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San DIego Zoo Global

3

Time for Tortoise Training

By
Ben Jurand
– April 11, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Conservation, Desert Tortoises, Projects in the Field, Reptiles and Amphibians, Uncategorized
Ben prepares to take a blood sample from a desert tortoise.

Ben prepares to take a blood sample from a desert tortoise.

The Desert Tortoise Conservation Center (DTCC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, is gearing up for the spring translocation of a number of desert tortoises. We will be moving tortoises from the DTCC to a field location in the desert, where we will release them to help augment struggling wild populations.

Translocation is stressful on tortoises, because they need to adapt quickly to new surroundings, find shelter, and keep a lookout for both resources and predators. To give translocated tortoises the best chance of surviving in the wild, we need to make sure the animals are healthy and strong enough to be released. We also need to try to prevent them from spreading diseases to other tortoises in the wild.

As a new research associate at the DTCC, my first week included a lot of training. We were lucky to have several desert tortoise researchers and veterinarians visit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and San Diego Zoo Global to provide hands-on instruction on how to visually assess the health and condition of tortoises. We also learned how best to gather data and collect samples, including how to take oral and blood samples from the tortoises to test for diseases. We learned how to measure the size and weight of each tortoise, made notes about how their facial features and shells looked, and checked them for injuries or signs of illness.

DTCC staff take desert tortoise measurements.

DTCC staff take desert tortoise measurements.

Knowing their condition before we move them will help us track their progress over time in their new wild habitat. On some of the tortoises, we will be attaching radio transmitters to the upper part of their shell (called a carapace). After we have translocated the tortoises, we’ll be tracking their movements in the field and will monitor their health conditions in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

It is our hope that by continuing these studies, we will get a better understanding of how translocations affect the desert tortoises we move as well as their new tortoise neighbors.

Ben Jurand is a research associate at the San Diego Zoo’s Desert Tortoise Conservation Center.

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104

Panda Zhen Zhen

By
Megan Owen
– February 14, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Pandas, Uncategorized
Zhen Zhen was busy climbing trees just before her estrus period started.

Zhen Zhen was busy climbing trees just before her estrus period started. Photo credit: Meghan Martin

Zhen Zhen is now 5 1/2 years old, and our latest news from China indicates that she is doing very well! The third cub of Bai Yun and Gao, we’ve just learned that she was the first female to come into estrous this year in BiFengXia, and that she bred with two males, Lu Lu and Yuan Yuan. Zhen Zhen and her big sister, Su Lin, moved to China in September 2010 to be a part of the panda breeding program there.

While we can’t tell at this point whether or not these breeding encounters were successful (i.e., will result in a pregnancy), all reports suggest that her behavior was perfect. We are hopeful that she’ll have cubs later this summer, and we’ll keep you posted! Congratulations to Zhen Zhen!

Megan Owen is a conservation program manager for San Diego Zoo Global. Read her previous post, Speaking to Friends about Pandas.

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0

Welcoming Students to Cocha Cashu

By
Jessica Groenendijk
– February 5, 2013Posted in: Conservation, Projects in the Field
Matsigenka schoolchildren pose for a group photo at the end of their adventure at Cocha Cashu.

Matsigenka schoolchildren pose for a group photo at the end of their adventure at Cocha Cashu.

We can hear the Matsigenka schoolchildren chattering over the hum of the outboard (it’s amazing how sound carries over water), but they fall silent as they approach the beach that represents our port. Unlike researchers, who typically spend 10 minutes tidying their gear and putting on rubber boots before disembarking clumsily, the kids jump out of the boat without fuss. They are shy as Cesar Flores, director of the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park, Peru, comes forward to greet them. They have never been to Cocha Cashu before, although their neighboring community, Maisal, is just an hour or so upriver. Their teacher, Miluska, shakes Cesar’s hand and smiles warmly. Together, they walk the 550-yard (500 meters) trail through the rain forest to the station.

In our discussions with local people, we have noticed repeatedly a sense of bafflement about what we do at Cocha Cashu. People see us come and go, but there is very little connection, if any, between the researchers and staff who spend weeks or months at the station and the people who live in the communities in and around Manu. There is also little contact between the researchers and the Park authorities. We would like to change all this by making Cocha Cashu more accessible to local inhabitants, to increase the transparency of our activities and research, to share research findings openly with Park staff, and to enhance communication and interaction on all levels and with all community members. In short, we plan to integrate Cocha Cashu into the local and wider community.

Cocha Cashu director Cesar leads a lesson in the Station's library.

Cocha Cashu director Cesar leads a lesson in the Station’s library.

This process is not as simple as it sounds and will take some time to complete. We have begun exploring various avenues and ideas and will continue to do so in the coming year. As a first step, and at the request of Miluska, in October 2012 we invited 15 primary grade schoolchildren in Maisal to spend a weekend at the station.

Over the next two days, Cesar and Fortunato (our boat driver and photographer) introduced the children to life and research at Cocha Cashu. The kids were shown around the main buildings and given a presentation after lunch to enhance their understanding of Cashu’s role in Manu, beginning with the origins of the station and ending with our hopes and objectives for the future. This was followed by an excursion into the forest to explain a number of ongoing, long-term research projects, and they had the opportunity to count and measure some trees in a few little plots to experience how scientists evaluate the forest.

A refreshing swim in the lake!

A refreshing swim in the lake!

They also received a lesson about the mechanism of Cashu’s power supply, examined water quality, and, during a short discussion session, the children in turn showed us that they have a great understanding of the natural history of aquatic systems. There was also plenty of time for fun, not least a swim in the lake! Little by little, the kids lost their awe and entered into the spirit of Cocha Cashu. For us, the broad grins in the group photo, taken toward the end of their visit, say it all.

Jessica Groenendijk is the education and outreach coordinator at San Diego Zoo Global’s Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park, Peru. Read her previous post, Homecoming in Cocha Cashu.

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1

Citizen Science

By
Susanne Marczak
– January 31, 2013Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo
Zoo Corps volunteers helped the Institute’s Applied Plant Ecology Division plant cactus to restore coastal sage scrub environment.

Zoo Corps volunteers helped the Institute’s Applied Plant Ecology Division plant cactus to restore coastal sage scrub environment.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend one of the first meetings of the newly formed San Diego Citizen Science Network. A multitude of stakeholders attended including educators, university graduate students, local government officials, and researchers from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research (“the Institute”). It was very exciting to be with people from so many different backgrounds and institutions who all shared the same vision: to increase and streamline the potential for citizen science opportunities throughout San Diego County.

The term “citizen science” is a reference to public engagement opportunities in scientific investigations. Even though participants often have limited or no scientific background, they can still play a crucial role in asking questions, collecting data, and interpreting results that support meaningful scientific research. These types of programs provide an opportunity to increase public scientific literacy and involve individuals in various components of the scientific process. This can prove especially useful for answering scientific questions that require data to be gathered or processed over long periods of time and large geographic areas.

Citizen science is an extremely vital component of the work that we do here at the Institute. Without our many passionate volunteers who assist with data collection and entry, we would not be able to conduct research at the same magnitude that we currently realize. Improvements in technology (and its associated decreasing costs) have led to an exponential increase in the amount of data we are able to collect (a single camera trap can generate thousands of images a week!). Trained volunteers able to identify species and individual animals in photos have substantially helped our efforts to evaluate the survival and overall success of translocated squirrels and to monitor western burrowing owl nests. Volunteers also participate in surveys for coastal cactus wrens, observe giant panda behavior, help with planting of cacti to restore local habitat, and help us collect feedback from guests about their experiences at the Zoo and Safari Park.

Gibbon

Gibbon

The acoustic structure of a gibbon “duet call” becomes longer and more complex over time. Recordings made by guests can provide researchers with a better understanding of how and why these changes occur and how they can be studied to estimate population numbers in the wild:

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Public participation in scientific data collection can also serve to enhance the guest experience at our facilities where guests can have opportunities to engage and connect with wildlife in novel ways. For example, the Institute’s Behavioral Biology Division plans to create a smartphone/tablet application that will allow guests to collect valuable biological data on the animals they are enjoying while visiting the Zoo or Safari Park. Such observations (including both behavior and associated vocalizations) can provide us with a greater understanding of how animals utilize their enclosures and how individuals interact with each other. This level of interaction also gives the guest the chance to be a direct participant in the scientific process and learn more about how we collect and use data.

The creation of this local citizen science network is really exciting. It will serve as a great tool to bring researchers, educators, and the general public together—a sort of match-making service for individuals and organizations wanting to be involved. This kind of collaboration allows researchers to help educators develop scientifically rigorous protocols for data collection and serve as mentors for students. Participating land managers and institutions can also provide property access, different groups can collect data for the same project across a large landscape over multiple years, and all teams collectively build an essential dataset to answer a research question.

Everyday people across the world help collect scientific data, from studies in museums where individuals are examining specimens that have been in storage for years to activities in cities and parks where counting and identifying birds provides much-needed data on avian populations. People are looking in their own backyards and recording when flowers bloom and when leaves fall to contribute to our understanding of changing climates and environments. There are so many ways to get involved as a citizen scientist, and I encourage you to participate in any way you can. As a researcher here at the Institute, I can truly testify to the invaluable contributions that volunteers make to our projects. Get involved as a volunteer with San Diego Zoo Global or another organization that interests you and begin your own adventure as a citizen scientist!

Susanne Marczak is a research technician with the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Muddy Days in the Soil Lab.

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3

White Christmas for Juvenile Desert Tortoises

By
Jeanette Perry
– January 24, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Conservation, Desert Tortoises, Reptiles and Amphibians
A tortoise burrow can be seen the morning after a nightfall of light snow. desert.

A tortoise burrow can be seen the morning after a nightfall of light snow. desert.

Juvenile desert tortoises released in September 2012 at the Nevada National Security Site are making their way through their first winter in the wild. The tortoises were snug tight in their burrows over the holidays when temperatures dropped below freezing and a light snow fell.

As ectotherms (cold-blooded animals), desert tortoises must utilize their surroundings to regulate their body temperature since they can’t warm their bodies on their own. Only a few inches of soil are enough to buffer air temperatures to allow the tortoises to hibernate through the winter without freezing. In a few more months, when the air temperatures begin to rise here in the desert, all of our translocated tortoises should emerge to heat themselves in the sun.

Jeanette Perry is a research assistant at San Diego Zoo Global’s Desert Tortoise Conservation Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Read her previous post, Wandering Males, Jealous Boyfriends.

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243

Panda Cub: Last Exam?

By
Debbie Andreen
– January 23, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Pandas, Uncategorized
Xiao Liwu sits atop the "mini-Keebler" to survey his territory.

Xiao Liwu sits atop the “mini-Keebler” to survey his territory.

Our Zoo photographer, Ken Bohn, took such a cute photo of panda cub Xiao Liwu today that we just had to share it with his many fans. The 5½-month old cub has been perfecting his tree-climbing skills, much to the fascination (and horror!) of Panda Cam viewers. We know it looks scary and he could/will fall, but this is all part of learning to be a panda. Soon, Xiao Liwu will spend most of his time high up in a tree, just as he would in the wild to stay safe from predators while his mother forages for food.

Xiao Liwu’s exams are coming to a close, as he is a growing bear, and we want to treat him as such. But we do have an exam scheduled for next week. Our photographer and videographer will be there to record what may be his last exam as a cub, and guess who else will be there—ME!

Yes, after moderating panda (and other) blogs for all these years, I finally have the privilege of attending my very first panda cub exam. I am beyond excited and getting goosebumps as I write this! I promise to write about the exam in excruciating detail. I want to share my joy with all of you, our faithful blog readers! If you have a question you’d like me to ask the attending veterinarian, please let me know in the comment section. One question I’ll be sure to ask: Is Mr. Wu still fine after all of the tumbles he has taken? I’m confident the answer will be a resounding “yes,” but it’s always nice to hear it from an expert.

And rest assured that I will tell Xiao Liwu how much he is loved by all of you. I may even blow him a kiss—don’t tell Bai Yun!

Debbie Andreen is an editor and blog moderator for San Diego Zoo Global.

Adopt a panda for your Valentine!

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1

Full House at Maui Bird Conservation Center

By
Amy Kilshaw
– January 18, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Birds, Conservation, Hawaiian Birds, Uncategorized
Our educational displays were all updated for our Open House event.

Our educational displays were all updated for our Open House event.

The Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC) hosted its Annual Open House Events in November. We house some of Hawaii’s most threatened bird species: the alala (Hawaiian crow), kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill), puaiohi (small Kauai thrush), and nene (Hawaiian goose). Our mission is to aid the recovery of Hawaiian ecosystems by preventing the extinction and promoting the recovery of Hawaii’s most threatened native birds.

As our focus is on breeding these critically endangered species, we give the birds as much privacy and seclusion as possible, and this, unfortunately, limits the amount of public outreach we can do. But once a year we get to open our doors and show Maui and its visitors a glimpse of these incredible birds and ways they can help in their conservation.

In preparation for the event, we worked very hard to update all our educational material with lots of new presentations and posters for visitors to enjoy. In addition to offering hour-long tours featuring the birds and our facility, we created a new interactive Keiki Room, with crafts and fun educational information geared toward children, and there was a silent auction with lots of fantastic items to bid on over the two days.

Robin mans the silent auction table at our Open House.

Robin mans the silent auction table at our Open House.

This year we had a record number of visitors, with almost 200 people coming through our doors! Robin Keith, senior research coordinator for San Diego Zoo Global’s Conservation Education Division, helped plan and implement this successful event with us. We advertised on a larger scale this year so we could reach more people across Maui, and the publicity proved so popular we had to add additional tours! We even had a visitor from Honolulu fly in for the day just for the event.

MBCC is one of two facilities operated by the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, a field conservation program of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and State of Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. This year’s Open House was a great success, and we really enjoyed sharing the work we do with so many guests. We are already looking forward to opening our doors next year! We are especially grateful to all the supporters who donated items for our silent Auction.

Mahalo (thank you) to our Maui ohana (family)!

Amy Kilshaw is a research associate at the Maui Bird Conservation Center. Read her previous post, Raising Maui Parrotbills.

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0

Saving Species with Math

By
Carmel Witte and Bruce Rideout
– December 20, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Ruminants like this Indian gaur are susceptible to Johne’s disease.

Emerging diseases are a threat to both wildlife and human health. Recently, disease has been implicated in a variety of significant conservation problems, such as the global decline of amphibians, the loss of Hawaii’s native birds, and dramatic population decreases of Tasmanian devils. Veterinarians and physicians use the modern technology of vaccines, drugs, and quarantine to fight disease, but sometimes these modern tools just aren’t enough. Organisms may evolve more rapidly than vaccines can be developed, bacteria can become resistant to drugs, and pathogens may be spread too quickly through the global movement of people and animals to be contained by quarantine.

What if math could be used to stop a deadly outbreak? Often people dislike math in school, but it may the key to addressing many challenges we face today. Simple pieces of information, such as the contact rate between animals (or people), the number infected, how long an infection lasts, and how quickly it is transmitted can be translated into elegant equations. The joining of these equations gives rise to mathematical models that can describe how disease is spread, help identify the most effective points of intervention, and even predict the severity of an outbreak.

Today’s epidemiologists, mathematicians, and computer experts are using mathematical models to fight disease. Human health researchers have recently used models to understand the factors driving the worldwide spread of H1N1 influenza. San Diego Zoo Global uses such models to help us understand transmission and intervention strategies for Johne’s (pronounced Yo-nees) disease, thanks to support from the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation. This disease of ruminants (e.g., goats, sheep, deer, and antelope) is an incurable bacterial infection of the intestines.

Although we do not lose very many animals to Johne’s disease, it requires constant and challenging surveillance methods to ensure that our animal populations have not unknowingly acquired this infection. We have constructed a mathematical model that is helping us identify the best points of intervention and the optimal disease surveillance strategy. The outcome is better disease response capabilities for us and better health for the animals in our care.

Who would have thought that math would be so useful in our mission to save species!

Carmel Witte is a researcher and Bruce Rideout is the director of the Wildlife Diseases Laboratories of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read Carmel’s previous post, Cutting-edge Science in Historical Surroundings.

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116

Speaking to Friends about Pandas

By
Megan Owen
– December 7, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Animals site main feature, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas

Xiao Liwu is just one example of our panda conservation program’s success.

Recently, I had the opportunity to give a presentation to several hundred San Diego Zoo Global donors at a Circle of Friends Holiday Breakfast. I presented an overview of our science-based, collaborative panda conservation program, focusing on both the challenges we’ve faced and the incredible successes we’ve enjoyed over the past 16 years. With hundreds of the Zoo’s friends gathered, we celebrated the birth of Xiao Liwu and the brighter future for pandas that Bai Yun, Gao Gao, and Shi Shi have given us.

Of course, the birth of Xiao Liwu was more than a joyous occasion; it was also a historic milestone for giant pandas and the San Diego Zoo. With the birth of Xiao Liwu, Bai Yun became the second-oldest female to have ever given birth in captivity, as well as the most successful panda mom outside of China. And, thanks to Bai Yun, our Giant Panda Conservation Program became the most successful breeding program outside of China. This short list makes me incredibly proud! And I also have to admit that it is simply wonderful to have yet another incredibly cute panda cub to watch every day!

Our giant panda story really began in earnest back in 1996, with the arrival of Bai Yun and Shi Shi. Back then, we really knew very little about giant pandas. At the time, we knew that giant pandas were solitary mammals and that they fed exclusively on bamboo. We knew that pandas were seasonal breeders, and that the females were only receptive to breeding for a few short days during each cycle. We also knew that giant pandas were critically endangered and that the track record for captive breeding was very poor. We knew that we had a daunting task ahead of us and an understanding that because giant pandas garner immense public attention, the world would be watching us as we embarked on this critical conservation mission.

Under the leadership of Don Lindburg, we put together a Panda Team that included scientists, animal care specialists, and educators. Ron Swaisgood made incredible inroads at the Wolong breeding center in China and initiated more than a decade of invaluable scientific discovery regarding giant panda behavior and communication. Throughout this period, numerous people from the Giant Panda Team visited Wolong to do conservation research (including myself), and members of the Wolong team visited us here. These exchanges proved invaluable for scientific research and for improving how we managed giant pandas, during the breeding season and beyond.

Since the birth of Xiao Liwu, I have spent much time thinking about how much we have achieved in the past 16 years, as well as about how much we still need to learn about these amazing animals. The plight of giant pandas has improved in some ways since 1996, but they are still critically endangered, and so, through our conservation research program, and with the support of our many friends, we continue to work toward a brighter future for giant pandas.

After I gave my presentation to our Circle of Friends, I spent a great deal of time speaking to people in the group. It was incredible to experience the outpouring of interest in giant pandas and the support for the conservation work that we do. As I looked around the tent, I saw a number of people who had been volunteers in support of our conservation programs over the years: volunteers who had been part of our panda research team in San Diego, and volunteers who have helped us connect our giant pandas to the public at large. I feel a deep debt of gratitude to all of our supporters, without whom we could not have achieved everything that we have, for giant pandas and the other species and habitats we work with.

Thank you all for your support, and I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons!

Megan Owen is a conservation program manager for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Polar Bears and Climate Change.

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1

Tortoises Spotlight Teacher Workshop

By
Lori Scott
– December 6, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Conservation, Desert Tortoises, Reptiles and Amphibians

Workshop participants find a “tortoise” using radio-tracking equipment.

As we close in on our winter season at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, it’s a great time to reflect on some of the highlights of our busy summer. One new program we offered to local teachers through the Clark County School District was a desert tortoise education workshop. This past June and July, a total of 32 teachers took part in the workshops. We’re happy to report that the classes were well received, and the response has been very positive!

Although rarely seen in the wild, the desert tortoise is the state reptile of Nevada and an important keystone species of the Mojave Desert ecosystem. Getting kids excited about science and math can be a huge hurdle for many teachers, and this was one of our main motivations for developing the desert tortoise workshop. One of the goals of the workshop was to provide teachers with curriculum that spotlights the cool adaptations of the desert tortoise while focusing on the important roles it plays in the Mojave Desert. With a focus on biology, ecology, and conservation, teacher participants were provided with fun and interactive desert tortoise curriculum, which also fulfills the Nevada classroom standards in life and earth sciences.

Throughout the workshop, teachers became students and were able to participate in hands-on activities and demonstrations to simulate current research projects being conducted by San Diego Zoo scientists. For example, teachers participated in a telemetry demonstration, learning hands-on how researchers use telemetry to study tortoise behavior following a release back into the wild. As a part of the activity, participants used radio tracking-equipment to “track” a model tortoise (made of Styrofoam), which had been affixed with a radio transmitter and hidden under vegetation. It was fun to watch a group of educators weave their way through the desert in unison, following the sound of a radio receiver, which released a “ping” as the Styrofoam tortoise grew closer.

Educators who participated in the workshop earned one credit toward professional development education through the Clark County School District, and were provided with desert tortoise resource materials and activities, which can be adapted to their individual grade levels. After a successful first run, we will be offering the workshop again to local teachers in February 2013. We’re excited to provide educators with the opportunity to study the desert tortoise and return to the classroom with a range of tools to promote continued education of this amazing animal and the Mojave Desert ecosystem.

Lori Scott is a research associate at San Diego Zoo Global’s Desert Tortoise Conservation Center. Read her previous post, Desert Tortoises Pose for Photos.

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