CONSERVATION AND ZOOS

DR LESLEY DICKIE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

At Durrell, we are clear about the structure of our organisation. We are a “conservation organisation that delivers some of its work via our zoo” and we are not the more traditional “zoo that does a little bit of conservation”. The latter is often the norm for the majority of zoos and the reality is that some zoos around the world do not even do the conservation work they should, even at its lowest level.

But back to Durrell and lest anyone be in any doubt, our structure does not mean we regard our zoo as less important than other parts of the organisation. Far from it. All the parts of Durrell need to work together to deliver the exemplary conservation work that is vital for so many species, and we are proud of the key role Jersey Zoo plays in so much of our work.

At a most basic level, zoos provide a safety net population for rare species. Well-run programmes that cater for the genetic and demographic needs of the species are coordinated in Europe via the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Each programme has a coordinator or “studbook” keeper found across the member organisations, and at Durrell we have a surprisingly large amount when looking at the size of our zoo. No single zoo can completely cater for the management of larger bodied or long-lived species and therefore teamwork across zoos is required. Every year (COVID-19 permitting), zoo staff from across Europe meet in various taxonomic groups to discuss the species in their care, their husbandry, management, veterinary care and the key question of whom should breed with whom to ensure a healthy population into the future.

But the conservation role of zoos does not stop there. If threats have been mitigated in the wild to the extent that a translocation or reintroduction is possible, where do those individual animals come from? There will be occasions where it is possible to translocate animals from one wild area to another. However, with the rarest of the rare, that may not be possible, and it requires the safety net population to be deployed. On those occasions, different preparation may be required and there may already be plans in place to move zoo animals into an interim holding facility, where they are bred so that their offspring can be returned to the wild. In other cases, reintroductions may be straight

from the zoo, but this is usually specific to the animal in question. For example, Durrell, alongside partners, has been reintroducing mountain chicken frogs back to the wild in Montserrat, direct from Jersey Zoo. Readers may not be aware that Jersey Zoo is not the only captive collection managed by Durrell around the world. There are also the dedicated breeding centres we have “in country” for many species, such as pygmy hogs in India and pochards in Madagascar.

The zoo can also offer an interim solution in the face of an emergency in the wild, as we saw with the Mauritian reptile rescue in 2020. An oil spill off the coast of Mauritius led to several species being placed in peril. Because we have experienced and dedicated teams both at our field sites and at the zoo in Jersey, we had an immediate interim solution; bring three populations to Jersey to ensure they have a viable future. The initial rescue was carried out by our field team, and they then handed the baton over to our herpetology team at the zoo for the long-term breeding and care, while the original problem is dealt with in the wild.

The zoo is also a haven for training of staff from other organisations where captive work plays a part in rescuing a species from extinction. Not only do zoo staff help train conservationists from around the world here in Jersey but they take skills from Jersey Zoo back to species’ range countries. For example, the mammal team at the zoo have had a significant impact in training South American conservationists in the care of marmosets and tamarins, with multiple workshops being held in countries like Colombia and Brazil.

Research questions can be “put” to zoo animals. How would, for example, tamarins use artificial nest boxes placed in the free-ranging woodlands at the zoo before we deploy them in forest corridors in Brazil? Zoo animals can show us how to modify such conservation techniques. What do we know about levels of nature connection in Jersey school children and what can this tell us about helping people care about conservation?

The zoo helps us fundraise for the conservation work we do in the wild – conservation work is done by people and that costs money! No matter the project, we still need to find ways to fund that work. Durrell’s monthly “run rate” is about £840K, so it’s no small task in funding such work, and the zoo helps us to do so.

There is one final point – our zoo here in Jersey is a window onto the world, a gateway to connecting with the amazing animals that live on Earth with us. A day at the zoo helps visitors learn about the animals’ lives and the positive impact of Durrell around the world.