Archive for June 2009

Jun
26

Save a Pika!

Posted by Rachel in What You Can Do

I have recently learned more about the cutest animal in the world (sorry Toby the Red Panda, you are still really cute too). It looks like a hamster on steroids or maybe my hamster Chester from when I was 8 (lets just say Chester was not sustained solely on hamster pellets but the occasional slice of cheese pizza as well).

The animal I am referring to also collects and dries wildflowers as if it is running a miniature Bed & Breakfast, and shrieks the noise “Eeep! Eeep!” when distressed. This animal, the cutest animal in the world, is the American Pika.

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Sadly, the Pika, is in major trouble people. The culprit? Climate Change. Behind the polar bear, the Pika may be the next poster child for the massive trickle down effects of our warming planet.

The pika, is a lagomorph (in the rabbit family). It is also known as the rock rabbit or whistling hare due to the “eeep!” sound previously discussed. Pikas are native to cold climates mostly in Asia, North America and parts of Eastern Europe. You can find the American version of these fuzzy gems in rocky mountain areas and boulder-covered hillsides, usually at elevations of between 8,000-13,000 feet, between the timberline and down into subalpine forest. It makes its home in rock piles and talus slides.

The Pika was recently spotlighted in a photographic series in National Geographic where they were described as the next victim of climate change. Pikas cannot withstand temperatures over 80 degrees and will perish quite quickly when exposed to these temperatures. They have already vanished from some of their range. They get trapped on what biologists call “sky islands”. As a mountain warms they are not able to go down to lower elevations in search of taller, colder mountains as they will die immediately. Therefore, they are trapped on these sky islands awaiting an unknown and potentially perilous future.

Until someone can come up with a design for a gigantic cooling arctic blast fan to install on the tops of these mountains (not happening) or donating a personal cooling fan for each Pika (not happening), we should try to do more to reduce our carbon footprint, thereby not contributing as much to global emissions & pollutants, and thereby helping to save the Pika!

You can help the Pika by doing these 10 smart things: http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/pdf/10things.pdf.

Take a gander at the cutie below. “Pika…you had me at eep! You had me at eep!”

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Jun
20

Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study

Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured

 

Western Lowland Gorilla. Photo courtesy of Thomas Breuer

Western Lowland Gorilla. Photo courtesy of Thomas Breuer

Africa has a mystique. It is awe-inspiring, a living place yet dark and formidable. We can never know Africa. It is full of cultures and heritage, wildlife and wild places.

But, Deepest Darkest Africa is in danger. There is a Congolese proverb which says you do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla. But what if those paths are gone forever? How will the gorilla find its way? And worse, what if the old gorillas have gone away, lost to humans? Who will show the young the paths of the forest?

There is a deeper meaning in all of this as the path leads through the dark impenetrable jungles to clearings in the trees, called Bai’s. These swampy clearings are an oasis in the forest, offering food, water, minerals and a place for wildlife to interact. Gorillas and elephants have been travelling to these bai’s for decades, possibly centuries, shown the way through the forest by past generations.

 

In the Republic of Congo, the Houston Zoo is working with the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Program in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. Mbeli Bai is the only long-term demographic study on western gorillas which uses direct observations to provide important baseline information on the social organization, demography and behavior of an intact population of gorillas. Detailed studies are also undertaken on the activity of other large mammal species using the bai, such as forest elephants, sitatungas, forest buffaloes as well as otters and many other species.

 

At Mbeli Bai more than 350 gorillas have been monitored since 1995. The results of the monitoring of individual identifiable animals at Mbeli Bai has provided major and unique insights into the social organization and behavior of this elusive species and has reported many spectacular behavioral observations such as twin births, silverback splash displays, and the first observation of tool use in free-ranging gorillas; findings that have attracted significant international media attention.

 

Often quoted, 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote for if one link in nature’s chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal. What he noted then holds true for environments across the world today. If we have the opportunity to protect and hold dear this chain; wildlife, habitat and human communities, then we must take that opportunity and act while the old gorilla can still teach the young, his forest path.

 

For more information, please go to: http://www.houstonzoo.org/gorilla-study/

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Jun
17

Show your support for wildlife

Posted by Peter in Endangered Species,Featured,Texas,What You Can Do

You can help protect and maintain native species and crucial habitats just by purchasing a Horned Lizard license plate through the Texas Department of Transportation.

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Horned lizard plates fit all vehicles, boat and RV trailers, and motorcycles, and they show that we can all do our part to support Texas wildlife. Each plate costs just $30*, and $22 of every purchase goes directly to projects that implement the Texas Wildlife Action Plan. Learn more and order your plates online at www.conservationplate.org.

The Houston Zoo has received support through this program for the management of Texas’ own critically endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chicken http://www.houstonzoo.org/PrairieChicken/.

Jun
16

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Posted by Jessica Pledger in Endangered Species,Going Green,What You Can Do

My Mom visited the Zoo with her family in 1958. Make sure your grandchildren still have the same animals to visit on their summer vacations.

My Mom visited the Zoo with her family in 1958. Make sure your grandchildren still have the same animals to visit on their summer vacations.

Imagine this.  You head out with your family to the Houston Zoo. You are walking around enjoying the warm sunny weather, but you start to notice many of the animals at the Zoo are in the Endangered category.  How can the Rhinos be endangered when they have no natural predators?  Poachers.  That just makes you put the ANGER in Endangered.  You love going to the Zoo, and you want to make sure these animals are around when your children take their children to the Houston Zoo.  

 

Now that you realize many of your favorite animals are going extinct, you and your children can be thinking the same thing- GIFT SHOP!  Look around at some of the tags on products in the gift shop, you will find many surprises from what you might expect.  Many of the gift shop products are bought from rural villages in Africa, Panama, and other impoverished communities.  All 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Houston Zoo Conservation Projects.  These projects give men and women the opportunity to have a higher standard of living, as well as benefiting Gorillas, Snow Leopards, and Rhino Conservation.  When you affect one part of an ecosystem by saving a Gorilla, you also improve the lives of many other animals.

 

As said on the Lion King, animals live in a “Circle of Life.”  An animal’s survival depends on everything in the ecosystem, including the environment.  Many products sold in the gift shop are made with the environment in mind.  The gift shop has worked with manufacturers to reduce amounts of cardboard packaging and to use recycled products to make puzzles and postcards.  Also, there are Bamboo shirts and BPA free recyclable water jugs.  Even some of the stuffed animals are made out of Soy products. Then, you can carry your goodies in biodegradable gift bags, an affordable recycled animal print bag, or if you are really insane use NO BAG AT ALL!!!   

 

Feel free to ask any employees about the different ways the gift shop works to benefit the environment and animal conservation.  Just by buying that simple souvenir to remember your trip, you are helping your grandchildren to see the same animals that you know and love!

 

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Jun
10

CRISIS ZIMBABWE – Poaching Threatens Rhino’s Survival

Posted by Peter in Endangered Species,Featured,Rhino

In 2008 there were 88 confirmed rhino poaching deaths in Zimbabwe – 67 of these were critically endangered black rhinos. This is more than double the number of rhinos poached in 2007 and more than 15% of the country’s entire black rhino population.

Zimbabwe’s black rhino population was nearly wiped out by large-scale,

Rhino care staff in Zimbabwe

Rhino care staff in Zimbabwe

organized poaching in the 1980s, before making a remarkable recovery thanks to intense anti-poaching efforts. The country is now home to the fourth largest population of black rhinos in the world, but these rhinos are once again being poached relentlessly. Zimbabwe is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. And due to the continuously deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe, there has been a dramatic upsurge in wildlife poaching.
For more information, please go to Zimbabwe’s black rhino population was nearly wiped out by large-scale, organized poaching in the 1980s, before making a remarkable recovery thanks to intense anti-poaching efforts. The country is now home to the fourth largest population of black rhinos in the world, but these rhinos are once again being poached relentlessly. Zimbabwe is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world. And due to the continuously deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe, there has been a dramatic upsurge in wildlife poaching.

For more information, please go to: http://www.rhinos-irf.org/crisis-zimbabwe/. For background on Houston Zoo’s involvement with rhino cosnervation: http://www.houstonzoo.org/Botswana/

Jun
09

Give the Gift of Light

Posted by Peter in Featured,Going Green

You can help light the lives of people in developing countries when purchasing a new Solar Powered BOGO Flashlight through the Houston Zoo.

 

BOGO means Buy One—Give One.

When you buy a BOGO light, the Houston Zoo will match your purchase with a BOGO light for someone in need in the developing world.
One third of the world’s population—two billion people—make a difficult choice

Bogo Light in Africa

Bogo Light in Africa

every night: use a dangerous and expensive kerosene lantern for light, or live through the night in utter darkness. If the available choice is less dangerous—for example, candles or single-use-battery flashlights—it is no less expensive or harmful for the environment. Two billion people are facing a decision that negatively impacts their health, income, education, and security, every night.SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light transforms the night by offering so many people in need a new choice. Generating clean LED light from rechargeable solar-powered batteries, SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light can go where other fuel-dependant lights can’t: to a poor person in a small village located far away from the electricity grid. And the BOGO Light can do what other lights can’t: change a life.

SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light helps solve the most daunting issues in the developing world: poverty, literacy and education, health and safety, environmental impacts, the empowerment of women, and family security.

 

With every purchase of a BOGO light from the Houston Zoo, we will donate one light to the village and communities of our conservation partners in the countries we are working to protect wildlife, wildlife habitat and the communities which surround them. In 2008, this included 350 lights sent to villages in Madagascar, Gabon and Malaysian Borneo. In 2009, we plan on shipping lights to Botswana, Madagascar, Republic of Congo and western Panama.

The gift of light can change lives; you can help us make that change today. SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light is available through the Houston Zoo Gift Shop.

And a bit of a side note; back home in Houston, this light proved invaluable during the power outages of Hurricane Ike. No batteries. Just placed outside during the day and it worked for nights before needing to be recharged.

Jun
04

Bugs Life No More!

Posted by Jessica Pledger in Diamondback Terrapins,Going Green,What You Can Do,amphibians

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Use your garden to control your bugs!

Within seconds of leaving my front door, I am covered in tiny blood-sucking insects. My mosquito bite-covered legs will stand for this no more. I have done my research and found some ways to enjoy my summer while reducing this infestation- Gardening! Whether you want to grow plants from seeds or buy them at the store, there are many natural ways to keep bugs away from your family, garden, and pets.


An increasing number of studies are concluding negative health effects result from insecticides, especially in children. Also, I don’t enjoy smelling like a chemical plant and feeling like a piece of chewed up gum. While spraying chemical pesticides on your garden may not seem as uncomfortable to you, it can actually kill many of the bugs that you love, like lady bugs, bees, and butterflies.


I have been searching for remedies to the previously mentioned concerns, and I have found the goods. The first of the secret weapons is Lavender. Lavender repels mosquitoes and encourages butterflies. You can also splash on some lavender oil to use as a mosquito repellant and a perfume too! That’s all any woman wants, isn’t it?


The second secret weapon, garlic, deters more than just vampires. While not very many people would be willing to douse themselves in garlic on a daily basis, it seems to work wonders in the garden. Garlic has proved successful in frightening those pests out of the vegetable gardens and rose bushes. If all else fails, then you can cook up some tasty fresh spaghetti with it.


Finally, I will soon fill my garden at home with marigolds, a cute little flower that also repels those mosquitoes. Marigolds have a dual use of fashion and function.


Many other creative and easy recipes can be found here. Other key ingredients vary from chili peppers and rubbing alcohol to cheap household soap.


Ever wonder how the Zoo plants look so good? The Zoo Horticulture Team focuses on making the soil “happy.” They use totally organic products, such as leaf mold fertilizers, compost tea, and a vinegar solution instead of Round-Up.


Now, Put that green thumb to work!

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Jun
04

The Last One

Posted by Peter in Endangered Species,Featured,Texas

 

Malayan Tiger: There may be less than 600 individuals remaining in the wild

Malayan Tiger: There may be less than 600 individuals remaining in the wild

The Houston Zoo’s Conservation Department is involved in a number of efforts internationally as well as here in Texas. It had dawned on me that some of the species we focus on in the wild, may disappear completely in my lifetime and how disappointing a thought that may be. A shame really given the number of species in trouble so few people have ever heard of here at home that are declining faster than we can get a handle on. Houston Toad, Attwater’s Prairie Chicken, the Ocelot subspecies in Texas, Elliot’s Shrew, Black Lace Cactus, Texas Blind Cave Salamander;  these names mean little to most people but we may just lose them, one species at a time.

The January 2009 National Geographic Magazine had an article called Last One. A piece about species whose numbers are so low, someday very soon, an individual will be the Last One and the first photo in the spread is an Ocelot of which less than 100 individuals of the Texas subspecies are left. There are no other Ocelots in North America; the Texas population is the Last One.

Wildlife and plants in Texas are not the only ones in trouble. Across North America, small relatively innocuous species of animals and plants are slipping away. Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit – went extinct in the wild in October 2008; Vancouver Island Marmot is Canada’s most endangered mammal – less than 100 individuals; Peninsular Pronghorn, Baja, Mexico – less than 250 individuals; Whooping Cranes, California Condors, Louisiana Pine Snakes – all at critically low numbers

Internationally, the numbers are staggering, even considering how familiar we may be with certain species. The common domestic pet chinchilla can be found in people’s homes across the world; in their native Chile and Argentina – less than 3,000 survive. The Bactrian Camel you may see on a TV wildlife special; less than 800 survive in China and Mongolia; Tigers, Rhinos, Asian Elephants – losing ground fast. Leopards are an animal we have all heard of – the Amur Leopard of Russia’s Far East – 30 individuals left in the wild. Just 30!

Does it really matter if a species goes extinct? Every piece lost somehow affects their habitat and ecosystem, so, yes; it does, even for the animals we have never even heard of. Losing species simply means a breakdown in that ecosystem – a breakdown in the food chain. Thomas Jefferson once wrote “for if one link in nature’s chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal”. That quote is over 200 years old and today plants and animals are beginning to vanish in unprecedented numbers.

 

So what do we do? It is time to put the effort into keeping the common species common and developing programs to keep those species in decline, from becoming the Last One.

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