Archive for the ‘Field Research’ Category

Mar
02

The Origin of the Orangutan

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,orangutan

A timely note as we prepare for our next Pongos Helping Pongs: Art by Orangutans for Orangutan Conservation Event

As told to me by a colleague in Malaysia:

The origins of the orang-utan

Long ago, human beings (or orangs) lived in the virgin jungles of Borneo. They stayed in groups, sharing their long houses, subsisting on plants and animals provided by Mother Nature. Within the different groups, this peaceful way of life was however troubled by all sorts of troubles and conflicts involving treacheries, malices, gossips and other problems that are specific to our species.

A peace-loving minority of orangs decided to split from the major group in order to escape the clamors of the village life and went deep into the jungle. They established a new home and lived happily for years. More and more orangs from their former community decided to join this idyllic existence, up to a point that the newly created village became overcrowded and full with problems that follow humans at all times and places (pollution, noise, habitat destruction, cruelty and meanness).

The original group decided to break up from their conspecifics one more time and wandered far away from this place. They established themselves on the mountains where life was paradise. Of course they didn’t stay on their own for long: more and more people joined them and troubled this peaceful existence. Fed up beyond belief, the original oranges decided that enough was enough: because they wouldn’t be able to find peace below the trees, they decided to climb up to the treetop and to settle down in the forest canopy. They also decided to not have any kind of relations with ground-dwelling orangs any more.

From this day on, this group became the orang-utans, or “people of the forest”.

Join us March 10th at The G Gallery in The Heights in support of orangutan conservation. http://www.houstonzoo.org/php/

Learn more about the effects of Palm Oil on Orangutan habitat: http://www.houstonzoo.org/palm-oil/

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Feb
10

Conservation in Madagascar

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

It is not uncommon to see the local people (Malagasy) in Madagascar creating eco-tourism opportunities using lemurs and other species.  They know where the lemurs are and they know foreigners like to see them!  The people do appreciate nature, but as populations grow and the need for food increases they seek any means possible to survive.  There is a great need for conservation that can provide sustainable solutions for Malagasy people in Madagascar.  

Our next speaker for our call of the Wild Speaker Series is Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy, who is a Malagasy primatologist and conservationist.   Early in his career he studied Archaeology and Paleontology in Madagascar, spending many hours digging up ancient lemur fossils.  He once told me he spent three days digging up a full skeleton of one of the giant extinct lemurs that were the size of humans.  This work brought him in and around villages where he saw people eating lemurs.  He told me one day he looked at the bones he was dusting off at the time, then at a small species of lemur being placed in a cooking pot over an open fire, and said to himself, “The lemurs in the ground can wait, but the lemurs in the trees need my help now!”.  That was when he decided to commit himself to conserving species in Madagascar.        
 

Come to the Zoo to hear about primatologist Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy’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.  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. For more information CLICK HERE.

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Feb
09

The joy of ring-tailed lemurs

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

Everyone seems to be familiar with ring-tailed lemurs these days, and they definitely hold a special place in my heart. Their wide spread popularity is not surprising when you consider how many children’s shows have included them as characters. My personal favorite is ring-tailed lemur, King Julian from the movie Madagascar.  He is definitely the most entertaining animated character of all time!

When I was a keeper, I often spent my free time observing our large group of ring-tailed lemurs. They have a relatively peaceful, but comical society. Often disagreements are settled with the females with babies clinging tightly to their backs at the front lines (that’s how risky the disagreements are). And, their most effective weapon is..…smell. Males arm up their tails with scent from glands on their wrists and fling it in the opponents’ general direction with great vigor. The whole event usually involves some dancing around each other until a smell wins out. It is all very entertaining.

I worked with a researcher that studied ring-tailed lemurs. She studied a group of lemurs living in caves in Madagascar. They actually looked quite different from the typical ring-tailed lemur. DNA work revealed they were in fact the same species but had evolved to have much puffier coats to keep them warm in their unique setting. During her studies with this group she also discovered the local Malagasy people in the area had created their own eco-tourism project using this group of cave dwelling lemurs. They charged to bring tourists to see these mysterious lemurs in the caves.

Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy is a Malagasy conservationist working to save lemurs and other species in Madagascar. Come and listen to his amazing stories on February 15th at 7:00 pm at the zoo. 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.   CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.

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

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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
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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Dec
15

Kids for Science, AND TOADS! @ Painted Dog Conservation- Zimbabwe

Posted by in Africa,amphibians,Field Research,Painted Dog,Rachel and Cullen in Africa

 

At the request of Painted Dog Conservation, I traveled to project headquarters in Zimbabwe to assist in the implementation of a new conservation education program called “Kids for Science”. Accompanying me on this visit was Cullen Geiselman PhD (HZI Board Member member and bat biologist), and her friend, Leighton Dancy, a professional photographer who documented PDC activities and programs. During our visit we would pilot the first ever Kids for Science program for eleven, 14 year old students from Nechilibi High School, the students’ full time teacher, their school’s Conservation Club Coordinator, the entire education staff from Painted Dog Conservation, Dr. Gregory, one master’s student, and a game warden from Hwange National Park.

It might seem unlikely that a conservation organization focused on a large charismatic carnivore would be interested in using frogs and toads to teach students about research, biology and conservation. Amphibians lend themselves to classroom study as they are an ecological indicator species in a habitat in which the Painted Dog depends on survival, are relatively abundant, easily handled, and observed by students. Amphibians are a model organism in which to cover taxonomy, biology, adaptations, ecological concepts, environmental threats and how students can help implement conservation action.

Before the students from Nechilibi High School were to arrive at the Painted Dog Conservation Iganyana Bush Camp, Dr. Cullen and I had to scout out potential study sites for the Kids for Science camp and become familiar with the native amphibians and bats we would be teaching the students about throughout the course. I conducted nightly visual and audio searches to document the presence of amphibian species in the area and became familiar with their natural history and behavior through observation and field guides. In addition to visual searches, I employed the use of a “Frog logger”, a wildlife acoustic recording device at a pan adjacent to our lodgin accommodations to record vocalizations for 10 minutes every hour throughout the day and night. I recorded close to 2,000 minutes of amphibian and bird calls over the course of our stay at Painted Dog Conservation and documented 16 species of amphibians.

Here are a few photos of some of the special frogs and toads that call Zimbabwe home.

 

Rain frogs, these are burrowing, frowny faced little frogs whose tadpoles develop directly from egg to small frog without metamorphosis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foam Nesting Grey Treefrogs, these frogs communally deposit their eggs into this rich foam that is whipped up by their back legs. The eggs are protected by this foam until they hatch and the tadpoles fall into the water below. Amazing adaptation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marbeld Shovel Nosed Frog. These pointy nosed little burrowing frogs are great moms. They protect their eggs in underground burrows and when they hatch, tadpoles are carried on moms back from the burrow to a nearby pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More frogs photos coming over the next few days, I hope you can sleep until I post more!

 

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
22

Well, I am still alive, and in Borneo

Posted by in Borneo,Carnivores,Conservation,Featured,Field Research,orangutan

Forest Leech

Houston Zoo Carnivore Supervisor, Kevin Hodge is part of an effort to assist the Borneo Clouded Leopard Project (BCLP) in Sabah, Malaysia. This is his second update from the field which has limited internet access but seems to have plenty of forest leeches.

Let me interject here for Kevin that he ends his email with “All and all things are going great!”

I went out on what was supposed to be a 3 night camping trip that turned in to 5 days and 4 nights.  My legs are covered with leech sores and my feet are swollen.  I had hundreds of leeches on me one day but if you took time to pull them off more would just climb on you so I would wait until they filled with blood and squeeze them until the ruptured. I also have had a few ticks on me which are worse than the leeches.

Banded Palm Civet

We went high in to the mountains and saw a lot of hunter’s camps and notified the Sabah Wildlife department which is starting to go out with us to destroy the camps.  We have 1 male clouded leopard on the camera traps so far, a marbled cat, hoses’s civet, malay civet, grey leafed monkey, linsang, banded palm civet, bearded pig, pitta, pig tailed macaque, mongoose, moon rats, tree shrews and the malayan giant squirrel.  So we are pretty pumped up that there are clouded leopards here.  We also caught a few hunters and their dogs on camera. 

Our camping diet consists of rice, sardines, ramen noodles and corned beef every day with coffee in the morning.  It was very cold at night and after falling and floating down stream in the river my sleeping bag and tent were wet so I froze a few nights and almost fell off a cliff on another occasion. (Remember – “All and all things are going great!”)

My legs are getting stronger but the altitude still presents a problem for me on the uphill ascents.  The adidas kampung shoes they recommended for me (these are like soccer shoes with rounded cleats) to wear has good traction on the slippery soil but not on rocks and with out any type of support my feet are in terrible shape. I noticed that the local people that we work with have feet that are the same length as mine but twice as thick and twice as wide with no arch which works better on this terrain apparently. We have off today and tomorrow to rest up in Kota Kinabalu then I go out for another camping trip. All and all things are going great!

 

Bornean Bearded Pig

 

Some background on the Crocker Range in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Sabah by the way is one of the 13 Malaysian states. 11 are on Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak are on Borneo.

The Crocker Range separates the east coast and west coast of Sabah. At an average height of 1800m, it is the highest mountain range in Sabah. Mount Kinabalu (at 13,000 feet), which is one of the highest mountains in Southeast Asia, is part of this range. Part of the range, has been gazetted for protection as Crocker Range National Park since 1984. The area surrounding Mount Kinabalu has been a national park since 1964 and was the country’s first World Heritage Site.

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