Posts Tagged ‘Endangered Species’

Apr
17

Guest Blogger Carolyn Jess Discusses the Ocelot

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Guest Blogger,What You Can Do

Carolyn Jess is an 11 year old student who has agreed to be our special guest blogger about wildlife conservation. We first met Carolyn in October 2011 when she came out to the Zoo to meet our special guest Jack Hannah, who was visiting the Zoo to speak at our Conservation Gala. If you would like to contact Carolyn or have comments, you may send them to conservation@houstonzoo.org.

 

Ocelots

 

Four years ago, I first learned about an endangered animal that has become one of my favorites – the ocelot. The ocelot, which is a cat, has a beautiful coat with spots.  It is about twice the size of a normal house cat.  The ocelot lives in the low shrub lands of southTexas.  There are only about 100 ocelots left in theUnited Stateswith half of them living inTexasat the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.  The reason why the ocelot is endangered is because their habitat is being destroyed due to housing and other developments.  People are also killing them for their beautiful pelts and some ocelots get hit by cars.

Two years ago, I traveled to the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge in hopes of spotting an ocelot.  I knew my chances of seeing one were very slim, but I hoped for a miracle that day.  Well, my miracle didn’t happen.  I did not get to see my ocelot out in the wild.  I did manage to see a stuffed one in a display case – he had been killed by a speeding car.  I was disappointed but this helped me to be even more concerned with the ocelots’ survival.

I have continued to raise funds for the endangered ocelot.  A great place that I found to send my donations to is the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Center at Texas A&M Kingsville.  Dr. Michael Tewes works directly with the ocelot and is the director of feline research.  He has used my donations to purchase camera equipment to monitor the ocelot population in Texas.  Mike really cares about the ocelot and works really hard to help these big cats have a fighting chance.

If you would like to see one of the few remaining ocelots, you can visit Novia at the Houston Zoo. She has overcome many obstacles in her life.  She is beautiful and agile and is probably one of the few live ocelots you and I will get to see.

Are you ready to help the ocelot?  If you answered yes, there are some things you can do.  First, you can visit my website:  www.ocelotrescue.webstarts.com.  This website gives facts about the ocelot and other great information like why you should help this big cat.  You could learn more about the ocelot by checking out a book from the library or searching on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.  One of the BEST ways to help is to go see Novia at the Houston Zoo and tell your friends about how close the ocelot is to disappearing forever.

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Mar
09

Wildlife Conservationist Corinne Kendall and the Houston Zoo

Posted by in Africa,Endangered Species,Zoo Crew

Corinne Kendall(image courtesy of The Peregrine Fund)

Written by Houston Zoo Director Rick Barongi.

In a few months, Corinne Kendall should be getting her PhD. from the department of conservation and evolutionary biology at Princeton University.  Then this very gifted and dedicated individual will devote the rest of her career to wildlife conservation.

Why she chose this career path is probably due to a variety of early life experiences with animals and nature.  If you ask her which of these experiences had the most impact, she would rank her early zoo visits and subsequent volunteer work at the Houston Zoo at or near the top.

In Corinne’s case she was also blessed with parents that recognized and encouraged her passion for working with wildlife.  Our zoo provided the perfect opportunity for young people to engage with wildlife, and Corinne took full advantage.  As soon as she was old enough she became a teen Zoo Crew member and then went on to a volunteer keeper position followed by a seasonal internship during her summer vacations from Cornell University, where she was a straight A student.

Corinne went on to Columbia University to get her Master’s in Conservation Biology before settling on Princeton for her PhD. work studying vultures in East Africa.

While no one can scientifically prove that visiting and volunteering at a good zoo can change people’s lives,  there is no denying that good zoos can connect people with animal in ways that no computer, video or HD documentary can duplicate.  Corinne Kendall is living proof of the power that good zoos can have on young minds and hearts.

The Houston Zoo is more than a fun place to see animals. It is a living classroom that inspires and connects us to the natural world.  It is also a training ground for future Conservation Heroes like Corinne.

Watch and enjoy this fascinating short video of Corinne Kendall’s field work with vultures in the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, East Africa.

 

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Nov
18

African Forest: Bushmeat

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

What is Bushmeat?

In Africa, forest is often referred to as ‘the bush’, thus wildlife and the meat derived from it is referred to as ‘bushmeat’.

The term bushmeat is now commonly used for illegally harvested and marketed wildlife in Africa, Asia and Latin America. “Bushmeat” applies to all wildlife species, including threatened and endangered species, used for meat including: elephant; gorilla; chimpanzee and other primates; forest antelope (duikers); crocodile; porcupine; bush pig; cane rat; pangolin; monitor lizard; guinea fowl and many others.
Unsustainable commercial take, many times illegally, is one of the primary causes in the decline of wildlife species in Africa. Though habitat loss is often cited as the primary threat to wildlife, commercial hunting for the meat of wild animals has become the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa and around the world; it has already resulted in widespread local extinctions in Asia and West Africa.
This threat to wildlife is a crisis because it is rapidly expanding to countries and species which were previously not at risk, largely due to an increase in commercial logging, with an infrastructure of roads and trucks that links forests and hunters to cities and consumers.
Rural communities have always hunted as a protein source for their diets. Sustainably managed, wildlife populations could survive under these circumstances. Today, wildlife is taken in large quantities not solely for personal consumption but for profit and commercial resale. Wildlife populations simply cannot rebound fast enough to maintain viable populations in these areas and are quickly becoming extirpated from many regions of Africa.
For more information and what you can do to slow the trade – link here to our African Forest microsite

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Apr
28

Recycling to Save the Critically Endangered Cotton-top Tamarin

Posted by in community-based conservation,Cotton-top Tamarin,Endangered Species,Field Research,Going Green,What You Can Do

Cotton-top Tamerin

The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) is one of the most endangered primates in the world. The species was declared endangered in 1973 following the exportation of 20,000-40,000 tamarins to the United States for use in biomedical research (Hernandez-Camacho and Cooper 1976; Clapp et al. 1982). In the late 1970s and throughout much of the 1980s, cotton-top tamarins were found to spontaneously develop colonic adenocarcinoma. They served as the primary model for indepth studies of this disease throughout much of this decade. Today the greatest threat to the survival of the cotton-top tamarin is deforestation for agriculture, fuel, and housing, in addition to collection for the local pet trade in Colombia (Mast & Patino 1988). Occurrences of the illegal trade of cotton-tops still continues throughout much of the world despite international laws condemning such activity

A census was conducted in 2005-2006 examining the status of the wild population of cotton-top tamarins. Results of the census indicated that the cotton-top tamarin has been severely impacted by the significant habitat destruction that has occurred throughout its range in Colombia.  The results of the census in addition to the challenges with habitat destruction, resulted in the IUCN Primate Specialist Group recommending the classification of cotton-top tamarins be changed to Critically Endangered in 2008.

Proyecto Tití is a multi-disciplinary in situ conservation program that combines field research, education initiatives and community programs to make the conservation of natural resources economically feasible for local communities in Colombia. The program is designed to provide useful information to assist in the long-term preservation of the cotton-top tamarin and to develop local community advocates to promote conservation efforts in Colombia.

"Mochila", eco-friendly bags

Proyecto Tití is committed to working with local communities to develop economic alternatives that assist in the protection of Colombia’s natural environment.  Local women learn how to transform discarded plastic bags into colorfully designed, hand-knit mochilas (tote bags).  Children from the communities collect the bags, which are carefully cleaned before they are crocheted into attractive accessories.  The production of these bags helps to reduce the amount of plastic in the local landfills and creates a sustainable local economy.

These eco-friendly bags are now for sale in the conservation corner of the Houston Zoo gift shop.  They are available in a variety of colors, and make great beach bags, shopping bags, or purses.  

Don’t forget to spend a bit of time with the Cotton-top tamarins at the zoo during your next visit!

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