San Diego Zoo staff members Bryan Endress and Maren Peterson are currently in Vietnam to help put together a conservation plan for critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys. They are keeping us posted on their progress. See Maren’s previous blog, Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkeys.

Yesterday was a series of meetings with the local conservation organization to discuss their proposed efforts. We had lunch – where we’re getting better at using chopsticks – and then braved the traffic to visit the University of Hanoi’s Forestry Department. They welcomed us with great kindness and excitement about potential collaborations. A number of professors gave presentations, and we toured their experimental forest. We then went to dinner and discussed conservation and research opportunities over many glasses of rice wine.
(more…)

What a way to end the year and begin a new one! Bryan Endress, division head of the San Diego Zoo’s Applied Plant Ecology Division, and I traveled to Vietnam yesterday; it’s a long 19+ hour flight. We will be meeting with collaborators from another conservation organization, governmental officials, university researchers, and local communities to discuss increasing our involvement in a Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (TSNM) conservation program. TSNMs were thought to be extinct; however, a few populations were discovered, and it is estimated there are around 200 to 300 left in the wild.
(more…)

This past April in the San Diego Zoo’s Ituri Forest habitat, African spotted-necked otter Pori gave birth to a new baby girl we’ve named Lila. Along with the excitement of this birth, we were also a little apprehensive about how mom would treat her older daughter, Mugo. Our experience with spotted-necked otters in the past prepared us for the possibility of Mugo being expelled from the group when the new baby and mom joined them.
(more…)

It seems that Kinah never ceases to bring joy to all those around her, and lately, this has included her up close inspection of our guests visiting Ituri Forest. For those readers unfamiliar with Kinah’s life here at the San Diego Zoo, she is our little miracle monkey, hand-raised in the Children’s Zoo after a tough start in life. (See Nerissa’s previous blog, Springtime Monkey Business.) Through the dedication of our staff, Kinah became the strong, independent, and very curious little girl who delights her “fans” by getting right up to the glass for a visit!
(more…)

I must say that Janey and Clyde, the orangutans, have been great conservation ambassadors during our daily keeper talks at the Absolutely Apes exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. Just under a year ago, I began to develop a conservation package that would some day becomepart of a pilot program for the rest of the great ape areas of the Zoo (see Juan’s blog, New Age Orangutan Conservation). Our conservation package includes materials and products that are made of sustainable and/or reused material; these were used as tools to show Zoo visitors options that we, as consumers, have for becoming more eco-friendly at home.
(more…)

On September 3 at approximately 11:30 p.m. Azizi, an 11½- year-old western lowland gorilla, started to show signs of entering the first stage of labor. Keepers noted that she was becoming increasingly restless and experiencing contractions. Her labor continued into the next morning and at 11:05 a.m., Azizi gave birth to a very healthy and robust baby boy. His birth weight was approximately 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms)! The entire troop remained together and inside the gorilla management facility at the Zoo. Azizi’s troop consists of one 19-year-old silverback male, Paul Donn, and two other females: 13-year-old Imani and 14-year-old Ndjia.
(more…)

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the New Living Expo in San Francisco. On behalf of the San Diego Zoo, I accepted an invitation by the director of Orangutan Outreach, Richard Zimmerman, and his wife, Robin, to help raise awareness and funds directly contributing to orangutan conservation. Armed with some show-and-tell items, information pamphlets, and 50 plush orangutan toys, we had no idea what to expect from the thousands of anticipated guests visiting that weekend.
(more…)

Summer is almost here, and with that, the animals in Ituri Forest have been enjoying all that the warmer weather has to offer. Unfortunately for me, that also means our trees are producing fruit and some of our Allen’s swamp monkeys become unreliable about coming into the bedrooms for exhibit servicing this time of year! Although I do everything I can think of to make the monkey bedrooms a positive place to be, I just can’t beat a big, beautiful ficus tree where a monkey can enjoy a snack with a view! So, beginning about a month ago, when San Diego had our unusually warm weather, I started a new routine with the Allen’s swamp monkey family consisting of Mr. Toad, Karen, Bunzi, and Bunzi’s daughters Kinah and Makonnen, the monkeys living in the exhibit with the bountiful trees in question.
(more…)

It’s been what you call “slow with spurts of busy” at the San Diego Zoo’s hospital lately. Not many patients, I am happy to say. But definitely some very busy moments!

A patient we have had for several weeks now is a cute young Allen’s swamp monkey named Deiriai (“D” for short). Unfortunately, she came to us with a broken upper left arm and several open lacerations due to an altercation with one of the males in her group. The afternoon she arrived we were all very concerned for her, but incredibly she has done amazingly well. I’m sure it has a lot to do with the great medical care she received, and her feisty spirit.
(more…)

This is a farewell to Karim-Alam, a 1½-year-old siamang. Born December 13, 2006, little Karim-Alam, whose name means “generous nature” in Indonesian, was named in acknowledgment of all the generous donors who have supported the San Diego Zoo throughout the years.
(more…)