River Dolphins

If there is one group of mammals that I've wanted to see more than any other, but haven't seen yet, it would be the river dolphins.  Usually when I think this, I think of the boto, the pink river dolphin of the Amazon, but I would have been just as happy to see a baiji, or an Indus river dolphin (I'm actually a little curious now that there are no African river dolphins, just as there are no Asian river manatees).  There is just something so unique and strange about these freshwater marine mammals, with their pterosaur-like faces, their wing-like flippers, and their cryptic natures.

Much of what we know about the baiji comes from studies of Qiqi, a captive specimen in China that was intended to be the start of a breeding program that never came to be.  This was believed to be the last of the baiji; the last one that has been confirmed, at least.  Amazon river dolphins have a longer history in zoos, though there is only one left in captivity worldwide now, in Peru.  In the US, several facilities have had the species at one time or another, from the Aquarium of Niagara to the Fort Worth Zoo to the California Academy of Sciences.  The last US specimen was Chuckles at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium.  I kick myself every time that I see the date of his death, knowing that I could have possibly gone and seen him.  At that young age, the thought of making a pilgrimage to see a rare animal had never occurred to me.

Qiqi, at Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

River dolphins had a reputation of doing poorly in zoos and aquariums, though it seems like this is, as typical of many species, a question of trial and error.  Perhaps we're just more attuned to these issues with marine mammals, but it's not like our track record with keeping marine dolphins has been entirely smooth sailing.  We gradually had learned a lot more about keeping river dolphins healthy in zoos and aquariums; for example, learning that, unlike marine dolphins, they do better in relatively shallow tanks, so they can pop up to the surface to breathe more easily.  Some dolphins were living long lives in good health.  As with many species that we no longer keep in zoos and aquariums, I suspect that we could do much better if we were to try again.

Such as attempt almost came in the early 2000s.  Dallas World Aquarium, itself no stranger to importing bizarre and rarely-kept species, had petitioned the government for approval to import some river dolphins.  These efforts were thwarted, in large part due to backlash from activists.  That exhibit now holds manatees.  One facility wouldn't have moved the needle that much as far as keeping river dolphins in captivity, but it would have served as a demonstration that they could be kept and kept successfully.

Why would this be important?  The baiji is the first river dolphin that we've lost, but it might be the last, and a limited freshwater ecosystem is a challenge to protect, as we learned in the Yangtze.  If the time comes that we need to bring other river dolphins under human care as part of a last-ditch effort to save a species, it would be good to have at least a little more experience.

Book Review: Witness to Extinction - How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin

 "Species cannot be expected to save themselves, and intervention may need to be swift and decisive.,  But instead of positive intervention on behalf of critically endangered species, I found to my disgust that the world of international conservation seemed at times to consist only of press releases and empty promises; worst of all, it was a world without accountability.  I realize now that by the time I became involved, it was probably already too late to do anything for the baiji."

In recent weeks, the actions of the Trump Administration (specifically the roll-back of laws and official protections) have caused many conservation-minded Americans to voice deep concerns about the plight of endangered species, both in America and around the world.  Too often, I've seen people dismiss these concerns as alarmist.  I think I understand why.  Many of the species that we are concerned about have been endangered for so long that it seems like a permanent status quo; when I was a kid, the books all made it sound like elephants would be extinct by 2000, and they're still with us in 2025.  Extinction may be forever, as the slogan tells us, but in many cases it also feels impossible.

So it's worth remembering.  Species do go extinct.  Some of them are being lost in real time.  Conservation biologist Samuel Turvey shares one of the more recent, and more tragic, examples of a recent extinction.  He was intimately involved in the last ditch effort to save the baiji, the white freshwater dolphin of China's Yangtze River.  His story is Witness to Extinction - How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin.

As Turvey explains it, part of the tragedy of the baiji is that no one wanted it to go extinct.  There was no hunting, no deliberate effort to harm the dolphins.  Instead, it was an innocent bystander.  The dolphins died from pollution of the heavily-traveled river, entanglement in fish nets, and collisions with boats.  Nor was it's demise unforeseen.  For decades, people had been shouting out that the dolphins were in peril; with Turvey being one of the loudest voices.  Plans were made; to collect nets from the river, too clean up pollution, and, most importantly, to capture the remaining dolphins and isolate them in a protected oxbow where they could breed and replenish their numbers.  Or at least stop dying.  Every effort ran into the brick walls of the Chinese bureaucracy and the relative indifference of the global conservation community (including some very strange personalities, including a conman of a conservationist who seemed intent on pulling all the strings, for what reason I still don't know).  

The book culminates in the 2006 expedition to search the river for the last dolphins.  I don't think I'm giving anything away (I mean, it says so in the book's title) when I say that none were found.

The book is compellingly written, an excellent synopsis of the natural history of this shy cetacean and its gradual demise.  What makes it all the more impressive is that you know how the story ends, but still find it a gripping read.  Mostly because of the tragedy of it all, but also just because of how unbelievable it was.  When I read the passage about how the supposed leading Chinese expert on the species, and the last biologist to see them in the wild, ended up not being able to recognize the species, and was misidentifying a separate porpoise species for the baiji, I felt like I needed to lie down for a minute so my head would stop hurting.  And reading about how some "baiji" were conveniently spotted and reported just after the survey left felt deeply suspicious and cynical.

The species - the last representative of an entire family of mammals - is still officially listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, but yeah, it's gone.  We, as a species and as a community, have failed it, which is a tragedy (the mantle of most-endangered marine mammal has now passed to the vaquita... and I wouldn't get too attached to them either).  And the sure way to compound that tragedy is to refuse to learn our lesson, and let history repeat itself.  Which it seems like we're 100% committed to doing.

Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin at Good Reads

An Unwholesome Alliance

 Dan Ashe's Alliance with Anti-Zoo Groups Sparks Backlash Among AZA Members

Most of this outreach occurred years ago, so I'm not sure why this is just getting an article now, but yeah.  I remember how outraged many of my colleagues felt when they heard that the leadership of HSUS was going to be speaking at an AZA conference, and wondering how this would possibly be to our benefit.  It's true that there are times when zoos and animal rights organizations find common ground, especially when the subject is the rescue of animals from subpar conditions.  Some zoos seem to have closer relations with AR's than others and are more prone to collaborative efforts.

There's a line between hearing what other people say for purposes of dialog and finding common ground on one hand, and legitimizing their arguments - which many members of your own community might find personally insulting and attacking - on the other.  It's especially exasperating as it limits our ability to work with high-quality non-AZA partners.  Also, AZA has been tightening accreditation standards to a degree that we've seen several longtime members, especially among the smaller zoos, loose accreditation.  Do these facilities suddenly become "bad" zoos overnight?  Are we expected to cut all ties and cooperation with colleagues we've known and trusted for years, just so we don't look bad in front of PETA and HSUS?  I have a hard time buying that viewpoint.

Where exactly this hypothetical line is, I can't say for sure - but I know that I'm not alone in the zoo community in my belief that if Mr. Ashe hasn't crossed that line, then he's at least standing directly on top of it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  To the zoo staff who are moms, the moms of zoo staff, the moms who are taking their kids to the zoo today (or who are getting some much deserved rest today while dad takes the kids to the zoo), and the zoo animal moms - or anyone that I missed!

Be Open. Be Honest. Be Proactive.

 It's been said that a lie can run around the entire world while the truth is still putting its shoes on.  The same could be said for information that, while not deliberately false, is misunderstood or misleading - a poorly formed version of the truth makes the rounds and is accepted as the gospel before the real story comes out, by which time it's too late.  

Such could have been the case at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, where a sudden burst of viral activity called attention to one of the zoo's polar bears, which appeared to be showing some unusual behaviors.  Some members of the public came to the conclusion that the animal was suffering, and were quick to spread the word.  Thankfully, the zoo was just as quick to respond, putting out a reply (it's a reel, not a video, so I couldn't figure out how to embed it - I'm not tech savvy) that directly explained what was going on and assured visitors that the bear was receiving optimal care and was ok.

Too often, when we see people raising concerns about animal care, we have a tendency to dismiss it as a few uninformed folks on facebook, and assume it will just blow over - or that nothing we could say to those people would make a difference anyway.  However, ignoring problems, or only responding one-off in comment sections, doesn't address concerns, and may make it look like there is a problem that the zoo is hiding from, or a truth we're ashamed of.  The best solution is to be upfront about concerns - if there's not a problem, explain it with science and observations and data, if there is a problem, explain what is being done to resolve it, if possible.  Let everyone know the truth that we know - that the animals come first, and caring for them is our top priority.  To that, well done Point Defiance.

Puppet Master

An increasing trend in caring for animals in zoos in aquariums is implementing new technologies and techniques into our care routines.  It amazes me at how much more high-tech this field is even compared to when I started as a young keeper.  

Sometimes, however, the old techniques work just as well.  Decades ago, at the height of the recovery program, zookeepers used hand puppets to raise endangered California condor chicks without imprinting them.  And now, keepers at the Bronx Zoo, having a young king vulture chick to raise, are using those same techniques - with one heck of a fancy looking puppet.

Species Fact Profile: Waldrapp Ibis (Geronticus eremita)

                                                 Waldrapp (Northern Bald) Ibis

                                               Geronticus eremita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Historically ranged around the Mediterranean in North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe as far north as Germany.  Currently limited to two disjointed populations: a western population in Morocco and an eastern one in Turkey and Syria (possibly extinct due to recent geopolitical turmoil) which migrates to Ethiopia

Habitat: : Cliff Faces, Arid Grasslands, Wetlands, Scrub

Diet: Small animals, both vertebrates (fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, small rodents) and invertebrates (scorpions, earthworms, snails, and insects, especially beetles), carrion, some plant matter, such as berries and duckweed

Social Grouping: Colonial

Reproduction: Monogamous, may be for life.  Breeding season begins in February, with eggs laid in March or April.  2-4 eggs are laid per clutch.  The freshly laid egg is pale blue, but gradually turns a dark brown with spotting.   Nest usually a platform of dried leaves and twigs, sometimes held together with mud, lined with grasses.  Both parents defend the nest for the 20-25 day incubation period, taking turns sitting.  After the chicks hatch, the parents take turns foraging and bringing back food for the chicks.  The chicks fledge at 40-50 days but become truly independent at 2-4 months old.  Sexual maturity for both sexes is at 3-5 years old

Lifespan: 10-15 Years (up to 40 Years)

      Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix I, USFWS Endangered 

• Body length is 70-80 centimeters, with males being slightly larger than the females.  Wingspan is 1.2-1.4 meters, weight 0.8-1.4 kilograms. 
• Both sexes look alike.  The plumage is black with bronze, green, and purple iridescence, with a wispy ruff around the neck (which covers and camouflages the head when the bird is sleeping).  The head, neck, and throat are bald and a dull red color.  The slightly curved beak is 13-13.5 centimeters long.  The bill and legs are red.  Chicks are pale brown, juveniles resemble adults but with darker heads and paler beaks.
• Breeding colonies form on rock cliff, usually near water; they have also utilized castles and other artificial structures.   Females initially select the males based on the nest that he builds her.  They find their mate through calling to one another (males have a deeper voice than females).
• Migrate seasonally, with migration time being determined by the breeding season.  Faithful to nesting and feeding sites.  Outside of migration, maintain a rough home range of about 3-3.5 square kilometers, with a most-often used core area of 1 square kilometer.  Young birds wander more than adults
• Feeding is done mostly by probing in soft substrate with the long bill
• Chicks and eggs may be preyed upon by brown-necked ravens and Egyptian vultures
• The eastern and western populations are morphologically (western birds have slightly longer bills than eastern birds), ecologically, and genetically distinct, though they are not classified as separate subspecies at this time
• Along with Cape (southern bald) ibis, one of two species in the genus Geronticus.  Genus name from the Greek for “Old Man,” referring to the bald head.  The species name is from the Latin for “Hermit” or “Desert” referring to the habitat.  “Waldrapp” is from the German for “Forest Raven”
• Cause of decline is unclear, but may involve combination of hunting, loss of foraging habitat/disturbance of nesting sites, and poisoning through pesticide use (especially DDT).  Documented cases of electrocution on power lines.
• Conservationists have erected artificial nesting platforms to facilitate breeding in the wild, make up for the loss of natural nesting sites.  The birds will also nest on buildings
• The population declined in Turkey to functional extinction.  A captive breeding program was established using birds from the Moroccan population for use in reintroduction programs.  Reintroduced populations have been established in Austria, Spain, with experimental populations in other countries.  Some of these populations are hand-raised then led by humans on migrations to reestablish migratory behavior.  This was the first species to be reintroduced to the wild by the Jersey Zoo/Durrell Wildlife Trust
• Together with the sacred ibis, it was a symbol of the Ancient Egyptian god Thoth.  The species is also considered a possible source of inspiration for the Stymphalian Birds fought by Hercules
• During the Middle Ages their chicks were considered a delicacy by the nobility, though they received some formal legal protection as far back as the 1500s.
• First described in Western science in 1555 by Conrad Gesner in his Historiae animalium, which features a woodcut of this species.  Description was based on the now-extinct Swiss population
• Part of the reason that the species persisted for centuries in the Middle East after it was driven to extinction in Europe may have been religious protection.  Migrating ibises were believed to guide pilgrims on their hajj to Mecca, and a special festival was held annually in Turkey to celebrate their return from Arabia.  Another local legend says that they were one of the first birds released from the Ark by Noah