Gorilla Organization's conservation and research programme supports the wildlife authorities in Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon. Activities include ranger pa- trols and biodiversity surveys in and around the gorilla habitats, which enable the organization to plan and implement conservation programmes that are unique to each individual gorilla habitat and the gorilla subspecies found there. The Or- ganization has established an education programme that brings the message of conservation of the environment to the local communities. Coordinated through its local resource centres, the Organiza- tion has established 81 wildlife clubs in south-west Uganda and more than 350 similar clubs in Rwandan schools sur- rounding the gorilla habitat. The largest part of the Organization's work focuses on improving the socio-economic status of the local populations living around the gorilla habitat. As the Congolese saying goes, 'empty stomachs have no ears' - it is not possible to ask people to stay out of the forest when it provides their only reliable source of food and other resources.

By dramatically improving the health, well-being and quality of life for the local communities through supporting small, grass-roots projects run by local part- ners, the human pressure on gorilla habi- tat should significantly reduce. For ex- ample, water cisterns are built in schools to provide the community with a supply

of fresh water outside of the forest, thereby allowing children to spend more time in school. Firewood-saving stoves use up to 60% less firewood than an open fire, lessening time spent on collecting firewood and reducing the damage to the forest. Other projects help local people to make the most out of their tiny plots of land by increasing yields and the variety of crops grown.

By creating a 'gorilla-friendly' culture, which sees the local people, governments and international communities benefit from gorilla conservation, this programme is having a hugely influential impact on the gorillas' long-term survival. The zoo community has been wonderfully sup- portive of our work: in the past five years British zoos have contributed over £114,000 to further our activities in the field. We continue to need your help and would of course be more than happy to discuss specific field projects, both large and small, that individual collections might wish to support. So for this reason or for further information please do get in touch with me at the Gorilla Organization (www.gorillas.org).

Abridged from Prof. Roger Wheater (Chairman, Gorilla Organization) in LifeLines No. 103 (January 20091, the quarterly publication of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquari- ums (BIAZA)

Could legalized. hunting alleviate the bushmeat crisis?

A controversial report has been prepared by researchers at the Centre for Interna- tional Forestry Research, proposing that hunting be legalized and regulated so that local communities, instead of gov- ernments, can take charge of managing local resources. In central Africa a mil- lion t o ~ e s of bushmeat are harvested every year, supplying 80% of the protein and fat consumed in the region, but much of this hunting is illegal, unregulated and unsustainable. Although some lo-

cally-regulated schemes do currently ex- ist, they are few and far between, and generally occur in isolated areas with little poaching.

The report's recommendations have been given a cautious welcome by other NGOs, although there is scepticism as to whether the scheme will work in the face of weak governments, a lack of effective enforcement, and the difficulties of polic- ing hunting in tropical areas.

New Scientist 199 (2674), 6-7 (2008)

New primate populations found in Cambodia

A survey of a 789-km2 area of Cambodia has discovered two new populations of threatened primates in the Seima Biodi- versity Conservation Area. Before the survey, led by researchers from the Wild- life Conservation Society, the largest known populations ofblack-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nigripes - 600 indi- viduals) and yellow-cheeked crested gib- bons (Hylobates gabriellae - 200 indi- viduals) were located in Vietnam, the only other country where these Endan- gered primates occur. The populations discovered in Cambodia are considerably larger than these - 42,000 and 2,500 respectively. According to researchers, these are undoubtedly the largest remain- ing global populations of both species. The reasons for the persistence of these large populations are principally the ar- ea's inaccessibility, protection of the habi- tat by the logging concessionaire in the 1990s and, more recently, a government- backed conservation programme.

National Geographic News http:// news.nationalgeographic.com)

A new move towards Spix's macaw reintroduction

cated in Bahia State, the 2,200 hectare farm is within the most historically sig- nificant range of Spix's macaw. One of the last recorded sighting8 of a wild bird took place here in October 2000, among the caraibeira trees lining a creek which flows through the property. Concordia Farm was also the base of the Spix's macaw field project, which operated from the 1990s through to 2002. In 1995, the only release of a captive Spix's macaw backinto the wild was from this location.

AWWP plans to allow the farm to re- turn to a more natural state by removing domestic livestock. In the long term, we hope that this land will prove to be a valuable habitat resource for re-estab- lishing Spix's macaws in the wild.

Abridged from an AWWP press release

Wild gorillas doing better than expected

A Wildlife Conservation Society census of western lowland gorillas has shown that populations are doing better than ex- pected, with c. 125,000 alive in two adja- cent areas covering 47,000 km2 in the northern Republic of Congo. A previous census in the 1980s estimated that c. 100,000 remained, and numbers were since thought to have halved because of hunting and the ebola virus. In the latest census densities were found to be as high as eight individuals per km2, one of the highest gorilla densities ever recorded. A combination of factors, including long- term conservation management of the country's protected areas and the remote- ness of some ofthese areas, is responsible for such high gorilla numbers. However, many of the gorillas live outside existing protected areas, although the Congolese government has committed to creating a new national park in the region.

After seven months of negotiations and navigating legal minefields, A1 Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) has pur- chased Concordia Farm in Brazil. Lo-

Mexican wolf reintroduction update

A total of 52 Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) were counted in the wild in Ari-

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zona and New Mexico a t the end of 2008, according to the annual survey conducted by the field team for wolf reintroduction, the same number recorded in the 2007 survey.

Surveys are conducted in January of each year. Pups born in the summer must survive to December 31 to be counted as part of the Mexican wolfpopu- lation. Fixed-wing aircraft and functional radio-telemetry were used to confirm five wolf packs in New Mexico's Gila Na- tional Forest, five in the Apache- Sitgreaves National Forest and Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, and six lone wolves, two in Arizona and four in New Mexico. The survey indi- cated that there were only two pairs that met the federal definition of breeding pairs at year's end.

Of the 52 wolves, 45 were born in the wild. One captive-born female was re- leased to the wild in 2008, and one wolf

was temporarily captured twice after leav- ing a recovery area, but was translocated back on both occasions. No wolves were removed because of livestock depredation or repeated nuisance behaviour.

Illegal shooting was the leading cause of documented loss of wolves in 2008. 'Except for the illegal shooting or suspi- cious demise of seven wolves, 2OQ8 would have seen Mexican wolf populations on the upswing again. These mortalities are an intolerable impediment to wolf recov- ery. We will continue to aggressively in- vestigate each illegal wolf killing to help ensure that anyone responsible is p s - ecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' says Benjamin N. Tuggle, regional Di- rector for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv- ice's Southwest Region.

[For the background to this project, see ZZN 44 (5), 259-270, and 46 (41, 230 - Ed.]

Waders in aviculture - a survey Waders, members of the suborder Charadrii, are a diverse group of birds. They vary in their physical form and have a wide geographical distribution and a range of breeding and feeding habitats. They seem to indulge in almost every avian reproductive strategy recorded, and have amazing physiological adapta- tions that enable them to feature in the record books for their migratory skills. They are often long-lived and, in general, reasonably-sized birds that frequently congregate in open areas, making them easy to observe: as a result they have been studied more than any other group of birds.

The body of ornithological and general scientific knowledge available on free-living waders is vast. It is surprising, therefore, that the avicultural literature contains very little information regarding the captive management - accommodation needs, nutritional requirements, breeding, health and disease - of these birds.

Despite the lack of published information, I am sure that there is a large reservoir of knowledge within the avicultural community that, once collected and collated, will help establish good husbandry guidelines for maintaining those birds that are currently under captive management and any species which, as time passes, is unfortunate enough to require ex situ help in its conservation. I would like to ask those aviculturists who keep or have kept waders in their collections to help with this research project and share their knowledge by completing a questionnaire. This can be done online or by hard copy. Please take part and visit www.wadersurvey.com or contact: Brim Stockdale MRCVS, Meadow Lane Veterinary Centre, 9 Meadow Lane, Loughborough LE11 lJU, U.K. (Tel: +44 (0)7711750579; E-mail: brian.stockdale@wadersurvey.com.

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (20091, pp. 33-36

MISCELLANY The ease for off-exhibit bird facilities

In 1997 AZA bird managers developed a position statement recommending 'that bird collections be structured to allow at least 30% of the collection to be main- tained in dedicated off-exhibit propaga- tion facilities'. This statement was one of a series of measures aimed at tackling the problems of bird availability that we now call 'sustainability'. I t became obvi- ous in 1997 that the AZA community was too reliant on wild-caught birds, without which some of our captive-breeding pro- grammes would struggle or disappear. In reality, 1997 was just a single point on a continuum in the decline of availability ofwild-caught birds. This decline started in the 1970s, eventually reaching the point we are at now, when such birds are largely unavailable. Turning to zoos in other regions for supplementation of stock is also becoming increasingly problem- atic, as diseases such as avian influenza or West Nile virus can influence laws regulating movement of birds across na- tional borders.

In researching the position statement, the AZA Avian Scientific Advisory Group (ASAG, then the Avian Interest Group) found that 'programmes with the highest degree of success had dedicated facili- ties, trained staff, and often managed multiple pairs of the same species . . . Deading to] . . . sustained success.' This rationale helped make the case that AZA facilities needed more off-exhibit accom- modation. It was also noted that the extra space allows multiple pairs to be maintained, perhaps using management techniques that would be imr~ractical in

andfor naturalist& exhibits, e.g. shift cages used to breed birds of paradise or hummingbirds.

In 2005, AZA-accredited institutions were surveyed to see whether the state-

ment had resulted in more off-exhibit accommodation. Of the 46 surveys that were returned, 15% said they would de- velop off-exhibit facilities in response to the ASAG position statement, while 11% said that they had already built new facilities as a result of the statement. A further 13% said the statement was help- ful in developing the argument for off- exhibit facilities, or that it helped man- agers to increase the size of a proposed new building.

Given the cost (in terms of both money and space) of building anything, it is impressive that so many zoos acted upon the position statement. The construction of several facilities illustrates the degree to which the ASAG succeeded in explain- ing the value of off-exhibit accommoda- tion, often considered less valuable than on-exhibit facilities because guests do not usually see them. Clearly, the docu- ment did make a difference: today there are more off-exhibit facilities.

Everyone agrees that we need more space to maintain larger populations. More birds means enhanced mate selec- tion, enhanced genetic diversity, and . populations that can better withstand years in which productivity is low. In the past, we were able to maintain popula- tions a t much lower levels because of easy availability. In business terms, it was 'just-in-time'inventorymanagement, where a supplier could replenish an ex- hibit a t a moment's notice. We now recog- nise the critical benefits of breeding the birds we need ourselves, compared with purchasing them from sources about which we know very little (e.g. regarding disease issues, genetics and methods of collection). In addition, the sources of old have largely dried up, meaning that we need to be more self-reliant and much more strategic in our outlook. To do oth- erwise would be as risky as General Mo- tors ignoring the global market for steel

or the aviation industry pretending that oil p r im were somehow irrelevant. For our industry, use of off-exhibit facilities is our insurance policy against future un- certainties, as well as being responsible behaviour. Most zoos will not build them because the problem they address is not quite on our doorstep. It's not close enough to beat out today's fiscal demands such as repairing leaking roofs, rebuilding the elephant house, etc. The institutions that do build off-exhibit facilities, however, will experience the benefits oflarger popu- lation sizes already mentioned, as well as significant practical benefits that lead to better quality exhibits.

It can now take months or years to acquire a new animal and place it on exhibit, including the time needed to locate the animal and quarantine it, plus weeks for pre-shipment testing and weather delays. Meanwhile, the exhibit is empty or guests are asking why a bird is alone. The result is a loss of institu- tional prestige, a reduction in keeper morale, and perhaps even a loss of brand equity. All this is avoided - and the breeding programme is kept on track - if multiple pairs are maintained off-exhibit. In most cases it will take hours instead of months to repopulate the exhibit when it is supported by an off-exhibit collection.

Even with 30% of the collection kept off-exhibit, it is unlikely that all species in a single institution can be kept in numbers large enough to continuously stockthe exhibit with genetically healthy specimens over the long term. The goals and priorities of both institutional and regional collection plans can be used to determine which species will be kept off- exhibit at a particular zoo, and coordina- tion at a regional level can ensure that zoos work collectively to maintain ge- netically healthy populations of differ- ent species in the regional collection plan.

Most avian spaces in AZA institutions are on-exhibit, which are difficult to con- trol or tailor-make for a particular spe- cies. Off-exhibit aviaries offer more flex- ibility. They are also generally easier

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and faster to service because they are designed in blocks or rows, usually with concrete flooring for easy cleaning. Off- exhibit aviaries tend to remain in excel- lent condition, serving as showcase fa- cilities, for longer than on-exhibit areas because they can be made of long-lasting materials such as aluminium, fibreglass sheeting and stainless steel. Construc- tion costs are comparatively low as a result of somewhat modular and uncom- plicated designs. Institutions often use such facilities to demonstrate their com- mitment to conservation and long-term propagation, examples of which can greatly enhance institutional prestige in the eyes of both guests and potential donors.

The benefits provided by off-exhibit facilities include: - additional spaces that result in larger populations. This strengthens institu- tional and regional collection plans by increasing breeding capacity and creat- ing a buffer against population down- turns; -more flexibility than on-exhibit accom- modation; -a reservoir of animals that can immedi- ately repopulate exhibits; -avoiding an empty exhibit, and thereby a loss of institutional prestige, reduction in keeper morale, and perhaps even a loss of brand equity; -enhanced institutional prestige by dem- onstrating a commitment to conserva- tion and science.

Martin Vince (ItiGerbanks Zoo, Colum- bia, South Carolina, U.S.A.) in EAZA News No. 64 (October-December 2008)

A lizard in need of more ex situ

The beadedlizard (Heloderma horridurn) is found in Mexico and Guatemala. Its scientific name means 'horrible studded skin' and is based on the structure of its skin, which has small beads called osteoderms. Each bead contains a tiny

piece of bone that provides almost an armour-plated skin. But in contrast to its name, this is a magnificent species.

The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (2001). Wild popula- tion numbers are unknown, but in undis- turbed habitats a population density of 18 individuals per km2 is probably not uncommon. There are four subspecies, two of which -H. h. horridurn and H. h. exasperaturn -are included in the Beaded Lizard EEP.

Currently, there are 47 beaded lizards in 17 EAZA member institutions. The studbook is, however, in need of new holders. Breeding institutions are pro- ducing surplus offspring and the pro- gramme is facing a 'do not breed' recom- mendation. The programme is not sub- species specific, as the main goal is to ensure a genetically healthy European population. Furthermore, it is very diffi- cult to distinguish subspecies without DNA examination.

The beaded lizard and its close cousin, the gila monster (H. suspecturn), are the only two venomous lizards known in the world. Instead of fangs, the beaded lizard has grooves in its teeth through which the venom flows when it bites its prey. Keep- ing venomous reptiles might scare off some zoos, but accidents are extremely rare. A bite from a beaded lizard can be a painful experience, but is far from dan- gerous under normal circumstances. With proper care taken, the lizards are as easy to handle as any other reptiles ofthe same size.

Although this magnificent creature is venomous, the beaded lizard is docile and quite easy to keep and manage. It needs to be fed once a week (once a fortnight for adults) and it hibernates for two to three months a year. It does not need a very large enclosure and is mostly active dur- ing the daytime. It will spend a lot of time underground if given the opportunity, coming out of its den to regulate its tem- perature and eat. Specific husbandry re- quirements can be found in the EAZA Husbandry Guidelines that are available

for download from the EAZA website. The beaded lizard is a wonderful dis-

play species because it is a large, distinct reptile. Adults can grow to about 90 cm in length, which is substantially larger than the gila monster (about 40 cm). By dis- playing the beaded lizard, one can also raise awareness on the status of subspe- cies like H. h. charlesbogerti, which may be one of the rarest lizards in the world. It was first discovered in 1984 and is en- demic to a small dry tropical forest habi- tat, having been isolated by mountains and deep rainforest valleys for thousands of years. With only enough suitable habi- tat for about 200 animals left, this could serve as a basis for a good conservation story, and maybe one could even raise funds for an ongoing conservation project.

So if you are looking for a fancy new reptile species for your collection, the Beaded Lizard EEP is desperately look- ing for new participants, to prevent being forced to recommend 'no breeding' for this impressive reptile. For more information, please contact klau&errariet.dk.

Abridged and adapted from Klaus Draeby in EAZA News No. 63 (July- September 2008)

Chytrid fungus spread by captive- breeding project

The Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) fungus was inadvertently introduced into Mallorca via the captive-breeding and reintroduction project for the Mallorcan midwife toad (Alytes rnule- tensis), according to a recent study [S. Walker et al., Invasive pathogens threaten species recovery programs, Cur- rent Biology Vol. 18, No. 18, R853-R854 (23 September 2008)l. The study, by re- searchers from Imperial College London and international colleagues, reveals that toads released into the wild in 1991 were infected with the fungus. Measures to screen the health of the animals did not pick up the fungus, because at the time it was not known to science. The study

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suggests that an endangered species of frog from South Africa, Xenopus gilli, which was housed in the same room as the Mallorcan toads, was responsible for spreading the infection to them.

The program has been highly success- ful in increasing the numbers of the rare toad on the island. Over half of the cur- rent populations on Mallorca are derived from reintroductions. Although the chytrid fungus can be deadly, toads ap- pear to be doing well in three of the four infected populations in Mallorca, sug- gesting that there are unidentified fac- tors that are preventing the extinction of these populations. The situation is being closely monitored by the Mallorcan con- servation authorities. The researchers say their findings reveal the risks of reintroducing species into the wild, even when health screening is carried out, and highlight the need to ensure that species bred in captivity do not become infected with pathogens from other species.

As soon as Bd was discovered in the late 1990s, screening for the disease was incorporated into amphibian conserva- tion plans. Zoos are now moving towards bree&ng threatened frogs in strictly quar- antined. biosecure facilities in an effort to prevek the disease spreading in cap- tivity [see IZN 55 (7), 435-4361. The chytrid fungus has also been added to a list of diseases that need to be quaran- tined compiled by the World Organiza- tion for Animal Health. I t is hoped that these quarantine measures will help those involved in conservation efforts to stop Bd from spreading further, by con- trolling the international trade in in- fected animals.

The researchers reached their conclu- sions after comparing the specific geno- type of Bd frominfected toads from across Mallorca, and infected toads from main- land Spain, the U.K. and the rest of the world. They found that the disease in all Mallorcan toads was of the same geno- type, and that this was a different geno- type from those on mainland Europe and elsewhere.

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H o w do elephants regulate their body temperature? Researcher Michael Rowe is studying how elephants, who cannot sweat or pant, deal with heat and cold. With the cooperation of four zoos in the United States and Canada, Rowe hopes his re- search will have implications for helping wild elephants in this era of climate change.

Jeff Andrews, animal care manager for San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, says 'The more we can learn about this very important component of large her- bivore biology and elephant metabolism and biology, the more we can apply to the quest for conservation.'

Andrews also says that wild elephants can handle extreme temperature changes, between seasons, and even between day and night. Knowing more about how they handle these temperature swings might help zoos to provide better and more ap- propriate enclosures for the captive el- ephant population. Rowe's work might lead zoos to better understand when they need to add heat to an elephant enclosure, and when it is time to offer mechanisms for the animals to cool off.

Rowe walks with the elephants in his study twice each day - before and after the zoo closes. Strapped to each animal's leg is an accelerometer which measures stride length, frequency, and speed. Rowe calls it 'a very expensive pedometer,' and says, 'it's actually meant to measure stresses on automobiles, aircraft, things like that."

At the start and finish of each walk, Rowe takes thermal energy images of the animals, as well as temperature read- ings through a home-made rectal probe. The elephants receive treats for partici- pating in the res!earch, and Rowe says they seem to enjoy the exercise and the opportunity to be social. He hopes his research will conclude in the spring of 2010 and will include 50-60 elephants in total.

Associated Press (5 November 2008)

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009), pp. 37-56

INTERNATIONAL ZOO NEWS AlffnkA Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, U.SA

The zoo has recently re-focused its mis- sion to involve the conservation of arctic and sub-arctic species. Being able to feed the zoo's tigers, bears, lynxes and wolves prey native to the area is helpful to the zoo. That is where the hunters come in. Pickup trucks come to the zoo and leave behind plastic bags full of bones, sinew, and various leftover parts of the game they bring home.

In 2007, roughly 1,500 Anchorage resi- dents harvested more than 1,600 Alaska big game animals. Many hunters roamed far outside Anchorage, bringing only the meat back to the city. But some carcasses end up in town. By law, hunters can't put the leftovers in the curbside garbage bin. Historically, they dropped off the car- casses at the landfill, but now a new option is the zoo.

At the height of the hunting season the zoo can get up to two drop-offs from hunt- ers per day. We rely on it,' says keeper Stephanie Hartman. 'Each season we get stuff in that will last us to the next season.'

Anchorage Daily News (26 October 2008)

Apenheul Zoo, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands In 1981 Apenheul created a spider mon- key enclosure and house on an island, and the exhibit has remained unchanged since then, except for the climbing struc- tures that were renewed at regular inter- vals. In March 2008, a new footbridge was opened around the spider monkey island, also offering a view across the bonobo and capuchin enclosures. It was difficult for the public to observe these animals before the bridge was built.

The bridge, together with a newly-built large aviary, is situated in the 'Amazonia' area of the park, a project that is part of

the new ten-year masterplan for 2008- 2017. Amazonia is the working title for a completely new area around the existing main building; this will be demolished, providing space for a new building for woolly monkeys and giant otters. The spider monkeylcapybara exhibit, a large circular island with a small fence through the middle, offers space for eight mon- keys - 1.3.2 brown-headed spider mon- keys (Ateles fusciceps robustus) and 0.2 hybrid red-faced black spider monkeys (A.paniscus)-and five (1.1.3) capybaras.

There were two reasons to combine spi- der monkeys with capybaras: they occur together in parts of their wild distribu- tion, and the two species occupy different levels in the enclosure (ground level and trees). To prevent escape, a steel plate is attached to the new bridge, which the monkeys are unable to get a grip on; and they are unable to jump from the trees onto the bridge, because the distance is too great. Wire-mesh fences prevent the capybaras from leaving the island.

The spider monkey island has a large stand of very tall, old pines; after the construction of the new bridge, it was planted with a small number of sturdy shrub and tree species, which are pro- tected from capybara grazingby low metal fencing. The landscape architect selected local plants with a lush growth and ex- otic appearance, which are not very fa- miliar to the majority of the public. Be- cause the plants are hardy in the Dutch climate, i t is not difficult to maintain them. During summer, the spider mon- keys stay outside both day and night. They have to come inside for a short period in the late afternoon so that the keepers can have a good look at them to check that they are all well.

Enrichment is provided by the interac- tions between and among the two species. Sometimes the monkeys ride on the backs of the capybaras or chase them and

Spider monkeys at Apt . ~cting with a capybara. (Photo: Suzan Megens)

grab their paws. The capybaras do not seem to mind. There are also many climb- ing possibilities for the monkeys and a small river for the capybaras. Resting platforms for the monkeys ar6 now situ- atednear the bridge. Spider monkeys are highly intelligent animals and it seems they are also interacting with humans, especially the keepers who feed them fkom the bridge. The monkeys can get from one platform to the other by the use of ropes. Shelter is also provided. The capybaras can hide under Mie bridge and the monkeys have special hiding places. Apenheul is closed in winter, but when it is not too cold outside, the monkeys have the choice to go outside or stay inside.

In summer 2008 the spider monkeys were provided with bungee cords. This, however. was not a success. One monkey

instead of the other way around. But this also was not a success, so the bungee cords were removed from the island.

The Amazonia bridge leads all around the spider monkey island, raising the visitors to the same level as themonkeys. This allows visitors to have a good look a t them - and vice versa. The designer of the bridge also thought about children and people in wheelchairs. Every ten metres a wooden plank is replaced by a segment ofclear sheet gla~ss, so that these people can see the animals.

Abridged and adapted from the Apenheul presentation in the ZooLex Gallery at www.zoolex.org. [Visitors to the website will find many more technical details and numerous colour photos of this exhibit.]

got trapped, but luckily she was able to extricated herself. The Apenheul techni- Assiniboiae Park Zoo, Winnipeg, cal department tied large wooden blocks Manitoba, Canada to the bungee cords, which prevented the cords fr~~catching'liold ofthe monkeys, For the last three years, a mature wild

bald eagle has visited our captive pair on its spring migration north. In 2007 and 2008, it remained and communicatedwith our pair for one week in early March, but this year it arrived early (11 February) and at the time of writing has remained on-site for the last two weeks, perched in nearby trees and swooping around the eagle enclosure, causing great commo- tion and calling from the captive pair. It has also begun landing inside the nearby arctic fox exhibit (containing three of the animals) and taking off with their fish and meat, even with the foxes or the zookeeper just a few metres away. We are concerned that it may decide to cap- ture the foxes, although they usually retreat underground. It will be interest- ing to see for how many years it keeps up this routine.

Dr Robert E. Wrigley, zoo curator

Audubon Nature Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.

The institute's Center for Research of Endangered Species has produced the first cloned domestic cat in the U.S. that glows green from a fluorescent protein. Mr Green Genes, as he is known, is a six- month-old orange tabby, but under black or blue light his skin glows a vivid lime green, the result of genetic research at the Center. The green glow comes from a fluorescent protein, a marker telling the scientists that a harmless gene has been successfully introduced into the animal's genome to create what is formally known as a transgenic cat. This is the first step in a process that could lead to the devel- opment of ways to combat diseases such as Krabbe's disease and glycogen storage disease via gene therapy for endangered cats.

The Audubon Center began its animal cloning research six years ago. An Afri- can wildcat born there was the first cloned wild carnivore, followed by several other litters, as well as two litters of Arabian sand cats [see IZN51 (l), 42; 51 (6), 367- 8; 52 (81,4901. Cloning is a tool that could be used when a species is at critical risk of extinction.

[An article by Dr Wrigley on Assiniboine Park Zoo's bald eagles was published in IZN 55 (81,463-468.1

Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), February 2009

Baghdad Zoo, Iraq

The wild bald eagle perched in a tree above Assidmine Park Zoo's eagle enclosure. (Photo: Dadem Stack)

Visitor numbers grew from one million in 2007 to more than five million in 2008 as [raqis grew more comfortable traveling to the city's Karkh district, where the zoo and its surrounding Zawra Park are lo- cated. 'This place is relatively inexpen- sive and it is the only place, as a park, where people can get away from the crowded parts of the city,' says Adel Salman Mousa, the zoo director. For just 250 dinars [approx. $0.25 or £0.201, visi- tors can see a variety of animals includ- ing chimpanzees and Bengal tigers do- nated by a North Carolina animal sanc- tuary. The zoo also houses the famous

'man-eating' lions that one of Saddam life medicine - the pioneering use of a Huasein's sons kept, although zooveteri- test to detect avian malaria in captive narian Wasseen Sarih says their reputa- penguins and Inca terns, which can be tion is overblown. The zoo staff are espe- carried out in-house with one drop of cially fond of the pride's friendly male blood and only takes 20 minutes to run. lion - 'We like to play with him,' he says. This test is a real breakthrough for the

treatment and management of malaria Stars and Stripes (5 Febnrar~ 2009) in captive birds,' says 'Head ofveterinary Services Sharon Redrobe. She was re-

Banhaul Zoo, U.K. searching malaria when she wondered whether the human test would work on With the only official 2008 studbook birds. 'I spoke to the researcher who ommendation for the U.K. to breed the developed the test, and he agreed there endangered Amur tiger, the "0's young was no reason why it shouldn't work in gave birth to male cubs On l7 the same way on birds,' she says. 'It has October 2008. The mother, Ma1yshka9 proven very effective, and we have not was transferred from Chelyabinsk Zoo in had any major outbreaks since we started Russia in August 2006; at that time she using it.' was the fourth most important female in their summing up of the winning the European breeding Progr-e. She entry, the judges said: ms avian ma- is raising the cubs incredibly well, and laria test allows for diagnosis ofthe as- they have now been successfully intro- ease at a early stage to en-

duced to their father, who was able successful treatment, This repre- Schiinbrunn in sents a major advance in keeping control June lgg9. The use of infrared of an avian disease which is becoming cameras installed in the nursery box gave more prevalent due to global warming., staff and visitors live footage of the cubs' early development.

This exciting news was followed two Buffalo Zoo, New York, U.S.A. months later by our cheetah, Etna, giv- The zoo,s newest exhibit, Bank ing birth to her second litter of cubs on 27 Rainforest Falls', is the first of its kind to December 2008. Etna arrived in January the tepui region of Venezuela - 2005 from Zoo Krdlove and gave one of the most remote places on earth. birth to her f i s t litter at Africa Alive! The tepuis, or large flat-topped moun- (Suffolk, U.K.) in June 2007. tains, were created from remnants of Work is progressing

On underwater sandstone deposits approxi- and the leap- mately 1.8 billion years ago when South ard facility for an Easter opening. Our America and fiCa were.still linked to- young pair of snow leopards me cur- gether. Millions of years of erosion and rently being kept in a small holding facil- the shifting of continental plates have ity within the zoo and have been seen given the tepuis their present-day ap- mat- in recent weeks, so we are pearance. Today, they tower from 4,000 ing our fingers crossed. to 9,000 feet [1,200-2,700 m] into the Gary Batters, animal manager skies and boast a variety of species that

are native only to that region. To protect

Bristol Zoo, U.K. this delicate ecosystem, the Venezuelan government created Canaima National

The zoo's veterinary team has won an Park, after which Buffalo Zoo's Rainfor- award from the British and Irish Asso- est Falls is modeled. ciation of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) From the moment visitors pass over the for a significant advance in zoo and wild- threshold of the new 18,000 square foot

40

[1,700 m21 building, they will feel as though they have been transported to another world. As withvisits to real national parks, visitors can stop in the visitors' center before they begin theirjourney. The center features graphics and interactive compo- nents to help visitors explore various top- ics, including the medicinal value of rain- forests, rainforest plant diversity, tepui geology, daily and seasonal changes in the rainforest, as well as diet speciali- zation~ of rainforest animals. These com- ponents are located on walls and counter surfaces throughout the center, and mini- mize the amount of signage found in the adjacent rainforest habitat, not to detract fromthe 'authentic' feel of the experience. It is also designed to be fun and educa- tional, to help visitors get the most out of their adventure.

Whenvisitors enter the rainforest, they immediately become fully engaged with the sights, sounds and smells of their surroundings. Each experience is differ- ent, as the exhibit offers a variety of options both for visitors and for the ani- mal residents. As visitors walk along the winding pathway, they are guided past a pair of ocelots, who love to peer at them through dense foliage, a bumblebee dart frog exhibit that is enclosed in a repli- cated buttress tree, and the giant anteat- ers, who are quite fond of their simulated termite mounds.

One of the most impressive features of Rainforest Falls is the cascading water- fall that plunges more than 25 feet, drain- inginto the exhibit's river system. Repli- cating the world's tallest waterfall, An- gel Falls, which is found in Canaima National Park, the zoo's version can be viewed from a multitude of angles. Visi- tars can enjoy seeing the back of the falls after first encountering piranha, vam- pire bats and an anaconda, or cross a bridge to get an up-close view of the waterfall, as well as a capybara family d a dwarf caiman. No rainforest is complete without some

primates, and here squirrel monkeys, biown-capped capuchins and black

howler monkeys all live in the same habi- tat, just as they would in the wild. In the next exhibit, visitors can also find white- faced sakis living harmoniously with tamanduas and toucans. To get the best possible view of the canopies, visitors are encouraged to take stairs or a lift to a second-story platform overlooking the entire exhibit. As they observe the flurry of activity, they may also come face to face with some of the free-flying bird species, including scarlet ibis, roseate spoonbill, boat-billed heron, sun bittern and blue-crowned motmot.

Some measures that are implemented behind the scenes really help to pull the visitor experience together. To simulate the open-air feeling, the roof of Rainforest Falls consists of two layers of plastic mem- branes made of ethylene tetrafluoro- ethylene (ETFE), whichis a better insula- tor than glass. Buffalo is one of the first zoos to use this material, which allows 100% natural light into the exhibit. Since no UVA or UVB rays are filtered, animal residents can synthesize their own vita- min D and do not require supplements.

One of the benefits of having an indoor exhibit is that it can be enjoyed even during the winter. However, keeping the temperature at a steady 80°F [27"CI throughout the year can become quite costly. To comply with the zoo's mission of conservation, a heating system that recirculates and reheats air, as well as drawing in fresh air when necessary, is being utilized. During the summer months, the skylight panels can be opened to ventilate the exhibit. Additionally, as Rainforest Falls and future exhibits fo- cus on the importance of water as a natu- ral resource, measures have also been taken to filter, recycle and disinfect the water contained in the rainforest. An attached 3,600 square foot [335 m21 green- house also ensures that the exhibit's veg- etation remains lush throughout the year.

Abridged from Jennifer Fields in Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), January 2009

Chester Zoo, U.K.

Following quarantine, two Philippine crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis) went on view at the zoo in June 2008. Despite being more than ten years old, the pair are still very small, perhaps a metre and a half from nose to tail. This, it seems, is quite normal for what is probably the world's slowest-growing crocodile. De- spite their physical stature, however, these animals are likely to be sexually mature and could breed in the near fu- tureif conditions are right. Furthermore, if their reputation is accurate, what they lack in size they will more than make up for in attitude, being one of the most agile and aggressive (to one another) of croco- dile species. Eventually the male should reach up to three metres in length - but that could take a further 15-20 years!

The crocodiles' spacious new enclosure represents part of a river where the bank has eroded and collapsed. As such it pro- vides them with plenty of deep, warm water and a large area of densely-planted riverbank in which to secrete themselves. There are bits of floating and submerged roots and logs which can look uncannily like a crocodile at a careless glance.

Sadly, this is perhaps the most threat- ened of the 14 species of crocodile. Loss of habitat through erosion of deforested hillsides and direct hunting have both had, and continue to have, a terrible impact on the numbers of these shy and secretive crocodiles in their native Phil- ippine islands. It is thought that fewer than 100 adults survive in the wild.

The pair at Chester are two of 15 croco- diles brought to Europe in 2007 from a small conservation-breeding farm in the Philippines. Not only do these 15 croco- diles represent an important extension of the breeding programme for the spe- cies, but the six European zoos between which they are distributed all CO-fund an essential conservation initiative in the San Mariano region of Luzon, where a small population of crocodiles was re- discovered in 1999. With the support of

these zoos it is hoped that the Mabuwaya Foundation will continue to be success- ful in its community-focused conserva- tion strategy for this enigmatic crocodile.

June also saw the first successful breed- ing of the zoo3s smallest - and arguably most beautiful - four-legged animal, the reticulated (or red-backed) poison-dart frog (Dendrobates reticulatus). Measur- ing little over one cm as adults, two or three of the newly-metamorphosed ba- bies can sit comfortably on a finger nail. Feeding these miniature marvels is the next challenge that faces the herpetology staff. Imagine how small the food needs to be to fit in these frogs' mouths. Fortu- nately we can collect tiny invertebrates called springtails (Collernbola spp.) in the leaf litter around the zoo grounds. These almost microscopic, insect-like hexapods (six-legged arthropods) form the staple diet until the froglets are large enough to eat little fruit flies and hatch- ling crickets, which we culture in huge numbers specifically to feed our burgeon- ing frog collection.

Hailing from the Iquitos region ofnorth- ern Peru, this jewel-like frog is thank- fully not yet considered an endangered species. However, being so small and fragile it makes a great 'model species' for our herpetology staff to develop ap- propriate skills for working with simi- larly 'fiddly' frogs that are in urgent need of conservation breeding. For this rea- son, the reticulated poison-dart frogs are currently housed off-show in our state of the art 'amphibian pod' [see IZN 55 (31, 1721. This is a converted refrigerated shipping container, modified with the technology to transform it into an inde- pendent - and mobile, should the need arise - amphibian conservation labora- tory. The first pod has proven so success- ful that we hope to find funds to build a further five over coming years to greatly expand our work with the world's rarest and most threatened amphibians. When the staff have learned all they can from the reticulated poison-dart frogs, per- fected their husbandry and successfully

reared sufficient young frogs, we hope to put a small group on display somewhere in the zoo so that visitors too can enjoy these tiny living gems of the rainforest.

Also in 2008, the zoo received a ship- ment of black-eyed, or Morelet's, tree frog (Agalychnis moreletii) tadpoles di- rect from the forests of Belize in Central America. Whilst it is no longer the norm to bring in animals from the wild, the frogs in question are central to a Ph.D. study focused on understanding the role of dietary carotenoids in skin pigmenta- tion and the link, if any, to the resilience these frogs show to ultraviolet light. This is very important, since long-term con- servation breeding programmes are ac- knowledged to be essential for the sur- vival of many amphibian species, but many tree frog species exhibit reduced intensity of colour over multiple genera- tions of zoo management. And why does colour loss matter? Well, frogs that aren't as colourful or as bright as they should be probably won't breed as well, since sexual selection in some species is thought to be influenced by the colour of potential mates; also, most importantly, we can't ever hope to put frogs back in the wild from these long-term programmes if they aren't the right colour, as they'll stick out and get snapped up by predators.

A. moreletii is itself a Critically Endan- gered species, but collecting tadpoles means that we have negligible impact on the remaining wild population, since 90% or more of tadpoles fail to make i t to adulthood in the wild. The zoo's tadpoles all metamorphosed successfully, and we are now rearing more than 50 baby tree frogs in our amphibian pod. Over the next two years Manchester University student Vicky Ogilvy will study the ef- fects of different carotenoids and varying levels of ultraviolet light to try to perfect husbandry techniques for successful breeding of this and related species. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, we hope that her results will enable us to establish a successful programme for the animals in her study, as well as other

similarly threatened leaf frogs from around the world.

Z Magazine Nos. 35 and 36 (Autumn & Winter 2008) [Philippine crocodile and D. reticulatus items anonymous; A. moreletii item by Richard Gibson, Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates]

Colchester Zoo, U.K. We are delighted to announce the birth of our fourth baby aardvark. The baby was born to mother Oq and father Adella on 14 January, weighing in at averyhealthy 1.5 kg.

This is excellent news - aardvarks are part of a European Studbook breeding programme as their status is becoming increasingly threatened in the wild due to intensive crop farming and general land use changes across the southern regions of Africa. Aardvarks are notori- ously difficult animals to breed in captiv- ity, so there are very few babies coming into the programme. All Colchester's pre- vious youngsters have now gone on to other zoos.

Part of our success has to be put down to the keepers removing the young ba- bies at night to ensure their safety: aard- varks have incredibly poor eyesight and can be very clumsy and liable to roll onto their young!

We don't yet know the gender of our new arrival; an aardvark's sex can only be determined by a DNA test, which will be done when the baby is older.

Abridged from a Colchester Zoo press release, 29 January 2009

Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark In April 2008 Copenhagen Zoo and Pilanesberg National Park in South Af- rica signed an agreement on future re- search cooperation. The purpose of the agreement is to boost research within the park and a t the same time to strengthen the zoo's involvement in the

park. Pilanesberg covers an area of 550 km2 and holds a wide range of animal species. It is renowned for its rhinos, of which the population of both white and black has increased over the past 10-15 years. Since 1989 two Danish zoologists have monitored the rhino population closely in order to map the whereabouts of the individual animals and their inter- action with other rhinos. The study is vital to our understanding of the dynam- ics within a rhino population and to deci- sions on which measures to initiate to preserve the two species. The zoo has been providing financial support for the project since 1996, and in 2006 it was decided to establish a platform for future research. The zoo sponsors the establish- ment of a local field station and supports a research manager to look after our research interests.

The zoo is also establishing a scholar- ship scheme for local researchers, and the first scholarship is expected to be given in 2009. The new field station is hoped to be ready during the summer of 2009.

English summary, Zoonyt (Winter 2008)

Dallas World Aquarium, Texas, U.SA Ten taxa of ramphastids bred at the aquarium in 2008: toco toucan (Ram- phastos toco), safEon toucanet (Baillonius bailloni), blue-throated emerald toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus caeruleo- gularis - possibly a world first captive- breeding), crimson-rumped toucanet (A. haematopygus), Guianan toucanet (Sele- nidera culik), green aracari (Pteroglossus viridis), chestnut-eared aracari (P. castanotis), curl-crested aracari (P. beauharnaesii), pale-mandibled aracari (P. torquatus e6thropygius) and ivory- billed aracari (P. azara flavirostrisl. One pair of pale-mandibled kacaris produced three broods of chicks, and three other pairs of the same species each hatched two broods. Another subspecies of ivory- billed aracari, P. a. mariae, is kept but

has not yet bred. The aquarium has also been extraordi-

narily successful in breeding Andean cocks-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) - its thirteenth and fourteenth chicks were hatched in November. Sevenofthese were raised this year, as well as one Guianan cock-of-the-rock (R. rupicola). Other birds bred in 2008 included two ornate hawk-eagles (Spkaetus ornutus), little tinamous (Crypturellus soui) and Chiriqui quail-doves (Geotrygon chiri- quensis).

Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (2008)

Flamingo Land, Malton, U.K. A new project based in Tanzania is aim- ing to break new ground for zokfunded conservation. The Udzungwa Forest Project (UFP) is a conservation initiative funded by Flamingo Land, aimink to bridge the typically large gap betdveen research and conservation. The project will adopt a holistic approach, working to conserve and research not only threat- ened species, but also theirhabitats. Most importantly the project will also aim to improve education, train local people, improve livelihoods, and advertise the biodiversity and beauty of the Udzungwa Mountains.

The major work of UFP will be to facili- tate conservation planning in an impor- tant forest just to the east of the main Udzungwa block.-Magornbera Forest lies about six km from the main Udzungwa range and, like all forests, has impor- tance for environmental services to local communities, such as water, medicinal products and firewood. The remaining forest is also very important biologically; for example, over 40% of its tree species are either IUCN Red-listed or known only from the forests of East Africa. The forest has the highest density of the en- demic Red-listed Udzungwa red colobus monkey (Piliocolobus gordonorum) any- where. Magombera is also an important

dry-season refuge for elephants of the Selous Game Reserve and one of two known localities of the newly-discovered Magombera chameleon (Kinyongia sp.).

Lowland tropical forest such as that found in Magombera is one of the world's most threatened habitats. Until the lat- ter half of the 20th century the area where Magombera is found contained extensive forest. It has now been cleared for agriculture; the destruction of forest involved the felling of thousands of trees and the shooting of several hundred el- ephants. The remaining forest is only around 10 km2 (about one quarter of its size in the 1970s). The current level of administrative protection is inadequate and uncertain and, as with most forests in Tanzania, there is currently no active protection.

Before initiating UFP, I co-ordinated a monitoring programme in Magombera through a grant from the WWF's Tanza- nia Programme Office. Following com- pletion of this, UFP is now working with the local villages, schools, management authorities, NGOs and land-owners to help manage the area in several ways. In the forest the project has been surveying illegal forest use, animals and forest growth. The results of monitoring will be used as an indicator of management suc- cess and a tool for local education. Moni- toring is vital to ensure successful con- servation of habitats, but only a very low proportion of protected areas in Africa have long-term monitoring programmes.

UFP will also be conduct in^ research projects. At the recent B- Mammal Working Group meeting, zoos from across the U.K. and Ireland voted to award a £1,000 Conservation Grant to Flamingo Land to initiate our first conservation research. The money will be used to hire and train a Tanzanian graduate to assist us with surveys of the habitat of the critically endangered kipunji monkey (Rungwecebus kipunji). The kipunji was only discovered in 2004 and is one of the world's rarest primates. Its population is little more than a thousand individuals

and its range less than 25 km2. Our focus will be on the more threatened of the two known populations, which consists ofonly 93 individuals in nine km2. The reason for its restricted range is a mystery.

For more information or if you would like to contribute funds, equipment or expertise to the project, please contact conservation~amingoland.co.uk.

Andrew Marshal1 (Director of Consellration Science, Flamingo Land) in LifeLines No. 103 (January 20091, the quarterly publication of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)

Loro Parque, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain Intensive preparations over several years, undertaken mainly by our biologist Rafael Zamora, were required before three new parrot species for the collection arrived from Mexico. 'ItYo of them are acquired for the first time ever by a European zoo and are therefore significant importa- tions.

A small group of each of the maroon- fronted parrot (Rhynchopsitta terrisi), Gustav's parakeet (Brotogeris cyanoptera gustavi), andwhite-headed parrot (Pionus seniloides) were imported. In all cases the specimens concerned are offspring from successful reproduction in a breed- ing centre in Mexico.

The LPF is very proud that this impor- tation, which absorbed an enormous amount of time in preparation, has fi- nally worked out. All the birds endured the long transportation very well, and were first put into quarantine, where they have to spend at least 40 days and successfully pass all the stipulated health checks before they can be integrated into the collection. This will not be before January 2009.

The maroon-fronted parrot is one of the endangered parrot species of Mexico, whose wild population is less than a thousand birds, and for which a genetic

reserve needs to be build up in captivity. Compared to the related thick-billed par- rot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrK$ncha), R. terrisi is a bit bigger (42 cm as against 38 cm), with the forehead coloured maroon. It was only in 1947 that this species was described, first as a subspecies of the thick-billed parrot. Today the consensus among most taxonomists is that it is a separate species.

Until now, Gustav's parakeets have not been known in Europe at all. They are clearly distinguished in their colour- ing from the nominate form, the cobalt- winged parakeet (B. cyanoptera), by the yellow bend and edge of the wing. With this first importation of yet another in- teresting form, the number of Brotogeris species and subspecies kept by LPF in- creases to ten.

The white-headed parrot has always been one of the rarities in European bird- keeping. Nowadays just a few birds are held in Europe, and it seems unlikely that a breeding population ban be built up which is able to maintain itself. For this reason the importation of birds bred in Mexico is an important step, bringing new blood to assist in the long-term con- servation in captivity of this interesting species. With the white-headed parrots, there are now eight different Pionus held by LPF. We will try to build up a self- sustaining breeding population of each of the three new parrot species.

At the end of November a Spix's macaw male (studbook number 44, property of the Government of Brazil) was brought back from the Association for the Conser- vation of Threatened Parrots in Berlin. He had been transferred there from Loro Parque at the beginning of 2007 to breed with another female. However, the pair- ing with the LPF female was demon- strated as genetically more favourable, and therefore a re-exchange was agreed. After a six-week quarantine period, the bird will be put together with his previ- ous female and it is expected that their successful breeding (four chicks between 2004 and 2007) can be continued.

At present the maj'ority of our parrot species are not ipbreeding condition, but there are alway a few that produce some young in the wi 4 ter. This winter the very small lorikeet species such as the plum- faced lorikeet (Oreopsittacus arfaki) and red-fronted lorikeet (Charmosyna rubro- notata) have some chicks in the nest which they are rearing by themselves.

Abridged from the report for December 2008 compiled by Matthias Reinschmidt, Curator, Loro Parque

Los Angeles Zoo, California, U.S.A. Our zoo is under siege by activists who are trying to shut down construction of Pachyderm Forest, the elephant habitat that we have worked so hard to bring to fruition over these past several years. Dedicated to the future of the Asian el- ephant, Pachyderm Forest will be spa- cious and spectacular, a wonderful place for people to see elephants and learn about the challenges they face in the wild. Even more important, a habitat that was designed specifically for the elephants' well-being. With 30% of the construction complete, we were thrilled to be so close to moving Billy, our bull elephant, into his new home - a home he would share with a small group of fe- males who will form the foundation of a breeding program.

But Billy's move has been delayed, and construction of his new home temporar- ily halted. The Lds Angeles City Council is under pressure from animal activists to cease the project permanently and renege on funding allocations needed to complete this habitat.

The people who would have Billy re- moved from the only home he has known for the last 20 years, and deprive him of the new home that awaits him, are not in this battle just for this one elephant. They want to remove all elephants from all zoos. And let's not kid ourselves, it will not stop with elephants. Giraffes will be next:If they win this battle, they

will not stop until zoos themselves are extinct. The people who would rather see species die out than thrive in accredited zoos do not speak for me. They do not speak for Billy. And I hope they do not speak for you.

Abridged from Betty White, Trustee for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, in Zoo View Vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter 2009)

Milwaukee County Zoo, Wisconsin, U.S.A. In mid-October, a polar bear a t the zoo fell into a dry moat around his exhibit. After more than two weeks, zoo staff fished the fallen bear out of the moat with a crane.

The bear, known as Zero, was playing with a toy when he tumbled off the edge of the exhibit and landed on a net a few feet above the dry moat floor. Zoo staff cut the net, letting Zero down safely, and hoped that the 19-year-old bear would use a nearby stairway to climb out, but instead he stayed in the moat. The zoo tried to lure him with treats, and cut his normal diet to try and force him to get himself out.

When those efforts did not pay off, zoo officials anesthetized the 1,100 lb [500 kg] bear and physically pulled him out with the crane. Veterinarians confirmed that Zero had no injuries when he was lified out ofthe moat. This same bear had falleninto the moat 15 years ago, but was able to get himself out after nine days. Keepers will continue to monitor Zero and talks will begin on possible exhibit modifications.

Associated Press, 20 October 2008

Nashville Zoo, Tennessee, U.S.A. The zoo's eighth infant giant anteater, Consuela, was born on 11 May 2008 to Emilia, who came to the zoo in 2002. Nashville has been involved in giant ant-

eater consemation for ten years and has the largest collection of the species in the country. The off-exhibit breeding facility where Consuela was born is also the only anteater breeding facility in the United States.

Consuela and the zoo's dozen other anteaters will make their public debut in a multi-million-dollar, 4.5-acre [1.8-ha] South American exhibit being designed by zoo president Rick Schwartz. The ex- hibit will feature tapirs, giant otters, jaguars, jabiru storks, and saki and howler monkeys, as well as giant anteat- ers and other South American animals.

We also welcomed our first rhinoceros hornbill chick, the first in the nation to be artificially incubated and hand-reared. Just 12 days after the mother laid the egg, the zoo's avian keepers took over incubation to ensure the egg's survival. As the captive population of rhino horn- bills ages, fewer birds are bred, and as a result the captive population becomes less diverse, so Nashville's chick is a genetically valuable contribution to the population and the SSP.

Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), February 2009

National Zoo, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Two black-footed ferrets at the zoo have given birth to kits who were sired by males who died in 1999 and 2000. These endangered ferrets - part of a multi- institutional breeding and reintroduc- tion program - were artificially insemi- nated in May 2008 with frozen semen from the two deceased males, each giving birth to a kit on June 20 and 21 respec- tively. The sperm samples were collected and frozen in 1997 and 1998. Successful inseminations with frozen semen are extremely rare - until now only three black-footed ferret kits have been born from this method.

For more than ten years, the semen was stored in the zoo's Black-Footed Ferret

47

Genome Resource Bank, a repository of frozen semen from the most valuable males. In species that have short life- spans, the use of cryopreserved sperm extends an individual's reproductive life. The bank's contents help maintain and even enhance genetic diversity by infusing new genes into the population. A genetically healthy and diverse population has a greater chance of sur- vival in the wild. The bank also serves as insurance against catastrophes in the wild populations, such as a disease out- break.

Scientists at the National Zoo also de- veloped the first successful artificial in- semination technique for the species, that deposited sperm directly into the uterus. From 1989 through 2007, more than 500 black-footed ferrets were born at the National Zoo's Conservation and Re- search Center in Front Royal, Virginia, with more than 380 born after natural breeding, and more than 130 after artifi- cial insemination with fresh semen. Fol- lowing reintroduction, the population has grown from 18 to more than 700 ferrets living in the wild today.

Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), December 2008

North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, North Carolina, U.S.A. The zoo took its first steps toward sustainability in 1989 when staff con- ducted an internal conservation audit. From that time, the zoo's fledgling ef- forts took flight under the leadership of the Conservation Captains, a team formed in 1994 to come up with ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle zoo waste prod- ucts. The first program was the usual recycling of cardboard, paper, plastics and metal cans in conjunction with a county drop-off site at the zoo, as well as reducing and reusing office paper prod- ucts. Employees became recyclers as con- servation became a social norm.

The next move was into projects such

as the Compost Center. With technical assistance from the Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance Program (PPEA) in the zoo's parent agency, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and N.C. State University, the zoo developed a permitted compost site in 1996. Paved with donated fly ash from a power plant, it handled 1,925 tons of manure and plant material in 2007, saving $121,275 in waste disposal and $46,233 in soil supplements. The 11-year total is 15,434 tons for a saving of $1,079,318.

Even with this success, the zoo wanted a more systematic way to develop sus- tainable practices. Again with the assist- ance of PPEA, the zoo embarked on a new approach to sustainability called IS0 14001 Environmental Management Sys- tem (EMS). With EMS, the zoo identifies its significant impacts on the environ- ment and addresses those impacts through objectives, targets and an action plan. The zoo began working with its Horticulture Division and became the first zoo to achieve IS0 14001 certifica- tion in December 2002. As a result, the zoo has increased its efforts in the use of organic (98%) versus chemical fertiliz- ers, integrated pest management using biological controls instead of chemical pesticides, water monitoring to prevent pollution, and fuel reduction. To achieve further accountability, the zoo joined the DENR Environmental Stewardship Ini- tiative program (ESI).

Through EMS, .the zoo has developed several noteworthy projects. One of the first is the biodiesel processing project. In 2005, with the technical assistance of Central Carolina Community College and Piedmont Biofuels, the zoo received an air quality grant of $23,000 to design, build, and install a reactor to process waste oil from its restaurants into biodiesel to fuel trams, buses, vehicles and other equipment. Biofuel is cleaner- burning and reduces air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfates, particulates and air toxins. Us-

ing a 20180 mix of biofuel to diesel, zoo restaurant waste oil provides 7,500 gal- lons [28,000 liters] of the park's diesel needs (estimated at 17,000 gallons per year), as well as reducing annual petro- leum diesel purchases by 20%.

In 2004, ESI gave the zoo a $5,000 grant to produce a master plan for build- ing an artificial wetland to filter storm water carrying pollutants. ESI also made possible a partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation to pro- vide the construction design used to win a $623,000 grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. When the wetland opens in spring 2009, it will include educational graphics to help visi- tors understand its role in protecting water quality. Students from the Zoo School (a program of Asheboro High School located on zoo grounds) will moni- tor water quality in the wetland, helping the zoo fulfil a funding requirement.

In the area of water conservation, the zoo has been a role model, especially during a recent state drought. The zoo used data from water meters installed at major exhibit pools to obtain funds to repair water leaks, saving 5,000 gallons [18,000 liters] a day. In addition, filtra- tion systems for major pools were up- graded, which reduced backwash and drainlfills, saving 340,000 gallons [1,285,000 litersl per year. Meters meas- uringwastewater also saved25% onwater costs. EMS information was used to jus- tify a master irrigation-control system that uses rainfall and evapotranspiration data to determine the amount of irriga- tion needed to meet plant requirements. In the first growing season, the master controller saved 1.5 million gallons [5.7 million litersl of water, a 57% saving.

The zoo's energy management system, used to control temperatures in all major exhibits and buildings, has reaped simi- lar savings in electrical use. In one build- ing alone, 336,000 kwh per year were saved. More reoently the zoo has ven- tured into alternative energy with the construction of three picnic pavilions

whose roofs create a 104-kilowatt solar system. Graphics to explain green elec- tricity, solar power and alternative en- ergy resources are planned for the site.

Abridged from Mary Joan Pugh in Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), February 2009

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, U.K.

I used a Rcom 20 digital incubator for the first time in 2008, having seen these incubators being used to hatch eggs of griffon vultures a t Jerusalem Zoo, where this species is being raised for release into the wild.

The incubator was delivered ready for use. It measures 50 cm by 35 cm by 14 cm high, and was preset at the factory to run at 375°C with the humidity set at 55%. Changing the settings is fairly straight- forward. The 15-page booklet that comes with i t is very informative and generally easy to follow: althoughthe English trans- lation was not always clear to me, the workings of each section are amply ex- plained through the use of diagrams. The Rcom 20 has the capacity to hold approxi- mately 20 chicken eggs, 52 quail eggs or 10 turkey eggs.

Other than the need to add water each day, pretty much everything else about this incubator is automatic. The eggs are turned every hour and the temperature and humidity are controlled digitally. My overall impression is that i t is a well- made, good-quality incubator that looks professional and is a welcome addition to the incubator room.

The viewing panel on the top provides a clear view of all the eggs and also serves as the lid to the incubator. A few seconds aRer i t is removed, the machine switches off automatically and starts up again automatically when the lid is placed back on. I have found this very useful, as I have lost count of the number of times I have double-checked the onloff switches on other incubators. Several partitions

are supplied to hold the eggs firmly in place and allow several different sizes of eggs to be incubated at the same time, making it an ideal machine for the small-

I scale hobbyist or the keeper of a large mixed collection. It is compact enough to be easily moved from one site to another.

Having run a trial using an assortment of poultry eggs, we went on to use the Rcom 20 to incubate the eggs of several important species, including argus pheas- ant, grey-winged trumpeter, lapwing and Abyssinian ground hornbill. I have not used it as a hatcher yet, but can see no reason why it should not prove to be a good one. It holds the humidity well and the floor seems to have a non-slip sur- face. The machine is also easy to disman- tle and clean.

During the course of the 2008 breeding season, I found it to be a very good incu- bator. There is just one thing that needs to be watched -the narrow plastic tube that carries the water from the reservoir to the evaporation sponge easily gets blocked with debris if you do not keep the reservoir clean: for this reason it is im- portant to use only distilled water.

The Rcom 20 digital incubator is made in Korea by Auto Elex Co. Ltd. (www. autoelex.com).

Jo Gregson, Curator of Birds, Paignton Zoo, in Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (2008)

Peoria Zoo, Illinois, U.S.A.

A giant Zambian mole-rat (Cryptomys mechowi) was born on 2 June 2008, the zoo's first surviving offspring of this spe- cies. Peoria Zoo is believed to be the first institution in the United States to ex- hibit Zambian mole-rats, which were imported from South Africain 2006. Since their arrival, zoo staffhave been working to find a management technique that would insure their breeding success. The imported animals were initially main- tained in two separate colonies just as they arrived. In an effort to encourage

breeding, staff renovated an off-exhibit breeding room to include over 40 feet [l2 meters] of traveling tubes between food and sleep chambers. In January 2008, the two original colonies were disbanded and three new colonies were formed, one of them for exhibition purposes. Zoo staff then began lengthy introductions, using metal rods to divide traveling tubes. This method allowed the previously never in- troduced animals to have limited access to one another for increasing periods of time, until eventually the rods were re- moved altogether. A single offspring was born in an off-exhibit colony 135 days after the new colonies were formed.

At six weeks of age the mole-rat pup weighs 24 g, considerably less than the 600 g an average adult male can weigh. The pup is also dark in color, while the adults are all cinnamon-buff. The birth provides our staff with the unique oppor- tunity to collect information about the newborn's development.

There are nine known species of Cryptomys. C. mechowi occurs in Angola, southern Congo (DRC), Zambia, and pos- sibly Malawi. This species is highly so- cial and lives in colonies containing a single reproductive female, breeding males, and a number of non-breeding workers. Mole-rats are built for life un- derground. Their streamlined shape and short legs enable them to move easily in their narrow burrows. Their eyes are small and can probably only detect light and dark. Even though their ears are also small, C. medzowi have a relatively sophisticated level of communication using a variety of squeaks, m t a and growls. Their hair is thick and short, a real asset when moving back and forth in the burrow. Because mole-rats live in dark burrows, the sense of touch is im- portant to them. Stiff, tactile hairs scat- tered over much of the body act in much the same way as the whiskers of a cat.

The most notable feature of the mole- rats is a pair of large incisors that lie outside the mouth. Giant mole-rats exca- vate their burrows by biting at the soil

with their incisors. They can move the ;WO halves of their lower jaw independ- 3ntly of each other, making them a very lrersatile set of tools. The loosened soil is pushed under their bodies with their Forefeet and then collected and kicked ~ehind them with their hind feet. The first detailed field study on this

highly adaptable species was published m 2001.

Tonnect (Association of Zoos and \quariums), January 2009

Perth Zoo, Western Australia

h o short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus zculeatus) puggles hatched at the zoo in hugust. This is only the second time xhidnas have been bred here: the first was in 2007. The new babies, named Mila and Chindi, are also only the tenth and eleventh echidnas ever bred in cap- tivity in Australia.

The puggles each weighed less than me gram when they first hatched. After hatching, they were carried around in their respective mothers' pouches for two months before being deposited in bur- rows. Mila was the first to be deposited in s nursery burrow on 3 October, weighing 281 grams. Chindi weighed 351 grams when deposited in a burrow on 20 Octo- ber. Keepers will not be able to deter- mine their sex until they are at least two years old.

'I've beenworkingwith the zoo's echidnas for nine years now,' says AustralianFauna aupervisor Arthur Ferguson, 'and over that time I've been watching them and ~bserving their reproductive behaviour -

lack thereof - and trialling different things. With the new exhibit and a change in animal management strategies, we've been able to successfully hatch and raise echidnas. A few key factors for successful breeding stand out. Firstly, the females should be kept separate from each other, secondly, the burrow environment is very important, and thirdly, males should be separated from the females after mating.

'With the burrows, the echidnas need to be able to live at a desirable tempera- ture. They like a cool burrow as well as a warm spot to baskin the sun on cool days. We found that the female prefers a cool burrow where she can regulate her body temperature during egg incubation. When not disturbed and if the tempera- ture is right, the female is able to suc- cessfully incubate her egg. We've also found that the female won't eat or drink for at least ten days during the incuba- tion process.

'There was a bit of match-making on our part. Over the years we've assessed the echidnas' reproductive development over their peak activity in June, July and August. We looked at the males and fe- males and compared their development to see who was most suitably matched. This was determined by body weight, pouch development of females and testis development of males. Of the three pairs put together this year, two successfully bred. They still go through the usual echidna courtship, which we have seen last for approximately seven to eight days.'

Echidnas take part in courtship in the lead up to mating, and the activity is called an echidna 'train'. Potential males queue up behind a female and follow her around for anywhere up to six weeks before mating. As they follow her around, they nudge her tail or side with their snouts. When the female is ready to mate, she'll dig her front legs and head into the sand. The males start digging a trench near her and try to push each other out of the way. Eventually a rut in the ground is formed, with males pushing each other head to head until finally one male is left standing in the trench with the female. Mating begins with the male slightly under the female and turned on his side.

'The video monitoring has proved in- valuable, because we can obseme rarely- seen reproductive behaviour,' says Mr Ferguson. 'We can also determine when mating has taken place and then sepa- rate the male. Separatinghim allows the

I female to lay and incubate the egg undis- turbed. We also see when the female enters the burrow to start the incubation process. From that information we know when the puggle will hatch and when to check the female's pouch to confirm the presence of a puggle.'

About 23 days after mating, the female lays an egg which she deposits into her pouch. It stays there for ten days before hatching. At hatching, the puggle is un- derdeveloped, with closed eyes and tiny buds for hind legs, though its front legs have tiny claws which it needs to make the climb from deep in the pouch to the mother's milk patch or areola for its first drink of milk.

We're discovering the importance of a good burrow to these animals, especially whenit comes time to deposit the puggle,' says Mr Ferguson. 'By that stage, the puggle is about two months old and its spines are just starting to grow. At this point it is literally hanging out of the pouch and can be seen as the mother walks around. We haven't found out yet whether the mother removes the puggle from the pouch herself or if it comes out naturally, but we're hoping to discover this with more study.

'Once deposited in the burrow, the puggle - which is only about 280 to 350 grams and fits easily into the palm of a hand - is left alone. The mother backfills the burrow and blocks up the entrance to disguise it and stop predators from en- tering. At this stage of its life, it is de- fenceless so would be easy prey. Blocking up the entrance may also help regulate the temperature within the burrow. The mother returns every two to five days to feed it.'

The puggles bred at Perth Zoo provide an opportunity to study maternal care, development and age ofmaturity of short-

3 beaked echidnas. They are being moni- tored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via camera surveillance. The three adult females have also been fitted with tiny data loggers which record temperature every 15 minutes. The whole colony of six

adults is being studied to look for trends and comparisons between male and fe- male echidnas.

We've had three successful breedings so far, and now we need to build on this,' says Mr Ferguson. 'I believe we're on the right track with these key factors, but with more study we can gain greater understanding. It has been a really excit- ing study so far, and I have a feeling it's only going to get better.'

It is hoped that research into the repro- duction of short-beaked echidnas will pro- vide vital information to help save their endangered cousins, the three species of long-beaked echidnas (Zaglossus spp.), which are facing extinction in the wild in New Guinea. Long-beaked echidnas have never been bred in captivity.

NewsPaws (Summer 20081091

Suzhou Zoo, China Hopes of boosting the world population ofYangtze giant softshell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei) were dashed after eggs laid by an 80-year-old female failed to hatch; in May 2008 she had been moved from Changsha Zoo to join Suzhou's 100-year- old male [see IZN 55 (3), 1571. Over half of the 100 eggs appeared to be fertile, but examinations showed that the embryos died early on in development, with specu- lation that the thin or cracked shells of many of them may have been a problem. This is thought to be related to the fe- male's diet, whicb has been low in cal- cium for many years. Both turtles are now on a diet of freshwater crayfish, whole fish and meat containing bones, as well as receiving calcium and vitamin supplements. Hopes for this Critically Endangered species are now pinned on the 2009 breeding season.

Turtle Survival Alliance website (www.turtlesurvival.org)

Toledo Zoo, Ohio, U.S.A.

In 2007, the zoo adopted a new mission

statement which places conservation front and center in every aspect of its activity. The new statement came at a crucial time for us. The previous Novem- ber, the voters of Lucas County gener- ously approved our capital levy, ensur- ing that we would be able to move for- ward with a number of renovations, re- modelings and outright re-imaginings. And this time, we would be doing it all in the most sustainable manner possible. It's a decision that had been coming for some time; we had adopted a set of 'green construction' guidelines. in an effort to ensure that we would work with our contractors to fmd the most environmen- tally friendly ways to carry out our vi- sion.

The first order of business with the master plan may not have been glamor- ous, but it was important: reconfiguring the existing parking lot so that it could accommodate more visitors and improve traffic flow. Even with this project, we sought to include green components. In addition to the incorporation of rain gar- dens into the design and the use of recy- cled concrete, the new ticket booths at the entrance to the parking lot are pow- ered by a small, residential-sized wind turbine and three solar panels. The wind turbine is expected to generate 3,600 kilowatt hours per year for our ticket booths. When the booths are not in use, energy generated by the turbine is back- fed into the zoo's internal power grid. All told, these steps will reduce our carbon footprint by over 5,600 pounds [2,500 kg] annually.

The master plan also involves a bold reinvention of our aquarium, which was constructed under the auspices of the Work Progress Administration and dedi- cated in 1939. The plan for this magnifi- cent structure is not only to make key repairs, most notably on a boiler system dating back to the Truman administra- tion, but also to create a state-of-the-art fmility that can engage future genera- tions of zoo visitors. Preserving the ar- tzMb&ural integrity of this historic build-

ing is also essential. An undertaking of this magnitude re-

quires planning from the ground up, and that's just where we began, with the installation of 32 300-foot 190-meter] geothermal wells all around the aqua- rium. These wells are connected to a heat pump system and a heat exchanger. !be system draws air through ducts into the building. Because the ground below us maintains a nearly steady temperature between 50" and 60°F 110"-15.5OC1, it can provide a starting point that uses less energy as it heats and cools. In the winter months, heat from the warmer ground is drawn up, and in summer heat from the building is pulled down and cooled in the ground. Replacing the existing heating, ventilation and air-con- ditioning system with this new geo- thermal system will reduce the zoo's car- bon footprint by over 400,000 pounds [180,000 kg], or 38% annually. In addi- tion, it is expected to reduce utility costs by nearly $25,000 each year when com- pared to the energy usage of the previous boilers.

Even with these cost savings, though, going green still met with some resist- ance among the people ofnorth-west Ohio. Unfortunately, issues like climate change and energy independence are too often cast as political issues, and so they are often fraught with tension. We received some media attention from those who claimed that by stressing our use of green technologies, we were somehow advanc- ing a political agenda. The attentions of a couple of talk radio hosts did not, how- ever, translate into a flood of calls and e- mails (although a handful did come in). It seems that, by and large, people under- stand the importance of reducing energy usage and recognize that, as advocates for animals in the wild, their zoo should maintain a commitment to preserving their natural habitats.

Abridged from Eric Klinger in Connect (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), February 2009

Toronto Zoo, Ontario, Canada

In February the zoo unveiled a state-of- the-art geothermal heating and cooling system to warm the lion-tailed macaque exhibit. The new system, which controls the climate of the 111-m2 outdoor enclo- sure, draws energy from deep below the earth's surface to heat the floor and melt snow during the winter.

The lion-tailed macaque, considered a critically endangered primate, is a sub- tropical species unaccustomed to the harsh Canadian winter. Until now, the exhibit was heated by large, overhead electric heaters. 'Normally what these monkeys have done when they come out into their enclosure in the winter is go straight into the rafters and stay off the ground. They huddle along the rafters,' says Dave Ireland, the zoo's curator of conservation programs. 'But on their first day with the new system they came out, stayed on the ground, wandered around and explored the entirety of their exhibit - i t was amazing.'

Three vertical wells drilled to a depth of about 73 metres draw the natural energy from below the earth. Aheat pump then transfers the warmth to the in-floor heating system. The entire renovation cost about $100,000. 'Geoexchange sys- tems are the most efficient of all renew- able energy sources, at least in temper- ate climates like Ontario,' says Mr Ire- land. 'It's great that we can show our visitors how i t works.'

Toronto Globe and Mail (12 February 2009)

Ueno Zoo, Tokyo, Japan

In a survey conducted 20 years ago, the alpine-dwelling rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) was found to have a population of about 3,000 birds in Japan, but today, depending on the region, its numbers seem to be greatly reduced. Among the country's zoos, the Omachi Alpine Mu- seum in Nagano Prefecture successfully

bred the species, but now the museum has stopped keeping these birds. For con- servation of the species, captive breeding is necessary, but it is not possible to collect eggs from the wild.

I t was therefore decided to obtain some eggs of another subspecies, L. m. hyperboreus, from Troms0 University in Norway, where it is being studied and bred. To this end, two keepers from Ueno Zoo visited Troms0 for about two weeks in summer 2008 to learn captive-breed- ing techniques. They brought back some eggs from this project, and incubated them.

On 5 August five of the eggs hatched, and two males of this clutch survived. They were put on exhibit in December. We plan to obtain more eggs from Troms~ University with which to begin captive breeding of these birds in earnest.

English summary of article in Japanese by Yukihiro Takahashi and Hidemasa Hori, Animals and Zoos Vol. 61, No. 1 (Winter 2009)

The Wilds, Cumberland, Ohio, U.S.A. Two male southern white rhinos were recently born a t the Wilds, making a total of six of this species born here. 'The Wilds is unique in that we are the only known facility in North America where third-generation white rhinos are being born,' says Executive Director Dr Evan Blumer. 'The combination of our expan- sive habitat that allows for natural social behavior in our herd, along with a care- fully developed and managed breeding program, has contributed to this suc- cess.'

Of the recent births, one calf was born on 22 October and the other on 9 Novem- ber. 'The calves' mothers and both babies are doing fine,' says Dan Beetem, Direc- tor of Animal Management at the Wilds. 'They will spend the winter inside our Rhino Management Center, and will be moved into our open pastures in the

spring.' Institutions that keep this species in

herds have experienced higher breeding success than those where the rhinos were kept only in pairs. 'There has been an historical challenge with reproduction of first- and second-generation females born in a managed environment,' says Beetem. 'As a result, we're interested in learning more about how the social dynamics of living in wide-open spaces is a factor in their breeding success.'

At the Wilds, a herd of females, along with their offspring aqd one breeding male, live and roam freely on nearly two hundred acres [80 ha] of open-range habi- tat. Another breeder male is kept at the Wilds' Rhino Management Center and rotated seasonally with the female herd in pasture. The herd is part of a study by Lara Metrione, a Ph.D. student at Ohio State University, who is looking at both social and environmental characteristics of various managed herds to determine differentiating factors contributing to successful reproduction.

Situated on nearly 10,000 acres [4,000 ha1 in south-east Ohio, the Wilde is one of the largest and most innovative conser- vation centers in North America, and is home to rare and endangered animals from around the world. For more infor- mation, visit www.thewilds.org.

World Center for Birds of Prey (The Peregrine Fund), Boise, Idaho, U.S.A. Two California condor chicks fledged from their nests in the Grand Canyon in De- cember, bringing the world's wild-living population of the birds to 169. This is the first year since the recovery program began that there have been more condors flying free than are in captivity for breed- ing purposes.

'This shows that we are making real progress in bringing this ecologically sig- nificant bird back from the brink of ex- tinction,' says Bill Heinrich, who over-

sees the program for The Peregrine Fund. 'I am thrilled that these two chicks ap- pear to be doing well, and I hope they will survive to become productive members of the flock.'

Currently, the total number of Califor- nia condors is 327, with 158 in captivity. Of the 169 in the wild, 67 are in Arizona and 83 in California. There are also 19 flying free in Mexico. The goal is to pro- duce at least 150 members in each of the U.S. populations, including at least 15 breeding pairs.

The Peregrine Fund breeds and pro- duces condors at its center in Boise and releases them to the wild in northern Arizona. Eight wild condor chicks also hatched this year in California, where a geographically separate population is being produced by zoos, along with the Fund.

The Grand Canyon chicks, who hatched in May, were produced by two sets of parents nesting in the canyon's remote ledges and caves. They were first observed testing their wings with short flights in September and Octo- ber. One of the chicks was produced by the same adult pair that in 2003 hatched the first wild condor chick in the Grand Canyon in more than 100 years. The other chick belongs to first-time par- ents. The adult female is the last bird remaining from the group that was released when the Arizona recovery pro- gram began in 1996. These latest fledg- lings make a total of nine wild chicks hatched in the Grand Canyon since 1996. Eight are still alive.

The largest survival challenge facing the two new chicks and all condors is lead poisoning from lost or unretrieved re- mains of animals shot with lead ammu- nition. The Peregrine Fund works with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and local hunting groups on an aware- ness campaign that has produced a dra- matic increase in the number of hunters who voluntarily switch to copper bullets or other non-lead alternatives in condor country, with a corresponding drop in

condor deaths due to lead poisoning. 'We are grateful to all the hunters who are valued partners in restoring California condors to their historic range,' says Heinrich. Nevertheless, every condor must be captured twice each year and tested for lead poisoning. Because they are social eaters, i t is possible forjust one carcass to poison several birds. Condors are treated with chelation, a process that removes lead from a bird's body, and re- released to the wild. None treated this year have yet died from lead poisoning. 'Until we significantly reduce the amount oflead they are exposed to,' says Heinrich, 'we willnever have a self-sustaining popu- lation of condors. We look forward to the day when they no longer need us to sur- vive.'

. The Peregrine Fund press release, 16 December 2008

World Owl Trust, Muncaster Castle, Cumbria, U.K. The 2008 breeding season has proved to be the most successful in the Trust's history. No fewer than 60 owlets of 19 taxa have been parent-hatched and raised.

Young were raised by European dark- breasted barn owls (Qto alba guttata), American barn owls (T. a. pratincola) and African barn owls (T. a. afinis). Two pairs of another closely-related species, the ashy-faced owl (T. glauwps), raised a total of four young. This Caribbean spe- cies is becoming rare in the wild and these latest owlets make welcome addi- tions to a captive-breeding programme which ensures that future reintroduc- tion will be possible.

Our pair of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) raised four young in their specially-designed nestbox which - as might be expected -resembles a burrow, and two pairs of the very similar little owl (A. noctua vidallii) raised nine young between them in our Laybourn Aviary. Also, as is usual in this large naturally-

planted aviary, our female long-eared owl Olsio otus3 chose to nest, not in a stick nest in one of several suitable trees, but on the ground under a large clump of pampas grass. Her single chickwas raised without complication.

The pair of recently-arrived f i c a n spotted eagle owls (Bubo a. africanus) nested early in the year and raised two youngsters, while the South American horned owls (B. virginianus nacurutu) raised their customary single chick, this time a female.

Other regular breeders, the Australian boobook owls (Ninox boobook), South American chaco owls (Strix cbcoensis) and Malaysian brown wood owls (S. leptogrammica) did not disappoint, rais- ing three, two and two owlets respec- tively.

After an absence of several years and a change of mates, a pair of snowy owls (Nyctea scandiaca) raised a very wel- come single owlet

Several small owl species continued to maintain their excellent breedingrecords. Indian scops owls (Otus b a k h m n a ) , Sunda scops owls (0. lempgi cnephaeus), tropical screech owls (0. choliba) and southern white-faced owls (Ptilopsis leucotis granti) were all successful.

Pride of place this year must, however, be given to two species of northern owls, the great grey owl (Strix nebulosa lapponica) and the northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula). For several years, the great grey owls have hatched and raised two chicks in their wicker basket nest. This year their contribution was four. A bigger surprise was provided by the north- ern hawk owls: seven owlets from one nest and all safely raised by their par- ents must surely be a record.

David Armitage in World Owl Trust Newsletter No. 39 (November 2008)

International Zoo News Vol. 56, No. 1 (2009). pp. 57-64

RECENT ARTICLES Adloff, A.: Die Umschlagbilder der Wegweiser des Tierparks 11. (The cover illustrations on

Tierpark Berlin guidebooks.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 403414. [German, no English summary; includes 10 full-page colour reproductions.]

Aourir, M., Znari, M,, El Abbassi, A., Radi, M., and Melin, J.-M.: Reproductive parameters in captive hand-reared black-bellied sandgrouse. Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 269-281. [Flock breeders of black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis), originated from wild-laid eggs collected in west-central Morocco in 2003 and 2004, were hatched and hand-reared in captivity in the framework of a reinforcement population program. Three to five pairs of different ages were housed in an aviary. Egg-pulling procedure was used and eggs incubated artificially. Breeding parameters, hatchability, and post-hatching mortality were recorded. The birds showed a seasonal breeding pattern with a laying period extending from 7 to 12 weeks. The clutch frequency varied from 3 to 7 clutches per female per season. The mean clutch size was 2.66 * 0.47 eggs, and the mean interclutch interval was 10 k 2.7 days. The average total egg production was 12 * 5.83 eggs per female, varying with age from 8 to 18 eggs per female. Egg hatchability of incubated eggs increased with age and varied from 37.5 to 72.2%. Chick mortality occurred only in the first week after hatching, averaging 60.5%. The results showed that black-bellied sandgrouse can be successfully bred in captivity and opened the possibility of controlling, managing, and maximizing their production for the reinforce- ment of the local declining wild populations.]

Ari, C., and Correia, J.P.: Role of sensory cues on food searching behavior of a captive Manta birostris (Chondrichtyes, Mobulidae). Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (2008), pp. 294-304. [This study reports on the first experimental research designed specifically for manta ray behavior. The authors attempted to learn about the feeding behavior and environmental cues influenc- ing this behavior, as well as general cognitive ability. The preconditioned ray's ability to identify food was tested, with the opening of cephalic fins considered a good indicator of feeding motivation level. The subject animal used its biological clock to predict time and also associated a specific location with food, suggesting an ability to build up a cognitive map of its environment. Both underwater visual stimuli and olfactory stimuli had a very intense effect on food searching behavior over a 30 m distance, in contrast to visual signs from above the water surface. In addition, although an underwater visual signal resulted in a more intense response than from an olfactory signal, the ray did not discriminate between different objects tested on the basis of visual sensation. It could therefore be suggested that food searching behavior of mantas is governed by triggering stimuli, including smell or visual recognition, and modulated by the cognitive spatial map stored in their long-term memory. These findings will hopefully prove useful when devising protective policies in the natural environment andlor while keeping these animals in captivity.]

Baker, W.K.: How do I decide when it's appropriate to use a net versus a dart gun? Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 10 (2008), pp. 408-410.

Baker, W.K.: There are literally hundreds of items on the market for modifying firearms: how can one tell a gadget from something that can be really helpful? Animal Keepers'Forum Vol. 35, No. 12 (20081, pp. 493-494.

Blaszkiewitz, B.: Riesenschildkrotendaten aus dem Tierpark Berlin 1996-2008. (Giant tor- toises at Tierpark Berlin.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 349-352. [German, no English summary.]

Braasch, T.: Erste Schritte zur Rettung des Java-Pustelschweins. (First steps to save the Javan warty pig. ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 2 (20081, pp. 3-5. [German, with English summary. The Javan warty pig (Sus verrucosus) is an endangered species endemic to Java and associated offshore islands in Indonesia. Population numbers remain unknown, and habitat destruction and hunting have been the main causes for the decline of the species. Presently, the animal survives in small and highly fragmented patches of habitat and under intense hunting pressure. Therefore, the establishment of a captive-breeding programme in Indone- sia, with the ultimate purpose of reintroduction once the present pressures have been removed, has been recommended as a top priority to ensure survival of the species. The

57

Cikananga Wild Animal Rescue Center near Sukabumi, West Java, has taken on this task. The first enclosures were constructed by the end of 2007. By June 2008 five (4.1) pigs hadbeen moved to Cikananga. The intention is to produce enough genetically healthy captive animals to be used for a reintroduction programme, as well as for studying the biology of this poorly- known species. The long-term aim is to establish a viable, free-ranging population in parts of the historical distribution area of the species.]

Brickell, N.: Breeding the Javan munia Lonchura leucogastroides. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (20081, pp. 129-133.

Clauss, M., Nijboer, J., Loermans, J.H.M., Roth, T., Van der Kuilen, J., and Beynen, A.C.: Comparative digestion studies in wild suids at Rotterdam Zoo. Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 305-319. [Among the artiodactyla, the suids are a group whose digestive physiology has hardly been investigated. The authors found that warthogs, red river hogs, Visayan warty pigs, babirusa, wild boar, and peccaries appear to share a similar relationship of dietary protein content to protein digestion with domestic pigs, regardless of differences in digestive anatomy. The results of this study indicate that warthogs digest fiber more efficiently than other wild suids or peccaries. Except for warthogs, wild suids - as well as domestic pigs -digest hemicelluloee (HC) more efficiently than cellulose. Although it cannot be decided whether this reflects an adaptation to their natural diet, this characteristic recommends certain food items (certain vegetables) that are high in fiber and have a high proportion of HC in their fiber component for the feeding of wild suids. For warthogs, diets high in both HC and cellulose (such as grass hay) should be considered.]

Cristinacce, A., Ladkoo, A., Switzer, R., Jordan, L., Vencatasamy, V., Koenig, F. de R., Jones, C., and Bell, D.: Captive breeding and rearing of critically endangered Mauritius fodies Foudia rubra for reintroduction. Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 255-268. [In situ captive rearing of endangered passerines for reintroduction has rarely been used as a conservation tool. Nests of Mauritius fodies threatened with predation by introduced

I mammalian predators were harvested from the wild, and chicks were reared to independence for release onto an offshore, predator-free island. The daily probability of survival was higher

l in captivity than in the wild, and 69 chicks were reared to fledging, of whom 47 would have been expected to fledge in the wild. Harvesting of nests probably had little impact on the wild population. Captive-breeding trials on Mauritius fodies showed that large numbers of individuals could be produced for a release program from a mall number of pairs if enough space was provided. Artificial incubation of passerine eggs and rearing of chicke can be used to increase the productivity of endangered taxa. Zoos can play an important role in in situ conservation programs through provision of avicultural expertise and training of local staff.]

Dale, R.H.I., and Yaniga, F.: Ilr Maximillian Schmidt's 1884 review of the growth rates of Asian elephants. Journal of the Elephant Managers Association Vol. 19, No. 3 (20081, pp. 14-21. [The first translation into English of an article originally published as 'Die Wachstumsverhaltnisse des indischen Elefanten' in Der Zoologische Garten 25 (l), 4-19 (1884). The translators comment: 'Rarely is there a scientific article of such creativity, insight and importance that it is fascinating even 125 years after it was written.. . Dr Schmidt addressed a topic of considerable interest in recent times, the growth curves of elephants. He combined data on multiple elephants from several sources to generate a fable of shoulder heights from birth to the age of 34 years. For one animal at the Berlin Zoo, he provided a collection of 25 anatomical measurements repeated over a period of 20 yeam, perhaps the most thorough study in history of the anatomical growth of an elephant. . . Among the topics Schmidt discussed are the reliability of physical measurements, growth spurts, the likely relation between diet and growth rate, sex differences in growth rate, growth rates during pregnancy, the idea that elephants continue to grow well past the age of maturity accepted at the time (20 years old), and the idea that the curvature of an Asian elephant's back changes systematically with age. Perhaps his most impressive comment is that the age at which reproductive capacity is acquired coincides with the age a t which growth in the pelvic region seems complete: some time before 15 years of age.']

Dathe, F.: Die Haltung von Ktjnigsnattern, Lampropeltis Fitzinger, 1843, im Tierpark Berlin. (Kingsnake spp. at Tierpark Berlin.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 353-371. [German, no English summary.]

Edmans, I., and Owen, A.: Breeding the brown-breasted barbet Lybius melanopterus at

Waddesdon Manor. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (20081, pp. 118-122. Edmans, I.: The blue-crowned laughingthrush Dryonastes courtoisi: results of a 2007 hus- bandry questionnaire. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (20081, pp. 157-160.

Elston, J.J., Sky, C., Quinones, G., Tybor, C., Plasse, C., and Bettinger, T.: Unprecedented use of a nest log by a female green broadbill Calyptomena uiridis. Auicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (20081, pp. 172-179. [Disney's Animal Kingdom, Florida.]

Cspley, S.: The fawn-breasted waxbill Estrildapaludicola. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (20081, pp. 161-167.

poeken, S.G., de Vries, M., Hudson, E., Sheppard, C.D., and Dierenfeld, E.S.: Determining nitrogen requirements ofAceros and Buceros hornbills. Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 282-293. [In recent years, hornbills have been identified as a group in need of good husbandry guidelines and a priority for captive breeding. Unfortunately, reproduction in captive hornbills is very low, and diet could be a key factor in developing successful programs. The goal of this study was to quantify protein intake and utilization in captive Aceros and Buceros hornbills in an effort to predict maintenance dietary protein requirements and also to test differences withiathis requirement between the two genera. Over two months, seven feeding trials were conducted at St Catherines Island, Georgia, to quantify protein intake and utilization in captive mature non-reproducingAceros (n = 3 spp.) and Buceros (n = 2 spp.). The birds were fed homogeneous isocaloric diets. A mixture of bird of paradise pellets, grapes, and raisins was offered to the birds as grape-sized balls, supplemented with diced cantaloupe melon to maintain hydration. To vary the protein level within the diets, different amounts of a powdered soy protein supplement were added to the mixture. Test diets were fed for three consecutive days, and birds were weighed to test for differences among diets. Feeding trials were separated by a 4-day period, in which the bird's regular diet was fed. No differences in nitrogen balances were found between Aceros and Buceros birds. hornbills. The hornbills maintained body mass on a diet containing 10.8% crude protein.]

Xbson, D.: The blue-throated conure Pyrrhura cruentata. AviculturaE Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (20081, pp. 168-171. [Exmoor Zoo, U.K]

hrdon, S.: Sustainability within zoos: taking the rhino by the horn. Thylacinus Vol. 32, No. 4 (20081, pp. 7-8. [The ARAZPA species coordinator for white rhino decided that the Australa- sian regional program for the species would best be served by Auckland Zoo holding a bachelor herd whilst Hamilton Zoo focused on breeding, as they already held a herd of females. In order for Hamilton to be successful in breeding and to maximise their space, it was decided that only one male should be held there. This required Auckland to relocate one of their males to Hamilton and receive three males from Hamilton in return. The author describes the practicalities and challenges faced in achieving the transfer, and the solutions and alterations required in integrating and coordinating a bachelor herd of rhinos while minimizing the stress on the animals.]

haham, J.: The Corncrake Species Recovery Programme. Rate1 Vol. 35, No. 4 (20081, pp. 4- 7. [The cornmake (Crex crex) is the only globally threatened bird species that breeds regularly in the U.K. A partnership was set up between the Zoological Society of London, RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England) with the ultimate aim of securing the species' future in the U.K. Since 2001 corncrakes have been bred and hand-reared in a specially-designed facility at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and released at a site near Peterborough, England. The females are not allowed to incubate the eggs for the full term, as the chicks become imprinted on their surroundings, which, were the females allowed to hatch them, would include the night sky at Whipsnade rather than that of the release site. It is thought that corncrakes migrate using star mapping as anavigation tool, and studies have shown that they return to within 1.6 km of where they were hatched and reared. Hand-rearing the chicks also helps to maximize the number produced each year. To date over 300 birds have been released, and some of these have been proved to migrate to Africa, return the following spring, and successfully breed at the English site.]

hegson, J.: Herbert FVhitley - the founder of Paignton Zoo. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (20081, pp. 134-136.

iupta, A.: Managing musth in a captive tusker at Satpura Tiger Reserve. Zoos'Print Vol. 23, No. 2 (2008), pp. 13-14. Bylazine hydrochloride was successfully used to immobilize the animal.]

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Handschuh, M., and Miiller, J.: Wassertrugnattern in Kambodscha. (Water snakes in Cambo- dia.) ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 2 (2008), p p 6-8. [German, with English summary. The family Homalopsidae consists of little-known, lughly aquatic water snakes, seven species of which occur on the Tonle Sap Great Lake in north-westem Cambodia, the largest freshwater lake in South-east Asia and home to a large number of endangered species. Overfishing of the lake has resulted in a demand for a cheap alternative to fish, which has been fXed mainly with five snake specim. More than seven million snakes are harvested annually. The snake harvest has reached unsustainable levels and decreased by 75% between 2000 and 2005 alone. I t is uncertain how this decline affects the ecology of the lake. In 2008, the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) started an ex situ management project focusing on the snakes Enhydris longicauda and E. bocourti: the main goals are basic husbandry research and awareness raising.]

Hartell-DeNardo, J.: Team-training and scent station training with Grant's zebra GEquus burchellii boehmi). Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 11 (20081, pp. 455-458. [In order to more effectively train each individual animal as well as to reduce aggression and displace- ment during training sessions, a training program was initiated working on scent stationing with 1.3 zebras. Station training was chosen to create more space between the individual animals when training and to move their focus from the trainer's location to the training session. Researching the literature indicated limited information on this species' sight range and abilities, while work with scent-trained horses has shown this sensory capability to be strong in equids. From these findings it was decided to try station training based on scent, by creatingvisually identical stations of differing scents. The purpose of the program was to address some of the difficulties of training herd animals in a group setting. Specific objectives were to reduce stress due to separation, to increase the comfortable working distance between individuals, to reduce disruptive aggression and displacement behaviors during training sessions, and to create a less competitive environment when training multiple individuals. Incorporating a species' natural history, while recognizing the individuality of each animal, can contribute to training success, and knowledge of an animal's potential sensory range can aid in determining components of a training program. Team training and station training can be effective means of increasing training session productivity while reducing negative behaviors when working with highly social species. Scents can effectively be used as a station indicator for equids.]

Hinze, I.: The widening distribution of the red avadavat Amandava amandava, with avicultural notes. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 4 (20081, pp. 145-156.

Jones, A&: Feather plucking in parrots. (Parts 1 and 2). Parrot Society Magazine Vol. 42, Nos 5 & 6 (2008)' pp. 214-219 & 258-260.

Karsten, P.: The European robin Erithacus rubecula: its care and breeding in aviculture. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (20081, pp. 101-117.

Kawata, K: Hanzaki pilgrimage: a visit to the home of the giant amphibian. Herpetological Review Vol. 39, No. 4 (2008), pp. 407-412. [A report on research and captive-breeding work with the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus).]

Kawata, K.: Zoo animal feeding: a natural history viewpoint. Der Zqologische Garden Vol. 78, No. 1 (2008), pp. 17-42. [In order to formulate animal feeding programs, zoos traditionally borrow knowledge and techniques, developed for domesticated animals, from the livestock industry. Although this industry provides some of the basic components of feeding, it is aimed a t economic gain from animals, and the number of species it covers is extremely small. Moreover, wild animals are forced to make considerable adjustments to captivity in all aspects of life, and the limitations of domestic animal models should be recognized and examined. There is a pressing need to increase zoos' use of the knowledge acquired by field biologists on the food habits of wild animals, in our efforts to improve zoo animal husbandry. Natural history attracts limited interest from zoos, but it offers a wealth of information which needs to be explored to benefit zoo animal feeding practices.]

Kaiser, M.: Zur Zucht des Schwarzschnabelstorches (Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873) durch kiinstliche Besamung im Tierpark Berlin. (Breeding the oriental white stork by artificial insemination a t Tierpark Berlin.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 330-348. [German, no English summary.]

Kern, C.: Beobachtungen zur Fortpflanzungsbiologie beimDavidshirsch (Elaphurus davidianus 60

Milne-Edwards, 1866) im Tierpark Berlin. (Notes on the reproductive biology of PBre David's deer.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 314-325. [German, no English summary. The Tierpark has kept the species since 1955; up to 2008,29 females have born a total of 151 young.]

Kormann, J.: Ein bemerkenswerter Einsiedlerkrebs aus dem Mittelmeer im Tierpark Berlin: Calcinus tubularis (Linnaeus, 1767). (A notable Mediterranean hermit crab at Tierpark Berlin.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (2008), pp. 372-375. [German, no English summary.]

Low, R.: Unique and threatened: New Zealand's parrots in the 21st century. Parrot Society Magazine Vol. 43, No. 2 (2008), pp. 70-75.

Liicker, H., Miehe, C., and Schichtel, M.: Haltung und Zucht der Geisselspinne (Damon variegatus) (Phrynichidae) (Chelicerata: Amblypygi). (Keeping and breeding the whip spi- der.) Der Zoologische Garten Vol. 78, No. 1 (2008), pp. 1-16. [German, with English summary. In the temporary carboniferous hall of Gondwana Praehistorium, Saarland, Germany, whip spiders were kept and bred. Three pairs were purchased from a dealer in summer 2007. The nocturnally active spiders were kept together in a terrarium; no aggression was observed. The animals were fed small locusts, young hissing cockroaches, and crickets. In 2008 courtship display and mating could be observed. The biggest male was the only active one. Seven days after the intake of the spermatophores all the females were carrying egg sacs under the ophistosoma. Each egg sac contained approximately 25-30 eggs. During the canyingphase only one female fed (on a cricket). After 98 days the young spiderlings hatched. The coloration of the young was completely different from that of the adults. The spiderlings were carried by the female for the next nine days; then they moulted and immediately left the female. The adults were now separated from their young, and the three groups of spiderlings stayed together in a smaller terrarium. However, each group from each female stayed separate from the others for weeks. The second moulting took place 41 days af'ter the first. No cannibalism was observed. D. variegatus seems to be a social species; it is highly attractive to visitors, and keeping and breeding is possible in a suitable terrarium.]

Meier, G.G., and Conejo, J.: Karibische Unbekannte: die Veracruz-Erdtaube. (A Caribbean unknown, the Veracruz quail-dove.) ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 2 (20081, pp. 19-20. [German, with English summary. Columbiformes species are facing increasing threats to their survival, yet still they are rarely the main focus of conservation projects or initiatives. Only a few examples of successful conservation efforts for them exist. Proyedo Picho6 was established in 2008 to increase a captive population of a little-known ground dove, the Veracruz or Tuxtla quail-dove (Geotrygon carrikeri), an endangered species from a tiny area on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. ZGAP has entered into an agreement with a Mexican zoo, Africam Safari, Puebla, and already, thanks to successful breeding, the population has grown from three founder pairs to more than 30 individuals. Additional help is now needed to implement urgent in situ conservation efforts for this species.]

Meldnun, J., and Wisniewski, P.J.: Goosander X eider hybrids at WWT Martin Mere. Avicul- tural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (20081, pp. 123-128. [Mergus merganser,Somateria mollissima.]

Narayan, G.: Neues vom Zwergwildschwein. (Pygmy hog news.) ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 1 (2008), p. 9. [German, with English summary. In 2004 the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme opened a second facility at Potasali, Assam, with CO-funding from ZGAP. In July 2007 80 (36.44) hogs were held in this centre and the original one at Basistha. The 23 surviving hoglets in Basistha are growing satisfactorily. The health and behaviour of the hogs at Basistha has been assessed through observation and appetite evaluation and everything seems normal. At Potasali two hogs in the pre-release enclosure have significantly changed their behaviour, becoming very shy and foraging naturally. Construction work on other pre- release enclosures continues.]

Neldner, H., Jeske, C., and Poggenburg, C.: Whooping crane partnership at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Animal Keepers'Forum Vol. 35, No. 10 (20081, pp. 414-419. [A young whooping crane who was supposed to participate in the International Crane Foundation's direct autumn release program, but suffered injuries prior to the release. The Milwaukee County Zoo, in partnership with the ICF and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine helped this bird recover and he is now on exhibit at the zoo. The authors describe his recovery, training for husbandry behaviors, and exhibit design and renovation.]

Owen, A.: A visit to Cikananga Wild Animal Rescue Centre, Java, Indonesia. Avicultural Magazine Vol. 114, No. 3 (2008), pp. 97-100. [The author, from Chester Zoo, spent three

6 1

weeks in Java to help the staff of this centre to establish breeding programmes for the rare black-and-white laughingthrush (Garrulasl. bicolor) and the critically threatened black- winged starling (Sturnw melanopterus). There is only a very small population ofthe former species in European collections and there is extreme concern for it in the wild, due to the capture of wild birds for the cage-bird trade. Cikananga is the largest animal rescue centre in Indonesia and is dedicated to the conservation of Indonesian wildlife, facilitating the enforcement of wildlife laws by playing a key role in the confiscation, rehabilitation and release of wild animals. Many species of coniiscated animals, including primates, sun bears, leopards, tigers and a wide variety of birds, are kept at the centre. The recent focus, however, has been on the establishment of captive-breeding programmes for a number of highly threatened Indonesian species, primarily the above-mentioned birds and the Javan warty pig (see Braasch, above), with the eventual aim of releasing captive-bred stock into suitable protected wild areas. The founding stock for the bird programmes consisted of five G. bicolor and nine S. melanopterus, with a further 12 starlings acquired duringthe author's time there.

l Two pairs of spectacled laughingthrushes (Rhinocichla mitrata) have also been established

i at the centre; although this species is not considered threatened, it was thought that these birds could be useful as a model species to provide the aviary keepers with valuable experience with another species of laughingthrush with which to perfect their husbandry and captive-breeding skills, which can then be applied to the management of G. bimlor.

The author also observed the work of a group of bird keepers who have set up a consortium with the aim of breeding passerines for the cage-bird market. The skills they have acquired and the techniques they use produce astonishing numbers of passerines, on a scale that must

i be unique anywhere in the world. Their birds are more popular than wild-caught ones, so their work has a conservation element, helping to take pressure off wild populations. The breeders are willing to support the Cikananga staff by teaching them their methods of hand- rearing.]

Pauly, A.: Haltung und Zucht.des Gewijhnlichen Mohrenmakis (Eulemur macaco macaco) im Tierpark Berlin - mit einer Ubersicht zu den bisherigen Erkrankungsfallen. (Husbandry and breeding of black lemurs at Tierpark Berlin, with notes on their veterinary history.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 295-307. [German, no English summary. The Tierpark has kept the species since 1985.1

Pfeil, A., and Zimmermann, E.: Adenokarzinom in der Harnblase einer miinnlichen Fischkatze (Prionailurus viuerrinus Bennett, 1833). (Adenocarcinoma in the bladder of a male fishing cat.) Der Zoologische Garten Vol. 78, No. 1 (20081, pp. 49-58. [German, with English summary giving details of the case (here omitted - Ed.). The authors note that 'in contrast to the rare bladder tumours in domestic cats, there are several reports on transitional cell tumours in fishing cats. But to the authors knowledge there are no reports on adenocarcinomas of the bladder.']

Phillips, R.S., and Wheaton, C.J.: Urinary steroid hormone analysis of ovarian cycles and pregnancy in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) indicate that menses, copulatory behavior, sexual swellings and reproductive condition are associated with changing estrone conjugates (E,C) and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG). Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 320-330.

Pohle, C.: Notizen zur Zahnentwicklung beim Takin. (Dental development in the takin.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (2008), pp. 326-329. [German, no English summary.]

Reul-Schneider, M.: Schutzmassnahmen fiir den Gelbbmstkapuziner - Untersuchungen zu dkologie und Verhalten im Freiland, Erhaltungszuchtprogramm in europ&schen und brasilianischen Zoos. (Conservation measures for the yellow-breasted capuchin monkey (Cebus xanthosternos) - a survey of ecology and behaviour in the wild and conservation breeding in European and Brazilian zoos.) ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 1 (20081, pp. 11- 12. erma man, with English summary. Approximately 3,506 yellow-breasted capuchihs sur- vive at resent. divided into small. isolated w~ulations. In order to im~rove conservation and management ;trategies, research on ecology and behaviour was started. Some research aspects are habitat use, diet, reproductive biology, group size, social structure and organisa- tion. On 1 January 2001, after the last transfers from the Rio Primate Centre in 2000, there were 36 of the monkeys in seven European zoos. Six years later, the population had increased to 87 individuals in 16 zoos. In 2006 alone the population increased by 13%, from 77 to 87 individuals. This is very good progress, but more zoos are needed to expand the breeding

62

programme in Europe and to support in situ conservation and research activities. In Brazil the Rio centre, five zoos and a private collection participate in the breeding programme (with altogether 48 animals). There are even more wild-born capuchins in private hands, which must be confiscated as soon as space in zoos is available.]

Romer, L., and Christidis, L.: Natural history museums, zoos and aquariums -making the most of our animal collections. Thylacinus Vol. 32, No. 4 (20081, pp. 3-6. [Zoos and aquariums are often seen as dealing with the future - trying to conserve biodiversity - while museums have been seen as dealingwith the present and the past - documenting biodiversity. Museums are now focusine on more contem~orarv issues, including the conservation of biodiversity. As such there G scope for innovaiive c~llaborations be&n these institutions in the areas of research, collection development and education. By working together in new ways, zoos, aquariums and natural history museums can make a bigger impact on understanding and conservin~ biodiversitv. The authors suggest that museums, zoos and aquariums need to look strategicaly a t how they can better use resources in each institution to create a better outcome for the.future.1

Rosler, H., and Wranik, W.: Bemerkenswerte endogene Farbverhderung der Eischale von Chioninia delalandii (Dumeril & Bibron, 1839) (Reptilia: Sauria: Scincidae). (Noteworthy endogenous eggshell coloration in an egg of the Cape Verde skink.) Der Zoologische Garten Vol. 78, No. 1 (2008), pp. 4348. [German, with English summary.]

Stenke, R.: Acht Jahre Schutzarbeit flir Goldkopflanguren in Vietnam. (Eight years' conserva- tion work for the Cat Ca langur in Vietnam.) ZGAP Mitteilungen Vol. 24, No. 2 (2008), pp. 9- 12. [German, with English summary. The Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project seeks to prevent extinction of the world's last remaining Cat Ba langurs (Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus), one of the 25 most endangered primate species in the world. The first major milestones of the conservation strategy for the species were to stop poaching, to establish strictly protected self-sustaining sub-populations, and to secure sufficient intact habitat for an expanding langur population. In the eight years since the project started, the population has increased from around 50 to 70 animals. The project is now focusing on reaching sustainability in its achievements through strengthening of local conservation management capacity. Another major goal is to increase the reproductive output of the remaining langur population through the reduction of the present severe fragmentation. Pressure on natural resouroes is increasing on Cat Ba Island. The development of international research cooperation might be able to sustain the current conservation momentum on the island.]

Straws, G.: Zur Diagnose und Therapie einer Otitis media bei einem Sumatratiger (Panthera tigris sumatrue). (Diagnosis and treatment of inflammation of the inner ear in a tiger.) Milu Vol. 12, No. 4 (20081, pp. 308-313. [German, no English summary.]

Suzuki, M., Hirako, K., Saito, S., Suzuki, C., Kashiwabara, T., and Koie, H.: Usage of high- performance mattresses for transport of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin. Zoo Biology Vol. 27, No. 4 (20081, pp. 331-340. [Ground transport can be a stressful operation for dolphins if the long period of restraint causes damage to internal organs, especially to the lungs, generated by their own weight. Dolphins under moist transport, in which they are transported on mattresses, are deprived of buoyancy. Upgrading mattresses is an effective way to modify the transportation method so as to compensate for the loss of buoyancy. In Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), the authors identified a type of mattress that performed well a t distributing the dolphins' weight and preserving their pulmonary function.]

Takahashi, M., Tobey, J.R., and Andrus, C.H.: Behavior of female koalas (Phascolarctus cinereus adustus) in a new exhibit a t San Diego Zoo. Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 12 (20081, pp. 509-512. [Zoo designs aim to achieve two simultaneous goals: to house animals in an engaging manner for the public and to promote the natural behaviors of the animals. Four female koalas were introduced to a new outdoor enclosure. This study monitored their daily activity patterns and enclosure use in relationship to visitor crowd density and noise level. Their highest peak of activity corresponded to the lowest noise level and least dense visitor crowd. The koalas favored perches in the midground and background of the enclosure and were more active in the evening, eating and locomoting more. The results, however, suges t that koalas' habits may be more influenced by temperature and shade availability than crowd levels.]

Veyret, L.: Emu management and paternal bonding observations a t Territory Wildlife Park. 63

Thylacinus Vol. 32, No. 4 (20081, pp. 9-14. Little published information is available on the l

parental behaviour of emus. Observations of parental bonding were noted during a relocation exercise at the park, and in particular the length and strength of bonding time when a young chick was separated fmm its father: some five weeks' separation of the chick did not deter the father from reestablishing strong parental bonding. The author also gives information on the capture and release methods used at the park.]

Vine, C.: Teaching old birds new tricks: reducing aggression in 1.2 hyacinth macaws. Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 12 (20081, pp. 506-508. [Philadelphia Zoo.]

Wallace, M., and Rodriguez, S.: A nutritionally supported herd-reared male sable antelope at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 11 (20081, pp. 459-465. Following a difficult labor, a sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) dam refused her male calf's nursing attempts. He was kept with her and bottle-fed, and after initial separation they were both fully reintegrated with the herd. Once weaned, and ever since, the calfhas paidvery little attention to the keepers, and has been observed exhibiting normal sable calf behaviors, such as play, flehmen responses and herd cohesion. But although this method appears to have been successful, it had an unforeseen result on the herd dynamic. Once reunited with the herd ,

permanently, the dam had lost her position in the hierarchy. Although she had never been the most dominant animal in the herd, she was now the most subordinate. Aggression towards her dramatically increased, so much so that the greatest aggressor was removed from the herd indefinitely. In the future, if this situation were to arise again, the zoo plan to house the herd together every night from the beginning to encourage daily interactions.]

Woo1lard, S.P.: Budongo Trail -innovation in education and interpretation. Ratel Vol. 35, No. 4 (2008), pp. 21-28. [Edinburgh Zoo's new chimpanzee exhibit.]

Wojciechowski, S.: The formation of an all-male group of red-capped mangabeys at Brookfield Zoo: Part 1. Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 35, No. 11 (20081, pp. 449454. [Because most Old l World monkeys are housed in one-male groups in captivity, a surplus of males tends to occur, and relevant SSPs are experimenting with all male-groups. This article and the next present a cage study of the formation of an all-male group of five sub-adult red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). Initially, the experiment was successful: the animals formed a cohesive group with minimal aggression and many positive affiliative interactions. In the longer term, however, aggression became more serious and on welfare grounds the decision was made to break up the group. However, the four remaining individuals (one having been removed for breeding purposes) are still managed as sibling or half-sibling pairs.]

Wojciechowski, S.: Maturation of an all-male group of red-capped mangabeys at Brookfield Zoo: Part 2. Animal Keepers'Forum Vol. 35, No. 12 (20081, pp. 487-491. [See preceding item.]

Publishers of the periodicals listed: Animal Keepers' Forum, American Association of Zoo Keepers, 3601 S.W. 29th Street, Suite

133, Topeka, Kansas 66614, U.S.A. Avicultural Magazine, Avicultural Society, Arcadia, The Mounts, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7QJ, U.K. Herpetological Review, 16333 Dear Path Lane, Clovis, California 93611-9735, U.S.A. Journal of the Elephant Managers Association), c10 Daryl Hoffman, 300 ~arkside.Avenue,

Buffilo, New York 14214-1999, U.S.A. Milu, Tierpark Berlin, Am Tierpark 125, D-1136 Berlin, Germany. Parrot Society Magazine, Parrot Society, 92A High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts. HP4 2BL, U.K. Ratel, Association of British Wild Animal Keepers, c/o Stephen P. Woollard, Edinburgh Zoo, 134

Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TS, U.K. Thybcinus, Australasian Society of Zoo Keeping, P.O. BOX 248, Healesville, Victoria 3777,

Australia. ZGAP Mitteilungen, Zoologische Gesellschaft fiir Arten- und Populationsschutz e.V. (Zoological

Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations), Franz-Senn-Strasse 14, D-81377 Miinchen, Germany.

Zoo Biology, John Wiley t Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, U.S.A. Der Zoologische Garten, Elsevier GmbH, P.O. Box 100537, 07705 Jena, Germany. Zoos' Print, Zoo Outreach Organisation, Box 1683, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641

004, India.

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Notes for Contributors The editor welcomes original contributions, which may be of any length, from feature articles to short news items. They should be typed, double-spaced, on one side of the paper only, and with generous margins; alternatively, they may be submitted on disk or by e-mail, preferably in Wordperfect or MS Word format. Contributions should be accompanied by photographs, figures and tables where appropriate. Photographs should ideally be black-and-white, but colour photos or slides are acceptable if they have strong tone contrasts which make them suitable for monochrome reproduction. Illustrations may also be submitted as digital files in JPEG, TIFF or BMP format. When drawing up figures and tables, contributors should bear in mind the limitations of IZN's format.

The general style of articles should follow the examples in this issue in respect of headings, spacing, use of italics, quotation marks, upper and lower case etc. The firsit time a species is mentioned its scientific name should be given. Lists of references should contain all relevant details, e.g. full title, date and place of publication. References to articles in periodicals should include volume, issue and page numbers.

The editor reserves the right to alter material without prior consultation; where major changes have been made, the revised texts will be sent to authors for their approval before publication. The copyright of all original material published becomes the property of IZN unless otherwise arranged.

Source Material IZNdepends for much of its material on the generous cooperation of its readers - approximately half the contents of every issue is reprinted from zoo publications sent to us from around the world. At present, however, we receive nothing from many subscribing institutions. We will be grateful to any zoos or aquariums who add IZN to their mailing lists for newsletters, annual reports and other publications, and in return we will, wherever possible, transmit their significant news to our readers.

Translations Many important zoo articles are published in languages other than English. The editor is always grateful for offers to translate foreign material for publication in IZN.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of all material published in IZN, the editor can take no responsibility for any remaining errors. Opinions expressed by contributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or the editor.

All original material in InternationalZoo News is copyright throughout the world. However, items may be reprinted providing they are credited to this publication and a copy of the reprinted material is forwarded to the editor. O 2008 International Zoo News ISSN 0020-91 55

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EDITORIAL 1

PEATURE ARTICLEm The Hand-rearing and f ing 9f African Wild Dogs at Port Lyrnpns Wild Animal l Sarah Wiiis '

Paris Zou - a Personal Remifliscence