EAZA News 58-9 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

EAZANEWS 

quarterly publication of the european association of zoos and aquaria 

may june july 2007 

05 

Upcoming; EAZA 

Amphibian Campaign 

11 

A blueprint for research 

20 

EU ban on wild bird 

imports 

25 

Reintroduction of the 

bearded vulture 

26 

The Pacarana 

Conservation Programme 

31 

ZIMS; ready for 

the next big step 

06 Madagascar madness 

28 Macaques in the Middle Atlas Forest 

58 

2 0 0 7

eaza news 58 

2007 

02 

w h o i s w h o i n e a z a 

EAZA Executive Committee 

chair Leobert de Boer, Apenheul Primate Park vice-chair Simon Tonge, Paignton Zoo 

secretary Eric Bairrão Ruivo, Lisbon Zoo treasurer Ryszard Topola, Lodz Zoo 

chair eep committee Bengt Holst, Copenhagen Zoo chair membership & ethics committee 

Lars Lunding Andersen, Copenhagen Zoo chair aquarium committee Jürgen Lange, Berlin Zoo 

chair legislation committee Ulrich Schürer, Wuppertal Zoo 

EAZA Executive Director 

Harry Schram, EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam 

EAZA Standing Committees Chairs 

eep committee Bengt Holst, Copenhagen Zoo 

membership & ethics committee Lars Lunding Andersen, Copenhagen Zoo 

aquarium committee Jürgen Lange, Berlin Zoo 

legislation committee Ulrich Schürer, Wuppertal Zoo 

EAZA Specialist Committees Chairs 

veterinary committee Jacques Kaandorp, Safaripark Beekse Bergen 

research committee Gordon McGregor Reid, Chester Zoo 

conservation committee Pierre Gay, Zoo de Doué 

education & exhibit design committee Henk Hiddingh, Emmen Zoo 

committee on technical assistance & animal welfare Dominique Tropeano, Colchester Zoo 

committee on pr & marketing Jörg Adler, Münster Zoo 

EAZA Council Members 2006 - 2009 

austria vacancy belgium Roland Van Bocxstaele, Antwerp Zoo croatia Davorka 

Maljkovic, Zagreb Zoo czech republic Dana Holeckova, Dvur Kralove Zoo · Vladislav Jirousek, 

Jihlava Zoo denmark Henrik Herold, Randers Zoo estonia Mati Kaal, Tallinn Zoo finland 

Seppo Turunen, Helsinki Zoo france Françoise Delord, ZooParc de Beauval · Pierre Gay, Zoo de 

Doué · Thierry Jardin, CERZA Lisieux · Michel Hignette, Aquarium de la Porte Dorée germany 

Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde and Berlin Zoo · Dieter Jauch, Wilhelma 

(Stuttgart) · Achim Johann, NaturZoo Rheine · Thomas Kauffels, Georg von Opel Zoo (Kronberg) · 

Ulrich Schürer, Wuppertal Zoo greece Andreas Sioulas, Rhodes Aquarium hungary Ilma 

Bogsch, Budapest Zoo ireland Neil Stronach, Fota Wildlife Park israel Shai Doron, 

Jerusalem Zoo italy Gloria Svampa Garibaldi, Punta Verde Zoo (Lignano) latvia Rolands 

Greizins, Riga Zoo lithuania Vaclovas Dumcius, Kaunas Zoo netherlands Leobert de Boer, 

Apenheul Primate Park · Wim Verberkmoes, GaiaPark Kerkrade Zoo norway Arne Magne 

Robstad, Kristiansand Zoo poland Ryszard Topola, Lodz Zoo portugal Eric Bairrão Ruivo, 

Lisbon Zoo russia Vladimir V. Spitsin, Moscow Zoo slovakia Miloslava Savelová, Bratislava 

Zoo slovenia Zdenka Barbara Ban Fischinger, Ljubljana Zoo spain José Ignacio Cobo, Zoo 

Aquarium Madrid · Agustin Lopez Goya, Faunia (Madrid) sweden Hans-Ove Larsson, Skansen 

Foundation · Bo Kjellson, Boras Djurpark switzerland Christian Stauffer, Wildpark 

Langenberg (Langnau) turkey vacancy ukraine Vladimir Topchy, Nikolaev Zoo united 

kingdom Bryan Carroll, Bristol Zoo · Mark Pilgrim, Chester Zoo · Simon Tonge, Paignton Zoo · 

Ken J. Sims, Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens · Dominique A. Tropeano, Colchester Zoo 

Standing Committee Chairs co-opted in Council 

Lars Lunding Andersen, Copenhagen Zoo · Bengt Holst, Copenhagen Zoo · Jürgen Lange, Berlin Zoo 

Specialist Committee Chairs as observers in Council 

Jörg Adler, Münster Zoo · Gordon McGregor Reid, Chester Zoo · Jacques Kaandorp, Safaripark 

Beekse Bergen · Henk Hiddingh, Emmen Zoo 

member of 

colophon 

EAZA News is the quarterly magazine of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) 

Editorial Board Chair EAZA Bert de Boer Executive Director Harry Schram 

Chair Membership & Ethics Committee Lars Lunding Andersen Managing Editor Jeannette van Benthem 

(jeannette.van.benthem@eaza.net) Editorial Staff Corinne Bos, Koen Brouwer, Bart Hiddinga, Catherine King, Danny de Man 

Design Jantijn Ontwerp bno, Made, the Netherlands Printing Drukkerij Van den Dool, Sliedrecht, the Netherlands 

ISSN 1574-2997. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. 

Deadline EAZA News 59: 1 June 2007 Printed on TREE-FREE paper bleached without chlorine and free from acid 

eaza executive office 

FROM THE EDITORS 

The weather improves, flowers begin blooming and 

many animals give birth. This heralds a beautiful 

season for zoos and aquaria; spring. Spring is a 

favourite season to open new enclosures, and to start 

educational programmes and other activities, as a 

growing number of visitors can be expected. This 

provides a large target to focus on in order to develop 

appreciation, understanding, care and concern about 

nature and the need for its conservation. In other 

words, a busy season has begun, and we wish all 

members a successful spring! 

Many EAZA institutions have already started their 

activities directed towards the EAZA Madagascar 

Campaign 2006/7. You can read about some of 

these in this EAZA News issue, and maybe get 

inspired to adopt certain activities for use within 

your own institution. 

The series on collection management continues, and 

features an article on the EU ban on the importation 

of wild birds. Updates on important conservation 

initiatives and breeding projects can also be found 

in this issue, with one of the main themes being 

the global amphibian extinction crisis. There is also 

information about developing research potential in 

zoos and aquaria, as the EAZA Research Committee 

has now completed an important blueprint for 

research in EAZA institutions in the form of the 

EAZA Research Strategy. 

Remember, the contents of EAZA News relies on the 

support of its readership, so do not hesitate to send 

us your articles or press releases for inclusion! For 

ideas on topics, please refer to the ‘Magazine’ section 

on the EAZA website. 

EAZA News 60 will be dedicated to aquaria 

and aquatic exhibits. Your contributions 

for this issue can already be sent to 

jeannette.van.benthem@eaza.net 

c/o Amsterdam Zoo, PO Box 20164, 1000 HD Amsterdam, The Netherlands Website: www.eaza.net e-mail: info@eaza.net 

Membership Services & Accreditation tel: +31 20 520 07 53 fax: +31 20 520 07 54 e-mail: corinne.bos@eaza.net 

Collection Coordination & Conservation tel: +31 20 520 07 50 fax: +31 20 520 07 52 e-mail: bart.hiddinga@eaza.net

19 

photo safaripark beekse bergen 

25 26 

photo richard zink photo karin osbahr/udca 

c 

Colophon · Who is who 

A new toolbox for conservation in Europe 

06 

cover Furcifer verrucosus 

photo jaroslav vogeltanz/plzen zoo 

cover Macaca sylvanus 

photo sabine joosten 

contents 

02 from the editors 

03 contents 

Introducing…..the EAZA Executive Office 04 from the eaza office 

EAZA Annual Conference 2007 · Upcoming; EAZA Amphibian Campaign 2007/8 · Most important decisions of the EEP Committee meeting 05 from the eaza office 

EAZA Madagascar Campaign 2006/7 · Madagascar madness in the United Kingdom 06 eaza madagascar campaign 

Madagascar at Genova Aquarium · Fuengirola Zoo raffles a holiday to Madagascar · Dutch Madagascar campaign launched 07 eaza madagascar campaign 

Madagascar; an island still to discover · Campaign mascots Tia and Aïna 08 eaza madagsacar campaign 

Madagascar; paradise of the lemurs? · Poster exhibition by Tiergarten Schönbrunn 09 eaza madagsacar campaign 

Gordon McGregor Reid 10 interview 

The EAZA Research Strategy: Developing the research potential of zoos and aquaria 11 research 

Hamburg · Berlin 12 births and hatchings 

Budapest · Newquay 13 births and hatchings 

Amsterdam 14 births and hatchings 

St. Aignan · Edinburgh 15 births and hatchings 

An effort to reach young people with social problems 16 education 

New Andean condor enclosure at the Welsh Mountain Zoo 17 new enclosures 

Programme updates 18 welcome to eaza | col. planning 

Wanted: New holders for the Sloth bear EEP 19 collection planning 

EU ban on wild bird imports 20 collection planning 

Help needed with European guenon survey 21 collection planning 

Are amphibians like canaries in coal mines? 22 conservation 

23 conservation 

Progress EAZA Amphibian Ark 24 conservation 

Reintroduction of the bearded vulture 25 conservation 

The Pacarana Conservation Programme; an international effort to save an 26 conservation 

endangered species 27 conservation 

Macaques in the Middle Atlas Forest; an increasingly rare sight 28 conservation 


Rescuing European spoonbill eggs from spring tides 30 conservation 

ZIMS; ready for the next big step 31 eadisc | isis 

32 books | publications 

33 directory updates |in memoriam 

36 cbsg europe 

28 


2007 

03


2007 

04 

from the eaza office 

Introducing…..the EAZA Executive Office EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 

Although many colleagues within the 

EAZA community are familiar with the 

EAZA Executive Office, not everyone is 

aware of its tasks and responsibilities, 

or knows the staff working at the office. 

The relocation of the EAZA Executive 

Office within the Artis Royal Zoo in 

Amsterdam in February 2007 felt like a 

good opportunity to describe the new 

location and to introduce the current 

staff members. But let us start with 

some history first… 

A close cooperation between zoos 

The need for a close cooperation between zoos 

became obvious after the Convention on 

International Trade in Endangered Species 

(CITES) came into force in 1975. Suddenly, zoos 

were cut off from the import of wild-caught 

animals and had to build up self-sustaining 

animal populations. In 1985 a meeting took place 

at Antwerp Zoo, in order to discuss possibilities 

for coordinating breeding programmes in Europe. 

A second meeting at Cologne Zoo the same year 

resulted in the establishment of the first 

19 European Endangered species Programmes 

(EEPs), and the formation of the EEP Committee. 

The European Community Association of Zoos 

and Aquaria (ECAZA) was established in 1988 and 

in 1992 it was transformed into the European 

Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) as its 

pan-European successor. 

Merging coordination and 

administration 

The EEP Committee established rules for running 

breeding programmes, but a procedure for selecting 

species for new EEPs was needed. The first 

Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) were formed in 

1990 when it became obvious that the overall 

coordination and administration could not be 

handled by the EEP Committee alone. That same 

year the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD) offered 

assistance in establishing an EEP Executive Office 

based at its National Foundation for Research in 

Zoological Gardens (NFRZG) office, housed at 

Artis Royal Zoo. The EEP Office later developed 

into the EAZA Executive Office (EEO). The EEO 

was established in order to assist EAZA’s 

members and its decision making bodies, 

especially the EAZA Council, in reaching the 

objectives of the organization. The first executive 

director of the office was Bert de Boer, followed 

by Koen Brouwer in 1993 and the current 

executive director, Harry Schram, in 2006. 

A more representative office 

Office staff members initially worked for both 

the Dutch Zoo Federation and EAZA, and shared 

an office located on the first floor of the gorilla 

house in Artis Royal Zoo. In 2005 it was decided 

to legally separate the offices of the Dutch Zoo 

Federation and EAZA and to move both organisations 

to a different, more representative building 

on the premises of Artis Royal Zoo. 

Since 2006 staff members of both associations 

have been employed by the European Zoo and 

Aquarium Foundation (EZAF), a foundation 

created to take over the office activities and staff 

members from the former National Foundation 

for Research in Zoological Gardens. All staff 

members relocated to the new office, housed in 

a beautiful 1880 building which was previously 

used as necropsy room and has been entirely 

renovated for its new purpose, in February 2007. 

Services to EAZA 

The EAZA Executive Office (EEO) will continue to 

provide the EAZA membership with a wide variety 

of services. The EEO work is currently done by ten 

people (8.9 full-time equivalents). 

The main tasks that the EEO focuses on include: 

– coordination and support of breeding 

programmes and collection planning; 

– education, marketing and sustainability 

activities; 

– coordination of conservation campaigns; 

– lobbying and representation; 

– organisation of conferences and meetings; 

– support to EAZA Council and committees; 

– maintaining a resource centre and website; 

– external communications and publications; 

– training, support and consultancy; 

– administration. 

The office basically operates with two departments; 

Membership Services and Accreditation 

(MSA) and Collection Coordination and 

Conservation (CCC). 

MSA mainly focuses on campaigns, legislation, 

accreditation, PR, finance and other services to 

the EAZA membership, whereas CCC focuses on 

the coordination of breeding programmes and 

animal management. Besides these departments, 

there is an office manager/secretary, a staff member 

managing the EAZA website and the EAZA 

News magazine and an ISIS European liaison. 

The EEO is furthermore assisted by two people 

working on a consultancy basis out of Antwerp 

Zoo, Belgium and Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark. 

EAZA very much appreciates Amsterdam Royal 

Zoo for acting as a host for the EEO facilities. The 

next page shows the beautiful new office building, 

including the current EEO staff members. • 

executive director 

harry schram 

harry.schram@eaza.net 

offıce management and secretariat 

fleur kist 

info@eaza.net 

membership services & 

accreditation (msa) 

corinne bos | Manager 

corinne.bos@eaza.net 

martijn los | Assistant manager 

martijn.los@eaza.net 

sietske veenman | Assistant manager 

sietske.veenman@eaza.net 

collection coordination & 

conservation (ccc) 

bart hiddinga | Manager 

bart.hiddinga@eaza.net 

danny de man | Assistant manager mammals 

danny.de.man@eaza.net 

william van lint | Assistant manager 

birds, lower vertebrates and invertebrates 

william.van.lint@eaza.net 

eaza news & website 

jeannette van benthem 

jeannette.van.benthem@eaza.net 

isis european liaison 

sander cozijn 

sander.cozijn@eaza.net 

conservation database | yearbook 

katrine garn 

katrine.garn@eaza.net 

population management 

kristin leus 

kristin.leus@eaza.net

The first meeting of the EAZA Amphibian 

Campaign Planning Group took place at the 

EAZA Executive Office on 6 March 2007. The 

planning group, led by Quentin Bloxam of 

Durrell (Jersey), discussed various aspects of the 

campaign and finalised the composition of the 

planning group. It was recognised that the 

amphibian campaign will be different from 

previous campaigns in several ways. First of all, 

because the world conservation community 

has called on zoos and aquaria to set up ex situ 

breeding programmes for many amphibian 

species, as such programmes are the only hope 

for survival of these species in the short term. 

The World Zoo and Aquarium Association 

(WAZA), has, together with the IUCN/SSC 

Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, called 

on all regional associations to join this world wide 

effort by zoos and aquaria to save the amphibians. 

The EAZA Amphibian Ark Working Group was 

established to take up this challenge and work 

on plans for ex situ breeding programmes. 

The EAZA Amphibian Campaign will aim to 

support and promote the work of the Amphibian 

Most important decisions of the EEP Committee meeting 

The EAZA Executive Office hosted the annual 

mid-year meeting of the EEP Committee on 

8 and 9 March 2007. The meeting started 

with a successful and productive workshop 

on non-EAZA EEP participation on Thursday. 

The results of the non-EAZA EEP participation 

workshop will be summarized in an updated 

policy document on this topic. This document 

will be discussed during the next EEP 

Committee meeting scheduled for the upcoming 

EAZA Annual Conference. On Friday the EEP 

Committee discussed other topics relevant to 

EAZA collection management, such as proposed 

changes to existing and new TAGs, EEPs and 

ESBs. During the meeting the first two ESBs 

for fish species were approved under the 

umbrella of the EAZA/EUAC Fish and Aquatic 

Invertebrate TAG. The first EEP evaluation 

from the eaza office 

harry fleur corinne martijn 

sietske bart 

EAZA Annual Conference 2007 

The early registration deadline of the 24th EAZA Annual Conference in Warsaw, Poland, 11 to 15 September 2007, is approaching rapidly; 

the deadline for early registration and payment is 30 June 2007. All EAZA members are therefore recommended to register without delay. 

Please refer to the ‘Conference’ section of the EAZA website for more details on registration and accommodation. 

Upcoming; EAZA Amphibian Campaign 2007/8 

We of course welcome 

everyone interested 

in touring the new 

office building! 

danny william jeannette 

sander 

katrine kristin 

Ark. Other regional zoo associations will organise 

similar campaigns, thereby creating a worldwide 

amphibian campaign in 2008; ‘The year 

of the frog’. Liaisons with the EAZA Amphibian 

Ark Working Group, WAZA/CBSG Amphibian 

Group, EAZA Amphibian and Reptile TAG and 

EUAC have been included in the planning group 

to ensure optimal alignment of the various 

amphibian activities. As always, the European 

campaign will be launched during the EAZA 

Annual Conference, where all attending EAZA 

members will receive a campaign info pack. 

reports were also discussed during the meeting, 

following the launch of the EEP evaluation 

system in Madrid, October 2006. 

Besides the EEP Committee meeting and 

according to the tradition, the office hosted the 

EAZA Callithrichid TAG mid-year meeting on 

Saturday 10 March 2007. When completed, 

the minutes of both meetings will be available 

through the EAZA website. 


2007 

05


2007 

06 

photo nick garbutt 

eaza madagascar campaign 

EAZA Madagascar Campaign 2006/7 

The EAZA Madagascar Campaign activities are becoming increasingly visible in zoos and aquaria across 

Europe. Over one hundred EAZA members have officially registered for the campaign. If your institution 

has not registered yet, please do so by completing the registration form that can be found in the EAZA 

Madagascar Campaign Info Pack or on the member area of the EAZA website. 

All participating institutions are invited to submit their campaign updates and photos to Martijn Los (martijn.los@eaza.net) 

for inclusion in EAZA News or on the EAZA website. Several updates on campaign activities can already be found on the 

‘Madagascar’ section of the website and on the next pages of this magazine. 

Madagascar madness in the United Kingdom 

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), 

London, United Kingdom 

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) is 

promoting the EAZA Madagascar Campaign in the United Kingdom, 

and encourages its members to join the campaign. So far, more than 

half of the EAZA member institutions (24) in the United Kingdom 

have signed up for the campaign. Ten non-EAZA member institutions 

of BIAZA are also participating. The 34 participating institutions have 

already given rise to some great campaign activities and Madagascar 

alliterations seem to be very popular when naming these. 

During ‘Madagascar Monday Madness’, organised by Newquay 

Zoo, schools and other groups of children can come to the zoo for a 

day of Madagascar activities. The activities focus on raising funds for 

the campaign, but more importantly on teaching the children of 

Cornwall that ‘Madagascar’ is more than just a fun movie! The children 

can also experience special Madagascar bug encounters with 

‘Millie’ the millipede and ‘Kevin’ the hissing cockroach. ‘Miles for 

Madagascar’, also organised by Newquay Zoo, is based on the 

successful hundred-mile walk by the zoo staff during the EAZA 

Shellshock Campaign. This time, two staff members will try and walk 

as many miles from the zoo as possible in 72 hours. Sponsors can 

donate money for every mile, so more miles means more money! 

‘Madagascar Matters!’ at Marwell Zoo included a series of 

Madagascar activities that started on Monday 19 February 2007 and 

continued throughout the week. Special family and child activities 

including talks, trails and guided tours were offered to the public. 

Everyone can get involved in many more fun activities during 2007, 

while helping to raise money for the campaign. Organised by Eastleigh 

Running Club, a 10 km road race ‘Leg it for Lemurs’, took place on 

the zoo grounds on Sunday 29 April. 

Furcifer verrucosus photo jaroslav vogeltanz/plzen zoo 

At Edinburgh Zoo ‘MAD for Madagascar!’ (MAD = Make A 

Difference) is organised. The campaign was launched with a public 

evening event featuring an outline of the campaign and short 

presentations provided by three keepers on Malagasy species 

kept at Edinburgh Zoo. This was followed by a fundraising activity, 

the ‘MAD Auction’. A range of items (unwanted Christmas presents, 

bric-a-brac etc.) was put under the hammer to the highest bidder. 

An empty box was sold for 60 pence, a set of Star Wars videos for 

£5.50 and a cute cuddly penguin toy was the biggest money raiser 

going for £20. The star lot in the auction was an apple – yes just 

an ordinary Cox’s apple – and although bidding started at 20 pence, 

the apple sold for a fantastic £5 !

Madagascar at Genova Aquarium 

Claudia Gili, Genova Aquarium, Italy 

Genova Aquarium has participated in many of the EAZA Conservation 

Campaigns, as this is one of the best ways to spread an important 

conservation message, reaching millions of visitors throughout Europe. 

The Genova Aquarium has carried out several expeditions and research 

projects on biology and reproduction of Malagasy species since 1994, 

and in 1998 it dedicated a large exhibit area to Madagascar habitats. 

The EAZA Madagascar Campaign was launched in this area of the zoo 

just before Christmas 2006. 

An education panel entitled ‘Madagascar is endangered and you can not 

ignore it!’ informs the public about the campaign, and in front of the 

panel a donation box silently calls for funds. Furthermore, campaign 

leaflets are being distributed to the public inside and outside the facility. 

Campaign merchandise is being sold in the gift shop, and education 

programmes include lectures on coral reefs, food chains and biodiversity, 

using Malagasy species on exhibit and behind the scenes as examples. 

Fuengirola Zoo raffles a holiday to Madagascar 

Marta Caballero, Fuengirola Zoo, Spain 

Fuengirola Zoo is fully committed to the EAZA Madagascar Campaign. 

As many people know, the zoo has an extensive representation of the 

habitats of the tropical forest; equatorial Africa, southeast Asia and 

Madagascar. This enabled the zoo to create many activities for the campaign. 

The programme will commence with a press conference followed by a 

workshop on Madagascar. This will take place in the centre of the Costa 

del Sol, in the main square of the capital. Children and their parents can 

get involved in the campaign through educational activities focusing on 

Madagascar, including lemur face-painting, making plastic figures, and a 

painting competition. All activities aim to increase awareness of the threats 

facing the Malagasy fauna and flora, while having fun at the same time. 

As suggested in the Madagascar Campaign Info Pack, a digital photography 

competition will also be organised. This is quite a challenge for the zoo 

staff as they have never organised such a competition before. Participants 

will pay a small fee to enter the competition and can then submit photos 

taken in the zoo, either of Malagasy species or of other species. Half of 

the money raised through the competition fees will be used as awards 

for the prizewinners and the other half will be donated to the campaign. 

Towards the end of the year, with the support of a travel agency in Spain, 

more money will be raised by raffling a holiday to Madagascar. 

This campaign represents a global issue which affects us all, and everyone 

at Fuengirola Zoo is enthusiastic and fully committed to help 

Madagascar conservation in any way possible. 


photo fuengirola zoo 

Particular attention is given to reproduction, research and conservation 

projects carried out in collaboration with other institutions and organisations 

(universities, museums, other aquaria and zoos, NGOs and EAZA). 

The press office of Genova Aquarium has already given much attention 

to the campaign and is actively organising a press event to be held 

just before summer. During that event a new mixed exhibit featuring 

the spiny forest habitat in southern Madagascar will be opened, where 

Malagasy spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoids) have found a natural 

environment to mate and breed successfully. Nearly €2,000 was already 

collected via the collection box during the first two months of the campaign! 

photo genova aquarium 

Dutch Madagascar campaign launched 

Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

The Madagascar campaign in the Netherlands was kicked-off with a 

large press event on 5 April 2007 in Apenheul Primate Park (Apeldoorn). 

The Swiss biologist Urs Thalmann launched the campaign with a presentation 

on recently discovered lemur species. Urs Thalmann himself was 

one of the researchers that discovered the ‘John Cleese lemur (Avahi 

cleesei)’. This lemur was named after the famous actor John Cleese, 

currently also patron of the EAZA Madagascar Campaign, as a tribute 

to his efforts to help protect the Malagasy nature. 

Further presentations were held by biologist Constanze Melicharek of 

Apenheul Primate Park, stunning the press with images of the amazing 

flora and fauna of Madagascar, and by cultural anthropologist Arlette 

Kouwenhoven, who explained that conservationists are just ‘ordinary’ 

people. Afterwards, the speakers helped feed the lemurs in the park and 

Urs Thalmann opened a small Malagasy school in the Madagascar area 

of the zoo. This nicely decorated building will host children from all 

over the Netherlands, who will be able to learn more about Madagascar, 

its inhabitants and nature in general. 

All 15 members of the Dutch Zoo Federation are organising various 

activities to support the EAZA Madagascar Campaign, as of 5 April. 

Several joint activities have been planned as well; following the success 

of the Rhino Run in 2006 for the EAZA Rhino Campaign, the Dutch zoos 

will now organise a ‘Maki Marathon’ in June 2007. Zoo teams will run 

across the country from zoo to zoo. 

Furthermore, a photo competition will 

be organised, the first prize being a trip 

to Madagascar, sponsored by the Dutch 

travel agency 'Sawadee'. With these 

activities and the activities in individual 

institutions, the Dutch zoos hope to 

raise at least € 60,000 for the campaign. 


2007 

07


2007 

08 


Madagascar; an island still to discover 

Martin Bauert, Zürich Zoo, Switzerland 

Madagascar, an outstanding piece of the prime continent Gondwana, 

is largely undiscovered, even today. More than 65 million years 

of isolation in the Indian ocean have led to the survival of many 

ancient organisms and an enormous species radiation in many plant 

and animal families. The living plant fossil Takhtajania perrieri, 

a contemporary of the dinosaurs, was only known from a single 

herbarium specimen for more than eighty years. But to everyone's 

surprise this basal angiosperm was recently rediscovered in the 

pristine mountain rainforests on the east coast of Madagascar. 

An unbelievable diversity of natural habitats from perhumid 

rainforests to subarid deserts can be found in Madagascar, bearing an 

extraordinary flora of up to 90% endemic species. Outstanding are the 

more than 150 endemic palm species, many of which were described 

just in the past few years. Famous are the giant baobabs (Adansonia 

spp.): seven species of these water-storing trees from Madagascar 

have been described, compared to just one species in Africa and two 

in Australia. Madagascar also carries a virtually unknown flora of 

Campaign mascots Tia and Aïna 

Pierre Moisson, Mulhouse Zoo, France 

Takhtajania perrieri photo zürich zoo 

succulents, of which the pygmy baobabs of the genus Pachypodium 

and succulent members of the dogbane or Apocynaceae family are 

perhaps the best known. 

As living ambassadors of Madagascar, many of these plant species are 

under threat of extinction in their natural environment. In cooperation 

with experts on succulents and the Zürich Zoo, Switzerland, the 

Stadtgärtnerei Zürich (the city gardeners service) has set up a 

programme for the reproduction of these Malagasy succulents, 

under the supervision of the Convention on International Trade in 

Endangered Species (CITES) secretariat. All plants are reproduced 

and grown in Zurich, so no plants are taken from the island. 

Registered campaign participants can sell these extraordinary plants 

for the benefit of the Madagascar campaign. For more details on order 

and delivery, please refer to your Madagascar Campaign Info Pack or 

contact zoo@zoo.ch. 

Mulhouse Zoo, France, has created a special mascot to promote the EAZA Madagascar Campaign. The Sclater’s 

lemur (Eulemur macaco flavifrons) was chosen for this purpose, because of the zoo’s involvement in the AEECL 

(Association Européenne pour l’Etude et la Conservation des Lémuriens) and the Sahamalaza conservation 

project for the Sclater’s lemur in particular. Furthermore, the zoo is responsible for the EEP of this species. 

Students from a school in Mulhouse specialised in design (Institut Supérieur de Textile d’Alsace) 

assisted in developing the mascot. Their annual project was to create the zoo’s campaign mascot 

and use it as a flagship for their annual ceremony at the end of the school year. The official 

inauguration of the mascot they developed took place in November 2006, and Mulhouse Zoo is now 

able to use it for the campaign year (e.g. for educational panels, educational games, direction panels, 

tourist communication). 

The mascot was named Tia (which means ‘love’) by a student in Madagascar, Guy Randriatahina, who is 

finishing his thesis on Sclater’s lemurs in Sahamalaza. Initially, the goal was to create different items for the 

zoo shop with Tia as an ambassador of all lemurs, but unfortunately her name was already being used by a 

photo nick garbutt

Madagascar; paradise of the lemurs? 

Peter Haase, Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark 

Although Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark, did not participate in last year’s 

campaign as the rhino enclosure was being refurbished, the zoo has 

participated in all other EAZA campaigns. Copenhagen Zoo is currently 

busy defining and developing the campaign exhibition ‘Madagascar; 

paradise of the lemurs?’. As it requires time and money to create 

attractive and motivating campaign exhibitions, the zoo usually 

incorporates the campaign exhibitions in the permanent exhibition with 

supplementary units, which only function during the campaign period. 

The zoo tells the Madagascar story near the ruffed lemur (Varecia 

variegata) enclosure in the ‘House of Primates’. The Madagascar 

section is placed as a natural extension of the exhibition on another 

biological hot spot; the Atlantic rainforest of South America. 

The exhibition concentrates on four themes, including the special 

geography and location of Madagascar, the significance of the 

island as a biological hot spot, the lemurs and the current threats 

to the extraordinary flora and fauna of the island. In a corner of the 

exhibition there is a small cinema, were visitors can get a first-hand 

commercial company which did not authorise its use by Mulhouse Zoo. 

Consequently, the zoo visitors (especially the children) were informed 

that Tia had disappeared after heavy deforestation in Sahamalaza, 

but that her daughter Aïna (meaning ‘life’) took over her job. 

A soft toy version of Aïna has been created by the zoo together with 

a private company in Mulhouse called ‘Sol’utionND’. This soft toy 

mascot will be sold and Sol’utionND agreed to donate part of the 

sales income to the campaign. Mulhouse Zoo will donate its raised 

funds to the AEECL conservation programme in Sahamalaza. Aïna 

will furthermore be used in the public presentation of the zoo’s new 

radiated tortoise enclosure and the new lemur islands and village 

which are still under construction. Obviously, Aïna will also be present 

in all other Malagasy events the zoo has planned for the campaign. 


photo copenhagen zoo 

impression of the fascinating nature of Madagascar. The slide show 

consists of four screens displaying the numerous amazing photos 

that are part of the campaign material. 

Naturally, the zoo also collects funds for three selected projects. The 

collection unit has been used for previous EAZA campaigns, with major 

success. A reason for this could be that the amount of collected funds 

is clearly illustrated by the use of coloured balls. Based on the success 

of previous campaigns, Copenhagen Zoo aims to collect €15,000. 

photos mulhouse zoo photo tiergarten schönbrunn 

Poster exhibition 

by Tiergarten 

Schönbrunn 

Gaby Schwammer, 

Tiergarten Schönbrunn, 

Vienna, Austria 

In the framework of the EAZA Madagascar Campaign, Tiergarten 

Schönbrunn (Vienna) has set up a comprehensive exhibition, in 

German and English, which will also be presented in the other OZO 

(Österreichische Zoo Organisation) member institutions. The exhibition 

consists of six different posters. 

As in previous years, Tiergarten Schönbrunn is willing to provide 

digital files of the poster exhibition to all interested EAZA member 

institutions. Each poster can be used ‘as it is’ and can be printed in any 

desired size. For more information, please contact Gaby Schwammer 

(g.schwammer@zoovienna.at). 


2007 

09


2007 

interview 

Please describe your career path. In my teens, I worked on a 

refugee resettlement scheme in the Okavango swamps of 

Botswana, the wildlife paradise which first inspired me to 

take up a zoological career. I originally trained in research 

at the British Museum of Natural History as a comparative 

anatomist/fish taxonomist and in the 1970’s, ended up 

on an inter-university council contract in Nigeria, helping 

set up the biology department of a new university. This 

was in Sokoto on the fringe of the Sahara desert (one 

of the hottest places on earth!). After being a keeper of 

natural history (chief curator) at the Horniman Museum 

and Gardens in London, and holding a similar post at the 

National Museums of Liverpool, I joined Chester Zoo in 

1992 as chief curator. I became the director in 1995 and 

then director general in 2005, following a re-organisation. 

“ 

It is all about actively developing the 

research potential of zoos and aquaria 

within EAZA and each member zoo 

budgeting for staff and resources 

against their own strategies”. 

10 

The Horniman Museum and Gardens had living collections, 

including a historical aquarium and vivarium, established 

under the influence of Philip Henry Gosse, the Victorian 

who in 1854 invented the word ‘aquarium’. However, by the 

1980’s this facility was threatened with closure under the 

Zoo Licensing Act. I secured external funding and worked 

with an excellent team to build ‘Living waters; an aquarium 

for the future’. While only ‘medium-sized’, I believe that 

this was the first aquarium in the world entirely dedicated 

to explaining the important issues of conserving aquatic 

life and using water in a sustainable way. 

What are the main challenges for you as director general? 

Continuing to pursue our Chester Zoo vision of a ‘diverse, 

thriving and sustainable natural world’ and deliver on our 

mission or purpose ‘to be a major force for conserving 

biodiversity worldwide’ and balancing this with internal 

and external business demands. We are also engaged in 

increasingly large-scale animal exhibit developments such 

as the €5.6 million ‘Realm of the red ape (orang-utan)’ 

facility due to be open this summer. Delivering big projects 

on time and to budget demands excellent planning, 

tracking and teamwork. 

Gordon McGregor Reid 

Position Director general of Chester Zoo. Favourite colour Blue, 

perhaps reflecting my birth sign Aquarius… Last musical seen 

The Abba-themed musical ‘Mamma Mia!’. Last book read Graham 

Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’. Hobbies Predictably, I keep freshwater 

tropical fish and, less predictably, a collection of cactuses. 

I like to restore antique leather-bound books, I am keen on gardening and 

I swim every day to keep fit. I also collect fish postage stamps and 

little lead zoo animals and soldiers that date from the previous 

turn of the century. A bit sad eh, but I am not causing any harm! 

As chair of the EAZA Research Committee, how do you see 

research in zoos and aquaria evolving in the future? Clearly, 

scientific research that focuses on practical conservation, 

welfare, husbandry and sustainability issues is highly 

relevant. However, zoo collections can also be used to help 

answer many other important practical and theoretical 

questions including ones on the taxonomy, morphology and 

evolution of animals and even the psychology of the visitors 

viewing them. The EAZA Research Committee has been 

working hard for two years or more on the EAZA Research 

Strategy, which is now ready for publication. It is all about 

actively developing the research potential of the zoos and 

aquaria in Europe and each member zoo budgeting for staff 

and resources against their own strategies. 

Describe one of your favourite research projects undertaken by 

your zoo. My favourite personal research project (completed 

after I took up employment with Chester Zoo) was in collaboration 

with my good friend the late great Guy Teugels of 

the Central African Museum, Tervuren, Belgium. Based on 

years of fieldwork conducted in the rainforests of west Africa, 

we produced ‘Fishes of the Cross River basin (Cameroon- 

Nigeria): Taxonomy, zoogeography, ecology and conservation 

(1992)’. We recognised a minimum of 166 species of fish 

(in 15 orders, 42 families and 97 genera), including several 

that were new to science. No previous authors had guessed 

that this basin could hold anything like as many species. The 

Cross River is now widely recognised as a major biodiversity 

‘hotspot’ for fishes where new taxa are still being discovered. 

What do you enjoy most about your job? I like the huge variety 

of things that come my way and enjoy the fact that I have 

to interact with lots of different people. No two days are 

the same; one day I could be dealing with a zoo licensing 

inspection, another I might be down in London giving an 

invited talk to the British Standards Institute on the zoo 

team proudly achieving the international environmental 

management standard ISO14001. Given my scientific 

interests, hosting the annual EAZA Research Committee 

meeting in Chester is always a high point! 

Is there any particular species or group of animals that stands 

out for you? If so, why? At the moment amphibians are a 

taxon of great conservation concern, because very many 

species and populations are threatened with extinction 

around the world. I act as a co-chair for the Amphibian Ark 

(AARK) partnership initiative between IUCN CBSG/ASG, 

WAZA and the Regional Zoo Associations, notably 

including EAZA who have been very supportive. Among 

other things, we are all working hard to deliver a ‘Year of 

the frog’ campaign for 2008. •

Developing research 

potential 

The purpose of the EAZA Research 

Strategy is to help zoos and 

aquaria to develop their research 

potential. It also aims to promote 

research partnerships between 

EAZA member institutions, and 

between zoos and academic institutions 

and other research institutions. 

Biodiversity conservation 

and animal welfare are its main 

objectives. Scientific education 

and training, the publication and 

dissemination of research results 

and new information, and the 

linking of in-zoo investigations to 

in situ studies are included in the 

research vision and mission. These 

are placed against an increasing 

awareness of the need to deal 

with emerging diseases and global 

climate change. 

The goals that EAZA wants to 

accomplish are outlined in the 

document together with a number 

of suggestions as to how they 

might be achieved. The EAZA 

Research Committee has addressed 

questions such as prioritisation of 

research, how to build research 

capacity within zoos of all sizes, 

how research can be funded, and 

where the results of research can 

be published. The document also 

briefly considers ethical issues, 

gives examples of previous and 

current research, and indicates where 

further information may be found. 

The EAZA Research Committee 

has developed a scientific ‘vision’ 

and ‘mission’ to support the 

science and research which underpins 

many of EAZA’ s functions. 

Research vision 

“Every European zoo and aquarium 

will make a significant contribution 

to effective research, particularly 

in the areas of biodiversity conservation 

and animal welfare. They 

will also produce and use highquality 

science to increase knowledge 

which improves the quality 

of decision-making and management 

of collections and projects. 

Furthermore, they will engage in 

scientific education and training.” 

Research mission 

The committee will work towards 

the research vision and will act to 

support and encourage European 

zoos and aquaria to adopt a scientific 

approach and participate in 

research. The committee will also 

support zoos and aquaria to 

develop a meaningful expenditure 

plan for research purposes and for 

providing the necessary facilities, 

tools and staff to conduct effective 

biological research. Zoos and 

aquaria will be encouraged to 

produce and publish high-quality 

scientific research in increasingly 

greater measure. They will be 

encouraged to develop new scientific 

perspectives, linking basic 

and applied research in situ and 

ex situ, and to use existing and 

new methodologies, including 

cryobiology and biotechnology, to 

engage in collaborative partnerships 

with peer institutions and 

kindred organisations. 

The EAZA Research Committee 

has prepared an outline set of 

goals for EAZA member institutions, 

TAGs, committees and 

working groups in response to 

the relevant sections of the World 

Zoo and Aquarium Conservation 

Strategy. Summarised, each EAZA 

member institution will: 

- identify and pursue it’s own 

research policies and priorities; 

- participate in research; 

- develop infrastructure for 

research; 

- link research to the collection 

planning process; 

- disseminate research plans, 

news and results; 

- identify research in which it can 

cooperate collectively; 

- ensure that staff understand the 

value of research in zoos; 

- integrate research as a component 

of management decisions; 

- maximise the use of ZIMS and 

other databases as research tools; 

- measure and evaluate research 

process and output. 

research 

The EAZA Research Strategy: 

Developing the research potential of zoos and aquaria 

Alastair A. Macdonald, vice-chair of the EAZA Research Committee, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, United 

Kingdom and Andrea L. Fidgett, member of the EAZA Research Committee, North of England Zoological Society, Chester, United Kingdom 

EAZA TAGs, Committees and 

Working Groups will: 

- identify research questions 

specific to their taxa/expertise; 

- ensure that all members understand 

the value of and need for 

research on their taxa/expertise; 

- disseminate research plans, 

news and results; 

- measure, evaluate and recognise 

research progress and the 

resultant output. 

The survey of research conducted 

among EAZA members during 

2005 provided a lot of very helpful 

and encouraging data. Clearly, 

EAZA zoos and aquaria should 

resolve to prioritise research and 

build capacity, communication 

networks and resources. There is, 

in particular, a need to include 

research in budgets and to 

organise funding partnerships. 

The EAZA Research Strategy has 

been designed to support and 

promote these opportunities. • 

photo rob doolaard (izp)/rotterdam zoo 

As soon as the EAZA Research Strategy is published, the document 

will be distributed amongst the EAZA membership and will be made 

available through the EAZA website. 


2007 

11


2007 

12 

births and hatchings 

Hamburg germany source 

website hamburg zoo and stephan hering-hagenbeck 

Tierpark Hagenbeck (Hamburg) celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, 

amongst others with the birth of a female Asian elephant (Elephas 

maximus). The 17-year-old female ‘Lai Singh’, the lowest in hierarchy of 

ten (2.8) elephants, gave birth to a healthy offspring on 11 April 2007. 

Unfortunately, her first delivery (four years ago) was a stillbirth, which 

took place within the herd. This second young, a female, is being reared 

by its mother within the group and is drinking well. 

Tierpark Hagenbeck had 13 elephant births (5.8) in the past 15 years. The 

last four births took place within the herd. Special about this last birth is 

that this was the first time in the zoo’s history that a calf was born 

amongst an elephant herd of seven other animals. Previous birth herds 

did not include more than five animals (females with offspring), due to 

space problems. In November 2006 however, a new indoor enclosure of 

approximately 1000 m2 (excluding the visitors areas) was finished. 

Tierpark Hagenbeck will also host the fifth Elephant Management School. 

For more information, please refer to: www.elephant-management.com 

photo hamburg zoo 

Berlin germany source 

website berlin zoo 

Twin male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) were born on 5 December 

2006 at the Berlin Zoo. Father of the cubs, 13-year-old male ‘Lars’, was 

born on 12 December 1993 in the Münich Zoo. The twenty-year-old 

mother ‘Tosca’, who was received from a German circus in 1999, did not 

show any interest in the offspring and the youngsters were removed for 

hand-rearing. One of the cubs died four days later. The second young 

‘Knut’ weighed 810 g at birth and did much better. 

The first six weeks he was kept in an incubator and his weight increased 

to 3,9 kg in this period. He was then transferred to a larger, open box 

kept at room temperature. The last polar bear to be successfully reared 

at the zoo was 33 years ago. 

Another significant birth reported by Berlin Zoo was that of a healthy 

baby bonobo (Pan paniscus) on 24 February 2007. This was female 

‘Yala’s’ third offspring and she is again taking good care of the youngster. 

It is unclear which of the males in the group of six animals is the father, 

a DNA test will clarify this in a later stage. There are two candidates, the 

28-year-old ‘Simon’ or the two years younger ‘Santi’, as both have been 

seen copulating with the female eight months earlier. Theoretically, even 

the 12-year-old ‘Vifijo’, who arrived from Planckendael Zoo (Mechelen) at 

the end of 2005, could be the father as he also was seen mating with Yala. 

photo berlin zoo

Budapest hungary source 

ilma bosch 

The worlds’ first alive southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum 

simum) conceived through artificial insemination, was born on 23 January 

2007. The successful artificial insemination took place on 8 September 

2005, after which the pregnancy lasted 16 months and 15 days. During 

this period the veterinarian team continuously checked the health status 

of both mother and fetus by collecting faecal samples and blood in order 

to measure hormone levels. Regular ultrasound examinations, via a 

4D GE ultrasound device, were carried out as well. On 3 December 2005, 

one of these examinations revealed a 8,5 cm long fetes. 

At birth, the female calf was 58 kg and 117 cm long. She stood up an hour 

after birth and started to search for her mother’s nipple. Unfortunately 

her mother ‘Lulu’ did not let her suckle. Sometimes Lulu even showed 

aggression towards her baby and therefore, after 8,5 hours, the Budapest 

Zoo team decided to feed the calf by a colostrum product. 

After the reintroduction following this feeding, Lulu viciously attacked 

her baby. Consequently, it was decided to continue the hand-rearing 

process. Fortunately, Lulu is willing to let the keepers and vets milk her, 

so the baby receives actual rhino milk. 

photo béla szandelszky 

Newquay united kingdom source 

website Newquay Zoo and Stewart Muir 

A baby western black and white colobus monkey (Colobus 

polykomos) is being hand-reared by staff at Newquay Zoo after the 

mother rejected the baby. The baby was born on 30 December 2006 and 

staff kept a close eye on seven-year-old mother ‘Sierra’ as her previous 

baby had not survived beyond a week. This time it was decided to not 

take any chances and staff kept a very close watch on how the female 

was treating the baby. It became evident very quickly that this baby was 

going to suffer a similar fate if staff did not intervene. 

After discussions with keeping staff and the EEP coordinator for this 

species, it was agreed to remove the baby and hand-rear with a view to 

returning her to the main group as soon as possible. Once the baby was 

removed for hand-rearing it was identified as a female. Head keeper Sam 

Harley, who has much experience in hand-rearing animals, quickly got 

into the routine of feeding every two hours night and day. The baby was 

named ‘Sokojoo’ which means ‘Hiccup’ (as the baby sometimes hiccups 

after she has fed her) in Mandinka, the language of Gambia which is 

where these monkeys originate. 

As soon as the baby is onto solid food, it will be placed into a small 

enclosure next to the main colobus enclosure so that she can get used 

to the sights, sounds and smells of the adult colobus and they can get 

used to her. The keepers will continue to feed her and check on her, 

and then hopefully within the next few months it will be possible to 

reintroduce her to the main group. Newquay Zoo currently has a group 

of 1.3 colobus, including the most recent offspring. There are some thirty 

animals in Europe, kept by six zoos, all participating in the EEP for this 

species. 


photo newquay zoo 


2007 

13


2007 

14 


Amsterdam the netherlands source 

source press releases and marcel breeschoten 

photos ronald van weeren/artis royal zoo 

For the first time in ten years a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla 

gorilla gorilla) has been born at Artis Royal Zoo (Amsterdam). On 

13 March 2007, gorilla ‘Binti’ gave birth to her first baby ‘Bwana’. Both 

mother and baby (a male) are doing very well. Since the renovation of 

the gorilla house in 1999 Artis Royal Zoo has been investing in compiling 

a healthy group of gorillas. Fourteen-year-old Binti arrived at Artis Royal 

Zoo in October 1999. She was born at Apenheul Primate Park (Apeldoorn) 

where she gained much experience in the care for gorilla babies. Despite 

several attempts, the previous two males did not succeed in impregnating 

Binti and the other two females ‘Shindy’ and ‘Dafina’. On 23 September 

2005, the twelve-year-old male ‘Akili’ arrived from Serengeti Safaripark 

Hodenhagen, Germany. He immediately impressed the females (mating 

Figure 1 Echoscope of tapir 

was spotted early on) and the atmosphere within the group soon was 

very relaxed. Early 2007 it appeared that all three females were pregnant. 

Unique for the zoo is that Binti immediately took care of her baby 

and breast fed him. The other females Dafina and Shindy indeed had 

several young previously, but none of them was raised by its own mother. 

Both Dafina and Shindy have been handraised and it is hoped that 

with her experience, Binti will serve as an example to these two future 

mothers. 

Another important breeding event took place in the night of 18 January 

2007; a Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) was born. As mother ‘Aya’, 

will swoon when her keepers massage her with a brush and has such 

a friendly nature, her pregnancy could be monitored weekly through 

an echoscope (see Figure 1). Consequently, the growth of the fetus could 

be well-documented. 

On 12 December 2005, four-year-old Aya mated with 15-year-old male 

‘Dick’. The veterinarian assumed she became pregnant as her progesterone 

level, which had been measured every two weeks since a year, did not 

decrease after a few weeks. In March 2006 this was confirmed by the first 

echoscope; an embryo was clearly visible within the womb. After a couple 

of months, the veterinarian could see a heartbeat and some movements of 

the calf. The delivery went well and mother and calf (female) are doing fine.

irths and hatchings 

St. Aignan france source 

aude desmoulins, romain potier and rodolphe delord 

ZooParc de Beauval (St. Aignan) created a new area for Austral-Asiatic species 

in 2002 (please refer to EAZA News 40/2002, p.14). This area includes: 

– an open enclosure for red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) and 

Cereopsis geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae); 

– an open enclosure for Tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii), 

Parma wallabies (Macropus parma) and Bennett’s wallabies 

(Macropus rufogriseus); 

– a 1,200 m2 building with: 

– a 40,000 l tank for Sarcophyton sp, Amphiprion sp and 

Pomacanthus sp. 

– two vivaria for jungle carpet pythons (Morelia spilota cheynei ) 

and red-tailed ratsnakes (Gonyosoma oxycephala) 

– seven enclosures for Queensland koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus 

adustus), Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus goodfellowi), 

brush-tailed rat-kangaroos (Bettongia penicillata), and 

Matschie’s tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus matschiei ) 

This exhibit is heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer, to obtain 

an average temperature of 22°C. The plants, e.g. cactus, palm trees and 

fig trees, add to the special atmosphere of this area. 

ZooParc de Beauval is the only European zoo to keep two species of tree 

kangaroos. Only five European zoos currently house tree kangaroos. 

The zoo welcomed its first two female Matschie’s tree kangaroos ‘Shiela’ 

and ‘Princess Di’ in March and May 2002. A male, ‘Komba’, came from 

Duisburg in February 2003, while Shiela left to Cologne Zoo. During the 

first six months, Komba and Princess Di were separated by glass and a 

small area of wire mesh to allow protected contact. They mated quite 

quickly after their introduction. The first joey was lost after two months 

in the pouch in 2003. There was no sign of breeding behaviour for more 

than one-and-a-half year after this, and thus the decision was made to 

regularly separate Komba and Princess Di, hoping to increase their mutual 

interest. Mating then occurred daily 62 days from the end of 2005 on. 

The activities of the tree kangaroos are monitored by a camera so that 

the two keepers can watch their behaviours from the kitchen. They care- 

Edinburgh united kingdom source 

edinburgh zoo 

Edinburgh Zoo welcomed the birth of their first Malayan tapir 

(Tapirus indicus) ‘Vasan’ on 2 March 2007. The offspring is being reared 

by 3,5-year-old female ‘Sayang’, a first-time mother. The adult pair of 

tapirs arrived from Dortmund Zoo in 2004. Male ‘Ka’ was born August 

2003 in Dortmund Zoo and female Sayang was born in October 2003 in 

London Zoo. 

photo zooparc de beauval 

fully record data on sexual and other interesting behaviours. Based on 

these observations, a birth was expected late February or early March 

2006. The behaviour of Princess Di changed on 2 March. She was restless 

and perturbed. The keepers noticed some contractions in the afternoon. 

Suddenly, they saw something moving on the lower part of Princess Di’s 

belly … and a very small ‘thing’ fell on one of the resting shelves… The 

vets and the director were immediately informed. They entered the 

enclosure, caught Princess Di, and put the joey inside her pouch. About 

15 days later they checked whether the joey was still in the pouch, which 

was the case. The keepers saw Princess Di cleaning her pouch several times 

a day, and week after week the pouch increased in size. In August, a leg 

sometimes appeared from the pouch for a few seconds. In October 2006, 

one finally had the pleasure to meet the first son of Princess Di, ‘Kiari’. 

photo edinburgh zoo 


2007 

15


2007 

education 

An effort to reach young people 

with social problems 

Helena Olsson, member of the EAZA Education Committee, Eskilstuna Zoo, Sweden 

Mixing theory and practice 

The school in Eskilstuna Zoo, Sweden, is working on different levels to 

contribute to general education of the whole community. Eskilstuna Zoo 

cooperates with the local government, which sends children ten to 14 years 

of age to the zoo school. This is the age when children enter the last 

stage of compulsory school in Sweden. The zoo school is about to start a 

cooperation where it will be working with teenage girls (aged 13 to 16 years) 

with social problems. The zoo has chosen to work with girls, because 

similar programmes for boys already exist. The girls come from difficult 

social backgrounds and many of them have been involved with crime and 

drugs. Most have dropped out of school and have had no formal education 

during the last couple of years. This is a final attempt to provide 

the girls with the education they need. It is hoped that their interest 

will be retriggered when they receive education through the zoo school, 

where they will experience a mix of theoretical and practical training. 

Mathematics, chemistry and physics 

The zoo school will teach mathematics by having the girls calculate the 

amount of food and different nutrients the zoo animals need. They will 

also be taught how to prevent food wastage. The zoo school will also 

deal with chemistry in different ways, for example, by showing how to 

mix the additional vitamins and minerals the animals need and explaining 

how these compounds affect the animal body. Principles in physics 

will be illustrated by different devices for gates and locks for the animal 

cages, as well as ropeways that will be built. The girls will have to figure 

out how to make animals, especially the cats, use the ropeways. 

Water characteristics 

Another important subject is water. Eskilstuna Zoo is now building a new 

tropical house called ‘Amazoonas’. A couple of subjects the girls will study 

in this building include the different kinds of pumping mechanisms, how 

to handle water currents, how to heat the water and how to keep the water 

clean. This will provide the girls with basic knowledge of water physics 

and is an opportunity to practise their mathematics. A lot of effort will 

also be put into teaching the girls about the chemical characteristics of 

water and how it effects animals that live in or near water. This is also a 

good opportunity to talk about osmosis and cell biology. 

photo rob doolaard/izp 

Zoo schools all over the world have different roles to play and they provide education and information on 

different levels. One of the major goals is to make a contribution to saving biological diversity. Since threats 

to biological diversity are growing continuously, sustainable education in zoos is increasingly important. 

Few venues have the same opportunity as zoo schools to educate about ecological connections and to make 

people aware that their daily actions have a major impact on the environment. 

16 

photo anita sandberg 

Social influences on the environment 

Though mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology are important 

topics, the social aspect will of course not be neglected in the zoo school 

project. Because zoos study the areas where the zoo animals come from, 

it is rather easy for the zoo school to teach geography. By making a 

connection between the social aspects that are involved when talking 

about the environment, e.g. war, competition between humans and 

animals for resources, the killing of animals and the cutting down of 

forests by humans for financial benefits, the girls will be taught that 

human actions leave an ecological foot print. 

It is not claimed that this is the ultimate way of educating young people 

with social problems that somehow can not cope with ordinary school. 

One way to evaluate this project after a while, would be to see how 

many of the girls that went to the zoo school graduate in the end. It is 

thought however, that combining theory with a lot of practical examples 

is one way to help these children. Both the interest in the animal kingdom 

as well as a wish to make this planet a better place to live, seems to 

be very important for these girls. This type of integrated education gives 

them a completely different view on the future and makes them aware 

that they can do and know as much as ‘ordinary’ students, providing 

them with more self-confidence. This is the basis for learning other 

things, like maths or biology. •

New 

Andean condor 

enclosure 

at the Welsh 

Mountain Zoo 

A basic enclosure design 

After enough money was raised for the new enclosure, the next step was 

to find a suitable location. A perfect spot was found in one of those corners 

of the zoo that had been ‘forgotten’ about. The enclosure design was kept 

basic, using new telephone poles as the frame for the 5 cm square-welded 

mesh to hang on. A heavy-duty 5 cm square nylon netting was used for 

the roof. The netting is very strong, is UV stabilised and has a guaranteed 

twenty year life. The netting is the same type used on the golden eagle 

(Aquila chrysaetos) enclosure nine years ago, and it has proven to be very 

effective, even when covered with 20 cm of snow. 

Incorporated into the enclosure design were two feeding areas, so that 

the birds can be separated for feeding and cleaning, thus cutting down on 

competitive aggression. Partly due to the fact that the condors have never 

been fed together – they are separated for the time it takes them to eat 

their ration of food (half an hour or so) – the pair of condor have always 

been very compatible. A cave area is built into the back of the enclosure, 

where it is hoped the condors will nest. The birds have access to high 

perches and to several large tree trunks to use as perches on the ground. 

Construction finalised 

Even with this basic design, the enclosure took several months to build. 

One of the reasons construction time was prolonged was because the 

whole area had to have three layers of scaffold, to ensure the builders’ 

safety. This was expensive and took time to erect and take down. The 

final cost of the new enclosure was over £100,000, roughly €147,000. 

The ground area of the new enclosure measures 25 m x 22 m and it is all 

on a steep slope (well, the zoo is called Welsh ‘Mountain’ Zoo after all….). 

The public can view the enclosure through a 1.2 m window panel from the 

side where the height of the enclosure is 3 m. The enclosure height rises 

to nearly 10 m at the rear of the enclosure. 

The birds were finally moved to their new enclosure in the late summer of 

2006. After an initial reluctance to move, they started to explore their new 

home. Almost immediately, male Gus started to pull all of the expensive 

new enclosures 

Peter Litherland, Welsh Mountain Zoo, Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom 

The Welsh Mountain Zoo, Colwyn Bay, has kept 

Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) for many years. 

Male ‘Gus’ arrived from the North of England 

Zoological Society (Chester), in March 1988 and female 

‘Sonya’ was acquired in October 1989 from the 

Zoological Society of London. The Welsh Mountain 

Zoo had been unhappy with the old condor enclosure 

for some time, resulting in a two year public 

campaign to raise money for the construction of a 

new enclosure. Generous visitors and supporters 

helped fund the new purpose-built enclosure. 

photos peter litherland 

new plants out of the ground. The keepers called it enrichment, but the 

head gardener called it something else… 

Conservation and education 

The Welsh Mountain Zoo is responsible for the Andean condor EEP and 

has built up a relationship with a conservation project in Ecuador. The 

project, titled ‘Condor Huasi’ (translating into ‘House of the condor’ from 

the native Indian Quichua language), is a wildlife conservation and 

education initiative that aims to raise awareness among children and the 

general public of Ecuador. It focuses on the importance of environmental 

and wildlife conservation in the Andean highlands known as Paramo, 

with specific emphasis on the issues concerning the survival of its ‘anchor 

species’, the Andean condor. The zoo has made a commitment to donate 

US$1,000 (€690,-) a year, and will be raising both awareness and cash for 

the conservation and education programme. 

Breeding 

Welsh Mountain Zoo had a major breakthrough last year, when for the 

first time a fertile egg was laid. The chick unfortunately died just several 

days before it was due to hatch. It is hoped that 2007 will be a good year 

for Sonia and Gus, and that improved conditions and experienced and 

motivated staff will equate to a successful and much needed breeding. • 

The keepers called it enrichment, but the head gardener called it something else… 


2007 

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2007 

18 

welcome to eaza 

Corporate members 

Corporate membership of EAZA can be awarded to commercial entities that supply or service zoos and aquaria. Two new corporate members are introduced here. 

Mazuri Zoo Foods CORPORATE MEMBER 

www.mazurifoods.com (as of January 2007) 

Manufacturer and supplier of zoological diets, specifically formulated for each species. 

Prendo AB / ZooTrend CORPORATE MEMBER 

www.zootrend.com (as of May 2007) 

Prendo has three different divisions: Promotion&Gifts, Workwear and ZooTrend. ZooTrend supplies a wide range of realistic plush animals for zoos, aquariums and amusement parks. 

collection planning 

CHANGES TO EXISTING TAGs 

EAZA Waterfowl tag 

Bernd Marcordes (chair), Cologne Zoo 

15 January 2007 

EAZA Galliformes tag 

Ludo Pinceel (vice-chair), 

World Pheasant Association 

9 March 2007 

EAZA Great Ape tag 

Tom de Jongh (chair), Burgers’ Zoo (Arnhem) 


NEW EEPs 

Greater bamboo lemur eep 

(Hapalemur simus) 

Delphine Roullet, Paris Zoo 

18 February 2007 ( previously esb ) 

Red-bellied lemur eep 

(Eulemur rubriventer) 

Pierre Moisson, Mulhouse Zoo 

30 January 2007 ( previously esb ) 

Crowned sifaka eep 

(Propithecus coronatus) 

Delphine Roullet, Paris Zoo 

18 February 2007 

Common squirrel monkey eep 

(Saimiri sciureus) 

John Pullen, Marwell Zoo 


CHANGES TO EXISTING EEPs 

Palm cockatoo eep 

(Probosciger aterrimus) 

Romain Potier, Zooparc de Beauval (St-Aignan) 

9 May 2007 

Bali starling eep 

(Leucopsar rothschildi ) 

Bernd Marcordes, Cologne Zoo 

19 April 2007 

Pygmy slow loris eep 

(Nycticebus pygmaeus) 

Ewa Trzewoska, Poznan Zoo 

9 March 2007 

Golden-headed lion tamarin eep 

(Leontopithecus chrysomelas) 

Peter Galbusera, Antwerp Zoo 


Bonobo eep 

(Pan paniscus) 

Zjef Pereboom, Antwerp Zoo 

9 March 2007 

European otter eep 

(Lutra lutra) 

Jo Elliott, Edinburgh Zoo 

8 May 2007 

Southern cheetah eep 

(Acinonyx j. jubatus) 

Jacques Kaandorp, Safaripark Beekse Bergen 

(Hilvarenbeek) 

9 March 2007 

Northern cheetah eep 

(Acinonyx j. soemeringi) 

Sean McKeown, H.H. Skeikh Butti Maktoum’s 

Wildlife Centre (Dubai) 

9 March 2007 

Okapi eep 

(Okapia johnstoni ) 

Kristin Leus, Antwerp Zoo 


Cuvier’s gazelle eep 

(Gazella cuvieri ) 

Eulalia Moreno, Estación Experimental de Zonas 

Áridas (Almeria) 


NEW ESBs 

Zebra shark esb 

(Stegostoma fasciatum) 

Max Janse, Burgers’ Zoo (Arnhem) 

9 March 2007 

Blue spotted stingray esb 

(Taeniura lymma) 

Nuria Baylina, Oceanario de Lisboa 

9 March 2007 

programme updates As approved by the EEP Committee 

Common chimpanzee esb 

(Pan troglodytes) 

Frands Carlsen, Copenhagen Zoo 

8 May 2007 

CHANGES TO EXISTING ESBs 

African dwarf crocodile esb 

(Osteolaemus tetraspis) 

Fabian Schmidt, Leipzig Zoo 

9 March 2007 

Rhinoceros iguana esb 

(Cyclura cornuta) 

Volker Grun, Frankfurt Zoo 

19 April 2007 

Carnaby’s black cockatoo esb 

(Calyptorhynchus latirostris) 



Red-tailed black cockatoo esb 

(Calyptorhynchus banksii ) 



Purple-naped lory esb 

(Lorius domicellus) 


25 April 2007 

Black-eared marmoset esb 

(Callithrix penicillata) 

Bernard Holdijk, Dierenpark Wissel (Epe) 

9 March 2007 

Red-bellied tamarin esb 

(Saguinus labiatus) 

Pierre Grothmann, Magdeburg Zoo 

9 March 2007 

Warthog esb 

(Phacochoerus africanus) 

Kathleen Standen, Edinburgh Zoo 

9 March 2007

Wanted: 

New holders 

for the Sloth 

bear EEP 

Lars Versteege, coordinator Sloth 

bear EEP, Safaripark Beekse Bergen, 

Hilvarenbeek, the Netherlands 

The Sloth bear EEP was established in 1989 and managed by Amsterdam 

Royal Zoo until August 2005. For almost 18 years the EEP population has 

fluctuated between twenty and thirty animals in two different subspecies 

(M. u. ursinus and M. u. inornatus). At the moment there are only 

22 Indian sloth bears (M. u. ursinus) and five Sri-Lanka sloth bears 

(M. u. inornatus) in the EAZA region, and many individuals are inbred 

due to the lack of unrelated animals. 

As the EAZA Bear TAG realised that there are only few chances – if not 

only one – to save the sloth bear, it decided to stimulate the EEP to start 

a big promotion campaign for keeping this species. The last 18 years 

there has been a disinterest in EAZA institutions to keep sloth bears, 

although the EEP always tried to find new holders. There is a desperate 

need to import unrelated founders into the EEP population, but in order 

to do that, more institutions have to commit to start keeping sloth bears. 

During the EAZA Annual Conference in Madrid, October 2006, the promotion 

campaign was launched, leading to some positive results. Three new 

institutions indicated their interested in keeping sloth bears, of which one 

has already received two females. Consequently, the EEP can undertake an 

effort to import new animals from India. However, more institutions are still 

needed to house same-sex groups of animals not recommended for breeding 

and to participate in possible other future imports from India. This 

EEP’s only chance to become sustainable in the future is by increasing the 

population and hence increasing the number of exhibits (i.e. new holders). 

Most of the current holders are very interested in the sloth bear and will 

do anything possible to save this EEP population. In general, sloth bears 

are not a highly demanding species when it comes to husbandry and 

management. Depending on the climate, they will need a winter accom- 


photos safaripark beekse bergen 

modation with a temperature of at least 10°C. A simple water moat or 

fence with electrical wires will be enough as a barrier, but the ability of 

sloth bears to dig enormous holes should not be underestimated. 

What can your institution gain from keeping sloth bears? 

- a truly attractive and active species for your visitors; 

- a unique chance to help save this endangered bear species; 

- a perfect chance to educate visitors about ‘dancing bears’ and the 

possibility to fight this animal cruelty; 

- a great opportunity to use the classic ‘Jungle Book’ story in an 

awareness campaign for children. 

If your institution is interested in keeping sloth bears, please contact 

Lars Versteege at l.versteege@beeksebergen.nl • 

To expand or not to expand, that’s the question ! 

Are you updating your institutional collection plan or seeking to add more EEP or ESB species to your collection? Many programmes are 

in need of additional participating institutions. There are also several EEP and ESB programmes that specifically wish not to expand. 

Please refer to the member area of the EAZA website (TAG section) for an up to date overview of these wishes per breeding programme. 


2007 

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2007 

20 


EU ban on wild bird imports 

William van Lint, EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 

The outbreak of Avian Influenza (H5N1) in different countries in Europe in 2005 and 2006 gave reason for the 

veterinary authorities in Brussels (SANCO) to implement a temporary bird import ban at that time. This 

initial import ban was extended several times, partly due to the strong animal welfare lobby which was very 

active in Brussels. 

An indefinite import ban was announced by the European Union on i 

11 January 2007. The ban has been adopted on the grounds that it will 

help prevent the spread of Avian Influenza and other diseases. 

The secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) expressed its disappointment 

immediately after the official announcement: 

‘….“As the ban only concerns the import of wild birds, it risks casting 

the wrong impression that the international bird trade is not 

effectively controlled. However, this trade is carefully regulated by the 

169 member countries of CITES. 

The global trade in wild birds has declined from an estimated 7.5 

million birds a year in 1975 (when CITES came into effect) to around 

1.5 million today. By contrast, the global trade in live domestic poultry 

involves some 750 million birds a year; this trade, however, is not 

affected by the EU’s new health-related law as chicken and other 

poultry are not considered to be ‘birds’ under its terms. 

……… 

While CITES itself does impose trade bans on international trade in 

specimens of highly endangered species such as sea turtles and the 

tiger, it recognizes that bans risk creating black markets. By ending 

legal and tightly managed imports, the EU risks driving the market 

underground and making it less transparent. It also risks undermining 

the impoverished communities who depend on the environmentally 

sustainable trade in birds and removing their economic incentives for 

protecting bird habitat. 

The expert report that prompted the new EU legislation did not 

address the ban’s expected impact on nature conservation in the source 

countries. Nevertheless, it concluded that "Some local communities in 

countries of origin maintain bird habitat in order that they can catch 

wild birds for export and derive a significant part of their income from 

such sales. These practices can have a beneficial effect on bird conservation, 

even if birds are removed from wild populations and there are 

bad effects on bird welfare".’ 

Though zoos are exempted from the ban, there are still a lot of uncertainties 

and concerns about it. SANCO (veterinary authorities in Brussels): 

“For zoos the new regulation does not change anything. They are exempt 

from the scope of the regulation on the basis of Article 2 (d). Certain 

categories of birds (birds intended for zoos) are excluded because they are 

covered by other legislation – namely the Council Directive 92/65/EEC 

(‘the Balai Directive’ ) and Decisions 2000/666/EC and 2005/759/EC.” 

EAZA Bird TAGs meeting 

The concerns and uncertainties about the long-term implications of the 

current import ban on bird populations in EAZA institutions were the 

reason for organising a workshop as part of the EAZA Bird TAGs meeting 

hosted by Vogelpark Avifauna, Alphen a/d Rijn, from 14 to 17 March 2007. 

The workshop ‘EU wild bird import ban and the future of EAZA bird 

collections’ was facilitated by Kristin Leus of CBSG Europe. Over fifty 

participants from all over Europe participated in the workshop. 

The workshop started by looking at developments of populations of 

several species of birds, and projections for their future. Does no import 

or reduced import cause problems for bird populations within EAZA 

institutions? Are these bird populations sustainable? Do EAZA institutions 

generate enough birds through breeding? Examples from the EAZA Pigeon 

and Dove TAG (see figure 1) and the EAZA Galliformes TAG showed that 

even without an import ban we are not able/willing to sustainably manage 

an important part of our bird populations: 

EAZA Galliformes TAG (survey 2003 compared to 1995/98 ): 

- 26 populations decreased 

- 5 populations remained stable 

- 12 populations increased 

EAZA Pigeon and Dove TAG (based on EAZA data sets from ISIS): 

- 3 populations went extinct 

- 13 populations decreased 

- 13 increased or were stable 

Figure 1 

EAZA Pigeon and Dove TAG: population development of RCP species (2006) 

1* = sustainable

photo eaza executive office 

In contrast to what one would expect, even a number of managed 

programmes (EEPs and ESBs) in both TAGs are not sustainable. In 

conclusion, EAZA and its members can not lean back, but have to be 

proactive to prevent losing important elements of its bird collections. 

Short- and long-term actions 

Workshop participants identified the following five themes as being the 

most urgent: acquisition, collection planning, awareness, husbandry and 

legislation. A working group was established for each theme to further 

define the problem and to come up with possible solutions. 

All workshop participants really were involved, and put much effort into 

getting satisfying results. The outcomes of the five working groups were 

presented at the end of the day. 

Some important conclusions were that EAZA is not pro-actively involved in 

the development of EU regulations, that there is a lack of willingness to invest 


in birds/bird collections and that regional collection plans are not sufficiently 

implemented at institutional level. Concrete actions were discussed and 

approved by all workshop participants. The acquisition working group 

agreed upon establishing an EAZA Bird Acquisition Working Group that 

will look into non-EAZA bird collections and import policies. The collection 

planning working group suggested actions to improve the implementation 

of regional collection plans and to improve the effectiveness of (programme) 

species. A more constructive use of the EAZA website, EAZA News and other 

media to achieve this goal were strongly recommended for both EAZA 

member institution staff and TAG chairs. Sharing information through the 

EAZA website was also promoted by the husbandry working group. 

Both the awareness and legislation working group concluded that 

actions were needed to inform the EAZA Executive Committee and 

Council that lobbying/representation in Brussels needs more attention. 

Informing decision makers within EAZA institutions about the current 

status was another action point of the awareness working group. These 

and several other actions, both short- and long-term, will form the basis 

for further steps. Some actions were immediately completed; a letter 

was prepared to the EAZA Executive Committee, with a plea for more 

lobbying in Brussels on behalf of the EAZA membership, and a workshop 

on the future of bird collections has been scheduled for the EAZA Annual 

Conference in Warsaw, Poland, September 2007. A report with all workshop 

results will be ready shortly and will be made available to the EAZA 

membership. 

Although the future of bird collections in EAZA member institutions 

proved to be a very complex subject, the workshop did make several steps 

forward! To be continued… • 

Help needed with European guenon survey 

The EAZA Old World Monkey TAG has decided to survey the 

population of forest guenon species (Cercopithecus spp.) in 

order to update its regional collection plan and consequently 

to decide whether breeding programmes for these species 

should be established. The species due to be included in this 

survey are C. mona, C. campbelli, C. nictitans, C. petaurista, 

C. ascanius, C. cephus, C. albogularis and C. mitis. 

All European zoos that have registered their guenons in 

ISIS will be contacted for additional information shortly. 

The TAG is however aware that guenons are often 

kept in small zoos that are not (yet) a member of ISIS. 

Consequently, please contact Jan Vermeer 

(j.vermeer@la-vallee-des-singes.fr) at La Vallée des Singes 

(Romagne) when you have information on guenons that are 

not in ISIS (both in EAZA and non-EAZA zoos or sanctuaries). 

photo jan vermeer/la vallée des singes 


2007 

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2007 

22 

conservation 

Are amphibians 

like canaries in coal mines? 

Kevin C. Zippel, programme officer, IUCN/WAZA Amphibian Ark 

There are well over 6,000 species of frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caecilians known to science. Nearly 

50% of these species have been described since 1985, and surely hundreds more await discovery. They inhabit 

diverse niches, from the treetops to caves and deserts, even reaching the arctic circle, and demonstrate a 

bewildering array of sizes, colours and perhaps most-interestingly, reproductive behaviours. 

Amphibians are important for many reasons. They are a source of vital i 

biomedicines including compounds that are being refined for analgesics, 

antibiotics, stimulants for heart attack victims, blockers of HIV transmission 

and treatments for diverse diseases including cancer. Amphibians’ 

thin, permeable skins help them drink and breathe, but also make them 

susceptible to environmental contaminants, including agricultural, 

industrial, and pharmaceutical pollutants. Amphibians are therefore like 

canaries in a coal mine; just as miners used sensitive canaries to warn 

them of toxic gases in the mines, amphibians might be warning us of 

unsafe environmental conditions that could eventually seriously impact 

our health. They are also vital components of their ecosystems, and in 

some regions a single amphibian species can exceed the biomass of all the 

bird or mammal species combined. Amphibians have played, and still do, a 

significant role in human culture, from traditional medicines and religion, 

to fairy tales, collectable trinkets and live terrarium keeping. 

Surviving the dinosaurs 

Amphibians have thrived for over 360 million years, having survived the 

reign and extinction of the dinosaurs, yet today we are on the verge of 

losing much of this spectacular vertebrate class. The recent Global 

Amphibian Assessment, made by over 600 scientists from 60 countries, 

indicates that nearly half of all species are declining; one-third to one-half 

are threatened with extinction, and over 120 species have gone extinct in 

recent years. For every threatened species of bird or mammal, there are at 

least two or three species of amphibian facing extinction. 

Oedepina carablanca 

Dying from a fungus 

The causes of amphibian extinction are diverse, likely synergistic, and 

poorly understood. By far, habitat loss affects more species than any other 

threat. However, one particular disease is of great concern because of its 

tendency to drive species to extinction and the rate at which it proceeds; 

amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). This has 

been associated with amphibian die-offs in America, Africa, Australia 

and Europe and is currently unstoppable and untreatable in the wild. The 

current hypothesis is that chytrid fungus originated in South Africa but 

was spread around the world from the 1930’s on African clawed frogs 

(Xenopus laevis), which were broadly distributed for use in medicine, 

research, and the pet trade. 

When chytrid arrives in a new region its effects are generally fast and 

severe. For example, it is believed to have arrived in Central America in 

the late 1980’s and has since spread like a wave at approximately 

28 km/year decimating montane amphibian communities as it goes. 

Within three months, about 50% of amphibian species and 80% of 

individuals may disappear. Now known on every amphibian-inhabited 

continent, all indications are that chytrid fungus will continue to spread 

across suitable habitats, leading to widespread amphibian extinctions. 

The conservation community responds! 

The global conservation community responded with an Amphibian 

Conservation Summit in Washington D.C., United States of America, 

convened by Conservation International and the IUCN in September 2005. 

There, a declaration was produced calling for an Amphibian Conservation 

Action Plan (ACAP) to address the extinction crisis and a new IUCN/SSC 

branch – the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) – to carry out that plan. 

The ACAP will carry out research to expand the understanding of causes of 

declines and calls for assessment (e.g. document amphibian diversity, 

changes), long-term conservation and emergency intervention to prevent 

imminent extinctions. With respect to conservation, the highest priority is 

clearly in situ conservation, i.e., saving species in their natural habitat. 

However, park borders might stop poachers, but not amphibian chytrid. In 

this case, ex situ conservation is required, bringing assurance populations 

into captivity to stave off extinction until in situ threats can be mitigated. 

This is the case for hundreds of amphibian species, especially those that 

are Critically Endangered and Extinct in the Wild.

Help from zoos and aquaria is needed 

With over 1,200 institutions, 100,000 employees and 600 million visitors 

per year, zoos and aquaria are uniquely suited to help. They can assist 

with rapid response rescues, captive assurance colonies, providing animals 

for release and research, conservation education, capacity building, fundraising, 

and helping to develop recovery plans. The IUCN has urged that 

“All Critically Endangered and Extinct in the Wild taxa should be subject 

to ex situ management, to ensure recovery of wild populations” and the 

2005 IUCN ACAP White Papers echo that “Survival assurance colonies are 

mandatory for amphibian species that will not persist in the wild long 

enough to recover naturally once environments are restored; these species 

need to be saved now through ex situ measures so that more complete 

restoration of ecosystems is possible in the future”. Comparable calls to 

action are included in the Global Amphibian Assessment and other IUCN 

documents. 

2008: The year of the frog 

The Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) has come together 

with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and ASG 

to form the Amphibian Ark (AArk) to ‘help keep threatened amphibian 

species afloat’. AArk will utilize short-term ex situ management to ensure 

long-term survival of amphibians in nature where protection in the wild 

is not currently possible. The first emphasis is on programmes within 

the range countries of the species, and coupling the ex situ work with 

efforts to secure species in situ. AArk will provide global coordination 

conservation 

Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum photos brian kubicki 

for cooperative ex situ programmes, including leading training courses, 

taxon management, and public relations. It will also lead zoos in a globally 

coordinated public awareness campaign ‘2008: The year of the frog’. 

With about 500 major zoos in the world and perhaps as many as 500 

species requiring ex situ help, AArk is asking each zoo to commit enough 

resources to save one species. To help divide up responsibility for the 

world’s amphibians, AArk is also recommending that each regional zoo 

association takes responsibility for nearby regions. EAZA’s priority must 

be European species, but other responsibilities falling to the region 

include Madagascar, Africa and the Middle East. The EAZA branch of the 

Amphibian Ark in collaboration with the EAZA Amphibian and Reptile 

TAG have already held workshops for Europe and Madagascar; preliminary 

species priorities have been identified and some programmes are already 

under development. 

Developing biosecure facilities 

Zoos have a long way to come to meet the challenges ahead. It is estimated 

that the global zoo community can currently manage viable populations 

of only fifty amphibian species, which amounts to perhaps 10% of 

those requiring ex situ intervention. Urgent action is therefore needed, 

including better educational materials in our institutions and efforts to 

raise awareness, training keepers in amphibian biology and husbandry, 

and construction of additional facilities. It is this latter which poses, 

perhaps, the greatest financial and practical challenge to the traditional 

zoo. 

This article has been abridged and the references were left out due to space limitations. For the original full version of the article including reference details, please refer to the ‘Magazine’ section of the EAZA website. 


2007 

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24 

Hyalinobatrachium lemur 

Facilities for AArk populations must offer high levels of biosecurity and 

automated husbandry in order to keep and breed amphibians that as 

closely resemble the ‘natural state’ as possible. Keeping animals in 

‘permanent quarantine’ for years on end is a rather new concept to most 

animal managers and will require a shift in keeping theory and practice. 

However, facilities need not be large or expensive. 

Of course, some zoos are already making valuable contributions to 

amphibian conservation. Some are constructing dedicated facilities within 

their own grounds (e.g., Antwerp Zoo, Belgium and Cologne Zoo, Germany) 

and some are helping to develop facilities in other regions of the world 

(e.g., Zurich Zoo, Switzerland at Cali Zoo in Colombia and London Zoo, 

Chester Zoo and Durrel [Jersey], United Kingdom, in Dominica). 

Furthermore, there are now several zoo-led courses designed to develop 

husbandry expertise, including Durrell’s Amphibian Biodiversity and 

Conservation Course. Further husbandry-related courses and on-the-job- 

EAZA Amphibian Ark Steering Committee 

Importantly, EAZA has taken a world lead on trying to tackle this global 

amphibian extinction crisis. The commitment and support of the EEP 

Committee, the EAZA Executive Office and numerous other institutions 

and individuals within the EAZA community, has set an example for the 

rest of the world's regional zoo associations to follow. This was clearly 

acknowledged on several occasions at the inaugural AArk meeting in 

Atlanta in February 2007. The plenary session in Madrid, the decision to 

organise the EAZA Amphibian Campaign 2007/8 and the EEP Committee’s 

training opportunities will become available through EAZA in the coming 

months. The first of these include trial husbandry workshops in Plock, 

Poland in April 2007 and Jersey, United Kingdom in August 2007. 

Essential contribution to nature conservation 

Addressing the amphibian extinction crisis represents the greatest species 

conservation challenge in the history of humanity. A third of the world’s 

6,000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. The status of 

many more is unknown but believed to be imperilled, bringing the percentage 

of threatened species potentially as high as 50%. This is significantly 

more than any other group of threat-assessed organisms. In comparison, 

just 12% of bird species and 23% of mammal species are considered threatened. 

Recent amphibian extinctions exceed 120 species and one entire 

family is already lost. Without immediate captive management as a stopgap 

component of an integrated conservation effort, hundreds of species 

will become extinct. 

This is an opportunity for every zoo and aquarium, regardless of size, to make 

a vital conservation contribution, and for our community to be broadly 

acknowledged as a credible conservation partner. Supporting this call to 

action is clearly within the financial capacity of all zoos and aquariums, 

and engages the diverse expertise found within all institutions. If zoos and 

aquaria do not respond immediately and on an unprecedented scale, 

much of an entire vertebrate class will be lost, and they will have failed in 

its most basic conservation mission as defined in the World Zoo and 

Aquarium Conservation Strategy (WAZA, 2005). • 

Through the AArk initiative, many amphibian species can be saved that 

would otherwise be lost forever, and it will be demonstrated to the 

world that zoos and aquaria are essential contributors to nature conservation. 

For more information, please visit www.AmphibianArk.org 

EAZA Amphibian Ark; progress since 

EAZA Annual Conference 2006 

Although for many people it may seem to have been rather quiet 

since the plenary session on the global amphibian extinction crisis 

in Madrid last year, many things have in fact happened. 

endorsement and support of the EAZA Amphibian Ark, are just three 

examples of how EAZA is demonstrating the importance it places in it’s 

membership supporting amphibian conservation. 

For updates on the selection process of priority species for the AArk 

initiative, workshops and several other projects that have been initiated, 

the EAZA Amphibian Ark refers you to the ‘Conservation’ section of the 

EAZA website. Updates will also be published in the next issues of EAZA 

News. •

Martin Wehrle, Goldau Zoo, Switzerland 

Bearded vulture EEP 

For twenty years now, bearded vultures have however been reintroduced 

into the Alps via a project supported by almost thirty zoological institutions. 

The Bearded vulture EEP, one of the first EEPs, was established in 

1986, and mainly focuses on the conservation of bearded vultures in the 

wild. For a long time breeding bearded vultures in captivity seemed almost 

impossible. One of the main problems was the difficulty in distinguishing 

males from females by external features, which hampered the formation 

of pairs. New techniques have made sex determination much easier. In 

January 2006, the Bearded vulture EEP counted 66.60.1 birds. That same 

year 19 eggs hatched, of which 16 chicks were raised successfully by their 

parents or foster parents. Ten chicks have been released in Austria, Italy 

and for the first time in Spain (Sierra de Cazorla). Since the establishment 

of the Bearded vulture EEP, 144 juveniles have been released into the wild. 

Successful rearing at Goldau Zoo 

Goldau Zoo in Switzerland is also involved in the bearded vulture reintroduction 

project. Several zoos keep this species, but each year, only a few 

captive pairs breed. Goldau Zoo has been trying to breed with the species 

since 1995. The zoo built two additional breeding aviaries in 1998, so 

a total of three pairs of bearded vultures could be kept. The first egg 

hatched in 2000. The zoo opened a new exhibit in 2005, informing the 

visitors about the bearded vulture, its biology, its extinction and the 

reintroduction project. Last year was very successful; due to the great 

devotion of the zoo staff, three bearded vultures were successfully raised. 

The staff had to deal with several problems during the rearing period and 

one of the offspring was transported to the Vienna Breeding Unit to be 

reared by foster parents. Two of these three bearded vultures have now 

been released (one in Martelltal and one in Hohe Tauern) and the third 

one went to another breeding centre. 

Late February 2007, another two chicks hatched. One of the chicks died 

due to a goitre infection. The other chick is developing well and will be 

reintroduced in the Swiss National Park in June. 

conservation 

Reintroduction of the bearded vulture 

photo michael knollseisen 

For a long time the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) was hunted fiercely, due to the superstition that, 

besides slaughtering lambs in its wild dives, this gigantic bird would not even shy from stealing children.... 

This lack of knowledge led to the noticeable disappearance of the bearded vultures in the Alps. 

Bearded vultures on the move 

The success of this project shows the importance of zoo cooperation and 

support in conservation of European flagship species. As many as eight 

young vultures could be released at four sites in the Alps during successful 

project years. Since 1997, 33 offspring have hatched in the wild and the once 

extinct vulture has a new and growing natural population. The project 

‘Bearded vulture on the move’ began in 2004. Released single young bearded 

vultures are marked with satellite transmitters, allowing a broad public to 

continuously follow each single bird on the internet. The marked birds are 

located with the help of satellites which circle the earth in the north-south 

axis at a height of 850 km. This interesting information helps to fascinate 

people about the bearded vulture and its alpine habitat. Futhermore, the 

technology provides basic data to study spatial behaviour. 

photo goldau zoo 

Testing transmitters 

Before the project began, the fixation of the satellite transmitters was tested 

on bearded vultures of Goldau Zoo. Two systems proved to be successful; 

the affixation of a transmitter onto a tail feather and the affixation with an 

elastic band which lies around the hips (like a climber’s belt). Consequently, 

two vultures were released and could be monitored in 2005 and 2006. 

Currently, the use of satellite transmitters with GPS modules is being 

evaluated. This would enable more accurate location data in the future. 

The position of the vultures can still be observed via the internet through 

www.bartgeier.ch/unterwegs • 


2007 

25


2007 

26 

conservation 

The Pacarana Conservation Programme; 

an international effort to save an 

endangered species 

Karin Osbahr, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Bogotá, Colombia and Stewart Muir, Newquay Zoo, United Kingdom 

Colombia is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of species diversity, and is second only to Brazil in 

overall number of species. This high biodiversity can be attributed, amongst other reasons, to its mountainous 

aspect, with three Andean ranges reaching almost 6,000 m above sea level. The effects of altitude and climate 

have combined to create a myriad of microhabitats along the slopes of these mountains, each home to its own 

distinct and unique flora and fauna, featuring some of the highest levels of species diversity. These conditions 

contribute to make the Andean region one of the richest in neotropical species and one of the highest in species 

density. This extremely high diversity coupled with the high degree of threat, places Colombia amongst the 

highest conservation priorities on earth. As well as the pacarana (Dinomys branickii ), most of the Andean 

flora and fauna species belong to unique taxonomic groups with a restricted geographical distribution. 

Guagua loba 

The pacarana is one of the least known rodent species of the South 

American Andean region. It was first described by Peters in 1873, and was 

described for the first time in Venezuela during the late 20th century 

(Boher, 1988). In Colombia the range of the pacarana, known locally as 

‘guagua loba’, embraces the whole Andean region with ranges between 

1,800 to 3,200 m (Osbahr, 1995). 

The pacarana has always been mentioned in literature as a rare and 

endangered species (Mohr, 1935; Collins and Eisenberg, 1972; Merrit, 1984; 

White and Alberico, 1992). It is listed by IUCN as Endangered (mainly 

due to drastic habitat reduction) and as Vulnerable in the Red Data Book 

of Threatened Mammals of Columbia (Alberico and Osbahr, 2006). 

The endangered status is based upon a suspected reduction of at least 

50% over the last three generations, based on its occurence and quality 

of habitat, and levels of hunting for meat. However, the remaining 

number, the local geographic distribution and regional or local causes of 

decline are not clear. Taxonomic uniqueness (last survivor of the family 

Dinomyidae), its level of taxonomic threat, (one genera, one species) and 

habitat reduction are probably the only criteria for evaluating its status. 

Pacaranas in zoos 

Historically the number of captive pacaranas held worldwide in zoos has 

also been very small. According to literature the first living animal reached 

Hamburg Zoo, Germany, in 1902 (Mohr, 1937). The international studbook 

maintained by Rio Grande do Sul Zoo in Brazil reported 25 pacaranas in 

nine collections in December 2004 but did not include European zoos. 

As of March 2007, ISIS listed 15.10 pacaranas in three North American and 

two South American zoos. The largest holding of pacaranas at Cali Zoo in 

Colombia has declined because of a high mortality rate in newborn and 

adult animals. 

In situ and ex situ research. 

photo karin osbahr/udca 

The Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA) in Bogotá, 

Colombia, has been researching hystricomorphic rodents of the Andean 

region, including the pacarana and the mountain paca (Cuniculus 

taczanowskii ), since 1990. The pacarana project is part of the UDCA’s 

Andean Ecosystem Research Line and the Fauna Research Group and is 

officially recognised by the Colombian government. The project involves 

captive breeding and basic biological and ecological in situ and ex situ 

research. The research group has developed some basic studies on 

morphophysiology, behaviour, parasitism, geographic distribution and 

nutritional ecology (Osbahr, 1994; 1998; 1999; 2001; 2003; López, et al., 

2000). The information will be used to design a management plan 

for these endangered species, keeping in mind possible reintroduction 

of captive bred animals as well as habitat management and educational 

programmes for local rural communities. 

Studying confiscated pacaranas 

The UDCA obtained a group of four pacaranas confiscated by the 

Colombian government from illegal wildlife trade. The breeding group is

presently maintained in a large outdoor enclosure at the university. 

During the past five years the research project at the university has 

housed 17 pacaranas (including some young born) and five mountain 

pacas. Even though births have occurred throughout the time, many 

newborns died during the first days of life and an increased mortality in 

adults reduced the population to eight animals. 

Support from NGO’s and zoos 

The project has been supported mainly by UDCA, with additional funding 

obtained for specific research from national and international NGO’s. The 

EAZA Small Mammal TAG recommended that a consortium of zoos should 

be formed to support this work. Consequently, since 2004, with the advice 

of the Society for the Protection of Species and Populations (ZGAP), a 

Memorandum of Agreement was signed. 

The Pacarana Conservation Programme is supported by Newquay Zoo, Poznan 

Zoo, Chester Zoo and non-EAZA member Tierpark Cottbus. Recently, the 

Los Angeles Zoo has also joined the Pacarana Conservation Committee. The 

financial and advisory support from zoos will allow increased veterinary care 

and building of a new facility, designed according to the international standards 

of ex situ conservation programmes. This new facility is a priority to guarantee 

a better quality of life for the animals maintained in captivity at the UDCA. 

Long-term actions 

Successful in situ and ex situ conservation to assist wild populations 

requires education, support of field conservation initiatives, research, 

and maintaining or preserving significant amounts of genetic variation 

for the future. Pilot wildlife management programmes will be important 

for raising public awareness and support for wildlife management and 

conservation in general. Colombians, like people elsewhere, are more 

likely to support conservation programmes that offer them tangible 

incentives instead of legal prohibitions. The Pacarana Conservation 

Programme Committee has outlined a global research plan with specific 

in situ and ex situ projects. These will include: 

– DNA studies to define genetic and demographic variability at the 

captive breeding colony and in remaining wild populations; 

– definition of the real conservation status of the species in Colombia; 

– evaluation of the communities’ attitude towards the species; 

– evaluation of the remnant tropical mountain forest; 

– continuation of general biological and ecological studies of the species. 

Facility relocation 

During January 2006, Stewart Muir of Newquay Zoo visited the UDCA 

to see the facility in which the pacarana are kept and to help advise on 

a possible course of action. Initially, the funding provided by the European 

zoos was to improve the existing facility and tackle the serious problem of 

rat infestation. However, the many problems of keeping the animals on 

their present site have become apparent. Its close proximity to domestic 

livestock, the rat problem and the lack of possibility for expansion led to 

the idea of relocating the facility to another part of the campus. Although 

this would cost more money than originally planned it was agreed that 

this was the best solution. 

conservation 

Approximately 500,000 larvae transported in plastic bottles photo stewart muir/newquay zoo 

Thanks to the donation of rat poison from ZGAP, the rat problem has been 

greatly reduced during the last year. Final architectural drawings of the 

new facility, including enclosures, a research room, a kitchen and an office 

have been approved and planning permission has been granted for a new 

site. Construction is due to start in the very near future, and it is hoped 

that the pacaranas will all soon be moving to their new home. 

Future support 

The priority of the Pacarana Conservation Committee is the welfare of 

the pacarana breeding colony at UDCA. Until now, research is carried out 

mainly supported by funds. Long-term actions will be supported by zoos 

which will carry out in situ and ex situ research. Consequently, the 

Pacarana Conservation Programme requires more funding and, in future, 

more research expertise. Besides this, expertise in enclosure design is 

needed; a breeding enclosure has to be established at a nature reserve 

area which will need a building license from local environmental 

authorities. 

Institutions interested in funding opportunities or other supporting 

measures, please contact Karin Osbahr at kosbahr@udca.edu.co • 

Reference: Mohr, E., 1937. Vom Pacarana Dinomys branickii (Peters). 

Der Zoologische Garten NF9, 204-209. 

Approximately 500,000 larvae transported in plastic bottles photo karin osbahr/udca 



2007 

27



28 

Macaques in the Middle Atlas Forest; 

an increasingly rare sight 

Els van Lavieren, IUCN, the Netherlands and Ania Sharwood, AAP - Sanctuary for exotic animals, the Netherlands 

Concern for the wild population of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) in northern Africa was already 

expressed by some researchers in the 1970´s. International recognition of the crisis taking place has only 

occurred in the last few years however. Habitat degradation, macaque population decline, and the large 

influx of illegally traded macaques into Europe are manifestations of an ecosystem in need of attention. 

This has alerted not only independent researchers, but also many conservation organisations, European zoos 

and rescue centres. 

Distribution and population size 

Once spread throughout northern Africa and parts of Europe, now only 

small populations of Barbary macaques remain in Morocco and Algeria. 

In Morocco they can still be found in the Rif Mountains (northern part 

of the country) and the Middle and High Atlas Mountains. The Rif 

Mountains contain a few fragmented populations in disjunctive mixed 

wood forest pockets, and the population of Barbary macaques in the High 

Atlas Mountains is restricted to the Ourika Valley, where only one small 

relic population survives. The Middle Atlas region contains the largest 

remaining population of the species. In Algeria their natural habitat is 

highly fragmented, resulting in small populations in only seven restricted 

areas in the Petit and Grande Kabylie Mountains. 

In merely a few decades, the density of Barbary macaques in the Middle 

Atlas has dropped from 44 to as low as ten individuals per square kilometre. 

The total number of Barbary macaques was estimated at 23,000 in the 

1970´s, already considered a fraction of the historical population size, 

before intensive land use by humans and harvesting for commercial 

purposes. Recent estimations for the total population size in Morocco 

range from 6,000 to 10,000 individuals. 

Local flora and fauna 

The Middle Atlas Mountains boast the last remaining north African 

forest of mixed oak and cedar trees, with a total of around forty different 

species of trees and up to 300 herb and shrub species. The fauna currently 

comprises 37 species of mammals, 142 bird species and 33 species of 

reptiles and amphibians. In the past, these mountains also provided a 

refuge for large mammals, such as the extinct Barbary lion (Panthera 

leo leo). The leopard and the lynx were commonly sighted here too. The 

decline, and even disappearance of several unique species in the Middle 

Atlas Mountains clearly point towards the fact that this ecosystem is 

under great pressure. 

Human-animal conflict 

In response to situations such as food and water shortage in the Barbary 

macaque habitat, the existing animal-human conflict is escalating. 

Approximately 500,000 larvae transported in plastic bottles photo ronald troostwijk 

Local Berbers cut off access to scarce water sources, and subsequently the 

monkeys are forced to strip bark off trees and eat young cedar shoots for 

their water intake. This causes considerable harm to trees that are used 

for the logging industry. In addition to this, as their habitat shrinks, 

Barbary macaques inevitably come closer to agricultural land and 

residential areas. Consequently, they damage crops and become easier 

victims to trapping for the pet trade. As with all primate species, Barbary 

macaques are very important for seed dispersal and control of insect 

populations, and have potential benefits to eco-tourism. Despite this, 

the Barbary macaque, once locally respected, is now often used as a 

scapegoat for the numerous problems in the region.

Approximately 500,000 larvae transported in plastic bottles photos sabine joosten 

Important natural resources 

Invariably, these problems all originate from human exploitation of the 

forest regions, both directly and indirectly. Probably the greatest threats 

are livestock grazing and logging for firewood and timber production. 

These activities lead to the degeneration of indigenous vegetation, 

causing reduced biodiversity and soil erosion. Forests in northern Africa 

also play a vital role in creating shade, regulating the hydrology of the 

area and providing drinking water. The trees retain the soil, and generate 

cooler and wetter microclimates for plants, animals and humans. Reduced 

rain and snowfall have led to severe droughts since the 1990’s. There is a 

deleterious effect on the Moroccan water supply, 60% of which is provided 

by the Middle Atlas forest. Climate change is already and will only 

progressively stress the already degraded ecosystem. The consequences 

are potentially disastrous for both animals, such as the Barbary macaque, 

and local communities depending heavily on the forest resources. 

The European link 

Apart from being a local problem, the Barbary macaque can actually be 

considered a true ‘European issue’ for several reasons. The close economic 

and cultural connections between northern Africa and Europe links us 

to the macaques' countries of origin. The Barbary macaque is the only 

primate species close to Europe (once even an inhabitant of part of 

Europe), and an introduced feral population of a few hundred animals 

lives on the Rock of Gibraltar. An estimated 300 animals are caught from 

the wild annually for the illegal pet trade into Europe. Captive-bred 

populations are kept in many European zoological institutions. Knowing 

that Barbary macaques in northern Africa and their natural habitat are 

currently offered very limited protection, despite their low numbers and 

rapid decline, it seems logical to become involved in the protection of this 

unique species. 

Current conservation measures 

Though most habitats of the Barbary macaque in Algeria benefit from a 

national park status, in Morocco the largest part of their habitat falls 

outside of protected areas. There are however serious plans to give 

protected area status to the central Middle Atlas. As a CITES II species, 

the collection and export of macaques are regulated by a system of 

permits in both Morocco and Algeria, but enforcement of the legislation 

is minimal. As the trade was thought to have a harmful effect on the 

survival of the species, imports into the EU were suspended in 2000 

under the provisions of article 4.6b of EC Regulation 338/97. 

conservation 

These remain in force under the most recent EC suspensions regulation 

EC252/2005. In effect these measures have no influence on the active 

illegal trade. The limited protection measures unambiguously pose a 

direct threat to the survival of the species. 

Action is needed 

Through cooperation on a practical and political level it seems that a 

change for the better is in sight. Local and international research is providing 

a lot of information on the harmful developments in Barbary macaque 

habitat such as the Middle Atlas. IUCN, WWF, the Moroccan Ministry of 

Forest and Water and many specialists in the field have identified the causes 

of the problems, and more importantly, the proper solutions. Various 

measures have been recommended to reduce the chances of the Barbary 

macaque becoming extinct, and turning around unsustainable human 

land use in north Africa. Action points discussed include creating a management 

plan for conservation and sustainable development, the strict 

enforcement of national park guidelines, increased forest guard activities, 

upgrading CITES listing of the Barbary macaque, better enforcement of 

the CITES laws, strict border control and assisting local communities to 

implement an alternative economy to livestock keeping. Over the next 

few years a great deal of attention needs to be devoted to putting these 

strategies into practice. 

Raising awareness and educating both the local and international community 

is the key to gathering the support needed to successfully achieve 

these goals. This is where professional organisations such as EAZA can make 

a considerable contribution. The Barbary macaque in captivity can be used 

as an ambassador, illustrating how we need to promote sustainable use 

of our nearby natural resources. We must help to safeguard the long-term 

survival of these unique and valuable regions such as the Middle Atlas 

Mountains, for the benefit of both humans and animals. • 

Barbary macaques are being monitored by the EAZA Old World Monkey 

TAG. Currently, ISIS lists 102.146.37 Barbary macaques in EAZA institutions. 

However, much more animals are held at non-EAZA institutions 

and/or non-ISIS institutions, and it might well be that the Barbary 

macaque is the most commonly kept primate in captivity in Europe. 



2007 

29



30 

Rescuing European spoonbill eggs 

from spring tides 

Mariano Cuadrado and Iñigo Sánchez, Jerez Zoo, Spain and Claudine de le Court Consejería de Medio, Sevilla, Spain 

In spring, strong tides destroy European spoonbill (Platalea l. leucorodia) nests at a well-known spoonbill 

breeding location in Paraje Natural de las Marismas del Odiel in southwestern Spain. One of the objectives 

of the local environmental authory in Andalucía (Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía) is to 

rescue these spoonbill eggs before they are destroyed. This initiative is part of a managament plan for this 

species, which focuses on increasing the survival chance of spoonbill chicks to improve the knowlegde about 

the species and to contribute to settlement of a new colony at a different site. 

In 2006 approximately 450 eggs in 300 spoonbill nests were in danger of 

being destroyed by the spring tides. Consequently, 112 eggs were collected 

(67 in February and 45 in March), which were transported to Jerez Zoo, 

approximately 50 km east of the breeding site. The eggs were incubated 

and the chicks were hand-reared at the zoo for release back into the wild, 

using a common hacking technique. The release occurred at a different 

site located north of the Doñana area that is believed to be safer from 

flooding than the colony where the chicks originated from. A similar 

action was undertaken in 1997 (please refer to EAZA News 19/1997, p.9). 

Incubation and rearing 

A HF25 Masalles incubator with automatic regulation of humidity 

and temperature was used. Humidity was kept high (ca. 55%) and the 

temperature was kept around 37.4°C, resembling natural conditions. 

A total of 41 eggs hatched; 25 of 67 collected in February and 16 of 45 

collected in March 2007. 

The chicks were kept in artificial nests in groups of about five individuals. 

They were initially fed five times a day with a mixture of small-sized 

fish (Fundulus sp.) and shrimps (similar to their natural diet), ground beef 

heart, flamingo pellets (breeder fine ground, Mazuri ® ) and calcium. The 

number of feedings was reduced and the proportion of large fishes was 

increased after four weeks. The human foster parents wore a white t-shirt 

and a spoonbill adult-like helmet when feeding the chicks to reduce 

likelihood of the chicks imprinting on humans. 

After another week, the birds were transferred to a large enclosure where 

they could fly. The weather conditions usually allowed the chicks to sun 

bathe for at least two hours a day. Body mass of the spoonbills was 

measured daily and bill and tarsus length were measured every four days. 

Releasing the birds 

A total of 38 chicks was raised succesfully. Prior to releasing the birds, they 

were checked on common diseases including Avian Influenza. Five chicks 

were kept at Jerez Zoo after veterinary inspection. The other 33 chicks 

were released in May from an open enclosure in their natural habitat, 

with food supplied every day during one month. The birds could return 

to the enclosure freely, but soon progressively dispersed to other places. 

Approximately 500,000 larvae transported in plastic bottles photos jerez zoo 

It is expected that the spoonbills released last year will behave naturally. 

The spoonbills released in 1997 (72 chicks hatched and were succesfully 

raised from 153 eggs) received the same treatment and showed natural 

behaviours. Some of the spoonbills released in 1997 have been recorded 

over-wintering in west Africa and/or breeding at different colonies 

distributed in southern Spain (unpublished data). If some of the birds 

return to the releasing site (due to a high philopatry) this will increase 

the probability that the species will initiate a colony at the selected site. 

Jerez Zoo will wait for the best results to come. •

ZIMS; ready for the next big step 

Jaime Meyer, ISIS, Minnesota, United States of America 

The ZIMS application is built. 

Now it is on to final testing, and then to deployment. 

End-to-end testing 

After three years of intense, complex global collaboration in which 500 

zoo and aquarium professionals volunteered thousands of hours to 

design it, ZIMS is 99% built. The next phase is testing the application 

to ensure that it performs as it was designed. We call this phase User 

Acceptance Testing (UAT). The UAT process begins with ‘end-to-end’ 

testing of the software. ISIS and the developers from the software 

company (Toronto-based CGI) will work through every ZIMS page, 

from beginning to end, to make sure the application is complete. 

End-to-end testing begins in May 2007, and is planned to last several 

weeks. 

Finding the bugs 

After end-to-end testing, formal UAT testers will be brought into 

the process. About eighty testers from over twenty institutions, 

representing various disciplines in the zoo and aquarium community 

(veterinarians, aquarium specialists, registrars, curators etc.) will work 

though ZIMS screen by screen. ISIS will conduct two training sessions 

to instruct UAT testers how to find and report bugs in the software. 

UAT testers will work from 1,000 scenarios created by ISIS and volunteers 

from the community. Each scenario asks the tester to conduct 

a basic daily ZIMS task, such as accessioning an animal, recording 

an observation or recording a clinical treatment. Each of the eighty 

testers will have between five and forty scenarios to work on, based 

on their personal area of expertise. 

Alpha and beta adopters 

Testing will take place for two weeks, followed by two weeks in which 

CGI will correct the bugs found. Testing will then resume for two 

weeks, followed by another two-week bug fix, and finally another 

two-week testing followed by another two weeks of bug fixes. ISIS 

anticipates that this part of UAT will take 12 weeks. After this phase, 

seven ‘alpha adopter’ institutions will begin using ZIMS throughout 

their institutions. About three months later, 14 ‘beta adopter’ 

institutions will begin using ZIMS as well. The testing phase of ZIMS 

will be completed when ZIMS has been proven to function correctly 

and completely in all the ways ISIS set out in its contract with the 

software company. The list of criteria included in the contract is 

several pages long, because the main goal of ISIS is to deliver the 

highest quality product to our community. 

eadisc|isis 

Our world is a shared space 

When User Acceptance Testing is complete, ISIS will begin distributing 

ZIMS to the wider member community, probably in late 2007. Staff 

members Robert Boyajian and Elisabeth Hunt are guiding a comprehensive 

on-line training programme created to get new users up and 

running with ZIMS. Training sessions will also be conducted by ISIS 

at as many regional conferences as possible throughout the world, 

and ISIS will also work with institutions to provide training specifically 

for their staff. 

For conservation to be effective it must be collaborative and global; 

it must acknowledge that our world is a shared space. ZIMS, too, is 

founded on the philosophy of shared space. While sharing of scientific 

data as a community resource is a goal of ISIS, there are complexities 

and nuances involved in sharing data openly and globally. That is why, 

anonymous aggregate data will be used to support general queries in 

ZIMS, and more detailed information will be carefully controlled. 

ZIMS is a huge leap forward in information management for aquariums 

and zoos and for their conservation efforts. Among other things, 

ZIMS is a unified global database on animal health and well-being; 

the first such database ever. The 630 ISIS member institutions across 

the world will enter their data directly into this web-based global 

database. When veterinarians, curators or other professionals need to 

know the current best-practice for an animal situation, they will be 

able to search the database and retrieve the information they need 

(with appropriate security/privacy protections) for many purposes. 

The ZIMS’ state-of-the-art, web-based design will revolutionise the 

care and management of animals in the zoo and aquarium world, and 

ISIS predicts it will spark a surge in scientific research, some in areas 

none of us can predict. • 

Test ZIMS yourself ! 

ISIS invites you to test ZIMS during the EAZA Annual Conference 

in Warsaw, 11-15 September 2007; a computer room will be 

available daily for people who would like to test ZIMS. 

Further details on location and times will be available through 

the final conference programme, also to be published on the 

‘Conference’ section of the EAZA website. 


2007 

31


2007 

publications 

32 

books 

photo philip perry 

In EAZA News announcements are published of books that have relevance to zoo staff and other people with a professional 

interest in zoos. On the EAZA website more information can be found on these books, as well as on the publishers. 

g. mason and j. rushen (2007) 

Stereotypic animal behaviour, 2nd edition; fundamentals and applications to welfare 

This book describes abnormal behaviour patterns, from the jumping of caged laboratory mice to the pacing of large cats species displayed 

in zoos. Including new chapters and over thirty contributors, this book focuses on the causation and treatment of these environmentinduced 

stereotypic behaviours, and their implications for animal welfare and normalcy of brain functioning. The book concludes by giving 

a new definition for 'stereotypic behaviour', and a discussion of future research directions. 

Pages: 336. ISBN: 9780851990040 (hb). Price: €95 

To be ordered from: CABI Publishing (www.cabi.org) 

josep del hoyo, andrew elliot and david christie (eds.; 2006) 

Handbook of the birds of the world. Volume 11: Old World flycatchers to Old World warblers 

A series expected to include 16 volumes will deal with all the species of birds in the world. This eleventh volume of the handbook covers 

eight families in the order Passeriformes (from flycatchers to warblers). As in previous volumes the extensive information on the birds is 

well illustrated by colour plates, maps and photographs. An index and bibliographical references complete the text. 

Pages: 800. ISBN: 849655306X (hb). Price: €199 

To be ordered from: Lynx Edicions (www.hbw.com) 

a. fidgett, m. clauss, u. gansloßer, j.-m. hatt, j. nijboer (eds.; 2006) 

Zoo animal nutrition, volume 3 

This third volume continues the series of ‘Zoo animal nutrition’ books. Based on papers presented at the last two European congresses on 

zoo animal nutrition it covers the most recent research done in this field. Topics like primate and bird nutrition, iron storage disease, the 

provision of browse, and the nutrition of browsers, are covered in depth as well as many other topics relevant for the zoo animal nutritionist 

and everyone interested in the task of feeding captive wildlife. 

Pages: 414. ISBN: 3930831570 (pb). Price: €44.90 

To be ordered from: Filander Verlag (www.filander.de) 

peter taylor (2005) 

Beyond conservation; a wildland strategy 

This book offers a revolutionary agenda for both managing existing wildlands in Britain and for expanding and connecting such lands. 

Central to this strategy is the imperative to 'rewild' or restore and repair damaged habitat and ecosystems, promote existing biodiversity 

and reintroduce vanished plant and animal species, while working to reconcile human needs and livelihoods and the needs of nature. 

Pages: 296. ISBN: 1844071987 (pb). Price: UK£19.99 

To be ordered from: Earthscan (www.earthscan.co.uk) 

william m. adams (2004) 

Against extinction; the story of conservation 

This book tells the history of wildlife conservation and vividly portrays conservation’s legacy of big game hunting, the battles for the 

establishment of national parks, the global importance of species conservation and debates over the sustainable use of and trade in wildlife. 

Pages: 256. ISBN: 1844070565 / 9781844070565 (pb). Price: UK£18.99 

To be ordered from: Earthscan (www.earthscan.co.uk) 

Recently, the Sri Lanka leopard EEP husbandry guidelines have been published. Furthermore, 

the EAZA Executive Office received nine studbooks in the period January - April 2007. We are very 

grateful to all who have contributed to these valuable publications and are happy to have received 

these in printed format. For a full list of received publications of interest, please refer to the EAZA 

website (‘Magazine’ section). 

Please continue to send us your printed publications, so we can incorporate these in the online publications list.

personalia 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Mr. Jochen Lengger is the new zoological director of Tierwelt 

Herberstein, Austria, as per 1 June 2007. He replaces Mr. Andreas 

Kaufmann. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Dr. Med. Vet. Susanne Klomburg is the new director of Zoo Osnabruck, 

Germany, as per 12 May 2007. She replaces Dr. Wolf Everts. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Mrs. Davorka Maljkovic is the new director of Zagreb Zoo, Croatia, 

as per 26 April 2007. She replaces Dr. Mladen Anic. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Dr. Christian Schmidt is no longer director of Zoo Frankfurt, Germany, as 

per 21 March 2007. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Mr. Pablo Areitio Toledo is the new director of L’Oceanogràfic, Spain, 

as per 12 March 2007. He replaces Mr. Juan José de Torres. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Mr. Alain Le Héritte is the new president of the Syndicat National 

des Directeurs de Parcs Zoologiques (SNDPZ), France, since 

January 2007. He replaces Mr. Jean-Jacques Boisard. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Mr. Radoslaw Ratajszczak is the new director of Wroclaw Zoo, Poland, 

as per 1 January 2007. He replaces Dr. Antoni Gucwinski. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

Dr. Dagmar Schratter is the new director of Schönbrunner Tiergarten, 

Austria, as per 1 January 2007. She replaces Dr. Helmut Pechlaner. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

in memoriam 

EAZA was sad to learn of the death of Jim Cronin, who passed away on 17 

March 2007. During the past twenty years, Jim Cronin established himself as 

an international expert in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused primates, 

and in the enforcement of international treaties aimed at protecting primates 

from illegal trade and experimentation. Jim Cronin founded Monkey World 

which he and his wife Alison built from a small refuge to a 65 acre wildlife 

park. The park is home to more than 160 rescued primates of 16 different 

species and is rated as one of the most popular family destinations in 

England. The cable television channel Animal Planet has documented the 

frequent rescue missions and undercover investigations undertaken by 

Jim Cronin in Europe and Asia for the past ten years in the series Monkey 

Business. 

EAZA was also sad to learn of the death of Mike Lockyer, who passed away 

on 25 February 2007, aged 75. Mike Lockyer spent a lifetime working with 

wild animals. In the 1960s and 1970s he developed Longleat Safari Park, 

thus being among the pioneering animal men and women who established 

the world’s first ‘safari parks’ outside Africa. This concept was to change 

irrevocably the way animals were kept and viewed in captivity. Mike Lockyer 

became a well-known face on the BBC TV programme Animal Park, which 

was filmed at Longleat Safari Park. In 1984 he moved to John Aspinall’s 

Port Lympne and Howlett's Zoo parks in Kent. As zoological director he 

was committed to the preservation of endangered animals and promoting 

successful breeding programmes within the parks. He remained with the 

parks after the death of John Aspinall, finally retiring at the age of 73. 

directory updates 

addresses & telephon/fax number 

—————————————————————————————————— 

The new name of Tierpark Herberstein, Austria, is 

Tierwelt Herberstein. The new contact details are: 

Steirischer Landestiergarten 

8223 Stubenberg am See 

Buchberg 50 

Phone: +43 3176807770 

Fax: +4331768077720 

—————————————————————————————————— 

The new name of Knuthenborg Safari Park, Denmark, is 

Knuthenborg Park & Safari. 

—————————————————————————————————— 

The new contact details of the Syndicat National des Directeurs 

de Parcs Zoologiques (SNDPZ), France, are: 

Mr. Emmanuel Lemonnier 

Spay’cific Zoo 

La Martinière 

72700 Spay 

Phone : +33 243213302 

Fax : +33 243211946 

—————————————————————————————————— 

The new contact details of the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD), 

the Netherlands, are: 

Postbus 15458 

1001 ml Amsterdam 

Phone: +31 205246080 

Fax: +31 205246089 


2007

Mazuri 

Zoo Foods closer to reality 

The source of balanced quality diets and supplements 

P.O. Box 705, Witham, Essex, CM8 3AD, England 

Tel: +44 (0) 1376 511260 Fax: +44 (0) 1376 511247 

France: Tel: +33 (0) 1 30 10 94 94 Fax: +33 (0) 30 10 94 99 

Web-site: www.mazurifoods.com 

Agents: We have a number of agents throughout Europe – for details contact the Witham office.

cbsg europe 

a new toolbox for conservation in europe 


2007

EAZA News 58-9 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

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