Wild Life 2021 issue 2 by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

WILD L IFE

2021 ISSUE 2

LOV E DU R R EL L THI S C HR I ST M AS

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This festive season, give a gift that gives back to nature. From animal adoptions to jungle puzzles to wildlife wall art – our eco-friendly gifts make perfect stocking fillers for your animalloving friends and family.

V I S I T W W W. DU R R E L L .O R G / S H O P

WELCOME

W E LC OME T O W I L D L I F E My love affair with Madagascar began 50 years ago when I was a graduate student working with the lemurs at the Duke Primate Centre. As a starry-eyed young zoologist, I was lured to the Great Red Island for my PhD research by its lemurs and other amazing and unique fauna. I spent two eventful years there studying the animals and getting to know the enchanting Malagasy people. It was also where I first read a book by Gerald Durrell, by the light of a paraffin lamp with my adopted baby fruit bat asleep by my side. Gerry instantly became my hero! Fast forward through meeting and marrying my hero (not a commonplace thing to do!), our early travels took us to Madagascar, which, astonishingly, Gerry had never visited. You can imagine the pride and pleasure I felt at being able to introduce him to this extraordinary island, and he fell in love with it as much as I had. Because of my experience in Madagascar, Gerry asked me to start a recovery programme for the rarest tortoise in the world, the ploughshare tortoise. In 1986, the Trust established an in-country breeding centre,

where the first tiny tortoises hatched early in 1987. I visited the centre every year, nurturing the tortoise programme, for which I became known as ‘The Grandmother of the Tortoise”. I also went to many other parts of Madagascar, sowing the seeds for projects for other endangered species, especially by working with the local people. All of this grew into today’s ‘Madagascar Programme’, the Trust’s biggest overseas commitment in terms of budget and number of staff. I know you will enjoy reading about it in this issue of Wild Life.

D R LEE D UR R E LL HONORARY D I RE CT O R

Gerry’s last expedition to collect rare animals for breeding in Jersey was to Madagascar. It was an exhilarating trip, one of my roles being “chief cook and bottle washer” for all the lemurs. Many of the aye-ayes, Alaotran gentle lemurs and giant jumping rats at Jersey Zoo today are descendants of the animals we brought back. They, too, are part of our Madagascar Programme, which, while rejoicing in many successes, also has its challenges. I hope you will help us meet those challenges by supporting the work we do on the Great Red Island.

CO N TEN TS 2

M A D A GA S CA R & M E

AT THE Z OO

I N THE W I L D

S PEC I E S SP O T L IG H T – P L IG H T O F T H E PL OU GHSHAR E

W I L D SN A P

D OD O D I SPAT CH – W E L CO M E T O M ADAGASC AR

E N A B L I N G CH A N G E

M E ET THE T E A M – H A N IT R A R A KO T O J AONA

I N F OC US

GR A N D GO R IL L A DE S IG N S

TEC H C OR N E R – E G G CA N DL IN G

B E I N SPI R E D

TR A I N I N G F O CU S – H A N IT R A N O M E NT SOA ANDR I ANANT ENAI NA

I N N UM B E R S – M A DA G A S CA R

It is important to us that we keep you informed about our work, and the difference we are making to the many species, habitats and local communities with which we work. If your household has received more than one copy of Wild Life and you would like to discuss your mailing preferences going forward, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our Supporter Care team on supportercare@durrell.org or (0)1534 860111 If you’d like to hear from us regularly subscribe to our email newsletter at www.durrell.org/social

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D U R R E L L WILDLIF E CO N SERVATION TR UST is a Registered Charity with the Jersey Charity Commissioner, registered charity number: 1 PATR O N HRH The Princess Royal FOUND ER Gerald Durrell, OBE, LHD HONORA RY D IRE CT OR Dr Lee Durrell, MBE, PhD DU R R E L L WILDLIF E C ON SERVATION TR UST - UK is registered in England and Wales. A charitable company limited by guarantee. R E G I S TE R ED C HA RIT Y N UMBER 1121989 R EGISTER ED COMPANY NUMBE R 6448493 R E G I S TE R ED OF F ICE c/o Intertrust Corporate Services (UK) Limited, 35 Great St Helen’s, London EC3A 6AP P H O TO A N D ILLUST RAT IO N CR ED ITS Will Bertram, Joe Blossom, Fern Brocklesby, Emma Caton, Parag Deka, Danny Evans, Tim Flach www.timflach.com, Rachel Hughes www.rachelhughesphotography.com, Jersey Overseas Aid, Tiffany Lang, Antony Morin, Matt Porteous, Iñaki Relanzon, Chris Scarffe www.chrisscarffe.com, Tom Shaw, Leonardo Silva, Massimiliano Sticca, Jim & Tonic www.jimandtonic.co.uk, Bethany Wells, Harriet Whitford. C O V E R I MA G E Mouse lemur by Chris Scarffe www.chrisscarffe.com

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M A DA GA SCA R & ME D R LE S LE Y D ICKIE S H A R E S H ER A DVEN T U R ES ON T H E GR EAT R ED I SL A N D

Madagascar, situated off the coast of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean, is the fourthlargest island on the planet. I have had the great fortune to visit this majestic place on many occasions, and each time something unexpected, amazing or heartbreaking has occurred, making me want to learn more. If any island can make your emotions swing from high to low and back again, it’s Madagascar. The abundance of endemicity (species found nowhere else on Earth) is astonishing, resulting from 180 million years of isolation from its giant neighbour, Africa. Despite millennia of separation, you can still trace the outline to where Madagascar would have nestled into the contours of the African coastline, had gigantic tectonic activity not wrenched it adrift. There are more than 200,000 species in Madagascar, and it’s estimated that 90% are found nowhere else on Earth. The best-known inhabitants are, of course, the lemurs. Found only in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, lemurs range in size from the tiny, 40-gram mouse lemur that could nestle in the palm of your hand, to the beautiful indri, weighing in at a chunkier nine kilograms. When I first visited Madagascar, I was a zookeeper at Edinburgh Zoo, where I looked after a large troop of ring-tailed lemurs, amongst many other species.

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On discovering that the International Primatological Society was to have its annual congress for 1997 in Antananarivo (Tana), the capital of Madagascar, I hatched a plan to see if I could speak at the conference about the care of captive primates. It was an exhilarating experience, as this was the first international meeting I had ever spoken at. However, it was what happened afterwards that was to prove the most thrilling part of the trip. After the congress ended, I had the opportunity to travel with some of the other delegates to the east of Tana, to a special reserve at Analamazaotra. You will have noticed one of the magical things about Madagascar are the lengthy and complex place names. The Malagasy language derives from the Austronesian family of languages, the ancestors of the Malagasy having come from Indonesia. There is a tale that the language was first formally written down by Welsh missionaries. I do not know if this is true, but it might explain a few things! Analamazoatra is most famous for one species, the aforementioned indri. I was hopeful that I might get to see this extraordinary lemur, resembling a giant black and white teddy bear. Multiple indri families live in the reserve, with each carving out their own small territory. The best time to see them is at their sleeping sites, just before sunrise as they head out to find food. We set off early the next morning with our guide, who knew where one family had made

camp for the night. As we quietly made our way to the tree, we met another group looking for indris, amongst them some delegates from the congress, including the internationally renowned primatologists Anthony Rylands and Hilary Box. Talking in whispers, we waited as the sun began to rise higher in the sky, the warmth starting to flow down to the ground. As the sunbeams touched the tops of the trees, ‘our’ indri family became restless, stretching from their night’s slumber. They peered down at us as we craned to look up at them in mutual curiosity. Then all of a sudden, they began to sing. The song of the indri is unforgettable. Ghostly, plaintive, melancholy, as if they were speaking for the loss of their forest home. Then, out of the surrounding forest, we began to hear the songs of other indri families, and soon the whole forest was alive with their calls. I can still hear the song in my mind today. As I stood staring up at the singing indri, tears running down my face, Hilary turned to me and, perhaps seeing how overcome this young zoologist was, leaned over and gently said, “it’s quite something, isn’t it, Lesley.” It certainly was, and this cemented in me the need to learn more about Madagascar. My next trip was to work on an Earthwatch programme, focusing on the largest carnivore of Madagascar, the much-maligned fossa, and the species that I would go on to complete my PhD on. The research project was to radio tag fossas living in the Ankaranfantiskia National Park to the west coast of the island. We were based at Ampijeroa Forest Station, home to Durrell activities, most notably the breeding centre for the ploughshare tortoise and rere turtle. Little did I know what my later relationship with Durrell would be as I learned about trapping, tagging, and radio-tracking fossas. As we worked in the forest, we got to know the local communities. We were graciously allowed to dance in the local village women’s dance troop and took part in a tromba. In Malagasy culture, a tromba is a spirit possession, and the local village thought we should have one to ask permission to work in the forest of the “Crocodile King” in Lac Ravelobe. The legend is that King Andriamisondrotramasinarivo was escaping with his family from Radama the First, the overarching king trying to take his territory. They fled and were driven into the lake and eaten by crocodiles. Rather than disappear entirely, the king became a part of the crocodiles and the spirit of the lake. It was certainly true that you had to be careful of the crocodiles in the lake and coming round a corner on a path you might be confronted by one, so caution was advised. The tromba was held in a

dark smoky room, amazing home-made musical instruments were played, and the female witch doctor of the Sakalava tribe was at some point “possessed” by the Crocodile King. It was altogether an astounding event, and we were, happily, given permission to work around the lake. I still do not know if the local people believed this ceremony or were happily entertaining us as guests, but it certainly cemented friendly relations, with cheery greetings exchanged whenever we saw the witch doctor on the way to the local market. The devastation to Madagascar’s landscapes was sadly prevalent in the park. The large erosion gullies or lavaka were all too evident where tree loss occurred. The spirals of smoke signified fires across the landscape. Across Madagascar today, the loss of habitat is clear, and our teams in the country are confronted with this daily. This is the heartbreak, that such an amazing place will be lost if we cannot halt the destruction. There are so many wonders in Madagascar, from the extraordinary wildlife to the rich culture of the warm and friendly people. Madagascar is currently sliding rapidly down the human development scale, and the quality of life for many Malagasy people is low. Very few COVID-19 vaccines have so far made their way to the country and there is, unfortunately, a high degree of vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation in the media. The pandemic has also meant that the country’s borders have been closed for a long time, devastating tourism income, which is so important for supporting the national parks and surrounding people, and therefore the conservation of nature. This is where we, Durrell, must not only keep up, but increase our activities. We have worked in Madagascar for decades and can confidently say we have prevented species from going extinct, protected habitats, and improved local livelihoods. With support from Jersey Overseas Aid, we continue to support local communities today. Along with our partners, we have reintroduced the Madagascar pochard back to the wild and protected landscapes around the country’s largest freshwater lake, Lac Alaotra. We have nurtured the nests of rere turtles, bred ploughshare tortoises, and so many other activities, many of which you can read about in this edition of Wild Life. I hope that as you read about some of our work on the island, you feel you can help support it further as we launch our Madagascar appeal. Let’s demonstrate that together we can save one of the most extraordinary places on our planet.

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NEWS

AT THE Z OO A R OYAL VISIT On 24th June, some of our Jersey Zoo residents were treated to a royal appearance. We were very excited to welcome our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, to officially open the Butterfly Kaleidoscope, home to an array of vibrant butterflies and a pair of Galápagos tortoises. HRH was given a grand tour of the zoo by our CEO Dr Lesley Dickie, meeting some of the Durrell team and, of course, the animals themselves.

DOUBLE TR OUBLE Two Alaotran gentle lemurs were born to parents Nova and Miora on 26th June. The twins are Nova and Miora’s second successful litter as they had their first baby, Ririnina, in 2019. Gentle lemurs form large family groups that all help care for the new arrivals, and Nova, Miora and Ririnina have all taken turns carrying the youngsters. They’re now starting to explore their enclosure and becoming more adventurous day by day. As the keepers work with a strictly hands-off approach, we won’t know whether the twins are male or female for a while, but we’re glad that these critically endangered lemurs are breeding successfully here at Jersey Zoo.

FR OM NEIGHBOURS TO R OOM MATES On 16th September, the bush dogs met the Andean bears for the first time. Since their arrival in January, the bush dogs have been next-door neighbours to the bears. The keepers are gradually introducing both species to each other with the aim that they will all eventually share the Cloud Forest enclosure with the howler monkeys. During their first meeting, the bush dogs were cautious of the bears, which is a good sign. They will continue to be mixed every day for longer periods until the keepers are comfortable leaving them together permanently.

RECORD YEAR FOR BAT PUPS 2021 was a record year for the Livingstone’s fruit bats at Jersey Zoo, with ten adorable pups joining the colony. These highly threatened bats are only found on two islands in the Comoros archipelago. Degradation of their habitat from deforestation and tropical cyclones means the species may be less than a decade away from becoming extinct in the wild. The captive breeding programme at the zoo is therefore vital to ensuring a healthy safety net population for this precious bat species.

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NEW ARRIVALS In July, two coppery titi monkeys – named Teddy and Reddington – joined the Durrell family. Titi monkeys are native to South America and are known for being very vocal and wrapping their tails around each other for bonding and protection. Arriving from Belfast Zoo, the two brothers had reached the age where they were ready to leave their family group, so now have a brand-new home in Jersey Zoo’s Tamarin Woods. The pair have moved into a new cabin, and keepers have begun training with the monkeys so they will eventually roam free with the rest of the inhabitants of the woods. For now, Teddy and Reddington are settling in well to their new home.

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NEWS

I N TH E W I L D

MONTSERRAT ISL AND TRAILS

A HAPPY HOME In the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, tree corridors are being planted to connect isolated forest fragments to expand the ranges of native wildlife, such as the endangered black lion tamarin. However, while the trees are young, they lack cavities that provide protection for the tamarins. Nest boxes that were designed and trialled on tamarins at Jersey Zoo are now being installed in these tree corridors so that wild tamarin populations can move safely through the forest.

WILD THINGS

RUNNING WILD

This summer, the team in Jersey were delighted to see the first chough chicks whose parents both hatched in the wild. The red-billed chough, once a common sight in the Channel Islands, became extinct in Jersey around 1900. Unlikely to reappear naturally, captive-bred birds were released in small cohorts between 2013 and 2018. Within two years they had begun breeding in the wild and can once again call Jersey home. Now, the island’s chough population is made up of 43 birds, of which almost half hatched in the wild as a result of this successful reintroduction.

In June, 12 captive-bred pygmy hogs were released into Manas National Park in Assam, India. Pygmy hogs are found only in the dense grasslands of the Southern Himalayan foothills. They have been facing extinction due to habitat loss and degradation as they are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment. Durrell has been working as part of the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme in Assam to protect the hogs and their habitat since the 1970s, with the captive breeding programme starting in 1996. This release brings the total number of reintroduced hogs in Assam to 142.

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With funding from the Darwin Initiative, the team in Montserrat have created signs for four trails across the island to highlight different flora and fauna that are vital to the health of the forest. One of the trails, the ‘Dry Waterfall’ trail, is also home to a collection of small mountain chicken frog sculptures, which hikers can find using clues. The sculptures have been painted by local students, and the location of the trail is where large numbers of mountain chicken frogs would have once been found.

THE MAGIC OF MADAGASCAR Almost 90% of the animals and plants living in Madagascar are found nowhere else on Earth. However, human activity is threatening the island’s biodiversity. Watch this year’s Durrell Lecture to find out how our team in Madagascar is rising to meet the challenges of protecting some of the rarest animals on the planet. Available from 2nd December on our YouTube channel – search “Durrell Lecture 2021: The Magic of Madagascar”.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

PLIGHT OF THE PLOUGHSHARE With the dramatic rise in poaching for the illegal pet trade, the team in Madagascar are racing to save one of the world's rarest tortoises before it pays the ultimate price.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Within the dry forests of northwest Madagascar, armed patrols guard the Ampijoroa breeding centre, which houses one of the few remaining populations of the ploughshare tortoise. Prized among collectors for their magnificent goldendomed shell, these rare tortoises can fetch a considerable amount on the black market, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in poaching.

a significant increase in the number of tortoises found tightly packed into suitcases and smuggled out of the country destined for south-east Asia. The illegal pet trade has resulted in the catastrophic decline of these precious tortoises. In the 1980s, the Government of Madagascar invited Durrell to start a dedicated captivebreeding centre when a group of tortoises they had confiscated were not breeding. By this time, the species had been identified as highly threatened, and numbers were rapidly declining in the wild. Even though they have been protected by Malagasy law since 1960, this sadly hasn’t stopped the illegal sale, exportation and collection from the wild. “Tragically, due to poaching, many ploughshares have disappeared from the wild. There are probably fewer than 50 adults in the wild, hidden in some of the impenetrable parts of the park,” says Richard Lewis, Durrell’s Madagascar Programmes Director, who became involved in the project more than 20 years ago.

THE PLOUGHSHARE IS ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED TORTOISES ON THE PLANET Durrell has worked on the frontline to protect the ploughshare tortoise alongside the Government of Madagascar and partner organisations for almost 40 years. This rare tortoise is found only in Baly Bay National Park and has a long history of exploitation. They were initially collected by passing sailors for food, but demand shifted towards the pet trade by the end of the 20th century. Over the past two decades, there has been

The illegal wildlife trade is a significant and growing challenge for conservation. It is driving the extinction of many lesser-known species with a particular effect on reptiles. Before 2006, there were few seizures of trafficked ploughshare tortoises in Madagascar and internationally. However, more recent records of those seized by the authorities have shown a sharp increase in trafficking since 2010. One suitcase apprehended at Bangkok airport contained 54 ploughshares packed tightly inside. “Durrell works with the local authorities and supports the Government of Madagascar in their efforts to catch and prosecute poachers both locally and elsewhere,” says Lewis. “The team also supports and coordinates a network of village patrols, which monitor key areas of the park, coordinating these efforts with the park authorities and law enforcement agencies.”

FACT FILE S CIENTI FI C NAME Astrochelys yniphora LIFE SPAN Unknown. Estimated to live beyond 100 years old based on similar tortoise species. WE IGHT males up to 22kg, females 15kg LENGTH males up to 52cm, females 41cm DIE T plant material including grasses, herbs, and fallen leaves of shrubs and trees.

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D IS TR I B U T I ON Found only in the dry bamboo forests of Baly Bay in northwestern Madagascar. FA CT They get their name from the ploughshaped extension on the front of the shell, which males use to push and overturn each other when competing for females.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Since the captive breeding programme began, the team have released over 100 captive-bred tortoises into the wild. However, reintroductions have temporarily halted due to the ongoing threat of poaching. Angelo Ramy, Conservation Scientist for Durrell Madagascar, began working with the ploughshare tortoise in 2000 as a student studying the population genetics of the species and started working permanently in Baly Bay in 2005. “The captive breeding programme is vital as it ensures a safety net for the species. Captive breeding gives us what we call an insurance colony that can reinforce wild populations through reintroduction,” says Ramy. “It is also hard to protect the free-ranging population of ploughshare tortoises from poaching as the habitat is so vast. So we keep a population within the captive breeding facility that has fencing, guards, CCTV cameras etc., to provide security.” Prices offered on the black market have increased dramatically over the past few decades. Even the breeding centre has been targeted on multiple occasions. In 1996, 75 tortoises were stolen from the facility, and the guards foiled an attempted theft in 2016. “The ploughshares are threatened due to the money that people are willing to pay to buy one of these animals on the black market,” says Lewis. “Controlling the black market and changing people’s attitudes towards buying wildlife will ultimately be needed. In the meantime, we need to keep the tortoise’s original home of Baly Bay National Park intact, and we need to maintain our safety net of captive animals.” To try and deter poaching, the team uses several methods, including shell engraving and working alongside the local communities. “We give each tortoise a unique ID number, which we engrave on their shell,” says Ramy. “Engraving on the shell discourages poachers as it makes them less appealing, and also deters buyers as it shows that these tortoises belong to Madagascar and are part of the conservation programme. We have engaged community representatives to do patrolling inside the ploughshare habitats, using technology to provide evidence by recording their tracks and observations. Members of the community were also asked to inform us about any case of poaching or rumours about ploughshare smugglers that pass by their village. In return, we have helped them by improving their livelihood through income-generating activities, teaching them agricultural techniques and developing their fishing or other activities.” In recent years, poaching and confiscation have begun to decrease, but the team on the ground remains alert. “Keeping a captive safety net and a vigilance in the wild are long-term efforts, and we need support to maintain this work,” says Lewis. “People need to support their governments over the issues around international wildlife smuggling. It is illegal and promotes major crime and insecurity across the planet, not just in the places where the animals are taken from.” Looking to the future, Ramy says, “We should continue doing the work that we have started. We also need to improve law enforcement. The security of the wild population needs to be improved so that we can continue to reintroduce captive-bred ploughshare tortoises. We should convince buyers worldwide that having a tortoise in your garden or house is driving the species into extinction. That is an action on a global level that we will not be able to do by ourselves. Also, people in the field need more support to ensure that they can continue their work to secure the future for wildlife and convince others of the importance of saving the species.”

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

OPPOSIT E PAG E TO P TO B OT T O M The ploughshare tortoise nursery at the Ampijoroa breeding facility; Recently hatched ploughshares; Durrell staff checking the health of a baby tortoise; Taking measurements of a ploughshare to check it is a good size. AB O V E A N D RI G H T The team use a tree stump to keep the tortoise stable while engraving a unique identification number on the shell

REVIVE THE MAGIC OF MADAGASCAR DONATE NOW www.durrell.org/madagascar

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WITH

DODO dispatch

WELCOME TO

madagascar

mad agas ca

Madagascar is an amazing island found off the coast of east Africa. It’s the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo.

Its nickname is ‘The Great Red Island’ as the soil is a rich red colour. There are loads of plants and animals in Madagascar that can't be found anywhere else in the world. Durrell have been working here for 35 years helping its animals and people.

Turn the page To find out more

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D O D O D I S PAT C H

the wonderful world

of lemurs

Lemurs are only found in the wild in Madagascar, where there are over 100 living species. They come in all shapes and sizes, spending time both in trees and on the ground. The word ‘lemur’ comes from the Latin word lemures, which means ‘ghosts’. Here are some that Durrell work with, you can find them all at Jersey Zoo.

R I N G -TAI LED These lemurs are named for the 13 pairs of black and white bands on their tails. When out looking for food they hold their tails high in the air where the pattern can be easily seen. This helps to keep the group together. A group of ring-tailed lemurs is called a troop.

alaotran gentle The Alaotran gentle lemur lives around Madagascars largest lake, Lac Alaotra. Their thick fur and cute features led Gerald Durrell to describe them as a ‘honey-coloured teddy bear.’ They're known locally as ‘bandro.’ Unfortunately, their home is slowly being lost to farming.

 THE BAOBAB

The baobab is the national tree of Madagascar, there are six types that you can only find here. One of its nicknames is the upside down tree, because when it has no leaves its branches look like roots! They can grow up to a towering 30m tall, that's the same as seven double decker buses stacked on top of each other. What's your national tree?

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If you had a tail… If you needed to attract attention or let people know where you were using your tail, what would it look like? Would it have rings? Stars? Maybe it would be rainbow coloured? Draw your ideas on theses two blank tails

aYE-aye The aye-aye only comes out at night to search for food, spending the day curled up sleeping in their nest. To look for food the aye-aye taps on branches with its extra long middle finger and, with its large sensitive ears, listens for hollow sounds. If it hears something, it uses its sharp front teeth to rip open the bark and dig any insects out with its long finger.

 Have you ever lost something you like and then found it again? Can you remember how happy you were? Imagine how scientists felt when the Madagascar pochard, a duck that they thought went extinct in 1992, was found again in 2006! They must have been so excited. Durrell are now working to help make sure they're not lost again.

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D O D O D I S PAT C H

RUN fossa Run

Help the fossa through the forest to find its favourite tree. On the way, see if you can spot and name some of its favourite foods.

FOSSA FACTS • A fossa looks like a cross between a cat, a dog, and a mongoose. • They can grow up to 1.8m from nose to tail tip. Their tail makes up nearly half their length. • A fossa will spend most of the time on its own. • They're the top predator and largest carnivore (meat-eater) in Madagascar. 18

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• They love forests and are great climbers. A fossa is as happy in a tree as they are on the ground. • They hunt both day and night, on the ground or in trees.

ENABLING CHANGE

E NAB LINGCHA N GE IMPROVING WELLBEING FOR NATURE-DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES IN MADAGASCAR

Saving species from extinction in their natural habitat almost always means securing the futures of people whose lives depend on those habitats. Durrell is focused on creating diverse and resilient natural landscapes that provide a sustainable future for people and wildlife. Our historical approach is to recover the world’s most threatened species, but these species need a place to exist and thrive. The world’s ecosystems are increasingly being placed under intense pressure. Growing populations and global interests are rapidly using up our natural resources at a faster rate than they can be replenished. The impact of this loss is felt most by local and indigenous peoples who rely on natural resources for their daily survival. This is primarily communities living in rural areas with extremely limited access to basic aspects of wellbeing such as education, healthcare, nutritional food, financial security, and freedom from exploitation. In Madagascar, we recognise a fundamental link between rural communities and the conservation of the ecosystems around them. Naturedependent communities rely on their surrounding environments to provide them with food, fuel and building materials, as well as flood regulation, soil formation and nutrient cycling. However, external

pressures and a lack of access to more sustainable approaches and resources mean that these communities are over-exploiting their natural resources. Therefore, communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of needing to expand their use of an ever-diminishing resource base to maintain their position until ecosystems become highly degraded and unproductive. As the natural resource base collapses, its essential components – the species that make up the structure and function of the ecosystem – disappear. In partnership with Jersey Overseas Aid, the Enabling Change project aims to help communities break this cycle. The project aims to enhance the wellbeing of over 2,000 nature-dependent households in 20 communities through improved food security, reproductive health, local governance, and better access to community finance schemes. Nature-friendly food production improves food security, nutrition, and household income, while also reducing harmful environmental impacts. Improving local governance through increased transparency encourages more community participation in development initiatives. Sustainable financial mechanisms enable economic independence for the poorest

communities, and reproductive health support allows households to make choices concerning family size and wellbeing. Since this work started in 2018, 20 communities from across three regions have remained engaged with the project, with over 1,600 women receiving family planning support, and over 2,000 people strengthening their financial position through community-based savings groups. Over 5,000 local farmers have been trained in sustainable farming techniques, with over 600 hectares of climate-resilient crops cultivated between 2018 and 2020. At the end of last year, 4,734 people were actively engaged with the project, and so far in 2021, an additional 2,104 people, of whom 67% are women, have become involved. Due to the success of the programme, the team has been able to replicate elements of it across other regions in Madagascar. This has improved the wellbeing of more nature-dependent communities and helped to protect their surrounding ecosystems – securing the futures of people and wildlife across the country.

We would like to thank Jersey Overseas Aid for enabling this ambitious and impactful project.

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MEET THE TEAM

Hanitra Rakotojaona is the Community Conservation and Rural Development Coordinator for Durrell in Madagascar. Hanitra leads our conservation livelihoods work in the country, which involves engaging the local communities in the protection of native species and habitats, while also improving their health and wellbeing.

What led you to a career in wildlife conservation?  I have always been passionate about the environment and its wildlife because of the natural wealth of Madagascar. Although professionally I focused more on rural development and poverty alleviation, my work always involved ensuring the preservation and protection of our natural resources and biodiversity. When I saw the opportunity offered by Durrell, I did not hesitate to apply because it was a chance for me to use my skills to improve the living conditions of communities, while also being able to ensure the protection of our unique and highly threatened biodiversity. Tell us about your role at Durrell and what you did before working here. I joined the Durrell team in 2014. As community conservation is an important part of our work in Madagascar, my role involves identifying and developing community-based conservation strategies and actions that can support the different conservation projects across the country. I am involved in the development of our conservation livelihood projects, where I coordinate with the field-based team, local communities, and partners to implement each strategy. Previously I worked for a national rural development programme funded by the World Bank as an Environmental and Social Safeguard Specialist. Then I joined a US humanitarian NGO, where I was leading the livelihood, humanitarian assistance, and disaster and risk reduction actions.

What has been your most memorable moment since working at Durrell? I will never forget when Cyclone Belna hit Madagascar in December 2019, severely affecting the protected area of Baly Bay, which is home to the village communities involved in the protection of the ploughshare tortoise. Thanks to Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA), my team and I were able to distribute emergency provisions, including food, blankets and various kitchen supplies, to 813 affected households and renovate eight schools and one village office. This was my first emergency aid response since starting at Durrell and it had a huge impact on me.

What do you enjoy most about your work and what is the most challenging part?  I love working in the field and discovering and observing what is happening at Durrell’s rewilding sites via my colleagues and the communities that live there. My job allows me to interact and collaborate with many different people and I am always learning new ways of doing my job. Given the high level of poverty in Madagascar, the interests of wildlife conservation often take a back seat to our leaders and the majority of the population, despite all the efforts made. It hurts to see how fast our natural resources are disappearing and how often we are powerless to the problems. What would you most like to see for the local communities you work with? I hope to encourage a palpable behaviour change within our communities and inspire a greater sense of responsibility for the protection and safeguarding of Madagascar’s unique species, habitats, and natural resources. In the long term, the goal is to revive the pride of our communities so that they become the local driving force that helps solve the problems of environmental destruction without waiting for high level solutions from the state or donors.

T O P The team helping to distribute supplies in the aftermath of cyclone Bela BOT T O M Work continues after the storm has passed.

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Will you Secure the future for both wildlife and people? Madagascar is the oldest island on Earth and a jewel in nature’s crown. This biodiversity hotspot has an exceptional array of species, 90% of which are found nowhere else on the planet. The island is also home to some of the world’s poorest people who are reliant on nature for their livelihoods, but habitat loss, climate change and the illegal wildlife trade are devastating the incredible landscapes and pushing species to the brink of extinction. Sadly, Madagascar now has more endangered species than any other country in the world.

Durrell’s work protecting its wildlife and wild places IS more vital than ever.

HELP REVIVE THE MAGIC OF MADAGASCAR D O N AT E N O W W W W. D U R R E LL. OR G/ MAD AGAS CAR

However, there is hope… Durrell’s long-term approach works hand in hand with local communities to find solutions that work for people and nature. With climate change accelerating, never has the need been more urgent to protect this unique environment and preserve Madagascar’s precious wildlife. DU R R E L L H A S W O R KE D W ITH T HESE SPEC I ES F OR DEC ADES B U T NEEDS YO U R S U P P O R T T O ENSU R E T HEY HAVE A F U T U RE.

Ploughshare tortoise

With less than 100 in the wild and prized for its beautiful shell, the ploughshare tortoise has been pushed to the brink by the illegal wildlife trade. Our aim is to breed them for future releases and protect them in the wild.

Alaotran gentle lemur

We need to protect the precious wetlands around Lake Alaotra to give these beautiful lemurs a chance to survive. By working with local communities, we aim to restore healthy wetlands for both people and wildlife A gift from you will give hope to the unique wildlife of the Great Red Island and help continue the hands-on conservation work critical to saving some of the world’s most endangered wildlife.

£40 could pay for a week of nest protection for precious rere turtle eggs. £75 could cover the costs of one day at the ploughshare tortoise breeding facility to ensure a

safety net population for this species on the brink.

£580 could fund a week of patrolling at Lake Alaotra to protect gentle lemurs from poachers and damage to their wetland home.

£20,000 could enable the release and monitoring of pochards on Lake Sofia, giving this species a chance to thrive once again.

Madagascar pochard

The world’s rarest duck was rediscovered in 2006 having been declared extinct in 1993. Our approach focuses on breeding the ducks and releasing them onto Lake Sofia so that this species can thrive again.

Madagascar side-necked turtle

The rere, as it is known locally, is the largest freshwater turtle in Madagascar but has suffered catastrophic population declines. Durrell’s captive breeding and habitat protection is vital to give this species a future.

Our supporters enable Durrell to invest more than £1.5 million per year to protect Madagascar’s species and their last remaining habitats. REVIVE THE MAGIC OF MADAGASCAR DONATE NOW www.durrell.org/madagascar or call 01534 860111

IN FOCUS

RING-TAILED LEMUR A member of the troop at Jersey Zoo inspects his forage. Give a gift that gives back to nature by adopting the animals at the zoo WWW. D URREL L. OR G/A D O P T

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g ra n d

a l l i GOr designs

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our gorillas are getting a new home!

We are delighted to have raised the funds needed to build our brand-new, state-of-the-art gorilla house at Jersey Zoo. Our fundraising campaign started with the Go Wild Gorillas art trail across Jersey in 2019. Thanks to the amazing support from everyone during the trail and the incredible generosity of so many people over the last three years, we can now begin building a much-enhanced indoor home for our beautiful gorillas. A special thanks to the Government of Jersey’s Fiscal Stimulus Fund, which helped us reach our fundraising target by awarding us a very generous grant to kickstart the preparatory works.

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Five times as much indoor living space for our gorilla family Modern enclosure design to provide the very best care for our gorillas A more immersive experience for our visitors

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Solar panels, living green walls and bio-flooring to make the building more sustainable Large glass panels will offer enhanced outdoor viewing for children and disabled visitors

Some of the Go WIld Gorilla sculptures in their new homes.

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TECH CORNER

EGG CANDLING

LAVA LAMPS OF LIFE

Egg candling is a technique used by bird keepers to see what's going on inside an egg. Candling is very important in aviculture - the breeding and rearing of birds - as it improves the chances of hatching success. All the bird keepers at Jersey Zoo are trained in this technique. In the incubation room, the keepers use a piece of equipment called a candler, which shines a bright light through the eggshell. When examining eggs in nests around the zoo, the torch on a mobile phone is good enough to check on an egg. Either way, it needs to be done in low lighting areas to get a clearer picture of what's going on inside.

Why is candling important? If the egg is genetically valuable, the keepers may want to check that the eggshell is wellformed and there are no cracks or dents in the structure. If there are, the egg can start to dry out, and harmful microorganisms can enter through the cracks.

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TECH CORNER

Candling clearly highlights any damage to the egg, so it can be fixed with glue and tissue paper – a bit like papier-mâché!

A fertile egg that has been incubated for a little while will visibly change at different stages. Very early on, this can be the yolk swelling.

Seeing into the egg helps to determine fertility. An infertile egg, or one that hasn’t been incubated for long, will show bright yolk in the middle, surrounded by layers of egg white.

Later on, it is possible to see the embryo itself, with the heart beating and the embryo beginning to sway and swirl around inside the egg – a bit like a lava lamp!

During the incubation period, an embryo will reach milestones in its development. Candling allows the keeper to check if progress is continuing as expected.

Lastly, candling helps monitor hatching, which can be a difficult and tiring time for the chick. If the chick is taking too long to hatch or has not chipped a hole in the right place on the egg, the keeper can assist by helping it to break free.

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BE INSPIRED

RBC RACE FOR THE KIDS We were delighted to be RBC’s charity partner for RBC Race for the Kids, which took place on 19th September. Funds raised by the event go towards supporting Durrell’s Future Conservationists Programme and our work to encourage nature connection at Jersey Zoo. BELOW, L E FT TO R IG HT Lesely Dickie, CEO of Durrell, Leo the Lion, David Bailey Chief Operating Officer at RBC Wealth Management, and two time Olympic medal winner Alex Yee. At the Tokyo 2021 games Alex won gold in the mens triathlon and silver in the mixed.

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We are so grateful to our fundraisers, members and sponsors and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us. We hope some of the ways supporters are helping to save wildlife will also inspire you.

GALLOP ACR OSS THE GAL ÁPAGOS

CHASING THE SUN

Wojtek and Sam, sixth form students at Victoria College, both aspire to have careers in the biological sciences. We were thrilled to hear about their challenge to raise funds for Durrell’s work to protect endangered species.

Charlie Langhorne, Founder of Wild in Art, our event partners for Go Wild Gorillas, has completed a phenomenal cycling challenge for Durrell. On 19th June, Charlie battled the elements as he ‘chased the sun’, starting at sunrise from the Isle of Sheppey and cycling to Burnham-on-Sea by the time the sun went down. Charlie covered an astounding distance of 208 miles, which raised an impressive £550 to protect wildlife.

The pair raised £1,078 by walking 40 miles over five days through Jersey’s top nature spots dressed in animal costumes. This challenge represents the distance from Durrell’s Floreana mockingbird project to the largest of the Galapágos islands, Isabela, which is where the mangrove finch project is based.

ACCESS TO NATURE Durrell’s Access to Nature Fund launched earlier this year to make Jersey Zoo accessible for people of all needs and abilities, and to enable those who will benefit most to enjoy the wellbeing and environmental benefits of connecting to nature. Kindly funded by and developed in partnership with the Association of Jersey Charities, the fund aims to reach those who may not have the finances to enjoy a day at the zoo and would benefit from spending time in nature. More than 20 Jersey charities were successful in nominating people who would benefit from visiting the zoo and over 500 tickets and 55 memberships were gifted in August. Charities can apply to the biannual fund in January 2022.

AMÉLIETHON Congratulations to 10-year-old Amélie for completing 42 miles in five days by running, cycling and walking in the aptly named Améliethon! Amélie fundraises for a charity every year around her birthday and this year we are so grateful she chose to support Durrell. You can set up a birthday page too, visit www.justgiving.org/DWCT

KNIT TING FOR WILDLIFE Lesley Varne’s creativity blew us away when she shared her image of the beautiful creatures she knitted to raise money to save species from extinction. Thank you, Lesley, for the incredible donation of £554.

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TRAINING FOCUS

HANITRA NOMENTSOA ANDRIANANTENAINA

MADAGASCAR CONSERVATION TRAINING OFFICER Hanitra Nomentsoa Andrianantenaina joined Durrell in 2020 as the Madagascar Conservation Training Officer. Based in Antananarivo, Hanitra works closely alongside Durrell’s conservation staff in Madagascar. She is responsible for designing and delivering a new training programme, which will build people’s capacity to manage the country’s protected areas. Hanitra has an extensive background in conservation and has previously worked for Durrell on another project in 2005. Why is it important to protect Madagascar’s wildlife? Madagascar is one of the world’s most biodiversity-rich countries, with a vast amount of flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. However, Madagascar’s wildlife is threatened with extinction due to human activities, mainly for economic and cultural reasons or simply due to a lack of awareness. In addition, the negative impacts of climate change are also being felt in the country. If conservation actions are not continued or carried out more effectively, precious species will continue to disappear at an accelerated rate. To me personally, protecting Madagascar’s biodiversity is important because I want to be able to show my children – and therefore future generations – the beauty and diversity of our country’s wildlife. There are also the cultural and spiritual aspects that are significant to us, not to mention the importance of the natural resources provided by our ecosystems. I was lucky enough, both as part of my university studies and my professional career, to have been able to visit several of Madagascar’s protected areas and encounter the island’s emblematic species. I hope that Madagascar’s reputation, as a wildlife-rich country, remains as this is something we are very proud of. Can you tell us about Madagascar’s protected areas? Madagascar’s protected areas were established to conserve the island’s biodiversity. In 2003 at the World Congress on Protected Areas in Durban, South Africa, the then-President of the Republic of Madagascar committed to increasing the protected areas from 1.7 million

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hectares to 6 million hectares over the following five years. Now, Madagascar has 122 protected areas, 115 of which are terrestrial, covering 6.5 million hectares to support the conservation of the country’s incredible wildlife and unique habitats.

What is Durrell’s role when it comes to the protected areas? Durrell is currently co-managing two protected areas with local communities – Ambondrobe and Lake Alaotra. These are categorised as “Protected Harmonious Landscapes”, which recognises the role that communities settled in and around the protected areas play in managing the landscape and sustainable use of resources. The co-management of these areas is identified as a form of “shared governance” in the Malagasy legal framework. As co-managers of these two protected areas and being involved in the management of four others – MenabeAntimena, Baly Bay, Ankarafantsika, and Lake Sofia – Durrell is committed to protecting natural resources and ensuring the sustainable economic development of the surrounding communities. What challenges do the team face? The challenges with managing Madagascar’s protected areas are mostly related to poverty alleviation, which means that the dependence of local communities on natural resources continues to persist. Therefore, it is so important to combine wildlife conservation and sustainable economic development. On top of this, the negative impacts of climate change in many regions of Madagascar, combined with economic incentives, means more people migrate to the protected areas where resources are still available and exhaust them. Aside from this, the knowledge and skills of the protected area managers need to be strengthened to ensure that good governance and sustainable management of natural resources are taken into consideration and applied. Tell us about the new training programme you have been working on. The aim of Durrell’s new programme is to build capacity among the people and organisations involved in managing

Madagascar’s protected areas. Community leaders and staff from NGOs and governmental agencies across the country can take part in this multi-year and multi-faceted programme, which combines modular courses, mentorship, self-directed learning, and on-the-job training. Participants will learn a range of skills, including planning, management and administration; applied protected area management; and threatened species recovery.

What’s the next step? Initially, the programme is being tested in areas where we already work, but our vision is to roll it out to other protected areas across Madagascar. We aim to conduct assessments of around ten NGOs and 60 local communities, which are based in the areas we work, to define their training needs and give them the skills to effectively manage the protected areas. Personally, I hope this initiative will mean an improvement in the way Madagascar’s protected areas are managed. For the local communities, it means they will be able to manage their association more effectively and raise more awareness of the threats to Madagascar’s biodiversity and what this means to their livelihoods. Conservation actions, such as firefighting, reforestation, law enforcement, patrolling and law-related controls, will be better carried out. With training on sustainable economic development, especially in terms of the value of forest resources and climate-smart agriculture, local communities will be more committed to the conservation of Madagascar’s natural resources.

This project would not have been possible without support from the family of the late Dr Alison Jolly and the Ford Foundation, who have generously donated funds to enable us to launch this new Madagascar Protected Area Training Programme. Alison Jolly dedicated much of her life to the study and protection of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity and was an active supporter of Durrell.

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MA D A G A S C A R I N N UMBERS Madagascar is believed to be the oldest island on the planet and home to fascinating species found nowhere else on Earth. For 35 years, Durrell has been working to protect the country’s most threatened wildlife.

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SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR THE ANIMALS AT JERSEY ZOO An adoption is a great gift and also supports Durrell’s global conservation work.

YOUR ADOPTION PACK INCLUDES: A booklet all about your chosen animal Adoption certificate A photo of your chosen animal Two postcards A bookmark

DU RRE L L .OR G / ADO P T

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ADOPT THE

FLAMINGOS

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