Archive for the ‘Endangered Species’ Category

Feb
08

Following lemurs in the wild

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Travel

One of my zoo keeper friends was one of the fortunate few that got to join the researchers in Madagascar to assist in tracking the Carolina Five.  I treasure the stories she shared with me about following the group through the thick forest.  One of the lemurs, unfortunately, remained in a captive mind set at first and tended to prefer the ground.  It is very dangerous for this species of lemur to spend extended periods of time on the ground in the wild, so she described continuously pushing his fuzzy rump up the tree trunks until he started to recognize the yummy fruit he could find higher in the trees.

Her job was to watch the lemurs’ every move and her description of trying to keep her eye on these agile creatures high in the forest canopy travelling at brake neck speeds while struggling to navigate the forest floor riddled with trip vines was priceless.  When they rested in a tree she was instructed to document what they were doing, the angle of the tree branch, and collect any feces deposits.  This sounds a lot easier then it was. She was often quite a distance behind the lemurs and by the time she staggered huffing and puffing to the point of “rest” the lemurs would leap off on their merry way once again.

She said the front of her shirt would fill with bugs of all shapes, sizes and colors during her mad dashes to keep up with the lemurs and described trying to dump these out in mid run.  She often lost track of the group after a face plant or two and would then have to follow their calls to relocate them. 

Through it all it was, of course, a highlight of her life to document captive lemurs living in the wild.  This project was the first example of reintroduction I remember hearing about and was definitely one of the stories that inspired me to get into this wonderful career.

 

Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy worked with this project early in his career.  He actually earned his PhD from Stony Brook University in 2002 for his study of Black and White Ruffed Lemurs.  CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets to hear about Jonah’s work saving lemurs and other species in Madagascar on February 15th at 7:00 pm.    Be one of the first to hear all about his recent discovery of a brand-new lemur species!  Enjoy beverages and tasty appetizers from Houston’s own Beaver’s restaurant and meet some of the Houston Zoo’s animals from Madagascar up-close.
If you are interested in journeying to this amazing land join the Houston zoo on our trip to Madagascar in 2013. For more information CLICK HERE.

If you are interested in the previous  post of this story CLICK HERE or scroll down.

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Feb
07

Introducing and Re-introducing Ruffed Lemurs

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Endangered Species

Ruffed lemurs are definitely one of my favorite species of lemur!  They are terrible to clean up after, and horribly loud, but delightful characters.  When I was a zoo keeper, I worked closely with the oldest Red-ruffed lemur in captivity at the time.   I had to do some training with him once and the only reward he would consistently work for was his own reflection in a mirror.  The fact that he appeared to adore himself made him even more adorable to me! 

Ruffed lemurs came onto my radar in the mid 90’s after watching a documentary with John Cleese describing a re-introduction of captive ruffed lemurs back to Madagascar. The project was the first lemur reintroduction effort of its kind. Five animals were carefully selected for genetics and personality from Duke Primate Center in North Carolina, a world class lemur facility.  They kept the lemurs in very natural settings to encourage natural behavior.

They were nick-named the Carolina Five and were flown to Madagascar, then carried to a remote park.  All five of the lemurs were collared and released into the reserve with researchers following close behind. 

To be continued….

This month’s Call of the Wild speaker, Dr Jonah Ratsimbazafy has assisted with this and many other conservation efforts in Madagascar.  Purchase your tickets now to hear about Jonah’s work saving lemurs and other species on February 15th at 7:00 pm.    Be one of the first to hear all about his recent discovery of a brand-new lemur species!  Enjoy beverages and tasty appetizers from Houston’s own Beaver’s restaurant.  CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

If you are interested in journeying to this amazing land, join the Houston zoo on our trip to Madagascar in 2013. CLICK HERE for more information.

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Feb
05

Lemurs Love Rafting

Posted by in Africa,Endangered Species,Field Research,Travel

I have always been fascinated by Madagascar.  Did you know that it is the world leader in primate diversity?   The story that many schools of thought support is that the earliest form of primate, the lemur, drifted over to Madagascar on a piece of land/rafty thingy.  It creates an interesting image in one’s head (or maybe just my head) – the ring-tailed lemur was definitely Gilligan, the skipper had to be an aya-aya, the millionaire was a sifaka…., but I digress.  Anyway, this primitive primate floated over to an island of paradise, an island with so much diversity there was no need to compete for resources.  Unlike the other early primates that dispersed to other lands and evolved to have larger brains enabling them to compete for food, the lemurs simply specialized. They evolved to accommodate their individual niches.  And as a result we now have over 97 different, fairly dim (relatively speaking of course), fabulous species of lemurs.

It is often hard to believe that species discoveries are still being made in this day and age, but new species keep miraculously revealing themselves in places like Madagascar.  Last month there was yet another exciting addition to the lemur family.  This month’s Call of the Wild speaker, Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy, a Malagasy primatologist, was one of the scientists to find it.  Come and be the first to hear about this brand new species on Feb. 15th at 7:00 pm at the Houston Zoo.  CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.

Do you want to see lemurs in the wild?  Join the Houston zoo on our trip to Madagascar in 2013. CLICK HERE for more information. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jan
13

The Houston Zoo Cares About Diamondback Terrapins, By Rachel Godambe

Posted by in Conservation,Diamondback Terrapins,Endangered Species,Uncategorized

Do you love turtles? I love Turtles! Do you want to do something to help preserve turtles and their habitat? I know I do! Houston Zoo keepers have planned an awesome turtle bonanza weekend for all you turtle lovers!! Starting Friday, January 20th the East Texas Herpetological Society is hosting a lecture by our very own Houston Zoo Keeper, Jordan Gray about the Jewel of the Salt Marsh, the Diamondback Terrapin. The Diamondback Terrapins lives exclusively in brackish water and was once hunted to the brink of extinction for use in turtle soup. Although numbers appear to have rebounded considerably, their population status along the Texas coastline is not fully known. Due to its unique requirements this species remains especially susceptible to local extinction. Potential threats to survival include habitat alteration, crab trap bycatch, boating, and other human activities. Natural disasters such as hurricanes may also negatively impact the species because of the fragile nature of its limited range. Extensive field research will lead to a better understanding of this species in Texas and offer potential strategies to ensure its continued survival. This free lecture will be at the Houston Zoo Brown Education Building. Doors open at 7:30 and enter through Gate 5. Enjoy refreshments at 7:30 pm and talk begins at 8:00 pm. Enjoy the rest of your weekend here at the Houston Zoo for the Spotlight On Species Event for the Diamondback Terrapins at the Reptile Building from 10 am to 3 pm Saturday, January 21st and Sunday, January 22nd. There will be crafts to do, activities, and keeper chats galore! You can even leave the Zoo with information on how to help the Houston Zoo Conservation Department with their annual Crab Trap Clean up next month. Please come out to the SOS event next weekend and stop by the Crab Trap Clean Up booth in front of the Reptiles Building for more information. Together we can help turtles!!

By: Rachel Godambe, Natural Encounters Keeper

 

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Nov
30

The Houston Zoo Supporting Painted Dog Conservation with Social Media

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Supporting Painted Dog Conservation

The Houston Zoo’s conservation department is always looking for practical ways to assist our wildlife conservation partners.  We strive to provide them with the tools they need to succeed in saving species. 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) is a very good community-based conservation project in Zimbabwe that hires over 60 locals to help run their various conservation programs.  Their efforts have had tremendous results, but they often struggled to promote and share the successes effectivley with their supporters.   To that end, last month we sent social media specialist Molly Feltner, communications officer for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, to PDC to help them with their external communications. During her time she was able to record audio interviews with all the project’s management staff, which will be used to rewrite text for the website and produce a multimedia video. Staff were taught how to edit photos for the web and how to make the best use of social media through Facebook.

Molly documented aspects of the project in order to create a complete hi-res photo archive for PDC staff to use in publicity.  She photographed the children’s education program(the Bush Camp), conservation club classes, the community projects funded by PDC (such as bore holes, community gardens, and projects with the health clinics), the captive painted dogs housed at the rehabilitation center and the wild packs living around the center.  She got footage of the anti-poaching unit activity and the Iganyana art center and artisans that create the snare wire sculptures. She also helped redesign the newsletter that is sent out to the PDC’s supporters on a monthly basis. 

We will continue to assist PDC with this effort, but we are happy to report that many of PDC’s staff are better equipped to share the good news coming from Zimbabwe!

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Nov
29

Update from Borneo Carnivore Project

Posted by in Borneo,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research

Houston Zoo Carnivore Supervisor Kevin Hodge is checking in from Borneo:

We just got back from another camping trip in the Crocker Mountain Range here in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia and Houston Zoo summer intern Lyndsey went with us this time. It was just a two day and one night trip. We collected photos from 4 different sites and each site has at least two cameras with a few having four. When we go to the camera site we change batteries, clean the cameras, put new silica gel to absorb the moisture and download the pictures. The last camera site we were going to heck took 6 hours for us to get to in some very steep and slippery terrain only to find that someone had stolen the cameras. All of the data was lost along with $1000 worth of Reconyx cameras.

On the second day the entire day was uphill including a few nearly vertical climb on very wet soil. We climbed from 600 meters above sea level to 1400 at our highest point. The gps is acting up a bit so sometimes we are not getting accurate readings where we are. When we got home today we looked at the photos and there was a clouded leopard on one of them! This makes 4 sites and a total of 5 clouded leopard photos which is pretty impressive considering there has not been much luck with getting photos in this region for these species.

After looking closely at the pictures we have determined it is the same male clouded leopard we have seen at all sites so there is at least 1 in the area. The carnivores seem to prefer traveling the ridge lines of the mountains which is a lot easier to travel than up and down the sides of the mountains but the hunters also like to use these same ridge lines.

So far we have photos of hose’s civet, clouded leopard, marbled cat, Malay civet, pangolin, common palm civet, banded palm civet, masked palm civet, linsang, binturong, Malay weasel, yellow throated Martin, short tailed mongoose, Malay badger,sun bear, leopard cat, bearded pig, red and yellow muntjac, sambar deer, mouse deer, great argus pheasant, pitta, tree shrew, moon rat, squirrels, and hornbill. We have also heard orangutans and Bornean gibbons, grey leafed monkey and a possible sun bear. It has been a great trip but exhausting.

Leopard Cat

We are going to Sepilok tomorrow to visit the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre and then I will be home in about a week!

In case you were curious about what a Borneo Sun Bear looked like. Photo from Danau Girang Field Centre 2010

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Nov
28

Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Posted by in Africa,Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research

 

Just a quick update from our partners at Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB).

 

CCB has been engaged by the government Wildlife department to do training in Northern conflict hot spot areas and set up demonstrations of ideal kraals and livestock guarding dogs in the wildlife rich areas of theOkavango, Makgadikgadi Pans and Chobe. This is an exciting initiative which if successful has the potential to be replicated elsewhere in Botswana.

 

CCB further expanded its farmer training program, with the assistance of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. In August, CCB ran its first 5 day farmer training course at the new Tiisano Education Centre. The course aimed to provide training on best practices in range, livestock and wildlife management and increase local capacity to reduce cheetah and other predator conflicts. Certain farmers in the region will also be selected for direct support to improve their methods and be monitored.

CCB Ambassador Cheetah at Mokolodi Nature Reserve

 

A livestock guarding dog clinic was held in the region in collaboration with Maun Animal Welfare Service, with 41 dogs receiving sterilization and vaccinations. After this a bush camp for Kalahari schools took place at the Education Centre and the children learnt about wildlife, the environment and conservation. The new Centre is becoming a great resource for CCB and is an ideal training site for many audiences. Thanks must go to the CCB Ghanzi team and our neighbors for holding back the recent bush fires for over 3 days and preventing all our hard work go up in flames!

Livestock Guarding Dogs at CCB's Ghanzi location

 

As for cheetah! We have recently collared a female with 3 cubs residing on the game farm next to CCB’s Kalahari base. This will be the first female we have collared in the area which is great news as it will significantly add to our understanding of cheetah movements and ecology in the area. The coalition of males collared earlier in the year are from the same area and their movements continue to be monitored. Please visit their News section by linking here

All photos courtesy Houston Zoo

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Nov
23

Borneo’s Sumatran Rhinoceros. One step away from extinction

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,Rhino

Borneo’s Sumatran Rhinoceros is literally one step away from extinction. There are an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinos surviving.  Between 12 and 25 animals remain on the island of Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia. The remainder of the population lives in three Indonesian National Parks in Sumatra: Gunung Leuser, Way Kambas, and Bukit Barisan Selatan.

Sumatran Rhinoceros "Tam". Borneo Rhino Sanctuary, Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Photo by Paul Swen.

So, at best guess, no more than 25 animals are living on Borneo in a completely fragmented habitat and it is believed that none of these have reproduced for nearly four years. A recent editorial in Malaysia’s New Strait Times paper by John Payne, a world renowned conservationist who has lived in Sabah, Borneo since the 1970′s notes that open discussions need to take place with both government and non-government organizations or we will be witness to the disappearance of yet another iconic mammal.

Too many species disappear not only from habitat loss and poaching but from the failure of organizations, with apparently the best interest of the animal in mind, to not be able to cooperate with each other. Hopefully, the Sabah Wildlife Department and partners will be able to make a difference for this species.

Sumatran Rhino, Borneo 2008

A last-ditch effort to save the species, the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary programme, is under way in Sabah, a government programme implemented by the Sabah Wildlife Department with support from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Borneo Rhino Alliance and Yayasan Sime Darby and World Wildlife Fund.

Read more: Last ditch bid to save the rhinos – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/last-ditch-bid-to-save-the-rhinos-1.8370#ixzz1eLlVMScQ

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Nov
21

Houston Zoo’s Carnivore Supervisor, Kevin Hodge in Borneo

Posted by in Borneo,Carnivores,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,orangutan,Uncategorized

Houston Zoo Carnivore Supervisor, Kevin Hodge is part of an effort to assist the Borneo Clouded Leopard Project (BCLP) in Sabah, Malaysia. Very limited data exists regarding Bornean felids in higher altitude areas, they will be deploying camera traps in the hills and lower Montane forests of Sabah’s Crocker Range National Park. BCLP has developed a research approach primarily focused around multiple 6-month camera trap surveys designed to estimate clouded leopard densities and felid community structure in areas of forest exposed to different management strategies.  

Camera trap photo of Clouded Leopard in Kinabatangan floodplain. This is what the project is hoping to find in the Crocker Mountain Range

Kevin is in Borneo now, enjoy his description of his first few days with the project.

So, I discovered today I am clearly out of shape.  Just for reference, Crocker is nearly 6,000 feet above sea level – Houston is 50 feet above sea level. Therefore my body has not figured out the 5,950 foot difference just yet.

Our group split in to two groups; one went on a three day hike and ours did just one long day. We set up two camera traps and cleared some forest trails to funnel animals towards it. We only went a total of about 5k if you were to measure in a straight line but with going up and down mountains repeatedly my legs and lungs will argue that it was much more.  I pulled 36 leeches off of me this evening and my pant legs were pink from the blood.  Hopefully I will acclimate to this altitude soon so I don’t slow the group down too much.  We saw a rhinoceros hornbill and we heard orangutans, argus pheasant, and sambar deer.  They have only seen 4 mammals total up in this region on this project so far so things are much more difficult to find than in the Kinabatagan River floodplain where animals are drawn to the open spaces near the river. Does not mean they are not here, just much harder to see and the wildlife are not as accustomed to seeing people wandering around their forests.  We also came across a hunters poaching camp and we went to talk with them but they we’re not there.  We are having trouble with the hunters stealing some of the camera traps which is unfortunately common on some projects, even a past effort I was part of in Texas in the Big Thicket. Otherwise all is great, just waiting on my body to catch up. More to come from Crocker National Park in Sabah, Malaysia…

To learn more about the Houston Zoo’s efforts in Borneo – link here

For more on the Bornean Clouded Leopard Programme – link here

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Nov
18

Procrasti-Nation and Cell Phone Recycling

Posted by in Africa,Chimpanzee,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Going Green,Gorilla,What You Can Do

Have you ever asked yourself: What are all these broken cell phones doing in the  drawer?  And then your “other” voice says:  They are not really in the way, I’ll throw them out later.

I had a friend bring me a bag of 6 phones and chargers last week. They were in a box in his garage for 2 years. 6 phones? There are 2 people in his family! We cannot keep up with the cell phone revolution and our landfills should not have to either. To make matters worse, every phone not recovered and recycled is equal to minerals and resources coming directly out of the African Congo. Everyone says – “What can we do?”. Here is what you can do and it really makes a difference.

Bring your cell phone to the zoo for recycling and help save wildlfe, and people, in Africa. Civil wars and rebel groups thrive on the illegal trade in the resources which make our phones,  laptops, digital cameras, and video games run. There is a mineral in our phones called coltan and it acts as a capacitor in your phone. Armed groups in eastern Congo that control minerals, mines and trading routes generate an estimated $180 million each year by trading four main minerals: tin, tantalum (colton), tungsten, and gold.

And with these groups comes habitat destruction, illegal poaching and bushmeat, as well as the loss of human life due to the civil unrest. Something as simple as a cell phone has created a power struggle over resources. By recycling that resource so that it can be refurbished and re-used, we cut down on the amount of product imported, and hopefully slow down the trade.

Want to start a company wide collection program? Schools, Scout troops? Wildlife can use everyone’s help. Contact conservation@houstonzoo.org for more information.

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