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.
Posted by Peter in Animal Origins & Fun Facts, Featured, Texas
Welcome to a 5 part series focusing on the world’s of the Attwater’s Prairie chicken – one of the world’s most endangered birds. Follow us through our egg incubation in April and see what it takes to try and recover a species.
"Booming" male Attwater's Prairie Chicken
The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken is a native Texas bird that is brown with strong black bars and a short, round black tail. They are sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females have a different appearance. The males have elongated feathers called pinnae at the back of their head and large orange air sacs on their neck that are inflated during their mating display, called “booming”. The tail of a male Attwater’s Prairie Chicken is solid black, while the tail of a female is black with brown bars. On average, they are about 17 inches long and weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds. In the wild, adult Attwater’s Prairie Chickens live approximately two to three years, in captivity they can live to about seven years old. Their diet consists mostly of insects early on; as they get older they begin to eat prairie grasses, seed, and plants as well.
Attwater’s Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) are members of the order Galliformes, family Phasianidae, subfamily Tetraoninae (grouse and relatives), and genus Tympanuchus (prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse). The Attwater’s prairie chicken is considered to be one of three subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken which also includes the extinct Heath Hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido) and the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus).
The Attwater’s historic range includes millions of acres of the coastal prairies of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. As a result of habitat loss due to farming, industrialization, and pollution, they are currently restricted to two small prairie reserves, The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (APCNWR) and The Nature Conservancy’s Texas Prairie Preserve (TNC) and one area of private land near Goliad, Texas.
Posted by Peter in Endangered Species, Featured
Van Long Nature Reserve. Home to the endangered Delacour's Langur
Vietnam is home to 25 primate species of primates and is considered one of the world’s highest priorities for primate conservation. Five species – Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri), Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus), grey-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea), Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus), and Hainan gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) – are listed among the top 25 most endangered primate species in the world.
in 2009, The Houston Zoo partnered with Education for Nature Vietnam to secure funding for a National Mobile Wildife Trade Education Program in Vietnam focused on primate species. The Houston Zoo and Education for Nature Vietnam received a matching grant from the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation to carry out this project
Education for Nature – Vietnam was established in 2000 as Vietnam’s first non-governmental organization focused on environmental education. Its mission is to foster a greater public understanding of local, national and international environmental issues including wildlife protection, biological diversity and climate change. There is also an emphasis on increasing public participation in strategic initiatives. The organization specializes in the following five program areas: Training Environmental Educators, Developing Community Awareness, Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade, Technical Assistance to Field Programs and production of the children’s magazine Green Forest.
Check back in a few days for an update on the project.
Posted by Peter in Africa, Endangered Species, Featured, Gorilla, What You Can Do
Can’t find that perfect gift for Valentines Day? How about the gift of a gorilla? http://gorilladoctors.org/orphan-guardianship.html
Gorilla orphan, MGVP station, Rwanda
You become an Orphan Guardian and support the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. MGVP’s Gorilla Doctors care for thirteen young orphaned gorillas, representing two critically endangered subspecies, the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) and the Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri).
Sadly, poaching and illegal trade have resulted in the confiscation of mountain and Grauer’s gorillas in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At present, the MGVP is providing health care for four mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and nine Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri). All were orphaned in the wild as a result of poaching activity. Most recently, two of the infant mountain gorilla orphans were rescued from the DRC side of the Virunga Massif when their mothers were shot, These two newest orphans were just moved to ICCN’s new Senkwekwe facility in Rumangabo, DRC.
As a small group, the orphans will help socialize each other, giving them a chance to lead normal gorilla lives in the future. The partner organizations are exploring all options for their long term care and eventual reintroduction to the wild: the mountain gorilla back to the Virunga Massif, and the Grauer’s gorillas back to the forests of DRC.
So give the gift of gorilla this season, you will be helping support a phenomenal cause, and stay out of troubel at the same time.
Posted by Peter in Featured, What You Can Do
Photo credit Cristina Mittermeir
Who is not drawn to spectacular imagery? Wildlife, people, landscapes; a good photo is captivating and, many times, offers you an opportunity to learn more about the subject.
On March 25th, the Houston Zoo will be welcoming world class photographer, and Director of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Cristina Mittermeir as part of our Call of the Wild Speaker Series. Come out to enjoy an evening of scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, breathtaking photographs and first-hand stories from conservationists on the frontlines in the battle to help save the world’s wildlife and habitats. Just click on the Call of the Wild link above for ticket information.
The International League of Conservation Photographers mission is mission is to translate conservation science into compelling visual messages targeted to specific audiences. We work with leading scientists, policy makers, government leaders and conservation groups to produce the highest-quality documentary images of both the beauty and wonder of the natural world and the challenges facing it.
You may have caught Joel Sartore or Kevin Schafer at one of our previous speaker events – both ILCP members. If you missed them, pop on over to their websites and prepare to be amazed. Another ILCP member, Frans Lanting will be our guest speaker in October 2010.
The Houston Zoo partners with these individuals and organizations because we believe, as ILCP notes, that awe-inspiring photography is a powerful force for the environment. Our goal is to help our visitors enjoy the natural world which surrounds us, whether through a quite stroll through the zoo, or through the lenses of our colleagues.
Can’t wait until March? You can catch some of Cristina’s Guardian of the Forests images at the Houston Museum of Natural History’s Spirits and Headhunters exhibit through February 28th.
Photo credit Cristina Mittermeir
Posted by Peter in Animal Origins & Fun Facts, Featured, Texas, Travel, What You Can Do
A good friend put this together for us a few years ago – “pre-blog” and we thought it was a timely article to review. With spring weather right around the corner, many bats will begin their yearly migrations while others who “stay put” will give birth – both lead to more potential interactions with people. Remember – do not ever handle a bat, call an animal control specialist if you find an injured bat on the ground. For more information on Houston’s resident Waugh Drive Bridge Bat Colony – visit the link.
Bat emergence at Bracken cave
Everything is bigger and better in Texas- even when it comes to bat diversity. Thirty-three species of bats have been recorded in the state, which makes the Lone Star State the “battiest” in the country. Bats can be found in a variety of places- caves, cliff crevices, tree hollows, tree foliage, behind lose bark, under bridges, and in the occasional building. Some bats roost in very large numbers, such as the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), and can be seen each night as they emerge to forage. In fact, viewing the nightly emergence of Mexican free-tailed bats is becoming an increasingly popular nature tourism opportunity in some parts of the state. Other bats are hardly noticed, such as the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) that lives alone in tree foliage or the northern yellow bat (Lasiurus intermedius) that lives within the dead fronds of palm trees.
You may notice bats in your neighborhood as they feed around street lights or as they drink from open bodies of water. Most Texas bats are insectivorous. They are the primary consumers of night-flying insects, many of which are costly agriculture pests. Current research on the Mexican free-tailed bat, for instance, has shown that a single bat can consume up to 2/3 of its body weight in insects each night. Many of these insects are the same ones that farmers spend millions of dollars each year trying to control, including the corn/cotton boll worm moth (Helicoverpa zea). Thanks to resident bats, farmers can reduce the amount of pesticides that they would otherwise use to control these costly pests.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is committed to bat conservation and works with partners throughout the state toward that objective. The East Texas Rare Bat Working Group focuses on surveys and management of two rare bats that are closely associated with bottomland hardwood forest habitats, the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (Rafinesque’s big-eared bat) and the southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius). Other conservation efforts include the Texas Bat Viewing Site Forum which coordinates research and management of bat-viewing sites known throughout the state. Public outreach is certainly an important part of bat conservation. TPWD works with groups such as the Texas Master Naturalist Program to help spread the positive information about bats.
Many people fear bats because they are active at night and are the subjects of numerous myths, including that they are blind and will fly into your hair. Bats can actually see quite well, but also use a system of ultrasonic navigation called echolocation. People also fear bats because they can potentially transmit the rabies virus. Bats can contract rabies, like any other wild mammal, but the chances are actually very low- less than one-half of one percent – that any bat you might come in contact with actually has rabies. It is very important, however, that people should never touch a bat with your bare hands and kids, especially, should know to always inform an adult if they find a bat on the ground. For more information about bats and rabies, visit the Center for Disease Control’s website.
Posted by Peter in Featured
The Houston Zoo is a member of a group called SECORE which is short for Sexual Coral Reproduction.
By combining the knowledge of top aquarists and leading scientists, SECORE operates at the forefront of innovation in different fields such as coral breeding, sustainability, reef restoration, population genetics or cryopreservation.
This unique approach has led to significant success in the conservation of endangered coral species and paved the way to help preserving one of the earth’s most diverse ecosystem – the coral reef.
Climate change, climate disruption, global warming, cliamte shift – it does not matter what we call it – something is happening to the world’s weather patterns and with it, the potential loss of thousands of organisms within our next generation. Coral reefs are being harmed through the acidification of the oceans waters. Ocean acidification occurs when there is an ongoing decrease of pH levels of the Earth’s oceans which is caused by the uptake of anthropogenic (human-made) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Will all coral reefs be extinct in 2065?
A 15-years-old girl living in 2065 talks about extinct coral reefs and what went wrong! This very powerful movie had been presented at the Global Climate Congress in Copenhagen to visualize the drastic consequences of climate change to the leaders of the world !
Click here for the video on the potential future of coral reefs. Please watch and share this video with friends.
Posted by Peter in Elephant, Featured, Field Research, orangutan
Typically when you work in a seasonal floodplain, you expect nothing less than seasonal flooding. But sometimes, the river overflows its banks and intrudes like rarely seen before.
Our partners in Elephant Conservation work out of the Danau Girang Field Centre in the Malaysian State of Sabah on the island of Borneo. Geography Assigment – google a map on find Sabah on the island. The Centre sits on the banks of the Kinabatangan River, a 560km river which runs from the mountains of SW Sabah down to the Sulu Sea. Find this on the map as well, I will wait…
Danau Girang underwater...
When I visited last October, the giant meandering river was easily 10feet below the bank. The field house photo below is then another 100-150 yards into the forest. All travel in the area is thankfully by boat but you can imagine how difficult it must be to track elephants, orangutans, and other animals in this environment. Not to mention issues with clean drinking water, flooding generators and whether your clothesline will float away in the night.
I of course cannot forget to mention how much closer this flooding will be bring crocodiles, who normally stay on the riverbanks, to your door now that they think your door is the riverbank.
“Good morning dear, there is a 15 foot crocodile on our front porch”.
“Oh, lovely, invite him in for tea…”
Posted by Peter in Featured, Travel, What You Can Do
Valentine, Schmalantine! How about romance on the high seas in December instead? Ok, maybe the low seas? Not sure if the Sea of Cortez is high or low but there be Whales there and we are booking cabins now for our December 10-15 tour for our Baja Escape: Exploring the Sea of Cortez tour.
Explore the underwater world of Baja alongside an Undersea Specialist aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird Explorer.
Escape to a world teeming with wildlife; where the cactuses are the tallest on earth, the island beaches show no footprints except your own, and the setting sun seems to glow orange for hours.
Contact conservation@houstonzoo.org for more information
Posted by Peter in Featured, Field Research, Travel
The Pantanal is the largest inundated plain in the world and is a refuge for endangered species like the jaguar, tamandua, hyacinth macaw, the giant anteater and the giant otter. Covering approximately 160,000 km² of low elevation floodplain of the upper Rio Paraguay and its tributaries, in the center of the South American continent, roughly the size of the United Kingdom.
The dry and wet seasons are a remarkable characteristic of this ecosystem and dictate the rhythm of the incredible wild life sheltered in its ecosystem. There are an estimated 3,500 species of plants, 124 species of mammals, 177 species of reptiles, 41 species of amphibians and at least 423 species of birds.
The Pantanal is considered “globally outstanding” in terms of biological distinctiveness and “vulnerable” in terms of conservation. The establishment of the long-term lowland tapir project in the Pantanal region is a very important due to the key role tapirs play in maintaining critical ecosystem functions. As an indicator species, the tapir is critical for the long-term conservation of the Pantanal.
The Houston Zoo has supported Tapir field researcher Patricia Medici and her work for since 2004. Over the past 12 years, Patricia Medici’s lowland tapir project in the Atlantic Forest has successfully captured, radio-collared and monitored twenty-five (25) tapirs (13 females and 12 males), and has collected hundreds of samples of biological materials, which allows a considerable amount of new information about tapir ranging behavior, demography, dispersal patterns, genetics, epidemiology, and feeding ecology.
Male Tapir, Brazil. Photo by Pati Medici
This is the first long-term tapir conservation initiative carried out in Brazil and has provided a detailed database of information about the conservation status and needs of tapirs in the fragmented landscape of the Pontal do Paranapanema Region. Pati has expanded her project in terms of continuing to promote the conservation of lowland tapirs in Brazil to conduct research and conservation initiatives to other regions of the country, more specifically other types of biomes.
For more on Pati Medici and Tapirs, please go to http://www.tapirconservation.org.br/
You can travel with the Houston Zoo to visit Pati Medici and the Pantanal in July 2010 http://www.houstonzoo.org/travel-pantanal/