Saint Louis Zoo Wildcare Institute 2017 Annual Report Galápagos Hawk

Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Galápagos hawk

B I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Contents

WildCare Institute 2017 Overview 2

A Message from the Saint Louis Zoo 4

WildCare Institute Locations and Organizations 6

Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation 8

Center for Avian Conservation in the Pacific Islands 12

Center for Avian Health in the Galápagos Islands 14

Center for Conservation of Carnivores in Africa 18

Center for Conservation in Forest Park 20

Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation 22

Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa 24

Center for Conservation in Madagascar 28

Center for Native Pollinator Conservation 32

Center for Conservation in Punta San Juan, Peru 36

Saharan Wildlife Recovery Center 38

Center for Conservation in Western Asia 40

Institute for Conservation Medicine 42

Conservation Programs Supported by the WildCare Institute 46

How the WildCare Institute is Funded 50

How the WildCare Institute Allocates its Resources 52

2017 Honor Roll 54

How You Can Help 56

I 1 WildCare Institute 2017 Overview

At the Saint Louis Zoo, we are dedicated to caring for animals. We care about animals here at the Zoo, and we care about their wild counterparts around the world — many of which are threatened by shrinking habitats, disease and poaching. Our commitment to saving endangered species and their habitats is cemented through the work of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute.

The WildCare Institute, with the support of its partners, takes a holistic approach to troubled ecosystems by addressing three key pillars in conservation success:

· Wildlife management and recovery · Conservation science · Support of the human populations that coexist with wildlife

Our goal is to help create a sustainable future for wildlife and for people around the world.

2 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Center for American Center for Conservation Center for Conservation Burying Beetle Conservation in Forest Park in Punta San Juan, Peru Through this Center, the American This Center utilizes Forest Park for Humboldt penguins are susceptible burying beetle is the first endangered the study of native wildlife and for to many threats: unsustainable fishing species to be re-introduced to the conservation education. practices, overharvesting of guano state of Missouri. for fertilizer and changing weather Ron Goellner Center for patterns. This Center supports the Center for Avian Conservation Hellbender Conservation largest breeding colony of Humboldt in the Pacific Islands Hellbenders are the largest salamander penguins in Peru. The accidentally introduced brown species native to North America. tree snake has had devastating This Center established a zoo breeding Saharan Wildlife Recovery Center effects on birds in the Pacific Islands. and reintroduction program to save This Center’s mission is to link zoo This Center’s conservation programs hellbender populations. expertise and resources with are helping to save these birds. conservation action in the Sahara. Center for Conservation An example of conservation work is the Center for Avian Health in the Horn of Africa reintroduction of scimitar-horned oryx. in the Galápagos Islands This Center plays a key role in sustaining Human populations and the critically endangered wild species in Center for Conservation introduction of diseases in the the Horn of Africa, particularly the in Western Asia Galápagos pose a threat to wildlife. Grevy’s zebra. The Center supports Armenian vipers have experienced This Center helped develop the community conservation and population declines due to habitat first-ever avian health program in education programs. loss. The Center is analyzing the the Galápagos. Armenian viper’s use of habitat, Center for Conservation genetic diversity and population Center for Conservation in Madagascar structure. of Carnivores in Africa Many endangered animals found in Animals like the cheetah inhabit only Madagascar can be found nowhere Institute for Conservation a small fraction of their historic ranges. else. This Center helps to conserve Medicine (ICM) This Center is educating communities the island’s species and better Conservation medicine addresses on ways to reduce conflict between understand the ecology of diseases. disease challenges that threaten livestock and wildlife in Africa. wildlife and negatively impact Center for Native Pollinator human health. ICM conducts Conservation research and helps find solutions Ninety percent of flowering plants to keep people, animals and their are pollinated by animals. This Center ecosystems healthy. works to save pollinators by planting pollinator habitat and developing pollinator conservation programs.

I 3 Left – A Message from the Saint Louis Zoo Humboldt penguins.

Far Right – Scimitar-horned oryx.

Dear Friends, Moreover, we would like to share our successes:

In February, the WildCare Institute was awarded the The Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award from the Conservation Federation of Missouri. This award recognizes has celebrated another remarkable year. the outstanding accomplishments of the WildCare Institute’s We are delighted to share in this report local initiatives and the significant contribution our local centers have made to the management and/or restoration the 2017 highlights of our 13 centers, of wildlife. which are founded on the pillars of wildlife Also in February, Anne Tieber was promoted to Curator of Birds at the Saint Louis Zoo and became the new Director management and recovery, conservation of the Center for Conservation in Punta San Juan, Peru and science, and the human dimension. the Center for Avian Conservation in the Pacific Islands (created in May). The Center’s former director, Michael Macek, became the Zoo’s Chief Operating Officer.

In April, Sharon Deem, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl., ACZM and Director of the Institute for Conservation Medicine, received the Academy of Science-St. Louis Outstanding Scientists Trustees Award. Dr. Deem received this award for her veterinary fieldwork, which has been conducted in over 25 countries and includes multiple groups of animals ranging from a variety of turtles to dromedary camels.

Also in April, we attended the inaugural Earth Optimism Summit in Washington, D.C. over Earth Day weekend. The Smithsonian Institution sponsored the Summit. The WildCare Institute was a contributing sponsor of the event, and Eric Miller, DVM, Dipl. ACZM and Executive Director of the WildCare Institute, presented on Ozark hellbenders in the “Beating Extinction” session.

In June, Patricia Parker, Ph.D., Des Lee Professor of Zoological Studies and Senior Scientist of the WildCare Institute, received the 2017 Chancellor’s Award for

4 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Excellence in Research and Creativity at the University of The WildCare Institute also made great strides toward Missouri-St. Louis. The purpose of the award is to honor a establishing a rigorous evaluation process for each of our full-time faculty member who has demonstrated superior centers. Over the last three years, through the assistance research and/or creative contributions to the university. of our consultant, Amielle DeWan, Ph.D., we have been working to implement more strategic planning and In August, the Zoo welcomed Lauren Augustine as the evaluation of each center’s work. We have been diligent new Curator of Herpetology and Aquatics and Director in documenting why we do the conservation work we do, of the Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation. how we do it and the potential impact of our work. The former director, Jeff Ettling, Ph.D., became the Executive Director of the Sedgwick County Zoo in We have never lost sight that the foundation of our Wichita, Kansas. successes is based on your support—whether it be through a donation, a partnership, a collaboration or simply through Also in August, Mark Wanner, Zoological Manager of the sharing of our stories. Thank you for your interest in the Herpetology & Aquatics, succeeded Dr. Ettling as the new WildCare Institute and for supporting our dedication to Director of the Center for Conservation in Western Asia. creating a sustainable future for wildlife and for people In September, the Center for American Burying Beetle around the world. Conservation was awarded Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) 2017 North American Conservation Award for the Zoo’s significant achievement with American burying beetles. This annual award recognizes exceptional efforts toward regional habitat preservation, species restoration Jeffrey P. Bonner, Ph.D. and support of biodiversity in the wild. Dana Brown President & CEO Saint Louis Zoo In October, our Wild Night for WildCare fundraising event welcomed 167 guests to the Zoo. AZA President and CEO Dan Ashe was our guest speaker. The event garnered over $55,000 in support for the 13 centers and the Eric Miller, DVM, Dipl., ACZM Zoo’s Animal Health and Reproductive & Behavioral Executive Director Sciences Departments. Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute

The generosity of donors to the WildCare Institute continued in 2017, including an extraordinary year-end charitable gift of $500,000 from an anonymous donor. Donors know that their investments in the Zoo’s work help to conserve Elizabeth Kelley, Ph.D. Assistant Executive Director animals both at the Zoo as well as in the wild. Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute

I 5 WildCare Institute Locations and Organizations

Animals supported by WildCare Institute Centers

Animals supported by Conservations Programs funded by the WildCare Institute

Polar Bears

Pollinators Box Turtles Missouri Native Species Hellbenders American Burying Beetles

Saharan Wildlife

Ecuadorian Amphibians Galápagos Birds, Tortoises

Humboldt Penguins

Andean Bears

6 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Mountain Vipers

Birds

Camels Orangutans Grevy’s Zebras African Carnivores Asian Elephants

Lemurs

Chimpanzees Gorillas

Okapis

Tasmanian Devils Partula Snails

I 7 Below – The American burying beetle is the Center for American Burying largest carrion beetle in North America.

Beetle Conservation Right – Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) President Dan Ashe presents the AZA’s 2017 North American Conservation Award to the Zoo for its achievements with American burying beetles. Pictured left to right: Dan Ashe, Andrea Schumann (Missouri Department of Conservation), Bob Merz (Saint Louis Zoo), and Scott Hamilton (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

8 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report “With the Center’s contribution to reintroduction efforts and returning the beetle to parts of its former range, we are, hopefully, witnessing the recovery of the American burying beetle.”

Bob Merz, Director Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation

Nicrophorus americanus, also known as the American reintroduction. Since 2012, more than 2,360 of the Zoo’s burying beetle, is an insect that gets its name from its American burying beetles have been reintroduced. practice of burying its food, carrion (dead animals). To feed their offspring, the beetle uses its sensitive antennae to Center Highlights: sniff out carcasses as far as two miles away! So why should • The Center received the 2017 Association of Zoos and people care about these carcass-hunting beetles? Aquariums Significant Achievement in North American The American burying beetle removes animal carcasses and Conservation Award for the Zoo’s success with recycles decomposing components back to the environment. this program. The beetle also is referred to as the proverbial “canary in a • A total of 246 American burying beetles were observed coal mine.” Due to its sensitivity to environmental changes, during the surveys, with 186 of these beetles being the beetle’s population size can provide warning if offspring of previously released beetles. Nine beetles something harmful is happening in our shared ecosystem. were captured away from the original release site of the Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie and seven of those were Originally found in 35 states, the American burying beetle is offspring that were produced in the wild. This indicates now found in less than 10 percent of its historic range. It is that the beetles are capable and motivated to migrate believed that the reasons for the decline are multifactorial, to other locations. including competition for carrion by scavengers, habitat loss • Extreme weather may have had some impact on the total and fragmentation, extreme weather, and even light pollution. number of beetles found this year; however, the number is still significantly higher than all previous years, The American burying beetle had not been sighted in except 2016. Missouri since the 1970s. The fact that this insect was once • Overwintering beetles (beetles that survived the winter) in the state and is now gone is what drove the Saint Louis showed another increase, with 110 counted in 2017 Zoo in 2005 to partner with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, compared to 52 in 2016. the Missouri Department of Conservation and The Nature • Before releasing new beetles, the Center counted the Conservancy to discuss efforts to promote the recovery of surviving beetles in the wild in a practice called a this endangered species. This led to the Center for American pre-release survey. The pre-release numbers nearly Burying Beetle Conservation and its partners developing doubled, with 36 beetles counted in 2017 compared a comprehensive recovery plan, which has included the to 17 in 2016. breeding of thousands of these beetles at the Monsanto • The Center began surveying small mammals on Insectarium at the Zoo. Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie to determine number and In 2012, the Zoo and its partners reintroduced American orientation of traps and to test the effectiveness burying beetles for the first time ever in Missouri. The of different strategies for future research. Zoo-bred beetles were placed in locations across the 3,034-acre Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie in Southwest Missouri, a prairie owned by The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Department of Conservation. Over the last six years, the Center and its partners have developed a reintroduction program that includes Zoo breeding, monitoring and

I 9 Left and right – Zoo-bred beetles are released across the Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie in Southwest Missouri.

Working Together “The world is a less rich place every time we lose a species, and that is happening at a frightening pace,” The Center collaborates with the Missouri Department said Bob Merz, Director of the Center for American Burying of Conservation on focused mark/recapture efforts. Beetle Conservation and Zoological Manager of Invertebrates Three specifically timed mark/recapture events (late at the Zoo. “There needs to be a fundamental change in spring, summer and late summer) were attempted to our interaction with the environment. With the Center’s focus on individual beetles for a very specific time. contribution to reintroduction efforts and returning the This was done in order to formulate a more accurate beetle to parts of its former range, we are, hopefully, population estimate at Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie at various witnessing the recovery of the American burying beetle.” points of the lifecycle. Partnerships The Center also coordinated with local land managers at the Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie to reintroduce the beetles, The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: the Missouri gather volunteers and coordinate surveys with cattle Department of Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, grazing, haying and burning. and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In March, the Zoo hosted the first ever zoo-based workshop for this species. Representatives from The Wilds (a wildlife conservation center in Ohio), Cincinnati Zoo and Roger Williams Park Zoo came to St. Louis to discuss aspects of keeping zoo-based colonies, survey methodologies, reintroduction protocols, recordkeeping, federal permits, etc.

This is truly an integrated program, with the Center regularly coordinating to meet and communicate with its partners. Partnership brings legitimacy to the conservation efforts of this species as a whole, and every component is truly essential to the program’s success.

10 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 11 Below – Center for Avian Conservation Rufous fantail, which lives in the forested areas in the Pacific Islands of the Mariana Islands.

Right – Golden white-eye, which is one species that has been successfully translocated to neighboring islands for assurance populations.

12 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report “Island species are extremely susceptible to threats such as introduced predators, changing weather events and introduced diseases.”

Anne Tieber, Director Center for Avian Conservation in the Pacific Islands

The endemic forest birds of Guam experienced their first Envisioning the Future land predator after the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake, and the results were devastating. Eventually, The scope of this Center will broaden over the next three the invasive brown tree snake extirpated eight of Guam’s to five years to include other islands in the Pacific, but for 11 endemic bird species in just a few decades. Only two now, birds on three of Guam’s closest neighboring islands— species of Guam’s forest birds, the Micronesian kingfisher Saipan, Tinian and Rota—are recognized as having the and the Guam rail, survive today, and only in the care of greatest risk of extinction by the brown tree snake. Although zoos. The snake is now spreading to other islands within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ the Mariana Archipelago. Once snake populations become Division of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife established, bird populations tend to experience a Service have taken various measures to impede the 90 percent decline within an eight- to nine-year period. introduction and establishment of this invasive predator, The urgency to mitigate this threat is the basis for the to date there have been over 90 confirmed sightings on newest Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute center, the the island of Saipan alone. Center for Avian Conservation in the Pacific Islands. Through management, translocation and education, these Although this Center was officially designated in 2017, the efforts will make the difference between survival and Saint Louis Zoo has been involved in the Mariana Islands extinction for some island birds. In addition, Center staff will since 1994 and was one of the founding zoo partners of the work to help mitigate habitat loss and human encroachment, Mariana Avifauna Conservation (MAC) Program. To date, the which further threaten these bird populations. Zoo’s Bird Department staff has participated in all aspects “The golden white-eye is only found on two islands, and of the MAC program; this includes running mist nets, the Mariana fruit dove is found on four of the islands,” said recording data, the daily care of birds in the holding areas Anne Tieber, Director of the Center for Avian Conservation and the translocation of birds to safe islands. In addition, in the Pacific Islands and Curator of Birds at the Zoo. the Zoo has kept and successfully bred four of the endemic “Island species are extremely susceptible to threats such bird species: the Guam kingfisher, the Mariana fruit dove, as introduced predators, changing weather events and the white-throated ground dove and the golden white-eye. introduced diseases. One of the Center’s goals is to help Center Highlights: expand the range of these endemic bird species so that if a disaster were to happen on their native islands, these • Over the past five years, Center staff has participated in species will not be wiped out. We do not want to experience several successful translocations of birds to neighboring what happened on Guam ever again.” safe islands. • These assurance populations are successfully breeding Partnerships on the new islands. The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Pacific Bird Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ Division of Fish and Wildlife, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

I 13 Below – Center for Avian Health Female Galápagos hawk on a nest on Fernandina, in the Galápagos Islands Galápagos, Ecuador.

Right – University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) Ph.D. student Samoa Asigau (right) trains visitors in The Parker Lab at UMSL.

14 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report In 2017, research supported through the Center led to the discovery of a human pathogen found in mosquitos, as well as an avian pathogen that could potentially impact humans.

The wildlife on the Galápagos Islands represents one of the found that birds on small islands have weaker immune best-preserved communities of plants and animals in the systems and higher parasite loads, thus making them more world. Most of the animal species in the Galápagos are susceptible to the arrival of new pathogens than birds living endemic, occurring nowhere else, and the bird species on on larger islands. the islands are particularly notable for their uniqueness. Another policy action was the commencement of fumigation Endemic species, migrant species, land species, sea birds, on cargo holds of all Galápagos-bound aircraft in 2007, and Darwin’s famous finches and even penguins inhabit the the addition of fumigation of passenger compartments in Galápagos. Yet the cumulative effect of human population, 2008. These actions continue as part of standard protocol tourism and the introduction of new forms of disease pose today. Perhaps the most important measure that Dr. Parker a particular threat to this remarkable wildlife. One can and her colleagues are working on now is to repatriate the simply look to the example of the Hawaiian Islands where blood samples of Galápagos birds held around the world 21 bird species were rapidly eradicated by the introduction into a single curated collection in Ecuador. At this time, they of new forms of disease. This need to protect and conserve are working to identify a modern laboratory facility on the the avian fauna of the Galápagos is the basis for the Center mainland that is willing to be considered as the formal for Avian Health in the Galápagos Islands. repository for all Galápagos samples. Since its inception, the Center has been a four-partner consortium that has included Galápagos National Park, the Center Highlights: Charles Darwin Foundation, University of Missouri-St. Louis • Dr. Parker was awarded the UMSL Chancellor’s Award (UMSL) and the Saint Louis Zoo. Created in 2001, this for Excellence in Research and Creativity. consortium formed the first-ever avian health program in • As of 2017, over 26 graduate degrees have been the Galápagos. The Center and its partners have a common associated with the Center. goal of understanding and managing disease threats to • In 2017, research supported through the Center led to Galápagos birds as well as preserving the Galápagos’ zero the discovery of a human pathogen found in mosquitos, extinction rate. The Center’s work is led by Patricia Parker, as well as an avian pathogen that could potentially Ph.D., who has a joint appointment of Senior Scientist of impact humans. the WildCare Institute and the Des Lee Professor of • Dr. Parker published “Disease Ecology: Galápagos Birds Zoological Studies at UMSL. The Center’s work is typically and Their Parasites.” This book provides the first collection carried out by members of Zoo veterinary staff and graduate of chapters written by scientists who have contributed to students of UMSL, in collaboration with in-country partners. the understanding of disease ecology in the Galápagos Through this partnership, the team has discovered several Islands. Contributors of this edited volume include new species of parasites over the years and has published current and previous graduate students, current and over 100 peer reviewed journal articles, 15 book chapters former Zoo staff members, and collaborating scientists. and one book.

Research conducted through this Center has impacted policy applications in several situations around the Galápagos Islands. Most notably, the Galápagos National Park removed several small islands from the list of those visited by tour boats when Dr. Parker and her colleagues

I 15 Left – The UMSL and Agency for Biosecurity for Galápagos teams gather in Patty Parker’s lab at UMSL. Sitting (from left) are Rita Criollo, Paulina Castillo and Mari Jaramillo. Standing (from left) are Alberto Vélez, José Iturrizaga Shaw, Fabricio Vásquez, Parker, Samoa Asigau and Erika Guerrero Vásquez.

Right – Galápagos penguin from the coast of Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador.

Capacity Building “One of our objectives from the very beginning, in addition to looking at the health survey across species that were In recent years, the Center has made dramatic strides there, is to build local capacity,” said Dr. Parker, Director forward in capacity building. The Ecuadorian government of the Center for Avian Health in the Galápagos Islands. created the Agency for Biosecurity for Galápagos (ABG) in “Pathogens are always coming in, and we now know some 2012 with the mission to safeguard the health of domestic, of them are coming in naturally with migratory birds. As long farm and wild animals on the Galápagos Archipelago. as that’s happening, we’re going to have to keep monitoring The Center’s long-time collaborator, Marilyn Cruz, Ph.D., avian health forever to keep a handle on it. The Center can’t was identified as Director of ABG that same year. always be there, but the local people can. We are closer In 2015, Dr. Cruz sought Dr. Parker for advice and help than ever to having professional staff in the Galápagos in setting up a testing facility on the islands so that Islands in local agencies who are capable of doing all of samples would not need to be shipped to the mainland or this work themselves.” international labs. After some discussion, it became clear Partnerships that ABG’s first priorities were to focus on the farm animals. Dr. Parker enlisted the involvement of faculty who specialize The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: University in farm animals at the University of Missouri-Columbia of Missouri-St. Louis, Charles Darwin Foundation, Galápagos College of Veterinary Medicine. National Park, Agency of Biosecurity for Galápagos and the Zoological Society of London. In 2016, the ABG became the fifth member of the consortium. That same year, two veterinarians from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Samoa Asigau, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Parker’s lab, spent time in the ABG lab, visited farms and slaughter facilities, and provided advice to the ABG staff on steps toward developing a testing facility. This was followed by a visit by five members of the ABG staff to St. Louis in March 2017, where they spent a week in The Parker Lab at UMSL and the Saint Louis Zoo Endangered Species Research Center & Veterinary Hospital, followed by a week at the Veterinary Testing Facility at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine.

In May 2017, Mari Jaramillo, who is both a native Ecuadorian and was a Ph.D. student in Dr. Parker’s lab, went to the ABG lab in Galápagos to conduct DNA extractions and PCR testing on Galápagos penguin samples collected by Zoo staff and collaborators—closing the loop on their training.

16 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 17 Below – Center for Conservation Two of the eight cheetah cubs born of Carnivores in Africa at the Zoo in 2017.

Right – Dr. Dickman and the Ruaha Carnivore Project team.

18 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report The Center and its partners have helped protect the livelihoods of the villages that are in proximity to carnivores. Fortifying livestock enclosures and placing guard dogs are proving successful in minimizing conflict.

The Center for Conservation of Carnivores in Africa supports Credit Program all 35 carnivore species in Tanzania, such as lions and African painted dogs. These species have an impact on The Center continues to assist the RCP with carnivore cheetah survival and play a critical role in maintaining a research, training and education programs in Ruaha balanced environment. National Park. Its main focus is on mitigation programs in areas with human and carnivore conflict. One of the biggest The Center continues to support the conservation research accomplishments regarding mitigation is the recruitment of of Amy Dickman, Ph.D., Director of the Ruaha Carnivore the Lion Defenders, a group of young men who monitor lion Project (RCP); Sarah Durant, Ph.D., Principal Investigator of health and population size, and who actively prevent lion the Tanzania Carnivore Program; and Laurie Marker, Ph.D., hunts. Through the implementation of a credit program, Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund-Namibia, families are awarded credits if they do not kill lions. Each International Union for Conservation of Nature/Cat Specialist month, people can redeem these credits for food, medicine, Group and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species formula and education. In the last six years, there has been Survival Plans. an 80 percent reduction in lion kills in study areas.

Center Highlights: “When dealing with mitigation, it is usually a people issue,” said Steve Bircher, Director of the Center for Conservation • The Center supported RCP in training and employing local of Carnivores in Africa and Curator of Mammals/Carnivores villagers to set up and manage camera traps on village at the Zoo. “We found that young men feel that it’s land in return for community benefits. This directly links traditionally important to their warrior role to kill lions. conservation with development and provides vital data With the credit program, however, we are seeing the mothers on Ruaha’s little-known carnivore populations through putting pressure on their sons to not kill the lions because camera trapping. To date, over 10,000 carnivore sightings they want the benefits. Some of the defenders are even have been recorded. informing their peers about the program. This is one of the • Seventy-five percent of research assistants have been most significant programs because it comes down to the supported through the Center and RCP in their efforts to people who live there. Unless they realize some benefit to further their education. protecting the wildlife, they are not going to do it. By giving • The Center and its partners have helped protect the them this incentive, we are making them positively aware livelihoods of the villages that are in proximity to of these animals.” carnivores. Fortifying livestock enclosures and placing guard dogs are proving successful in minimizing conflict. Partnerships • As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Cheetah Species Survival Plan, the Zoo’s Cheetah The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Survival Center celebrated the birth of eight cheetah Ruaha Carnivore Project-Tanzania, Tanzania Carnivore cubs in November 2017. This represents a significant Center, Range Wide Conservation Program for Cheetah addition to the North American cheetah population. and African Wild Dogs, Zoological Society of London, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Tanzania National Parks Association, Cheetah Conservation Fund-Namibia, and Wildlife Conservation Society.

I 19 Below – Center for Conservation University City third-graders net in Forest Park native insects for study.

Right – University City fourth-graders explore “the wilds” of Forest Park.

20 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Over the past three years, the Center has worked with 1,173 students in 12 schools, and the Center has provided approximately 50 classroom visits.

The children of today are growing up in a different • Since 2008, the Center has provided over 25 nature environment than children born just a generation ago. education field trips to Forest Park free of charge to Many have no contact with the fields and forests that their area schools. parents may have explored. Many children live in such an Building Long-Term Relationships urbanized environment that the ability to spend time in a natural environment is a luxury never afforded. As a result, The Center has expanded its “one-off” programming for many city children are increasingly out of touch with nature. multiple area schools and is now focusing on developing Playing outdoors has been replaced with staying indoors an on-going and progressive elementary science curriculum and playing on computers and phones. This type of passive for an entire school district. indoor play is not without consequences, which include a nationwide spike in obesity, poor social connections and After the Center conducted a classroom visit and field trip attention deficit disorder. for a third-grade class at Pershing Elementary School in University City, the science coordinator reached out to The Center for Conservation in Forest Park is a multi-faceted the Center to develop a long-term, hands-on conservation program that utilizes the restored habitats of Forest Park for science project with the four elementary schools in the the study of native wildlife and for conservation education. district. The Center’s primary goal for the next five years The goal of conservation education projects is to develop will be to make this project an integrated component of empathy in participating children/students toward animals the University City curriculum for all students in third and nature through a variety of methods, including hands-on through fifth grades. The culmination of this multi-year activities that involve science, art and history. effort will be a career symposium, held at the junior high school. Students will be introduced to a variety of jobs in The Center has assisted in the removal of invasive conservation, from zookeeping to field research. Evaluation honeysuckle in Forest Park and funded the first-ever burn covering specific curriculum will occur at the beginning of the Deer Lake native prairie, which is an eco-friendly way and end of each semester. to restore habitats. The Center also provided support to Forest Park Forever to restore the savanna near the western “Many children are not able to visit Forest Park or even play edge of Forest Park. With the restoration of the native outside like we used to be able to,” said Alice Seyfried, habitats nearing completion, the focus of the Center has Director of the Center for Conservation in Forest Park and shifted to one of conservation education for children Fred Saigh Curator of the Emerson Children’s Zoo. “By attending underserved area schools. providing trips to Forest Park, we encourage kids to use nets, field guides and binoculars. We promote studying Center Highlights: insects and birds or catching frogs. Getting their hands • In 2017, through in-classroom visits with ambassador dirty allows these kids to truly get a first-hand experience animals and science-based field trips to Forest Park, of nature. We want to open their eyes to the fact that nature the Center has worked with every third-grader in The is everywhere, even in their own neighborhood.” School District of University City. Partnerships • Over the past three years, the Center has worked with 1,173 students in 12 schools, and the Center has The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Forest Park provided approximately 50 classroom visits. Forever, St. Louis Department of Parks, Ben Woodruff, Ben Peterson and The School District of University City.

I 21 Below – Hellbender Ron Goellner Center for Keeper Amanda Pedigo releases Hellbender Conservation hellbenders in the Eleven Point River.

Right – Developing hellbender embryos. Eggs are produced at the Zoo as well as collected from the wild.

22 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report In 2017, 1,500 hellbenders were released, representing 27 different bloodlines.

Hellbenders are the largest aquatic salamanders in A Massive Impact for a Large Amphibian North America. They are perfectly adapted to their stream habitats with their flattened head and body, short stout Missouri is the only state that has both subspecies of legs, and long tail. Hellbenders breathe through their skin, hellbenders—the Ozark hellbender and the eastern which is why they need clean, oxygen-rich fresh water to hellbender. Both are listed as state endangered in Missouri, live. Declining hellbender numbers mirror the declining and the Ozark hellbender is also federally endangered by health of their habitat, which also reflects the health of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). our shared environment. The Center has over 4,000 hellbenders in the Charles H. Hellbenders have long been a conservation priority of Hoessle Herpetarium at any given time, with three full-time the Saint Louis Zoo. Ron Goellner, former Director of keepers caring for them. These hellbenders inhabit aquariums Animal Collections at the Zoo, was a long-time advocate in three climate-controlled rooms behind the scenes of the for conservation of the giant salamanders. Worried about Herpetarium. There is a fully-functioning, 32-foot-long the future of hellbenders, Goellner founded the Center for man-made Missouri stream indoors, and outside of the Hellbender Conservation in 2004 in collaboration with the Herpetarium are two 40-foot-long, 6-foot-deep streams, Missouri Department of Conservation. Goellner passed all complete with natural rock beds, artificial nest boxes, away in 2006, but his legacy has continued through the and the freshest and purest water available. conservation efforts of this Center—a testament to the The Zoo’s Ozark hellbender breeding program has been Zoo’s commitment to this species. very successful. The focus of the Center has been on Ozark The Center has seen many successes over the years. hellbenders as they are federally listed with the USFWS. In 2011, after years of research and testing, the Center In the coming years, the Center will increase its efforts on became the first to successfully breed hellbenders in eastern hellbenders. This is becoming increasingly important; human care. Today, the Zoo continues to lead the way they are likely to be federally listed by the USFWS soon. in hellbender breeding and rearing, with thousands of “What I want people to understand is the magnitude hellbenders successfully hatched and reared for release. of this project,” said Lauren Augustine, Director of the Center Highlights Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation and Curator of Herpetology at the Zoo. “It couldn’t be done • In 2017, 1,500 hellbenders were released, without the donations and support from our partners. representing 27 different bloodlines. It’s an incredible effort that is saving hellbenders.” • In 2017, the Zoo’s hellbender keeper staff observed reproductive behavior from first-generation, Partnerships Zoo-hatched-and-raised hellbenders. This is extremely The Center would like to thank its partners: the Missouri important and gives us strong hope for reproductive Department of Conservation, which is an equal partner success with released hellbenders in the wild. in this program; the members of the Ozark Hellbender Working Group; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Arkansas Game & Fish.

I 23 Below – Center for Conservation Grevy’s zebra in Westgate Community in the Horn of Africa Conservacy, northern Kenya.

Right – African elephant bull in Samburu National Preserve, northern Kenya.

24 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report In 2017, Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The Center provided the support needed to initiate GZT. Center Director Martha Fischer is one of the Trust’s co-founders.

The Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa fosters movements and activities of nearby Grevy’s zebra herds. partnerships to provide long-term support for wildlife The Grevy’s Zebra Scout Program started with seed conservation and community development programs money provided through a Saint Louis Zoo WildCare in northeast Africa. Institute Field Conservation Grant in 2002 and in partnership with Princeton University and Lewa Wildlife Since its inception in 2004, the flagship species of the Conservancy. Since 2002, the Center has supported Center has been the Grevy’s zebra. Over 15,000 Grevy’s this program annually. zebras used to roam the grasslands in northern Kenya; • In 2017, the Center was awarded a WildCare Institute however, there are now approximately 2,500 Grevy’s zebras Field Conservation Grant to partly fund the employment that remain in their natural habitat. This endangered of a landscape infrastructure advisor for the GZT and the species has suffered from overhunting, habitat loss, food Ewaso Lions. This representative will bring information competition with livestock, and most recently, drought. to both groups about national developments and will In 2017, 120 Grevy’s zebras died due to the effects of a make sure conservation is considered when cities plan prolonged drought, causing a significant decrease in the to build roads or pipelines. population. One of the Center’s most committed partners, • The Center recently helped fund an in-country Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT), supplied supplemental food and veterinarian to assist with wildlife concerns for GZT water for the zebras in their natural ranging areas to and the Ewaso Lions and Save the Elephants. minimize the number of zebras lost. • In 2017, the Center was awarded two grants from the The Center’s goal is to strike a lasting balance between the WildCare Institute: a Field Conservation Grant and a End needs of the people in the Horn of Africa and the imperiled of Year Grant to support conservation efforts on hirola, existence of the surrounding wildlife. In addition to the the world’s most endangered antelope. One grant will Grevy’s zebra, Center activities are addressing similar fund wildlife release bomas (livestock enclosures) for critical conservation concerns for other unique species, hirola that are currently in an in-country sanctuary, and such as reticulated giraffe, African elephant, black rhinoceros, the other grant will fund a project that will vaccinate hirola, mountain nyala and Ethiopian wolf. community livestock to mitigate the probability of disease transmission from livestock to hirola. Conservation for the Center Highlights hirola is facilitated through the Northern Rangelands Trust Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy. • In 2017, GZT celebrated its 10-year anniversary. • In 2017, the Center was awarded two WildCare Institute The Center provided the support needed to initiate End of Year Grants to support the work of the Giraffe GZT. Center Director Martha Fischer is one of the Conservation Foundation. Trust’s co-founders. • In 2017, Ngeeti Lempate, a scout for the GZT, was awarded the prestigious prize of Disney Conservation Hero due to her tireless efforts to save Grevy’s zebra and inspire communities to take part in conservation efforts. The Grevy’s Zebra Scout Program is the GZT’s longest running program. The GZT employs women and men from multiple pastoral communities to monitor and record the

I 25 Left – Grevy’s Zebra Trust warriors and their camels in northern Kenya.

Right – Reticulated giraffe in Sera Rhino Sanctuary, northern Kenya.

Reticulated Giraffes Partnerships

The Center recently joined a consortium of zoos accredited The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Grevy’s by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that are working Zebra Trust, Northern Rangelands Trust, MELCA-Ethiopia, to support giraffe conservation in the Saving Animals From Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Association of Zoos and Extinction (SAFE) program. Martha Fischer, Director of the Aquariums, Giraffe SAFE and Hirola Conservation Programme, Center and Curator of Mammals/Ungulates and Elephants as well as its Zoo partners and individual donors. at the Zoo, is a member of the steering committee of the Giraffe SAFE program.

In 2017, the Center supported two projects for giraffes in their native ranges. One project supported is the Great Grevy’s Rally, which is a wide-ranging census on Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe throughout multiple counties in northern Kenya. This census included the participation of citizen scientists, conservationists, rangers, and community members from national and county governments, conservation NGOs, and local communities. The second project the Center supported was a community-based conservation project for reticulated giraffes in northern Kenya, which also was implemented by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. For this project, the Center provided important supplies through a WildCare Institute End of Year Grant.

“When the Center first started, it focused primarily on equids, such as the Grevy’s zebra and African wild ass,” said Fischer. “Over the years, the Center has grown to have a more regional focus because it just made sense to do so. If you’re protecting Grevy’s zebras, you’re protecting everything that lives around them as well.”

26 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 27 Below – Center for Conservation A fosa in Betampona. in Madagascar Right – A diademed sifaka in Betampona.

28 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report The Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group received IUCN’s SOS-Save Our Species Grant to tackle some of the direct threats to Betampona’s three critically endangered lemur species.

Approximately the size of California, Madagascar is the Center Highlights fourth largest island in the world. Over 95 percent of the reptiles, frogs and freshwater fish, an entire family of • For the first time, Madagascar National Parks invited insectivores (tenrecs), and all primate species are endemic MFG to actively participate in their five-year strategic to the island. Although rich in biodiversity, Madagascar is management planning workshop for Betampona. This among the world’s poorest and least developed countries. was an important opportunity to discuss over 10 years of research on the results and implications of invasive Conservationists are faced with alleviating the pressures plants in the Betampona ecosystem. that contribute to environmental degradation and • The discovery of three new frog species (genus Stumpffia biodiversity loss, while accounting for the needs of the species) in Betampona was published in “Vertebrate Malagasy people. Zoology.” • The MFG received a special grant — the International As a founding member of the Madagascar Fauna and Union for Conservation of Nature’s SOS-Save Our Flora Group (MFG), a zoo-based consortium formed in 1988 Species Grant. This grant will help tackle some of the to protect Madagascar’s biodiversity, the Saint Louis Zoo direct threats to Betampona’s three critically endangered has a long and committed history to conservation efforts in lemur species (indri, black and white ruffed lemur, Madagascar. Upon the creation of the Center for Conservation and diademed sifaka). The project will involve working in Madagascar in 2004, the Zoo chose to work under the with communities around the reserve to distribute and auspices of the MFG to continue and strengthen the promote the use of fuel-efficient cooking stoves, which collaboration. The MFG office is located in the east coast can reduce wood use by up to 50 percent, and will city of Tamatave, but the majority of its over 50 employees provide chicken vaccinations to ward off Newcastle work in one of two locations: disease. Prior research indicated that the majority of • Parc Ivoloina, a 700-acre former forestry station local people prefer to eat chicken rather than illegally transformed into a conservation education, training and collected bushmeat, but they lose their poultry flocks research center and home to one of Madagascar’s zoos. on a regular basis due to this devastating disease. • Réserve Naturelle Intègrale de Betampona, one of the • Karen Freeman, Ph.D., MFG Director of Research, and last remaining low-altitude rainforest ecosystems in Jean Noel, MFG Manager, Betampona Conservation Madagascar. Although a relatively small reserve at Programs, jointly received the 2017 Saint Louis Zoo 5,506 acres, Betampona is rich with biodiversity. Conservation Award. For 13 years, and with substantial financial support from the Center, Jean Noel and The MFG serves as Madagascar National Parks’ (the agency Dr. Freeman have worked together to implement that manages protected areas) research partner. Betampona’s conservation research program. The Center’s primary goal is to reduce direct pressures on Madagascar’s threatened and endangered species. To achieve this goal, the Center has primarily focused on supporting conservation research and building local capacity in conservation biology and management.

I 29 Left – Dr. Rasambainarivo (center) his colleagues, Flavien (left) and Torisy (right), take a rest between checking carnivore traps in Betampona.

Right – An indri in Betampona.

Helping Madagascar The Center and its partners have played a role in research on the spread and potential to eradicate the highly invasive One of the Center’s most important contributions to the Asian toad. This species is native to south and southeast MFG has been to expand its research capacity through Asia, and it has already succeeded in invading multiple sponsoring Dr. Freeman’s position as Director of Research regions in Asia. It produces toxic compounds from its skin since 2008. Dr. Freeman works closely with the MFG staff glands that can be fatal to frog-eating predators. Other risks and its advisors. She has built a network of colleagues from the toads include resource competition and disease from local and international universities and conservation transmission. It is likely that the toad will soon invade Parc NGOs to develop and implement MFG’s research program. Ivoloina, home to 18 endemic frog and 30 endemic reptile Dr. Freeman oversees studies focused on subjects that species. Another 30 kilometers and the Asian toad could include: lemur and carnivore health evaluations; amphibian, reach Betampona Natural Reserve and threaten even higher reptile, snail and other taxonomic surveys; species-specific numbers of endemic species. ecological studies; and socioeconomic surveys of communities in close proximity to Betampona. Research “The Center has increased the MFG’s research capacity,” lends itself to building local capacity; many of the said Eric Miller, DVM, DACZM, Director of the Center for Center-supported studies have been the topic of Malagasy Conservation in Madagascar. “We have not only contributed graduate students’ studies. to expanding the available information on the reserve’s biodiversity and the very serious threats invasive species By far the most significant Center accomplishment with pose to its endemic flora and fauna, but there is very good respect to capacity building has been the University of reason to believe that the continual presence of MFG staff Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)/WildCare Institute scholarship and researchers contributes to a lower occurrence of illegal awarded to Fidisoa (Fidy) Rasambainarivo, M.S., DVM, to activities in Betampona as compared to other reserves.” pursue a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution & systematics at UMSL. The value of attending an American university cannot be Partnerships overstated in light of Madagascar’s profoundly inadequate The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: primary through tertiary education system. Only 3 percent of University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Botanical Malagasy students go on to college; fewer graduate and far Garden, Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group, University fewer attain graduate degrees. Dr. Rasambainarivo has been of Antananarivo, University of Tamatave, CIBIO/InBio, researching the effect of dogs and cats from the surrounding Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos communities on Betampona’s wildlife, particularly how Genéticos, MRSN Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, disease spillover and pathogen transmission impact Madagascar National Parks, Association Vahatra, endemic carnivores. Dr. Rasambainarivo’s research was Island Conservation, Madagascar National Parks and presented at the Madagascar National Park’s five-year Saint Louis University. strategic planning workshop for Betampona and may invoke policy changes on limiting the occurrence of dogs in this protected area and elsewhere.

30 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 31 Below – Center for Native Pollinator Squash bee in a pumpkin Conservation blossom. Right – Center Director Dr. Spevak presenting a class on native bees to the elders of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska.

32 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report “There is an interconnection between the people, the plants and the culture, which is how we should be thinking about conservation.”

Ed Spevak, Ph.D., Director Center for Native Pollinator Conservation

Honeybees, bumble bees, and other insects, birds and Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native Pollinators small mammals pollinate over 90 percent of the planet’s flowering plants and one third of the human diet. In addition, The Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native Pollinators many birds and mammals feed on the fruits, nuts and initiative, which takes place on tribal and reservation lands, seeds produced through pollination. focuses on the intersection of wild and cultivated foods, cultural traditions and food sovereignty, and healthy Yet human actions such as conversion of natural habitats, environments and people. This initiative is helping develop pollution, misuse of pesticides and the introduction of a new direction for zoo-based conservation efforts. alien species have negatively affected many pollinators and the service they provide. In 2017, the Center worked with the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago Tribe and Omaha Nation in Nebraska to plant several The Center for Native Pollinator Conservation was hundred milkweed plants and acres of pollinator habitat, established in 2011 to focus on the importance and along with over 100 native fruit and nut trees and shrubs diversity of native pollinators for the maintenance and that are traditional foods and pollinator dependent. The survival of wildlife, ecosystems and agriculture. Center is expanding its work to include additional tribes like the Santee Sioux and Ponca in Nebraska, Oglala Lakota in Center Highlights South Dakota, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai of the • The Center is working with the City of St. Louis and local Flathead Nation in Montana, and the Meskwaki in Iowa. communities to educate individuals about native bees The Center and the tribes also are working on developing to develop best bee practices to ensure their survival. pasture management strategies for reintroduced bison on • The Center is working with Missourians for Monarchs and these lands since bison pasture is easier to manage and utility companies to develop the Butterfly Byway along is pollinator friendly. While bison are not only culturally the Mississippi Riverfront in St. Louis. The Butterfly relevant, they are healthier for people to consume than Byway serves to create 30 acres of monarch butterfly beef cattle. habitat that consist of native plants that will attract pollinators. Construction of the byway was completed in The Center is collaborating with the Thunder Valley 2016, and all of the initial sites have now been planted. Community Development Corporation on the Pine Ridge The City of St. Louis plans to conduct research to see Reservation to establish pollinator habitat that will support how effective the plantings have become at attracting their fruit and vegetable production. The collaboration will and supporting pollinators. There are hopes to expand result in the planting of traditional food plants to address and over time, this could create thousands of acres of the needs of food security and food sovereignty on pollinator habitat throughout the state and create the reservation. wildlife corridors between fragmented habitats. • The Center also is working with native tribes in an Bumble bees (Bombus sp.) are probably the most initiative titled “Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native recognizable bee and are the flagship species of the Center, Pollinators” to help plant monarch and pollinator but efforts to work with the native people are about more habitat, as well as traditional food plants. These than one bee species. The Center sees an unrealized niche plantings will benefit both pollinators and improve in pollinator conservation and human and cultural health food security for people. within the conservation community. The issues surrounding Native American food security and health, as well as

I 33 Left – Community gardeners of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska building bee hotels.

Right – Sign on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska.

pollinator habitat, are nationwide and ongoing, but the overall program could benefit countless people and pollinators.

Ed Spevak, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Native Pollinator Conservation and Curator of Invertebrates at the Zoo, believes that with the tribes, there not only is an issue of conservation, but also cultural resurgence, renaissance and human health issues related to food security and food sovereignty.

“There is an interconnection between the people, the plants and the culture, which is how we should be thinking about conservation. That is why the Center started Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native Pollinators, to tie all those connections,” he said. Partnerships

The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Keystone Monarch Collaborative, Honey Bee Health Coalition, Monarch Watch, Nebraska Indian Community College, Oglala Lakota Tribe, Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Blue Diamond Almonds, Grow Native, Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association, Greenscape Gardens, The Nature Conservancy, native tribes such as the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago Tribe and Omaha Nation, the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, the City of St. Louis and local communities, and Missourians for Monarchs and utility companies.

34 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 35 Below – Center for Conservation Humboldt penguins in Punta San Juan, Peru in Peru. Right – Keeper holds a Humboldt penguin chick.

36 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Punta San Juan is home to the largest Peruvian Humboldt penguin breeding colony (4,000-5,000 birds) and has among the highest reproduction rates recorded for this vulnerable species.

Punta San Juan is a 54-hectare peninsula located on Center Highlights: the southern coast of Peru in the city of Marcona, in the province of Ica. Here the continental shelf comes close to • The Center began using drones to reach areas around the coast, creating an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters, the islands that couldn’t be reached via land. Drones which provides a fertile environment for the anchoveta, have helped Center staff and its partners better monitor the primary food source of Humboldt penguins and many penguin and seabird locations and activities. other sea birds and marine mammals. • The Center collaborated with the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine to help bring Paulo Colchao, Punta San Juan is home to the largest Peruvian Humboldt Ph.D., field veterinarian and former biologist in Punta penguin breeding colony (4,000-5,000 birds) and has San Juan, to the Zoo for training in conservation medicine among the highest reproduction rates recorded for this as part of the ongoing efforts to build capacity. vulnerable species. It also holds important populations of guano birds—the Guanay cormorant, Peruvian pelican and Distance Learning Lab Peruvian boobies—whose guano (excrement) is harvested The Center and the Zoo’s Education Department staff and sold as fertilizer. Two important pinniped species also are working with Peruvian education entity ACOREMA to live here: South American fur seals and sea lions. All of develop a distance learning lab. This lab will be the first these species are listed as endangered, vulnerable or rare. learning center of its kind in Peru. Equipment was purchased Originally titled the Center for Conservation of the Humboldt in 2016 and 2017, and it will be shipped in early 2018 Penguin in Punta San Juan, Peru, the Saint Louis Zoo’s accompanied by Emily Bowling, an educator at the Zoo. involvement here began in 2004 through biological Bowling will help set up the lab and will train ACOREMA monitoring, maintenance of the site, and the employment staff on how to use the equipment. By continuing to build of biological staff and guards. With the flagship species of capacity with education NGOs like ACOREMA, more children the Center being the Humboldt penguin, the Center has around the globe will learn about the Humboldt current been dedicated to collecting more than 10 consecutive ecosystem. years of census data for the entire Peruvian Humboldt “We have been actively involved at Punta San Juan for a penguin population, as well as many years of health data very long time,” said Anne Tieber, Director of the Center for on the birds and marine life that live here. In 2012, Conservation in Punta San Juan, Peru and Curator of Birds at Center staff decided to expand the species focus to include the Zoo. “And we will continue to help protect this valuable all native wildlife found in the Punta San Juan reserve and ecosystem and the marine life that call it home.” changed the name of the Center to reflect the regional focus. It is now the Center for Conservation in Punta Partnerships San Juan, Peru. The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: ACOREMA, local Peruvian governmental agencies, the Center for Environmental Sustainability at the Cayetano Heredia University, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and members of various Peruvian NGOs.

I 37 Below – Saharan Wildlife Red-necked ostrich Recovery Center and her chicks. Right – First scimitar-horned oryx are released into the wild.

38 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Recovery efforts have been successful this year for two of the Sahara’s most endangered species—the red-necked ostrich and the scimitar-horned oryx.

From the scimitar-horned oryx that has been extinct in the the first to produce chicks using artificial incubation. The wild since the 1980s, to the red-necked ostrich that has Center is working with the Wildlife Conservation Network to been extirpated from 95 percent of its former Saharan range, develop five solar-powered units in Niger. These units will the wildlife of the Sahara is suffering a silent crisis. The most power biosecure laboratories so that the breeding center can immediate problem facing Saharan wildlife is overhunting, replicate the success of using artificial incubation. Through a a problem that dates back to the introduction of automatic WildCare Institute Field Conservation Grant, the Zoo also is weapons and four-wheel drive vehicles during World War II. supporting two Nigerians, who will be trained in all aspects of ostrich care and management. The goal of the Saharan Wildlife Recovery Center is to work with partners to develop sustainable solutions that will Once there is a sufficient number of healthy ostriches, conserve and protect wildlife in the Sahara. The Center works the Center and its partners plan to release the birds into in tandem with the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), which is a fenced habitat as part of a reintroduction program. the only not-for-profit organization devoted exclusively to the The Zoo has funded some of the infrastructure (fencing, conservation of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife. Since 1998, the shade shelters, feed pans and water troughs) that will be Saint Louis Zoo has served as the incubator and U.S. base used to acclimate the birds to semi-wild conditions. of operations for SCF and is proud to be one of 21 zoos that support SCF core operations. Scimitar-Horned Oryx Center Highlights Since 2007, this Center, the SCF, environmental departments of Abu Dhabi and the Chadian government have collaborated • In 2017, the Zoo provided support to increase the number with the goal to reintroduce the scimitar-horned oryx to the wild. of anti-poaching patrols in Niger’s Termit & Tin Toumma In 2016, the first scimitar-horned oryx were reintroduced in the National Nature Reserve, home of the last significant wild in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve in Chad. population of addax. These efforts led to a significant “There’s a lot of local lure attached to these species, and decrease in poaching in the reserve. for us it was important to get the scimitar-horned oryx back • Recovery efforts have been successful for two of the into the wild before the cultural memory of it had vanished,” Sahara’s most endangered species—the red-necked said Bill Houston, Director of the Saharan Wildlife Recovery ostrich and the scimitar-horned oryx. Center and Assistant General Curator at the Zoo. “Since Red-Necked Ostrich 2016, 72 oryx have been released in three phases, and 24 calves have been born. The survivorship of the oryx In 2017, the Center and its partners built a breeding facility through 2017 was 100 percent, and the survivorship of for the endangered red-necked ostrich in Niger. Ostriches calves has been outstanding as well, at 83 percent. There that are cared for in this breeding facility have improved are now 92 total animals in the wild, and the project is on dramatically in body condition and have started producing track to reach an oryx population of 500 within five years.” chicks. This success has encouraged two additional satellite ostrich care facilities to collaborate with SCF. With this Center’s Partnerships support, both of these facilities are now breeding chicks. The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Through funding in part by the Saint Louis Zoo Fossil Rim, Smithsonian’s National Zoo, The Living Desert, WildCare Institute, SCF purchased an incubator and was the Republic of Niger and the Republic of Chad.

I 39 Below – Center for Conservation Armenian viper. in Western Asia Right – Center Director Mark Wanner photographing a javline sand boa.

40 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report “Armenia has a strong historical culture, and the people are excited about the protection of their species. Helping Armenia take conservation to the next level is very important to us.”

Mark Wanner, Director Center for Conservation in Western Asia

Armenian vipers can be found in Armenia, easternmost until the populations are stable. Over time, the Breeding Turkey and northwest Iran. They are catalysts for managing Center expects to include all 11 red-listed species rodent populations and serve as food for other animals in the indigenous to Armenia. In addition to serving as a breeding food chain. Yet in the past 20 years, this species went from facility, there will be room for visiting field biologists being considered “common” to experiencing an 88-percent and researchers. decrease in population. Most of the mountain vipers have “Armenia is a proud country,” said Mark Wanner, Director of restricted habitats in rocky, mountainous areas. They are the Center for Conservation in Western Asia and Zoological highly vulnerable to extinction due to overgrazing, agriculture Manager of Herpetology and Aquatics at the Zoo. “They and over-collection for the exotic pet trade, and they have have a strong historical culture, and they are excited unnaturally high mortality due to human persecution. about the protection of their species. Helping Armenia take Since 2004, the Center for Conservation in Western Asia conservation to the next level is very important to us.” has been a leader in the conservation of mountain vipers in Here at home, the Zoo’s Herpetology Department Armenia. In 2006, as a result of the Center’s research on the continues to work with the Armenian viper and share spatial ecology of Armenian vipers, the Republic of Armenia husbandry techniques with our Armenian collaborators. Ministry of Nature Protection enlarged the boundaries of the As the Armenian Conservation Breeding Center embarks Khosrov Forest State Reserve and Shikajogh State Reserve on its exciting future, this sort of capacity building will to offer the vipers more protected habitat. have a strong impact on its success. In 2009, the Center’s viper research played an important role in the Armenian government’s decision to declare Partnerships two new protected areas—Arevik National Park and The Center would like to thank its 2017 partners: Zangezur Sanctuary. Building on the successful program the Ministry of Nature Protection-The Republic of Armenia, that has been established for the Armenian viper, the the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of the Center has expanded to include other mountain vipers, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, the World reptiles and amphibians in southeastern Europe, Asia Wildlife Fund-Armenia, Los Angeles Zoo, Toledo Zoo Minor and Armenia. and Detroit Zoo. Armenian Conservation Breeding Center

Since 2016, the Center and its partners have been working to build the Armenian Conservation Breeding Center in Yeghvard, Armenia. When the facility opens in late spring or early summer 2018, it will be the world’s first breeding center dedicated to venomous reptiles.

Initially, the Breeding Center will house three species of Armenian mountain vipers: the Armenian viper, the Darevsky’s viper and the Armenian steppe viper. The main focus for the first couple of years will be on breeding the vipers and augmenting the wild populations with offspring

I 41 Below – Institute for Dr. Colchao and Jamie Palmer, ICM Conservation Medicine Technician, tracking box turtles in Forest Park.

Right – Hatchling Gálapagos tortoise.

42 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Over the past three years, the Institute for Conservation Medicine (ICM) has hosted a total of 36 students representing 15 universities. In 2017, three ICM international field veterinarians worked toward advanced degrees/fellowships.

Conservation professionals have become very aware of a the box turtles that live there. Visitors may track Zoo box number of pathogens, including Zika and Ebola viruses, that turtles just like the researchers do in the wild. In 2017, can be transmitted between human and wildlife populations. ICM expanded its turtle project to include snapping The impact of infectious disease is negatively affecting the turtles in Forest Park. long-term survival and health of many wildlife species, • The Galápagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Programme humans, and ecosystems. To best answer the challenges of performs necessary health and ecological research to today, researchers are taking a One Health approach. One provide data-driven recommendations for Galápagos Health is a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary tortoise conservation. In-country capacity building is collaboration and communication in all aspects of animal, a priority. Currently, Ainoa Nieto, DVM, Ph.D., is based in human and environmental health. the Galápagos. Her work focuses on Galápagos tortoise health across human modified habitats. The Institute for Conservation Medicine (ICM) takes a • The Dromedary Camel Health Project in Kenya is a holistic approach to research on wildlife, public health program with a research emphasis on pathogens shared and sustainable ecosystems to ensure healthy animals and between dromedary camels and local wildlife, as well as healthy people. The ICM projects fall into one of six categories: between camels and the local Kenyan people. Due to the 1. Studies that improve the health care of zoo wildlife; changing climate, the human population is increasingly 2. Diseases of conservation and/or public health concern; consuming camel milk and meat as a source of protein. 3. Wildlife diseases that may serve as sentinels for emerging A better understanding of diseases that may be shared diseases in humans and other animals; between species can effectively keep all parties healthier. 4. Disease surveillance in domestic and wild animals and • The Water Quality and Mississippi River Delta Health humans where the three mix; Program is a collaborative program with the U.S. Geologic 5. Studies in comparative medicine and the discovery of Survey, Westminster College and University of Missouri- all life forms; and Columbia. This partnership was developed to study 6. Studies that connect people to nature for the health the impacts of endocrine disrupting compounds in benefits of both. Missouri waterways. • The Arboviruses in Brazil program is led by ICM partner ICM Programs and veterinarian Lilian Catenacci, DVM, Ph.D. This program is dedicated to studying mosquito-borne diseases in The ICM’s programs span the globe. Currently, the ICM leads wildlife species, vectors (an organism that does not cause or collaborates in the following programs: disease itself but which spreads infection from one host • The Saint Louis Box Turtle Project is dedicated to better to another) and humans in Brazil to better understand understanding the ecology and health of urban and rural emerging infectious diseases across species. Dr. Catenacci box turtles in Missouri. The team has accumulated seven spent two years with the ICM team at the Zoo as part of years of health and movement data of box turtles from her doctorate work on arboviruses, including Zika, in Forest Park and at Tyson Research Center, with the results non-human primates and sloths in northern Brazil. of the study to be submitted to scientific journals in 2018. • The ICM collaborates with the Center for Conservation in The ICM, in partnership with the Education and Bird Punta San Juan, Peru, and the Brookfield Zoo on a population Departments at the Zoo, has extended its research and level health study of endangered Humboldt penguins. outreach through the Zoo’s Cypress Swamp habitat and

I 43 Left – Dr. Nieto in the lab at the Charles Darwin Foundation in Santa Cruz, Galápagos.

Right – Domestic dromedary camels.

Center Highlights: 36 students representing 15 universities. In 2017, three ICM international field veterinarians worked toward • Dr. Sharon Deem, ICM Director, was awarded the advanced degrees/fellowships. Outstanding Scientists Trustees Award from the Academy of Science-St. Louis in 2017. On April 15, 2017, the Zoo hosted its fourth annual • Dr. Deem, Jamie Palmer and Emily Dunay each received a One Health Fair. This fair brings together young professionals St. Louis City Hospitality Heroes Award for their work with from different disciplines to share the interconnected world Forest Park Forever on an aquatic turtle mitigation study of One Health with Zoo visitors. in Forest Park. “The Zoo is at the forefront of using One Health as a tool to • Dr. Nieto and Dr. Deem were awarded the Scott Neotropical approach conservation,” said Dr. Deem. “One of our goals Fund Grant to help assess the health of Galápagos giant is to continue to help other zoos in establishing their own tortoises and the potential impact of humans and One Health programs. Another goal is to help people livestock on the tortoises’ well-being. understand why conserving animals is important. To me, • Dr. Catenacci and Dr. Deem were awarded a Field Research the easiest way to do this is to show how animals have for Conservation Program Grant to assess if certain positive impacts on their health and the health of their viruses were a threat to wild animals in the Americas. family. By using this health link, we get people to understand • Julie Sheldon, DVM, was awarded the best student and care about wildlife conservation.” manuscript for work with the ICM by the American College of Zoological Medicine. Partnerships • The ICM partners with Fontbonne University, the only school in St. Louis—and one of a handful in the country The ICM would like to thank its 2017 partners: Charles —to offer One Health as an under-graduate area of study. Darwin Foundation, Galápagos National Park, University of • In 2017, ICM staff had eight peer-reviewed publications. Missouri Columbia-College of Veterinary Medicine, University • Dr. Catenacci was awarded the best presentation at the of Missouri Columbia-Masters of Public Health, The Center International Wildlife Disease Association meeting in 2017. for One Health at Fontbonne University, University of • Dr. Paulo Colchao, a Peruvian veterinarian, began a Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine, Forest Park Forever, fellowship with the ICM in March 2017. Funded through Saint Louis University Department of Biology, Houston Zoo, a Field Conservation Grant, funds from the WildCare Ecology Project International, Max Planck Institute for Institute Center for Conservation in Punta San Juan, Peru, Ornithology, Mpala Wildlife Foundation, State University and ICM funds, he spent a year with the ICM and other of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry, zoo departments developing his skillset as a wildlife Westminster College, United States Geological Survey, vet and research scientist. Dr. Colchao will continue to Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis collaborate with the ICM in the next phase of his career. University School of Medicine, International Livestock Research Institute, Tyson Research Center-Washington Capacity Building University, Captain Elementary-Clayton School District, Little Creek Nature Area, Mola Mola Ecological Club-Galápagos, The ICM is heavily invested in capacity building, or what Missouri Department of Conservation and Principia School, Dr. Deem likes to call “training the next generation.” Saint Louis Art Museum, and St. Michaels. Over the past three years, ICM has hosted a total of

44 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report I 45 Right – Conservation Programs Andean bear. supported by the WildCare Institute Far Right – Chimpanzee.

Andean Bear Conservation Alliance that Ecuador could have over 700 species of amphibians, many still undiscovered. This small country in South America Andean bears are an important flagship species for the is said to have over 9 percent of the world’s amphibians with unique and fragile Tropical Andes ecosystem, the richest over 44 percent endemism. This means almost 258 species and most biologically diverse region on Earth. Currently of amphibians are only found in Ecuador and nowhere else listed as vulnerable, the species faces a number of threats, on the planet. Since 2006, the WildCare Institute has including habitat reduction and fragmentation, and high supported Luis Coloma, Ph.D., with his incredibly important mortality caused by anthropogenic factors. amphibian conservation work in Ecuador. Dr. Coloma is the To address these threats, the Wildlife Conservation Society founder and Director of the Centro Jambatu de Investigación and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo established the Andean Bear y Conservatión de Anfibios (Jambatu Center for Research Conservation Alliance (ABCA) in 2011. The Saint Louis Zoo and Conservation of Amphibians), a breeding and WildCare Institute has been a supporter of the ABCA since management facility that houses over 21 species of 2012. The ABCA works to tackle conservation threats using amphibians, 18 of them listed as endangered or critically a multifaceted approach, which includes field research to endangered. Given the threats amphibians face, in situ better understand bear ecology and distribution. It also (on-site conservation) management is not enough to save uses engagement of local protected area management to many of these species, and ex situ management (protecting establish and scale conservation plans on population a species outside its natural habitat) is urgently needed. monitoring and capacity-building projects. An early focus This is a proactive solution to save amphibians from of ABCA was on designing, testing and refining tools that extinction. To date, Centro Jambatu has one of the largest accurately evaluate the distribution and status of the and most significant assurance populations of amphibians remaining Andean bear populations. These tools that ABCA in the western hemisphere. developed are now being used by different government In 2017, the longnose stubfoot toad (Antelpous longirostris) and nongovernment organizations throughout the Andean was rediscovered by Elicio Tapia of Centro Jambatu after it bear distribution. As importantly, a Monitoring Program had been presumed extinct in 1989. The Centro Jambatu is Development Workshop, partially funded by ABCA, was held now housing this species to create a sustainable, captive in July 2017 at Chingaza National Park. Its main focus was population in the hopes of reintroducing this species soon. the development of an Andean Bear Conservation Strategy As with most species, habitat destruction and fragmentation for the Occidental Mountain Range of Colombia. As of 2017, is playing a major role in their demise. Expansion of the there are a total of six institutions involved in the Alliance— Junin Community Reserve is needed to secure habitat for the WildCare Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society, this species. Propagation in human care may be the only Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, IUCN Bear Specialist Group, hope for A. longirostris unless specific habitat can be Nashville Zoo and Bear TAG. acquired and secured.

Ecuadorian Amphibians The WildCare Institute is determined to help fight this mass Ecuador ranks third in the world for amphibian diversity extinction of amphibians by supporting the Centro Jambatu, behind Brazil and Colombia, but it is actually more diverse both through regular visits to Ecuador by Mark Wanner, when you consider the number of species per unit of area. Zoological Manager of Herpetology and Aquatics, and Currently there are 564 described species. It is presumed through biannual financial contributions. Rising temperatures, habitat destruction and the spread of the deadly amphibian

46 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report chytrid fungus have wiped out multiple amphibian species Great Ape Conservation in recent years and continue to decimate critical amphibian populations. The WildCare Institute supports great ape conservation through two major programs: 1) Goualougo Triangle Ape Elephant Conservation Program Project (GTAP) in the Republic of Congo and 2) HUTAN- Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme (HUTAN) With the situation for wild elephants so precarious, those in Malaysian Borneo. The WildCare Institute has provided who truly care about elephants have an obligation to take continuous support for these programs since the opening action before it is too late. The Saint Louis Zoo’s support for of the Donn and Marilyn Lipton Fragile Forest in 2005. elephant conservation begins at home with the elephants in our care, and through the WildCare Institute, our care The mission of the GTAP is to promote the long-term extends all the way to Asia and Africa to ensure a future conservation of both chimpanzees and gorillas. Research for elephants worldwide. projects at this site include behavioral studies, health monitoring and population dynamics within the changing In Asia, we support elephant conservation through the conservation landscape of the Congo Basin. The GTAP has International Elephant Foundation (IEF). This organization recently formed an unprecedented partnership with Olam links dedicated conservationists at zoos with those in the International Ltd, the region’s largest forestry concession field and fosters collaborative partnerships to provide manager and one of only four logging companies in the long-term support to wildlife programs around the world. Congo Basin that has adopted Forest Stewardship Council Since 2005, the WildCare Institute has provided more than certification standards. This partnership has enabled the $342,500 to the IEF to support Asian elephant conservation GTAP to assess timber harvesting and associated impacts in situ (in its natural habitat). The WildCare Institute also on great apes and to use the results to help refine forestry has provided support to Elephant Response Units, which policies and certification measures. The GTAP also partners work to mitigate human-elephant conflict, protect wild with Congolese researchers to develop research skills Sumatran elephants and engage members of the communities in-country, therefore securing long term sustainable in and around Way Kambas National Park. In Africa, we monitoring through capacity building. support elephant conservation through the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), a community-led initiative that HUTAN was created in 1998 to develop and implement forms a true union of Kenyan communities through field innovative solutions to conserve orangutan and other conservation, community development and educational wildlife species in Sabah, Malaysia. HUTAN now has a programs. Our partnership with the NRT has helped to team of over 45 community members who work to achieve a create a mosaic of 35 conservancies working together holistic strategy of long-term scientific research, wildlife and across an estimated 44,800 square km. This community habitat protection and management, policy work, capacity collaboration is supporting 418,205 people to re-establish building, education and awareness, and community conservation areas for wildlife and restore historical outreach and development. HUTAN initially focused primarily migration routes for elephants. Since 2004, the WildCare on orangutan-related research, notably having carried out Institute has provided more than $865,000 to NRT community the first landmark study of orangutans in secondary conservation efforts, a conservation investment that (previously logged or disturbed) forest. Twenty years later, benefits not only elephants, but all of the wildlife in there are now a number of distinct components within northern Kenya. this program, which include: the Orangutan Research Unit,

I 47 Right – Tasmanian devil.

Middle – Partula snail.

Far Right – Polar bear.

the HUTAN Environmental and Awareness Program, Partula Snail Reintroduction Pangi Swiftlet Recovery Program, the Wildlife Survey and Protection Team, and the Reforestation Team. Partula snails once populated the South Pacific Islands, from Palau to the Society Islands, including Tahiti and Both programs receive $10,000 annually from the Moorea. These snails, however, experienced a devastating WildCare Institute, and we have given well over $200,000 decline when the predatory rosy wolf snails (Euglandina in total to great ape conservation. rosea) were introduced to the islands in the 1970s as a form of biological control. In the 1980s, scientists began Okapi Conservation to notice the rapid decline of Partula snails and zoos began Endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the okapi to create ex situ (protecting a species outside its natural is an elusive relative of the giraffe. Even today, the okapi habitat) assurance populations. In 1990, the Zoo initiated largely remains a mystery to the outside world. For 26 years, the Partula Species Survival Plan (SSP) to manage the the Zoo and the WildCare Institute have been dedicated to Partula populations on a national scale, and Zoo staff the care of okapi in zoos and in the wild. For okapi in human coordinated the plan until 2006. Since 2012, both the care, the Zoo has long been an active participant in the species coordinator for the Partula SSP and the regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums Okapi Species Survival studbook coordinator have been Zoo staff. The Zoo also Plan. For okapi in the wild, the WildCare Institute supports works closely with the International Partula Conservation the Okapi Conservation Project. Initiated in 1987, the Programme (IPCP), coordinated by the Zoological Society Okapi Conservation Project works to secure a protected area of London, which is involved in breeding programs for for okapi in one of the most biologically diverse places on 25 Partula species in 15 zoos, together with field work Earth, the Ituri Forest. It also supports local communities in the species range. Through this cooperative effort, the by training and equipping wildlife guards, providing WildCare Institute has provided funding for staff, equipment community assistance (clean water, medical services, for field surveys, the construction and monitoring of school supplies, etc.) to the people living next to the predator exclusion reserves, and reintroduction efforts. reserve, and offering conservation education. In 2015, the Zoo sent 140 individual snails to the London Zoo, where the snails received a thorough health screening In 2017, the WildCare Institute sponsored World Okapi Day before being reintroduced in Tahiti. In 2017, Zoo Invertebrate celebrations in St. Louis and in the Democratic Republic of Keeper Glenn Frei went to Tahiti to assist in the reintroduction the Congo. At the Zoo, keepers shared okapi conservation of additional zoo-raised snails and to conduct surveys with messages with visitors, while in Africa, educational the IPCP field researcher. programming and 10K World Okapi Day races were sponsored in five different villages within the okapi’s range. Polar Bear Conservation/The Alaska Initiative The WildCare Institute sponsored the community of Niania, Concerned about the rising threats to polar bears in the while other international zoos sponsored races in Epulu, wild, the WildCare Institute has forged a partnership with Mambasa, Wamba and Mungbere. Thanks to the World Polar Bears International (PBI)—a non-profit organization Okapi Day events, an estimated 15,000 children and adults dedicated to worldwide conservation of the polar bear and participated across the four territories. This new World its habitat. The WildCare Institute supports a PBI maternal Okapi Day community celebration was an innovative way den study conducted by scientists in Svalbard, Norway to to create lasting excitement for protecting the wild okapi. document the denning behavior of polar bear mothers that

48 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report are choosing to den on land, possibly sensing that the sea Save the Tasmanian Devil Program ice is too unstable for their dens. PBI scientists are observing bear mothers and cubs to determine when they emerge The Tasmanian devil was once common throughout the from their dens, how long the families remain at the den island state of Tasmania; however, the species has sites before heading to the sea ice to hunt seals, and how experienced a rapid decline since the 1990s due to a rare sensitive they are to disturbances. Study results help disease that has spread throughout the population. Unique to wildlife managers and governing authorities develop plans Tasmanian devils, devil facial tumor disease is a contagious to protect and preserve polar bears for future generations. and fatal cancer that is spread through direct contact during social feeding encounters and mating. The disease produces As part of the Alaska Initiative, the Zoo has partnered with tumors in and around the devil’s mouth and neck. As the six Alaska Native villages through the Alaska Nanuuq tumors multiply and grow, the infected animals become Commission (ANC), the first U.S. polar bear co-management unable to eat and die. The Save the Tasmanian Devil organization. The goal of this partnership is to work toward Program (STDP) was established in 2003 by the Tasmanian a common goal of climate change mitigation and polar bear government in response to the rapid decline of the Tasmanian conservation. Alaska Native communities have extensive, devil population. The STDP has since joined forces with direct and relevant experience, not only with polar bears, universities and zoos worldwide in their effort to halt the but also with the impacts of a changing climate and effects of this disease. The STDP has created three distinct ecosystem. Because of this, Alaska Native people are the stages in their efforts to save the devil: 1) understand the leading voice at the Zoo’s McDonnell Polar Bear Point disease, 2) establish an ex situ (protecting a species outside exhibit featuring ground-breaking “first voices” interpretation. its natural habitat) population under human care and In 2017, a second video premiered from the Native Village 3) initiate a Wild Devil Recovery Program. The WildCare of Gambell. Institute has provided financial support to the STDP since 2015. In addition, the Zoo has had ambassador devils in its As part of the partnership, Zoo staff travel to villages care since 2016. These charismatic ambassadors help raise in Alaska to provide STEM (Science, Technology, awareness about the challenges facing wild Tasmanian Engineering and Math) and conservation-based educational devils. Volunteers are stationed at the Tasmanian devil programming. In fall of 2017, Zoo staff visited the villages exhibit to interpret the natural history of the Tasmanian of Wales and Savoonga. The Zoo also offers free distance devil and educate visitors about the challenges devils learning programs with the villages to stay connected as face in the wild. These interactions provide the perfect much as possible throughout the year. The Zoo works opportunity to promote the work the STDP is doing to with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to learn more about ensure the devil’s future in the wild. the status of Alaska’s polar bears and polar bear research.

In 2017, the WildCare Institute provided up to $25,000 toward efforts for polar bear conservation.

I 49 Right – How the Saint Louis Zoo Dr. Jaramillo and Dr. Asigau, graduates of the University of WildCare Institute is Funded Missouri-St. Louis, talk with visitors at Jungle Boogie.

Far Right – Bird Keeper Melissa Miller representing the Center for Conservation in Punta San Juan, Peru at Jungle Boogie.

The Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute has five primary funding Donations — 11% sources, shown here. It is important to note that none of the These funds are used to support general or specific center funds for the WildCare Institute come from tax revenues donor requests that are not covered through the individual contributed by St. Louis City and County residents and distributed center’s operating budget. These funds allow opportunities by the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District. for Zoo staff to increase time spent in the field or to provide our partners with much-needed resources to address any unforeseen Here are the amounts for each source: problems that have arisen. These generous donors are listed Endowment — 46% separately in the 2017 Honor Roll section of the report. This amount is the harvest from the endowment that was created in 2003 by a $16,000,000 gift from the Saint Louis Zoo Friends Association (now the Saint Louis Zoo Association). An additional anonymous $100,000 gift, plus unspent WildCare Institute funds from the first four years of the organization’s operations, have been added to the endowment. In 2017, two additional donations toward the endowment were received: 1) $750,000 from the Harvard K. Hecker African Wildlife Conservation Fund for support of conservation work in Africa, and 2) $100,000 from Sue Dexter to assist with keeper travel into the field. Currently the endowment has grown to $25,988,366.23, providing almost half of the Change for Conservation — 7% WildCare Institute’s annual budget. Make Change for Conservation offers Zoo guests an opportunity Mary Ann Lee Conservation Carousel — 32% to donate an extra dollar to support conservation with every purchase at participating food and retail locations. Our frontline Through her generous donation to build the carousel, Mary Ann staff is instrumental in the success of this project. We offer Lee and numerous other donors provided a gift that has not only behind-the-scenes tours to the top earners as a thank you for delighted thousands of children of all ages, but has supported their commitment to promoting the program. We had a field conservation around the globe. In December, Addie Davis, monumental year in 2017 for the Change for Conservation age 3 and pictured below, was honored as the 5 millionth rider! Program. In total, staff from Lakeside Cafe, Safari Gift Shop As of December 2017, the Conservation Carousel has raised and Treetop Shop raised $105,000, well above the goal more than $7.1 million for wildlife conservation. All proceeds set for the year! of this custom designed Conservation Carousel go to the WildCare Institute’s conservation efforts.

50 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Wild Night for WildCare — 4% The 2017 Wild Night for WildCare fundraising event welcomed Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 167 guests to the Zoo on October 5 to hear Association of Zoos and Aquariums President and CEO Dan Ashe speak about his Income Total: $1.42 million past experience as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director and 11% the role of zoos in conservation efforts. Guests enjoyed a variety of center-inspired food and were able to donate to the 7% work of the WildCare Institute through the “Call of the Wild” % Appeal Board. The event garnered over $55,000 in support 4 46% for the 12 centers, the Institute for Conservation Medicine and the Zoo’s Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences Department.

32%

Donations 11% Conservation Carousel 32% Change for Conservation 7% Endowment 46% Wild Night for WildCare 4%

Expenses Total: $1.42 million

% % 1 3 2.5% 4.5%

7%

1%

81%

Graduate student 1% Overhead 7% Director/Assistant 3% Other 1% Director support Direct support for 81% Program support 2.5% conservation activity Conservation memberships 4.5%

I 51 How the WildCare Institute Allocates its Resources

Dr. Asigau and Dr. Rasambainarivo, Ph.D. students of Dr. Parker, on graduation day at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Conservation Activity — 81% Graduate Student — 1% Over 80 percent of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute This item covers 50 percent of the funding needed by a budget goes for direct support for conservation activity in graduate student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who the field, or is directly related to the field. This covers not only is connected to one of our conservation centers. The other the center’s individual budget but also includes any projects 50 percent comes from a generous gift by Anna Harris to the approved through Field Conservation or Field Research Harris World Ecology Center. In 2017, this funding supported Conservation Grants. Field Conservation and Field Research a Ph.D. student from Madagascar. Conservation Grants are competitive grants that provide additional support for conservation projects in the field Other — 1% This category includes start-up funding for a conservation and are eligible to any partner that collaborates with a technology initiative and support for the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute center or program. Conservation Award. Overhead — 7% This includes an offset for the salaries of center directors, who are curators or zoological managers; it is factored about 25 percent of their time is devoted to the WildCare Institute. Conservation Memberships — 4.5% Conservation memberships reflect the Zoo’s and WildCare Institute’s membership in, and support for, conservation organizations. Examples include the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Conservation Planning Specialist Group, the International Elephant Foundation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri. Executive Director/Assistant Director Support — 3% These funds cover the salary of the executive director and assistant executive director as well as membership fees in professional organizations and travel expenses. Program Support — 2.5% Program support includes evaluation, marketing, small equipment for fieldwork, visiting scientist support and general office operating costs.

52 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report How the Institute for Conservation Medicine is Funded

Dr. Deem with children in Madagascar.

None of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine’s (ICM) funding comes from tax revenues Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine contributed by St. Louis City and County residents and distributed by the Metropolitan Zoological Park and ICM Income Total: $289,596.50 Museum District. 7.9% Zoo Operations — 68.1% When the ICM was launched in 2011, it was developed % as a program vital to Zoo operations. 20.5 Grants — 7.9% The ICM leadership submits a number of proposals annually. In 2017, ICM received four grants. 3.5% Donations — 20.5% % Donations from individual donors and foundations are used 68.1 to support ICM projects focused on wildlife conservation and human public health. Grants 7.9% Partners 3.5% Partners — 3.5% Donations 20.5% Zoo Operations 68.1% Under a memorandum of understanding that the ICM has with the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and the College of Veterinary Medicine, ICM has funds to ensure that DVM/MPH students have internships under the ICM Expenses Total: $248,749.25 conservation medicine/One Health umbrella. % 3.2 0.7% How the ICM Allocates its Resources: Conservation Science — 96.1% These funds cover ICM staff salaries and direct cost of One Health-related research at the Zoo, in Missouri and internationally. This number includes administration of the field and grant programs. 96.1% Travel — 3.2% This line item covers the cost of travel of ICM staff to field sites and to speaking engagements. This also covers the cost of bringing ICM-affiliated scientists to the ICM on-campus laboratory and offices at the Zoo. Travel 3.2% Conservation Science 96.1% Membership — 0.7% Membership 0.7% The conservation membership allocation covers ICM staff memberships in conservation organizations.

I 53 2017 Honor Roll

Major Gifts $4,999 – $2,500 St. Augustine Alligator Farm Akron Zoological Park Zoological Park $749,999 – $500,000 Kaye A. Campbell-Hinson & Phil Hinson St. Louis AAZK Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. Derick L. Driemeyer Mr. & Mrs. Virgil Van Trease Maureen K. Hamilton Woodland Park Zoo Special Gifts Mark & Becky Humphrey $999 – $250 $99,999 – $50,000 Jacksonville Zoological Society American Association of Zookeepers Wendy Knudsen & George Farrell Mr. Steven B. King Little Rock Chapter Edward K. Love Conservation Foundation Dr. Todd Margolis Ms. Elizabeth A. Biddick Mr. & Mrs. Ken Nettleton Dr. & Mrs. Terrence W. Bond $49,999 – $25,000 New Mexico Bio Park Society, Inc. Ms. Karla Carter Detroit Zoological Society Sacramento Zoological Society Diana & John Deem Zoological Society of San Diego Mr. Clarence A. Zacher Mark A. & Barbara E. Doering $24,999 – $10,000 $2,499 – $1,000 Ms. Caryl L. Flannery Anonymous Michael & Patricia Abbene James W. & Catherine Gidcumb Mrs. Ann L. Case Mr. A. Dale Belcher Dean A. & Nancy C. Graves Chicago Zoological Society Mr. & Mrs. William Forsyth Ms. Marjorie Groom Mrs. Karen A. Goellner John Henry Foster and Bernadine Foster Gary A. & Bonnie B. Halls Dr. Virginia M. Herrmann Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Hutton Kansas City Zoo Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Hoessle Edward & Kay Jastrem Network for Good John & Salvatrice Kemper Mr. Patrick J. Kleaver Mr. Jim Spillane Mr. Brock M. Lutz Kent P. & Kathleen E. Lannert Tennessee Aquarium, Inc. Mrs. Deborah S. Manne Mr. & Mrs. James P. Leonard Thomas & Betty Tyler Dr. Jay & Dr. Susan Marshall Milwaukee County Zoo Mr. & Mrs. Charles L. Merz Jane Feigenbaum Morris $9,999 – $5,000 Richard & Verla Mitchell Ms. Barbara J. Myles Mr. & Mrs. John Bermingham Moody Gardens Dr. Stanley J. Niemann Mrs. Kay Drey Mr. & Mrs. Patrick J. Moore Katy Robertson & Christopher Lynn Ms. Carol S. Gronau Mrs. Ginny Morgan Jason D. & Abigail J. Sapp Lemur Conservation Foundation James L. & Lisa W. Nouss Sean Scales & Karen McCallum Scales Lighting Associates, Inc. Frederick Pitzman Fund Ms. Patricia Taillon-Miller The Phoenix Zoo Mr. & Mrs. William C. Rusnack Ms. Deborah K. Werner Mrs. Anita M. Siegmund Mr. & Mrs. William T. Shannahan Mrs. Constance V. R. White Mrs. William A. Sippy YourCause, LLC William T. & Darlene Skaggs

54 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report Monarch butterfly How You Can Help

2017 brought new opportunities to protect wildlife in wild places. Old threats remain, and new challenges must be addressed if conservationists across the world are to succeed in saving threatened species and vulnerable ecosystems. All of us have been entrusted to preserve and safeguard these animals and their habitats today and for future generations.

As you have seen through this report, the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute has accomplished a great deal in 2017. This vital work has been undertaken and completed through strategic partnerships, staff expertise and passionate donors. We simply could not have done it without you. Together, we have the chance to make a lasting investment in preserving unique species and their native environments.

By using the enclosed response envelope, you become a conservation champion. The WildCare Institute offers you an opportunity to support programs that help save wildlife directly. You can give to a species that caught your eye, a story that made sense, or a conservation center that connected with your desire to see things made right—for an animal, an ecosystem or our world. Your gift to the WildCare Institute will make a difference today and for future generations.

For more information on contributing to the work of the WildCare Institute, please visit stlzoo.org/wildcare or contact the Zoo’s Development Office at (314) 646-4691.

56 I Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute 2017 Annual Report At the Saint Louis Zoo, we not only care about the conservation of animals, but also the conservation of the environment. That’s why this report is printed on 10% post-consumer recycled content.

I 57 Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute

One Government Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110 (314) 781-0900 stlzoo.org/wildcare