August 3/12 2012 Arthropods in Zoos | p 2 Atlantic Forest: Corridors For Life | p 14 No Need to Kiss This Frog: HRH Prince Charles | p 22 ). Nicrophorus americanus – Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island Williams Park – Roger American burying beetle ( © Lou Perrotti WAZA news 3/12 Gerald Dick Contents Editorial Arthropods .............................. 2 Dear WAZA members and friends! Invertebrate Conservation ........ 5 My Career: The last months have been amongst Shigeyuki Yamamoto ...............9 the most busy ones for the executive WAZA Interview: office. The exciting programme for Ray Morrison ......................... 12 our 67th Annual Conference has been Brazil’s Great finalized, a CO2 compensation scheme Atlantic Forest ....................... 14 for zoos and aquariums has been put WAZA Elected together and offered to WAZA mem- on IATA’s LAPB ...................... 16 bers, a new edition of the WAZA maga- Book Reviews ........................ 18 zine – entitled fighting extinction – with Announcements .................... 19 a focus on “extinct in the wild” clas- No Need to Kiss This Frog ........22 sified species has been published, the Partnerships to WAZA project in support of the decade Fight Amphibian Crisis .............23 on biodiversity with the survey module Update on awareness has started, WAZA is International Studbooks ......... 24 now represented on IATA’s live animals Help for Illegal Scorpions ........ 24 and perishables advisory panel, WAZA WAZA Projects and the world zoos and aquariums Mono Tocón........................... 25 have been dignified by Jane Goodall Western Derby Eland ............. 26 and HRH Charles, Prince of Whales and Tamanduá ..............................27 WAZA has been gifted a commemora- New Member Applications ...... 29 tive design by Jonathan Woodward, © Carmel Croukamp a commended finalist of the “BBC Wild- Gerald Dick in snakepit at Foz Iguazu. life Artist of the Year” competition… In this edition of WAZA News, there I wish to thank all members for their is a focus on arthropods, an amazing ongoing support – in the 77th anniver- group of diverse creatures and oddly sary year of WAZA – and my dedicated enough an often ignored and misun- staff in the executive office for the tire- derstood diversity of “creepy crawlies”. less work on our behalf, On the other hand insects are the most species-rich group of organisms on Gerald Dick earth, which justifies their place in zoos WAZA Executive Director and aquariums, next to great apes or sharks. Imprint Edition: 550 copies © WAZA 2012 Editor: Gerald Dick, WAZA Executive Office IUCN Conservation Centre This edition of WAZA News Rue Mauverney 28 is also available on CH-1196 Gland www.waza.org (members’ area). Switzerland phone: +41 22 999 07 90 Founding Member fax: +41 22 999 07 91 Printed on FSC paper. Layout and typesetting: [email protected] Print: Agentura NP, Staré Město, Czech Republic ISSN: 1662-7733 WAZA news 3/12 1 Jörg Junhold The President’s Page The association ALPZA with currently 77 members is also on a very posi- tive way to achieve fruitful results from its dedicated and well organ- ised work. I was impressed by their strategic discussions on conservation project branding and by their efforts to gain more income through a new category of commercial membership. And, I was delighted to be part of the handover ceremony of the ALPZA Conservation Award which was delivered to the well known condor project, a WAZA branded project. In conclusion, I have felt a lot of engage- ment and passion for our common goals as zoo community during my © WAZA visit and I like to thank my hosts for Jörg Junhold at Foz Iguazu, Brazil, Bird Park. sharing with me this spirited work in biodiversity conservation. It is a pleasure for me as for each The Association of Latin American The WAZA Council has spent its mid- WAZA President to be invited to Zoos and Aquariums (ALPZA) held its year meeting in Temaiken/Argentina many association’s conferences annual conference in Puebla/Mexico in April which was another chance to around the world. This means in my at the end of June. Their meeting learn more about the ALPZA region. case that I get a much closer view of was put under the theme “Celebrat- Next to many different other top- our zoo community as ever before ing Biodiversity, the achievements in ics we focused on the question of and I must say that every single meet- Conservation, and Brotherhood” and structuring our overall work at one ad- ing increases my respect! Although had a variety of very good presenta- ditional “strategic day”. Thanks to our the associations and the individual tions and discussions about this topic. Executive Office with its most quali- zoos behind them are very different I was happy to add the international fied staff WAZA as an organization and manifold in various ways they perspective of WAZA’s cooperation becomes more and more professional. constitute one large community and strategies towards biodiversity This is great – but leads to the ques- which pursues common ideal goals! conservation. tion of how to integrate the work and tasks of our different Committees into The British and Irish Association of Beyond that I was invited to join the this changing structure and how to Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) had board meetings of both the Mexican generate more synergies at the same its annual meeting in mid June at Association of Zoos and Aquariums time. This issue is an ongoing one and Paradise Wildlife Park/UK. What has (AZCARM) and ALPZA to gain more hence we have decided to have a sup- impressed me very much is the close insight into their work. The Mexican plementary separate workshop on the contact that they have established to association with 74 members has set issue, WAZA Council together with all the political arena on national level – up an accreditation system for its Committee Chairs. This one will take visible by the welcome address and members to secure high operational place in August and I am honoured to presentation of a Member of Parlia- standards which has impressed me be the host in Leipzig. ment. The conference focused on the very much. Furthermore they have question of how we can present and adopted a strategic plan for the com- I am confident that we will come up let tour visitors get close to animals ing two years and included significant with new ideas on how to more ef- in an ethically responsible way and conservation and education actions ficiently organize our work and I look what the results of these contacts like the support for an important very much forward to this meeting! to animals are. Do visitors change jaguar reserve and the production of their attitudes and behaviour? There an educational manual. is of course a range of possibilities of animal encounters used in different institutions but I have a very positive feeling that the respect towards ani- mals is always the key of all efforts. 2 WAZA news 3/12 Wolfgang W. Gettmann – Aquazoo Düsseldorf Arthropods: Insects & Co Are Part of a Zoo Like Lions or Great Apes The Invertebrate World at Aquazoo Düsseldorf Zoo departments dedicated to the It is often surprising to learn that produce valuable fabrics while other presentation of arthropods, particu- insects constitute the class of animals insects produce valuable substances larly spiders and insects, are usually that by far covers the most diverse for use in pharmaceuticals and fruit called „insectariums“. The insectari- ranges of species. To date, around flies (Drosophilia) are the „pets“ of um at the Aquazoo/Loebbecke-Muse- one million animals have been sci- genetic research. Even forensic sci- um in Düsseldorf is able to work from entifically described, which is more ence uses knowledge about insects a long tradition as it was established than 60% of all known species. And to help solve crimes (entomological in 1976 when the institute was still, as countless insects and other arthro- forensics). And, last but not least, a result of the destruction caused dur- pods (spiders, isopods, crustaceans, more and more people are beginning ing World War II, temporarily housed myriapoda, etc.) remain undiscov- to keep and breed insects, spiders in an air-raid shelter. It was here that ered. It is remarkable that the general and other arthropods as pets with the the presentation already started to population is not very familiar with intention of studying these animals become a highlight and very popular these animals and that it is becom- at home, of opening a „window on with visitors. The dissemination of ing increasingly less knowledgeable nature“ or of just relaxing and observ- knowledge about the actual „rulers of about them as time progresses. Few ing them. the world“ – as insects are frequently school students, for example, are known – was then already the objec- able to name any species of insect, The Aquazoo exhibits arthropods over tive and had been declared as such much less say anything about how an area of 103 square metres. There at a time when zoos did not always they live or behave. It is even fre- is also a further 23 square metres of regard insectariums as essential. The quently too much for people intend- space and additional rooms behind presentations developed at the „zoo ing to be trained as animal keeper to the terrariums which are not open bunker“, as the people of Düsseldorf list five species of insects or to explain to the public that the keepers use for often called the institute, were so the difference between insects and their work and for breeding insects. highly informative and timeless that spiders. The first thing that comes to The presentation is divided into sec- to this day, 25 years after they were people’s minds when arthropods are tions by a giant star-shaped combi- relocated to the new premises in the mentioned is that insects are „pests“, nation of showcases and a partition Nordpark in 1987, they are still used that they can cause damage and wall, which uses illuminated graph- to inform broad audiences about the that they are detrimental to plants, ics and display cases to explain the life of arthropods.