About Author: Liz

Giant pandas have long been prominent in the public eye. Their distinctive markings, cuddly appearance, and apparently docile personalities have always made them favorites with people. Further, they are revered by the Chinese and are a unique symbol of the country. Yet, despite this reverence in their homeland and global admiration, giant pandas are critically endangered due to massive habitat loss, a purely human effect that is difficult to control.

The Chinese government after a decades-long ban preventing pandas from leaving China, allowed the San Diego Zoo to receive two giant pandas to expand the body of knowledge about panda behavior and physiology. Along with this long-term panda loan, the San Diego Zoo established a partnership with the Wolong Giant Panda Conservation Center in China to aid giant panda conservation.

The project that the Zoo has undertaken is an exceptional one since it has been one of the first bridges between fieldwork and Zoo work. At the Zoo’s Panda Conservation Center, research zoologists are observing giant pandas and collecting extremely important data, while the giant pandas themselves are educating the public simply by being giant pandas. The Center is clearly much beloved by the public, as evidenced by the long lines that are consistently stretching out the door. Zoo research zoologists are also working in the wild by tracking pandas, observing breeding patterns, and applying the information learned at the Center so as to further panda conservation.

The people who visit the giant pandas learn about the pandas and their vulnerability. Habitat loss is a universal problem that cannot help but resonate with everyone who appreciates plants and animals. By observing giant pandas, people realize that the loss of these great animals would be a terrible, terrible thing indeed. This, in turn, leads to a greater collective wish for unity between animals and humans (we hope). It would be a great thing indeed if humans and animals could live in accordance with one another; if the giant pandas could roam China as they once did; if even the mountain lions of our own native county could walk where they once trod. But, to achieve this, we must recognize that we need to share the land and its resources; this is a lesson that the giant panda teaches Zoo visitors everyday.

Liz, Real World Team

Genetics at the research arm of the San Diego Zoo strives for the future by working to preserve the biodiversity of every individual creature through the preservation of its DNA for generations to come. The Beckman Center for Conservation Research is where thousands upon thousands of DNA samples of animals are held for the purpose of preservation. This staggering display of biodiversity conservation is not, however, the ideal end.

According to the head of genetics at the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, Dr. Oliver Ryder, the main goal of genetics should not be merely to save species, but rather to save species in their habitats. This is particularly true for cheetahs, which are extremely threatened as a species. Due to a genetic bottleneck long ago, the cheetah population became near clones of one another, which has sharply decreased genetic diversity and leaves them extremely susceptible to disease. Consequently, the cheetahs are very fragile members of their communities. It could be said that they are not balanced, which is extremely worrying for geneticists since an extinction of the weak cheetah population would naturally have disastrous results. This genetic balance is what genetics strives to ensure: that every species remains a functioning member of their community.

Even the smallest creature’s removal can have dire effects on an ecosystem, which is why geneticists work so hard to conserve biodiversity as a way of increasing every creature’s chances for survival. At the Institute, conservation of biodiversity is guaranteed through the Frozen Zoo, an impressive tool utilized by conservationists everywhere. The Frozen Zoo is a repository of hundreds upon thousands of DNA samples from animals ranging from the common squirrel to the rare mountain gorilla, and thus priceless in its significance. It is a symbol of biodiversity and the only one of its kind in the world, confirming once again that the research arm of the San Diego Zoo and its geneticists are the future, a future in which every animal has a place.

Liz, Real World Team

The Zoo constantly astounds me. The animals are stunning in their variety, as well as in their magnificent appearance, and I am often reminded of their importance on our planet. Watching the animals is my idea of bliss, for I see it as nourishment for the soul. There is something utterly peaceful in observing an animal, contented and at peace itself. Nature, indeed, is the finest enjoyment, for it is ever-changing, ever-evolving, and ever-intriguing.

That said, the beauty of nature, as seen in a zoo, is not utterly spontaneous. It is shaped by the careful work of the zookeepers, whose duty it is to keep the animals as at ease, challenged, and entertained as they would be in the wild. One such keeper is Hali Anderson, the keeper for a variety of carnivores.

Her day consists of cleaning out the exhibits – a somewhat monotonous and messy job- feeding the animals, and planning enrichment experiences for her charges. The planning of enrichment is the most glamorous part of her job, for it is where keepers must truly utilize their creativity so as to keep the animals mentally and physically challenged and stimulated. Ms. Anderson, in fact, challenged the interns to run with our creativity by allowing us to place a Manchurian bear’s food all around the exhibit in unique and entertaining places. This led to humorous results, from a fish threaded through a hook to a bone nonchalantly placed on a branch overlooking the pool.

After we left the enclosure, the bear found all of our inventive hiding spots for his food quite entertaining, and snuffled around the exhibit with an air that could only be described as befuddled curiosity. As we watched the bear from the viewing side of the exhibit, we took pride in the delight of the wandering visitors who appeared as entertained as we were. As I watched the visitors’ laughing over the bear’s attempts at retrieving the bone I was struck once again by how simply enjoyable it is to view animals. In them we can see ourselves, as well as a complex sort of beauty that both challenges and inspires. In watching these animals I cannot help but wonder how anyone could ever look at an animal and see merely an object, a symbol of exploitation, when a creature is most beautiful whole, happy, and a seamless part of the world. The poachers and exotic wildlife traders that end the lives of animals merely for human, materialistic gains must not understand the intrinsic value of animals as healthy members of their communities.

Liz, Real World Team

Blackie the Manchurian Bear as he retrieves the fish-in-a-hook.

Alicia, looking into a microscope at boa blood.

On any given day at the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, a rare or endangered species may suddenly collapse from some unknown ailment (knock on wood). When this happens, intense, rapid care is needed, preferably with the most advanced technology, and it is safe to say that the Wild Animal Park and Zoo excel at both. However, the physical aspects of caring for a sick or injured animal, although important, may overshadow the deeper biological aspects. Although it seems odd to test an animal that is happily frolicking about, it is in fact an excellent preventive measure, for there are times when something as simple as a parasite, or something as harmful as diabetes, can be found. However, lab work done at the extensive and technologically advanced Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center at the Wild Animal Park is also done to benefit human health, since there are diseases that can jump between animals and humans, known as zoonotic diseases. Wildlife clinical pathology, although seemingly unrelated to humans, is in fact extremely important in guarding the health of animals and humans alike. Moreover, the small-but-growing field could perhaps provide answers for why a disease affects humans the way it does, how animals resist such a disease and if this could be applied to humans, as well as other questions of interest to both physicians and the common person. The importance of clinical pathology cannot be underestimated, and the sprawling and advanced department at the Wild Animal Park is just another sign of the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park’s status as one of the finest zoological organizations in the world.

~Liz, Real World Team

This week I visited the renowned Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) center at the Wild Animal Park. The place is truly amazing with different labs scattered about and the Frozen Zoo. However, we weren’t at CRES simply to admire the surroundings, but rather to meet with Dr. Bryan Endress, who is the head of a fairly new division at CRES, Applied Plant Ecology. Dr. Endress was accompanied by Christa Horn, a Stanford graduate, and Katie Merill, an intern from UCSD who is writing her senior thesis on a special project in the Applied Plant Ecology Division. We learned about their project, a restoration effort focused on growing a native cactus species, the prickly pear cactus of the genus opuntia. This prickly pear is vital to Southern California for a variety of reasons such as helping to prevent erosion, using less water as an extremely drought tolerant species, and acting as a critical breeding habitat for a native bird species called the cactus wren. However, the cactus, and subsequently the cactus wren, has been severely threatened by the recent waves of wildfires, particularly the devastating Witch Creek Fire of 2007. The good news is that prickly pear, in its natural environment, is fairly capable of staving off fire, unlike many introduced plant species (such as mustard plant) that happily fuel the hungry flames. Thus, the message is clear.

Not only are the cactus essential in acting as a natural fire-retardant, they are a key part of the Californian landscape and a vital habitat for native Californian species. The cactus wren shall have a habitat along with the native cactus, and the native cactus will flourish and alleviate the dangers of fire so that human populations are safer too. The story of the cactus and the cactus wren is a lesson in the staggering importance of seemingly commonplace organisms, like a cactus, for example. Every organism has its place and is tied to the human world with far-reaching effects if damaged.

Liz, Real World Team

Rachelle Marcon, our guide, led us to the koala “barn,” where the koalas were surprisingly active (likely due to the fact that it was nearing sundown, and most animals appear to be active around this time). However, despite their apparent playfulness, Rachelle informed us that koalas are not cuddly, and in fact are as good-tempered as an angry Gila monster. Koalas are the only animals that have adapted to eating eucalyptus, which secretes a deadly poison koalas must become immune to before partaking of their first solid meal. Yet, this does not mean every eucalyptus tree is an open buffet for the koala: the trees vary in toxicity according to the soil, climate, and general genetics of the tree, and thus can sometimes be too deadly for the most determined koalas. In fact, this is a reason one does not see colonies of koalas gallivanting around Southern California, despite our many groves of eucalyptus trees. Rachelle had asked an acquaintance in the horticulture department why this was so, and they explained that due to soil condition and climate the Southern California trees, although they were imported from Australia, are too poisonous for the koala. Another reason koalas are not seen in every Californian backyard are that in Australia koalas act as intrinsic members of their food webs. If koalas are removed, the natural economy will be affected. The natural economy is the amount of resources and minerals circulating through a system, and if these resources and minerals are depleted or bolstered, the human environment will suffer as a result.

On the subject (or at least mildly close to the subject) of trees, I learned something surprising: the San Diego Zoo, although renowned for its varied and massive collection of animals from every corner of the world, has an equally precious collection of plants. The Zoo also boasts an extensive collection of cycads, which are intriguing in that they are found on every continent but Antarctica and have distinctive male and female characteristics. As cycads seem to be somewhat closer in ancestry to humans than most plants due to the cycads’ difference in sex, cycads may hold some clues to the origin of life and humans own divergence from the primeval soup. Or maybe not, but it’s fun to speculate. Too bad for female cycads that they don’t get to choose their mates but are at the mercy of the wind spreading the pollen around.

Liz, Real World Team

Hello, my name is Liz, and I adore hiking, camping, and generally spending time in nature, and I can sit for hours observing animals. I’ve always held a strong fascination towards the environment and our own human interactions within it, and ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to work for the conservation of animals. When I was around twelve years old I determined, after devouring every piece of information pertaining to any sort of animal, that I would like to become a research zoologist. I can think of nothing better than studying clouded leopards in the wilds of Nepal, or Bengal tigers in the dry back-country of India, or any of the amazing creatures that populate this earth. Along with this interest in the wild, I am also interested in genetics and culture, and how both affect wildlife and the world around us. Since this program explores every aspect of zoology, I am excited to participate and learn more about zoology, as well as discover more about the diverse wildlife present in this world.

I am on the Real World team and will be writing on how, for instance, gorilla conservation relates to the “ordinary” world.