Posted by Peter in Endangered Species, Featured
Part 4 of our Tiger species profiles
Indochinese Tiger Panthera tigris corbetti
Endangered, this species is distributed across Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Southern China, Cambodia and Laos with a population of appriximately 700+ individuals although no single population holds more than 250 individuals.
Males of this species can reach up to 400lbs with females frequently around 250lbs. The IUCN Redlist notes that based on genetic analysis, Luo et al. (2004) identified P. t. corbetti as the likely ancestral tiger population, with the radiation into other subspecies taking place 72,000-108,000 years ago. This makes this species the mother (and father) of all Tiger subspecies.
According to the Save the Tiger Fund website, the population distribution is believed to be:
Maps and information at: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/136853/0
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species
Part 3 of our Tiger species profile
Malayan Tiger Panthera tigris jacksoni
Malayan Tiger, Zoo Melaka, Malaysia
Recently discovered in 2004…ok, not discovered as they knew it was there, but re-classified as a distinct subspecies in 2004, this population is found only in the Malay Peninsula which includes the southern tip of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Although the population is beleived to be around 500-600 individuals, this species is also on the decline and is considered Endangered.
The Houston Zoo currently houses two Malayan Tigers which can be seen across from the African Lions.
For an update on Malaysian Tiger conservation, check out the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) or their Facebook page
For maps and detailed information: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/136893/0
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species
Part 2 of our Tiger species profile
Sumatran Tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae
This species is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is the smallest of the tiger species at 200-250 pounds. Population estimates of approximately 400-500 individuals, this species is considered Critically Endangered. Although poaching is a concern as with all the tiger species, the Sumatran Tiger suffers from high rates habitat loss and fragmentation due to logging and palm oil plantation development. This species also suffers from a high rate of human-wildlife conflict on the island.
For more on this species, go to: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/15966/0
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species, Featured
We thought we would catch you up on the 6 living Tiger species over the next week so check back daily for a new Tiger Blog.
Siberian (Amur) Tiger, Panthera tigris altaica
Also known today as Amur Tigers, this species can be found in the Southeast corner of Russia in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of the Amur River. Their former range included northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula, and as far west as Mongolia. Amurs are the largest living species of Tiger weighing in between 500 and 600+ lbs.
Critically Endangered, this is a population in decline: It is believed that only 320-400 Amur Tigers exist today in the wild, mostly in Russia with perhaps 10-20 in China. There are close to 450 Amur Tigers in accreditated zoos today including North America’s Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariua (EAZA)
In the early 1900’s, this population had dropped below 50 individuals as hunting (for sport as well as due to human-wildlife confilct) took a toll on this population until the 1940’s when the Soviet Union banned hunting of the species. Poaching still continues to this day due as Tiger’s are marketed for purported medicinal purposes.
For a more detailed account on this species:
1) http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/15956/0
2) http://www.savethetigerfund.org
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species, What You Can Do, orangutan
Pongos Helping Pongos:
Paintings by Orangutans, for Orangutans
Pongos Helping Pongos Art Auction and event
March 27th, 2010 G Gallery in the Heights 6:00-8:00 p.m.
301 East 11th Street, Houston, Texas
The Houston Zoo’s 4th Pongos Helping Pongos Art Event will be held at the
G Gallery beginning at 6pm 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 at YolArt Fine Arts and accompanied by conservation information and an animal artist biography.
The paintings will be displayed at G Gallery in the Heights for a single night in a fine arts setting, including a wine and hors d’ouevre reception and photographic portraits of the featured artists (but taken by humans). Professional photographs of wild orangutans and Bornean elephants will also be available for sale thanks to Houston photographer Paul Swen.
The auction event concludes at 8:00 p.m. Pongos Helping Pongos has raised over $100,000 for the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project and Elephant Conservation Program in Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia and $20,000 in support of field conservation efforts at Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park.
http://www.houstonzoo.org/php/
Posted by Peter in Animal Origins & Fun Facts, Endangered Species, Texas
A captive breeding program was developed for the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken in 1992 in hopes to help boost the amount of prairie chickens in the wild. The Houston Zoo developed a holding and breeding area on grounds called “Boomtown” for the Attwater’s Prairie Chickens, which served as their home until 2006. Due to further development of the Zoo, it was determined that the prairie chickens needed a more natural, quieter, and more secluded home. Through a partnership with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Houston Zoo was able to build large holding pens specifically designed for breeding.
The Attwater’s mating ritual consists of courtship display, called booming, that takes place in a lek, or booming ground. The males inflate the bright orange air sacs on their necks, extend their pinnae and tail feathers upward, and then drop their heads creating an “oo-la-woo” sound as they rapidly stomp their feet. Courtship begins in January and mating occurs between from February through mid-May.
Attwater Prairie Chicken post #2 was on 3/2/2010
Posted by Peter in Africa, Endangered Species, Gorilla
I just returned from a short visit to Musanze, Rwanda and the Art of Conservation program. While there, we taught in both the Rushubi Primary School and Nyange Primary Schools 5th grade classes.
Arts and Crafts projhect are part of the teaching experience in the Rushubi Primary School class. Photo by Molly Feltner.
Art of Conservation, Inc. educates Rwandans about conservation and the importance of maintaining a healthy environment for both people and animals while instilling them with an understanding and respect for themselves, their peers, and the natural world. AoC is led by Julie Ghrist and her team, Valerie Akuredusenge, Eric Mutabazi, Innocent Uwizeye, Olivier Habimana, and Fahad Ndangiza.
Showing photos of endangered animals from around the world to the students. Photo by Molly Feltner.
The visit gave us the opportunity to interact with the Art of Conservation and their students to see how the Houston Zoo could help with the development of their program.
We are looking forward to working with The Art of Conservation and their students. Check back for more information on this effort in the coming weeks ahead.
Posted by Peter in Animal Origins & Fun Facts, Endangered Species, Texas
The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) is a species of grouse that once numbered at least a million along millions of acres of the coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana. As people became more and more industrialized, more and more native grasslands were plowed for crops and pastures. By 1919, the Attwater’s prairie chicken had vanished from Louisiana and their numbers in Texas were dwindling. By 1937, hunting of the Attwater’s ended because only around 8,700 of the birds were left in Texas. In 1967, they were listed as endangered and in 1973 they were protected by the Endangered Species Act. Now these birds are down to just three small tracts of prairie land – The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (APCNWR), The Nature Conservancy’s Texas Prairie Preserve (TNC), and some private land near Goliad, Texas.
So few Attwater’s Prairie Chickens were left in the wild, that a captive breeding program had to be created to save the species. The program began in 1992 and the Houston Zoo joined the effort soon after that.
The Houston Zoo works in cooperation with five other zoological institutions as part of the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Recovery Team: Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, San Antonio Zoo, Sea World of San Antonio, Caldwell Zoo, and Abilene Zoo. These facilities work in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy in order to help the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken population grow in the wild through captive breeding, rearing, and release into the wild.
Attwater Prairie Chicken Part #1 was posted 2/16/10
Posted by Peter in Africa, Endangered Species, Gorilla, What You Can Do
Hey – he’s just stealing other peoples blogs! Don’t re-create the blog I always say and I am fairly confident you are just not going to stumble across this by yourself.
How do you heat your home or cook on a stove when you do not have electricity? You cut down your forest trees and turn them into charcoal. The illegal charcoal trade is a serious issue in many Central and West African nations. One project we are familiar with is the Kibale Fuel Wood Project managed by the New Nature Foundation.
Back to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and some blog thievery on my part. In January, the Agriculture Project Coordinator for the MGVP One Health program helped introduce fuel briquette technology to the community, reducing their need for charcoal and turning it into a business opportuntiy. Click on the link for the full blog.
So – no direct plagiarism on my part and I am standing here in Rwanda staring at a fuel briquette which gives me at least some rights to steal their blog.
Posted by Peter in Africa, Endangered Species, Featured, Field Research, Gorilla
These are not your ordinary veterinarians, and they do make house calls – even if it takes trekking 6 hours up a mountian to get there…
Gorilla Doctors work for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP, Inc.)–one of few conservation programs in the world to provide health care for an endangered species in its natural habitat. MGVP’s mission is to improve the sustainability of Mountain Gorilla populations using an integrated, or “one-health,” approach that combines health care, research, capacity building, information sharing, and strategic partnerships.
Follow their blog here. The stories are inspirational, amazing and sometimes heartbreaking. The note that the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project dedicate every minute of the day to our amazing patients: the gentle giants of the forest, the critically endangered Gorillas.
I am lucky enough to know some of the Gorilla Doctors and they truly are 100% dedicated to the wildlife and communities they serve. Even today – in a worldm ired in technology, there are people who still do inspire others.
