topic: Zoos

topic: Zoos

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On foot and by drone, radio tracking helps rehabilitate pangolins in Vietnam
- Conservation NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife is employing radio tracking to follow rehabilitated pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, even in difficult terrain and when the animals burrow underground.
- Tracking these pangolins on foot and using a novel radio telemetry drone has not only allowed the organization to assess the survival of released pangolins, but also improved the team’s knowledge of the secretive animals’ behaviors and habitat needs.
- However, this radio-tracking work is vulnerable to funding challenges, as the expectation that conservation work result in published papers can make it difficult to find long-term funding for basic equipment like radio tags.

Spotted softshell turtle release boosts reptile conservation in Vietnam
- The rewilding of 50 captive-bred spotted softshell turtles has sparked hope among conservationists for the future of the rare and threatened species in Vietnam, a country where softshell turtles are widely considered a culinary delicacy.
- Described by scientists as recently as 2019, the species is considered critically endangered throughout its range in China and Southeast Asia due to hunting for human consumption and habitat loss.
- The reintroduction of the young turtles is the first rewilding of offspring reared at a dedicated turtle conservation breeding facility in northern Vietnam to safeguard Vietnam’s rare and threatened amphibian and reptile species.
- Turtle conservationists say that while it will be a long and perilous road to recovery for the species in Vietnam amid persistent threats, the work to preserve the species is a positive step toward changing people’s view of freshwater turtles as primarily a food item and curbing hunting pressure not only on this species, but many others as well.

Impunity for Cambodia’s exotic pet owners as trade outpaces legislation
- High-profile interventions by Cambodia’s former leader and weak legislation have allowed the illegal wildlife trade to persist largely in the open.
- The case of a gas station menagerie in western Cambodia is emblematic of the ease with which even endangered species can be bought and sold.
- The collection, owned by a police officer, includes cockatoos from Indonesia, marmosets and parakeets from South America, and a native gibbon.
- Authorities said they were aware of the collection, but were “following the format” set in the wake of their 2023 seizure of peacocks from a breeder, which culminated in them having to return the birds after then-prime minister Hun Sen criticized their actions.

Conservation success leaves Nepal at a loss for dealing with ‘problem tigers’
- Nepal’s success in tiger conservation has come at the cost of rising human-tiger conflict, prompting the government to capture “problem tigers” deemed to pose a threat to human life.
- But the government has no definitive plans for these tigers, of which there are 18 currently in captivity, costing the environment ministry nearly $100,000 a year just to feed.
- Various stakeholders have proposed a range of solutions, from sport hunting that would also generate revenue, to establishing rescue centers, to gifting the tigers to foreign zoos, to even simply culling them.
- The country’s environment minister, criticized for the sport hunting proposal, has spoken out against the prioritization of conservation at the expense of local communities’ increasingly urgent safety concerns.

For Vietnam’s rare reptiles, lack of captive populations may spell doom
- As an epicenter of biodiversity, Vietnam hosts a wide array of reptile species. But new research shows that many species that occur nowhere else on the planet are poorly known and lacking protection.
- The researchers also found that many of Vietnam’s rarest species are absent from the world’s zoo collections and conservation breeding programs, risking their disappearance forever should their wild populations collapse.
- They call on conservationists and authorities to focus on conservation measures to protect the country’s most vulnerable reptiles, including establishing assurance populations that could be used in the future to repopulate areas of wild habitat from which they have been lost.

Sumatran tiger arrives at Tacoma captive-breeding program
- A male Sumatran tiger has arrived at a captive-breeding program in Tacoma, Washington state, where it’s hoped more of the critically endangered cats will be born.
- Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers survive in the wilds of Sumatra today, where forest loss is pushing many of the island’s species, including tigers, into smaller pockets of habitat.
- This article was produced in collaboration with McClatchy News.

Thai zoos come under scrutiny again as tourism rebounds from COVID-19
- The welfare of rare and often threatened species in Thailand’s tourism and pet trades has long been a concern for animal rights activists.
- The conditions in which many of the animals are kept became even direr during the COVID-19 pandemic, when border shutdowns meant no visitor revenue to care for the animals.
- NGOs are working to rescue and rehabilitate some of the animals from zoos and private owners, but acknowledge that few, if any, of the animals can ever be released back into the wild.
- They add that rescue and rehabilitation is only part of the solution, and that more focus should go on protecting the natural environment and habitats of these animals over the long term.

Thai tourism elephants are ‘far better off’ in forests: Q&A with photographer Adam Oswell
- Following the collapse of tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of Thailand’s 2,700 captive elephants used for tourism trekked back to rural villages alongside their keepers, where it was hoped they could forage naturally.
- Two years later, international visitors are beginning to return to the country and a new tourism model is emerging in locations where community-managed forests are available to the elephants.
- Under the new model, elephants are granted access to community forests, where they can forage and explore their natural behaviors. Meanwhile, tourists keen to learn about elephants in a natural setting are beginning to visit, enabling people in the villages to generate income.
- Adam Oswell, a photographer who has been documenting wildlife trade and protection in Asia for more than 20 years, spoke with Mongabay recently about his work documenting these projects and the fate of Thailand’s tourism elephants.

Tiger and bear rescue spotlights captive wildlife tourism woes in Thailand
- After two years of closed borders and little tourism revenue, many captive wildlife facilities around the world are struggling.
- Phuket Zoo in Thailand recently closed down permanently, but rehoming its 11 tigers and two bears has proved a challenge.
- A local nonprofit, Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, has stepped in to undertake the largest single rescue of tigers in the country’s history, and has so far transferred one female tiger to its rescue center.
- Animal welfare experts say the situation highlights the perils of overreliance on tourism and are calling on the government to place better controls on breeding animals in captivity.

Indonesia investigates alleged abuse of Sumatran tigers at city zoo
- Indonesian conservation authorities have launched an investigation into alleged abuse of Sumatran tigers at a municipal zoo in North Sumatra province.
- The zoo’s tigers appear emaciated, with their bones protruding, raising concerns that they’re being underfed.
- The zoo management has denied the allegation, saying one of its tigers was ill while the others were healthy and properly fed.
- Zoos in Indonesia are notorious for their negligence, mismanagement and corruption, with animals dying of malnutrition or ill treatment, or sold off into the illegal wildlife trade.

Sri Lanka zoo lion contracts COVID-19 as reports of animal infections rise
- Thor, an 11-year-old lion at Sri Lanka’s national zoo, has been isolated after PCR tests showed he was infected with COVID-19.
- Several lions at zoos in neighboring India have also reportedly contracted the virus, with at least two dying.
- In the case of Thor, zoo authorities in Sri Lanka suspect the lion contracted the virus from a zookeeper; subsequent tests showed a gardener at the zoo had COVID-19.
- With the increasing threat of COVID-19 impacting both wild and farm animal populations, Sri Lanka is monitoring suspected cases of animal deaths.

Do we love elephants enough to let them live free? (commentary)
- A prime attraction for zoos and circuses, elephants make an impression with their playfulness, intelligence, and docile nature despite extraordinary strength.
- But a reluctance to retire elephants to sanctuaries, plus captive breeding efforts and importation of wild animals to places like the U.S. all reveal an industry devoted to keeping elephants captive permanently.
- At a time when the world has watched a herd of wild elephants wander across China looking for a new home, the question of whether we love elephants enough to let them live free gains added meaning.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

‘Conservation litigation’ tries to put a true price on wildlife crime
- An international team of experts says it’s possible to sue environmental and wildlife offenders for the damage they inflict upon ecosystems and biodiversity and seek compensation to help restore what has been lost.
- Several countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mexico, already have legislation that allows for this “conservation litigation,” experts say.
- There have also been several successful civil lawsuits in which environmental offenders have had to provide compensation for ecological restoration.
- However, conservation litigation is not commonly used due to a lack of understanding about its feasibility, and the difficulties of coming up with defensible, scientifically robust remedies for environmental and wildlife crimes — but experts say they hope this litigation is used more frequently in the future.

Life and new limbs: Creative thinking, 3D printers save injured wildlife
- Prosthetics for injured animals are becoming increasingly possible and accessible thanks to 3D printing. Historically, artificial devices for wildlife have been expensive and very time-consuming to produce. 3D printing is changing that calculus by making it easier to design and build better-fitting prosthetics.
- A team of dedicated caregivers with vision, creativity and persistence is often the common thread that is key to helping injured animals.
- While 3D printing of animal prosthetics allows for multiple iterations that helps improve the device so that the animal can function more normally, size and materials can limit their use.
- Today, the use of 3D printers to aid animals is expanding beyond prosthetics, with veterinary anesthesia masks for small primates and other experimental uses being tried.

First COVID-19 cases in zoo gorillas raise alarm about wild populations
- Gorillas at San Diego Zoo in California have tested positive for COVID-19, the first cases of the novel coronavirus infecting great apes.
- Gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans share more than 95% of the human genome and are known to be at risk from certain human diseases.
- Zoo authorities said an asymptomatic staff member might have infected the gorillas.
- The news is likely to send alarm bells ringing, especially in Africa, home to the only wild populations of gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos.

A mysterious heart bone in chimps points to cardiac disease
- Chimpanzees and other great apes are widely afflicted by heart disease; three-quarters of chimps that die in captivity have been found to suffer from heart disease, and up to 90% of captive chimps could have it.
- Using high-resolution 3D imaging, a team of researchers discovered that some chimp hearts contain a tiny bone known as an os cordis.
- Researchers do not yet know how, or why, the bone forms in chimps, but it appears to be more prevalent in those with heart disease.
- Researchers hope this finding will help conservationists keep captive chimps healthy, and increase broader knowledge of chimpanzee pathology.

Kaavan, a Sri Lankan elephant living in captivity in a Pakistani zoo to be set free
- In a historic move, the Islamabad High Court has ruled that Kaavan, a Sri Lankan elephant given to Pakistan’s Islamabad Zoo 35 years ago, be relocated to a sanctuary in Cambodia due to the zoo’s poor conditions and the impact on the elephant’s welfare.
- Elephants are social animals that live in herds in the wild. Animal rights groups have criticized the conditions in which they are kept in captivity, leading to renewed calls for both improved living conditions in zoos and, more broadly, an end to the practice of holding them in captivity.
- Back in Sri Lanka, Kaavan’s home country, experts have raised concern about the welfare of captive elephants, as they are often chained, controlled with bull hooks and not properly managed in general.

Indonesia resumes release of captive wildlife amid COVID-19
- Indonesia has allowed the release of captive animals back in to the wild to continue, after freezing the activity to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus to wildlife populations.
- Orangutan rescue centers in Indonesia have welcomed the decision as they struggle with crowded facilities and rising operational costs.
- But the centers say they won’t release any orangutans anytime soon, as the great apes are likely vulnerable to the coronavirus.
- Experts have recommended that the apes also undergo COVID-19 testing prior to being released back into the wild.

For Indonesia’s captive wildlife, lockdown measures may prove deadly
- Zoos have been shuttered and wildlife rehabilitation centers barred from releasing animals into the wild as a result of measures imposed in Indonesia to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Without revenue from visitor fees, zoos in the country, long notorious for the egregious conditions in which they keep the animals, are looking at the possibility of killing some of their animals to feed the others.
- Wildlife rehab centers, which mostly care for orangutans and other apes, have been ordered to keep taking in rescued animals but not to release them for fear of spreading the virus to wild populations.
- This has raised concerns about overcrowding at rescue centers, many of which are also under financial pressure as donations decline.

Flamingos form lasting friendships, a new study finds
- Flamingos, like humans, form social bonds that can last for years and appear to be important for survival in the wild, a new study shows.
- Researchers studying the bird’s social interactions at a captive center in the U.K. found they tended to make long-standing friendships rather than loose, random connections.
- In addition to the friends they tend to “hang out” with, flamingos also actively avoid some individuals.
- The findings could prove useful in managed breeding programs, to ensure that bonded flamingos aren’t separated from each other.

First known case of tiger contracting COVID-19 at Bronx Zoo
- A Malayan tiger housed at Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for COVID-19.
- Four tigers and three African lions showed symptoms of the disease, which they likely contracted from an asymptomatic caretaker, who had COVID-19.
- There are a handful of cases of pets getting infected from their owners who had the disease but there is no evidence of these animals transmitting the virus to humans.
- The rapid spread of the virus has sparked concerns about humans infecting other wildlife populations, especially great apes that are susceptible to human diseases because they share more than 95% of genetic material with humans.

Rare baby Chinese pangolin born to rescued mom makes surprise debut at Vietnam sanctuary [VIDEO]
- For the first time ever, a baby Chinese pangolin was born in a captive environment at the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) facility near Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.
- SVW released a video of the pangolin mother and her son this week leading up to World Pangolin Day on Feb. 15.
- Chinese pangolins are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List; pangolins are the world’s most trafficked animals, a trade driven by demand from East Asia for their flesh and scales.
- The surprise baby is a huge win for SVW, indicating that its captive environment is suitable for its pangolins, rescued from traffickers, to have a healthy pregnancy, birth, and home to rear their young — all important steps for a successful breeding program.

Europe’s ‘ruthless’ animal attractions: Q & A with filmmaker Aaron Gekoski
- While Asia’s wildlife tourism industry is often critiqued in the media, similarly troubling European attractions featuring large animals go largely unreported.
- Mongabay interviewed Aaron Gekoski who, with filmmaker Will Foster-Grundy, traveled around France, Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic observing animal attractions.
- Wolves, bears, tigers, rhinos, and even hippos and zebras were observed in very small and makeshift enclosures, while being made to perform tricks for tourists.

Tree-planting programs turn to tech solutions to track effectiveness
- Governments and organizations around the world have carried out massive tree-planting initiatives, but to date there’s been no reliable way to track how effective these programs have been.
- Now, some groups are embracing cutting-edge technology solutions such as QR codes, drone surveillance and blockchain to keep tabs on every tree planted.
- But they also recognize the importance of bringing local communities on board to improve the effectiveness of these efforts, and the need for old-fashioned field surveys to complement the high-tech monitoring methods.

Audio: Damian Aspinall on why he’s calling for zoos to be phased out within the next three decades
- On today’s episode, we speak with Damian Aspinall, chairman of the Aspinall Foundation, a UK charity that works to conserve endangered animals and return them to the wild.
- Back in June of this year we welcomed Jim Breheny onto the Mongabay Newscast. Breheny is director of the Bronx Zoo in New York City, and he told me that zoos not only preserve species for the future but support field work to protect species in the wild, as well, and for that reason are vital to wildlife conservation today.
- Aspinall does not agree that zoos are important for conservation of wild species. In fact, he argues that keeping animals in captivity in zoos is cruel, inhumane — and unnecessary. He appears on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast to discuss why he is calling for all zoos around the world to be closed down within the next 30 years, and how he says the work of preserving rare and endangered species could be better accomplished by in situ conservation interventions.

At India’s Assam Zoo, decades of experience lead to rhino-breeding success
- Assam State Zoo in northeastern India has been breeding greater one-horned rhinos in captivity since the 1960s.
- However, until 2011 the country lacked a formal, nationally coordinated program dedicated to maintaining a viable captive population of the species, which is considered by the IUCN to be vulnerable to extinction due to poaching.
- India launched an official captive-breeding initiative in 2011. One calf has already been born at the Assam Zoo as part of the program, and another is on the way. An additional six have been born in the Patna Zoo in India’s Bihar state.

Audio: Bronx Zoo director says zoos are more relevant to conservation than ever
- On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast we speak with Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo in New York City, about the contributions zoos make to the cause of global biodiversity conservation.
- Breheny is well aware that a large contingent of the population questions the relevance of zoos in the 21st century. But he says that, as mankind’s influence extends ever farther and habitat for wildlife continues to shrink, zoos are more relevant than ever, as they preserve for the future the diversity of species who share the planet with us today.
- On today’s episode of the Newscast, Breheny tells us about the evolution of zoos and aquariums that he’s witnessed over his 40-plus-year career; how zoos not only preserve species for the future but support field work to protect species in the wild, as well; and about his experience attempting to tell the story of zoos through the Animal Planet TV show ‘The Zoo.’

Sumatran tiger killed at London Zoo by potential mate
- Melati, a 10-year-old female Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), was killed Feb. 8 at ZSL London Zoo when she was introduced to a 7-year-old male called Asim.
- Asim had been transferred from Denmark as part of the European Endangered Species Programme, a captive-breeding program.
- The two tigers had been kept in separate but adjacent paddocks for 10 days before zookeepers opened the door between them on the morning of Feb. 8.
- Scientists believe that fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers live on their namesake Indonesian island.

Latam Eco Review: Hungry manatees and grand theft tortoise

The recent top stories from our Spanish-language service, Mongabay Latam, concerned hungry manatees in Venezuelan zoos; giant tortoises stolen from the Galápagos Islands; and a ban on free, prior and informed consent in Colombian extractive projects. Venezuelan zoos struggle to feed their animals Venezuela’s ongoing economic crisis is affecting the ability of researchers and zoo […]
Zoos: Why a revolution is necessary to justify them (insider)
- Jeremy Hance writes about zoos.
- You and I and all of us are the reason these animals sit behind glass or bars; we are the reason only a fraction of their habitat remains; we are the reason they have been driven to almost nothing and may very well, sooner than we can imagine, be extinct and gone, forever cast from existence.
- What right do we have to this authority? And what right do zoos have to exist, if not to show us our illusion of mastery, our waste of creation, and our responsibility to make it right — as right as it can be?
- This is an insider story. To read, please become a member.

The rhino reckoning
- The Sumatran rhino captive-breeding program caught 40 rhinos from 1984 to 1995. To date, the program has produced five calves.
- Some view these figures as evidence of a colossal failure. Others point to the births achieved as proof of the program’s eventual success.
- Momentum has been growing to relaunch efforts to capture wild rhinos. The most significant step yet was the September announcement of a new initiative dubbed the Sumatran Rhino Rescue.

The great rhino U-turn
- As the 20th century drew to a close the Sumatran rhino captive breeding program, launched in 1984, had yet to produce a single calf.
- Home to the last two Sumatran rhinos in the United States, the Cincinnati Zoo made several key discoveries about the species’ reproductive behavior, including the fact that females only ovulate when they have contact with males.
- Andalas, the first Sumatran rhino bred in captivity in more than a century, was born in Cincinnati in 2001. This success, and the subsequent birth of four other calves, has led to a re-evaluation of the program as a whole.
- Now, attention is turned to breeding centers in the rhinos’ original habitat as the future of captive breeding efforts.

A herd of dead rhinos
- An agreement to launch a captive breeding program was brokered in 1984. By 1985, key participants began pulling out, including the Malaysian state of Sabah.
- Despite the setbacks, efforts to capture rhinos quickly got up and running. Keeping the animals healthy proved to be a much greater challenge.
- By 1995, nearly half of the 40 rhinos caught were dead, and none of them had successfully bred in captivity.

1984: the meeting that changed everything for Sumatran rhinos
- A 1984 agreement between zoos, conservationists and government officials marked the formal beginning of an international program that brought 40 Sumatran rhinos into captivity in an attempt to ward off extinction. Within 11 years, the program collapsed.
- The program was long viewed as an epic failure due to high mortality rates and the lack of live births for over a decade; it also paved the way for later breeding successes that just may offer the Sumatran rhino hope for the future.
- As conservationists mull a new plan to capture more rhinos, what lessons do past efforts offer?

How a better understanding of psychopathology in captive primates can aid in conservation efforts
- Maya Kummrow, a doctor of veterinary medicine, writes in a paper recently published in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine that non-human primates have been used as models of human psychopathology — the study of mental illness — for decades. But, she notes, “the acquired knowledge has only hesitantly been applied to primates themselves.”
- In the paper, Kummrow states that she is seeking to raise awareness among her fellow veterinarians about the wealth of information on NHP psychopathology that is available in human medicine and anthropology literature and calls for “mental health assessments and professionally structured treatment approaches” in NHP medicine, as well.
- In this Q&A, Mongabay spoke with Kummrow about how her review of the literature on NHP psychopathology and treatment might apply to primate conservation efforts.

Puan, the world’s oldest Sumatran orangutan, dies at 62
- Puan, the world’s oldest living Sumatran orangutan, was euthanized on June 18 at Perth Zoo in Australia due to age-related complications.
- Her death left an incredible legacy of 11 children and a total of 54 descendants across the world, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the global Sumatran orangutan zoo population.
- Due to her genetic legacy, Puan played a vital role in ensuring the survival of the species, which has been categorized as critically endangered.

Venezuela’s hungry hunt wildlife, zoo animals, as economic crisis grows
- Venezuela is suffering a disastrous economic crisis. With inflation expected to hit 13,000 percent in 2018, there has been a collapse of agricultural productivity, commercial transportation and other services, which has resulted in severe food shortages. As people starve, they are increasingly hunting wildlife, and sometimes zoo animals.
- Reports from the nation’s zoos say that animals are emaciated, with keepers sometimes forced to feed one form of wildlife to another, just to keep some animals alive. There have also been reports of mammals and birds being stolen from zoo collections. Zoos have reached out to Venezuelans, seeking donations to help feed their wild animals.
- The economic crisis makes scientific data gathering difficult, but a significant uptick in the harvesting of Guiana dolphin, known locally as tonina, has been observed. The dolphin is protected from commercial trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
- The grisly remains of hunted pink flamingos have been found repeatedly on Lake Maracaibo. Also within the estuary, there has also been a rise in the harvesting of sea turtle species, including the vulnerable leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and the critically endangered hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Pangolins on the brink as Africa-China trafficking persists unabated
- Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, with more than a million snatched from the wild in the past decade, according to IUCN estimates. The four Asian species have been hunted nearly to extinction, while the four African species are being poached in record numbers.
- The illegal trade largely goes to China and other East Asian nations, where pangolin meat is an expensive delicacy served to flaunt wealth and influence. Pangolin is also a preferred ingredient in traditional medicine in Asia and Africa. Traditional healers in Sierra Leone use pangolin to treat 59 medical conditions, though there is no evidence of efficacy.
- In 2016, pangolins were given the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a multilateral treaty signed by 183 nations. But laws and enforcement in African nations, along illegal trade routes, and in Asia continue to be weak, with conservationists working hard to strengthen them.
- Pangolins don’t thrive in captivity, but the Tikki Hywood Foundation in Zimbabwe and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife have succeeded in rescuing confiscated pangolins and restoring them to the wild. Six U.S. zoos are trying to raise pangolins as part of the controversial Pangolin Consortium project — only 29 of 45 imported individuals remain alive.

‘Monumental’ bust in Madagascar triggers effort to save thousands of endangered tortoises
- Authorities discovered 9,888 starving and dehydrated radiated tortoises in a vacant house in southwestern Madagascar on April 10.
- Since then, a team of organizations led by the Turtle Survival Alliance has been working to provide care for the critically endangered tortoises, 574 of which died during the first week.
- The tortoises, endemic to Madagascar, have lost around 40 percent of their habitat to deforestation, and poachers commonly capture them for the pet trade in Asia and the United States.

Animal trainers are teaching wildlife to conserve themselves
- Positive training helps pets and their owners bond. But animal trainers working to conserve wildlife often have the opposite goal: teaching animals in the wild to avoid human beings — people often being the most dangerous creatures in the jungle.
- Wildlife kept in zoos have been trained with rewards to accept unnatural processes, procedures that previously might have required restraint or even anesthesia: allowing tooth brushing, hoof trimming, injections and blood draws — turning once alien actions into positive experiences for the captive animals.
- Animal trainers decades ago learned to train dolphins without having physical contact with the animals. More recently, a chimpanzee troop in Sierra Leone was taught to scream alarm in unison when poachers approached, alerting nearby rangers to come to the rescue — achieving an 80 percent decrease in poaching.
- Trainers have taught captive bred condors how to be more like wild condors, seeking food within their natural habitat and not congregating in towns. They’ve also taught polar bears to avoid anything associated with humans, preventing the bears from raiding trash cans and significantly decreasing wildlife conflicts.

‘Photo Ark’ a quest to document global biodiversity: Q&A with photographer Joel Sartore and director Chun-Wei Yi
- The film “RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark” follows National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore as he travels the world snapping pictures of thousands of different animal species.
- In the last 12 years, Sartore has photographed nearly 8,000 species.
- “RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark” was named Best Conservation Film at the New York WILD Film Festival.

Baby photos of 10 of the world’s rarest turtles from the zoo trying to save them
- This photo essay comes via Mongabay’s partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wild View blog.
- Once a month we’ll publish a contribution from Wild View that highlights an animal species or group.
- This month, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Don Boyer, Avishai Shuter, and Julie Larsen Maher write about endangered turtles and tortoises WCS is trying to save.
- All photos by Julie Larsen Maher, head photographer for WCS.

U.S. zoos learn how to keep captive pangolins alive, helping wild ones
- The Pangolin Consortium, a partnership between six U.S. zoos and Pangolin Conservation, an NGO, launched a project in 2014 which today houses fifty White-bellied tree pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis).
- Common knowledge says that pangolins are almost impossible to keep alive in captivity, but the consortium has done basic research to boost survival rates, traveling to Africa and working with a company, EnviroFlight, to develop a natural nutritious insect-derived diet for pangolins in captivity.
- While some conservationists are critical of the project, actions by the Pangolin Consortium have resulted in high captive survival rates, and even in the successful breeding of pangolins in captivity.
- The Pangolin Consortium is able to conduct basic research under controlled conditions at zoos on pangolin behavior and health – research that can’t be done in the wild. Zoos can also present pangolins to the public, educating about their endangered status, improving conservation funding.

First vaquita ‘rescued’ in bid to save the porpoise from extinction
- A project to save a small, critically endangered porpoise called the vaquita in the Gulf of California succeeded in capturing a 6-month-old calf in mid-October.
- Veterinarians noticed signs of stress, so they made the decision to release it back into the wild, rather than keep it in a sea pen.
- The project’s leaders are heartened by the experience and hope to round up more vaquita to keep them safe from the still-present threat of gillnet entanglement in the northern Sea of Cortez.

Sudden death of juvenile zoo elephant raises anew issues of life in captivity
- Warren, a young male elephant, died recently during a dental procedure at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.
- Warren was one of 18 wild elephants captured from Swaziland 18 months ago and brought to three U.S. zoos in a controversial move.
- Shortly after Warren’s arrival in March 2016, he lost a piece of one of his tusks. He died during one of the subsequent procedures aiming to fix it.

China sends first pandas to Indonesia under captive-breeding agreement
- Two giant pandas from China arrived in Indonesia on a mission to increase the species’ population.
- The couple, a male and a female, will live in a special enclosure at a zoo outside Jakarta for the next decade.
- Zoo officials are open to trying every possible breeding technique to help the bears reproduce.

Photos: Bald eagle bird bath
- This photo essay comes via Mongabay’s partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wild View blog.
- Once a month we’ll publish a contribution from Wild View that highlights an animal species.
- This month, Julie Larsen Maher and Megan Maher write about the bald eagle.

Howler monkeys booming in Belize sanctuary 25 years after translocation
- Disease, hurricanes and hunting wiped out the native howler monkeys living in the Cockscomb Basin by the 1970s.
- Between 1992 and 1994, 62 black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) were relocated from a nearby reserve.
- After surveying the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in March and April, scientists figure there are at least 170 howler monkeys – and perhaps many more – living all over the 51,800-hectare (128,000-acre) preserve.

A Czech zoo is dehorning its rhinos
- The dehorning is in response to an incident in Paris earlier this month, in which poachers broke into a zoo near the city, shot dead a 4-year-old male white rhino, and hacked off one of its horns.
- The Dvůr Králove Zoo, home to 21 rhinos, sawed the horns off its first rhino on March 20.
- The authorities said that the horns will be stored in a “safe place” outside the zoo.

Controversial policy could spur tiger trade in China
- In China, around 6,000 captive tigers are raised on “farms,” often under inhumane conditions, and their pelts sold for hefty sums in a poorly regulated market upheld through legal loopholes by the Chinese government. Breeding tigers on these farms is legal, but sale of their parts is not — something that may be about to change.
- The State Forestry Administration, tasked with protecting wildlife and overseeing China’s tiger farms, is now deciding whether to commercialize tigers by adding them to a list of legally farmed wildlife, paving the way for tiger parts to be sold to supply a growing Chinese luxury market.
- Long used in Chinese medicine, tiger products are now a status purchase for China’s wealthiest and most powerful. Collectors stockpile tiger bone wine; tiger skins are regularly gifted to seal business deals. Some wealthy Chinese hold “visual feasts” where guests watch a tiger be killed and cooked — then eat it.
- Breeding tigers for trade in their parts contravenes a 2007 decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a treaty signed by 183 nations, including China. There is pressure in China and abroad to shut down tiger farms, even as Chinese business interests lobby to expand a lucrative industry.

Poachers kill rhino at French zoo
- Poachers killed four-year-old rhino named Vince at the Thoiry Zoo and Wildlife Park near Paris.
- Vince’s keeper found him the next morning, with one of his horns hacked off, probably with a chainsaw, the zoo said in a statement.
- Two other white rhinoceros living in the Thoiry zoo — Gracie aged 37 and Bruno aged 5 years — have “escaped the massacre” and are safe, the zoo said.

The clouded leopard: conserving Asia’s elusive arboreal acrobat
- The clouded leopard is not closely related to the leopard, but has its own genus (Neofelis), separate from the big cats (Panthera). In 2006, the single species of clouded leopard was split in two: Neofelis nebulosa is found on the Asian mainland, while Neofelis diardi, the Sunda clouded leopard, occurs only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
- Another subspecies native to Taiwan (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) is believed to be extinct, after none were found in a camera trapping survey conducted between 1997 and 2012.
- Originally, researchers found it difficult to breed the animals in captivity, since mates tended to kill each other. A variety of breeding techniques have however allowed zoos around the world to begin mating the animals successfully, to create and maintain a genetically viable captive population.
- Clouded leopards are incredibly elusive, and only with the advent of new technology, including camera traps and radio collars, have scientists been able to begin defining clouded leopard ranges, distribution, populations and threats. Public outreach is also helping build awareness around the plight of these Vulnerable wild cats.

Conservation’s best kept secret (database)
- The ZIMS database manages millions of medical and genetic records on 21,000 species cared for in captivity.
- Long-used by zoos and aquariums, ZIMS could be useful for managing small populations of endangered species in the wild.
- Data from ZIMS is now being used to improve wildlife recovery efforts and to better understand wildlife trade patterns.

‘Racing against time’ to save the taguá and its vanishing Chaco home
- Taguá are one of three peccary species living in the Americas and are the only ones found nowhere else but the Gran Chaco.
- Scientists say that the Chaco is disappearing at an alarming rate – with nearly a million hectares of tree cover loss as recently as 2008 – due in large part to soy cultivation and cattle ranching.
- The destruction of the taguá’s habitat, along with hunting, have caused its numbers to drop, say scientists, far below the estimated 5,000 alive during the 1990s.

‘Grandpa’ Pan Pan, world’s oldest male giant panda, dies in China
- Pan Pan, believes to be the world’s oldest male giant panda, died aged 31, on December 28.
- He was diagnosed with cancer in June 2016, and his health had been deteriorating.
- Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, but Pan Pan sired over 130 children and grandchildren over his lifetime.

Thailand failing to stop illegal trade in apes due to inadequate legislation
- TRAFFIC surveyed 59 zoos and wildlife attractions in Thailand between November 2013 and March 2014, and found 88 great apes and 162 gibbons in captivity.
- The numbers of apes in captivity seem to be much higher than those recorded as legally imported, TRAFFIC found.
- Researchers say that since Thailand’s domestic wildlife law does not include most non-native CITES-listed species under its protection, the country is unable to curb the trade in such animals.

Discovery of baby Chinese alligators boosts hope for rare species
- Fewer than 150 alligators remain in the wild in China.
- To boost their dwindling numbers, researchers began reintroducing captive bred Chinese alligators to China’s wetlands in 2007.
- The discovery of alligator hatchlings indicates that the reintroductions have been successful so far, but the population size in the wild is still very small, scientists say.

From Indonesia to Ohio: the struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity
- Sumatran rhinos were once widespread across southern Asia; today, fewer than 100 are believed to be left in the wild.
- An international captive breeding program was launched in 1984, sending rhinos to the United States and United Kingdom.
- The first calf wasn’t born until 2001, because maintaining and breeding these rare rhinos turned out to be an unusual challenge.

TripAdvisor bans ticket sales to wild animal attractions
- Travel website TripAdvisor, and its booking service Viator, will no longer sell tickets to tourism experiences that allow petting or touching of wild animals, the company announced on October 12.
- In addition to the booking ban, TripAdvisor also plans to develop and launch an education portal that will provide links and information on animal welfare practices involved at the various attractions.
- TripAdvisor’s new policy comes after more than a year of campaigning by animal welfare groups, which claim that the internet giant has been profiting from selling tickets to attractions that involve wildlife abuse and cruelty.

Man surrenders pet crocodile he raised for 13 years
- The crocodile was 4 meters long.
- It consumed up to three chickens or ducks a day — very expensive for its owner.
- Officials took the crocodile to a breeding park in Sumatra’s largest city, Medan.

Manatees to make a comeback in Guadeloupe for the first time in over a century
- Kai and Junior, two male manatees, will be sent to the Grand Cul-de-sac Marin, a protected bay in Guadeloupe that will keep the manatees away from boating traffic.
- They will soon be joined by 13 more manatees from various zoological institutions, forming the founding group.
- This group’s future offspring will then be reintroduced to the wild, Singapore’s River Safari team says.

Grim reality behind tiger selfie tourism: speed breeding, cruelty
- Around 830 tigers are estimated to occur in captivity in Thailand’s tiger entertainment venues, the WAP team found, up from 623 tigers in 2010.
- Tourists are encouraged to get close to tigers at tiger entertainment venues and take selfies with tiger cubs separated from their mothers just two to three weeks after birth, the report claims.
- These young cubs are “mishandled hundreds of times a day”, leading to stress and injury.

Video: Endangered baby tapir plays with his father
- Baby Baku was born on 19 May at the RZSS Edinburgh Zoo.
- A video shows Baku trying to play with his father, Mowgli.
- Baku’s juvenile spots and stripes have recently started to fade and his coat will soon turn into a solid color of black and white or grey.

Empowering smartphone users to bear witness to illegal wildlife trade
- The Wildlife Witness app allows travelers and locals to anonymously and securely report wildlife trafficking they observe in Southeast Asia.
- As the first app for global community action against illegal wildlife trade, it allows tourists and regional residents to assist wildlife law enforcement and endangered species conservation.
- The app encourages people to use the internet and other avenues to speak up against and learn more about wildlife trafficking and their own role in countering it.

Controversial tiger temple in Thailand gets zoo license
- Last Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of National Parks granted the controversial tiger temple a license to operate a zoo, angering several activists and conservationists.
- The license, effective until 18 April 2021, will allow the Tiger Temple Co to use wild animals, including tigers, for show.
- Activists say that instead of penalizing the temple for its crimes, the department has granted them a license so that they can continue uncontrolled breeding of more tigers.

Another tiger perishes at Indonesia’s ‘Death Zoo’
- Allegations of mistreatment and corruption have plagued the Surabaya Zoo. A cascade of animals have perished at the facility.
- Some are calling for the zoo to be closed. An online petition to that effect has more than 800,000 signatures.
- Others believe it should stay open, with improved management.

The inadequate global zoo response to the amphibian extinction crisis
- Amphibians have experienced massive declines worldwide.
- The 6.2% of globally threatened amphibians held by zoos compares poorly with global totals for birds (15.9%), mammals (23%), and reptiles (38%).
- There is a feeling of disappointment in the conservation community regarding the response of zoos to the amphibian crisis.

Nola, one of the last four northern white rhinos in the world, dies at San Diego Zoo
- On November 22, Nola, a critically endangered female northern white rhino, was euthanized due to her deteriorating health.
- Nola’s death brings the northern white rhinos dangerously close to extinction.
- The remaining three, potentially breeding, northern white rhinos live at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

Cupid’s syringe: A love potion for troubled amphibians
- Many of the world’s amphibian species are in trouble.
- Conservationists are attempting to breed some of them as a way to replenish wild populations, but many are reluctant to breed in captivity.
- Captive-breeding programs are turning to an injectable compound called Amphiplex, which can cause amphibians to mate or to release their eggs or sperm.

Trapped between zoo and sanctuary: the dilemma of the institutionalized ape named Sandra (commentary)
- The Ethical Ape is a regular column published by author and researcher Shawn Thompson.
- Is the orangutan Sandra would be better in a zoo or a sanctuary?
- Consider this: if we accept that an ape is an autonomous being with rights, then don’t we need to accept the right of an ape to make a choice, even if we disagree with that choice?

Photos: new zoo exhibit dramatically displays real threat to Asian turtle

The new Annam leaf turtle exhibit at the London Zoo. Photo by: Ben Tapley/ZSL. Usually animal pens in zoos are designed to resemble a species’ native habitat: lions in sprawling savanna, pandas in bamboo forests, and crocodiles in mangroves. But a new pen at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)’s London Zoo is meant to […]
Officials: Sumatran rhino is extinct in the wild in Sabah

Malaysian officials admit the Bornean rhino may only be represented by three surviving captive animals Tam, here at Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah, may be the world’s last male Bornean rhino and one of the last Sumatran rhinos. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. There are no Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in the Malaysian state […]
When apes have choices and preferences (commentary)

An orangutan in the forest of Central Kalimantan. Photos by Rhett A. Butler One question that desperately needs to be asked when we talk about the rights of an intelligent species like apes is whether we allow them choices and preferences in the rights we give them. This issue and other issues of rights […]
How black rhinos and local communities help each other in Namibia
- Africa’s rhinos are in a state of crisis.
- Poaching for their horn has resulted in the deaths of thousands of animals and pushed the continent’s two species—the white and black rhino—against the wall.
- Yet, despite the crisis, there are pockets of rhino territory where poaching remains rare and rhinos live comparatively unmolested.
- Indeed, one of the brightest spots for rhinos is in Namibia.

Two vanishing prairie butterflies added to the Endangered Species Act

First female Dakota skipper reared at the Minnesota Zoo. Photo by: Erik Runquist/Minnesota Zoo. This fall, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added two little-known prairie butterflies to the Endangered Species Act. One of the species, the Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), may be down to only a few hundred individuals. The Dakota skipperling (Hesperia dacotae) […]
Then there were five: rhino death moves species closer to extinction

As if news for rhinos couldn’t get any worse: this weekend, Angalifu, died a the San Diego Zoo. Forty four-year-old Angalifu was a male northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) and his death means only five of this subspecies remains on the planet. Angalifu’s death, which keepers suspect was simply from old age, follows soon […]
With death of rhino, only six northern white rhinos left on the planet

Rhino conservation suffered another tragic setback this weekend with the sudden death of Suni, a male northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Suni’s passing means there are only six northern white rhinos left in the world, and only one breeding male. “Consequently the species now stands at the […]
Walking the walk: zoo kicks off campaign for orangutans and sustainable palm oil

UK’s Chester Zoo raises funds and awareness for reforestation project in Borneo A pair of orphaned orangutans in Borneo. Many orangutans have become orphaned across the island due to forest loss and conflict with humans. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. If you see people wearing orange this October, it might not be for Halloween, but […]
Google, zoo to leverage ‘TV white space’ to monitor wildlife

‘Whitespaces for Wildlife’ initiative hopes to change how conservationists track endangered species Imagine watching a tiger stalk a sambar deer, or catching a ghost-like glimpse of the rarely-seen saola, or monitoring a herd of peccaries in the Amazon rainforest—all from your desktop and in real time. Well, this may soon be possible under a new […]
Photos: Czech Republic publicly burns confiscated rhino horns

Armed customs guards stand behind a rhino horn waiting to be burnt. Photo courtesy of CITES Secretariat. Late last month, armed guards escorted officials marching 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of rhino horns to a pyre for burning. The event, at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, was the first public burning of rhino […]
Infamous pet and zoo supplier lost 3,500 animals a week (photos)

Company supplied Petsmart, Petco, as well as some zoos Nearly five years ago, a seven month long investigation, led by PETA, into an exotic animal wholesaler finally came to a dreary end. Authorities raided U.S. Global Exotics (USGE) in Arlington, Texas, confiscating over 26,400 animals from 171 species and types, held in inhumane and unsanitary […]
On babies and motherhood: how giant armadillos are surprising scientists (photos)

Uncovering the reproductive mysteries of the little-known giant armadillo. Arguably the most important moment in any animal’s life— whether it be a whale, a human, or a mosquito— is the act of giving birth, of bringing a new member of the species into the world. It’s no wonder that biologists treat reproduction— from conception to […]
Animals bark, screech, and howl for action on global warming (PHOTOS)

The destruction of rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia for palm oil, paper, and timber has put the world’s orangutans at risk of extinction, it also compounds global warming and mass extinction. Photo by: Singapore Zoo. On May 22nd, zoos and aquariums around the world creatively called for action on global warming. Dubbed “Show the Wild […]
The quiet zoo revolution

How the world’s best zoos are working to save biodiversity in an age of extinction. Tiger meets human at the Minnesota Zoo. Physical spaces where people can easily encounter and connect with wild species, zoos and aquariums are unique institutions. Yet in an age of environmental crises, are they doing enough to save species from […]
Death of young Sumatran rhino shouldn’t discourage captive breeding efforts say conservationists

Just over two weeks ago, conservationists in the Malaysian state of Sabah managed to finally catch a wild Sumatran rhino female after months of failed attempts; the female, named Iman, was quickly helicoptered to a semi-wild rhino reserve in hopes that she may breed with the resident male, Tam. But following such hopeful events, comes […]
Those eyes look human: could anthropomorphism be used for conservation?

It’s easier to relate to someone you have something in common with; that feeling of connection can turn strangers into friends. And if those strangers belong to an entirely different species, then attributing human qualities to that species – a process called anthropomorphism – may aid conservation efforts by attracting public attention and funding resources. […]
Those eyes look human: could anthropomorphism be used for conservation?

It’s easier to relate to someone you have something in common with; that feeling of connection can turn strangers into friends. And if those strangers belong to an entirely different species, then attributing human qualities to that species – a process called anthropomorphism – may aid conservation efforts by attracting public attention and funding resources. […]
Requiem or recovery?: the Sumatran rhino 200 years after its description

Activists urge Southwest to drop SeaWorld over whale concerns

Orca at SeaWorld. Courtesy of Blackfish. More than 27,000 people have signed a petition calling on Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) to drop its partnership with SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:SEAS), over the theme park’s treatment of its marine mammals, reports Change.org, the site that is hosting the petition. The petition urges Southwest to end its marketing […]
Reversing local extinction: scientists bring the northern bald ibis back to Europe after 300 years

The unmistakable northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita). Photo by: Waldrappteam. The northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita), also called the hermit ibis or waldrapp, is a migratory bird. Once, the bald ibis lived in the Middle East, northern Africa and southern and central Europe, but due to hunting, loss of habitat and pesticide-use, the birds disappeared […]
Zoos join fossil fuel divestment movement

Last month, over a hundred representatives from zoos and aquariums around the world joined climate activism group, 350.org, pledging that their institutions would take action against global warming, including the possibility of divesting from fossil fuel companies. The effort, dubbed Zoos and Aquariums for 350, was launched during the annual meeting of the Conservation Breeding […]
Illegally captured parrots finally free to fly

In 2010, Bulgarian airport authorities confiscated 108 African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) from a smuggler. Last month, the 28 parrots who survived the stress of being stuffed into dog kennels, constantly handled by humans, and the absence of their native habitat, completed their three-year journey to freedom. The journey began late one afternoon in 2010, […]
Zoo races to save extreme butterfly from extinction

In a large room that used to house aquatic mammals at the Minnesota Zoo, Erik Runquist holds up a vial and says, “Here are its eggs.” I peer inside and see small specks, pale with a dot of brown at the top; they look like a single grain of cous cous or quinoa. Runquist explains […]
Zoos call on governments to take urgent action against illegal wildlife trade (photos)

Warning: some photos may be disturbing or graphic. In a single night in March, a band of heavily-armed, horse-riding poachers slaughtered 89 elephants in southern Chad, thirty of which were pregnant females. The carnage was the worst poaching incident of the year, but even this slaughter paled in comparison to the 650 elephants killed in […]
Should zoos educate the public about climate change?

The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th—July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed. Captive polar bear. Given the rising threat of climate […]
The comeback kids: the role of zoos in saving species from oblivion (photos)

The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th – July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed. Red wolf: after going extinct in the […]
Malaysia may loan Indonesia rhinos to save species from extinction

Conservationists and officials meeting last month at a rhino crisis summit in Singapore agreed to a radical plan to loan Sumatran rhinos between nations if it means saving the critically endangered species from extinction. The proposal, which could still be thwarted by red tape and political opposition, could lead Malaysia to send some of its […]
Forging zoos into global conservation centers, an interview with Cristian Samper, head of WCS

For the Wildlife Conservation Society’s new CEO, scientific principles and working partnerships are key to conservation. A Man of Science: Dr Cristian Samper, CEO of the WCS. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is one of the world’s leading environmental organizations. Founded in 1895 (originally as the New York Zoological Society), the WCS manages 200 million […]
Scientists successfully freeze Barbary sheep embryos for conservation purposes

Barbary sheep in Tennoji Zoo. Photo by: Kuribo. The Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), or aoudad, is a goat-antelope found in northern Africa. It is currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, with populations imperiled by hunting, habitat loss, and competition with livestock. Still little is known about its remaining population, prompting scientists in […]
Pity the pangolin: little-known mammal most common victim of the wildlife trade

World Pangolin Day is celebrated this weekend: Saturday, February 16th, 2013 Last year tens-of-thousands of elephants and hundreds of rhinos were butchered to feed the growing appetite of the illegal wildlife trade. This black market, largely centered in East Asia, also devoured tigers, sharks, leopards, turtles, snakes, and hundreds of other animals. Estimated at $19 […]
Geneticists discover distinct lion group in squalid conditions

Behind bars and waiting for science: the power of genetic testing for the Addis Fifteen. Male and female Addis lions in the Addis Ababa Lion Zoo. Photo courtesy of: Klaus Eulenberger. They languished behind bars in squalid conditions, their very survival in jeopardy. Outside, an international team of advocates strove to bring worldwide attention to […]
Save Lolita: new film urges release of captive killer whale

The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with filmmakers and presenters. For more interviews, please see our WCFF feed. Through his new 90-second PSA, Save Lolita, filmmaker Daniel Azarian wanted to connect people […]
Cute animal picture of the day: cheetahs in the snow

Cheetah cub not certain about snow. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Cheetah cubs at the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Zoo attempt to make sense of snow. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), currently found in many African countries as well as Iran, are generally warm weather animals. Cheetahs are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, […]
Artificial ‘misting system’ allows vanished toad to be released back into the wild

A captive Kihansi spray toad at the WCS Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In 1996 scientists discovered a new species of dwarf toad: the Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis). Although surviving on only two hectares near the Kihansi Gorge in Tanzania, the toads proved populous: around 17,000 individuals crowded the smallest known habitat […]
Picture of the day: cheetah cubs wrestle Halloween pumpkins

Zookeepers at the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Zoo gave pumpkins to six five-month old cheetah cubs and watched them run wild. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. The fastest land animal in the world, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) can exceed 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour) in short bursts. This speed allows them […]
New York Aquarium entirely ‘underwater’

Update: New York Aquarium closed indefinitely The WCS New York Aquarium sits on the boardwalk of Coney Island. Photo by: David Shankbone. Hurricane Sandy, which brought storm surges that reportedly reached 14 feet to New York City, has put the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium “under water,” according to a statement from the organization. […]
By imitating human voices, beluga whale may have been attempting to communicate

Beluga whale. Photo by: Premier.gov.ru. Five years after the death of a captive beluga whale named NOC, researchers have discovered that the marine mammal may have been trying to communicate with people by mimicking humans voices at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego. Analyzing tapes of human-like speech from the young male beluga […]
Cute animal picture of the day: baby pygmy hippo

Eight week old pygmy hippo calf, Georgina, born at Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. A new pygmy hippo calf has been born at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo. Named Georgina, the calf is the second for parents Flora and Tapon. Found in the rainforests […]
Photos: emperor penguins take first place in renowned wildlife photo contest

This was the image Paul had been so hoping to get: a sunlit mass of emperor penguins charging upwards, leaving in their wake a crisscross of bubble trails. The location was near the emperor colony at the edge of the frozen area of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. It was into the only likely exit hole […]
Is your Halloween candy linked to rainforest destruction?

Oil palm plantations and rainforest in Malaysian Borneo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. A campaign by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo hopes to raise awareness about the link between Halloween candy and deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia. Employing the images of Critically Endangered orangutans, the zoo urges consumer to only buy candy containing eco-certified palm oil […]
Cute animal picture of the day: tiger triplets

The Siberian tiger triplets were born to parents, Katharina and Sasha. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. Last month, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo saw the arrival of three Siberian tiger cubs (Panthera tigris altaica). Also known as Amur tigers, they are the world’s largest cats with adult males weighing up to 318 kilograms […]
Picture of the day: baby Grevy’s zebra

Three-week old Grevy’s zebra at the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo. Photo by: ZSL. Not only is the Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi) the biggest of the three zebra species, it is also the world’s largest wild horse species. Once roaming throughout the horn of Africa, today the species is confined to a few […]
Animal picture of the day: Critically Endangered macaws

Two blue-throated macaws perch on a branch in the historic aviary at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Found in only one location in northern Bolivia, the blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) is thought to number little more than 100 individuals in the wild. However the species is protected from utter […]
Cute animal picture of the day: African penguin chick

This African penguin chick is the first one to be born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) New York Aquarium in 15 years. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Found along the coast of southern Africa, the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List largely due to overfishing, which is […]
Cute animal picture of the day: baby bamboo lemur

A newborn greater bamboo lemur baby at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. Photo by: Dave Rolfe. Greater bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) are one of over a hundred lemur species found only on the island of Madagascar. Listed as Critically Endangered, there are only around 150 individuals known in the wild, making them one of […]
Cute animal picture of the day: stranded sea lion finds new home

This young California sea lion was saved after stranding herself one too many times. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. A young female California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), who had stranded herself three times, has found a new home at the Bronx Zoo. After her most recent escapade of showing up at a beachside bar in […]
Pictures of the day: LEGO animals storm Bronx Zoo

LEGO tiger. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. LEGO animals are debuting next to the real things at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo this summer. LEGO artists have created a menagerie of animals including lemurs, a tiger, hornbills, rhinos, gorillas, flamingoes, a giraffe, and a zebra. The exhibition runs until September 3rd. “The safari brings […]
Cute animal picture of the day: moose twins

Moose twins born at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Photo by: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. On May 21st, two Eurasian moose twins (Alces alces) were born at the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo. The twins were named Toffee and Caramel. Moose, also known as elk in Europe, are the world’s largest deer. They span the […]
Historic birth for the Sumatran rhino

Ratu (above) and the baby male are doing well. Photo by: International Rhino Foundation. After two miscarriages and a pregnancy that lasted 15 months, Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino, has given birth to a healthy male calf, conservationists happily announced this weekend. The birth at a rhino sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra […]
Cute animal pictures of the day: silvery marmosets run free in zoo

Silvery marmoset. Photo courtesy of ZSL. The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo is allowing its seven silvery marmosets (Mico argentatus) to roam the 600 acre facility freely. “It’s a whole new world for them—they are free to go wherever they like and are enjoying themselves foraging,” senior keeper, Steve Perry, said in a […]
Hail Mary effort aims to save the world’s most endangered turtles

Roti snake island turtle, which is number 12 of the world’s most endangered turtles, are being captive bred at the WCS’s Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has pledged to work with all of its institutions to save at least half of the world’s most 25 endangered turtles as […]
Animal picture of the day: Indian flying foxes soar

Indian flying fox soaring at the WCS Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. Indian flying foxes (Pteropus giganteus) are now soaring a the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo. With wingspans that reach 4 to 5 feet (1.2-1.5 meters), they are one of the world’s largest bats. “Bats are a vital part of the […]
Cute animal picture of the day: endangered baby giraffe

The baby giraffe was born at 6 feet tall and weighing in at around 100 pounds. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. A baby Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) was recently born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo. The subspecies was classified as Endangered in 2010 with a wild population of less than 700 […]
Animal picture of the day: a baby bongo

Baby bongo. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsande Zoo. A female bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) was born at the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Zoo last month. “The calf and her mum are happy to sit with other members of the group and the calf is not always found with mum—babysitting is common with the bongo,” Mark […]
Animal photos of the day: elephants in the English countryside

Calf scott and mother Azizah on their walkabout. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Elephants have been spotted roaming the pastoral fields of eastern England. Released for a jaunt from the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Zoo, a herd of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), including a four-month-old calf named Scott, took in the scenic views […]
Cute baby animal photos of the day: baby pot-bellied seahorses

Pot-bellied seahorse: adult and baby. Babies, or fry, are brown black but turn yellow over time. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) New York Aquarium has recently celebrated the arrival of “fry” (baby) pot-bellied seahorses (Hippocampus abdominalis). Found in the seas surrounding Australia, the pot-bellied seahorse is protected under CITES (Convention […]
Cute baby animal photos of the day: twin Malagasy giant jumping rats born at London Zoo

Mom and baby enjoy lunch. Malagasy giant jumping rats are born blind and hairless. Photo courtesy of ZSL. Twin Malagasy giant jumping rats (Hypogeomys antimena) were born in the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) zoo in London this month. Found only on the island of Madagascar, also home to the world’s lemurs, these rodents are […]
Interview with conservation legend George Schaller

Dr George Schaller is a veteran ecologist affiliated with two conservation organizations in New York, Panthera and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Spending much of his time during the past six decades in various countries of Asia, Africa and South America, he has studied and helped protect species as diverse as the Tiger, Mountain Gorilla, Giant […]
Effort to save world’s rarest frogs recognized with conservation award

The Panamanian golden toad, a species now extinct in the wild, is being bred in a number of facilities around the world to ensure its survival. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. An effort to save the world’s most endangered amphibians has won mongabay.com’s 2011 conservation award. Amphibian Ark [Donate] — a joint effort of the […]
PHOTO: Adorable penguin chicks score their own blog

Chinstrap penguin chick. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. A new blog, dubbed the Real Chicks of Central Park, is allowing visitors an intimate look at eight impossibly-cute penguin chicks. Including video, photos, and interviews the blog is an attempt to raise awareness about penguins. The highlighted chicks include four gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) and four […]
Cute animal picture of the day: baby hippo takes first swim

A baby common hippo named Hula takes its first swim at the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Zoo. Photo courtesy of ZSL. Common hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) survive throughout sub-Saharan Africa, though they once roamed as far as Egypt along the Nile River. Not usually thought of as an endangered species, hippos are in fact listed […]
The glass is half-full: conservation has made a difference

Focused conservation efforts, including reintroduction of captive individuals into the wild, have saved the golden lion tamarin from extinction. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Don’t despair: that’s the message of a new paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, which argues that decades of conservation actions at multiple scales have had a positive impact for […]
How do we save the Sumatran rhino?

Tam, a male Sumatran rhino is kept in semi-captivity in Borneo with hopes to mate him with a female. The Sumatran rhinos on Borneo are actually a unique subspecies, dubbed the Borneo rhino, they are the world’s smallest.Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Some conservation challenges are more daunting than others. For example, how do you save […]
Escaped Bronx Zoo cobra found! (picture)

The missing Bronx Zoo cobra has been recaptured. Photo by Julie Larsen Maher of WCS. The missing Bronx Zoo cobra that became a pop culture sensation and caused consternation among some New York residents whas been found after a thorough search of the zoo’s Reptile House. The escaped serpent was found in a non-public, off-exhibit […]
Top 25 most endangered turtles: Asian species in crisis

Surviving hundreds of millions of years on Earth have not saved turtles from facing extinction at human hands. A new report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Turtle Conservation Coalition, identifies the world’s 25 most imperiled turtles, including one that is practically assured extinction: ‘Lonesome George’ the last Abdington Island tortoise in the […]
Best Valentine’s Day gift: name a hissing cockroach after your sweetheart

Chocolate, roses, and jewelry are out this Valentine’s Day. What’s in? Giant hissing cockroaches. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this Valentine’s Day: the right to name one of the zoo’s giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches after a loved one—or perhaps an “ex”. Each name costs $10 and comes with an […]
Woman turns home bird sanctuary into effort to save rare birds

Twelve percent of the world’s species are considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List, the authority on such matters. While habitat destruction and alien invasive species bear the brunt of the responsibility, the commercial pet trade has contributed to the decline of some of the world’s most beautiful species. But with several […]
Rebuttal: Slaughtering farmed-raised tigers won’t save tigers

An interview with Alasdair Cameron of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). A recent interview with Kirsten Conrad on how legalizing the tiger trade could possibly save wild tigers sparked off some heated reactions, ranging from well-thought out to deeply emotional. While, we at mongabay.com were not at all surprised by this, we felt it was […]
Pictures: Belize Zoo devastated by hurricane

This Ceiba tree fell on the jaguar Junior Buddy’s exhibit during Hurricane Richard; Junior was unharmed. Note the fencing on the right. Image and caption courtesy of the Belize Zoo The world famous Belize Zoo is closed until further notice after suffering a direct hit from Hurricane Richard, which leveled trees and inflicted heavy damage […]
Would legalizing the trade in tiger parts save the tiger?

An interview with Kirsten Conrad. Just the mention of the idea is enough to send shivers down many tiger conservationists’ spines: re-legalize the trade in tiger parts. The trade has been largely illegal since 1975 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The concept was, of course, a reasonable one: if we […]
Saving Prairie Chickens

Houston Zoo, NASA and a Consortium of Gulf Coast Zoos Race to Save Prairie Chickens It’s not so complicated, but it’s much easier said than done. I’m referring to the restoration of a species to a habitat that has been transformed over time in the absence of keystone grazing species like bison which served essentially […]
Golden toad saved from brink of extinction

One hundred Kihansi Spray Toads have been flown to their native Tanzania after a close brush with extinction, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The species, which last year was declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was rehabilitated in captivity at the Bronx Zoo and the […]
Guilty verdict over euthanizing tigers in Germany touches off debate about role of zoos

In June a German court handed down a guilty verdict to the Magdeburg Zoo director, Kai Perret, and three employees for euthanizing three tiger cubs in 2008. The zoo decided to kill the cubs when it was discovered that the cubs’ father was not a 100 percent Siberian tiger (i.e. he was a mix of […]
Endangered Animals: 10 Reasons for Hope

The San Diego Zoo Offers 10 Reasons for Hope and Steps Out with the Global Action Team Earlier last month the Zoological Society of San Diego launched two far reaching media and development projects which showcase the Zoo’s extensive global field conservation programs. Mongabay had the opportunity to attend the launch ceremony of the Zoo’s […]
Captive orangutans: enriching bodies, minds, and lives

Visitors to the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) are always delighted by the sight of playful young orangutans. Hairy orange youngsters swinging through the branches or tossing balls around always induce fits of cooing and camera clicking. These activities appear to be so natural that it is easy to forget these are orphans in […]
Photo: baby lemur at the Bronx Zoo

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo today announced the birth of an endangered Coquerel’s sifaka, a type of lemur native to the island of Madagascar. The baby boy lemur is named Ares and becomes one of 51 sifaka kept in captivity worldwide. While sifakas are generally found in trees where they are capable jumpers and […]
Tales From A Frozen Zoo

“No one would have ever predicted that we could turn the cells in our collection into stem cells and that you would be able to clone animals from these (stem) cells; or that you could sequence the genomes of these animals on any kind of scale. At the time when this collection was first banked, […]
Bronx Zoo puts ‘extinct’ frogs on display

The Bronx Zoo has a put a most unusual frog on display: the Kihansi spray toad. For one thing, the Kihansi spray toad survived on only 5 acres in the Kihansi gorge in Tanzania, adapted to the areas’ unique and constant mist from the gorge and a waterfall. For another, female Kihansi spray toads give […]
Last breeding northern white rhinos will return to Africa

Only eight individual northern white rhinos survive in the world, making it the world’s most endangered large mammal. Unfortunately, half of the rhinos are unable to breed. The remaining four—the last hope for the subspecies—will be moved this weekend from Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic to conservancy in Kenya. “They are listed as […]
Photos: four Critically Endangered Somali wild ass born at preserve in Qatar

Four Somalia wild ass were born at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) in Qatar. The Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis) is a subspecies of the African wild ass, both of which are classified by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. The four foals all have the same father, a stallion named ‘Hector’ […]
Zoos call for deeper emission cuts to save life on Earth

To save species around the world zoos say deeper emission cuts are needed than governments are currently proposing. Over 200 zoos worldwide have signed a petition calling on governments to set the target of atmospheric carbon below 350 parts per million (ppm) far lower than most government targets. The signatories, each a member of the […]
Vlad the Impaler of the bird world now at Bronx Zoo: skewers prey on thorns and barbed wire

The loggerhead shrike, also known as the ‘butcher bird’, employs a feeding strategy that would have been right at home in 15th Century Transylvania. Like the infamous Vlad the Impaler (the brutal prince which Bram Stoker based Dracula off), the loggerhead shrike is truly skilled at impaling. Using its hooked beak to break the spines […]
New non-invasive painkiller developed for the world’s biggest cats

Photos: Okapi born this spring at the Bronx Zoo makes first public appearance

An okapi calf born this spring at the Bronx Zoo made its first public appearance, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society. The endangered forest giraffe, which has been named Mbaya, is the fourth calf born to her mother at the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. she weighed 65 pounds at birth. “We are pleased that […]
Fish operated on at ZSL London Zoo: Photo

A female prickly leatherjacket triggerfish Chaetodermis penicilligerus underwent an operation to remove a benign tumor from her tail at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Zoo. Named Prudence, the fish was given a general anesthetic before the hour-long operation in which she was kept constantly wet. Returned to the zoo’s Aquarium after the operation, Prudence […]
After disease engulfs island, rare mountain chicken frogs airlifted to safety
In a rescue operation that sounds straight out of an action film, 50 mountain chicken frogs were airlifted from the Caribbean island Montserrat after the discovery of Chytridomycosis, a fungal disease that has wiped out amphibian populations worldwide. Already, hundreds of the critically-endangered mountain chicken frogs succumbed to the disease, which is thought to have […]
After seizure, gorilla receives MRI scan free of charge

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that a 42-year-old western lowland gorilla named Fubo received a free MRI scan after suffering a seizure at his home in the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. The MRI was provided by The Brain Tumor Foundation, which sent a 48-foot-long moveable MRI facility to the zoo. Overseen by […]
New York zoos, aquariums saved from funding cut

NY governor to cut zoo and aquarium budgets 55%

Elephants die significantly earlier in zoos than in wild

Elephants die significantly earlier in zoos than in wild Elephants die significantly earlier in zoos than in wild Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com December 11, 2008
Zoos: Why a Revolution is Necessary to Justify Them

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> Zoos: Why a Revolution is Necessary to Justify Them Zoos: Why a Revolution is Necessary to Justify Them Jeremy Leon Hance, mongabay.com October 6, 2008 When the Grey Squirrel Met the Siberian Tiger

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