Archive for the ‘Endangered Species’ Category

Jun
07

Top 5 Reasons to Attend Bowling for Rhinos

Posted by in African Forest,Conservation,Endangered Species

Written by:  Memory Mays and Tim Junker

I should start by saying there are many more than 5 reasons to go to this year’s Bowling For Rhinos held by the Greater Houston Chapter AAZK.  Not only will there be bowling, but there will also be a silent auction, raffle, free giveaways, and food. All of these things will make it a fun evening, but they are not part of this top five list. No. Those top five spots have been reserved for the last 5 species of rhinos, all of whom are endangered. Let’s go through this list to learn more about rhinos.

  1. The Javan Rhino- This specie is one of three Asian species of rhinos. Right now, there are only 40-50 Javan Rhinos left in the world. They are also called the Lesser One-Horned Rhino because they do, in fact, only have one horn.
  2. The Sumatran Rhino- Estimated to only have about 100 individuals left, this specie originates from Asia. It most closely resembles the extinct Wooly rhino because of the hair that covers their bodies. In the past century, only 4 Sumatran rhinos have been born in captivity.
  3. The Indian Rhino- Also called the Greater One-Horned Rhino. This specie is the only one of the Asian rhinos where conservation has made a noticeable difference. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 200 individuals. However, today they number at about 3,333 rhinos which is still considered a very small number.
  4. The Black Rhino- Numbered at 4,880 individuals, the Black rhino is the more endangered rhino specie in Africa. This number has seen a dramatic decline since 1960 where they were estimated to have 60,000 individuals.
  5. The White Rhino- White Rhinos have the highest population numbers of the 5 rhino species. Currently there are about 20,405 white rhinos. The White rhino is the 2nd largest land mammal and can weigh up to 5,000 pounds! We have three representatives housed at the Houston Zoo who are named Sibindi, Lynne, and Annie Kamariah.

I guess after doing some math I should say that there are at least 28,768 reasons to go to this year’s BFR since every individual rhino has an important part to play in rhino conservation. If you would also like to play a part in rhino conservation and have some fun while doing it, visit www.houstonzoo.org/bowling-for-rhinos to learn more about how you can participate in this year’s Bowling For Rhinos.

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Jun
03

13 Sea Turtles Released into the Wild, 1 from the Houston Zoo Aquarium

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Zoo News

It was a terrible day to have forgotten sunscreen. Galveston bay was calm, the beach was empty, but it was still a terrible day to have forgotten sunscreen…

However, for 13 sea turtles it was a great day(They don’t need sunscreen, but that’s not why). On Friday, May 31, with much help from the NOAA sea turtle folks, 13 sea turtles were returned to the wild. One of the 13 had been rehabilitated by our incredible aquarium team right here at the Houston Zoo.

Sea turtles face many dangers in the wild. Boat propellers, fishing hooks, shrimp nets, and more all pose a serious risk for the sea turtles. Of the 13 that were released, some had been caught by fisherman, some had washed up on shore, and one had a particularly interesting story unlike one we’d ever experienced.
The Houston Zoo received a call from a man who was certain that a sea turtle was living in a small pond in his neighborhood. Because sea turtles are salt water creatures, this was obviously either a big hoax, or a big problem for the turtle. Either way, we had to check it out.

After confirming that a (very sick) green sea turtle was living in the neighborhood pond, NOAA staff picked him up and brought him to the Zoo in order to fully assess his health and probability for survival. During the medical examination, it seemed that he had been subjected to the freshwater pond for a while, and the fact that he was still alive was very surprising. We think that a fisherman might have caught the turtle while fishing in the bay, brought him home to show the kids or family, and then dumped him in the local pond . We must note that we aren’t entirely sure how he ended up in a pond, but this was our best guess.
Back at the Houston Zoo, there were problems. A weak green sea turtle was desperately holding on. The outlook was bleak, but Dr. Joe Flanagan had a plan. He began by adjusting the salinity of the sea turtle’s water to match the blood plasma of that turtle. In doing this, Dr. Joe had established a baseline salinity to work from. By slowly increasing the salinity over a long period of time, he was able to incrementally bring the sea turtle back to a healthy measure of salt water. While we didn’t go as in depth as we’d like to, there was much more veterinary care that went into nursing this green sea turtle back to health.

Fast forward past recovery time, and there we were standing on the beach looking at this beautiful green sea turtle who was about to get a second chance.

We started the day with releasing the green sea turtles into Christmas Bay. Green sea turtles forage in the shallow waters of Christmas Bay. It was time to release the sea turtle from the Houston Zoo aquarium as he was now healthy, and anxious to explore the wild again. We really appreciate all the hard work that our aquarium staff put into helping him! Even some local fisherman stopped to watch the release.

After the greens were safe and back into the water, we took a short drive to the beach where the Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were to be released. This particular species eats crab and other species in the open ocean, so they are better acclimated to be released on the beach.

All 13 turtles were successfully released and looked very strong in the water. We hope that they will go on to live happy lives and create lots of sea turtle babies. Look for more sea turtle information and updates in the future!

 

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May
29

A Houston Toad Success Story!

Posted by in Amphibians,Conservation,Endangered Species

The past three weeks in the Houston toad facility have been a whirlwind of activity. Keepers, veterinary staff, and toads have all been racing the clock to get everything prepared to try to squeeze in a breeding event before the end of Houston toad’s normal breeding season. We are happy to announce that in all we were able to produce ~36,000 Houston toad eggs that have now been released in and around Bastrop State Park.

This marks the first release of eggs from the Houston toad facility. Generally, the survivorship of eggs in the wild is quite low, around 0.01%! However, our collaborators at Texas State University placed the egg strands inside wire cages, termed “predator excluder devices,” to protect the eggs from getting eaten by birds, fish, aquatic invertebrates, and even other amphibians! The eggs will develop and hatch inside the protective wall of these cages. Eventually, the resulting larvae and tadpoles will swim through the wire mesh; however, the cage will be left in the water so the tadpoles can continue to use it as a hiding place.

A graduate researcher from Texas State University is currently monitoring the developing eggs. She has recently observed very large Houston tadpoles hanging around one of the excluder devices from the first batch of eggs released, indicating that they are working and the tadpoles are surviving!

We kept a few of the eggs in the Houston Zoo’s toad facility to grow up to “toadhood” so they can be a part of our captive assurance colony.  These little toads are the offspring of some of our oldest and most “genetically precious” toads that we have here in the facility. Two of the females and three of the males that laid eggs last week are members of the very first group of toads that were brought into the toad program in 2007. We’re so happy that these toads are getting their offspring back into the wild!

Fingers crosses that the egg strands will produce lots of little toadlets that will be chorusing at the Bastrop ponds next year!

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May
23

‘Spotlight on Species’ Chimpanzee

Posted by in African Forest,Chimpanzees,Conservation,Endangered Species,Enrichment: Keeping it Interesting,Primates

Chimpanzees are very intelligent and incredibly resourceful when in comes to creating ways to obtain their food.  Visitors to the Houston Zoo can see an example of this creativity on a daily basis during the 12:30 keeper chat. The chimpanzee exhibit has its very own termite mound replica and guests can watch the chimpanzees modify and use branches to retrieve delicious treats such as yogurt, bananas, or juice .

Lucy fishing at replica termite mound.

Chimpanzees in the wild exhibit a similar behavior by modifying branches to fish for termites. Other examples of tool use by chimpanzees in the wild include modifying branches into spears for hunting small mammals, using rocks to crack nuts, wadding leaves as sponges to soak up water, and bunching leaves and branches to make comfortable nests to sleep in at night.

When visiting the Houston Zoo chimpanzee exhibit, take a second to watch the different techniques the chimpanzees use to ‘fish’ for their treats in the termite mound.  Lucy’s favorite spot is the top of the termite mound. This is prime real estate when it is time to ‘fish.’ It is also a great spot for her to observe guests of the zoo and all their entertaining antics. She usually chews on the end of her branch in order to make it better able to soak up liquids or makes it flatter so that it can scoop more treats out of the tubes.

Willie

 

Willie, the juvenile, has his own unique technique. Instead of modifying his own branch, he usually tries to steal someone else’s already modified tool. If he doesn’t steal the tool, he may sit just next to another chimpanzee and take their delicious treat off the end of their branch before they get a chance to enjoy it.

 

 

 

Let us know your suggestions for what tasty treat to put in the chimpanzees’ termite mound, then stop by on May 25-27 for a ‘Spotlight on Species’ focusing on Chimpanzees to see what they are fishing for that day. The ‘Spotlight on Species’ will be from 10am-3pm and there will be many fun and educational activities to help visitors learn about chimpanzees. You can bring in old cell phones for recycling in exchange for a chimpanzee conservation bracelet. Meet the primate keepers who care for the Houston Zoo’s chimpanzees at 12:30 and 2:30 during a keeper chat.

Apr
22

Free at Last!

Posted by in Amphibians,Behind the Scenes,Endangered Species

We have fantastic news from the Houston toad program! On the morning of Friday, April 12th, we got the call from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that we had been crossing our fingers for – the “go for release” of our Leon county toads! Finally, three years after being collected from the wild as eggs, Red and her friends were finally going home.

This event is the first ever release of adult Houston toads from the Houston Zoo. Animals head-started in the facility are generally only kept a few weeks after metamorphosis and are thereby released as juveniles.  In the case of the Leon county toads, several unfortunate events prevented this particular group from being released after they were reared here at the facility.

The initial phone call from USFWS set off a flurry of events in the toad facility. It is no easy matter to pack up and ship out 600+ adult Houston toads!! With a rain event predicted mid-week, we were scrambling to get the toads out in enough time to give them a chance to acclimate to their new environment. In the world of the toad, rain means breeding, and getting more Houston toads to breed in the wild is one of our leading priorities!

With the help of our Houston toad interns and volunteers, we were able to pack up all of the Leon county toads Saturday afternoon. Dr. Lauren Howard of the Zoo’s veterinary team visually inspected every single toad being shipped out. Wow! I bet the doctors as the medical center can’t say that they’ve seen that many clients in a day!

After their health check-up, the toads were carefully loaded and transported to an outdoor facility outside of Bastrop State Park that is managed by our collaborators at Texas State University. We met up with graduate student Melissa Jones, to move the toads into several large, outdoor tubs where the toads would be allowed to acclimate to outdoor conditions for several days before being released. Melissa will be monitoring the released toads as part of her PhD dissertation work.

Loaded up and ready to go!

As soon as we placed the Leon county toads into these large holding tubs, which were deigned to be half water and half sandy shore (aka perfect toad habitat!) the male toads immediately started to call.  The sound was deafening in the quiet of the evening and honestly brought tears to my eyes. Though I know they were just “doing what toads do,” I would kind of like to think that they were saying “thank you…”

Goodbye and good luck!

 

Moving the Leon county toads to the Texas State facility was just the first stage of the release. To find out about the next step in their journey home, please check out the blog next week!

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Apr
10

Houston Toads: What Are Those Bumps?!

Posted by in Amphibians,Conservation,Endangered Species

One of our Leon county toads, Red, paused chasing crickets for moment for a quick photo op. She is quite the photogenic toad!

Have you noticed in our Houston toad photos the large, lump-like structure behind the eyes? This structure is not a lump or a wart; it is in fact a specialized gland called the parotid gland. This gland is responsible for producing toxins that protect the toad against predators. Different toads produce different toxins of various “strengths.” In general, these toxins are not dangerous to humans; however, the cane toad (Bufo marinus) produces a toxin that can cause some skin irritation. Has your dog ever picked up a toad, then started foaming at the mouth? It is a reaction to these chemicals that the toad hopes will distract the unlucky pup so it will have a chance to get away!

The size and location of the parotoid gland can also be used to tell the difference between different species of toad. A good resource can be found here: Know Your Toads.

Did you know several compounds made by the skin of amphibians, specifically frogs, are currently the focus of a great deal of biomedical research? Several studies have found that many of these compounds have anti-microbial properties which have led some researchers to believe that they might be used to make the next generation of antibiotics. Additionally, a compound produced by the skin of the green-eyed tree frog (Litoria genimaculata) may be able to stop infection by the HIV virus, the virus that causes AIDS.

It is estimated that ~32% of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction.  Who knows what amazing medical breakthrough is waiting to be discovered on the back of a frog or toad? Now more than ever it is critical that we join together to help save these amazing creatures!

 

For more reading:

http://jvi.asm.org/content/79/18/11598.full.pdf+html

http://www.natureserve.org/library/amphibian_fact_sheet.pdf

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Mar
30

Double Point Days in the Naturally Wild Swap Shop

Posted by in Children's Zoo,Chimpanzees,Conservation,Endangered Species,Just for Kids,Primates,Spotlight on Species,Swap Shop,Uncategorized,Wortham World of Primates

How can you get DOUBLE points in the Swap Shop?  We are again offering double points for Nature Journals on the animals in the spotlight at the Houston Zoo. 

Chimpanzee

Nature Journals can be as simple as information on sheets of notebook paper.  They can be as detailed and elaborate as you like – the only limit is your imagination.  But remember, the more work you put into your journal, the more points you will get.  So, do some research and get ready for double points!  Please note that in order to get double points, the journal must be on the animal or animals in the spotlight and brought in the day of the event.

The upcoming Spotlight on the Species are as follows:

April 20 – Bear Awareness Day

May 17 – Endangered Species Day

May 25 – Chimpanzee Spotlight on the Species      

Ring-tailed Lemur

August 31 – Lemur Spotlight on the Species

Need more information on the Naturally Wild Swap Shop?  Click here.

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Mar
22

Exciting News for our Madagascar Big Headed Turtles

Posted by in Conservation,Endangered Species,Zoo News

The Houston Zoo is dedicated to the health of our animals.  An important part of making sure that they remain healthy is by giving physical exams done by our veterinary staff.  Some of our animals are a little more complicated to get to their appointments than others.  Located in Wortham World of Primates in our lemur moat are some critically endangered Madagascar Big-Headed turtles.  To get these aquatic animals, we had to drain the water low enough for us to go in with waders and tall  boots.  Since the turtles like murky water, it can be hard for keepers to see them and capturing them requires quick reflexes.  The primate keepers were able to retrieve all seven turtles in record time.

 

 

 

They were taken in separate tubs to our veterinary clinic where our lead veterinarian, Dr. Joe Flanagan, was able to identify each turtle with a microchip reader.  Each turtle was weighed and measured.  After a thorough physical exam, Dr. Joe was able to give a clean bill of health to all seven turtles.

Not only were the turtles healthy, but the ultrasounds found that all of our females were ovulating properly and radiographs showed that 2 of our females had eggs.  Since the ground is still too cold for the eggs to be able to develop,  the vet induced the females to lay their eggs in the safety of our clinic.  The two females laid a total of 33 eggs!  We have taken those eggs and put them in two separate incubators behind the scenes of our Reptile house.  Each species has very specific temperatures  needed to  incubate eggs.  One incubator is set at 28.5° Celsius (83.3°F) and the other at 30.5° Celsius (86.9°F).  Since we are the first zoo in North America to hatch these turtles and there is very little data about their husbandry and management, it is hard to say exactly how many days it will take for the turtles to hatch, but we will be keeping a hopeful  eye out for emergence starting in May.

Keep a lookout in our lemur exhibit for any nesting activity.  When you are looking at the left bank of the lemur island, look for the special area keepers have made with a mixture of sand and dirt to make it easier for the turtles to dig in.  This is where  last year’s hatchlings  emerged – and we are very eager to have a repeat clutch of eggs laid in the very same spot!

To learn about conservation efforts in the wild, visit the Turtle Survival Alliance.

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These here are wild times for turtlekind...photos of cute baby turtles and how you can help: http://t.co/kpX6N4riA5