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By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin
uch of the buzz at the Honolulu Zoo these days is behind the scenes, beyond the animal exhibits.What visitors don't see is a lot of activity aimed at preserving the world's endangered birds and animals.
With nutritional and biological advances in the last 20 years, zoos have become very good at protecting animals, Zoo Director Ken Redman said in a recent interview.
"Almost too good," he added. "We have to control reproduction."
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association, with 192 member organizations, has developed Species Survival Plans for nearly all endangered populations. Redman is on the association's Wildlife Conservation Management Committee, which oversees the program.Stud books are maintained with genealogies of animals in captivity to ensure that animals are matched genetically to maintain diversity and prevent inbreeding, he said.
"We don't reproduce an animal unless we're given the green light or an accident happens."
Based on genetic makeup, for instance, the Species Survival Plan allows only one of the zoo's four female adult chimps, Kumi, to mate at this time with Roscoe, the only adult male, Redman said. The others get a birth control pill every night.
The stud bookkeepers -- zoo volunteers -- must publish a list of all animals in captivity and their relatives every two years. The genetic history goes as far back as possible, to a great-great grandparent in the wild, Redman said.
Animals are traded and transferred among zoos in a tracking system maintained by the Species Survival Plan committees.
"There is virtually no ego in the zoo community," Redman said. "We share everything."
For example, a female pup from a litter of three wild African hunting dogs born at Honolulu Zoo several years ago was sent the San Francisco Zoo while the two males went to the Detroit Zoo.
Honolulu Zoo's last cheetah, a male, was sent to an Oregon wildlife park but the zoo expects to get two males from Houston, and at least one female from an unknown location.
Animals as ambassadors
"I view our animals as ambassadors for the species out in the world," Redman said, emphasizing the need for education "to foster appreciation of our living world."Animals and birds are "special beings," he said. "We've got to save some space in the world for them. Awareness translates into habitat preservation.
"That's the big picture in conservation," Redman said. "We're just keeping species alive, trying to find space for animals. In my mind, that's the only way I can justify having animals here."
Lack of space in zoos and destruction of natural habitat affect survival plan decisions.
There are only 200 spaces for Sumatra tigers in all zoos in the association system, as well as 200 for Bengal tigers and 200 for Siberian tigers, Redman said.
Sumatra, an Indonesian island, has no room for tigers because of deforestation and population growth so "it was determined that we shouldn't breed them," he said. "We're trying to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible."
Partners in conservation
The zoo association is trying to establish Conservation Action Partnerships with the animals' countries to create space to reintroduce them, Redman said.Brazil has set aside vast acreage to release endangered Golden Lion Tamarins, small orange-furred primates. One baby went there from Honolulu Zoo after survival training at a mainland zoo.
The babies are taught to avoid hawks and snakes and forage on their own before being introduced gradually to the wild in Brazil, Redman said. Efforts also are being made with the Sumatra government to develop a national park to provide more land for tigers, he said, noting only about 500 are left there in the wild.
Peter Luscomb, the zoo's general curator, said when he started in zoo work, it was largely about feeding and cleaning.
Now, biological and social issues are emphasized, he said, citing significant progress in developing techniques to breed animals in captivity and restore them to their native habitats.Among recent successes, Honolulu Zoo was the first to hatch Komodo dragons from parents raised in captivity.
Reptile curator Duane Meier said the key to getting the Komodos to breed was "getting them together at the right time." Otherwise, they would fight.
It's easier to reproduce them than originally thought, so an elaborate breeding program may not be necessary, Meier said. "Other zoos may say it's still difficult but the idea is not just to reproduce and reproduce."
The recent birth of seven African wild dogs -- Lycaon pictus, one of the African continent's most endangered animals -- also was cause for celebration at Honolulu Zoo. The pups, about the size of a Chihuahua, can be seen playing in the African savanna.
The zoo has two adult male African hunting dogs and one female, who is "exceptionally wild," said mammal curator Richard "Butch" Ball.
He said the female wants to choose where to den her pups and to be able to move them at any time, so arrangements were made to accommodate her needs.
"It took three or four years by observation and recommendations. We finally have what we think is the (breeding) formula," Ball said.
Rhino breeding next project
Now the zoo has planned to modify the black rhino exhibit so Corky, the male, and Satsuki, the six-year-old female, can get acquainted safely."The male is boisterous and may knock the female around," Ball said, so a pole system will be installed outside the sleeping quarters. This will allow the rhinos to spend long periods looking at each other and when they're calm they'll be placed in an area with no barriers, Ball said.
Meier cites a long list of successes at Honolulu Zoo in reproducing tortoises and turtles and now it's bringing in endangered river turtles in a program with Singapore Zoo. A lot of emphasis must be given to Asian turtles, which are being decimated for food, he said.
The zoo also has worked extensively with amphibians and wants to expand the program which is "a little bit tricky," Meier said. "It takes a lot of skill to reproduce them, to figure out the biology."
Crocodiles on breeding list
Other zoos use hormonal manipulation to get frogs to reproduce, Meier said. "We don't do that here. It's good to get them to reproduce naturally."He said the zoo hopes to reproduce endangered gharial reptiles -- crocodiles that eat fresh fish -- in a new Asian tropical forest exhibit. They've never reproduced outside of India.
Construction is expected to start in January on the first phase of the new exhibit as part of a master plan for zoo renovations.
It will incorporate technology to safely house elephants, Ball said, explaining the Species Survival Plan requires new exhibits to have a squeeze device so workers can safely turn an elephant on its side for medical procedures.
Luscomb said many things can be learned about animals in captivity, but he's concerned about an attitude that if animals become extinct in the wild, they can be held in captivity and rereleased.
Native habitat must be preserved for survival of the animals, he emphasized. "Once it's lost, we never get it back. A conservation ecosystems approach is cheaper than species management programs."
Isles may be a beneficiary
Luscomb has worked with Birds of Paradise and other birds in New Guinea and is involved with two conservation projects at the Wau Ecology Institute established by the Bishop Museum.He is also leading 10 zoos in a research program on 20 pairs of verditer flycatchers.
Linda Santos, the Honolulu Zoo's bird specialist, said the project "will tell us what we need to do for the elepaio" and other local flycatchers.
She tends various species of Hawaiian forest birds under study in climate-controlled forest-like settings at the zoo that aren't open to the public.
Kathy Carlstead, former National Zoo animal behaviorist, has joined Honolulu Zoo to do research on stresses of forest birds in captivity and effects on courtship and mating.
Whatever is learned will be applied to endangered species, Santos said. "We try to breed as many species as we can and propagate them for other zoos."