Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category

Gorilla Country

Posted by Peter in Africa,Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Elephant,Endangered Species,Field Research,Gorilla,community-based conservation

In the Republic of Congo, the Houston Zoo is partnering 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. 

Why should we care to protect wildlife in places so far away? Watch the video of wildlife living in and around Mbeli Bai in the Republic of Congo.

Did you watch the video? All 5 minutes? We would like to hear your thoughts on this 5 minute glimpse into a very special place.

If you would like to help support the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Program and the Houston Zoo’s efforts to save threatened wildlife in Africa, please click on the button below.

Rwanda Calling? Volunteers Wanted!

Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured,Gorilla,Travel,What You Can Do,community-based conservation

Looking for a new experience working with children at the base of a volcano where half the world’s Mountain Gorillas remain? If so, you can volunteer with Art of Conservation in Rwanda. 

Art of Conservation, Inc. educates Rwandans about conservation and the importance of maintaining a healthy environment for both people and animals while instilling in them an understanding and respect for themselves, their peers, and the natural world. The Houston Zoo is a proud supporter of the Art of Conservation program in Rwanda

Art of Conservation (AoC)  is seeking a dedicated, experienced administrative support intern to work directly with AoC Director Julie Ghrist. Interns must commit at least six weeks to the position. After six weeks, the intern position may be extended at the discretion of the Director. For a description of the position and application – link here

Rushubi Primary School 5th grade class

AoC also occasionally accepts volunteers (link here for application) for short- to medium-term volunteer placements. Their needs vary depending on the staffing situation and class schedule. In general, they seek honest, hard-working individuals who can offer support in one or more of the following areas:

  • Teaching the English-language portion of our conservation education curriculum. We are particularly interested in volunteer teachers who have a background in conservation, biology, agriculture, medicine, or public health.
  • Teaching the English-language portion of our art curriculum. We are particularly interested in volunteer teachers who have a background in drawing, painting, music, or drama.
  • Administrative work including memo writing and grant research.
  • English-language training for non-English speaking staff.
  • Computer skills training for staff.

Ready for an experience of a lifetime? Well, here is one where you can both learn and give at the same time.

I wonder if Art of Conservation will let me volunteer with them this week...maybe I will just eat some bamboo instead

Spay and Neuter Your Pets

Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured,What You Can Do,community-based conservation

First a story from Botswana: Cheetah Conservation Botswana works with local communities to keep their livestock guard dogs healthy. The livestock guard dogs are used to keep predators away from the community herds thus removing the need to shoot animals such as cheetahs and leopards which would normally prey on goats and cows. A little health prevention for domestic animals will go a long way in protecting wildlife in the region.

This week Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) commenced a sterilization and vaccination mobile clinic for livestock guarding dogs. CCB offers free veterinary care for working guard dogs protecting livestock against predators. The mobile clinic is assisted by two overseas vets and will be visiting towns across Botswana travelling 600 miles over 4 days.

Earlier in the month of June, CCB launched its 4th annual ‘ Best livestock guarding dog in Botswana’ competition. Livestock guarding dogs are used with sheep, goats and cattle to alert them and protect them against predators. Every year CCB holds a competition to find the best dog in the country. The 2010 competition has just begun and is being …advertised on local radio. Winners win veterinary,hardware and dog supplies, and a trip for the family into the Okavango Delta.

What does that have to do with you? It’s all about you isn’t it? I will tell you anyway. Keeping your domestic pets healthy here at home can also help protect wildlife. We have all seen the stray cat and dog on the street – and they eventually are forced to eat native wildlife such as birds and small mammals when they can.

There is no need for the massive surplus in pet dogs and cats and they do not need to end up in shelters – spay and neuter your pets (unless you are breeding registered pets for competitions), there are plenty of kittens and puppies out there for every household and shelters would love for you to adopt today. Another great option here is H.O.P.E. (Homeless and Orphaned Pets Endeavor) which is a is an all-foster, no kill adoption group based in the Houston area. You may see them out at the local PetSmart on weekends.

Bonus question: To win a free small plush animal from the Houston Zoo – tell us what tv personality always ended his show “Don’t forget to spay and neuter your pets”. Three winners will be notified next week.

Art of Conservation is Saving Gorillas by Inspiring Childern

Posted by Renee in Africa,Endangered Species,Gorilla,community-based conservation

We are proud to partner with an inspirational organization called Art of Conservation.  The Art of Conservation project commenced in 2007 and works in poor rural communities bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.  Kids are given the opportunity to connect with nature and endangered species through various forms of art.  The focus of the program is to empower the kids and instill a sense of pride and respect for the environment and for each other.   

Every kid(including myself) loves to dress up and pretend.  What better way to enstill a deeper empathy and understanding for their local endangered species then to have the kids imagine being the species?   Each year in June during Igitaramo, a cultural festival that celebrates Rwanda’s environment and biodiversity, AoC students put on song and dance performances while wearing the masks.

For “Mu Birunga,” a song about mountain gorillas, students get to wear these gorilla masks; for “Heroes of the Forest,” a song about the many different wild animals that inhabit Rwanda, costumed children depict more than 10 different species.

Staff artists craft these beautiful animal masks in the Art of Conservation studio, depicting mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, forest buffaloes, and other species that inhabit Rwanda’s national parks. The artists sculpt masks using clay molds and papier mache, and hand paint each to look as realistic as possible.

Youth programs are critical to the success of  any conservation effort.  AoC approaches learning through a unique method, using visual, auditory, and performance arts to teach lessons and inspire creativity in its students.

Orphan Cheetahs Released: Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Posted by Peter in Africa,Carnivores,Endangered Species,community-based conservation

June 21st saw the release of Cheetah Conservation Botswana’s orphaned cheetahs in northern Botswana. Both cubs were fitted with satelite GPS collars to record their movements post release. The cubs are been temporarily held in a large boma, within the concession whilst …they adjust to their new surroundings. An update the following week showed they were adapting to their new environment and doing well.

From the initial news in March of ’09 of the transfer of the cubs from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, to the rearing and release of these two individuals, to get the orphaned cheetahs to this point just shows how much work Cheetah Conservation Botswana has put into them and their community.

Cheetah Brothers: Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Posted by Peter in Africa,Carnivores,Endangered Species,community-based conservation

Early June 1010:

The two orphaned cheetah cubs being cared for at CCB’s Western Kalahari camp in Ghanzi have been successfully moved to their new home in the Selinda Reserve in Northern Botswana. The two cubs named Tlotlo (Respect) and Kgotso (Peace) came to CCB when they were 6 months old. The cubs had been caught by a community in Southern Botswana and whilst efforts were made to locate their mother, they were not successful. So the brothers moved to the CCB Ghanzi camp in March 2009 and have since been raised with minimal human contact, preparing them for eventual release into the wild.

Last week, the two brothers had medical health checks and were fitted with satellite navigation GPS collars. The collars will enable us to keep track of their progress once released. The CCB team and the young cheetahs then made the 600km journey from Ghanzi to the Selinda Reserve, in Northern Botswana. Their new home is an unfenced 320,000 acre private reserve, abundant with wildlife, including predators such as wild dog and leopard, large herbivores such as elephant and hippo and a wide range of natural prey for the cheetah, such as impala, duiker and hares.

The cheetah behaved extremely well during the journey to Maun by vehicle and then on to Selinda Reserve by light aircraft. Once landed at the dirt airstrip in Selinda, we headed to the 50 acre enclosure set up as their new temporary home. The enclosure allows time for the cheetah to adjust to their new environment, refine hunting techniques and begin to associate the area as their territory. Dr Kyle Good and research assistant Harriet Reeves released the cats next to a natural pan within the enclosure. The brothers exited their boxes calmly and cautiously, as they began to explore their new surroundings. They are now settling in to the temporary enclosure before their final release onto the reserve in a few weeks time. Then for the first time since they were 6 months old they will be able to explore their environment without coming to a fence. However, they will have many obstacles to overcome, including perfecting their hunting abilities and surviving in an area with other predators, but we are confident in their abilities and believe they deserve their chance for freedom. Lorraine Boast, CCB Research Coordinator, will remain at Selinda for several weeks after the release to monitor their progress in their new wilderness home. They will then be monitored by their satellite collars for a further 2 years.

Check back tomorrow for a release update…

One of Houston Zoo's Cheetahs when they were still cubs-2007

Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Posted by Peter in Africa,Carnivores,Endangered Species,Featured,community-based conservation

The Houston Zoo has been  supporting the work of Cheetah Conservation Botswana since 2008, offering funding for operating support and educational programming. Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) aims to preserve the nation’s cheetah population through scientific research, community outreach and education, working with rural communities to promote coexistence with Botswana’s rich diversity of predator species.  

The project was formed in 2003 to address the threat to the nation’s cheetah population. The major challenge for the project, funded by grant aid and donor support, is one of improving community perceptions towards predators and ensuring that retaliatory killings do not continue to threaten cheetah numbers, while, at the same time, supporting and protecting rural community welfare. Your generous support is already helping us to achieve that.

Only by working together with communities who live side-by-side with predators, with initiatives tailored to meet their needs and priorities, do we hope to foster the attitudes of coexistence that will see cheetahs remain as an essential component in this remarkable ecosystem and as a flagship species for the rich biodiversity of Botswana.  

Over the next few days, we thought we would update you on some exciting news surrounding the release of two orphaned cheetahs. The two cubs named Tlotlo (Respect) and Kgotso (Peace) came to CCB when they were 6 months old. The cubs had been caught by a community in Southern Botswana and whilst efforts were made to locate their mother, they were not successful. So the brothers moved to the CCB Ghanzi camp in March 2009 and have since been raised with minimal human contact, preparing them for eventual release into the wild.

Baby Elephant Rescue in Hwange National Park

Posted by Renee in Africa,Elephant,community-based conservation

Here is a different type of baby elephant video.  My friends at Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe spend a lot of their time following packs of African Wild Dogs through Hwange nation park .  Occasionally, they find  injured animals needing their assistance along the way.  They often help animals with snare (wire trap) wounds that need to be treated.   One afternoon Jealous (this is actually his name, native Zimbabwean parents name children after English words they have heard or seen, but don’t understand what they mean.  His name does not describe his nature.), PDC’s head tracker, found a baby elephant trapped upside down in a water trough and called Peter Blinston, PDC’s project manager, to assist in a rescue.  Watch the heroic rescue below.

Mountain Gorilla: Follow along at your own pace

Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Field Research,Gorilla,community-based conservation

From here on out we ask you to follow along on the Gorilla Doctors blog or even their Facebook page and immerse yourselves in the day-to-day lives of the staff and Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Today we introduce you to Dr. Fred Nizeyimana,, an in-country field veterinarian from Uganda, on a visit to one of the Mountain Gorilla groups.

“Today I went for routine health check of the Nyakagezi group. The group was in the place closer to Sabinyo base. We found the group feeding on bamboo shoots and vines. The group was fine and healthy. I observed all the 9 gorillas and they were feeding normally. All the Silverbacks were feeding and moving together. The Blackback were the ones that trailed the group but not far from the others. Group composition: Mark (dominant Silverback), Bigingo (old Silverback), Mafia (young Silverback), Ndungutse (Blackback), Rukundo (Blackback), Inshuti (adult female), Inshuti’s baby and an un-named adult female and her baby. Their dung was normal. Parameters like breathing rate and rhythm observed physically were within normal limits. Musculo-skeletal and integument systems, no wounds observed.”

We all have responsibilities in our day-to-day lives. Theirs are to monitor and protect the world’s remaning population of Mountain Gorillas.

Mountain Gorilla: Summer Reading

Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Field Research,Gorilla

If you are not visiting the Houston Zoo, swimming in a pool or going to the beach – you are most likely locked inside with air conditioning turned on. I understand completely, they tell us the official start of summer is June 21st but it has been ascorching hot for 6 weeks and we are tired of it already.

So add this to your summer reading list – that’s right reading, something us older folks did “back in the day” of 3 television channels which were black and white. The horror! Actually it was horrible as we did not have books like this to read.

GORILLA DOCTORS: SAVING ENDANGERED GREAT APES by Pamela S. Turner. GORILLA DOCTORS: SAVING ENDANGERED GREAT APES written for children age nine to twelve was named an American Library Association Notable Book, a National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Book, and is the winner of the Flora Stiglitz Straus Nonfiction Award and the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award. Half of all royalties from the sale of the book go directly to Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. -the same program we have been gorilla blogging about the past few days.

There are a number of reasons to get this book. It has great photographs, a fantastic story about wildlife veterinarians who literally make house-calls in the forest-many who you are meeting through the blogs, and it supports the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. Can’t get out of the house for fear of melting in the Houston sun? Easy enough then, you are already on the computer so just link here “Gorilla Doctors” and pop over to Amazon for the book.

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