The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Report Is There Room for Magnificence?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
From the Editor Before there were mammals, birds, snakes or even crocodiles, turtles were living side-by-side with their planet-mates—the dinosaurs. Turtles have been on earth since the Triassic Period, over 220 million years ago. Their shells make them unique to the point that some scientists feel they should occupy their own Class of vertebrates— Chelonia—separate from lizards and snakes. There is nothing like a turtle. In spite of their exceptional survival skills, turtles (including tortoises) are now at the top of the list of species disappearing from our planet. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) reports that 47% of turtle species are identified as “threatened” worldwide. Their plight is part of the ongoing worldwide loss of biodiversity, including about 30% of amphibians, 25% of mammals, and 12% of birds in similar straits. Year of the Turtle 2011 is an opportunity to raise awareness of the issues facing turtles (habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation for food, traditional medicines, and pets) and increase our collective conservation action. The last act of the Zoo’s Conservation Committee in December 2010 was to create the Turtle Conservation For more information about 2011 Year of the Turtle, visit: Fund. The Zoo will work with partners like the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) to support www.parcplace.org/yearoftheturtle.htm priority field projects in 2011 and beyond. Read about a recent turtle rescue and how the Zoo responded through the Emergency Conservation Fund on page 17. In 2010, we joined Polar Bears International (PBI) to become a partner in an exciting Note from the editor new project—the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre (IPBCC) located in March 28, 2011 Manitoba Canada. The IPBCC is a rescue facility, research center, and international As this issue of Commitment to Conservation goes hub for education and public awareness on polar bears and their Arctic environment. to press, we are pleased to announce a grant from See an update on the Zoo’s support for polar bear conservation on page 27. the Zoo’s newly created Turtle Conservation Fund awarded to the Turtle Survival Alliance. The funds We hope you enjoy the inspiring stories of on-the-ground conservation from Congo will create breeding ponds to save the critically to Zimbabwe and at home in the Northern Rockies in this year’s Commitment to endangered Sundarbans mangrove terrapin from Conservation report. Many thanks to all of our supporters—your generosity makes our extinction. stewardship possible. Conservation Funds for 2010 Sincerely, Board Allocated Funds ................................................................... $566,000 Partners In Conservation (PIC) ....................................................... $289,037 Individual Donations ......................................................................... $97,322 Sulatalu Fund for Great Apes ........................................................... $58,000 Wine for Wildlife Donations ............................................................. $35,990 TOTAL .......................................................................................... $1,046,349 Rebecca Rose Field Conservation Coordinator [email protected] To view the Conservation Report online, please visit contribute.columbuszoo.org/ A toast to Bill and Chris conservation/conservation_reports/default.aspx This issue of Commitment to Conservation is dedicated to Bill Goldman and Chris Godley. Bill and Chris received the Board Leadership Award in 2010 for their roles in launching and cultivating Wine for Wildlife and advancing the Zoo’s role in Photos courtesy of Turtle Survival Alliance. global conservation. See full article on page 26. Left - Dr. Lisa Dabeck, founder and director of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, visited the Zoo in January. Center left - The lush cloud forests of Papua New Guinea are home to the Matschie’s tree kangaroo. Center right - Found only on the Huon Peninsula, Matschie’s tree kangaroos are shy, arboreal marsupials. Center photos courtesy of Nic Bishop. Far right - The Zoo has supported Lisa’s work since 1998, including providing education materials to village schools. Photos courtesy of the TKCP. COMMITMENT TO CONSERVatION The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Report Is There Room for Magnificence?.......................... pages 2 - 4 Don’t Let Their Tough Exterior Fool You .......... page 17 Long-term planning is needed to save the smart, social pachyderms of Borneo Turtles need us now Small But Mighty .............................................................. page 5 Terrible Trade ........................................................... pages 18 - 19 With the sun on their chest, honey bears inch towards a better life A triumph and a disappointing turn in Congo No Time to Waste ...................................................... pages 6 - 7 Standing Strong and True ................................... pages 20 - 21 Commitment to frogs continues in a Latin American hotspot Projects with heart work wonders in Rwanda Perfect Social Harmony ............................................ pages 8 - 9 Wide Open Spaces .................................................. pages 22 - 23 Can people take a page from the painted dog playbook? The Wilds offers a living laboratory and unique experiences in nature Ohio’s Wild Treasures .......................................... pages 10 - 11 Primate Pioneers ...................................................... pages 24 - 25 Kind hearts and caring hands mobilize to rescue thousands Bonobos can go home again A Dog in Sheep’s Clothing ................................. pages 12 - 13 Big Fun Under the Big Tent ...................................... page 26 Focused canines save domestic and wild alike Raise your glass for endangered wildlife Cowboys for Conservation .................................... pages 14 - 15 Happy Birthday Polar Bears ..................................... page 27 Riders armed with telemetry and great instincts avert conflict Honoring our girls through support for their wild cousins Feathered Friends ............................................................ page 16 Commitment to Conservation ............................. pages 28 - 29 A favorite writer draws a flock of bird-lovers to the Whittier Peninsula Projects funded by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 1 “The Asian elephant requires much larger areas of natural range than any other terrestrial mammal in Asia. In order to coexist with humans, we need to move from short-term mitigation measures to long-term land use planning.” Elephants are record-breakers in every sense; from their enormous forms to their impossibly long (22-month) gestation period, everything about an elephant looms large. Their legendary appetite (an adult can consume up to 300 pounds of vegetation in a single day) is understandable since their plants-only diet must make up in quantity what it lacks in energy. Seeking out all of these leaves, stems, fruit, grasses and bark requires an elephant to move a lot, sleep a little, and cover a large territory. With much of the available habitat converted to farmland, elephants turn to domestic crops, with serious and often deadly consequences for elephants and people. For a team of elephant conservationists in Borneo, there is much to learn and much to gain from documenting the behavior of these intelligent endangered animals. They are working towards a plan that will “restore more harmonious relationships between the local communities and the elephants.” 2 Photo by Paul Swen. The disruption of traditional elephant migration routes along the Kinabatangan River has forced elephant families to move through village orchards and oil palm plantations in search of food. New tracking collar technology provides 24 GPS (Global Positioning System) locations per day and information is downloaded through a local telephone network – a vast improvement over previous collars. Suitable habitat available to the elephants is decreasing while the population itself is increasing. Well-maintained electrical fences are the most effective method for preventing destruction of crops and possible harm to the elephants. The Bornean elephant (an Asian elephant subspecies) is the most been gazetted as a Wildlife Sanctuary and is recognized as an area of high endangered member of the Proboscidea family with only 1,200 to 1,500 importance for many protected species—orangutans, proboscis monkeys, surviving on the island of Borneo—the world’s third largest island. Many of clouded leopards, more than 300 species of birds, and countless other the animals are living in small, fragmented populations—making the need for animals and plants). The collaring team included individuals from the Sabah conservation action even more urgent. The remaining elephants live mainly Wildlife Department, the Elephant Conservation Unit of the French non- in eastern Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), and the importance of learning more governmental organization HUTAN, scientists from WWF, and researchers about their behavior, movements, and family structure, was identified by the from Danau Girang Field Centre. The team plans to follow the same Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD). elephants for at least two to three years. Only long-term data on the same individuals will allow the team to understand how the elephants are using the Launched in 2007 by Dr. Benoit Goossens, director of the Danau Girang Field Kinabatangan and adapting their movements to human pressure and