International Zoo News Vol. 50/5 (No
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International Zoo News Vol. 50/5 (No. 326) July/August 2003 CONTENTS OBITUARY – Patricia O'Connor EDITORIAL FEATURE ARTICLES Reptiles in Japanese Collections. Part 1: Ken Kawata Chelonians, 1998 Breeding Birds of Paradise at Simon Bruslund Jensen and Sven Hammer Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation An Artist Visits Two Chinese Zoos Frank Pé Variation in Reliability of Measuring Tony King, Elke Boyen and Sander Muilerman Behaviours of Reintroduced Orphan Gorillas Letter to the Editor Book Reviews Conservation Miscellany International Zoo News Recent Articles * * * OBITUARY Patricia O'Connor Dr Patricia O'Connor Halloran made history when she took the position of the staff veterinarian of the Staten Island Zoo, New York, in 1942: she became the first full-time woman zoo veterinarian (and, quite possibly, the first woman zoo veterinarian) in North America. She began her zoo work at a time when opportunities for career-oriented women were limited. Between 1930 and 1939, only 0.8 percent of graduates of American and Canadian veterinary schools were women (the figure had increased to more than 60 percent by the 1990s). At her husband's suggestion she continued to use her maiden name O'Connor as her professional name. For nearly three decades until her retirement in 1970 she wore many hats to keep the zoo going, especially during the war years. She was de facto the curator of education, as well as the curator of mammals and birds. A superb organizer, she helped found several organizations, including the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV). Dr O'Connor became the AAZV's first president from 1946 to 1957, and took up the presidency again in 1965. Her brainchild grew into an internationally recognized organization. Among her many accomplishments was the authorship of the 465-page volume, A Bibliography of References to Diseases of Wild Mammals and Birds, which was published in 1955. It informed readers where they could find authoritative articles on subjects ranging from arthritis in the dolphin to the osteology of the extinct bird species, the great auk. Still much esteemed, this publication is a world first, certainly within the English-speaking world, and most probably throughout the whole world. http://www.izn.org.uk/Archive/326/IZN-326.htm#jap[11/17/2014 3:27:06 PM] At a time when a zoo veterinarian represented rarity (as of 1955, there were only six staff zoo veterinarians across the country), Dr O'Connor was a pioneer, and a unique professional. Not only was she an accomplished general practitioner of veterinary medicine, but also an educator and an organizer and creator of organizations. After leaving the zoo field she continued the family's small animal practice. An avid reader, her mind stayed keen; she was known to correct memories of those who were decades younger. Dr O'Connor died on 8 July 2003 at the age of 88. Ken Kawata, General Curator, Staten Island Zoo * * * EDITORIAL The sketches which illustrate Frank Pé's report of his visits to Shanghai and Beijing Zoos must be almost the first reproductions of original works of art ever to appear in International Zoo News. (The numerous photographers whose work we have published might dispute my precise choice of words, but I'm sure they know what I mean.) It is perhaps surprising that this should be so, for the links between zoos and the visual arts are close and long-standing. A detailed treatment of this topic has yet to be produced – I can only think of two existing books which hint at the riches waiting to be exploited. Wei Yew's book Noah's Art (Quon Editions, Edmonton, Canada, 1991) concentrates mainly on the in-house graphic productions – guide-books, signboards etc. – of just 20 zoos and aquariums [see review, IZN 39 (8), 37], and Jonathan Riddell and Peter Denton's By Underground to the Zoo (Studio Vista, 1995) focuses on London Transport posters promoting London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park [IZN 43 (1), 42–3]. Both books are further limited by their weighting towards particular periods (respectively the late 1980s and the 1920s–1960s); but both are packed with visual treats. When will a publisher realise the potential for a comprehensive, fully-illustrated study of this subject? In my mind's eye I can envisage a sumptuous volume, the ultimate coffee-table book for art-loving zoo enthusiasts. In his enthusiastic review of Noah's Art for IZN, Malcolm Whitehead's only mildly adverse criticism was that the book `concentrates on the slicker product of the better-off zoos'; he expressed a hope that a second volume (projected at the time, but sadly never completed) would include `innovative low-tech graphics from the less affluent collections'. Certainly no zoo can avoid producing some original artwork; but often the only way to see it is by personally visiting the collection. Many ephemeral examples must disappear unrecorded. The only periodicals I know which give regular attention to this aspect of `zoo culture' are both produced in Germany – Berlin Zoo's journal Bongo and Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde's Milu. Almost every issue of each of these publications contains at least one article on an artistic theme – zoo posters, enclosure labels, sculptures exhibited in the zoos' grounds, studies of the work of individual artists, historical surveys of artistic representations of particular species . (Bongo offers the additional bonus of numerous illustrations in colour.) This admirable insistence on treating zoos as an integral part of a nation's cultural life is not, of course, confined to Germany, but it does seem to be most highly developed there and in some other countries of continental Europe. (I'd be delighted to hear from any zoos in the English-speaking world anxious to prove me wrong.) In a Guest Editorial just over a year ago [IZN 49 (4), 194–5], Vernon Kisling argued the case for establishing a `zoo museum'. The response so far has been distinctly underwhelming; but should this project ever become a reality, I hope the institution will be as much an art gallery as a museum. And meanwhile it would be good to see as many individual zoos as possible setting aside a room in which their own artistic heritage can be put on display to the visiting public. Nicholas Gould * * * REPTILES IN JAPANESE COLLECTIONS. PART 1: CHELONIANS, 1998 BY KEN KAWATA Publications of the Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums (JAZGA), headquartered in Tokyo, are circulated for in-house use only within the zoo and aquarium http://www.izn.org.uk/Archive/326/IZN-326.htm#jap[11/17/2014 3:27:06 PM] industry. They are printed in Japanese, yet unknown to the Japanese public and news media, let alone to the world outside the nation's borders. Colleagues in Europe and America may wonder why no effort has ever been made to distribute the publications, at least partially in English translation, out of the arc-shaped archipelago. Recently zoos in Southeast Asia have become increasingly visible, and, after all, Japan holds a prominent position in terms of international commerce. That raises the question: Why does this country continue to be an informational and communicational vacuum at the eastern edge of Asia? Don't Japanese enjoy the fruit of modern communicational devices, such as cellular phones, e-mail and fax? Simply put, the answer lies in their culture; they choose to persistently remain in their national cocoon. However, it is probably fair to state that improvement has been made, albeit at a snail's pace. For instance, a significant step was taken when JAZGA began to add scientific names to the animal inventory, beginning with the 1997 issue. The annual reports, with the animal inventory in a separate volume, are by far the largest source of statistical data published by the Association. According to the membership roster of the 1998 Annual Report, there were 96 zoos and 67 aquariums, or a total of 163 member institutions, making Japan one of the most zoo- and aquarium- rich countries of the world. According to one account published in 2000, their annual visitorship totaled 85 million. Most of the above 163 institutions exhibit generalized animal collections, but there are also some specialist facilities, such as a bear ranch and a primate zoo; one place, Atagawa Tropical and Alligator Gardens in Shizuoka Prefecture, specializes in reptiles. Admittedly JAZGA membership does not represent every live animal collection open to the public in Japan. However, it is a fair assumption that most animals on public exhibit in Japan are covered by the Association's annual reports. From the 1998 Annual Report, your writer has chosen to review chelonians; zoos and aquariums are arbitrarily defined as `collections'. Possible errors in data compilation are his. 1. Overview Table 1 depicts the number of reptile taxa held by JAZGA member institutions as of 31 December 1998. A `purist' approach was employed when compiling the list; excluded are hybrids and animals whose exact species were not identified (e.g. listed vaguely as `giant tortoises', or with only the genera noted). Luckily, such examples were insignificantly few. While the list may present a modest catalog of a collection for an entire country, it nevertheless shows a dramatic increase over the decades. In earlier days reptiles and amphibians were not recognized as a vital component of a collection in a zoo or an aquarium. Hence, permanent housing and exhibit facilities for reptiles and amphibians, independent of other animal buildings, have been a relatively new phenomenon in Japanese zoos. Only in the 1970s, two decades into the post-war `zoo construction boom', did zoos begin to take more than a passing interest in this part of the animal kingdom.