Archive for the ‘Endangered Species’ Category

Jun
07

The Houston Zoo is Seeking Ways to Save Animals in Madagascar

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Staff assisting wildlife protection in the wild,Travel

The Houston Zoo’s conservation purpose is to further the Houston Zoo’s mission of “fostering appreciation, knowledge, and care for the natural world” by connecting the public to our efforts to save species in the wild.  Through our wildlife conservation projects and partnerships, which work to conserve the wild counterparts of our ambassador animals at the Zoo, we will inspire all people to respect value and conserve wildlife and wild places.

We have many animals from the weird and wonderful island of Madagascar in Africa.  If you have visited the Zoo in the past few months you may have had the pleasure of watching our baby sifaka and ring-tailed lemurs grow and mature.  And, guests always enjoy the antics of our fascinating fossa and are dazzled by our beautiful Madagascar love birds.  You may have also heard that the Houston Zoo was the first zoo in history to have Madagascar big-headed turtle babies two years ago.     The Houston Zoo has a deep appreciation and admiration for Madagascar and we want to do everything we can to save the species that live there.

Jonah Ratsimbazafy at the Houston Zoo

Last year, The Houston Zoo invited lemur biologist/conservationist, Jonah Ratsimbazafy to be a part of our Wildlife Speaker Series.  Jonah was born and raised in Madagascar and has dedicated his life to wildlife conservation.  Our Zoo community got to see his commitment to saving all Madagascar wildlife from extinction.  This June, Houston Zoo conservation  staff will be visiting Jonah in Madagascar to seek ways we can most effectively assist his conservation efforts.  We will do our best to bring you along on this expedition by attempting to keep you informed and updated as frequently as Africa’s internet connection allows.

Did you know that every time you purchase a ticket to come to the Zoo you help animals in the wild?  A portion of your admission ticket goes to efforts to save animals from extinction.  The Houston Zoo deeply cares for the animals we house on Zoo grounds and seeks to support and participate in the best conservation efforts to save them in the wild. We currently support over 20 conservation projects in over 10 different countries.  Our Zoo’s conservation department serves the Zoo by selecting, monitoring and evaluating each program to guarantee the effectiveness and long-term success. To learn more about and help us with our conservation efforts, please visit our website. To keep up-to-date on wildlife conservation in the field, make sure to follow our Houston Zoo blogs and Facebook pages!

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Jun
07

Protecting the Zoo’s Chimpanzee Counterparts in the Wild!

Posted by in Africa,Chimpanzee,community-based conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Staff assisting wildlife protection in the wild

The Houston Zoo’s conservation purpose is to further the Houston Zoo’s mission of “fostering appreciation, knowledge, and care for the natural world” by connecting the public to our efforts to save species in the wild.  Through our wildlife conservation projects and partnerships, which work to conserve the wild counterparts of our ambassador animals at the zoo, we will inspire all people to respect value and conserve wildlife and wild places.

Willie-the youngest chimpanzee at the Houston Zoo is an ambassador for chimpanzees in the wild which are facing a number of threats to their overall population.

Many of you who have visited the Houston Zoo may have stopped and watched our playful chimpanzee troop in the African Forest exhibit. With 10 chimpanzees, it is no surprise that you could park yourself in the air-conditioned viewing building and observe these fascinating animals for hours! Chimpanzees are social, intelligent, and incredibly charismatic animals. The chimpanzees at the Houston Zoo are cared for by a talented group of staff-their every need is looked after and taken care of by professionals. The Zoo’s chimps are ambassadors for their wild counterparts, which are struggling with a number of issues. The Houston Zoo has a deep appreciation and admiration for chimpanzees and we want to do everything we can to protect these charismatic animals in the wild.

The Houston Zoo supports chimpanzee conservation throughout Africa, including the country of Senegal where very little is known about the chimpanzee population. To better conserve these animals in the wild it is important for us to support ongoing research about chimpanzees and also community efforts to improve the livelihoods of the people who live alongside these animals. Houston Zoo staff will travel to Senegal during the month of June to assist in the development of community programs, mainly education and awareness programs, to improve the day-to-day lives of communities living next to chimpanzees and inspire all generations to conserve the amazing wildlife in their backyard.

Children in Senegal have fun while learning about wildlife! Photo courtesy of Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation.

Although communication will be sporadic due to working in rural areas with little to no access to internet and electricity, we will be checking back with our Houston community as often as we can to provide updates on the progress of this program in Senegal. Thanks to you-our Houston Zoo-goers, we can provide  these vital conservation benefits to wildlife and communities here in Texas and around the world.

Did you know that every time you purchase a ticket to come to the zoo you help animals in the wild?  A portion of your admission ticket goes to efforts to save animals from extinction.  The Houston Zoo deeply cares for the animals we house on Zoo grounds and seeks to support and participate in the best conservation efforts to save them in the wild.     We currently support over 20 conservation projects in over 10 different countries.  Our Zoo’s conservation department serves the zoo by selecting, monitoring and evaluating each program to guarantee the effectiveness and long-term success. To learn more about and help us with our conservation efforts, please visit our website. To keep up-to-date on wildlife conservation in the field, make sure to follow our Houston Zoo blogs and Facebook pages!

West African chimpanzees visit caves to cool off. This photo was taken with a camera trap setup by the Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation program.

Jun
03

13 Sea Turtles Go Back to the Wild!

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Sea Turtles,Sending animals back to the wild,Texas,Texas Tortugas

On Friday, May 31st several Houston Zoo staff, board and committee members assisted NOAA employees with the release of 13 turtles who have been rehabilitated and were ready to continue their lives in the great open ocean!  2 different species of turtles were released on Friday. Several green sea turtles were released into the bay area and the remaining Kemp’s ridley turtles were released across the street onto the beach. The release sites of these animals are determined by NOAA staff depending on the age, size, range and diet of the sea turtle species.

The day was not only special because 13 sea turtles returned to the wild, but also because 1 of the 13 turtles was our Kipp Aquarium resident who was healthy enough to go back to the Gulf of Mexico! Although this green sea turtle will be missed, we are sure to have another sea turtle resident for our guests to see at the Zoo soon! We will keep you updated.

The Zoo’s green sea turtle gets a flipper tag before being released so it can be identified if it ever comes onto the shore again. Photo by Stephanie Adams.

Finally, the day was capped off with one more success story. The green sea turtle who was rescued from a freshwater pond outside of Houston this past fall was successfully rehabilitated at the NOAA Galveston facility through the medical assistance of the Zoo’s Vet Clinic. Many of the Vet Clinic staff were on hand at the release to let this very special green sea turtle go. It is very uncommon for a sea turtle to survive extended time in freshwater, so the fact that this green sea turtle survived and was able to be released back into salt water was wonderful!

The green sea turtle rescued from freshwater in the greater Houston area with the Zoo’s Vet Clinic team who helped to bring this turtle back to a healthy state.

Dr. Joe Flanagan releasing the large green sea turtle into the bay!

This green sea turtle swims off with ease!

Unfortunately, not all sea turtles have wonderful success stories like the ones described here. You can help create positive outcomes for our sea turtles by reporting any sightings on the beach and calling 1-866-TURTLE-5. NOAA depends heavily on the help of the public to report sightings of sea turtles, and we truly appreciate everyone who is willing to help!

This Kemp’s ridley was released with a satellite tag to track its movements in order to determine better conservation plans for the species.

With your assistance, we can have a lot more turtles returning to the wild! For more information on the Houston Zoo and our effort to conserve sea turtles, please visit our website.

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May
30

The Houston Zoo’s Attwater’s Prairie Chickens are getting ready to go back to the wild!

Posted by in Attwater's Prairie Chicken,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Sending animals back to the wild,Series,Texas

We still have Attwater’s prairie chicken eggs in incubators here at the Zoo, but the oldest chicks are now 45 days old.   Because these birds are being reintroduced into the wild our staff is focused on encouraging as much natural behavior as possible to prepare them for prairie life.

  

The oldest chicks are now getting more vegetation in their diet, so that they recognize their wild diet.    And, their outdoor enclosures are filled with branches and bushes to encourage their instinct to hide and protect themselves from predators that threaten their survival in the wild.    

We will start reintroducing Attwater’s prairie chickens in June and July.  In the meantime, we will keep everyone posted on their development here at the Zoo, so stay tuned!

If you are interested in helping us save this species from extinction click here.

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May
27

6 sea turtles in the Houston Zoo vet clinic on Memorial Day

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Sea Turtles,Sending animals back to the wild,Series,Texas

Kemps Ridley with hook in its mouth

Six sea turtles were brought in to the Houston Zoo vet clinic this afternoon for examinations.   There were 4 Kemp’s ridleys, 1 green and 1 loggerhead sea turtle.  All of them had been injured or stranded on the Texas coast, and were in need of veterinary treatment.

Hook removed from the throat of this sea turtle

Two of the Kemp’s ridleys had swallowed hooks, and the vet staff was able to retrieve and extract the fishing hooks from inside the throat and mouth of the turtles.

 

Sea turtle with fishing hook in its throat.

 

After treatment all of the sea turtles were taken to the NOAA Sea Turtle Barn in Galveston to recover.

Same turtle as above with hook removed!

If you want to learn more about how the Houston Zoo is protecting sea turtles in the wild and how you can help, click here.  Stay tuned for more sea turtle rescues at the Houston Zoo!

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May
27

Houston Toad Release Success!

Posted by in amphibians,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,Sending animals back to the wild,Texas

Houston toad egg strands

Last week, we transferred 6 total egg strands (~20,000 eggs) to our collaborators at Texas State. We had the opportunity to assist a TSU graduate student in placing the eggs inside protective wire cages in an area outside Bastrop State Park. We were able to check on the eggs transferred the previous week and found very large Houston toad tadpoles, indicating that our first round of released eggs had survived. 

There were also three toadlets that would be the appropriate age to be the offspring of the first set of adult toads that were released from our facility (and subsequently laid eggs) at the same pond back in March.  

In summary this spring we have released:

139 adult Bastrop county toads

631 adult Leon county toads

~36,000 Bastrop county toad eggs

For more on this fabulous program and how you can help the Houston toad click here .

 Check back for more about how the Houston Zoo is helping to save animals in the wild!

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May
16

Zack Morris is calling…and he wants his phone back.

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Endangered Species,Gorilla,What You Can Do

If you had the privilege of growing up in the days of Saved by the Bell and other memorable TV shows of the 1990′s then you know exactly what I mean by a “Zack Morris Phone”.

Zack Morris and his 1990′s cell phone. Photo courtesy of zomm.com.

And whether you can believe it or not, some people still have these phones tucked away in their closets, shoe boxes, garages, you name it…we know they are out there. Although we understand that you like hanging onto your Zack Morris phones and other old, discarded cell phones, we think that you may just love gorillas and chimpanzees more. For that reason, you should bring your old phone to the Zoo this Saturday, May 18th and recycle it at the main entrance to receive a discounted admission ticket to enter the Zoo that day!

I never thought I would be writing a blog about the conservation of gorillas and chimpanzees and be able to mention Zack Morris, but somehow I did it…and it kind of makes sense.

 

Old Zack Morris Phone + Recycling at the Zoo this Saturday, May 18th (9am-3pm)= Discounted Zoo admission AND helping to save animals in Central and West Africa like chimps and gorillas who suffer from the mining of materials which are in our cell phones.

 

 

By recycling your cell phone this Saturday, May 18th at the Zoo you not only spare a few dollars on your admission into the Zoo to celebrate Endangered Species Day (hey-you could use those extra few bucks to buy yourself a few seasons of Saved by the Bell on DVD…I checked…Amazon has them for $2.03), you also help animals like gorillas and chimps who live in areas of Africa where materials for your cell phone are mined.

Recycled phones! Bring yours to the Zoo on Saturday, May 18th from 9am-3pm and receive a discounted ticket to the Zoo!

By recycling cell phones we lower the number of materials that are taken from gorilla and chimpanzee habitat, which directly helps protect endangered species!

Event in a nutshell:

What: Endangered Species Day-bring your old cell phone to be recycled and receive a discounted admission ticket to the Zoo. One discounted ticket per every phone recycled.

Where: Houston Zoo-Cell phone recycling table in front of main entrance.

Who: Everyone!

When: Saturday, May 18th from 9am-3pm

Why: To save endangered species like gorillas and chimpanzees by recycling cell phones!

 

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May
15

The Houston Zoo is releasing more toads!

Posted by in amphibians,Conservation,Endangered Species,Sending animals back to the wild,Series,Texas

The Houston Zoo has released over 20,000 Houston toads into the wild since we began our reintroduction program in 2007.   We are determined to protect the Houston Toad from extinction!

Four Houston toad egg strands (~12,000+ eggs) that were produced here at the Houston Zoo were released by Texas State this week.

 

Houston toad egg strands

Three of the strands are going to a private landowner and one strand will be headed to the state park. Each egg strand is being placed into a special wire cage to protect the eggs from predation.

Check back for more on how the Houston Zoo helps save animals in the wild! 

For more about this program and to find out how you can help click here .

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May
08

Attwater’s prairie chickens are increasing in numbers at the Houston Zoo

Posted by in Attwater's Prairie Chicken,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Sending animals back to the wild,Series,Texas

Houston Zoo incubators full of Attwater’s prairie chicken eggs

The incubators at the Houston Zoo are full of Attwater’s prairie chicken eggs collected and carefully transported from our facility at the Johnson Space Center. 

The chick nursery is full of peeping Attwater’s chicks!  The first group of the oldest chicks are already old enough to move to their outside accommodations.  They are growing up before our eyes!

 In a few months time all of these chicks will be out in the wild again!

Stay tuned for more on how the Houston Zoo is saving animals in the wild!

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May
08

Hundreds of Houston Zoo Houston toads go back to the wild

Posted by in amphibians,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Sending animals back to the wild,Series,Texas

Toads on their way to the wild!

We have great news to share with you from the Houston toad program! Last month we successfully transferred 634 adult toads to our collaborators at Texas State University. Texas State kept the toads in a large, outdoor holding area for a few days to re-acclimate to natural conditions, then over the course of a week, they were released at a pond at Bastrop State Park.

Hooray! We are in the wild! We will save our species!

We are at the tail-end of Houston toad breeding season, so hopefully these individuals will have an opportunity to “do their thing” at the pond!

Stay tuned for more updates on our efforts to save local species from extinction!

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