CONSERVATION

A major development in cat conservation is now under way with an opportunity to work in Iran for the first time in 20 years (since the Islamic Revolution in 1978). IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group (CSG) chair Peter Jackson received a warm welcome when he visited Tehran to negotiate a cooperative agreement with the Department of Environment, in which the Institute of Zoology at Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, is also involved. The agreement is designed to promote biodiversity in Iran, with studies of the Asiatic cheetah given top priority. Preliminary research by a CSG Iranian researcher indicated a scattered population of 50–100 cheetahs, the last survivors of a subspecies which once ranged throughout south-west Asia and as far east as the Indian subcontinent. It is hoped that the door will now be opened for other specialist groups to work in Iran.

World Conservation Vol. 29, No. 2 (April–June 1998)

About 20 kilometers from Panama City lies Soberania National Park, a lush, lowland rainforest teeming with wildlife. Soberania's newest residents, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Peregrine Fund and the Zoological Society of San Diego, are four harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja). These captive-bred birds are the first of their kind to be returned to the wild. Years of hunting, in addition to deforestation, have eliminated this species – one of the most powerful eagles in the world – from much of its former range, and it is now rare in many areas. Another factor leading to its decline is the fact that these birds have a slow reproductive rate – they raise, at most, a single offspring every two years. Once the numbers of harpy eagles in a particular area have been reduced, it is difficult for the population to recover.

In January 1997, only about nine pairs of harpy eagles were known to inhabit the rainforests of Panama. But since January 1998, Peregrine Fund biologists have released four young birds into Soberania National Park. Two of them were hatched and raised at San Diego Zoo and two at the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. These two organizations are the only facilities in North America, and among only a handful in the world, that breed the species. The Peregrine Fund is noted for its expertise in this kind of release, and especially for its successful Peregrine Release Project, which brought the peregrine falcon back from the edge of extinction in North America.

San Diego's commitment to the harpy eagle goes back to 1940, when this species was first exhibited at the zoo. In 1987, a captive-bred male arrived from Tierpark Berlin, and in 1991 it was joined by a female from Colombia, sent by INDERENA, the government agency responsible for wildlife in that country. The pair got along well, producing a chick in 1992, which unfortunately died in the nest at less than nine days of age. In November 1994 their second chick, a male, made avian history as the first harpy eaglet successfully hatched and raised in captivity in North America; and three (1.2) more followed in November 1995, October 1997 and January 1998. Each eaglet was hand-reared by staff at the zoo's Avian Propagation Center, an off-exhibit area for breeding, artificial incubation, and hand-rearing. `In 1994, the eagles laid two eggs,' explains David Rimlinger, curator of birds. `Because they would normally raise only one chick, even in the wild, we decided to pull one egg for incubation and hand-rearing. Although we prefer that the parents raise their own offspring, each clutch since 1994 contained only one egg, and with our previous success in mind, we decided to hand-raise these single chicks. In the future, if two eggs are laid we will leave one with the parents to give them the opportunity to raise the chick.' The young birds rarely saw their human carers, who disguised themselves by using a well-designed hand puppet.

A young harpy pair, hatched at the World Center for Birds of Prey, were released into Soberania National Park early in the year, a male hatched at the zoo was released in May, and a female from the zoo in August. Each of the San Diego birds was about six-and-a-half months old at the time of release, about the age they would have fledged from the nest. Biologists living in the rainforest monitor the youngsters daily and function as invisible surrogate parents. `Harpies are usually dependent on their parents for more than two years,' says Dr Bill Burnham, president of the Peregrine Fund. `Biologists hang food high in the trees for the birds and track their daily movements through the forest with the help of radio transmitters. This involvement could continue for as long as another two years.'

Project goals focus on the young birds themselves and what their adaptation may mean for the rest of their species and for other birds of prey. `Our goal is to develop techniques that enable us to successfully release harpy eagles into the wild and apply these techniques elsewhere,' says Bill Heinrich, the Peregrine Fund's species restoration manager. He emphasizes that the release program is an experiment of sorts and will only be considered a success when the birds learn to hunt on their own and breed in the wild. `Once we're able to do this, we'd like to begin releasing harpies in countries where they have almost disappeared but still have suitable habitat, such as Guatemala and Costa Rica.' It is also hoped that the technologies developed for hatching and release will have direct application in helping to save other large tropical forest eagles – in particular, the harpy's Asian counterpart, the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), an even rarer species.

Abridged from Catharine Bell in Zoonooz Vol. 71, No. 9 (September 1998)

The Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR), Department of Agriculture, Guam, reports that 39 Guam rails (Gallirallus owstoni) hatched at DAWR's managed breeding facility in 1997. The facility currently houses 103 rails, and 36 more birds reside in 12 mainland U.S. zoos. DAWR planned the release of 19 rails on the island of Rota, which is located 30 miles north of Guam, for June 1998. Rota has been chosen as the site for establishing an experimental population of rails due to its habitat and lessened threat from the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), which is blamed for the extinction of this bird in the wild. A total of 148 rails have been introduced on Rota since 1989. Successful reproduction by released birds has been observed in the wild, but the current population on Rota is unknown.

S. Medina in AZA Communiqué (August 1998)