San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Journal March 2022

JOURNAL MARCH/APRIL 2022

Discovering the Biodiversity of the African Forest

Feel what it’s like to be wild! Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, opening March 11 at the San Diego Zoo, is a world of immersive play and adventure for Wildlife Explorers of all ages. Get ready to explore!

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PHOTOS BY (TOP): GUENTERGUNI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS (MIDDLE) ANDREYGUDKOV/ISTOCK /GETTY IMAGES PLUS

March/April 2022

Vol. 2 No. 2

Journey Through Our Conservation Work This issue of the San Diego Zoo

Wildlife Alliance Journal focuses on the African forest hub. To learn more about our collaborative conservation programs around the world, including our wildlife care at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, visit sdzwa.org.

Oceans Polar Bear & Penguin

African Forest Gorilla

Amazonia

Savanna

Jaguar

Elephant & Rhino

Southwest

Asian Rainforest

Desert Tortoise & Burrowing Owl

Australian Forest

Pacific Islands

Tiger

Platypus & Koala

‘Alalā

8

Contents

2 President/CEO’s Letter 3 By the Numbers 5 Findings 6 Meet Our Team 8 Hot Topics 26 Events 28 Wildlife Explorers Page 29 Last Look

Cover Story 10

10

Rallying the Troops In the face of a global pandemic, it took dedication, expertise, biotechnology, and strict protocols to screen, protect, and treat the gorillas at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Features 16

Into the African Forest

18

From the “Queen of Trees” to the “Grains of Paradise” and beyond, the horticultural wonders of this region of the world are rare treasures unto themselves.

18

On Common Ground In Cameroon’s Ebo forest, the challenge isn’t just saving the animals and habitats—it’s about preserving culture and a way of life.

24

Visualize It Home to more than 900 orchid species—not to mention thousands of other botanical specimens—there is no other place on Earth like Madagascar.

On the Cover: Western lowland gorilla Gorilla gorilla gorilla. Photo by: Ken Bohn, SDZWA photographer.

LET TER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

JOURNAL MANAGING EDITOR Debra Erickson SENIOR EDITOR Peggy Scott STAFF WRITERS

Donna Parham Abigail Karkenny Elyan Shor, Ph.D. Ebone Monet COPY EDITOR Eston Ellis DESIGNERS

Andy Barba Christine Yetman PHOTOGRAPHER S Ken Bohn Tammy Spratt DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Kim Turner Lisa Bissi Jennifer MacEwen PREPRESS AND PRINTING Quad Graphics

Let's Stay Connected Follow @sandiegozoo & @sdzsafaripark.

Share your #SanDiegoZoo & #SDZSafariPark memories on Twitter & Instagram.

The Zoological Society of San Diego was founded in Octo­b er 1916 by Harry M. Wegeforth, M.D., as a private, nonprofit corporation, which does business as San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The printed San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Journal (ISSN 2767-7680) (Vol. 2, No. 2) is published bimonthly, in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Publisher is San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, located at 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-1646.

Periodicals postage paid at San Diego, California, USA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, P.O. Box 120271, San Diego, CA 92112-0271.

Copyright © 2022 San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved. All column and program titles are trademarks of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

If your mailing address has changed: Please contact the Membership Department; by mail at P.O. Box 120271, San Diego, CA 92112, or by phone at 619-231-0251 or 1-877-3MEMBER. For information about becoming a member of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, please visit our website at ZooMember.org for a complete list of membership levels, offers, and benefits.

One of the last remaining intact forests in all of Central Africa, Cameroon’s Ebo forest is not only a biodiversity hotspot and a site of global importance to our planet’s overall health, it is also a key habitat for some of the most endangered primates on Earth, and just as importantly, a vital part of Cameroon’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

This is one reason that collaborative conservation efforts are key to a better tomorrow for the plants, animals, and people living in and depending on African forests and beyond.

Along with forest elephants and botanical wonders, Ebo forest’s array of wildlife includes a rare population of lowland gorillas, tool-using chimpanzees, and the Preuss’s red colobus monkey. We will share some of these amazing species with you in this issue, as well as take a look at how we handle challenges—both environmental and logistical— in the monitoring and treatment of the species in our care at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park during unexpected situations that affect wildlife, such as COVID-19.

Here at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, we are always looking to identify new ways to engage and share with you the conservation work we are committed to pursuing every day. In that spirit, we partnered with iHeart Media and launched a weekly podcast series we are calling Amazing Wildlife. Hosted by Rick Schwartz and Ebone Monet, Amazing Wildlife transports you around the globe and highlights our collaborative efforts with local communities, such as our work in the Ebo forest, to drive positive change for the future of wildlife and people. To listen to Amazing Wildlife, download the iHeartRadio App, or go to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

We remain dedicated to enhancing the conservation capacity of our partners to enable a sustainable, long-term future for the unique wildlife living in the Ebo forest, and countless other species around the globe. Here’s to a world where all life thrives—and to you, our donors, members, sponsors, and guests who make it all possible.

As part of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s commitment to conservation, this magazine is printed on recycled paper that is at least 10% post-consumer waste, chlorine free, and is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified.

FSC® is not responsible for any calculations on saving resources by choosing this paper.

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Onward Together,

Paul A. Baribault President and Chief Executive Officer

PHOTO BY: GUENTERGUNI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLU

Subscriptions to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Journal are $25 per year, $65 for 3 years. Foreign, including Canada and Mexico, $30 per year, $81 for 3 years. Contact Membership Department for subscription information.

The Essential African Forest

BY THE NUMBERS

Into the Forest African forests are biodiversity hotspots and globally important to our planet’s overall health. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance collaborates with local communities to conserve biodiversity in areas such as Cameroon’s Ebo forest, one of the last remaining intact forests in all of Central Africa. For an idea of how unique these forests are, consider these numbers:

29.5

PHOTOS BY: (BOTTOM LEFT) GUENTERGUNI/E+/GETTY IMAGES (BOTTOM RIGHT) DENNIS STOGSDILL/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

The length, in inches, that the goliath frog of western Africa can reach (with legs extended).

Ebo forest’s estimated remaining population of Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees.

40+

The number of surrounding villages that depend on Ebo forest for food, medicine, water, building material, and other ecosystem services.

700

65

The percentage of decline experienced by forest elephant populations between the years 2002 and 2013.

2022 Board of Trustees OFFICERS Javade Chaudhri, Chair Steven S. Simpson, Vice Chair Richard B. Gulley, Treasurer Steven G. Tappan, Secretary TRUSTEES Rolf Benirschke Kathleen Cain Carrithers Clifford W. Hague Robert B. Horsman Gary E. Knell Linda J. Lowenstine, DVM, Ph.D. Judith A. Wheatley ̒Aulani Wilhelm TRUSTEES EMERITI Berit N. Durler Thompson Fetter George L. Gildred Yvonne W. Larsen John M. Thornton A. Eugene Trepte Betty Jo F. Williams

Executive Team Paul A. Baribault

President and Chief Executive Officer

Shawn Dixon

Chief Operating Officer

David Franco Chief Financial Officer

Erika Kohler Interim Executive Director, San Diego Zoo

Lisa Peterson

Senior Vice President and Executive Director, San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Nadine Lamberski, DVM, DACZM, DECZM (ZHM)

547

The area, in square miles, covered by Ebo forest (half the size of Yosemite National Park).

Chief Conservation and Wildlife Health Officer

Wendy Bulger

General Counsel

David Gillig

Chief Philanthropy Officer

Aida Rosa

Chief Human Resources Officer

David Miller

Chief Marketing Officer

SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE / SDZWA.ORG / 3

Proud Supporter of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

FINDINGS

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) protects and restores nature in eight conservation hubs on six continents. Below are recent discoveries and progress from around the world.

PHOTOS BY (TOP LEFT): XANDER VAN DER BURGT/TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW, UK (BOTTOM 2) TAMMY SPRATT/SDZWA

BOTANICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE EBO FOREST

Botanical survey efforts in the Ebo forest, Cameroon, have resulted in the identification of 16 plant species new to science and the discovery of over 75 threatened plant species, including the Critically Endangered pink voodoo lily Pseudohydrosme ebo. This striking lily was first described by our partners at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the National Herbarium of Cameroon. It was first collected in 2010 by SDZWA scientist Bethan Morgan, Ph.D. SDZWA and our partners are investigating the possibility of growing this species in local communities in Cameroon and exporting the seeds as means to support improved livelihoods. The Ebo forest is also the first Cameroonian forest to be designated a Tropical Important Plant Area (TIPA). This program, geared at national policymakers, highlights the botanical importance of TIPA sites globally. It also promotes the sustainable management of these sites and their key species and habitats, among other conservation aims.

COMMUNITIES DISCUSS GIRAFFE CONSERVATION

Twiga Walinzi (a giraffe conservation initiative that is a collaboration between SDZWA and several partners, and that is led by local Kenyan communities) recently conducted 18 focus group discussions with 3 participant groups—men, women, and morans (young male warriors)—in Kenyan conservancies. During the meetings, researchers used prompts to learn community views on how and when giraffe poaching occurs.

Community members discussed and then shared their opinions, building nuance or refuting prompts. They also suggested, considered, and preferentially ranked potential interventions, such as programs to engage morans with giraffe monitoring, or incentives for villages that support more giraffes. Twiga Walinzi and SDZWA conservation scientists were able to use this community input to inform a conservation practitioner workshop about designing interventions, and plan to implement a new intervention with community support in 2022.

PRONGHORN CONSERVATION MILESTONE

In early November 2021, SDZWA participated in the radio collaring and reintroduction of eight Critically Endangered peninsular pronghorn Antilocapra americana peninsularis in El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Baja California Sur, Mexico. This is the first time anyone has placed radio collars on peninsular pronghorn and reintroduced them back into their native habitat. Conservation scientists will now have access to around-the-clock data on these threatened ungulates, bettering our understanding of pronghorn behavior, movements, and habitat use. The collars are equipped with solar attachments that can transmit for up to three years. This event marks a success for the Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project (PPRP) in Mexico. PPRP hopes to release up to 200 pronghorn over the next few months.

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MEET OUR TEAM

Q

Q

Briefly describe your job with SDZWA.

I am co-leader of SDZWA’s African Forest hub and manager of the Ebo Forest Research Project, Cameroon. Apart from coordinating activities in the conservation hub, my job in Cameroon consists of coordinating biological research and conservation outreach in the Ebo forest—renowned for its rich biodiversity of animals and plants—as well as history and culture of the local population whose ancestry is linked to the forest.

Q

What is the coolest thing about your job?

Q

What is your favorite animal? Why?

Ekwoge Abwe, Ph.D. A co-leader of SDZWA’s African Forest hub, Dr. Abwe’s work has earned him a spot in the class of 2022 of The Explorers Club’s The Explorers 50: Fifty People Changing the World that You Need Know About.

I get to go into the forest from time to time, which gives me the opportunity to see fascinating plants and animals. I have encountered all the charismatic animal species in the Ebo forest including the forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, Preuss’s red colobus, drills, Goliath frogs, and more— and the lovely experience of rowing in a dugout canoe to our Mbam & Djerem National Park research site at Ganga Research Station.

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The classification of the Ebo forest into logging concessions in early 2020 by the government of Cameroon changed the dynamics of our project. Prior to that, we were hoping the government would classify the forest into a protected area—the Ebo National Park. From the moment the logging concessions were announced, we engaged in a massive campaign that involved local, national, and international stakeholders.

In addition, in a letter to the government, we proposed an inclusive land use planning process as a way forward to decide sustainable land use options for the landscape. Eventually, the logging concessions were suspended, and there is now groundswell support for the land use planning process from grassroots communities as well as donors and partners including the European Union, Agence France de Développement, Central African Forest Initiative, and more.

What do you see as the future of wildlife conservation?

The future is inclusion.

Every single stakeholder— including grassroots communities—should be actively involved in the management of wildlife and forests.

ILLUSTRATION/PHOBTO CREDIT HERE

Chimpanzees! In 2005, I observed chimpanzees in Ebo forest cracking nuts of Coula edulis, using quartz stone hammers.

This discovery was a catalyst for my career as a conservation biologist.

Q

What was a turning point or defining moment in a project you’ve worked on?

Spread your wings.

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HOT TOPICS

Elephants of the Ebo Studying a Critically Endangered Icon

Bethan Morgan, Ph.D., and Shifra Goldenberg, Ph.D., explore the world of these Critically Endangered elephants.

C

ameroon’s Ebo forest is one of the last remaining sites inhabited by forest elephants in the entire Gulf of Guinea biodiversity hotspot—the area of tropical Central Africa to the northwest of the Congo basin. Since we

first established trail cameras in the forest in 2016, we have gathered a wealth of evidence of African forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis presence, despite the fact that the cameras are currently restricted to the relatively small area (approximately 40 square kilometers, or roughly 15 square miles) of the Ebo gorilla range. These images capture family groups, lone bulls (males), and bull groups,

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indicating there is much to learn about Ebo elephant interactions with one another and with their environment. In the years to come, we are planning to expand this camera network to cover the whole approximately 1,000-square kilometer (386-squaremile) forest, as part of a planned doctoral study by a talented young Cameroon biologist working on our team.

Forest:

3 Challenges

You can help support conservation science. Scan for more information or visit: sdzwa.org

African forest elephants are Critically Endangered. The species faces several obstacles to reversing their population decline.

Among them are:

1. Poaching Their tusks make forest elephants attractive targets to the often highly organized illegal ivory trade. The market for ivory continues to flourish, even though its only real value is as a status symbol, tied to its limited supply.

2. Space limitations Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation continue to influence forest elephants’ lives. Much of their range has been converted to crop plantations, livestock farms, and urban and industrial areas for people.

3. Slow reproduction rate Elephants reach sexual maturity at about 23 and have a gestation period of 2 years. A slow rate of reproduction makes population growth slow as well.

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PHOTO BY: CLARANILA/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

physical characteristics such as size, scars, and cuts to their ears to identify individual elephants and follow them over time, which has provided important insights into their societies. However, most research of African elephants has focused on savanna elephants, which are more widespread and found in habitats more conducive to observation.

Much of what we know of forest elephants is from individual-based monitoring in the treeless swampy bais of the Congo basin, where the openness has allowed elephants to be observed from a distance. It remains challenging to study them in the forest, but we hope that applying individual-based monitoring with our expanded camera grid in the forest may allow us to contribute to collective understanding of forest elephant populations and support conservation planning.

Until March 2021, African elephants were treated as a single species, listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the global list of threatened species. This combined status meant that the unique challenges facing the two species were not sufficiently highlighted. Biologists have long believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants should be treated as separate species, due to significant differences in morphology, ecology, behavior, and genetics, and in 2021 the IUCN Cameroon’s African Elephant Specialist Group Ebo forest is one announced the splitting of African of the last remaining elephants into two separate spesites inhabited by cies: Loxodonta africana and forest elephants in the In tandem Loxodonta cyclotis. The most reentire Gulf of Guinea with this trail cent Red List assessment followed biodiversity camera extension, this distinction, and designated hotspot. we are planning to African forest elephants L. cyclotis as look in detail at the Critically Endangered, underlining their captured images to see if we critical conservation situation, and therefore can examine characteristics such as group the importance of protecting and docusize, age and sex structure, and cohesiveness. menting all remaining populations.

For decades, researchers have used obvious

Rallying theTroops:

Gorilla Health Care in a Pandemic

BY LAUREN L. HOWARD, DVM, DIPL. ACZM PHOTOS BY KEN BOHN

I

n January 2021, the gorilla troop at the Safari Park was exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in people. The many precautions and best practices we put into place in 2020 and 2021 proved not to be impermeable to the virus. Fortunately, we had the right leadership, wildlife care, and health teams in place to be sure our multigenerational family of gorillas got the best care possible throughout their COVID-19 episode.

All gorillas fully recovered. With the help of our public health officials, we were able to ensure that our employees and community remained safe—and would continue to do so.

Rewind One Year

We all knew far less about SARS-CoV-2 back then. The United States started 2021 with the deadliest month of the coronavirus to date. New, more contagious strains of the virus were just starting to be discovered. Reports of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife were still extremely rare. Of course, SARS-CoV-2 has since been reported in many species of wild, domestic, para-domestic, and zoobased mammals. However, when our gorillas were the first apes in the world to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the newness, uniqueness, and extraordinary amount of planning required for each of the many steps of diagnosing and providing care was unprecedented.

Spotting Signs of Illness

Exposure was first suspected when we heard the gorillas cough. The presence of the virus was initially confirmed through a PCR test of their feces. The virus was later genetically fingerprinted via sequencing from a nasal swab collected from our 49-year-old silverback gorilla, Winston, while receiving supportive care for severe COVID-19 illness under anesthesia. Once treatments were complete, Winston fully recovered from his illness, and the rest of the troop handled their milder illness without the need for medical intervention.

Starting in February 2021, our wildlife care and wildlife health staffs were given the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and in July, our Safari Park gorillas were vaccinated with the veterinary SARS-CoV-2 vaccine manufactured by Zoetis that had

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Treatment plan: At left, Dr. Ryan Sadler, veterinary fellow at the Safari Park, collects a nasal swab from Winston for SARS-CoV-2 testing.

Winston was anesthetized for treatment of severe illness due to SARS- CoV-2 infection.

Opposite page, below: Christine Miller, senior registered veterinary technician at the San Diego Zoo, prepares a dose of the Zoetis COVID veterinary vaccine. In 2021, SDZWA vaccinated over 240 animals against SARS-CoV-2.

been administered to great apes at the San Diego Zoo several months prior. As the Delta, and then Omicron, variants have taken hold in the United States, our protocols to protect caretakers and wildlife alike continue to evolve, and SDZWA wildlife health and care leaders meet frequently to discuss new findings and protocol adjustments. This planning and adaptive approach continues today.

A Variant Arises

In September 2021, Zoo Atlanta identified the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in their gorilla troop, with 18 of their 20 gorillas showing mild clinical illness, and all individuals recovering well. In October, the Kansas City Zoo had a similar experience in their troop of six gorillas. In both cases, strict personal protective equipment protocols had been in place, and the majority of their wildlife care staff were vaccinated against COVID-19. In November, our six gorillas at the San Diego Zoo also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The Zoo gorillas had been vaccinated, and most of them had very mild illness. In this case series, it was again the oldest silverback, Paul Donn, at 32 years of age, who had the most concerning illness and required veterinary assistance.

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) maintains a list of SARS-CoV-2 events in animals worldwide, and to date, gorillas are still the only great ape species that has been confirmed to have contracted the virus. Most wildlife health experts consider it likely that other great apes—orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos—are also susceptible to illness from SARS-CoV-2, and that, in time, cases will be detected in these species as well.

The silver lining is that, of the 40 gorillas in the

US that have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2021, only one gorilla—our most geriatric silverback, Winston, who had pre-existing health conditions— experienced severe illness and complications requiring intensive medical intervention. Though a relatively small sample size, this gives us hope that the majority of healthy apes in managed care and in native habitats who encounter SARS-CoV-2 will be able to fend off and recover from the infection with mild illness, and without requiring intensive medical care.

“With the privilege of caring for wildlife comes the responsibility of sharing our lessons learned.”

This pandemic has been a catalyst for our One Health approach to wildlife conservation, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of wildlife, human, and ecosystem health. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance joins many hardworking, committed conservationists and other scientists who study, protect, and care for great apes in their native habitats throughout Africa and Asia. Site conditions that bring wildlife and people closer together vary, including ecotourism, remote monitoring in thick forests, and wildlife orphanages, just to name a few.

Reasons our apes are in peril include habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, hunting, violent spillover from human conflicts, and more. Since early 2020,

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DID YOU KNOW? The gorillas loved their Vitamin C gummies.

professionals in all of these situations have shared common concerns about the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the apes they serve. Will continuing their field activities endanger the very animals they are trying to protect? How would they know if the animals they protect were ill? How can they test animals for SARS-CoV-2 in remote rehabilitation centers? And how can they best prioritize the medical needs of the people in these regions, while also doing their best to protect the apes? These many concerns highlight more clearly than ever how wildlife and human health are inextricably linked.

Sharing the Wealth of Knowledge

With the privilege of caring for wildlife comes the responsibility of sharing our lessons learned. At every opportunity, we have prepared our conservation colleagues across the globe with what we’ve learned while caring for our wildlife at home. We have learned the clinical findings associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the value and utility of fecal testing in apes not accustomed to nasal swabs, and we have information on how SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE / SDZWA.ORG / 13

long shedding in the feces continues after resolution of signs. We have documented the severity and duration of clinical illness in all of our gorillas, from 4-year-old Leslie to 49-year-old Winston, and we can help others caring for or protecting apes to know a little bit more about what to expect in the event SARS-CoV-2 impacts the individuals in their care.

We have learned what level of personal protective equipment is effective in preventing transmission. We have a newfound perspective on the importance of ventilation and airflow in habitat design, and share that knowledge with our counterparts across the globe. We have shown that easily available medicines, taken orally and given once daily, can be used to reduce the severity of illness in gorillas who are sick from COVID-19.

We have learned how to safely and effectively disinfect an ape living space and to eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 virus from their environment without harming the apes themselves.

And, we have led the way in the use of SARSCoV-2 vaccines in animals, and have demonstrated that the veterinary SARS-CoV-2 vaccine made by Zoetis is safe to administer to gorillas and does not result in notable adverse effects. We will continue to learn how effective the vaccine is in reducing or preventing illness.

As wildlife care professionals dedicated to the protection and conservation of wildlife, we have done our best to rise to the challenge that COVID-19 has placed before us. Partnering with public health and human health specialists, as well as experts throughout the zoo community, we have learned and advanced our practices, and the animals under our care have benefitted. It is our ultimate honor that the information we learn within our two front doors can provide guidance to our colleagues working to save apes across the planet.

Lauren Howard, DVM, Dipl. ACZM, is director of veterinary services for SDZWA.

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Thank You

to these partners for promoting Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, opening March 11.

Interested in learning more about partnership opportunities for your business?

Contact our partnership marketing department at partnership@sdzwa.org.

African Forest

Experience some of Africa’s unique plant life at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

by Dario Berrini, Tim Hoehn-Boydston, Michael Letzring, and Christy Powell Photos by Tammy Spratt

V

isitors typically enter either of our two front doors to experience animals, but they often marvel at the botanical surroundings that provide much more than just a backdrop. With the mild climate in San Diego, we are fortunate to be able to grow species from around the globe, including many plants you might find in the forests of Africa where we work to save species. At the Zoo, the African Garden at the top of Africa Rocks highlights unique plants of the region, but you can find plants of African forests throughout the Zoo and Safari Park. Here are some to keep an eye out for on your next visit.

their dung. Bats pollinate its pendulous maroon flowers. Look for the unmistakable sausage trees at the Zoo (Elephant Odyssey, Ituri Forest, Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, and Africa Rocks) or at the Safari Park, near Mawazo Kitchen restaurant.

The sycamore fig Ficus sycomorus is often called the “Queen of Trees.” Distributed across Africa, it provides food and shelter for other wildlife. In fact, it is such a defining part of the ecosystem that it is considered a keystone species. This tree can be found at the top of Africa Rocks in the African Garden next to the bus road.

The sandpaper tree Ficus exasperata that grows near the waterfall in Africa Rocks is another widely distributed African fig.

Tropical West Africa Thick, dense, and humid, the forests of West Africa support trees like the sausage tree Kigelia africana, so called because of the long, brown fruit it produces. It provides food for baboons and other mammals that do their part for the forest by dispersing the seeds in

Almost Paradise Purple, trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers emerge from the ground in swampy habitats of the West African coast. A perennial plant in the ginger family, the Aframomum melegueta produces a spice known as “grains of paradise.” It is a valuable cash crop in a number of

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Grains of Paradise Aframomum melegueta

Into the

Ituri rainforest cycad Encephalartos ituriensis

Darwin’s orchid Angraecum sesquipedale African mangosteen Garcinia livingstonei

Sycamore fig Ficus sycomorus

The authors care for the plant life at the San Diego Zoo. Christy Powell is a horticulture manager, Dario Berrini is a senior horticulturist, Tim Hoehn-Boydston is a plant propagator, and Michael Letzring is a senior plant propagator.

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Sausage tree Kigelia africana

West and Central African countries. Lowland gorillas eat the leaves of the plant and use them for bedding material.

The African mangosteen Garcinia livingstonei is a small to medium evergreen tree. Trees are either male or female, and pollination requires insects that bring pollen from a male tree to the flower of a female tree.

The Ituri rainforest cycad Encephalartos ituriensis is from just two locations, on large granite isolated hills in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cycads are widely considered to be one of the most endangered plant groups. You can find this cycad growing at the Zoo, in Elephant Odyssey and near the stage at Africa Rocks.

One of the most unique places on Earth, Madagascar is a horticultural world unto itself. The Zoo’s orchid greenhouse includes a number of threatened species from Madagascar including Darwin’s orchid Angraecum sesquipedale, species of Aeranthes and Bulbophyllum, and more.

View them when you visit during the Zoo’s Plant Days. To know more, go to zoo.sandiegozoo.org/ activities/botanical-tours. Find out more about Madagascar beginning on page 24.

Community-based

Conservation Efforts

Ebo Forest

BY BETHAN MORGAN, PH.D., AND EKWOGE ABWE, PH.D. PHOTOS BY SDZWA

PHOTO BY: GUENTERGUNI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

in the

Spreading the word: Club des Amis des Gorilles of Iboti village during Cameroon national day celebrations (May 20) at Yingui (administrative headquarters).

They spread their message via parades with conservation messages on posters, banners, t-shirts, and songs emphasizing the need to protect the unique great apes of the Ebo forest and their habitat.

When our SDZWA team first came across a group of gorillas in Cameroon’s Ebo forest back in 2002, we had no idea that it would lead to two decades of conservation commitment to one of the most complex regions of Africa. This small group of gorillas lives within the steep, forested mountains close to three remote villages, where local people have regarded them as neighbors for generations.

I

In the Beginning

n those early years, we established remote field camps and employed local people as guides and porters to carry food and field supplies far into the forest. We came to know the forest itself well; we learned the local names of rivers, mountains, and long-since abandoned villages. Until the late 1950s, this forest was peppered with villages inhabited by the Banen and Bassa peoples.

Around the time of Cameroon’s independence from French colonial rule, these villages were forcibly abandoned, and people resettled in villages around what is now the Ebo forest.

But it was always clear that the local people felt that Ebo was their ancestral land.

While our forest-based research into gorillas and so many other endangered species—including chimpanzees and drills— got underway, we were aware that the

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continued existence of the wildlife and forest was largely due to the protection afforded by these local communities, and as time went on, we started to design our conservation work with people in mind.

In 2010, we shifted our emphasis from fieldbased research stations to the local communities themselves. At first, this came about as we recognized the need to bolster the chieftaincy structure in the region, which had lost some of its power over the years. Bringing together the chiefs from the Bassa and Banen tribes was no easy feat—the fact that civil strife had occurred in living memory for some of the older chiefs was evident from the start—memories of the battles fought were recounted vividly, and distrust was common.

But as the years went by, our constant presence on the ground as a mediator and supporter of traditional chieftaincy values gained respect, and we were able to gradually encourage chiefs to meet, which eventually led to the establishment, in 2012, of the Ebo Traditional Chiefs’ Association.

Today, the group includes chiefs from more than 40 villages and meets regularly, often inviting us to present the latest news of discoveries from their forest.

“Gorilla Guardian Club”

In conjunction with bolstering support for the traditional chiefs, we realized that we needed to make much more of the relationships we had forged with the villages closest to the Ebo gorillas, so in 2013 we established a “Gorilla Guardian Club” (Club des Amis des Gorilles, or CAG) in the first of three villages. It was immediately a success, run on democratic principles, and involving membership cards for a small (less than $1) joining fee and declaration to abide by its principles. In addition to regular meetings, the club selects individuals to accompany our staff to monitor the Ebo gorilla habitat for threats. Over the years, active participation in the monitoring has increased such that SDZWA staff now support CAG members in the monitoring! Very soon, the remaining two villages were clamoring for groups; today there are three CAG groups and over 200 members, encompassing more than half of all individuals in the villages.

SDZWA supports the CAG groups, too. Every year, each CAG selects one or two development

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DID YOU KNOW? There are fewer than 30 gorillas left in the Ebo forest.

Amazing Wildlife is on the Air! SDZWA has partnered with iHeart Media and launched a weekly podcast series, Amazing Wildlife. Hosted by Rick Schwartz and Ebone Monet, Amazing Wildlife transports you around the globe to highlight our collaborative efforts with local communities, including Episode 7, “Gorillas: Gentle Giants.”

To listen to “Amazing Wildlife,” download the iHeartRadio app, or go to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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projects that it wishes to launch in the community.

This may be latrine building, purchasing chairs for the school, repairing a water well, or supplying cassava grinding machines. The CAGs’ dedication and expertise is such that in recent years they have been invited to meetings in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, to present their model of “communitybased conservation” to the GSAC Alliance (Alliance for the Conservation of Great Apes in Central Africa).

OPPOSITE PAGE, PHOTOS BY: (TOP LEFT, MIDDLE CENTER, BOTTOM LEFT) ROBBIE WHYTOCK/SDZWA

Achieving Many “Goals”

Perhaps the annual highlight for many in the area is the annual soccer tournament, now held for over eight years, to compete for the “Gorilla Cup.” More villages have now joined, and the event has morphed to include recycling initiatives, music and dance competitions, and workshops on first aid and self-defense.

News of the Ebo gorillas has spread far and wide by the clubs, and in 2022, we will establish a similar initiative in the west of Ebo, where we know there to be a population of chimpanzees with a unique tool-use repertoire—they are the only chimpanzee population in Africa to use both wands to dip for termites in subterranean termite mounds, and stone and wooden hammers to crack open hardshelled nuts to extract the nutritious interior. The Ebo chimpanzees are gaining a reputation for being the most intelligent chimpanzees in Africa!

Our work also stretches to villages to the west and south of the forest, where we work with women’s groups to support their ability to increase the income for their families. In 2021, we supplied grinding machines to save hours of back-breaking work processing foods such as cassava to enable its preservation and eventual consumption or sale.

In 2022, we will work on establishing cooperatives in this region, to see if we can further assist communities to better work together to generate their own income. This is not our area of expertise,

From the field: Opposite page, top row, left to right: Two chimpanzees in the Ebo forest feed on fruit; The administrator of Yingui subdivision (Michael Nkenemo, in brown) with security and wildlife officials inaugurate Club des Amis des Gorilles in Lognanga village in 2013. Second row: Iboti community members learn how to operate a cassava grinding mill, which is aimed at increasing the production of cassavaderived products that are sought after in urban centers, thus increasing household income in this CAG village; Preuss’s monkey in the Ebo forest; EFRP research assistant Rodel Vouffo servicing a trail camera in the gorilla habitat, Ebo forest. Bottom row, left to right: red-eared guenon in the Ebo forest; gorilla nest in the Ebo forest; CAG team member collecting data about the nest.

but we are willing to learn, and have built a solid base of knowledge and trust with these villages who have known us for 20 years.

Building Alliances for the Future

In 2020, the Government of Cameroon decided that it wanted to open the Ebo forest to logging.

This coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite this, there was uproar in the national and global conservation world. Local community groups spoke out vociferously, and so did global organizations, including SDZWA and our partners at re:wild and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as others such as Greenpeace. Even actor Leonardo DiCaprio played a significant role in raising awareness of the threat to Ebo. Thankfully, as a result of these efforts, in August 2020, the president of Cameroon himself intervened to suspend the logging threat. Currently, the SDZWA team is working hard with our partners to compel a land-use planning process to determine the future of the Ebo landscape. We firmly believe that the only viable long-term solution to preserve the forest and its wildlife must include the local population as part of the future management regime—after all, the fact that the forest still exists is thanks to them. They and their descendants are the true custodians of the Ebo forest.

Bethan Morgan, Ph.D., and Ekwoge Abwe, Ph.D., are scientists and co-leaders of SDZWA’s African Forest Program.

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VISUALIZE IT

Madagascar Forests About twice the size of Arizona, the island of Madagascar lies about 220 miles east of the African continent. Its coastal lowlands are home to three distinct forest types and a rich diversity of endemic species.

By Donna Parham | Illustrations by Amy Blandford

Eastern Rainforest

Match the colors on the map to the forest descriptions.

A narrow strip of dense rainforest extends from Madagascar’s east coast up through the hills. Emergent trees tower over an evergreen canopy that stretches 100 feet high and hides the forest floor in darkness.

Two seasons—wet and wetter—define this lush landscape, where rainfall in some places exceeds 15 feet per year. Hundreds of species of orchids nestle among tangled tree branches, and a huge variety of endemic flora also includes bamboos, palms, rosewood, ebony, and canarium.

Southern Spiny Forest Madagascar’s hot, semiarid, southern spiny forest is named for its characteristic plant life. Spiny, succulent shrubs and trees like the octopus tree Didierea grow in dense thickets. They may resemble cactus, but they belong to a different family of plants. With a dryish season and Continued >

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In the rainiest part of the island, red ruffed lemurs Varecia rubra spend most of their time in the upper forest canopy.

a very dry season, rain is irregular in the southern spiny forest. Many of the plants here are drought-deciduous; they drop their leaves to save water. When it does rain, new leaves appear.

The spiny forest may seem inhospitable, but white-footed sportive lemurs Lepilemur leucopus live here and nowhere else.

Active at night, they sleep in tree cavities during the day.

Western Dry Forest On the west side of the island, coastal plains and limestone plateaus support a mostly deciduous forest, where baobobs Adansonia and Madagascar palms Pachypodium lamerei rise above the shrub layer. Many plants here store water during the rainy summer to sustain them through the long, dry winter.

Van der Decken’s sifakas Propithecus deckenii inhabit patches of western Madagascar’s tsingy—areas of sharp limestone spires, crags, and ridges.

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March & EVENTS

SAN DIEGO ZOO

March and April Hours San Diego Zoo 9 a.m.–6 p.m.*

San Diego Zoo Safari Park 9 a.m.–6 p.m.*

sdzwa.org

619-231-1515

*Exceptions apply.

Programs and dates are subject to change—please check our website for the latest information and requirements for visiting.

(Z) = San Diego Zoo (P) = Safari Park

OPENING MARCH 11

APRIL 17

Wildlife Explorers Basecamp

Easter Brunch

Feel what it’s like to be wild! Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, opening March 11 at the San Diego Zoo, is a world of immersive play and adventure for Wildlife Explorers of all ages. Get ready to explore. (Z) MARCH 13, 18; APRIL 15

Plant Day and Orchid Odyssey

On these special days, guests can take a rare look inside the Zoo’s Orchid House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., check out the Carnivorous Plant Greenhouse from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and learn about the Zoo’s botanical collection from horticulture staff on the Botanical Bus Tour at 2 p.m. (Z)

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Enjoy spring brunch in our outdoor Zoofari Party Area prepared by the San Diego Zoo Executive Chef Team. For reservations, call 619-718-3000 or book online. (Z) O F F E R E D DA I LY

Discovery Cart Tours

Sit back in the comfort of an expedition cart, and enjoy a 60-minute guided tour of the Zoo, led by one of our knowledgeable guides. Book online or call 619-718-3000. (Z)

April SAFARI PARK S E L E C T DAYS I N M A R C H AND APRIL

Supreme Roar & Snore Safari

featuring Butterfly Jungle MARCH 19 THROUGH MAY 8

M A R C H 1 9 – M AY 8

Spring Safari featuring Butterfly Jungle proudly supported by Wheelhouse Credit Union

Spring brings the perfect chance to get outdoors, spend time with family, and experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of the season! From special entertainment and culinary creations to amazing wildlife encounters like Butterfly Jungle Safari (additional ticket required), come make spring memories to last a lifetime! For full details, visit sdzsafaripark.org. (P) S E L E C T DAYS I N M A R C H A N D A P R I L

All Ages Roar & Snore with Butterfly Jungle

Sleep over at the Safari Park, experience up-close wildlife encounters, and get an exclusive look at Butterfly Jungle. For details and reservations, call 619-718-3000. (P)

A P R I L 3 0 – M AY 1

Epiphyllum Show and Sale

Check out the many colors and varieties of this tropical “orchid cactus” as they burst into spectacular bloom. (P) O F F E R E D DA I LY

APRIL 9

Nativescapes Garden Tour

A free guided walking tour through the 4-acre Nativescapes Garden, representing 500 native Southern California species, begins at 10 a.m. (P)

Cart Safaris

Sit back in the comfort of your own Safari cart, as you enjoy a 60-minute guided tour of the Safari Park’s spacious African or Asian savanna habitats, led by one of our knowledgeable guides. Book online or call 619-718-3000. (P)

The new Supreme Roar & Snore Safari—available on All Ages and Adults Only sleepovers— offers a whole new level of adventure at the Safari Park!

You’ll soar into camp on the Flightline Safari zip line, take a Night Vision Safari to view wildlife through night vision binoculars, and later settle in for the evening in your own private tent. The next morning, enjoy reserved VIP viewing of a cheetah running at top speed, then take a Wildlife Safari through savanna habitats for an up-close view of wildlife. Call 619-718-3000. (P) O F F E R E D DA I LY

Flightline Safari

Flightline Safari is the ultimate recreational experience for those looking for excitement.

Secure and comfortable in your harness, you will soar as high as 130 feet above the ground, with a spectacular bird’s-eye view of rhinos, giraffes, and other wildlife in the savanna habitats below you. You will experience breathtaking views of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and its expansive savanna habitats below as you “fly” approximately two-thirds of a mile, landing safely near our Roar & Snore campground. Make reservations online, or call 619-718-3000. (P)

SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE / SDZWA.ORG / 27

Visit the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers website to find out about wildlife and habitats, plus videos, crafts, stories, games, and more! sdzwildlifeexplorers.org

Word Safari

Unscramble the words below to identify some well-known wildlife species that live on the continent of Africa.

1. F I G F E A R 2. O Y E M N K 3. T A L E H N E P 4. N S E O I L S 5. C A E H H E T 6. L A G I O R L 7. A B Z E R 8. P L O E R D A 9. H G O A W R T

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Why can’t leopards play hide-and-seek? Because they’ve already been “ !”

Answer: “spotted!”

Once you have unscrambled all the words above, copy each letter from a red square into the spaces to the right. When you unscramble these letters, you’ll have the answer to the riddle!

You can check your answer at the bottom of this page.

On January 4, 2022, an orangutan infant was born at the San Diego Zoo. Indah, a 35-year-old Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. He was named Kaja, in honor of an island in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, which houses rehabilitated Bornean orangutans prior to their habitat reintroduction. Photographed by Ken Bohn, SDZWA photographer.

LAST LOOK

SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE / SDZWA.ORG / 29

JOURNAL

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance P.O. Box 120551, San Diego, CA 92112

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance presents

Rendezvous In The Zoo

R•I•T•Z Saturday, June 18, 2022 6:30 pm to Midnight at the San Diego Zoo

Trunks up for the annual R•I•T•Z gala!

Proceeds Benefit Elephant Valley at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Make reservations today at ritz.sandiegozoo.org or contact Karl and Leslie Bunker: | sdzooritz@gmail.com