Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation Program
Conservation Message
OUR MISSION
The Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation Program was launched in 2004 to more effectively address a critical part of our Zoo mission. Now in our fifth year, we have four full-time positions overseeing 20 projects in 11 countries. The criteria for selecting our programs are based on scientific data as well as quantifiable degrees of effectiveness. Most importantly, we create partnerships, both here and abroad, to ensure long-term support for our projects. While some of our projects are crisis responses to immediate threats, others are multi-year strategic initiatives. Our ultimate goal is to connect all of our exhibits with a habitat or species conservation program that is economically sustainable and mutually beneficial to local communities and their wildlife. Another goal is to inspire all our guests to care more about conservation and become part of the solution and not the problem. Rick Barongi Zoo Director Deborah Cannon President and CEO Peter Riger Director of Conservation and Science
Paul Crump Amphibian Conservation Manager Rachel Rommel Conservation Program Manager Conservation Committee:
Don Kendall - Chair • Eddy Blanton • Cathy Campbell-Brock • Joshua Davidson • Anne Duncan • Randa Duncan • Gary Ellison • Annie Graham • Stephen Kaufman • Barbara Nussa • Herman Stude • George Willy
PHOTO CREDITS: Paul Swen • Peter Riger • Bill Konstent • William Farr Rachel Rommel • Judith Bryja • Paul Crump Printed on post-consumer waste recycled paper.
We are proud to present this report on our fiscal year 2009 conservation activities of the Houston Zoo. Conservation is a critical part of our mission and one we have grown our investment in since our privatization. Our track record of successful programs, along with other notable conservation organizations has become a role model for other zoo-based conservation programs. Most of the projects you will read about are crisis responses to the threat of extinction. The challenges are great but the alternatives too bleak to mention. The hour is late and the scale of the problems practically overwhelming. When one conservationist was asked “do we have enough time to prevent catastrophe” he replied, “We have exactly enough time – starting now.” As you read about our conservation projects you will see they involve people as much as animals. None of our programs would be successful without a community-based approach that motivates local people to buy into sustainable practices. The Houston Zoo is dedicated to developing relationships which connect people with nature and promote community education initiatives which support both the wildlife and the people who share their habitats. Often local people need viable economic alternatives to enable their conservation efforts. For young people living in urban areas, zoos can be their first contact with nature. And for zoos, inspiring our visitors to care about wildlife and wild places outside our own doors is a critical component of our mission. We hope these stories inspire you to care more about the world outside and that you will continue to support the good work of the Houston Zoo and its many conservation partners. Experiencing nature truly does inspire us to protect it, through admiration, knowledge and respect.
Spotlight on Houston Toad The Houston Toad is a federally protected amphibian species that occurs in the deep, friable, sandy soils of eastern-central Texas. Historically the Houston toads ranged from the city of Houston to Bastrop. Prolonged droughts and rapid habitat conversion caused the extirpation of the toad in the counties surrounding Houston in the 1960’s and 70’s. For the last 30 years, the focus of Houston toad conservation efforts has centered upon Bastrop County. The “Lost Pines” region of central Texas is home to the most robust population of Houston toads on the planet, but recent data suggest that even here they have declined to unsustainable numbers. The Houston Zoo joined the existing Houston toad recovery effort, led by Texas State University, the Environmental Defense Fund, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 2006.
OVERVIEW Houston Toad Recovery East Texas Black Bear Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Big Thicket Reptile and Amphibian Inventory Diamondback Terrapin Distribution Sea Turtle Conservation and Education
Signature Wildlife Program: Texas
There are several pressing conservation issues facing the Houston toad. Fortunately these threats have been identified and as a result, mitigation tactics are already being implemented. Houston Toads lay lots of eggs (called high fecundity) but very few of these eggs, hatch, complete metamorphosis, and return to the ponds to breed. US Geological Survey biologists actually predict the extinction of the toad within 10 years at the current level of adult recruitment into the breeding population. Since 2007 the Zoo has been head starting Houston toads past the high mortality life stages of the tadpole and toadlet stage with the idea of boosting recruitment and getting more adults back to the ponds. The zoo has released close to 4,000 toadlets in the spring and summer of 2009 at three locations throughout the toads range, increasing more than tenfold the population in the wild. Zoo involvement extends beyond its primary role at the ex situ branch of the recovery effort. Staff perform monitoring surveys during the breeding season of the toad to determine the location of extant populations and their breeding ponds and then works with private landowners to steward their property for toad conservation.
Spotlight on Louisiana Black Bear The Louisiana “East Texas” black bear is coming home. Once a part of the natural history of Texas, it was hunted mercilessly and exterminated from the state by the 1950’s. Now under federal protection, and due to successful restocking efforts, this charismatic omnivore is making a come back in our neighboring state of Louisiana. Although no breeding population of black bears has been re-established in Texas, migrant black bear sightings are on the rise in eastern Texas counties and it is only a matter of time before they reclaim part of their historical range in the state.
Above: East Texas Black Bear Task Force
Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation | www.houstonzoo.org Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation | www.houstonzoo.org
The Houston Zoo is working with the East Texas Black Bear Task Force, a dynamic group, whose mission is to promote the restoration of the black bear in its historic range of east Texas through education, research and habitat management. The Houston Zoo has joined with other enthusiastic individuals, organizations and state and federal government representatives such as Texas Parks and Wildlife and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to support the recovery of this threatened species.
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Big Thicket National Preserve
HOUSTON ZOO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NO R T H AM ERI C A TEXAS • East Texas Black Bear Task Force • Houston Toad Recovery • Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Reintroduction • Big Thicket Reptile and Amphibian Inventory • Diamondback Terrapin Field Survey • Texas Turtle Road Mortality Survey • Sea Turtle Conservation & Education
MEXICO • Herpetology of Tamaulipas, Mexico • Peninsular Pronghorn Reintroduction
SOU T H A N D CENT R A L A MERI C A PANAMA • El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center • Summit Municipal Parque Capacity Building • Zoo Conservation Outreach Group
GALAPAGOS • Galapagos Tortoise Population Surveys
BRAZIL • IUCN Tapir Specialist Group
GRAND CAYMAN • International Iguana Foundation
AS IA MALAYSIA-BORNEO • Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project • Borneo Elephant radio-tracking and population structure • Borneo Elephant Human-Wildlife Conflict • Orangutan Aerial and Ground Surveys of the Kalumba Wildlife Reserve • Small Carnivore Conservation Program
MONGOLIA • Snow Leopard Trust
PHILIPPINES • Philippine Eagle Foundation
VIETNAM • Education for Nature Vietnam • Turtle Conservation Center Vietnam • Endangered Primate Rescue Center
AFRIC A BOTSWANA • Cheetah Conservation Botswana • Botswana Carnivore Predator Trust • International Rhino Foundation
GABON • Mikongo Gorilla Ecotourism and Conservation Project
MADAGASCAR • Madagascar Fauna Group
REPUBLIC OF CONGO • Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study • Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary
UGANDA • Uganda Wildlife Education Center
Signature Wildlife Program: Asia
Spotlight on Borneo’s Elephants The Houston Zoo continues to support the first field study into the social structure and herd movement of the Bornean Elephant. The Bornean elephant has recently been confirmed as a separate taxon, dramatically increasing its importance in terms of biodiversity. It is estimated that 1,200-1,500 elephants survive in Borneo, mainly in the eastern state of Sabah. Critical support for Satellite tracking and social behavior of the Bornean elephant in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary will assist the Sabah Wildlife Department in defining suitable corridors to connect fragmented habitats to help protect this species. Field researcher Nurzhafarina Othman’s long-term focus is on the distribution and movement of the elephants, their mating system and dispersal, genetic differentiation between populations, and threats to genetic diversity due to habitat fragmentation.
Spotlight on Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Program The Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project (KOCP) was created in 1997 by Hutan (a French NGO dedicated to habitat and wildlife preservation) in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department. The mission of this effort is to achieve longterm viability of wild orangutans living throughout Sabah with a special emphasis given to the population living in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The orangutan population of the Kinabatangan River floodplain numbers approximately 1,000 individuals and its distribution includes a recently-gazetted, 26,000-hectare wildlife sanctuary. Outside the sanctuary, forests of this region are being reduced and fragmented, largely by conversion to oil palm plantations. Recent studies of the Kinabatangan orangutans demonstrate that they can adapt to altered habitats, a result that counters earlier assumptions about this species’ dependence on primary tropical lowland forests. Data is presently being collected regarding diet, social organization, habitat utilization, forest productivity, health, genetics, and population dynamics. Continued field research is aimed at determining the long-term viability of this population, both within and outside the proposed protected area. In addition, Hutan staff uses the field research station as a base for professional training programs and public awareness campaigns, and to promote nature tourism focused on orangutans.
OVERVIEW Borneo Elephant radiotracking and population structure Hutan Elephant Conservation Unit Education for Nature Vietnam Endangered Primate Rescue Center-Vietnam Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Program Turtle Conservation Center Snow Leopard Trust
Spotlight on Cheetah Conservation Botswana CCB aims to preserve the nation’s cheetah population through scientific research, community outreach and education, working with rural communities to promote coexistence with Botswana’s rich diversity of predator species. The project was formed in 2003 to address the threat to the nation’s cheetah population. The major challenge for the project is one of improving community perceptions towards predators and ensuring that retaliatory killings do not continue to threaten cheetah numbers, while, at the same time, supporting and protecting rural community welfare. Demonstrating predator-proof farming techniques in local workshops, live theater and video production, enables farmers to secure their livelihoods while sharing land with cheetahs.
Spotlight on Botswana Predator Conservation Trust African wild dogs have become the most endangered large carnivore in Africa. Central to their predicament appears to be their need for very large areas of habitat over which to range and hunt - areas far larger comparatively than those required by other sympatric large carnivores. Understanding why wild dogs range so widely and occur everywhere at low densities is considered central to developing a meaningful conservation and management plan for the species. Founded as the Botswana Wild Dog Research Project in1989, the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust (BPCT) has expanded to cover all the large carnivore species in Botswana. It is one of the longest running large predator research projects in Africa and one of only a handful of its caliber worldwide.
Botswana Carnivore Predator Trust Cheetah Conservation Botswana Madagascar Fauna Group Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study Mikongo Gorilla Ecotourism and Conservation Project Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary International Rhino Foundation Uganda Wildlife Education Center
Signature Wildlife Program: Africa
In the Republic of Congo, the Houston Zoo is working with Mbeli Bai Gorilla Program in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. Mbeli Bai is the only long-term demographic study on western gorillas using direct observations providing important baseline information on the social organization, demography and behavior of an intact population of gorillas. Detailed studies are also undertaken on the activity of other large mammal species using the bai, such as forest elephants, sitatungas, forest buffaloes and many other species.
OVERVIEW
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Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation | www.houstonzoo.org Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation | www.houstonzoo.org
Spotlight on Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study
Signature Wildlife Program: Mexico, South and Central America
Spotlight on Panama: El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center
OVERVIEW
Amphibians across the globe are going extinct. Emerging infectious disease, climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species all play a role in the decimation of amphibian communities and, where possible, in situ measures are being implemented to halt the loss of these groups in the wild. Some threats, however, cannot be stopped in the wild and under these circumstances there are few options other than rapidly establishing emergency ex situ populations to prevent extinction. The primary reason for this is the amphibian chytrid fungus, which is creeping around the globe causing an increasing loss of biodiversity. In 2005, the Houston Zoo, along with the support of many partner institutions and organizations, began construction of the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC) in the mountain town of westerncentral Panama. Soon there after, amphibian chytrid arrived in the area. The exhibition area showcases the amphibian biodiversity of the El Valle de Anton region and features a large Panamanian Golden Frog exhibit. Although the golden frog is featured prominently in Panamanian folklore, it is potentially extinct in the wild. We are managing ten distinct species in this facility where they are being bred and maintained. The hope is to be able to reintroduce them into the wild in the future once scientists figure out how to eliminate chytrid from their natural habitat. Recently, we partnered with the Smithsonian Institute’s National Zoo and several others to create a new amphibian conservation facility at the Summit Zoo in Panama City.
El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center Galapagos Tortoise Population Surveys International Iguana Foundation IUCN Tapir Specialist Group Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Summit Municipal Parque Capacity Building Tamaulipas Herpetological Surveys Zoo Conservation Outreach Group
Spotlight on Mexico: Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Critically endangered, once numbering in the thousands and roaming over an area of 21,000 sq. km, the peninsular pronghorn has been reduced to no more than100 animals and confined to an area of only 5,000sq.km. Cattle ranching and livestock fencing prevent their natural movement and reduce favorable habitats. Human development, poaching and drought are also threats. Although once ranging as far north as southern California, the population had been reduced to survivors remaining only in the Vizcaino Desert. In 2009, zoo staff assisted partners in the US and Mexico in a translocation and release of over 200 individuals from a captive management program, essentially tripling the wild population of the species.
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