Bridging The Distance - Indianapolis Zoo

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Saving the Iguanas
Project Iguana is just one of several research
programs conducted by Zoo staffers on an inhouse
basis. The Project Iguana team has been
active in the Dominican Republic (DR) working
to save its keystone species, the Ricord’s iguana. In
2007, the Zoo was part of a team that conducted
Capacity Building Workshops in the DR. The Zoo
received a grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Wildlife Without Borders administered through
the International Iguana Foundation. Workshops
were organized by a team of scientists from the
Indianapolis Zoo, Durrell Wildlife Conservation
Trust (DWCT), Grupo Jaragua, and Parque
Zoológico Nacional (Zoodom) and focused on
training in wildlife research techniques and species
conservation strategies using the Ricord’s iguana
and its habitat as an example.
The first workshop was held in Santo Domingo
at Zoodom and was attended by DR scientists,
members of local conservation non-governmental
organizations, curators from Zoodom and the
National Aquarium, and university biology students.
Lectures delivered by scientists from the organizing
team stimulated considerable discussion about the
practicality of suggested field techniques.
The second workshop at La Descubierta, a national
park and one of the four remaining habitats of
the Ricord’s iguana, was attended by park rangers
and guides and facilitated by Dr. John Fa (DWCT).
In addition to positive, open dialogue between
government officials and the rangers and guides,
research techniques were also demonstrated
on Isla Cabritos including GPS work, walking
transects, trapping and marking animals, and health
assessments.
The third workshop was held in Pedernales, a town
that boarders one of the other remaining habitats
and where Grupo Jaragua has focused most of their
conservation work with this species. Participants
visited the Pedernales field site, where they observed
the medical team collecting biological data from
free-ranging iguanas.
DoMInICAn RepuBlIC
Endangered Species Species Survival Plan
On the national front, Zoo staff
participated in the conservation
programs of the Association of Zoos
& Aquariums (AZA), our national
zoo membership organization.
Multiple staff, from keepers to the
General Curator, are involved in a
range of activities, including serving
as representatives to AZA steering
committees for each species that
the Zoo maintains as part of the
AZA conservation program. The
Indianapolis Zoo sponsors Forests
and Deserts Curator Lynne Villers’
role as Species Coordinator of the
ring-tailed lemur. In addition, the
Zoo has committed the resources
to maintain four North American
regional studbooks – the African
elephant, ring-tailed lemur, Guinea
baboon,and Pacific walrus.
The Indianapolis Zoo was one of
the first institutions to participate
in the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a
registered program of the Association
of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The
SSP is a cooperative population
management and conservation
program for selected animal species
in North American zoos and
aquariums. The SSP Coordinators
and Committees track the genetic
backgrounds of the animal species,
so they can make intelligent decisions
on how to match animals to avoid
inbreeding and maintain a healthy and
genetically diverse captive population.
For more on SSPs animals at the Zoo,
see page 30.
Holly Dublin, Chair of IuCn’s Species Survival Commission, said: “Conservation networks dedicated to fighting the
extinction crisis, such as the Species Survival Commission, are working effectively. But much more help and support
is needed as environmentalists cannot do it alone. the challenge of the extinction crisis also requires attention and
action from the general public, the private sector, governments and policy makers to ensure that global biodiversity
remains intact for generations to come.”
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