Zoo's Print

Magazine of Zoo Outreach Organisation Vol. XXVI No. 3, March 2011

Date of Publication: 21 March 2011

ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online)

Kabul Zoo officers study the Kanpur Zoo map before their VIP tour of the premises

Magazine of Zoo Outreach Organisation Vol. XXVI No. 3, March 2011

ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online)

Contents Kabul Zoo Training Visit to Selected North Indian Zoos, R. Marimuthu, Pp. 1-5 Banning of Polythene bag inside Dhaka Zoo for the first time, Dr. Md. Shakif-Ul-Azam, Pp. 6-7 Zoological Institutions in the Middle East: Potential for a Regional Zoo Association, Jonas Livet, Pp. 8 Volunteer Vet (CWRC) – Borjuri, Assam, Minla Zangmu Lachungpa, Pp. 9-11 Book Review : Butterflies and Birds of Bishop Heber College, R J Ranjit Daniels, P. 12

Kabul Zoo visits National Zoological Park Interpretation Centre

Education Reports, Pp. 13-15 A few Communications about Web-based ZOOS’ PRINT, Pp. 16-17 Population Control By Segregation of Blackbucks at Kanpur Zoo, K. Praveen Rao, Pp. 18-19 Don’t forget ZooLex, Pp. 20-22 An incidence of pleural mesothelioma in circus lionesses, K. Sujatha, Ch. Srilatha and P. Amaravathi, Pp. 23-24

Dhaka Zoo conducts programme against dangerous plastic and other trash in the zoo

Observation of road kills on Kambam-Kumily Road (NH 220) in Tamil Nadu, K. Muthamizh Selvan, Pp. 25-26 Occurrence of bile duct hook worms in a wild elephant of Wayanad, Kerala, K.G. Ajith Kumar, Reghu Ravindran, T. Surendranathan, E. Varun Joy4 and Amitha George, Pp. 27-28.

Veterinary practice in a rescue centre

Kabul Zoo Training Visit to Selected North Indian Zoos R. Marimuthu*

Thanks to the North Carolina Zoo, Zoo Outreach Organization and SAZARC invited 3 senior staff of Kabul Zoo and two officers from Kabul Municipality to attend the 10th SAZARC conference in Nepal.

Afterwards, on their way back to Kabul, through New Delhi, they could visit three important zoos of North India, the Central Zoo Authority and important sites. The North Carolina Zoo Fund for Kabul Zoo covered the entire cost of their conference and training tour.

They visited the National Zoological Park, New Delhi, Allen Forest Zoological Park in Kanpur, UP, and Mahendra Chaudhury Zoological Park in Chhatbir, Punjab. They are Mr. Mahtabuddin Ahmadi, Advisor to Mayor of Kabul, Ms. Rahila Kohistani, Director of Culture, Mr. Azizgul Saqib, Director, Kabul Zoo; Dr. Abdul Qadir Bahawi, Veterinarian and Mr. Najibullah Nazary, Education Officer. The objective of the training was to impart further knowledge about basic zoo management, health management including preventative medicine, animal welfare measures and Zoo education, as well as to become acquainted with more people from the South Asian zoo community.

Monday, 29 November 2010National Zoological Park, New Delhi Of 200 captive animal facilities in India, this is the only zoo which is administered directly by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The Afghan delegates visited Delhi Zoo on 29 November 2010. On their arrival at the zoo, Director of the Zoo Mr. Amitabh Agnihotri, IFS welcomed them and briefed about the zoo using the zoo’s blue print to explain different areas of the zoo. He told them about the zoo history such as people involved in planning of the zoo. Carl Hagenbeck of Germany was engaged to set up a modern zoo in 1956 and he presented a general layout plan of waterways, roads & paths, animal enclosures and sewage system. After the construction and animal

Orientation

by Mr. Agnihotri, I.F.S., Director, National Zoo precedent to a tour around the entire 250 acre facility.

National Zoo visitor vehicle takes the Kabul Zoo officials around the sprawling facility.

Food preparation for all the zoo animals is a daily task.

Kabul Zoo officers observe and note down helpful tips for their own use.

Education Officer, ZOO. marimuthu@zooreach.org

*

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the park was formally inaugurated on 1st November 1959. Agnihotri told about the total area, the animals, some breeding successes, modern enclosure designs, the need of enrichment at the enclosures, animal welfare measures and veterinary care. He also talked about the visitor circulation and amenities to the visitors.

Najibullah Nazary, Education Officer for Kabul Zoo interacts with Riaz Ahmad Khan, Zoo Curator, Education, National Zoo

Dr. Panneerselvam explained all the tranquilizing equipments and gave chance to the guests to use them.

One of many beautiful views in the National Zoological Park - a lovely lake like water body surrounded by trees and attracting migratory birds.

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Dr. N. Panneer Selvam, Veterinary Officer showed the layout of the Veterinary hospital and explained the routine veterinary aspects of the zoo. They toured the food store both dry and wet and saw the food preparation of herbivore animals and their ration of food.

They learned about different animals’ food ration and later the food chart, a copy of which was given to them. Then visited the meat shop, where the veterinarian explained how he examine the meat for quality and how they are cleaned before giving it to the animals. In the hospital there were boards installed with the details of individual animal’s body temperature, heart and respiration rates, some of the animals male and female body weight, age of maturity in male and female, gestation period and life span of the animals which the Kabul Zoo group studied. Moving on to the quarantine area in the hospital, they learned about the quarantine procedures and saw some animals in the quarantine. They examined squeeze cages used for medication as well as transfer the animal from one place to another. From quarantine area they went to the excellent laboratory of Delhi zoo which has a full time technician who does regular health screens to identify the parasites. Lab activities and equipment used in the lab were explained. There also they put up a board with drawings of different parasitic egg of wild animals and hematological values of wild animals. This information is very useful for the Afghan team.

Before leaving the hospital, the Afghan group wanted to have a demonstration on tranquilizing equipments especially using the gun. Dr. Panneerselvam explained all the tranquilizing equipments and gave chance to the guests to use them.

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Mr. Riaz Ahmed Khan, Curator (Education) took the Afghan visitors to the interpretation centre and explained their education activities and programmes conducted by the education department year around.

He described different age levels of students participated in their programmes and showed them the drawings done by students and photographs of wildlife photo contest. The interpretation centre has a touch table which has antlers of different deer species, preserved animals and other animal items with labels.

enrichments and the upkeep. They visited newly renovated rodent free food store, veterinary section Dr. U.C. Srivastava, Veterinary Officer explained about veterinarian role and demonstrated the tranquilizer equipments. In this round the director, veterinarian and other zoo staff answered the questions raised by the Afghan team. Dr. T. R. Pandey, Range Officer accompanied in this trip.

He also explained about enclosure designs, night shelter, signage, visitor amenities, enrichment, and upkeep of the animals during summer and winter.

They visited the zoo lakes and saw the migratory birds. After the zoo visit was over, they went to the Purana Quila, the construction was carried out by a Afgan ruler Sher Shah Suri in ancient times who wrested the throne of Delhi from Mughal Emperor Humayun.

Tuesday, 30 November 2010-Kanpur Zoological Park, Uttar Pradesh Kanpur Zoo is located in North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The zoological park was founded in the year 1968 in Allen Forest and opened to public in 1974. It was designed by Mr. N.D. Bachketi and run by Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.

Afghan visitors admire the attractive Kanpur Zoo map which is understandable by any visitor, literate or not.

Mr. Praveen Rao, Director gave a presentation on Kanpur Zoo, that includes the history of the zoo, area, animals at zoo, administration set up office and field, and various sections such as animal, veterinary, commissary, sanitation, garden, estate, power and water supply sections. He also talked about the manpower involved in these sections to run the zoo administration smoothly. He covered education and awareness. Veterinary care of animals includes preventive procedures like vaccinations of felines, canines, bears and bird as well as deworming of carnivores, omnivores and birds.

Mr. Rao gave the group a real zoo management education in cleaning of cages, enclosures, moats and tanks with bactericidal/viricidal chemicals and its time schedule for various zoo inmates. He also gave some tips other medications such as liquid paraffin injected in the felids to minimize the Hair Ball Syndrome, providing mineral supplements Vitamin A, D3, E and B Complex with amino acids once in a week for carnivores, spray of Delta Methrin 1.25% on the body surface for all canines, felines, and birds twice a year for ecto-parasite eradication.

He described how they do tilting the soil of the herbivore enclosures and sterilize with lime powder once in three months. He also explained how the food supplied to zoo inmates that is examined for freshness and quality, washed with fresh water and then Pottassium Permanganate solution and again washed with fresh water and maximum fat from the meat removed. He covered many more procedures.

Then the visitors were taken around the zoo. They learned about different types of enclosures designs,

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Director explained each and every feature of the zoo.

Azizgul Saqib, Director, Kabul Zoo takes questions from students about the Kabul Zoo.

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Thursday, 02 December 2010Mahendra Chaudhury Zoological Park, Chhatbir, Punjab The idea of having a modern zoological park in Punjab and establishing it near the capital city of Chandigarh was conceived in 1974 by Sh. Mahendra Chaudhary, the then Hon’ble Governor of Punjab. This was given shape in January 1974 by establishing a Zoological Park at Chhatbir Protected Forest on ChandigarhPatiala road about 19 Km. from Chandigarh. The Zoological Park was opened to public on 13th April, 1977 and was named Mahendra Chaudhury Zoological Park. It is biggest Zoological Park in North-Western India and run by the Department of Forest & Wildlife Preservation, Punjab.

The Afghan delegates were warmly welcomed by Mr. Charchill Kumar IFS, Field Director of this zoo by offering flower bouquet and putting up welcome banners. Then Mr. Gurbaz Singh IFS, Chief Wildlife Warden of Punjab State welcomed the participants. After a formal welcome he gave useful tips of zoo animals by a presentation. He told about different animal’s gestation & incubation periods, recorded age of the animals at the zoo, body temperature, respiration and heart rates, some anatomical and behavioural abnormalities and common terminology used to call the new born wild animals.

In another presentation Mr. Singh talked about the successful rescue and rehabilitation of Red Sand Boa (Eryx johnii) by his department of forests and wildlife preservation.

On June 2010, a pair of red sand boa was rescued from smugglers in Ludhiana. A case was registered under Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Then the snakes were brought to the Chhatbir zoo awaiting decision of the court. One of the snakes gave birth to 37 babies and out of this they successfully reared 36.

According to the court order the 36 babies were put back to the original habitat of this species by setting up a committee. The committee took immense effort to identify the area and release the animals back to the wild.

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Mr. Charchill Kumar, Director of M.C. Zoological Park, Chhatbir welcomes the Kabul Zoo contingent with a bouquet to Mrs. Rahila, Director of Department of Culture, Kabul Municipality.

Staff of M.C. Zoological Park, Chhatbir all turned out to welcome the visitors from Kabul Zoo.

Mr. Kumar introduces M.C. Zoological Park, Chhatbir to Kabul Zoo contingent first by a detailed Power Point presentation.

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An attractive message from the animals for Visitors to Chhatbir Zoo

Kabulians admiring the Chhatbir Zoo elephants.

Charchill Kumar described the zoo which is about 202 hectares, out of which lion and deer safari hold some hectares, the road network, total enclosures with dry or wet moats. He talked about the animal adoption scheme of the corporate and individuals, his zoo’s coordinating efforts in conservation breeding of endangered falcons.

The zoo had experienced the disease of Leptospirosis which was observed in carnivores. Dr. Parag Nigam of Wildlife Institute of India was invited to advise. He made several observations in the animal enclosures and by his advice, the zoo is taking steps to prevent future Leptospirosis. The Afghan group raised questions about this and Dr. M.B. Singh, Sr. Veterinary Officer of the zoo replied all.

Then Mr. R.K. Luna IFS, CCF (Monitoring & Evaluation) shared his past experiences of his tenure at the zoo as Field Director.

Afterwards the group was taken to see enclosures, lion & deer safari, food store and veterinary hospital which was explained in detail.

Before leaving they were honored with mementoes of the zoo and zoo printed materials. Dr. K.K. Sharma, Vety. Officer, Mr. Ravinder Singh, Range Officer, Gagan Kataria, RO, Jagpal Singh, RO, Satinder Singh, RO accompanied the group. Evening they were taken to Chandigarh town to see the city as well do some shopping.

Friday, 03 December 2010 Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi Mr. Ahmadi and Mr. Azizgul met Mr. B.S. Bonal, Member Secretary, CZA and Dr. Brij Kishor Gupta, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer at the CZA office.

They briefed about their zoo development after the war.

Mr. Bonal enquired about their North Indian zoo visit and they replied they have learned a lot. Bonal told them that the CZA will extend all possible help to improve the Kabul Zoo and even offer training to the Kabul zoo staff in India for longer periods.

Mr. Bonal advised them not to look for big animals at this time of development as managing them requires expertise and much time. He said : “Improve your zoo first with the animals you have and instead of going for bigger animals you can go for lower vertebrates.” CZA donated some of their publications to the Afghan delegates.

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B.S. Bonal, Member Secretary, Central Zoo Authority and Brij Kishor Gupta

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Banning of Polythene bag inside Dhaka Zoo for the first time Dr. Md. Shakif-Ul-Azam*

allow visitors to take polythene bags with from Friday, on the occasion of the World Environment Day (Nepal News, 05 June, 2009).

After the completion of 10th Annual SAZARC conference in Nepal from 22-27 Nov 2010, Dhaka Zoo decided to offer engaging programs, exhibits and materials that educate our visitor about wildlife, help visitors feel more connected to animals, and motivate them to take action to preserve the natural world.

Objectives of the programme are to educate visitors about 21st Century crises – like Climate change, emerging diseases, Zoo animal conservation, environmental issues, etc.

Dhaka Zoo Curator Dr. A.B.M. Shahid Ullah, presides over the Rally which started from his office and went round the zoo.

Dhaka Zoo shares the experience of above two success stories and inspired by the SAZARC conference took the first ever such steps of banning polybags inside the Zoo premises in order to protect the captive wild animals from the grave dangers of consuming the plastic bags.

Author and colleagues destroying poly bags, a demonstration to educate visitors about the need to act to preserve the natural world.

Dhaka Zoo Research & Education Center organized a programme on 10th December 2010 entitled “Banning polybags inside the zoo will help keep our wild animals safe”. From the programme we hope that, our visitors learned respect for our Zoo animals and for all wildlife. We want to deliver this message to our zoo visitors: When you're on zoo grounds, please help us keep our animals safe and our grounds beautiful. Do not allow visitors to throw food or other items into the animal exhibits, or try to touch the animals.

The Central Zoo Authority, India guidelines clearly mention that plastic is prohibited from entering zoo premises in India. Plastic bags, empty, as well as with leftover snacks, which are dumped on the lawns or inside animal enclosures, may be swallowed by the animals. Polythene bags are non-biodegradable and cannot be digested. They can clog the digestive tract, and suffocate the animals to death (Animal Right Protection Forum, November, 2006).

The Central Zoo, Kathmandu, Nepal banned the use polythene bags in its premises stating that such bags had an adverse effect in the health of the animals in the zoo. The zoo administration announced not to 6

Rally announcing the importance of banning polybags and other plastics to stop danger to zoo animals.

The programme to ban polybags at Dhaka zoo began at 10.00 to 10.45 am with a rally from Curator’s office. The Rally went round through out the Zoo with banner and announced the importance of banning polybag and other plastic items inside zoo to stop * Research and Education Officer, Dhaka Zoo, Bangladesh. shakif78@gmail.com

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danger to zoo animals. The rally was presided over

by Dr. A. B. M. Shahid Ullah, Curator, Dhaka Zoo. Zoo Officers, Staff and Intern students from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and Hajje Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) worked together collaboratively for the programme.

After the Rally, from 11.00 to 11.20 am there was a Zoo Premises Cleaning Programme near the Carnivore Section. Officers, Staff, Intern students & Zoo visitors gathered for a presentation on Why Polybag Need to be Banned at Zoo Premises.

Afterwards, the zoo visitors participated in a cleaning programme. They collected Polybags and other detrius from the Zoo area and inspired people with environmental topics. The Curator spoke about the topics & discussed issues of banning polybag inside the zoo. Next, the Curator, Animal Nutrition Officer & Research and Education Officer conducted a programme near Carnivores Section of the Zoo.

The drama highlighting the importance of cleaning the zoo premises was performed near the enclosure of the Royal Bengal Tiger. It was performed by the Intern students from Bangladesh Agricultural University, and Hajje Danesh Science and Technology University. From 12.20 to 12.35 p.m. refreshments were served by the management at the Curator’s Office for the Officers, Staff of Zoo & Intern students from BAU and HSTU.

Visitors to the zoo enjoy the drama and learn about environmental cleanliness

The zoo conducted a drama to demonstrate the need to clean zoo premises and keep it clean

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Zoological Institutions in the Middle East: Potential for a Regional Zoo Association Jonas Livet*

Zoos and aquaria are places where animals are maintained in captivity for different purposes.

Modern zoos have set up objectives which integrate conservation, education, research and recreation (Hediger, 1969). To help reach these goals, zoological institutions have started to organize themselves into organizations. These zoo associations are found now all around the world and gather zoos, aquaria and similar facilities into a strong network of communities with clear goals.

Nevertheless the Middle East has never gone through the process of the creation of a zoo association. However, zoos, private collections and aquaria in this region face the same missions, challenges, problems and limitations as anywhere else in the world.

The goal of my thesis “Zoological institutions in the Middle East and potential of a regional zoo association”, undertaken for the completion of a Bachelor Degree in Wildlife Management in Van Hall Larenstein, Leeuwarden (The Netherlands), was to give an overview of the current situation of zoos and aquaria in the Middle East and to assess the feasibility of creating a regional zoo association.

The interests, the expectations and the possible investments of local zoological institutions were examined and analysed. Three main instruments of research to reach the goal were used: literature research, questionnaire and observations. A total of 69 confirmed zoological institutions were found in the region. From these, 17 are ‘Zoos’, 8 ‘Aquaria’, 3 ‘Dolphinaria’, 13 ‘Private Collections’, 10 ‘Breeding Centres’, 8 ‘Minizoos’ and 10 ‘Others’. Each category has its own characteristics and developments, which are briefly mentioned in Chapter 3 and Appendix 2 of the full report (available on request at jonaslivet@wanadoo.fr).

The potential of a regional zoo association in the Middle East was assessed through a survey realized via a specific questionnaire. A questionnaire was distributed by email, fax and paper. It was possible to reach only 49 institutions out of the 69 existing in the region. A total of 16 completed questionnaires were obtained. Conservation and research are two main fields in which zoological institutions from this region are actively involved: 63% of the surveyed institutions participate in conservation in situ and 88% state that they are doing research. Education is less developed with only 56% of the institutions involved in some form of education, but many of the institutions in this region are not open to the general public.

Nine zoological institutions in the Middle East are already members of international zoo associations, mainly based in other regions. Furthermore seven zoological institutions within the Middle East are members of the International Species Information System (ISIS).

Even without a structured framework, a certain number of collaborations and exchanges are already underway among zoological institutions in the region. Most of these exchanges are done with institutions situated in The United Arab Emirates.

All the surveyed institutions are interested in joining a potential regional zoo association in the Middle East. They expect to gain benefit from it mainly in terms of ‘Exchange of information’, ‘Exchange of animals’, ‘Conference/workshop’ and ‘International connection with worldwide association’. The surveyed institutions are willing to support and participate in the following fields, as ‘Exchange of information’, ‘Exchange of animals’,‘Conference/workshop’ and ‘Technical assistance’.

From the brief analysis of zoological collections in the Middle East and the results from the survey realized, a clear potential for a regional zoo association could be drawn. The foundation of such an association would require a detailed procedure and a strong structural base to encourage the future development, success and positive development of its members.

Whatever the impetus, the decisions made by the founders during the startup period of the new organization will have a profound impact on its success, effectiveness and longevity (Knowledge Center Staff, 2006). General recommendations about the starting steps of a regional zoo association in the Middle East are given in the last chapter of the report. A full version of the report “Zoological institutions in the Middle East and potential of a regional zoo association” on pdf is available on request at jonaslivet@wanadoo.fr.

References: Hediger, H. (1969). Man and animal in the zoo. Translated by Gwynne Vevers & Winwood Reade. A Seymour Lawrence Book, Delacorte Press, New York. Knowledge Center Staff (2006).

Starting an Association. Knowledge Center, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, February 2006.

Online: http://www.asaecenter.org/ PublicationsResources/ Acknowledgement: This article was previously published in Wildlife Middle East, Volume 5 • Issue 1 • June 2010 • ISSN 1990-8237 with permission from the Editor, Declan O’Donavan as well as Author, Jonas Livet. The website for Wildlife Middle East is www.wmenews.com where you can subscribe to the magazine or visit at your pleasure.

Active involvement in breeding programs, conservation and research committees appear to be the fields that are most aspired to by regional zoological institutions.

Entrance to Al Ain Zoo, covering 400hectare in the foothills of the Jebel Hafeet Mountains in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Balaji.

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* 8 rue de l'Aqueduc, 67500 Haguenau, France, jonaslivet@wanadoo.fr!!

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Volunteer Vet (CWRC) – Borjuri, Assam Minla Zangmu Lachungpa*

As a freshly graduated Sikkimese veterinarian from College of AH&VS, Selesih, Aizawl, seeking to become a wildlife vet, I took a gap year to gain as much exposure and experiences by volunteering at wildlife rescue centres in India, beginning with the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation CWRC from 12-30 October 2010.

move around. After floundering around a plastic bucket for a couple of weeks it must have appreciated the change in scenery, for it did not enter the pool of water we had provided for it for quite a few days after we introduced it to its new home. For the enrichment part, Christie Minge who had volunteered just before me had done an excellent job with providing enrichment to the big cats as well as the Hoolock Gibbon.

Arriving at CWRC on the night of 11th October 2010, Day-1 began the very next morning with Dr. Anil Deka briefing me on the work being done at the Centre as well as an overall tour, introduction to the animal keepers and the various enclosures.

Animals present during my stay at the Centre were: Small animal nursery: Two rhesus macaques, one subadult male with posterior paralysis and an infant orphan; one peacock soft-shelled turtle Large animal nursery: Four Asian elephant calves (a male named Dihing; three females Junmoni, Tara and Sonari, the last with a history of navel sores and recent bout of diarrhea and dehydration.

Outside enclosures: Three common leopards (two adult males and a juvenile female); a royal bengal tiger (adult, male), a hoolock gibbon (juvenile, male), two common palm civets (juvenile, males), a brown wood owl, a lesser adjutant stork, five male one-horned rhinoceros (two calves, three young adults), an adult male asiatic wild buffalo and Indian gaur, and six sub-adult Asian elephants (four males, two females).

It was heartening to know that all animals present at the centre were the result of successful rescue missions carried out, and are largely on the rehabilitation programme, including the young common leopard cub, which will be a first in the history of leopard rescues and rehabilitation.

Daily duties required me to look after the elephant calves during the day, feeding of all animals and assisting the veterinarian in treatment of sick inmates and rescues as well keeping of daily-treatment and new patients’ admission registers. Duties also extended to helping in the preparation of monthly progress reports and rescue case reports, spring-cleaning the examination room and photography during rescue missions.

The following days comprised of baby-sitting the elephant calves, especially little Sonari who turned out to be my favorite. Watching her feebly wave a twig about as well as putting trunk in her mouth was very reminiscent of a baby sucking its thumb.

Another charmer turned out to be Dihing who often caught me unawares, when he tried to taste my shoulder or knee or when he decided that I made for a good rubbing post. It was however a little disheartening to know that these calves especially the youngest ones, were still very accustomed to human presence, a factor which might most definitely get in the way of the already challenging rehabilitation process. also helped put up a makeshift terrarium for the aggressive little peacock soft-shelled turtle using one side of an old transport box, where we let it have some earth base to

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Young Hoolock Gibbon

Evenings were by no means dull. I was required to provide for physiotherapy to the rhesus macaque with posterior paralysis. Treatment over the past month indicated hot fomentation to the affected limbs. I was glad to assist by way of providing exercise as well as massaging of the limbs to improve circulation. This however brought to light three palpable nodules present in the area of the thigh and calf muscles. There were also signs of some fresh as well as old abscesses in the affected limbs. Bed sores made sense in that it was an obvious factor considering the extent of muscle wasting and that it had to drag itself to move about the cage.

As for the abscesses and nodules, one could only assume compromisation of the immune system. Dr. Phulmoni Gogoi and I researched primate diseases and came to the conclusion that it could most possibly be suffering from

*Minla Zangmu Lachungpa, minlaz1806@gmail.com

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Tuberculosis but we could not make a confirmed diagnosis as the macaque was already on antibiotic therapy. A week later I again discovered another soft lump on the monkey’s back at the region of the spine. On aspiration, we found it to be filled with pus like material. Gauging by the extent of paralysis and muscle wasting, abscesses which did not heal despite daily dressing and antibiotic therapy, suspicion of Tuberculosis as well as overall failing condition of the macaque, euthanasia was considered, which eventually was the only option when it was found to be dying on the morning of 24th October. Postmortem examination finally did confirm our fears of Tuberculosis since all vital organs especially the lungs and liver were found to be heavily nodulated.

This was a first for most of us at the Centre, especially for me, since it was most obviously my first clinical encounter with wildlife of any sort.

eagle and the highlight of the day – my first ever tigress pugmarks!

I assisted Dr. Anthony in the treatment of Rattan the first elephant, who was reported to have a possible urinary The following days comprised of babysitting the elephant calves,

Baby-sitting and bottle feeding the elephant calves like always hungry Sonari here.

Treating the elephant Rattan.

It was also an amazing experience to be part of (although for only three days) the flight training for the brown wood owl. I hope it will soon learn how to take wing so it can spread word of the Centre to other owls in need of rescue.

There was a definite change in scenery when I was taken for a rescue mission to Bijuli Tea estate, where the locals had found an abandoned elephant calf just under a month old. The calf was immediately treated for a possible navel infection and brought back to the centre where it was rehydrated using electrolyte solution every two hours. As I learned, it was by far a rather easy rescue mission considering the age of the calf. Its age as well as its size allowed for easy manipulation as well as bottle feeding as compared to other elephant calves which were brought in at a greater age of about 1-2 years where handling became very difficult.

Bijuli as the calf was later named adapted to the nursery and bottle feeding very well and was housed with Sonari.

Both calves were fed at the same time, and had to be given the same treatment. Sonari who had recovered from diarrhea was still dehydrated and her navel started to show signs of inflammation, as did Bijuli’s. Sonari also developed a small maggoty wound in the region of the vulva which was promptly treated.

I was also very lucky to be given my first trip to Kaziranga on 16th October for a case of two captive elephants which required treatment. This was also a trip where I saw my first wild rhinos, hog deer, a grey headed fish

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Helping Dr. Anthony with the treatment of old Joyraj

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tract infection. The second elephant was Joyraj – a retired 59 year old tusker whom we found collapsed in the grassland. Emergency treatment using Normal Saline solution and intravenous infusion of calcium was carried out after which he gained strength, and with the help of the forest guards was brought back up on his feet.

Other such out-cases also included captive elephants like Babu from Amguri camp with an inflamed right hind leg, Phulan a privately owned elephant with problems similar to Babu’s, two seized elephants Gulzar and Queen who reportedly, did not get a very welcome response from one of the wild herds in the Park, and also one wild rescued young male at Pilkhana, who was attacked by the locals when he decided to use their freshly washed clothes as a fly-swat.

Being a resident of Sikkim it isn’t every day that I get to see and interact with elephants. I was lucky to receive another dose of these majestic creatures on 28th October morning, I was taken along by Dr. A. Deka to Mihimukh, Kaziranga, to attend the Training Workshop on ‘Captive Elephant Foot-care in Protected Areas in Assam’

by Mick Jones of Chester Zoo. I also got to attend a clinical examination camp for privately owned captive elephants on 30th October.

New entrants to the CWRC arrived on the night of 26th October in the forms of two very young Jungle Cat cubs and a juvenile Adjutant Stork. Sadly, one cub was already dying by the time they arrived, and all attempts at saving it were rendered futile. Post-mortem examination revealed a heavy ascarid infestation, immediately after which the second cub was given a dose of Piperazine-hydrate. Unfortunately, the infestation proved too great and this cub too died within three days of admission. The Stork too was in desperate need of attention. It had a fractured elbow, as well as a heavily maggot infested rump due to wounds around the tail region. Treatment was immediately carried out, and I hope it is well on its way to recovery now.

I would have loved to make my stay at CWRC a whole one month package, but was required to go to a satellite centre, the Mobile Veterinary Services (MVS) Lower Assam field station at Kokrajhar which was known for its dishearteningly regular rescue cases.

Working with Dr. Panjit to treat an injured young Indian/black-naped hare back to health, rushing off to rescue an elephant calf in Goalpara (the day I reached Kokrajhar!) as well as attempt

Getting some fluids in a dehydrated Jungle Cat kitten.

to teach the white-backed? vulture (a Critically Endangered species) how to fly were certainly very memorable.

For a veterinary student who wants to work with wildlife, CWRC and the MVSKokrajhar proved to be the perfect place to get all the experience I needed. There’s just so much to learn and everyday there’s something new to do. Of course, there were days when I wanted to just romp through the jungle with the elephant calves or even the leopard cub, but I had to keep reminding myself – “Rehabilitate, REHABILITATE!.” And that’s the beauty of the whole program. To rescue when needed and then to send them back home with a satisfied sense of a job well done.

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Book Review : Butterflies and Birds of Bishop Heber College R J Ranjit Daniels*

Butterflies of Bishop Heber College Author: A. Daisy Caroline Mary. Year of Publication: 2010.

Publisher: Heber Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, Bishop Heber College, Trichy. Price: Rs 100. and Birds of Bishop Heber College Author: A. Relton. Year of Publication: 2010. Publisher: Heber Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, Bishop Heber College, Trichy. Price: Rs 150.

At a time when urbanization is taking a heavy toll of native species of plants and animals in towns and cities, institutional campuses have emerged as critical refuges of biodiversity in a wide range of landscapes. A common pattern of biodiversity conservation and enrichment that we see in most institutional campuses is one in which some rather resilient native species of plants and animals have survived the habitat transformation, creating niches for a gradual build up of biodiversity through the years. The secondary colonizers are often aided by human beings (such as exotic plants in gardens and arboreta) resulting in a significant increase in the number of species locally. Thus when equal areas of natural habitats and institutional campuses are compared, the latter are frequently richer in species.

correct number. Elsewhere in the same book, the illustration titled ‘Butterfly Anatomy’ would have better been ‘Parts of a Butterfly’. Further, Mullerian mimicry has not been explained correctly.

About the bird book, I found the specific details provided in the preface of how many birds were shot and consumed by the author, avoidable. A number of naturalists and conservationists, including Salim Ali, were indeed triggerhappy hunters before the transformation! Second, species accounts should have focused more on a layout (similar to the one adopted by the butterfly book) that draws attention to the bird illustrated. There is generally an overdose of text. Third, providing nesting details of birds that do not breed on the campus can be misleading.

Two well-prepared books at reasonable prices should do well in initiating more people to the world of butterflies and birds. I once again congratulate the authors, their team of naturalists and photographers and the publishers for the good effort. * Care Earth Trust, No 5, 21st Street, Thillaiganganagar, Chennai 600 061, www.careearthtrust.org, Email: ranjit.daniels@gmail.com

Butterflies and birds are amongst the most adaptive terrestrial animals and are often the first to colonize habitats that have been considerably transformed. With the exception of a handful of habitat specialists, butterflies and birds are quite at home within urban campuses, provided there are trees, shrubs and herbs, meadows and water.

Mobility is the key and it has contributed enormously to the colonization and survival of these elegant animals.

Moreover, the best candidates for initiating people into becoming naturalists are butterflies and birds – primarily due to their attractive coloration and graceful flight. It is indeed very appropriate that the two books under review, published by the Heber Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies of the Bishop Heber College, have highlighted the diversity of these animals on the campus.

The authors of the two books are unique in being a talented and dedicated husband, wife and son trio. The family trio along with their colleagues and friends has really worked hard in putting together the nice photographs and text that we see in the two books. Congratulations!

Together the two books describe with photographs 74 species of butterflies and 62 species of birds that are found on the 27 acre Bishop Heber College Campus at Tiruchirapalli. Both books introduce the readers to some basic information on these organisms and their natural history apart from providing authentic species accounts. My overall rating of the two books is excellent. I also appreciate the fact that the forewords and prefaces have been written with some religious flavor. This is important as globally, starting with the famous Assisi Declaration of the 1980s, there has been a lot of stress on involving religious institutions in biodiversity conservation.

Before winding up, I wish to draw attention to a few errors/ weaknesses noticed in the two publications, only with the intention of helping the authors while they work on future prints or editions and enlightening the serious readers. First, the butterfly book has stated that there are 28,000 species of butterflies in the world and in the very next page the number is given as 17,200! The latter comes closer to the

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ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Public Education Reports: World Environment Day, Wildlife Week, Refresher Courses for College Teachers, International Ozone Day Biodiversity Awareness Programmes of Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh World Environmental Day (WED) programme was organized on 5 June 2010 by Conservation Biology Unit in School of Studies in Zoology, Jiwaji University Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. As the theme for the WED, 2010, is Many Species, One Planet, One Future- a massage of central importance for all humanity especially students about conservation and promotion of species and ecosystem was spread through various interactive programs. The program started at 10:00 am with a slogan of “Save Environment, Save Humanity”. An awareness meeting was held at 2:00 pm in the Department of Zoology. Poster presentation and discussions about conservation were held by the students and Professors. A rural environmental awareness programme was organized by Jiwaji University students at Rairu Village, Madhya Pradesh. Dr. R. J. Rao addressed the gathering about conservation of wildlife, afforestation programme, proper sanitation and hygienic practices and other potential points of interest. The Educational Packets offered by the ZOO Outreach Organisation, Coimbatore were distributed among the school students of the village as well as among university students. Dr. Rao also participated in the Environmental day celebrations organised by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department in Gwalior.

The Wildlife Week was celebrated during 3-8 October, 2010, in School of Studies in Zoology, Jiwaji University Gwalior. The week long curriculum included awareness programme, presentations, screening of documentaries, lectures by Professors and Forest officials and field visits to Gwalior Zoo and National Chambal Sanctuary. As future protectors and conservators of the biodiversity and environment, the students of Zoology and Environmental Sciences were given lectures on their duty towards nature protection.

In the inaugural day the gatherings were addressed by Prof. R. J. Rao, Prof.

O. P. Agrawal and other distinguished guests. Poster of Biodiversity of threatened species of Gwalior-Chambal region and a theme poster of “Conserve biodiversity, save Planet Earth…its our only Home” were also displayed during the whole week. Two days of interactive session including group discussions among the students,

Group discussions, special lectures on wildlife conservation during wildlife week at Jiwaji University

essay and quiz competition and question-answer sessions were conducted by the wildlife researchers particularly Mr. Hari Singh and Mr. Neeladri. Field visit to the Gandhi Zoological Park, Gwalior was thought provoking as Mr. G. Parihaar, Educational Officer gave details of the local fauna and explained conservation and entertainment value of a zoo. Visit to National Chambal Sanctuary also evoked a great amount of enthusiasm and interest among the students about the biodiversity values and its threats from human interferences. During this visit, a short stay at Deori Gharial Rearing Centre, Morena, Madhya Pradesh, also provided information about ex situ conservation measures of Gharial and turtles. The ending day

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

was heartwarming to see Mr. L. K. Choudhary, CCF, Gwalior-Chambal Region and Mr. Alok Kumar, CCF and Project Director, Kuno Palpur Lion Reintroduction Project, Gwalior who took keen interest in the programme and highlighted the management programmes of Forest Department to the audience. They also answered the queries of the students, delightfully. At the end the Education Material provided by the Zoo Outreach Organisation, Coimbatore were distributed to students to make them aware of this global effort. Submitted by: Prof. R. J. Rao, Jiwaji University, Gwalior M.P. Email: soszool@rediffmail.com

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Daily life Wildlife programme at Vonitkoppal School, Mysore On 30 July 2010 an education programme was conducted at Vonitkoppal Government Higher Primary School. About 19 students from 5 and 6 grades were present.

Many of these outstation students are from areas outside forests. About 6 of them have seen leopard and one has seen a bear when they went out to collect fuel wood. Except for A few children from Mysore, the rest had experiences of forest.

They named large mammals; large carnivores, trees; elephants, gaur, tiger, lion, leopard, when asked but when asked to name wildlife around them, they could not think of anything.

At this programme they learned about millipedes, centipedes, butterflies, bats, frogs etc, as the wildlife around us. They were asked to name domesticated animals and birds, which they did, i.e., goat, sheep, dog, horse, cow, chicken, ducks etc. They were told that all our domesticated animals were wild once and over centuries have been domesticated. The ones that we have not domesticated can be considered as ‘Wild’.

They were told about amphibians and why they are considered to be ‘bioindicators’. Frogs are our friends, because they eat mosquito larva and control the mosquito population, and anyone who helps us are our ‘friends’, thus frogs are our ‘friends’. !The pesticide that we use to control ‘pest’, pollute the water and soil both, this water drains into our natural water storage, thus polluting the whole system, and causing death of living systems in water, they were told.

Students are happy wearing masks and taking oath to save wildlife

Each one got ‘Daily Life Wildlife’, and very enthusiastically they went through the packet. They were told how to use it. They were asked to take a pledge of ‘learning more about wildlife’ and tie rakhi to each other, and wore mask and felt happy about it.

I would like to thank the students and teachers of Vonitkoppal Government Higher Primary School, Mysore, Zoo Outreach Organisation, for the materials and Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, for letting me do the programme, in between my office work. Submitted by: Tanuja DH, NCF, Mysore.Email: tanujadh@gamil.com

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ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Education programme on Primate Pocket guides There were few activities, which were directly associated with Wildlife week and other are Refresher courses of the college teachers.

Manipur University: participants teachers 30. After the class I distributed one each to all the staff. 10 more I had to distribute to other staff at Imphal.

Orientation course for senior college teachers, at Academic staff college, Gauhati University : 64 participants. I gave college-wise 20 guides.

12th of November, we are having classes for school students and school teachers, where I will distribute, may be 50 nos.

I have kept some of them for the distribution in BTC, Karbi Anglong schools where wildlife awareness campaign will be held within November.

International Ozone Day

celebrated at CSI Bishop Newbigin College of Education, Chennai on 16 October 2010 Before the teacher – trainees left for practice teaching to various schools, the college has taken much effort to give input to them in order to equip them properly. The importance of ozone, its structure, distribution etc. have been recapitulated since the participants have already studied in schools and colleges. Interactions were there about the present situations. But when they heard that many voluntary organizations had joined together to repeat the slogan on 01 January 2010 --- The Sun rises in the East …. The CFCs & HCFCs set in the west …. Everybody likes to repeat the same and listed out the day today substances they use which are harmful and the agents to deplete the ozone layer. They themselves decided to practice ……

Refuse, Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.

I have given 8 nos to Science teachers,from Cachar area (Barak vally), who is expected to do wildlife awereness.

I have kept few which must be put in glass frames, to be given to Assam University, Silchar, and few colleges there.

I will keep you informed about the happenings. Submitted

by P. C. Bhattacharjee, Gauhati University, Assam.

Email: bhattapc@sify.com

Spare your car bumper to save frogs: Teacher trainers with amphibian bumper stickers. Photo by Jessie Jeyakaran

The chained environment degradation and its ill effects on Biodiversity were described focusing mainly on FROG. The free packets supplied by the Zoo Outreach Organisation were of great use as they use likewise materials for practice teaching. The 10 steps of introducing the theme and the concept were of great help starting from the tying up of rakhi. They divided among themselves according to the 10 steps and shared the matter to others with the signature campaign sheets they left the campus with a decision to spread to all the students in their respective schools.

Mrs. Chandra Santhakumar, Vice Principal presided over the function. Ms. Selva welcomed the participants and Mr. Arulnathan delivered the introductory talk. Submitted by Jessie Jeyakaran, Chennai. Email: jessiejey@rediffmail.com

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

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A few Communications about Web-based ZOOS’ PRINT Dr. Abraham Verghese, Ph.D; Entomology, IIAR

use it as a means to tell some colleagues about CBSG.

From: Kevin Johnson <kevinj@amphibianark.org>

Many thanks, and I hope that the year is off to a good start for you. Best wishes, Bob Lacy, Chair, Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, IUCN SSC

Thanks for sending me the link to ZOOS’ Print online. I think it’s a great initiative to only produce this newsletter electronically.

Kevin J Amphibian Ark From: Harpreet Kaur <harpreetwarraich04@gmail.com> Thank you for sending the January issue. Commendable way of going green!!!!!!

Harpreet From: Dr. L.N. Acharjyo, <Dr.lnavet@yahoo.com> Thank you for your letter of 12 July 2010 giving enough reasons to stop paper print publication of Zoos’ Print Magazine from January, 2011 issue and Zoo Zen from August 2010.

I am a regular reader and occasional contributor to Zoos’ Print Magazine/ Journal from the very first issue brought out in January 1986 till date and preserved all the issues. I am eagerly waiting to see the last paper print December issue to be released in the last week of this month. During the last 25 years, the ZOO has contributed immensely for growth and development of Indian Zoos.

I have opened my e-mail address (which is given above) so that I will not be deprived of going through your popular Zoos’ Print Magazine. I congratulate one and all members of ZOO for bringing out the Zoos’ Print Magazine/Journal regularly just in time every month for the last 25 years - a very rare achievement for any organization.

L. N. Acharjyo Retd. Zoo Vet From: Abrahamv Verghese <avergis@iihr.ernet.in> Though on line is the in-thing it has its own hassles depending on the OS one uses; I have never been successful in fully accessing the journal [may be my inadequacy!]. Secondly the current version brought in viruses . Surely there is no substitute for a hard copy!

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From: Md Zillur Rahman <zillur_rahman52@yahoo.com> Thanks for the last edition of the Zoos’ Print. It was nice to get the lastest information on wild life through this magazine. There were news on CBSG and WAZA. It was really interesting the conservation of Elephant in Sri Lanka. I think it is a good idea to send the magazine through email. Magazine on net can reduce the cost and at the same time it can reach the target people within short period all over the world. I would like to convey my thanks to you and your colleagues for this noble efforts.

Md Zillur Rahman Bangladesh From: Bob Lacy <rlacy@ix.netcom.com> Dear Sally and Sanjay and all of ZOO, I have to confess that I am one of the people who received this issue of Zoo’s Print before, but hadn’t even opened it.

I am glad that you did send this reminder, because now that I did read it I can only say “Wow”! and thanks.

The issue is an absolutely wonderful overview of CBSG, CBSG-SA, and WAZA! Even for us, it is good to see things like this, as it reminds us how much is being accomplished by our networks and partners, and thereby gives us some more energy to keep going. I don’t know how widely Zoo’s Print is disseminated among CBSG members, but I will check with Onnie to see if we should send a notice about this issue to everyone. I certainly will

To: CBSG Members We are happy to announce the latest issue of Zoos’ Print, the publication of Zoo Outreach Organization. We are proud that the ZOOS’ PRINT editor and staff chose to feature CBSG and WAZA, in this first electronic issue of the magazine. You will find Zoos Print at: http://www.zoosprint.org/ ZooPrintMagazine/2011/January/ ZPM_Jan_2011_Full_Magazine.pdf.

ZOOS' PRINT magazine is free and, now that it is available online, you may sign up to receive notifications of future publications by visiting this link: http://www.zooreachbulkmail.org/? p=preferences&uid=cdd7d341c12e6cb 2e213b540abcf9b6 Best wishes, CBSG Office From: Aaron Bauer <aaron.bauer@villanova.edu> Sorry, I did receive the issue and actually printed it out (I like to keep hard copy of anything I might actually need to refer to).

Aaron Bauer From: Brendan Whittington-jones <whitjones75@hotmail.com> Thanks for this. Please keep me on the list. Very informative for us folks which try spend plenty of time hiding in the bush Brendan From: Ashis Kumar Mohanty <ashisanjali@gmail.com> Thanks for keeping every thing running. Congrats for the successful endeavor. I am out of station at present. I will send my comments after I return most likely with an article on snake (Cobra).

Dr Ashis Kumar Mohanty Professor Zoology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar

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From: Shital Kumar Nath <smati71@yahoo.com>

From: V.B. Hosgoudar <vbhosagoudar@rediffmail.com>

From: Raveendran N. <nravi@sakthifinance.com>

The current issue is a very valuable one. To realize its usefulness, I forwarded this issue to my other friends and colleagues.

Shital Kumar Nath, PMAR Associate

It is really amazing to see the photos and its details in colourful pages. It has surpassed the black & white hard copy of the journal. It is an admirable job.

With regards V.B. Hosgoudar

Congrats to the Zoos team for this milestone achievement. No question of awkwardness, the outcome is very nice. Keep it up.

N Raveendran General Manager - Enterprise-wide Solutions, Sakthi Finance Ltd., Coimbatore.

From: Alex Rubel <alex.ruebel@zoo.ch> I am one of them not realizing what you have sent and did not open.

Now it's done and I like to congratulate you to the tremendous effort and wonderful magazine - now on the web.

It bring Indian conservation to the world. All the best Alex Rubel, Director, Zurich Zoo From: Susan Chan <akfeditor@zk.kscoxmail.com> Yes, I could open it just fine. Looks great! Will try and get a chance to read through it when I get the March issue of AKF finished. Are you working in PageMaker or InDesign to put it together? Or perhaps it is coming out of MS Word—I was just curious. The photos look great. Imagine this is the direction AKF will take at some point in the future.

Susan Chan, Editor, Animal Keeper’s Forum From: Gabriele Schwammer <g.schwammer@zoovienna.at> Thanks for sending the link of Zoo’s Print. As always it is excellent done and very informative. I personally like the printed version more, because there are too many digital newsletter, which are coming in weekly or almost daily and I prefer to read from a paper more than from the screen. So I have to print it out. I totally understand that it is most cheaper to do that in that style – but I am a fan of printed literature.

Gaby V. Schwammer Head of Zoo Education, Vienna Zoo From: Kevin Caley <kevin.caley@twycrosszoo.org> Just to let you know that I have seen this and have distributed it accordingly.

Yes, I for one read this - some interesting stuff (although signed up to the CBSG myself, so aware, but useful to highlight, obviously). Do always scan to see what interesting information may be available.

Kevin Caley, Research and Conservation Executive Twycross Zoo

From: Mohan Madwanna <mohan_madwanna@hotmail.com> Thanks for sending Zoo's Print January issue. I was unable to download the issue earlier. Shall go through the issue and positively write the comments Regards Mohan Madwanna From: Dr. Feroz Md. Shafiqul Islam <feroz56@hotmail.com> It’s excellent and informative. I am giving a quick comment. I will print this documented copy and go through in details and preservation for long period. No doubt it will help the conservation personnel of South Asia.

Hope for its future prosperity.

Kind regards Dr. Feroz From: Satya Prakash <spmehra@yahoo.com> It is greatly appreciated move of ZOO in direction of saving papers and sending soft copies of ZOOS' PRINT Magazine.

My suggestion for further popularization and/or improvement are: 1. Do start creating the other languages versions also. I along with my team could volunteer for Hindi version.... This will not only popularise the noble cause of ZOO but also open a route for large section of population to get involved.

2. Since soft version is now in circulation, therefore, do provide the links of the agencies/ NGOs/ individuals etc. contributed/ mentioned in the magazine so that reader could get in touch with the concerned authority directly.

Satya Prakash Mehra, Ph. D. Managing Director - Rajputana Society of Natural History (RSNH)

From: Murthy K.L.N. <klnmurthy25@gmail.com> Thanks for sending the link. I had seen the new on-line version of ZOOS' Print which is very impressive in terms of both design and content. I sincerely appreciate the move to completely shift over to web version.

Murthy.

From: Debnath Palit <debnath_palit@yahoo.com> Thank you very much for your mail. I will certainly disseminate this attachment for wide circulation. I would like to inform you that we have a Post Graduate Department in Conservation Biology. I will send you departmental profile within a short time. We would like to build a academic relationship with you and your esteemed organisation. All sorts of academic exchange and inner organization networking is the utmost importance, so I am looking forward for a positive response.

Dr. Debnath Palit, Assist Prof. Botany & Head, PG Depart., Conservation Biology, Durgapur Government College.

From: Kamal Naidu <mkamalnaidu@hotmail.com> Thanks I enjoy reading the ZOO’s PRINT on line for we are saving so much paper and therefore trees and therefore our environment M. Kamal Naidu (IFS, Retd.)

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

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Population Control By Segregation of Blackbucks at Kanpur Zoo K. Praveen Rao*

The Indian Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), is one of the three species of antelopes found in Northern India. The blackbuck is a medium-sized antelope native to the Indian sub-continent. Although native to the sub-continent, considerable numbers of black-buck are currently found in the U.S.A and Argentina, where they were introduced over 80 years ago. In the U.S.A, blackbuck are mainly found on game ranches in the state of Texas.

February to May and August to October. The gestation period is about 5-6 months. Usually only one young is born at a time. About two weeks after giving birth, females become receptive again. Although an adult female can potentially give birth twice a year, average fecundity is reported to be 1 or 1.5 fawns per year (Schaller 1967, Mungall 1978).

The life span of Blackbuck is between 12 to 16 years. The female can start breeding from the age of two years and more. One female is expected to breed about nine to fifteen individual fawns in its life period. The rate of birth can be upto two fawns per year and the fecundity was 1.5 times. If this goes well then the above figures will go up by another half times.

In zoological parks the animals get proper protection, balanced diet and proper medication. Thus with the above breeding biology the numbers of the animals goes up very fast. Kanpur Zoological Park has at present about 70 animals in its collection. The numbers more than doubled in the last ten years. The mortality rate of the animals also has gone up as the space for the animals had crossed the carrying capacity of the enclosures.

Blackbuck II enclosure at Kanpur Zoo

The Blackbuck is considered to be the fastest animal in the world next to Cheetah. It shows remarkable sexual dimorphism. Males are larger in size compared to females.

The colouration of the skin coat in males is more conspicuous which is striking black (or dark brown) above and white under parts and have a pair of unbranched, 'corkscrew' and diverging horns on each side of head. While the coats of females and immature males are a more subdued light brown and white. The females are hornless.

The population has declined throughout the country due to rampant poaching and habitat loss. Subsequently within a short span of time this animal has suffered much reduction in numbers. In pre-independence India the animal was poached for its flesh and skin by the rulers of the princely states with the help of their pet Cheetahs. Due to habitat destruction the animal became restricted to limited areas increasing the liklihood of inbreeding in these animals. Postindependence the Blackbuck is included in the Schedule-I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is designated as Near Threatened as per Red List (IUCN 2010).

Social organisation: group-living Blackbucks are typically found in groups which are variable in size. The main types of groups are female groups (adult females and immatures of both sexes), all-male groups (adult and immature males), and mixed-sex groups (adults and immatures of both sexes). Females, who leave their group to give birth and are solitary for a large part of the time, while their fawns are very young (Mungall 1978, Ranjitsinh 1982, Prasad 1983, Isvaran 2003). They may join, split and re-form several times during a day.

Breeding Biology and Population dynamics Blackbucks are one of the important animals in the zoo collection. These animals breed very well when they are given proper protection. Female Blackbucks attain maturity in approximately 2 years and are ready to breed. They breed in all seasons but main rut takes place between

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According to the norms set by Central Zoo Authority the number of herbivores in an enclosure should be restricted to 15-20 animals. In Kanpur Zoological Park presently the Blackbucks are kept in two different enclosures. Thus, according to the norms, set by CZA, the total number of animals that can be exhibited should not be more than 30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 40. The mortality in these animals also has gone up in the last few years. The main cause of deaths was due to infighting injuries. Thus it clearly indicates that the carrying capacity of the enclosures has been crossed and the death rate of the animals is on the rise. The total number of animals remaining is around 70, which may be the carrying capacity of these enclosures. To fulfill the norms set by CZA and to reduce the mortality and infighting of the animals, various population control methods were discussed at length and the best in the present circumstances appeared segregating the males and female Blackbuck populations.

Methodology of Separation of Blackbucks Arrangements made before separation In Kanpur Zoological park the Blackbucks are present in two different enclosures of about 3000 sq mts each. The enclosure which comes first on the visitor circulation road is called the Blackbuck I enclosure and the one which comes next is called Blackbuck II enclosure. In Blackbuck I enclosure the outdoor enclosure is in the form of an ellipse extending along the road. For the purpose of this article it is called the outdoor enclosure I. On the side away from the road is situated the animal house, on one side of the ellipse.

There is some space between the enclosure and the boundary wall. This space has been utilised to prepare another enclosure for separating the gender. Chain link mesh has been erected in such a way that the space parallel to the enclosure and the boundary wall has been closed leaving a passage to reach the entry gate of the animal house. This for the purpose of this article is called outside enclosure II. Thus the animal house remained between the two outdoor enclosures. The animal house has a kraal and the treatment cells, all these are interconnected. *Director, Kanpur Zoological Park, Kanpur, U.P., kanpurzoo@gmail.com

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

The treatment cells on one side open into the kraal and on the other side open into a gallery. The treatment cells and the kraal open into the outside enclosure through two separate doors. The chain link mesh of the outdoor enclosure II has been placed in such a way that the door of the treatment cells opens into it. The door of the kraal opens into the outdoor enclosure I. Before separation all the animals were in outdoor enclosure I.

Blackbuck in seperate enclosures at Kanpur Zoo, thus controlling population.

The Blackbuck II outdoor enclosure is square in shape. On one end of the enclosure, the animal house is located. The house has a big kraal and cells for treatment of the animals.

The kraal is divided into two halves with the help of chain link mesh. The two kraal compartments are Kraal 1 and Kraal 2. The kraal compartments have a sliding door of 5x4 ft in between. This slider door can be operated from outside the enclosure with the help of long handle, without disturbing the animals. This door helps in separating the animals according to need and giving the preferential feed to the animals. Two doors one from each kraal open into the outdoor enclosure. The outdoor enclosure has been divided into two equal halves with the help of chain link mesh of 2.10 mts height. This height was preferred as the blackbucks do not generally cross the other side of the fence with this height. Chain link mesh construction started from one end touching the visitor side wall and the moat to the animal house on the other end. The two outside enclosures are Outside enclosure 1 and Outside enclosure 2.

Platforms for green fodder and tank for drinking water have been developed on each side of the fence in the outdoor enclosure. The fence was extended up to the animal house, so that one door of the kraal opens into one side of the chain link and the other door opens onto the other side of the chain link fence. Before finally erecting the chain link fence all the animals both males and females were driven to one side of the fence into Outside enclosure 1, so that the other half open enclosure is free of animals.

Modus Operandi The feed in the form of soaked Bengal gram and the feed mix prepared by the Zoo, which has various pulses, cereals etc., in its composition is given to the animals around 10.30 am every day. The animals regularly visit the kraal for the feed daily. Advantage of this situation was utilised for separating the males and females very easily.

Blackbuck I Enclosure On the day of separation the door of the kraal and the treatment cells opening into the enclosure were closed. The feed was placed in the kraal. The animals were allowed in small groups of three to four. These animals were then taken into the treatment cells, where the males were separated in the cells. The door of the cells opens into the gallery, from where the door opens in to the enclosure - II. So the cells in which males are present have been opened and were

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allowed to escape through the gallery to the door of the treatment cells leading into the enclosure II. Thus all the males were sent into the enclosure II. Blackbuck II Enclosure On the first day of separation, the doors of the kraal opening into the outside enclosure 1 and 2 were closed.

When the feed arrived the feed was placed in both the kraal compartments 1 and 2 and the slide door between the kraal compartment was closed. The animals started collecting near the kraal door. About three to four animals were allowed inside the kraal -1. All permutation and combination of sexes entered in to the kraal. Making use of the sliding door the preferred animals (males) were allowed to enter into the other compartment of the kraal -2. Once the male enters the other compartment the slide door was pushed and the male was separated. The door opening into the outside enclosure -2 was opened and the animal is sent in to the other side of the enclosure fence. The remaining females in the kraal - 1 compartment was sent back in to the outside enclosure -1. This was repeated several times and the animals were separated very easily without injuring any of the animals. But after few operations the animals started avoiding the kraal, once this situation arose the operation was discontinued for the day and was repeated the next day. Thus with repeated operations all the males were separated.

Acknowledgments: I am thankful to B.K. Patnaik, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, U.P.; B.S. Bonal, Member Secretary, Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi; K. K.Jha, Chief Conservator of Forests, Eco Development, U.P for their constant encouragement and support in developing this article. I thank the staff of the zoological park, Kanpur in successful implementation of the programme.

References Isvaran, K. 2003. The evolution of lekking: Insights from a species with a flexible mating system.

Mungall, E. C. 1978. The Indian Blackbuck Antelope: A Texas View. Kleberg Studies in Natural Resources, College Station, Texas, USA. Prasad, N. L. N. S. 1983. Seasonal changes in the herd structure of blackbuck. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Prater, S. H. 1971. The book of Indian animals. 3rd ed. Bombay Natural History Society.

Ranjitsinh, M. K. 1982. Ecology and behaviour of the Indian blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra Linn. 1758) in the Velavadar National Park, Gujarat. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Ranjitsinh, M. K. 1989. The Indian Blackbuck. Natraj Publishers, Dehradun.

Schaller, G. B. 1967. The deer and the tiger. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened species. Version 2010. <www.iucnredlist.org> downloaded on 15 March 2011.

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Don’t forget ZooLex

The ZooLex Zoo Design Organisation

is your Free Access to International Zoo Design. Designed by the ZooLex Zoo Design Organisation, ZooLex gathers some of the best new zoo designs in the world, explains how they came about in an illustrated format which is uploaded on the ZooLex site. Anytime you access the gallery, you can click and find fascinating accounts of exhibits around the world. You can go directly to the gallery at http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/ gallery.py sample some of the other information and opportunities from zoolex on the home pages www.zoolex.org, such as their free magazine, to which you can subscribe, Services, Firms, Research, a Search engine and even some Fun. Zoo Outreach Organisation has featured Zoo Lex designs as part of the magazine for some time, but not for the last six months or so. Now, since we are web based only, we will catch up with the last six months in this issue and from thencefoward, just notify you what the theme of the last entry is. You should always try and check out these entries. It is interesting to anyone interested in wild animals and zoos. Here is some information about ZooLex The ZooLex Zoo Design Organization: The ZooLex Zoo Design Organization is a non-profit organization, registered in Vienna (ZVR-Zahl 933849053), independent from companies and organizations. It relies on the support of subscribers, members, sponsors and well-wishers to fund its activities. Contact: ZooLex Zoo Design Organization Sobieskigasse 9/12, 1090 Vienna, Austria Phone/Fax: 0043-1-3101060 Email: zoolex@zoolex.org Objectives: The ZooLex Zoo Design Organization was established to help improve holding conditions for wild animals in captivity by • publishing and disseminating information related to zoo design, • promoting appropriate holding conditions for wild animals in captivity, • providing balanced technical information and advice about zoo design, and • supporting research and vocational training related to zoo design.

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ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Zagreb Zoo, Croatia

African Village: Yellow Mongoose

Zagreb Zoo's old elephant building and surroundings were updated and incorporated into a zoo-geographic theme: Africa. The building currently houses ostrich, guinea fowl and eland.

An unused oil tank behind the elephant building was removed and replaced with an area designed in the style of an East African village. Replica African huts with straweffect coned roofs were erected, along with two animal exhibits: one for meerkat and one for mongoose. The purpose of the area is educational and decorative.

castle - in a traditional half-timbered building, and overgrown with plants - offers the intended atmosphere.

The visitors are introduced into the legendary world of native night creatures and their peculiarities.

Minnesota Zoological Garden

Russia's Grizzly Coast: Grizzly Bears

Other small African animals are on display here. Inside one of the huts is a terrarium for Madagascan common tenrecs.

There are wall displays of African artefacts, such as masks and statues. Opposite the viewing window for the indoor ostrich area is an exhibit displaying spiny mice. Another hut, adjoining the old elephant building, contains elephantrelated information and artefacts, including a life-sized elephant skull.

The exhibit area designated to the yellow mongoose is next to a meerkat enclosure and has capacity for a small group of mongooses. The stick fencing surrounding the glass barrier leaves viewing areas open around both exhibits. The original glass barrier for the mongooses was at the same height as the meerkat barrier (approx. 1m), but had to be extended to 1.40m due to mongooses jumping out of the exhibit. An electric wire was added at a height of 1m.

The indoor mongoose area is one of the African-style huts.

It has a concrete floor with sand cover. Visitors can look into the mongoose indoor area.

Weltvogelpark Walsrode, Germany Owl Castle

Owl Castle was one of the first steps in implementing the masterplan for Weltvogelpark Walsrode. The aviaries aim at combining appropriate keeping of the species with an exciting environment for the visitors. The UHU company - a well-known producer of adhesives in German speaking countries - sponsored the project. "Uhu" is also the German name for the Eurasian eagle-owl.

The theme of the area is the European Middle Ages. The replica of a ruined castle is an appropriate habitat for owls that are commensal species. The visitors to the bird park are sent on a trip into bygone times, where they can explore owls and their habitat. The rambling, medieval

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Russia’s Grizzly Coast features the region, landscapes, and animals of the Russian Far East: one of the world’s last great wildernesses. The $24 million project replicates the Russian Far East, featuring grizzly bears, sea otters, Amur leopards and wild boars, living on a landscape made up of lush plants, and sprinkled with geysers, lava tubes and mud pots. The project was part of the zoo's long-term plan. The aim of Russia’s Grizzly Coast was to create realistic, engaging, and safe animal environments that replicate their wild habitats and stimulate natural behaviors. This enhances animal health and allows opportunities for visitor education.

Russia’s Grizzly Coast embodies Minnesota Zoo’s mission to “Connect People, Animals, and the Natural World” on several levels. The new exhibit and Central Plaza generate momentum for future projects by placing the animals within a spectacular naturalistic setting. The latter demonstrates the connection between the animals and their wild homes.

Russia’s Grizzly Coast encompasses three biomes within the Russian Far East, defined as 'Pacific Coast', 'Volcanic North' and 'Forested South'. Visitors are immersed in this dynamic place with "active" geology, plant life, animals and seasonal cycles.The main viewpoint, a window within an eroded lava tube replica, is where visitors gain an 8 meter wide panorama of ‘Bear Meadow’. From this window, bears can be viewed both above and below water and may come very close to the visitors behind the glass.

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Realm of the Giants Dierenpark Amersfoort Zoo

Small exhibits, architectural elements and deliberate use of vegetation make the visitor subconsciously overestimate the space when viewed from the lower floor.There is a lower section with three aquatic exhibits, containing crocodiles, fish, rays and turtles. The hall accommodates decorative elements of Mayan culture, such as steles and hieroglyphically inscribed stones.

Nature Experience Walk: In the Forest Tiergarten Schönbrunn

A new elephant facility was included in the masterplan in 1998. Several concepts have worked on the key challenge of finding cost and space effective solutions.

The construction of the pavilion is based on a cost effective concept consisting of three rectangular units. Two concrete units form the sand room and the stalls. A green house is used as indoor visitor area. Instead of an architectural building, prefabricated construction was chosen and money was rather spent on making the hard lines invisible. A tree trunk facade was created along the outside of the building and along the walls of the herd's stable. Behind the tree trunks, planters are situated that are large enough to contain trees. An Asian themed environment forms the interior of the visitor greenhouse.

Planted, gradually sloping moats form the human-elephant barriers. AIong the visitor side, the moats are constructed from 300 cm high concrete elements (L-profiles), The slopes are planted with herbs and grasses on the bottom and hot grass on the top part. Indoor visitors also encounter elephants separated by glass panels of 75 mm thickness.

Yucatan Tropical Hall Zoo Zlín The Yucatan Tropical Hall represents the abundance and variety of animal species native to the Central American rainforest. This exhibit combines plants and animals. For the first time in the history of Zoo Zlín, ethnographic components were also incorporated. The main objective for the tropical hall is to educate both the general public and school groups. The aim is to help visitors understand the benefits of saving the planet's fragile tropical forests, alongside informing them about ancient Mayan civilization.

The building was erected where of the former Count’s riding hall was at the end of the 19th century. In the 1960s, the riding hall was rebuilt into a pavilion of carnivores according to the then fashionable trend of rearing big predators in zoological gardens. The building could be seen in this form as late as 2005

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The main idea of the Nature Experience Walk at Zoo Schönbrunn is to immerse visitors in the native flora and fauna of the local natural environment. The walk is made up of three parts: ‘In the Forest’, ‘At the Water’ and ‘In the Reeds’.

The Nature Experience Walk is situated on the foothills of the Viennese forest. The forest was modified by forestry and today represents an attractive mix of forest and park with a high biodiversity. ‘In the Forest’ is a 160 meter long tree canopy walk, where zoo visitors can observe the native wildlife from a high viewpoint, followed by a 170 meter long trail on the ground. The canopy path makes use of the zoo’s topography. Starting at the Tirolerhof, the path gains height and leads visitors through the tree canopy in a height of up to 10 meters. Visitors may see birds and their nests located high up in the trees. Some visitors may prefer the alternative path on the ground, where it is possible to see squirrels, bugs and even fox.

On exiting 'In The Forest', visitors pass a meadow with wild butterflies and grasshoppers. Man-made insect homes are on display, as are hedges, piles of branches and stones that serve as habitats for native fauna in an urban environment.

A number of terraria displays native reptiles and amphibia.

The path winds down towards ‘At the Water’. Here, three large outdoor aquaria direct the attention to native fish. The Nature Experience Walk then continues to ‘In the Reeds’, where pelicans, cormorants, fire-bellied toads and harvest mice can be seen.

The purpose of the Nature Experience Walk is to interpret the native flora and fauna as being equally as exciting in comparison with exotic animals, such as elephants, lions and fruit bats. Habitats along the Nature Experience Walk are strengthened, enriched and highlighted to visitors. The three thematic parts were realised step by step as budget became available. The tree canopy walk was opened in April 2009, the continuing forest ground walk in April 2010.

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

An incidence of pleural mesothelioma in circus lionesses K. Sujatha1, Ch. Srilatha2 and P. Amaravathi3 Mesothelioma is a rare mesodermal neoplasm arising from pleura, pericardium and peritoneum. The incidence of tumors is more in carnivores than ruminants (King and Robbins, 2006). Peritoneal mesotheliomas were recorded in the cattle, dog &cat (Balachandran et al., 2006, Kabayashi et al., 1994, Nashiruddallah and Chakravathy, 2003). But in lions mesotheliomas have not yet been reported. Present report describes an incidence of pleural lesions in circus lionesses which may be attributed to asbestosis.

Four lionesses from Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Tirupati between the age of 20-25 years died in a course of fourteen months and were subjected for post mortem examination in the Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Tirupati. The Lionesses showed clinical signs of progressive weakness over several months. Dyspnoea, wheezing sounds both at inspiration and expiration and emaciation were observed before death. During PM examination representative tissues were collected in 10% Formalin and processed and stained with routine Haematoxyline & Eosin for Histopathological examination.

Necropsy examination of four animals revealed approximately 4-5 liters of serosanguinous fluid in the thoracic cavity. Multiple grayish white, firm, fleshy irregular masses ranging from approximately 2 mm to 2cm in size were noticed in the pericardium, pleura, diaphragm, lungs and ribs (Fig â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1&2). The lungs were slightly firm and brownish black colour pigment was noticed on the surface. Tracheal, bronchial and bronchiolar mucosa was congested and filled with mucus.

Severe congestion of liver, gastric and intestinal mucosa was noticed.

Engorged mesenteric blood vessels were observed in all the cases. The present findings are similar to the reports of pleural mesothelioma in a tigress and mesothelioma in a cat (Rao and Acharjyo, 1994 and Balachandran et al., 2006) Histologically tumor masses revealed columnar neoplastic mesothelial cells, arranged in finger like (or) papillary pattern (Fig-3). These neoplastic cells were proliferated over the highly cellular and vascular connective tissue stroma. Neoplastic cells revealed abundant pink cytoplasm with pleomorphic round to elongated nuclei

Figures 1 & 2. Note grayish white multiple, firm, fleshy irregular shaped multiple masses in the diaphragm and lungs.

and more prominent nucleoli. A few mitotic figures were also seen.

There was no metastasis. Lungs revealed the presence of yellowish brown colored irregular masses of ferruginous bodies were noticed in perialveolar, peribronchiolar and interstial septa (Fig-4) and mild fibrous tissue proliferation in interstial places were also observed. All other visceral organs were severely congested.

The similar changes were recorded by earlier authors (Moulton, 1978, Nashiruddalah and Chakravarthy, 2003 and Jubb et al., 2005).

In humans mesotheliomas are thought to be due to asbestosis, and have proved to be fatal (Jubb and Kennedy, 2005). In the present investigation we found that Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Tirupati was free from asbestosis.

Assistant Professor, 2 Professor & University Head, PhD Student Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati 517 502, Andhra Pradesh Email: 1 karamalasujatha@gmail.com 1 3

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

23

Four out of the 77 lions died. This might be because these four animals were brought from circuses (Jumbo circus, Gujarat & Rambo Circus, Kerala State, India). These circus animals used to move to different places (cites) in India, so there is a possibility of coming in contact with environmental pollutants like asbestosis which may lead to mesothelioma.

REFERENCES: Balachandran, C.N., N. Pazhanivel & & B.M. Manohar (2006).

Mesothelioma in a cat. Indian Journal of Pathology 30(1) 64â&#x20AC;&#x201C;66.

Jubb, K.V.F., Kennedy, C.P. & Nigel Palmer (2005). Pathology of Domestic animals, 4th Edition.

Academic Press, An Imprint of Elsevier, California, 698pp.

Kabayashi, Y., H. Usuda, K. Ochiai & C. Itakura (1994). Malignant mesothlioma and mast cell leukemia in a cat. Indian Journal of Pathology 111 (4): 453-458.

Moulton, E.J. (1978). Tumors in Domestic animals, 2nd Edition.

University of California press Ltd. London, pp.283-285.

Nashiruddallah, N. & A. Chakravathy (2003). Spontaneous neoplasms in capture wild carnivores of the Assam state Zoo. Indian Journal of Pathology 27(1): 39-41.

Rao, A.T. & L.N. Acharjyo (1994).

Pleural mesothelioma in a Tigress.

Indian Journal of Pathology 18 (2): 174-175.

King, R.J.B. & M.W. Robbins (2006). Cancer Biology, 3rd Edition.

Pearson Education Limited, Edinbergh gate, Harlow, Essex CHZOJE, England, pp.53-55.

Figure 3. Note columnar neoplastic mesothelial cells, arranged in finger like (or) papillary pattern. H and E: x70.

Figure 4. Lung section showing yellowish brown colored irregular masses of ferruginous bodies in interstitial space. H and E: x70.

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ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Observation of road kills on Kambam-Kumily Road (NH 220) in Tamil Nadu K. Muthamizh Selvan*

ABSTRACT The observation of road kills made from July 2007 to August 2007 along the NH 220 in Kambam Kumily road which is passing through the forest nearby Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Totally 50 kills were recorded (0.52/km) in which herpetofaunal contributing highest in numbers. In management aspects this observations will provide baseline information for future studies.

Keywords: NH220, Road kills, Vertebrates INTRODUCTION Roads are creating a barrier to wildlife movement and changing the habitat in the road verges and increasing the threat of biological communities and also perform as physical barrier to change the animal movements and behaviours (Daveley and Stouffer 2001), Many works has been dealing with mortality of animals along the roadways (Knobloch 1939; Haugen 1944; McClure 1951; Hodson 1966; Evenden 1971; Bellis & Graves 1971). In India very few short term studies emphasising the importance of road mortalities (Gokula 1997 ; Vijayakumar et al., 2001; Gopi Sunder,2004; Das et al., 2007; Seshadri et al., 2009; Baskaran & Boominathan, 2010) having bulky highway networks inside the Wildlife habitats. The direct or indirect impact of these roads on wild fauna has received very little attention in the country (Gopi Sunder 2004). Number of vehicles and increasing road in wildlife habitat growing concern among conservationist and managers. The observation of road kill was carried out at NH 220 passes near Periyar National Park at Thekkady in Kerala with Theni in Tamil Nadu. The main reason to investigate this road (NH220) was the high traffic intensity due to the tourist and sabarimala pilgrimage which is not quantified so this study will give baseline information on road mortalities for future studies.

Figure 1. Frequency and Percentage of road kills

STUDY AREA The observations made in NH220 which is passing from the border of Kerala (Kumily) and Tamil Nadu (Lower camp).

The Exact locations of the observation was Vandanmedu (9° 39’ 36.24”N, 77° 11 43.4) to near Lower Camp (9° 36’ 39.1”N, 77° 10’ 16.8” E). The length of the study road was 6km passing through semi evergreen and evergreen forests which is contiguous with Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. The major trees along the road was Erythrina stricta, Leea indica, Knema attenuata, Listea wightiana, Terminali paniculata, Stereospermum xylocarpum. This area is rich in flora and fauna due to the availability of water throughout the year which is releasing from Mullai Periyar dam for irrigation.

METHODS The road kills were recorded weekly twice between July 2007 to August 2007 by vehicle. To avoid the repetition old kills were removed from the road once they have recorded.

Kills were identified by reference books (Grimmett, et al., 1999; Daniels 2002). We have not collected any specimen from the area.

RESULT During the study of a total 50 kills which included Amphibians 15, Reptiles 21, Birds 9 and Mammals 5. The encounter rate of all the kills were 0.52/km composed of Amphibians 0.66 / km Reptiles 0.22 / km Birds 0.09 / km and Mammals 0.05 / km.

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Location map indicating the study area and zoomed in images of forest

* Research Fellow, Dhole Ecology and conservation Project, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun 248001 Email: selvan@wii.gov.in

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DISCUSSION This observation of road kills shows minimum 25 species removing from this small area in a month. Since this observation made in monsoon season high rate of herpeto faunal mortality has been recorded. Except mammal, most of the kills were observed in July than in August out of 50 kills, half of the kills were Reptiles especially snakes because snakes often use roads for its thermo regulation. Macaque and common Langur often got killed, since they come to road to beg from tourists.

This small observation shows the importance of monitoring this road to avoid the collision of animals by vehicles. Though we have not encountered any large mammals it is important to take necessary steps for the conservation of wildlife in this road pass.

REFERENCE Baskaran, N. & D. Boominathan (2010). Road kills of animals by highway traffic in the tropical forest of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, southern India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(3):753-759 Bellis, E.D. & H.B. Graves (1971).

Deer mortality on a Pennsylvania interstate highway. Journal of Wildlife Management 35: 232-37.

Daniel, J.C. (2002). The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians.

Oxford University Press, Bombay Natural History Society Bombay, India, 238pp Das, A., M.F. Ahmed, B.P. Lahkar & P. Sharma (2007). A preliminary report of reptilian mortality on road due to vehicular movement near Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India. Zoos’ Print Journal 22(7): 2742–2744.

Daveley, P.F. & P.C. Stouffer (2001). Effects of roads on movements by understory birds in mixed-species flocks in Central Amazonian Brazil. Conservation Biology 15: 1416-1422 Evenden, F.G. (1971). Animal road kills. Atlant. Nat. 26: 36-9.

Haugan, A.O. (1944). Highway mortality of wildlife in southern Michigan. J. Mammal. 25: 141-46 Hodson, N.L. (1966). A survey of road mortality in mammals (and including data for the grass snake and common frog). J. Zool., Lond.

148: 576-79 Gokula, V. (1997). Impact of vehicular traffic on snakes in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. Cobra 27:26

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Table 1. Observation of road kills on NH 220 in 6 km stretch Species name

Common name

No. of kills

Amphibians Common Indian Toad

Duttaphrynus melanostictus

6

Unidentified Frog

-

4

Unidentified caecilian

-

5

Reptiles

-

Russell’s Viper

Daboia russelii

Unidentified viper species

1 1

Common Wolf Snake

Lycodon aulicus

3

Checkered Keel back Snake

Xenochrophis piscator

2

Variegated Kukri Snake

Oligodon taeniolatus

1

Green Keel Back Snake

Macropisthodon plumbicolor

1

Common Cat Snake

Boiga trigonata

1

Common Skink

Eutropis carinata

3

Common Worm Snake

Ramphotyphlops braminus

1

Red sand boa

Eryx johnii

1

Buff-striped Keel Back

Amphiesma stolatum

1

Common Garden Lizard

Calotes versicolor

4

Monitor lizard

Monitor salvator

1

Jungle owlet

Glaucidium radiatum

1

Indian roller

Coracias benghalensis

1

Common Indian Nightjar

Caprimulgus asiaticus

1

Indian Myna

Acridotheres tristis

1

Spotted Dove

Streptopelia chinensis

2

Emerald Dove

Chalcophaps indica

1

Unidentified Bird

-

1

Unidentified Cuckoo sp.

-

1

Mammals

-

Common Langur

Semnopithecus entellus

1

Bonnet Macaque

Macaca radiata

2

Brown palm civet

Paradoxurus jerdoni

1

Three striped squirrel

Funambulus palmarum

Birds

1 50

Gopi Sunder, K.S. (2004). Mortality of herpetofauna, Birds and Mammals due to vehicular traffic in Etawah district, Uttrapradesh. India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Soceity 103(3): 392-398.

Grimmett, R.C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (1998). Birds of Indian Subcontinent.

Oxford University Press, 888pp Knobloch, W. (1939). Death on the highway. J. Mammal. 20: 508-9.

McClure, H.E. (1951). An analysis of animal victims on Nebraska highways.

Journal of Wildlife Management 15: 410-20.

Seshadri, K.S., A. Yadev & K.V. Gururaja (2009). Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats India.

Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(11): 549-552.

Vijayakumar, S.P., K. Vasudevan & N.M. Ishwar (2001). Hepetofaunal mortality on the roads in the Anamalai Hills, Southern Western Ghats. Hamadryad 26(2): 265-272.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Director and Dean, Wildlife Institute of India. Directorate of Tiger monitoring project for logistic supports and necessary helps, also like to thank following researchers for their help for manuscript preparation, N. Sridharan, Sajan John, A. Pragatheesh and Dr. Saravanan.

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

Occurrence of bile duct hook worms in a wild elephant of Wayanad, Kerala K.G. Ajith Kumar1, Reghu Ravindran2, T. Surendranathan3, E. Varun Joy4 and Amitha George5 ABSTRACT: Present communication reports the presence of more than hundred nematodes on the liver surface of a wild elephant during post mortem and were identified as the bile duct hook worm called Grammocephalus varedatus.

INTRODUCTION Parasites can have a wide range of impact on the ecology of their hosts, in terms of health, behavior, sexual selection, and regulation of host populations (Vidya and Sukumar, 2002). A healthy wild animal may harbour large number of parasites without showing clinical signs of diseases. Parasitic diseases result when equilibrium between parasite and host is upset (Fowler, 2006).

A detailed account on parasites of elephants including their identification, lifecycle, epizootiology, clinical signs and management was provided by Fowler, 2006. Various parasites reported from asian elephants (Elephas maximus) of Kerala were reviewed by Chandrasekharan et al., 2009. This communication report the occurrence of bile duct nematode Grammocephalus varedatus recovered during the post mortem of a wild tusker.

MATERIALS AND METHODS During the month of July 2009, death of a wild male elephant (approximately 15 years of age) was reported from Thirunelli, Wayanad by the range officer of Department of Forest and post mortem examination of the animal was requested. On detailed examination of the internal organs, the surface of the liver was occupied by numerous worms (more than 100).

The parasites were collected in 10 percent formalin solution and sent to Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookot for identification.

The nematodes were dehydrated in ascending grades of alcohol and then cleared using creosote. Cleared specimens were mounted using DPX and photographs were taken. The gastric bots were boiled in 10 percent potassium hydroxide solution. They were kept in the same solution for 1 week. Later, they were also dehydrated and cleared. The species identification of the specimens was conducted based on Sundaram, (1966), and Singh, (2003).

RESULTS The nematodes were identified as Grammocephalus varedatus. The male

Figure 1. Female and male Grammocephalus varedatus

measured 32 mm length and 1.5 mm maximum breadth and the female 40mm and 1.5mm respectively (Fig.1).

The anterior edges of the lateral teeth do not lie posterior of the corresponding edges of the subventral teeth (Fig. 2) which differentiate it from the G clathratus. In males rays of bursa were relatively short and the lateral rays were quite stout spicules were strong with massive thickening and alate and measured 1.35 mm in length (Fig.3).

DISCUSSION G.varedatus is a hook worm inhabiting the bile duct and their precise life cycle is unknown but is presumably similar to Bunostomun sp (Fowler, 2006).

Elephants get infected through the skin penetration by larvae or by direct ingestion of it. They are the largest hook worms under the family Ancylostomidae (Sundaram, 1966).

Adult parasites are blood suckers. So anaemia and weakness along with other signs of hepatic insufficiency occur in severe infestation (Fowler, 2006). Chandrasekharan et al., 2009 observed haemorrhage, erosion, proliferation of lymphoid tissue, ulcers and necrotic foci in the bile ducts with the presence of large numbers of adult and immature worms of G. varedatus.

The presence of G. varedatus over liver surface could be due to rupture of bile duct.

Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookot, Lakkidi, P.O., Wayand, 673 576, Kerala 3 Veterinary Poly Clinic, Mananthavady, Wayanad, Kerala.

Email: 1ajithkumarkg@gmail.com 1,2,4,5

ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

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References Fowler, M.E. (2006). Parasitology, pp. 159-181. In: Fowler, M.E. & S.K. Mikota (eds.). Biology Medicine and Surgery of Elephants. Wiley-Blackwell.

Sundaram, R.K. (1966). Some common elephant parasites. Kerala Veterinary College and Research Institute Magazine 19-21.

Vidya, T.N.C. & R. Sukumar (2002).

The effect of some ecological factors on the intestinal parasite loads of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in southern India. J. Biosci.27: 521-528.

Chandrasekharan, K., K. Radhakrishnan, J.V. Cheeran, K.N.M. Nair & T. Prabhakaran (2009). Review of the incidence, etiology and control of common diseases of asian elephants with special reference to Kerala. In: Ajithkumar, G., K.S. Anil & P.C. Alex (eds.). Health Care management of Captive Asian Elephants. Kerala Agricultural University, India.

Figure 2. Anterior end of male Grammocephalus varedatus

Figure 3. Tail end of male Grammocephalus varedatus showing copulatory bursa and spicules

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ZOO's PRINT, Volume XXVI, Number 3, March 2011

75th Anniversary of the Society for the History of Natural History From Royal Gifts to Biodiversity Conservation: The History and Development of Menageries, Zoos and Aquariums Thursday 19th and Friday 20th May 2011 Chester Zoo, UK This international Symposium is being held in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Society for the History of Natural History. It is a joint collaboration between the Society for the History of Natural History, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums - WAZA and Chester Zoo, supported by the Linnean Society of London and the Bartlett Society. The focus of the symposium is to provide a comprehensive overview of the history and development of living wild animal collections across the world. Symposium proceedings will be made available.

Invited speakers will be talking on: • The Foundations of Zoo Biology • The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums • Living Collections in the Ancient World • Royal and Private Animal Menageries • Aquariums and Marine and Freshwater Biological Associations • The Development of Regional and National Zoo Associations and Outreach Additional themes to be covered during the symposium, for which abstracts are invited, include The History and Development of: • Zoos and Aquariums as Charitable Organisations • Individual and Specialised Collections (butterflies, Insectariums / Bugworlds, • Aviaries, Vivariums / Serpentariums and Dolphinariums) • International Zoo and Aquarium Affiliated Organisations – the importance of partnerships • Zoos and Aquariums as Leisure Attractions • Zoo and Aquarium Architecture and Masterplanning • Zoo and Aquarium Enclosure and Exhibit Design – the importance of animal welfare • Zoo Animal Welfare, Ethics and Zoo Medicine • The Concept of the ‘Zoological Garden’ – the Importance of Plants • Zoo Animal Acquisitions ! from Wild Collections to Sustainably Managed Conservation Breeding Programmes • Zoo Conservation Science and Research in the Field • Conservation Education in Zoos and Outreach Programmes • Zoo History in the Making For further information on registering for the symposium, submitting an abstract or presenting a poster, please contact Claudine Gibson <c.gibson@chesterzoo.org>

Magazine of Zoo Outreach Organisation ZOO’s PRINT Publication Guidelines

Publication Information

We welcome articles from the conservation community of all SAARC countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other tropical countries if relevant to SAARC countries’ problems and potential.

ZOOS’ PRINT, ISSN 0973-2543 Published at: Coimbatore Owner: Zoo Outreach Organisation, 9A Lal Bahadur Colony, Peelamedu, CBE 4

Type — Articles of semi-scientific or technical nature.

News, notes, announcements of interest to conservation community and personal opinion pieces.

Editor: Sally R. Walker Associate Editor: R.V. Sanjay Molur and Daniel B. Ayyachamy Managing Editor: Latha G. Ravikumar Editorial Assistant: R. Marimuthu

Feature articles — articles of a conjectural nature — opinions, theoretical, subjective.

Case reports: case studies or notes, short factual reports and descriptions.

News and announcements — short items of news or announcements of interest to zoo and wildlife community Cartoons, puzzles, crossword and stories Subject matter : captive breeding, (wild) animal husbandry and management, wildlife management, field notes, conservation biology, population dynamics, population genetics, conservation education and interpretation, wild animal welfare, conservation of flora, natural history and history of zoos. Articles on rare breeds of domestic animals are also considered.

Source : zoos, breeding facilities, holding facilities, rescue centres, research institutes, wildlife departments, wildlife protected areas, bioparks, conservation centres, botanic gardens, museums, universities, etc. Individuals interested in conservation with information and opinions to share can submit articles ZOOS’ PRINT magazine.

Manuscript requirements: Articles should by typed into a Word format and emailed to zooreach@zooreach.org. Avoid indents, all caps or any other fancy typesetting. You may send photos, illustrations, tables.

Articles which should contain citations should follow this guideline: a bibliography organized alphabetically and contain ing all details referred in the following style : surname, initial(s), year, title of the article, name of journal, volume, number, pages.

Editorial details : Articles will be edited without consultation unless previously requested by the authors in writing. Authors should inform editors if the article has been published or submitted elsewhere for publication.

Zoo Outreach Organisation Trust Committee and Sr. Staff Managing Trustee: Sally R. Walker Chairman Trustee: R. Nandini Executive Director: R.V. Sanjay Molur Finance Director Trustee: Latha G. Ravikumar Scientist: B.A. Daniel Researcher: R. Marimuthu Other staff: B. Ravichandran, Pravin Kumar, K. Geetha, S. Radhika, Arul Jagadish, Ravindran, S. Sarojamma ZOOs’ PRINT magazine is informal and newsy as opposed to a scientific publication. ZOOS’ PRINT magazine sometimes includes semi-scientific and technical articles which are reviewed only for factual errors, not peer-reviewed.

Address: Zoo Outreach Organisation Post Box 1683, Peelamedu Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 004, India Phone: +91 422 2561087 Fax: +91 422 2563269 E-mail: zooreach@zooreach.org Website: www.zooreach.org, www.zoosprint.org