Fighting Extinction
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Proceedings of the 67th Annual Conference Melbourne 7–11 October 2012 Fighting Extinction WAZAPresentations Technical Congress only Imprint Editor: Gerald Dick, WAZA Executive Office IUCN Conservation Centre Rue Mauverney 28 CH-1196 Gland Switzerland phone: +41 22 999 07 90 (WAZA Executive Office) Layout &Typesetting: [email protected] Cover photo: Skyline of Melbourne © Gerald Dick, WAZA Edition: © WAZA 2013 In order to make wise use of natural resources, it has been decided to offer the proceedings of WAZA Conferences online only. This saves paper resources and expensive postage costs, thus CO2 emissions. WAZA thanks for your understanding. www.waza.org (members’ area). Founding Member ISSN: 2073-6576 October 2012 | Melbourne 1 Fighting Extinction Proceedings of the 67th Annual Conference 7–11 October 2012 Hosted by ZoosVictoria WAZAPresentations Technical Congress only 2 Proceedings of 67th Annual Conference Editorial Dear WAZA Members and Friends! I would like to start with a big thank Many positive examples and suc- Legend: you to our host, Zoos Victoria! Ad- cess stories were presented and Conference Documents ditionally, I wish to congratulate at the important link to the decade on the occasion of their 150th Anniver- biodiversity was underlined by many DOC Documents submitted sary – a nice coincidence with WAZA’s speakers. Fruitful discussions took prior to the Conference, 77th Anniversary. place on the cooperation between as- like Committee reports, sociations, animal welfare and global Association reports. Our conference was a big success species management plans. Welfare and the focus on “fighting extinction” and population management as well INF Documents presented covered a wide array of topics, rang- as associated strategic developments at the conference without ing from conservation, education to have been identified as focus of work previous documentation, collection sustainability and popu- for the coming years. Finally, two made available after lation management. The keynote resolutions, one on endorsing the the Conference presenters underlined the important new IUCN reintroduction guidelines role of zoos and aquariums and the and one on CO2 compensation while MEM Presentations responsibility of our community highlighting ocean acidification were of new members in the interaction with about 700 mil- adopted. lion visitors to zoo and aquarium ADM Administrative sessions facilities worldwide. Thanks again for this highlight in WAZA’s jubilee year and thanks to COM Committee meetings all members for the ongoing support at the Conference and active involvement in the global zoo and aquarium community!! WS Workshop results Gerald Dick RES Resolution Executive Director Example Number of Annual Conference DOC 65.20 Type of document Number of document The contents of reports are within the responsibility of the authors. October 2012 | Melbourne 3 Table of Contents Welcome Address by the Host .....................................5 Special Session on Population Welcome Address by the Minister Management and Ocean for Environment and Climate Change, Conservation .................................... 73 Victoria, Australia ........................................................ 7 Future Proofing Programs – Welcome to Our Region ..............................................9 an Australasian approach ...........................................74 Welcome Address Mission of Mermaids (film screening) and by the WAZA President ..............................................11 Introduction to Ocean Acidification ........................... 79 Keynote Addresses ........................... 13 List of Participants ............................ 83 The Environmental Crisis – A Question of Leadership .......................................... 14 A New Model for Conservation ...................................17 WAZA Congress Papers Abstracts ....... 19 Received Full WAZA Congress Contributions ..................... 29 Love your Locals ....................................................... 30 Release to the Wild of Charismatic Mega Fauna: the Risks and Successes ............................................ 33 Current Conservation Efforts Supported by the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums ............ 37 Breeding and reintroduction of Ural owls (Strix uralensis) ....................................... 39 The Big C – A Discussion on the Allocation of Scarce Resources for Zoo and Aquarium Conservations ........40 Conservation of Swedish Amphibians – A Success Story? ........................................................ 43 Zoos FIGHTING extinction & Zoos FACILITATING extinction ............................... 45 Facts and Figures from The Granby Zoo: Increasing Revenues as a Major Player in Social Economy ..................................................... 47 Conservation Efforts for the Endangered Ozark Hellbender .................................. 52 Managing Toucans and Flamingos at the Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná State, Brazil ............ 54 Panama’s Noah’s Ark .................................................56 Conservation Medicine: An Approach to Fight the Extinction of All Species .........................58 Temaikèn’s Natural Reserve in Misiones, Argentina: Join Us! .................................................... 62 Conserving Madagascar’s Biodiversity, Building Local Capacity and Raising Environmental Awareness of Youth: The cooperative work of zoos for Madagascar – The Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group .............................................. 64 Unraveling a Mystery! ...............................................66 Community Conservation – A Peri-Urban Case Study in Fighting Extinction ..........68 58 Proceedings of 67th Annual Conference Conservation Medicine: An Approach to Fight the Extinction of All Species Sharon L Deem, Saint Louis Zoo, Institute for Conservation Medicine and Eric Miller, Saint Louis Zoo, Director WildCare Institute Abstract Introduction In 2011 the Saint Louis Zoo launched It is estimated that since 1970 global As accredited zoos have become the Institute for Conservation population sizes of wildlife spe- increasingly appreciated for their Medicine (ICM) to further the Zoo’s cies have decreased by 30% (World conservation initiatives, it has also mission to conserve animals and their Wildlife Fund, 2010). If one looks at become evident that the leadership habitats. The ICM takes a holistic decline by animal taxa, the numbers role of zoos in species’ conservation approach to research on wildlife, threatened with extinction are 12% was concurrent with advancements public health, and sustainable eco- of birds, 21% of mammals, 32% of in health care that is important for systems to ensure healthy animals amphibians, and 27% of reef-building population viability (e.g., fitness and and healthy people. This research corals (Marton‑Lèfevre, 2010). Even reproductive success). Previously includes 1) studies on diseases of though the number of species en- overlooked as instrumental in the conservation concern; 2) health care dangered with extinction grows daily, role of zoos in the conservation of for the sustainability of biodiversity; outside the conservation community, species, veterinary sciences are now 3) zoo animals as sentinels of disease little time, money, or energy has seen as imperative for conservation in urban environments; 4) disease been directed towards the conserva- efforts and the long‑term survival of surveillance at the interface of wild- tion of biodiversity. However, within populations both in zoo collections life, domestic animals and humans; the conservation community, accred- and for free-living populations (Miller, 5) comparative medicine; and 6) the ited zoological institutions are now 1992; Deem, 2007). In fact, one of the exploration of the diversity of life. key reasons that zoos are successful In this paper we describe the sig- fully recognized as organizations conservation organizations is related nificance of these roles and provide dedicated to the conservation of ani- to the veterinary care provided both concrete examples of zoos working mal species. (In this paper, the word animals in our collections, as well in conservation medicine to show accredited will refer to the 218 zoos as field based health studies that how this approach helps to fight the accredited by the Association of improve conservation efforts and extinction of all species. Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since the provide comparative health data authors are most familiar with AZA.) between free-living and collection Unlike many of the other conserva- populations. Today, with the push tion organizations, zoos are the for AZA-accredited zoos to dedicate “species people” and are dedicated to 3% of their revenue to conserva- the long-term conservation of wildlife tion (and other organizations making species. For example, of the 68 spe- similar commitments) the time is cies whose IUCN threat level was re- right for these zoos to include con- duced, 17 (25%) had captive breeding servation medicine initiatives in their at zoological institutions play a role in “toolbox” if we are to strive for the the threat level reductions (Conde et conservation of all species. al., 2011). So what is conservation medicine? This approach was first coined in the 1990s and may be defined as a trans‑disciplinary field that studies the relationship between human, animal, and ecosystem health to ensure the conservation of biodiver- sity, including Homo sapiens (Koch, 1996; Deem et al., 2000; Aguirre et al.,