Providence

the Masai Giraffe

Hey, Providence… have you met Providence, the Masai giraffe? At 20-months-old, this quirky and sassy girl won our hearts when she graced us with her presence in November. She continues to grow increasingly comfortable with her giraffe companion Jaffa and her new bestie, Cora.

Paia the Matschie’s tree kangaroo

Born to mom Keweng and dad Morobe, Paia was the size of a lima bean when she was born on June 27 and crawled blindly into her mom’s pouch, where she continued to grow and nurse. It wasn’t until December that our little joey started to make her first appearance.

Paia, which means fire, was named after her mom’s feisty personality. Although she will continue to spend the next couple of months in her mom’s pouch, she is already showcasing her inquisitive personality, just like her mom.

This birth is significant for the Zoo, and this endangered species. Today, it is estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 adult Matschie tree kangaroos left in their native habitats in New Guinea. The Zoo actively participates in the Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan, which focuses on breeding to ensure the survival of this species and has long supported wildlife and habitat conservation programs to help this species survive including a close partnership with the Tree Kangaroo SAFE Program and the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program.

Our Zoo was selected as a part of a breeding recommendation based on the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Masai giraffes. The SSP is a vital initiative created by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums to ensure that endangered species, like giraffes, maintain a genetically diverse and biologically sound population.

World Wildlife Day 2023 – March 3

2023 Theme: Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation

Protecting wildlife and wild places is at the very core of the Zoo’s mission. We pride ourselves on our environmental impact, locally and globally, working with collaborative partners to conserve multiple species and ecosystems.

It takes an incredible team of Zoo staff, volunteers, and collaborative partners to contribute to conservation efforts that have lasting impact. Today, we highlight two of the Zoo’s influential individuals who have made their mark on environmental conservation.

Lou Perrotti is the director of conservation programs at Roger Williams Park Zoo, and coordinator for both the American burying beetle and North American wood turtle species survival plans (SSP). He has over 25 years of experience and has significantly contributed to the field. Perrotti often emphasizes that conservation is not just about saving the “charismatic and cute animals” but must include all threatened species. Since 1994, Perrotti has led the charge on the American burying beetle recovery. This species is known for being nature’s most efficient recycler and was once native to 35 states across the US. Today, it’s population has dwindled to only seven states. These insects are crucial to nature for their ability to reprocess decaying animals back into the ecosystem and stimulate the growth of plants and foliage. Perrotti has made significant strides since starting the program and has maintained and improved American burying beetle populations on Nantucket Island. In 2021, for the first time in 56 years, the American burying beetle was brought back to New York State thanks to Lou’s work in partnership with SUNY Cobleskill’s Environmental Management program.

Another local species Perrotti has worked with is the timber rattlesnake. Since the 1960s, this species’ population has continued to decline due to poaching and habitat loss. Within the past decade, a new and serious fungal disease has been discovered and further damaged populations.

Perrotti’s conservation impact has been felt near and far. He continues to work closely with local environmental facilities to save and safeguard native turtles like the Eastern box turtle, Eastern spadefoot toads, and the New England cottontail. He has also traveled the world and assisted with conservation efforts in Papua New Guinea, Chile, and Panama, focusing on insects, amphibians, and tree kangaroos. Without Perrotti’s wildlife conservation efforts, some species could have disappeared entirely.

“I am incredibly proud of the work myself and my colleagues have accomplished over the years,” said Perrotti. “I hope we will leave this world as good, if not better, to the next generation.”

Another extraordinary staff member who has made an impact on our wild world is Dr. Karin Schwartz. As the records manager in the animal care department here at Roger Williams Park Zoo, she is also a partner data management advisor for AZA’s animal programs and the International Union of Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Specialist Groups for over 25 years. Additionally, she has worked with various insitu (wild animal populations) and ex-situ (species managed under human care) conservation initiatives.

Schwartz believes that the best possible means of protecting species and their genetic information, can only occur if the in-situ and ex-situ conservation communities work together.

Today, Schwartz serves as a data management advisor to the AZA Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan®, Cheetah Survival Plan, Tapir Taxon Advisory Group and has participated in other various programs associated with the conservation of these species in the wild. Most recently, she served as a research scientist and intern research coordinator for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia where she coordinated work by interns on cheetah conservation research.

It helps keep animal care staff, veterinary care teams and animal population managers up-to-date with the most crucial information about the animals in their collection.

With over 1,300 institutions utilizing this management system in 102 countries worldwide, it contains over 220,000,000 husbandry records, ten million individual animal records and more. This expansive network allows zoos, researchers, and academic institutions to have very specific information vital to their research right at their fingertips! Everything from typical species’ behavioral observations and common medicalrelated complications to intensive population analysis - this vast knowledge allows experts to make tremendous strides in their work that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“With extensive experience as a data management specialist in both the ex-situ and in-situ conservation sectors, I have dedicated my career to the One Plan approach (development of conservation management strategies and actions by all responsible parties for all populations of a species, in or outside of their natural range), as this epitomizes the conservation ethic that is needed to stem the decline of species that are headed towards extinction.”

Through her work at three different zoos - Roger Williams Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, and Milwaukee County ZooSchwartz has used the Zoological Information Management System. This global animal management system provides real-time knowledge that allows zoos, aquariums, and wildlife institutions the ability to catalog animal-related data.

Our current extinction rate caused by humans is said to be between 100 to 1,000 times greater than it would be under natural conditions. With the speed and intensity at which wildlife and habitats are being destroyed, soon very little could be left.

We thank and honor individuals like Lou Perrotti and Dr. Karin Schwartz, along with all of our staff involved in wildlife conservation. Through decades of dedication to their work, the world is more biologically homogenous, and there is greater hope for a brighter future.