Houston Zoo Jaguar "Cocoy"

December Issue of National Geographic Magazine
Spotlights 8 “Cats in Crisis”

National Geographic, December 2011

Planet Earth is home to 37 species of cats. All are facing an uncertain future. Even though humans have coexisted with predators for thousands of years, the world’s cats are losing ground to habitat loss, illegal hunting and retaliatory killing when they prey on livestock. Yet conservationists see hope.

In the December issue of National Geographic Magazine, on newsstands November 29 and available now as a digital magazine, author and world-renowned field biologist George B. Schaller proposes bold action to ensure their survival.

Schaller’s essay, Politics Is Killing the Big Cats is accompanied by a 5-panel pullout poster featuring stunning photos of 8 of the world’s big cats, seven of which are cats from the Houston Zoo, captured in stunning detail by National Geographic photographer Vincent J. Musi.

“We are proud and honored that our Houston Zoo big cat ‘ambassadors’ were chosen to accompany George Schaller’s essay and grateful that National Geographic’s Big Cat Initiative is raising awareness about the conservation status of the world’s cat species,” said Houston Zoo Carnivore Curator Beth Schaefer.

Assisted by Houston Zoo carnivore keepers, Vincent J. Musi photographed the Zoo’s male African lion Jonathan and 6 other cats (clouded leopard, jaguar, cougar, leopard, cheetah, and Malayan tiger) during a week-long photo session in February. Each cat was photographed in its off exhibit ‘bedroom’ against a black backdrop. Each photo in the pullout poster is accompanied by a brief profile that includes the cat’s estimated wild population and its conservation status. The National Geographic Society is working to save big cats through its Big Cats Initiative; find out more at www.causeanuproar.org.

Houston Zoo African Lion "Jonathan"

“We are deeply appreciative of the Houston Zoo’s hospitality. It is unusual for one facility to have such a diversity of big cats, and their generousity in facilitating Vince’s photo shoot helped us to illustrate the animals’ beauty and power for our 40 million readers worldwide,” said Kathy Moran, senior photo editor in charge of the National Geographic magazine’s natural history coverage.

The December issue of National Geographic magazine is available on newsstands November 29 and as a digital magazine at the National Geographic App Store, http://nationalgeographic.com/apps. Prints of Musi’s photographs are available at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/bigcats-purchase.

Houston Zoo Clouded Leopard "Rama"

Houston Zoo Cougar "Rocky"

Houston Zoo Leopard "Kadu"

We’ve just expanded the tortoise habitat from the Duck Lake sidewalk near the Dolly’s Ride sculpture all the way around toward the food court. We’ve installed new grass and almost doubled their area. They move faster than you would think. Why don’t you stop by?

There are three kinds of Tortoises who live together there – Radiated tortoises, Galapagos tortoises and African spurred tortoises.  Let’s talk about the latter. The African spurred tortoise, Centrochelys (Geochelone sulcata), is a large tortoise found along the southern perimeter of the Sahara desert in Africa. It is the largest species of tortoise found in Africa and is surpassed only in size by the Galapagos tortoise and the Aldabra tortoise.

The African spurred tortoise

The species gets its name from several large prominent spurs that are located on the hind surfaces of the thighs on the rear legs. Males can be distinguished from females by having a pronounced concavity on the underside of their shells and by their larger tails. Adult males also are larger than females and can reach weights of up to 180 pounds, while females rarely get above 100 pounds.

Diet and Reproduction: In terms of diet, Spurred tortoises are largely herbivorous and will accept a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. At the zoo, they can often be seen grazing on the grass inside their enclosure. These animals are prolific diggers, and can dig burrows of over ten feet long. In the wild, Spurred tortoises breed between November and May and can lay on average anywhere from 13 to over 30 eggs.

The eggs take around 120 days to hatch and the young weigh around 50 grams each. Like other turtle and tortoise species, the Spurred tortoise exhibits what is called “TSD” or Temperature Sex Determination. The sex of an individual is determined not by sex chromosomes, but by the incubation temperature of the egg. Learn more about TSD!

Lifespan: African spurred tortoises can live a long time! Captive longevities of over a century have been reported, and there currently are a number of captive animals that are over 50 years old. Our animals at the zoo were acquired as young adults in 1988. Because of their long lifespan, the Spurred tortoise figures prominently in many animal legends among the native tribes occupying its home range.

The Galapagos tortoise

Spurred tortoises as pets: Spurred tortoises breed readily in captivity and hatchlings are often seen for sale in local pet shops. However, there are several things to consider before purchasing one:

1. Size. This species will grow to a large size very quickly, and adults are very powerful. They have been known to overturn central air conditioning units, and to dig extensive burrows underneath houses which can undermine the foundation. Spurred tortoises need a very large, secure area to roam and they also require an indoor area with heat when temperatures drop below 50° F.

2. Longevity: If properly cared for, there is a very good chance that the Spurred tortoise purchased will outlive the person who bought it in the first place. If you are buying a tortoise for a child, think about what you will do with the animal when the child grows up and goes away to college. A long-term plan is needed for keeping this species (note: the zoo does not accept Spurred tortoises as donations; we already have all we need).

3. Diet: These animals need proper nutrition in order to have normal shell growth. There are many captive turtles that have shell malformations due to poor diets. Even though they will eat a variety of different fruits and vegetables, the portions and the types have to be carefully monitored.

4. Lighting: Proper lighting also contributes to proper shell growth. Inadequate lighting also will result in shell deformities. Spurred tortoises need ample exposure to unfiltered sunlight.  When kept inside, they need special heat lamps that provide the necessary light wavelengths.

The World Chelonian Trust also provides useful information on caring for Spurred tortoises. Visit their website http://www.chelonia.org/articles/sulcatacare.htm if you’d like to learn more.

The Radiated tortoise

Please come and see our African spurred tortoises, along with Radiated tortoises and our Galapagos tortoises on your next visit and write us to let us know what you think.

Don’t miss a special evening with a  Galapagos tortoise researcher on December 9, 2011. Our Call of the Wild Speaker Series will feature Dr. Stephen Blake from the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology with a special introduction from Dr. Joe Flanagan, Director of Veterinary Services, Houston Zoo. Event begins at 7:00 p.m. Drinks and hors d’oerves will be served. CLICK HERE for tickets and information!

If you’d like to read about the Galapagos tortoise, click HERE to read our Dr. Joe’s blog series about his adventure to the Galapagos Islands and how he helped several Giant Tortoises!

Written by Stan Mayes, Herpetology

Featuring a wide range of interviews and spectacular footage from her own private collection (including her years in Gombe), Jane’s Journey is an inspiring portrait of the private person behind the courageous, ground-breaking, world-famous icon. This bio-film is a four-year look over-the-shoulder adventure. We will follow Jane as she travels across three continents —viewing chimpanzees and hippos in Africa, watching explosive calving glaciers in Greenland, and listening to stories from challenged youth on the Pine Ridge Native American reservation.

A unique live studio event broadcast exclusively to 500 theatres in 100 cities will unveil never-before-seen 45-year-old 8mm film shot in her first years in the African jungle, recently discovered in Jane’s home attic in Britain. Jane and music legend Dave Matthews will talk about their experiences in the field. Academy Award winner Charlize Theron will join Jane in-studio along with Bart Simpson’s voice Nancy Cartwright to tell African tales, and Jane will have a stunning conversation about our earth with astronauts aboard the international space station.
 
A special highlight will be the national debut Jane’s Journey that includes appearances by Academy-award winning actress Angelina Jolie and actor Pierce Brosnan.  The event will be hosted by Discovery Channel star, Donald Schultz.

CLICK HERE to find a theater near you.  And please, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

As you you will see from the movie’s trailer below, her words and gracious, gentle nature will move you – hopefully to act, every day, in whatever way you can, to make a difference in the world – whether it be with a random stranger, your friend, family or neighbor, or within the natural world.

This is a movie that is not to be missed.

Directed by Lorenz Knauer and starring Pierce Brosnan, Angelina Jolie, Jane Goodall, Kofi Annan, Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick.  Keep an eye out for Jane’s Journey.

             The Houston Zoo has played host to the St. Vincent Parrot since 1968.  Our first resident was an outgoing young female named “Vincent”.  She was later paired up with a male and housed in the Tropical Bird House for all guests to experience.  We are proud to have achieved, with help from “Vincent”, the first successful captive hatch (worldwide, mind you!) on April 25, 1972.  The zoo has played an important role for this species ever since.

This Houston Chronicle article from 1970 featured the first St. Vincent Amazons at the Houston Zoo.

Our most recent hatch, “Vincent Deuxieme”, occurred on May 28, 2008.  She was  hand-raised by Bird Department Supervisor Chris Holmes and the Bird Staff, which entails hand feeding every two hours from sun up to sun down.  Her moniker was borrowed from the female who started it all.  “Vincent” is currently living the good life next to her parents in our Off Exhibit Facilities.

The Houston Zoo made headlines in 2008 as we welcomed the hatching of Vincent Deuxieme

To learn more about this exotic and fascinating species and their history here at the Houston Zoo, join us on Sunday, September 4^th at the St. Vincent building (near Stormy the bird bank) for our Spotlight on the Species.  Keepers will be hosting fun activities, providing information and answering any questions you may have about this special parrot from 11 AM until 3 PM.

Tapirs Helping Tapirs

Aurora

Aurora won’t sleep in her bed tonight and I can’t sleep at all so here we are in the Wortham World of Primates, the baby orangutan dozing under a blanket on my chest.  My mind is south of here at an event called “Tapirs Supporting Tapirs” that should just be wrapping up in São Paulo, Brazil.  It’s fitting.  Tapirs Supporting Tapirs wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for “Pongos Helping Pongos”. This project was born eight years ago when primate keepers dreamed up the idea of putting paintings created by the orangutans in our care into a gallery and selling them to raise funds to help orangutans who live on the other side of the globe in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. We probably would never have thought to do it if not for the big sister of the orangutan currently nestled right here, her little hands moving as if she’s dreaming, Luna bela. Aurora isn’t old enough yet to paint or to draw chalk murals on the walls of her room, or to entertain guests by wrapping herself in a sheet and then opening her arms, whipping the sheet away to reveal herself dramatically again and again (I’m a butterfly! I’m a chrysalis! I’m a butterfly! I’m a chrysalis!) as her sister Luna did. But Aurora reminds me very much of her, good natured yet spunky, ticklish on her ridiculous pink and mauve cow-print belly, and lady-like enough to burp like a sailor and look cute doing it.

Luna

But I digress. Over the years, the Primate staff held four gallery events, as well as numerous smaller endeavors that involved hundreds if not thousands of participants and supporters. Art created by Luna and her fellow Houston Zoo orangutans was displayed and sold, raising awareness and a considerable amount of money, primarily for the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project based in a village called Sukau in Malaysia. Thinking someone else might be able to use our simple idea, I presented “Pongos Helping Pongos” at the Zoos and Aquariums Committing to Conservation conference, offering from the podium help to anyone who wanted to use art created by zoo animals to support conservation.

And Patrícia Medici took me up on it! Pati, a charismatic Brazilian conservationist, had the idea to organize an event where paintings created by tapirs living in zoos in the U.S. would be displayed and sold in São Paulo to benefit the Lowland Tapir Initiative. The event, later christened “Tapirs Supporting Tapirs” would increase appreciation of the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), an IUCN Red List Vulnerable species, which many Brazilians regard as common, unintelligent, and uninteresting animals.  The event would also raise awareness of the human activities, such as hunting for meat and habitat encroachment for farming and grazing that negatively affect wild lowland tapir populations.

Tapir painting by Brookfield Zoo tapirs

So we contacted the Large Mammal staff at the Houston Zoo as well as our colleagues at several other institutions that provide support for Pati’s research.  So many were willing to help out that we actually had to narrow it down so that Pati wouldn’t be overwhelmed trying to get all the paintings back to Brazil.  We sent art supplies all over the country to Brevard Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, John Ball Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and Woodland Park Zoo and walked them over to our own Houston Zoo tapir keepers.  Some of these zoos had previously painted with their tapirs but some might never have done so if not for this project; that would have been a shame because, from what I can see, they get a kick out of it.   And look what we got back: Pictures of paintings here. Twenty-nine beautiful paintings for the event!

When Pati started planning and set a date, it was amazing to watch it all happen! She picked the São Paulo Zoo as a venue. She got great artists like Ronald Rosa Obra and Desenho Luccas Longo involved.

She got a lot of attention from the media. You can friend it, follow it, and otherwise check it out. It’s all in Portuguese but still fun to watch:

• Video
• Facebook Page:
• Twitter: @artesdeantas

I can’t wait to hear how it turned out! I’d go to the computer right now but, though my mind is in São Paulo, my lap is here at Wortham World Of Primates and, at the moment, it’s occupied by a baby orangutan who’s just trying to get some shut-eye.

Written by Amanda Daly, Houston Zoo Natural Encounters Supervisor

On July 23rd the Houston Zoo is hosting our first Cassowary Spotlight on the Species event from 9 AM to 4 PM, where guests can participate in games, hang out with the cassowary keepers, win prizes, and learn about Darwin, our very own Double-wattled Cassowary!

Darwin, our Double-wattled Cassowary. Photo courtesy of Samantha Montgomery.

In the cassowary exhibit area, you will be able to play games like Pin the Wattle on the Cassowary and a very special version of Candy Land.  You can watch a training demonstration, or giggle as Darwin enjoys a shower in his exhibit!

Prizes will be raffled off, and you will have the opportunity to purchase some very special home-made animal items such as some castings of Darwin’s prehistoric footprints, or Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Artwork, and photography courtesy of our very own talented zookeepers!

An Example of some of the beautiful photography that will be for sale to benefit wild cassowary populations. Photo by Samantha Montgomery

All proceeds will go towards purchasing critical cassowary habitat that is currently tagged for commercial and residential development. As habitat fragmentation is the biggest threat to dwindling wild cassowary populations, every bit of habitat is crucial to their survival!

Stop by and see us, grab yourself a ‘I Heart Cassowary’ sticker and get familiar with one of the coolest animals at the zoo!

As you might imagine, this makes things especially difficult when parenting comes in to question. Can you imagine if, while attempting to change your child’s diaper or tying their shoes, or teaching them how to throw a baseball you had to constantly be looking over your shoulder or warding off predators, without a weapon, claws, beak, hooves, horns or sharp teeth? It would make things pretty dang stressful and tiring, that’s for sure! And, because of other creatures “sweet tooth” for you, there is a good chance you would be sitting in a stomach basking in gastric juices before you were able to raise your offspring successfully.

For this reason, and others, you do not usually see a lot of parental care in the amphibious creatures. Most amphibians may be absent parents once the deed is done, but they have good reason, and they have adopted a reproductive strategy that works better for their kind.

Glass frog dads guard their fragile eggs

What’s the strategy you ask? Lots, lots, lots and lots, of eggs! By laying hundreds, if not thousands of eggs, there is the hope that a small percentage will make it to adulthood and eventually make more frogs or toads.

This is very different in the mammal and bird world where you see parental care as the major reproductive strategy, having less offspring at a time.

And- if you do have more than 2 or 3 offspring, you generally have aunties, uncles and grandparents to help with the rearing. Why else are we so engrossed by those national stories of those human parents who have 4, 6, 8 babies at a time?! We are amazed and question, how do they do it? The truth is these people must rely on family, good friends and corporate sponsors to make it work! Frogs do not have this luxury!

HOWEVER and quite amazingly, if you look close enough, there are several examples of frog dads out their that do protect their young, proving once again that amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians) are one of the most surprising and diverse groups of vertebrates on this planet.

Although there are quite a few examples of good frog mommies, the majority are generally the males exhibiting parental care. This is because female frogs use up a profound amount of energy producing and carrying around all of those hundreds and thousands of eggs and don’t have much to give once the eggs are deposited. Babies mamma is usually way too tired, ready to prop her feet up, maybe get a massage, and eat a nice fly quiche.

So, in honor of Fathers Day, here are just a few examples of Toad-ally Amazing Amphibian Dads:

* Glass frog dads guard their fragile eggs which hang from leaves snapping at any potential intruders and mimicking their clutch of eggs as well.

* The African bullfrog guards his eggs and will aggressively defend the offspring. Once the eggs have hatched, he will dig a channel between the small pools of water the tadpoles started in, and an adjacent stream so the tadpoles may escape their evaporating natal pool!

* Species of the midwife toad actually carry eggs on their back legs until they are ready to hatch. The male will then transport them to water and let them go!

Poison dart frog

* Poison dart frogs will let little tadpoles take a ride on their back, moving them around to a nursery bromeliad plant filled with still water. Some will even transport them to nearby streams.

* Some African rain frog species will protect their eggs which have been laid in burrows in the ground.

* Gladiator frogs defend their stream side nursery pools and bust out with arm spears projecting from their bodies to aggressively defend their young from other frogs and/or sneaky cockroaches!

* Darwin frogs brood their tadpoles in their vocal sacs until they are ready to complete metamorphosis. Now that’s commitment!

Let’s hear it for the dads! Celebrate Dad by giving him a memorable Father’s Day gift this year – Name a Houston Toad after him! With your gift, you help us support Houston Toads, a critically endangered species native to Texas. Click here to learn more about Houston Toads and how you can further the Houston Zoo’s conservation efforts that help ensure their survival.

The ciritically endangered Houston Toad

Come to TOAD-ally Awesome Father’s Day on June 19! Come visit the newly-named toads on June 19 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. as we celebrate a TOAD-ally Awesome Father’s Day at the Houston Zoo. This fun, family event will be filled with crafts, activities, Houston Toad info and much more! This event is FREE with your paid Zoo admission.

This year we are translocating 24 Golden White-eyes from Saipan to Sarigan.  Sarigan is about 2 hours from Saipan via Helicopter.

The tiny uninhabited island of Sarigan.

The translocation is scheduled for Thursday – so for the 2 days before I poured over all the weight and size data for the White-eyes and have to choose 24 birds out of the 40 that we have to send for release.  While looking at the data, I try to choose birds that may not adapt well to captivity (because we are bringing 12 birds back to the US for captive breeding).  After several hours of looking at weights, wing, and tarsus measurements, I have picked out the 24 birds that will call Sarigan home – and as luck would have it, they turn out to be 12 males and 12 females.

Here's a little known fact about bird nerds--we LOVE spreadsheets!

The night before the release we put color bands on the birds – each bird will have a unique color band combination so that field researchers can identify them.  Once the birds are banded, they go into their special transport crates.

Removing a bird from its holding cage.

Banding the bird for release and future identification.

Good luck kisses are a vital part of the relocation program.

Early the next morning, project leader Herb Roberts, Curator of Birds at the Memphis Zoo, loads them up into the helicopter to take to their new island home.

At least the people in the helicopter had a very impressive view on the way to the white-eye’s new home.

After they landed on Sarigan, the crates are taken into the forest to let the white-eyes enjoy their new island paradise (although some of the white-eyes are a little more cautious than the otehrs).

Next spring, field researchers from DFW will come to Sarigan and look for unbanded Golden White-eyes.  Any birds without a leg band will be off-spring from the 24 that we moved.  We are very hopeful that they will breed and thus grow an ‘insurance’ population of this beautiful species that is protected from the dangers on their home island of Saipan. 

The DFW field researchers will keep look-out for a Golden White-eye nest like this one

After the release on Sarigan, we still had extra birds remaining in our care.  We originally caught 18 Rufous Fan-tails and 42 Golden White-eyes.  Since we are only taking 12 Fantails and 12 White-eyes back to the United States; we needed to choose the birds to return to their original trapping location.  After looking carefully at the food consumption of the birds we trapped; we chose 6 Fantails and 6 White-eyes to re-release.  Mid-day on the day after the translocation, we took these birds back out to their original trap location.  Most of the fantails flew out of the crate with hast… however, the White-eyes, always curious, usually eyed their surroundings prior to flying out of their crate.

A Golden White-eye, cautiously examining its surroundings before flying free.

A Rufous Fantail takes flight back at its original home.

While we were back at our netting sites, we were able to see check-up on the Bridled White-eye nest that was near trap 1… and we were very pleased to see that one chick had hatched and the 2^nd egg was in the hatching process.  It looks like it will be another successful spring for the birds on Saipan.

A Bridled White-eye chick, and a second on the way!

Make sure you haven’t missed out! Read the rest of the series HERE!