Archive for January 2010

Jan
13

It’s a Princess Party for the Frogs

Posted by in amphibians,Endangered Species,What You Can Do

…and who better to throw a little party to help protect frogs, but Princesses?

What would a princess be with out a frog? What would a frog be without a princess? Princesses will come together for frog conservation at the Houston Zoo’s first Princess Day: A Benefit for Frog Conservation on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. 

Meet some real frogs (endangered Houston toads) and the keepers who care for them. Princesses can enjoy finger sandwiches, cookies and punch and have their picture taken with the Zoo’s frog mascot. 

 
It’s B.Y.O.T. (Bring Your Own Tiara). Costumes are encouraged. Frog kissing is optional.  For more information and tickets for this very special event, please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/princess-day/

Jan
12

The Bald Eagle has Landed…again, and with a friend

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Texas

Lat winter – one Bald Eagle in Pearland. This winter two, but I am jumping ahead…

With constant development across Houston and outlying cities, it is nice to see and unintended consequence of a new home community turn into a hotspot for birds. The ever conspicuous but seldom thought of, Retention Pond.

When a new community goes up, so does a retention pond to help control runoff and limit flooding. Behind “our” local retention pond sits a small grove of trees on one side and the new Stella Roberts Recycling Center on the other. It is what lies between which may turn out to be the unseen gem of Pearland. This small retention pond, and another across the backside of the community, houses both year-round and part time avian visitors in numbers and species which continue to grow.

This month has seen the two Bald Eagles (one adult, one immature this week), Brown Pelican, White Ibis, Anhinga, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Little Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Loggerhead Shrike and White-bellied Whistling Duck. And we are only two weeks into January…

Seasonally, the pond receives Red-winged Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt (nesting), Black-crowned Night Heron, Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Roseate Spoonbill, Laughing Gull, Great Blue Heron, Cormorant, and various Doves, Sparrows, Swifts and others. In 2007, Flamingo flew over heading south.

With the loss of open spaces, birds and other wildlife are managing to carve out their own small spaces. The drawback for the birds on this pond; from 2005-2007 there was a No Trespassing sign up but it since has come down in favor of a Beware of Alligators and Snakes sign, and on weekends there are cars parked along the edges with people fishing by rod and with throw net. Turtles were quite abundant for the first few years but are not seen as often since 2008.

There is not much traffic off this road and it is fairly clear most of the people driving by do not stop to look at the wildlife literally in their neighborhood. No matter where you are in the Greater Houston area, slow down and take a look around and you may be amazed by the abundance of wildlife and plants that may have gone unnoticed before.

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Jan
09

Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Posted by in Africa

A Safe Corridor for Cheetahs

DSC_0071As human land use expands, suitable and safe habitat for free-roaming cheetahs continues to shrink. Southern Africa remains one of the cheetah’s last strongholds, yet conflict and poaching continue to threaten its future. The Kalahari region in Botswana is key habitat for the cheetah, and is now a priority for conservation.

Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) recognized that collaboration and innovation offered the greatest hope for cheetahs and people to share space. In 2008, CCB became an in-country partner with Conservation International in the Western Kalahari Conservation Corridor Initiative.

This progressive project links the ecologically-diverse and culturally-rich regions of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi Trans-frontier Park in the western regions of Botswana. The goal is to create safe and viable wildlife corridors between the two regions, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources among ranchers and farmers while allowing cheetahs and other wildlife to thrive.

 CCB’s role in this initiative is to reduce predator conflict in the region by working closely with farmers and ranchers to improve livestock management methods and encourage the use of non-lethal methods of predator control. Their preliminary work has included a Predator Conflict survey, a map of the region and “hot spots” for conflict, and an innovative manual to help reduce losses to predators. In their survey, CCB found that 76% of respondents had a negative attitude towards predators, but only 2% stated that they would kill a predator on sight. Their main concern was the threat to their livestock. This concern opens the door for cooperative efforts to improve livestock management and potentially increase the value of predators in this ecosystem.

To address some of the more dynamic issues, such as illegal trade and confiscated or orphaned cheetah cubs, CCB built a base camp in Ghanzi, in the Western Kalahari. It is strategically located along the wildlife corridor, enabling CCB to easily access the core conservation areas for cheetahs in the country. With continued collaboration from all stakeholders, there is hope for the cheetah in Botswana.

The Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation Program supports Cheetah Conservation Botswana field and community programs. For more on CCB, go to http://www.cheetahbotswana.com/

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Jan
05

International Rhino Foundation

Posted by in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured,Rhino,What You Can Do

Join us for our next installment of the 2009-2010 Call of the Wild Speaker Series. Enjoy an evening of hors d’oeuvres, breathtaking photographs and first-hand stories from conservationists on the frontlines in the battle to help save the world’s wildlife.

Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis) Ngorongoro Crater Tanzania January 28th, 2010: Dr. Susie Ellis, Executive Director, International Rhino Foundation: The International Rhino Foundation is dedicated to the survival of the world’s rhino species through conservation and research. While all five rhino species remain in terrible peril from poaching, forest loss and habitat conversion, and from human settlements encroaching on their habitats in Africa, Indonesia, and India – all are in better shape than might be expected because of the International Rhino Foundation’s work.

Houston Zoo Brown Education Center. Doors open at 6:30pm. Speaker event at 7:00pm. For tickets: http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/

Jan
03

Too Many Phonebooks?

Posted by in Uncategorized

I am just passing this along as I get ready to toss out the phonebooks under the counter from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009…where do they all come from! I think I will build a fort with them first.

You can Opt Out of receiving these at the following website: http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/

You can recycle your unused phone directories at http://www.yellowpages.com/recycle

 This is completely your choice. If you use them, by all means do not opt out of the individual directories.

Jan
02

Things to partake of in 2010

Posted by in Uncategorized

I hate year ending lists. So here is a year starting list of both children’s and adult books and video you may want to take a look at in 2010.

Disclaimer – I have read/viewed most of these and the opinion is my own and not that of the Houston Zoo’s. I just thought they were interesting to read. Since I read mostly field guides, this list will be extremely short-sighted…

Documentaries:

Ken Burns National Parks was on PBS this year and the series was excellent.

Planet Earth has been repeated on Discovery Channel quite a bit this year but try and catch Blue Planet which I believe came before the Planet Earth series. There is little on Earth which is more amazing then the unknown nature of the world’s Oceans.

On to the books…

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. Neither truly rat, nor mole, yet mostly naked – what happens when one wants to get dressed?

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. 10 years later and still a classic. Check out Janell Cannon’s Verdi when you are done.

The Story of the Little Mole Who Went In Search of Whodunnit by Werner Holzwirth. Yes, kids do enjoy this topic.

The King of the Gobi. This children’s book by John Hare is only available through the Wild Camel Protection Foundation in the UK unfortunately http://www.wildcamels.com/ We are all familiar with Camels but few people realize the Bactrian Camel is only a few steps away from becoming extinct in the wild. John Hare’s The Lost Camels of Tartary and Shadows Across the Sahara are available in the US.

Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes by Pam Turner. Great photos and takes you into the world of wildlife medicine in the field

The Rhino With Glue on Shoes And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients. Lucy Spelman editor. An assortment of short stories from zoo veterinarians.

Rare Plants of Texas: A Field Guide. Texas A&M University Press. Not a sit down and read book but at 650+ pages – a very good guide to the rare plants of Texas which oddly happens to be the title.

Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin. Samuel Turvey. Makes you think twice about how things are supposed to work…

Living Light by Kevin Schafer. Fantastic book of photography images.

Mountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation and Coexistence. This is a good introduction for anyone interested in mountain gorilla conservation.

Stories That Float from Afar: Ancestral Folklore of the San of Southern Africa (Texas A&M University anthropology series). Collection of folk stories from the “Bushmen” of Southern Africa

Orangutans: Geographical Variation in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation. Yes, I know, not exactly nightstand book but I read most of it and thus it makes the list.

Lastly, let me finish with this one:

Fragile: The Human Condition. Howard G. Buffett and Shakira Mebarak. Images are stunning and the reality of the messages will make you want to step back and hopefully motivate people to make a change. Sometimes we read books to relax and get away from the day to day. This book may just toss you right back in.

Jan
01

Art for Orangutans by Orangutans?

Posted by in Elephant,orangutan

2008 Event Painting "I-Ching"

2008 Event Painting "I-Ching"

The Houston Zoo’s 4th Pongos Helping Pongos Art Event will be held at the G Gallery beginning at 6:00 p.m. on March 27th. This very special evening will feature over 40 individual paintings done by our orangutans, elephants, siamangs babirusa and clouded leopards. Each painting will be professionally framed thanks to our partners YolArt Framing and accompanied by conservation information, an animal artist biography and photograph. The paintings will be displayed at G Gallery in the Heights for a single night in a fine arts setting, including refreshments and stunning photographic portraits of the featured artists. This special event concludes at 8:00 p.m.

All the paintings, portraits  and photography will be sold by silent auction with all the proceeds donated to the preservation of orangutans and other animals in their natural habitat on the island of Borneo.

The benefits of this program are many. It provides Zoo animals an outlet to express their intelligence, personalities, and creative abilities. It allows them to fulfill their mission as ambassadors for their species by generating precious funds that support conservation actions on the ground and behavioral enrichment initiatives at the Zoo. At the same time, this program engages the local community, creating a deeper appreciation for the lives of all animals and inspiring a greater concern for their well-being. And all of this is achieved through the exhibition and sale of the animals’ own art work through the annual event that we call Pongos Helping Pongos. (Pongo pygmaeus is the scientific name for orangutans, so this translates to Orangutans Helping Orangutans.) 

Since 2004, Pongos Helping Pongos has raised over $100,000 for the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project and Elephant Conservation Program in Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia and almost $20,000 in support of field conservation efforts at Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park. Both projects are located on the island of Borneo and represent some of the last remaining habitats for wild orangutans. In addition, a portion of the the funds are applied toward continuing orangutan behavioral enrichment projects at the Houston Zoo. We are very proud to be a partner of the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Program, supporting critical research, education, and awareness programs for orangutans, elephants, and habitat protection in the region.

We look forward to hosting the best Pongos Helping Pongos event we have ever held, so call your friends and save the date on your calendar for a truly memorable evening. Come and enjoy the wine and, appetizers and join us for this unique event that supports our artistic animals and the field conservation efforts focused on their wild counterparts.

For more information or to help support this event please contact conservation@houstonzoo.org

Bornean Orangutan, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo courtesy Paul Swen. Available at 2010 event.

Bornean Orangutan, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo courtesy Paul Swen. Available at 2010 event.

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