Posts Tagged ‘Africa’

Apr
26

A penny saved is a penny earned to save lions!

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Texas,Travel

If you’ve ever had any doubts about the old saying that a penny saved is a penny earned, spend just a few minutes with Lamar Consolidated ISD kindergarten teacher Sharon Baldwin.  The Velasquez Elementary school teacher and her kindergarten class know all about the power of spare change.

On Wednesday, April 17 Ms. Baldwin and her dedicated kindergarten students visited the Houston Zoo to present a check for $1,000 dollars to the Houston Zoo’s Conservation Department, the school’s latest contribution to Cash for Cats, a big cat conservation project. 

 “This year, Velazquez Elementary School students were asked to bring in spare change over a two week period,” said Baldwin.  “My kindergarten class raised the most for this year’s Cash for Cats project and was invited by the Zoo to enjoy a VIP Lion Fun Day celebration,” she added.

 

 

 

The winning Velasquez Elementary School kindergarten students’ got to experience Lion Fun Day crafts and games modeled after Lion Fun Day activities for children in Mozambique.

 

 

 

The kids enjoyed participating in a ‘mango-in-a-spoon’(in Houston we had to use a Cutie orange) race.   The kids in Mozambique were overjoyed with the gift of the spoon for completing the race.  The kids in Houston had no interest in another spoon, but enjoyed the other prizes we provided.

 

 

 

 

The kids in both countries loved making and keeping the beaded necklaces they created!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

And, the kids from both countries love to be creative and get messy finger painting  murals!

The Childern in Mozambique occational glimse lions in the wild, but the Velasquez Elementary School kindergarten students’ got a special experience that is not avaiable to the childern in Mozambique.   They got to gather at the Zoo’s Lion Training Window for a fun and educational Meet the Keeper Talk with lion keepers and a ‘meet and greet’ with the Zoo’s 4 African lions.

Created by Velazquez Elementary School music teacher Donna Fletcher, Cash for Cats has raised $6,000 dollars for the conservation of wild cats. Over the last two years, proceeds from the fund raiser have benefited the Niassa Lion Project. 

The Niassa Lion Project serves to secure and conserve lions and other large carnivores in the Niassa National Reserve in northern Mozambique by promoting the coexistence between carnivores and people and directly mitigating threats.  For more information about the Houston Zoo’s Lion Conservation Campaign and how you can help save lions in the wild, visit the Zoo online at http://www.houstonzoo.org/lionssp/.

By Brian Hill, Houston Zoo’s Director of Public Affairs

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
19

Headed into the Bush in Search of Painted Dogs, by Lisa Marie Avendano, Manager Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition.

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

 Lisa Marie Avendano, Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Manager is in Zimbabwe assisting our wildlife conservation partners at Painted Dog Conservation.

Day 8

Hello All! This will be the final message to you before my return to Houston. The Painted Dog Conservation research team and I are going off the grid and into the bush! We will be camped in the Sinamatella area of the Hwange Region. Several packs range through this area, including the Lukosi pack, thought to have 27 members.  None of the dogs in this region have radio or satellite collars; this will be old fashioned tracking!

Dr. Greg Rasmussen, Painted Dog Conservation’s Director with a traking collar specifically designed for African painted dogs.

 Obviously, this has been an incredible experience for me, and the research team at PDC have acquired some solid parasitology skills. But you may be asking, how does all this help painted dog conservation efforts? PDC founder and Research Director, Dr. Gregory Rasmussen, is working to collect baseline population data for painted dogs in Zimbabwe by sampling scat for DNA, stress and reproductive hormones, prey hair analysis and now, with our recent work, basic parasitology. Talk about making the most use out of a pile of scat!

African painted dog wearing a tracking collar.

The research could answer questions such as: How is the overall genetic condition of the population? Are the dogs getting enough of the prey items they need for good health like kudu and impala? What types of parasites can be found in dogs and are there any seasonal patterns or correlations to changes in reproductive health?

This type of information can provide a more thorough picture of how a population is doing in the wild and if we can better understand the challenges facing a wild population of painted dogs then we can better determine ways to work toward conservation of the species.

Wish me luck in Sinamatella, and see you back in Houston!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
18

New Laboratory Skills for the Research Team at Painted Dog Conservation Zimbabwe. By Lisa Marie Avendano, Manager Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition.

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

Lisa Marie Avendano, Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Manager is in Zimbabwe assisting our wildlife conservation partners at Painted Dog Conservation. 

Day 5

Hello to everyone in the Houston Zoo community! It is Day 5 and I could not be happier with the progress the PDC team has made in such a short time. My students here have a remarkable capacity for learning and an intense drive to attain new skills in the lab. We are continuing with hands on practice for everyone in teams of two. At this point I am talking them through the techniques and answering any questions they may have but otherwise, it is all up to them.

Day 6

Everyday we track dogs with radio collars starting from the rehabilitation center at 6 am and then we head straight back to the lab for processing if there are fresh samples.

The PDC research team is striving to maintain strong standards in the collection and accessioning of painted dog samples.  Here the team came across a fresh painted dog sample on a road near the PDC rehabilitation center early in the morning.

Each of the two field vehicles are equipped with supply boxes that contain the kits needed for careful collection of samples.The team is ready to respond when scat is located and they are working hard on creating an extensive data base.

 Day 7

Today was our final session in the laboratory and a quiz was in order to make sure the students were retaining what they have learned.  Of course, they passed with flying colors and the top score went to Tendai Nekatambe, pictured here wearing her first place prize, a Houston Zoo scrub top.

 

We have had a solid course here at PDC Zimbabwe and I will be leaving the team with some  much needed supplies and resources including a laboratory technician textbook that covers everything we have learned and more. The students and staff here at PDC send many thanks to the Houston Zoo and its employees. They understand that support from the Houston Zoo and the generosity of the Staff Conservation Fund have made this all possible.

 

Stay tuned for one last posting from the field!

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
16

Making Progress at Painted Dog Conservation Zimbabwe By Lisa Marie Avendano, Veterinary Hospital and Animal Manager.

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

Lisa Marie Avendano, Houston Zoo Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Manager is in Zimbabwe assisting our wildlife conservation partners at Painted Dog Conservation. 

Day 3

As I reported in my last update, we did not have success in our first attempt to find parasites, so today we decided to head out in the project vehicles and track dogs early in the morning so we could potentially  find fresh samples.

Thanks to the expert tracking skills of PDC staff member, Jealous Mpofu, we were successful in locating the Kutanga painted dog pack. Unfortunately no fresh scat samples were to be found at that time, but it was my first sighting of a  painted dog pack in the wild and I will never forget it!

And just a short while later we came across very fresh lion scat. And there in the dirt near by were tracks belonging to a lioness and cubs!

Believe or not, the day got even better, when once again we came across the Katunga pack of painted dogs and this time we retrieved a fresh sample. That day in the lab, after processing both the lion and painted dog samples, we had positive results.

The students did an excellent job identifying the  parasites and they were thrilled with their accomplishment, knowing they were on their way to attaining news skills to aid painted dog conservation and research.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
15

Greetings from Painted Dog Country! By Lisa Marie Avendano, Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Manager.

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Staff assisting wildlife protection in the wild,Supporting Painted Dog Conservation,Travel,Uncategorized

Lisa Marie Avendano, Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Manager is in Zimbabwe assisting our wildlife conservation partners at Painted Dog Conservation. 

Day 1

Arrived at Victoria Falls Airport after 1pm and then a two hour drive south to the Hwange National Park area and Painted Dog Conservation. After almost 3 days of travel I needed a good nights’ rest.

 Day 2

Right to work the next morning, after introductions to my new friends and students at the veterinary facility. Check out the solar panels!

The group I am training in the laboratory for parasite procedures is made up of  6 PDC staff members and 3 interns, all eager to learn.

The team has been practicing microscope techniques in anticipation of my arrival and they were ready to get started. We had a disappointing first attempt at finding parasites in a fixed painted dog scat sample but, I assured my pupils that they had nothing to worry about and soon enough we would have positive results as parasites are just a fact of life in wild populations. We spent the rest of the day on reviewing procedures and covering questions.

Even though we found no parasites, this day was still eventful. I visited the rehabilitation center and there, from a distance, I met Aurora a painted dog that will hopefully join a pack in the wild soon.

Looking forward to success on Day 3, so check for new updates soon!

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
11

Preparing to travel to Zimbabwe to assist with African Painted Dogs, by Lisa Marie Avendano

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Doubt and Xmas,Endangered Species,Series,Staff assisting wildlife protection in the wild

Hello again zoo supporters! Houston Zoo Veterinary Manager, Lisa Marie here again and I am about to embark on a great conservation adventure in Africa.

Painted Dog Conservation of Zimbabwe (PDC), established in 1992, has been successfully working toward conservation through direct assistance to dogs, community outreach, conservation education programming, and research. PDC works to stabilize and increase painted dog numbers in the surrounding areas of Hwange National Park, through anti-poaching units, a pack monitoring program and their rehabilitation center with a recent veterinary hospital addition.  Injured or sick painted dogs that would otherwise suffer and die are brought into the rehabilitation center for care and treatment with the intent of returning them as quickly as possible to the wild.

 

In March of 2011, staff from PDC visited the Houston Zoo for training with the veterinary, education, facilities, and carnivore teams to gain knowledge and experience to  take back to their project in Zimbabwe. The Houston Zoo veterinary technicians worked closely with PDC Rehabilitation Facility head keeper, Xmas Mpofu, on an accelerated curriculum that included parasitology, hematology and anesthesia monitoring.

Fast forward to the present and Painted Dog Zimbabwe has reached a milestone with the completion of their new veterinary facility. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Houston Zoo employees who contributed to the Staff Conservation Fund, I will be traveling to the Painted Dog Zimbabwe field site to resume the training for Xmas and other PDC staff members. We will concentrate on parasitology for my visit and I have been hard at work gathering supplies and preparing for the trip.

I am overjoyed and truly honored to represent our Houston Zoo community in Zimbabwe.

Stay tuned for exciting updates from the field!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Apr
11

Staff Conservation Fund Project for African Painted Dogs, by Lisa Marie Avendano

Posted by in community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Series,Staff assisting wildlife protection in the wild

Hello everyone! My name is Lisa Marie Avendano and I manage the Veterinary Hospital and Animal Nutrition Department here at the Houston Zoo.

You may have heard about the Staff Conservation Fund managed by a committee comprised of various departments at the Houston Zoo. Every year zoo employees can donate to the fund and four times a year employees can apply for funding to support a wide variety of conservation efforts. The specific criteria is set by a staff committee and this past year a Program Enhancement component was outlined within the application process. As a member of the Houston Zoo Veterinary Department, I recognized a special opportunity to provide enhancement to our partners in the field at Painted Dog Conservation Zimbabwe (PDC). Our friends and colleagues at PDC have shown incredible commitment and dedication to saving painted dogs in the wild and when news came that their veterinary facility was near completion, I knew I wanted to help in any way possible.

The Houston Zoo Veterinary staff includes 4 veterinarians, 4 veterinary technicians, 4 keepers and 3 administrative positions. As the manager, every day I see the remarkable skill and hard work that goes into providing veterinary care to the amazing animal collection at the Houston Zoo. These photos show our team in action during the last set of routine exams for our own painted dogs.


As a former keeper and technician at the veterinary hospital, and now the manager, I felt that my skills and experience would be a great fit for enhancing the Painted Dog Conservation Zimbabwe veterinary program. I applied to the Staff Conservation Fund in November and was awarded funding to assist PDC with setting up the laboratory at their new facility.

I am counting down the days until I leave for Zimbabwe!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Mar
29

Guest blogger Mary Kate Kunzinger reporting on how the Ruaha Carnivore Project is saving lions

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Uncategorized

The Ruaha Carnivore Project, based in southern Tanzania, is located around Ruaha National Park where the world’s second largest lion population lives, making it critically important to lion conservation. It is also home to African Painted dogs, cheetahs, leopards, and spotted hyaenas, all of whom’s populations’ are decreasing. Despite the importance of the area to many carnivore species, it has been overlooked in conservation research. This, along wit human-wildlife conflicts in local villages, led to the creation of the Ruaha Carnivore Project in 2009.

Their mission has two main points: to collect data and conduct research on the wildlife in the area to create more effective conservation strategies and to help local communities to reduce human-carnivore conflict through training and support.

The Ruaha Carnivore Project collects data through camera trapping and direct sightings. Carnivore sighting are reported by anyone in the area, such as National Park staff, tourists, are villagers. Camera trappings are a way to not only become aware of what animals are in an area but to see and identify individual animals. Camera traps work through motion sensing. When an animal walks past, the camera is triggered. Camera traps are becoming common in conservation in many areas around the world. They are incredibly interesting and a great way to learn about animals in the wild. They also make for some interesting photography.

The second part of Ruaha Carnivore Project’s mission is to reduce human-carnivore conflict. So what exactly is human-carnivore conflict? The most common type in the area happens when carnivores kill livestock, an important part of the villager’s livelihood, and villagers kill the carnivore in retaliation or to stop it from attacking again.

Ruaha Carnivore Project sought to find a solution to this problem by speaking with villagers about what would work for them. A solution that they have found to reduce these conflicts is twofold: to reduce the costs of carnivores and to help villagers benefit from carnivore presence. To reduce the costs of carnivores, multiple methods have been applied, including dogs to guard livestock, noisemakers to scare carnivores away, and helping to fortify livestock enclosures against carnivore attacks. If carnivores can’t get to the livestock, they are less likely to come near the village.

 

Ruaha Carnivore Project has also developed initiatives to help villagers benefit from the presence of lions. They are working with outside partners to improve education and healthcare in the areas surrounding the project. An interesting project is the Kids 4 Cats, an initiative where schools around the world can partner with a local school to help supply education resources such as textbooks. Just recently, Ruaha Carnivore Project announced their Simba Scholars Class of 2017. This is a group of six students who, through the support of sponsors, have received four year scholarships to a secondary school. This is an amazing opportunity that they probably would not have had without the support of the Ruaha Carnivore Project.

The Ruaha Carnivore Project is incredibly important to both the wildlife and people in the areas surrounding Ruaha National Park. Visit the Lion SSP website here to learn more and find out how you can help this project!

 

 

You can learn even more about the Ruaha Carnivore Project firsthand from the director of the project, Amy Dickman. She will be at the Houston Zoo on Tuesday, April 9 as a part of the Call of the Wild Speaker Series. For more information on this event and to RSVP click here. 

Ending this on an adorable note, here is a picture of an adorable lion drinking, caught by a camera trap

[

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Feb
27

Update on how Rhinos are doing in the wild

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Uncategorized

The following is a news update from IUCN about the status of rhinos in the wild.

Nearly 2,400 rhinos have been poached across Africa since 2006, slowing the population growth of both African rhino species to some of the lowest levels since 1995, according to the latest facts revealed by IUCN experts.

Rhino poaching increased by 43% between 2011 and 2012, representing a loss of almost 3% of the population in 2012, according to IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) African Rhino Specialist Group. Experts predict that if poaching continues to increase at this rate, rhino populations could start to decline in less than two years’ time.

“Well-organized and well-funded crime syndicates are continuing to feed the growing black market with rhino horn,” says Mike Knight, Chairman of the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group, a group of rhino experts within IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. “Over the past few years, consumer use of rhino horn has shifted from traditional Asian medicine practices to new uses, such as to convey status. High levels of consumption – especially the escalating demand in Viet Nam – threaten to soon reverse the considerable conservation gains achieved over the last two decades.”

There are currently 5,055 Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and 20,405 White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Africa. Although these numbers have increased slightly over the last two years, there is no room for complacency. In 2012, at least 745 rhinos were poached throughout Africa – the highest number in two decades – with a record 668 rhinos killed in South Africa alone. In 2013, one rhino has been lost to poaching every 11 hours since the beginning of the year – a rate that is higher than the average for 2012.

Illegal trade in rhino horn is coordinated by well-organized criminal syndicates which transport the horns primarily to Viet Nam and China. Mozambique has also been identified as a key driver of poaching activities, with poachers making cross-border raids into the South African Kruger National Park, home to the world’s largest rhino population. Mozambique is also a major transit point for illegal horn to Asia.

IUCN experts call upon the international community – especially the key consumer and transit states such as Viet Nam, China and Mozambique – to urgently address the crisis by strengthening and enforcing regional and international trade laws, particularly in relation to rhino horn.

“The rhino community is encouraged by the signing of a recent Memorandum of Understanding between South Africa and Viet Nam to address the rhino poaching epidemic as well as other conservation issues,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. “However, it needs to be reinforced with tangible government action on both sides. International and regional collaboration needs to be strengthened, as does sharing of information, intelligence and expertise to address wildlife crime issues.”

Updated facts on the rhino crisis come on the eve of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that will take place from 3 to 14 March in Bangkok, Thailand. Illegal rhino horn trade will be one of the many issues discussed at the meeting.

Tags: , , ,
Feb
22

Guest Blogger Mary Kate Kunzinger, The Houston Zoo is finding more ways to save lions!

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,What You Can Do

The Houston Zoo is getting ready to launch an awesome new webpage devoted entirely to lions! The Lion SSP Conservation Campaign webpage focuses on awareness of the issues lions face in the wild and how you can help. This conservation campaign is a joint effort between the Houston Zoo, the Denver Zoo and the AZA Lion Species Survival Plan (SSP).

 

So what is an SSP and for that matter was is the AZA? The AZA, which stands for Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is a nonprofit organization in charge of the accreditation of zoos and aquariums in the United States. To be a part of the AZA, zoos or aquariums must excel in the areas of conservation, education, science and recreation.

SSPs, also known as Species Survival Plans, are a part of the conservation mission of the AZA. SSPs are long-term conservation plans that focus on the survival of threatened and endangered species. They are a way of organizing a comprehensive survival plan that all AZA member institutions can follow.

 SSPs do not just strive for species survival in captivity, but in the wild as well. That is where this new webpage comes in. The Lion SSP Conservation Campaign webpage offers a place of learning and of action. Its sleek, easy to navigate set up offers an overview of issues facing the future of lion populations in the wild, as well as six programs working towards the lion’s survival. If you want to learn more about any of the programs, the webpage offers a link to either the program’s website or Facebook page if they have one. You can also follow the link to the Lion SSP Facebook page. I highly recommend following these groups on Facebook, it is an easy way to learn more and to be a part of conservation every day! It also puts you into contact with conservation professionals in the field. Plus pictures of awesome lions will show up in your newsfeed!

 

To celebrate the launch of the webpage, we are doing a series of blogs, each focused on one of the six projects featured on the Lion SSP Conservation Campaign. The blog posts will be done in reverse alphabetical order, because why is it fair that the beginning of the alphabet always gets to go first. The programs to be featured are: Ruaha Carnivore Project, Niassa Lion Project, Living with Lions, Lion Guardians, Ewaso Lion Project, and African People and Wildlife Fund’s Big Cat Conservation Initiative.

 

As we feature each program, you will notice that the projects have the unifying theme of empowering communities to care about lion survival and to take action to protect lions. Keep this in mind while reading these blogs and be thinking of how you can take action in your own community. On the last blog, leave a comment with how you can protect the amazing animals in our area. It doesn’t have to be a big action, because little actions add up!

Happy lion learning!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Older Posts »