A domestic cat at the Institute's Center for Research of Endangered Species has given birth to an African wildcat in the world's first successful inter-species frozen–thawed embryo transfer. The birth, on 24 November 1999, marks a major breakthrough in the field of assisted reproduction technology for rare and endangered species. This is the latest in a series of projects pioneered by the Audubon Institute's Senior Vice-President for Research, Dr Betsy Dresser, and Senior Scientist Dr C. Earle Pope. In 1989, Drs Dresser and Pope, then at Cincinnati Zoo's Center for Reproduction of Endangered Wildlife, led the team that produced the first successful Indian desert cat birth to a domestic cat, a procedure which utilized a fresh embryo [see I.Z.N. 36:4, pp. 12–13]. They also led the team that produced the world's first `test tube' gorilla in 1995.

Recent accomplishments at the Center include the births of servals, saddlebill storks and Mexican wolves through natural breeding, and the hatching of 29 Mississippi sandhill crane chicks through artificial insemination. Researchers are working on a number of embryo transfer projects involving big cats, bongos and other animals. By using non-endangered surrogates for gestation and baby-rearing, endangered and rare animals can produce reproductive material at a more rapid pace, resulting in more births.

AZA Communiqué (January 2000)

Two (1.1) musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) were born at the zoo on 17 and 19 July 1999. This is the first breeding of the species at Berlin, and the young are being mother-reared. The father, born in 1994 at Leipzig, came to Berlin in 1995. The mother is wild-born and arrived in December 1998 on loan from Paris Zoo. Their enclosure at Berlin is densely planted with bushes and is equipped with a wooden platform about 2.5 m high, because musk deer have been observed ascending steep rocks and other high obstacles in the wild. The animals like to rest, either standing or lying down, on their platform. Berlin Zoo received its first musk deer in 1888, but this animal lived only for a few months. Three others lived at the zoo in 1891–1893, 1905–1908 and 1929–1932. The musk deer is still a rare sight in zoos; the only other zoos in the EAZA region that have bred this species in the 1990s are La Torbiera (Agrate Conturbia, Italy), Leipzig (Germany), and Novosibirsk and Seversk (both in Russia).

Hans Frädrich in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

The four hammerkop (Scopus umbretta) chicks [see I.Z.N. 46:7, p. 437] emerged from the nest in mid-September and were remarkably independent. Unfortunately they suffered from Candida infections and had to be isolated from the parents for a few weeks. One chick suffered further complications, but eventually recovered and was returned to the aviary. Ironically, it died some time later when some perching collapsed onto it. The remaining three are doing well and are still housed with their parents. One male will be retained to pair with an additional surplus adult female. Meanwhile the adult pair continue to improve the main nest, have built an additional one, and are currently working on two more! Bouts of nest-building are often interrupted by courtship displays and `false copulations'.

The blue-winged kookaburras (Dacelo leachii) fledged two chicks. One died shortly after leaving the box due to parental neglect. The second suffered wing damage and developed bumblefoot; despite veterinary efforts it lost condition and had to be euthanased. The post mortem revealed an abscess external to the oesophagus which would have contributed to its poor condition. Our productive but aged red-sided eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros) group suffered several losses to the adult population; an additional 2.2 birds have been obtained to widen the genetic basis within the colony. Torrential rain and cold spells have not helped some of the older members of the bird collection, and 0.2 puna ibis and 0.0.1 yellow-faced mynah (Mino dumontii) have been lost. Predation and rodents can also be a problem during the colder months. This problem is currently being addressed, and to date our stock loss has been limited to 0.1 ringed teal.

Our breeding bull Californian sea lion, Boris, has recovered from his hair loss and fungal lesions, only to suffer from gum erosion and infections to his upper canines. At 19 years old, general anaesthesia is risky, but dental surgery is the most viable option. An intensive training regime has allowed us to gain a full dental examination by Peter Kertesz. This included probing the infected areas and visible cavities. The surgical procedure is scheduled to take place in late March. It is hoped that by training Boris to accept a voluntary sedative, his stress levels will be reduced and anaesthetic risks will be lowered. Our work is well under way, as he is comfortable with voluntarily moving to the future operating site with the associated equipment, and lying down flat for several minutes at a time. Over the next few weeks we will be training him to accept a dummy intramuscular injection. In October we made the decision to euthanase Kate, a 25-year-old female. With the cold weather approaching, her arthritis was proving to be a problem for her. To complicate matters we noticed a large lump on her side, which initially appeared to be a tumour; the post mortem revealed that it was a large abscess with small pustules throughout her blubber.

The Humboldt's penguins have been successfully mixed with 1.1 Magellan geese (Chloephaga picta) and 1.1 Chiloë wigeon (Anas sibilatrix). After a few initial confrontations all three species have settled well together and are the subject of a project focusing on competition and exhibit usage.

Following veterinary advice relating to old-age and other associated health problems 1.1 snow leopards and 0.1 African lion (almost 21 years old) were euthanased. In December we received 1.2 Asiatic lions (via London Zoo, but born at Chester). It is thought that the male from this sibling trio will remain here while the females will be moved on and replaced via the studbook. The old snow leopard exhibit is being remodelled for Persian leopards, which are arriving in February. Our meerkat group of 6.4 animals was disbanded as no reproduction had occurred for several years, and a new group of 1.2 has been acquired.

The zoo is celebrating the birth of a healthy male Asian elephant to 18-year-old Moola. The calf was born on 28 November 1999 at the zoo's Asian Elephant Breeding Center after about 34 hours of labor. The birth is particularly significant because it is the first successful elephant birth anywhere in the world as the result of artificial insemination. Moola's pregnancy lasted 674 days; the zoo's breeding bull, Onyx, sired this calf, along with five other living calves.

The calf, named Haji, was the largest ever born in captivity in North America, weighing 378 pounds (172 kg) and standing 41 inches (104 cm) high. His abdominal girth is 61 inches (155 cm), and his trunk is 12 inches (30 cm) long. He was standing with assistance from keepers within 20 minutes, and nursed after about three hours.

AZA Communiqué (January 2000)

A curl-crested aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii) fledged at the zoo on 25 October 1999, 47 days after hatching. The chick, which has been parent-reared, is a first for both the zoo and the parents. The breeding pair arrived at Dvur Králové in spring 1999, and share the South American Rain Forest Aviary with 1.1 wattled jacanas, 1.1 silver teal and 1.0 blue-crowned motmot. The aviary has a diameter of about 14 m and is 8 m high. The nesting box, which is situated 4 m high off the ground, is made of a natural hollow trunk of a fir tree. The cavity has a diameter of 30 cm and an entrance opening of 12 cm. Dvur Králové is only the second zoo within the EAZA region to breed this species. The world first captive breeding success was achieved in 1996 by Ohrada Zoo, Hluboká, also in the Czech Republic. A total of four curl-crested aracaris have been reared at Ohrada so far. San Diego Zoo has also bred this species.

Kristina Tomasova in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

Following the success of last year's release of 4,000 captive-bred British field crickets (Gryllus campestris) into the countryside, London Zoo released 400 more on 17 August 1999 and another 800 on 31 August. Keepers from the new Web of Life exhibit, which houses many animals, including the zoo's complete collection of invertebrates, have been working hard over the past year to raise the crickets from two males and a female who were caught in the wild. The population of this indigenous British cricket was down to less than 100 individuals in the 1980s, and it was estimated in 1991 that without action these insects would die out within six years.

The Zoological Society of London conducted thorough testing of the crickets before their release to ensure that all the individuals were healthy, reducing the risk of introducing disease that could threaten resident populations. The Society is also involved in investigations to identify the amount of remaining genetic variation in the British populations of field crickets compared with continental European populations.

EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

The African elephant cow Norris gave birth to a son on 30 September 1999. Ninio is Norris's fourth calf, all of whom have been males. Norris is wild-born (probably in 1969) and arrived at Ramat-Gan in 1974. Yossi, the father, was born in 1974 at Ramat-Gan, so Ninio is a second-generation captive-born calf on his father's side. Norris's calves have been born at intervals of 34 months, 30 months and 28 months.

Ninio is the 17th (8.9) African elephant born at Ramat-Gan since 1974, 7.7 of whom have survived the first six months. Two further pregnancies began in Ramat-Gan but the calves were born at Howletts Wild Animal Park, U.K. This brings the total number of Ramat-Gan's breeding successes to 19, while the other zoos in the EAZA region have collectively bred only 23 African elephants since breeding started in 1943. Moreover, Ramat-Gan is the only zoo which successfully breeds both elephant species; we currently hold 13 Asians and 19 Africans.

Amelia Terkel in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

Two of our margay pairs produced kittens (1.1) during 1999, which have been sent on loan to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park [see p. 117, above].

A further three (2.1) margays entered the collection from Mexico. These three cats had been wild-caught as kittens and kept as pets, and later dumped at a local zoo in Yucatan. The conditions they had been living in were appalling, wire-bottomed cages barely a metre square, and having seen the three animals in March we determined to rescue them and bring them back to the U.K. to join our breeding programme. As all three are of the same subspecies as the cats we already have from Belize, they are extremely useful to the gene pool of the EEP, particularly as they are all under four years of age. Mexico does not normally permit the export of CITES A species, but as a result of RTEC's negotiations over the previous two years, the Mexican authorities had already agreed in principle to the export of one cat for the EEP, and it was relatively easy to persuade them to extend this to three. We flew to Yucatan in November and brought them back with us. The female had a broken leg, undiagnosed in Mexico, but it has healed well. These three cats remain the property of the Mexican government, to whom we are most grateful.

This brings our total of margays to 12 – six wild-caught and the remainder bred at RTEC. Four are out on breeding loan at present.

September 1999 saw the launch of the Ridgeway Trust's LiFeline project which will operate in Belize, Central America. The event was held at the Rainforest Café in London, and attended by our patron HRH Princess Michael of Kent. LiFeline will set up a research base for field studies of ocelot, margay and jaguarundi. The first two species are on CITES Annex A, as are the Central American races of the jaguarundi. Very little is known about Neotropical small cats, and so research is urgently needed. There are a number of threats to Neotropical felids, and information that will lead to practical conservation based on good science is invaluable. Threats include hunting and poaching (including that for the pet trade), conflicts with humans over livestock interests and, most importantly, loss of habitat. It is critical to know about the cats' use of habitat to ensure their survival.

The Ridgeway Trust (RTEC) has concentrated its conservation breeding efforts on ocelot and margay for a number of years, and coordinates the margay EEP. Now we have the resources and personnel to be able to embark on our long-term goal of in situ conservation. Our LiFeline project will establish a centre in Belize from which to promote the conservation of cats and their habitat by carrying out targeted scientific work resulting in the first comprehensive study of sympatric cat species in Central America. Once good baseline data have been obtained in undisturbed, protected habitat, the study will be extended to compare cat behaviour in interface areas which are more widely affected by human impact. Potential and real conflicts between cats and humans will be identified, and information and advice will be made available to relevant parties: farmers, local communities, conservation managers and government agencies.

Belize was chosen as the base for this research because it has 75% of its forest cover remaining, is politically stable, has a low human population density, and has several forest reserves which enjoy a good standard of protection. However, as the human population grows conflicts with wildlife are increasing. Ways must be found to minimise these problems. Belize still has healthy populations of cats, unlike neighbouring countries where cat numbers have fallen dramatically. One of the aims of our project is to train local Belizeans both as field researchers and to run their own community conservation programmes.

Using camera traps and subsequently live-trapping and radio-collaring, we will obtain information on the cats' home ranges, numbers, activity patterns, and prey selection. We will have two or three researchers in the field at all times, and cats will be radio-tracked for at least four days each week. Our consultant advisers for the project are Arturo Caso, IUCN representative for Mexico and a member of the Cat Specialist Group, Dr John Lewis of the International Zoo Veterinary Group, and Dr Andrew Kitchener of the Royal Museum of Scotland, who is also one of RTEC's patrons.

LiFeline will be a long-term project, running for 20 years and following several generations of cats to find out how they disperse, the genetic flow within a population, and factors affecting the stability of a population over time.

The second major component of LiFeline concerns the illegal pet trade, of which we saw a lot of evidence during our recent visits to Central America. Kittens as young as three weeks are captured, their mothers shot and the babies subjected to appalling conditions. Many of them die, but the survivors often end up being dumped in local zoos. The zoos don't have room to care for them all, and many zoos in the region have very poor standards. Belize Zoo is a shining exception, but simply has not sufficient space for all the refugees. We saw so many of these traumatised cats in private hands and in shabby zoos that we are going to work to get the trade stopped. Apart from the suffering involved, this trade must be having an impact, as yet unquantified, on wild populations. There is no rescue centre for cats, so nowhere for the authorities to place them if they were to be confiscated. Our first stage will be to set up facilities to take in rescued cats. They cannot be returned to the wild, but we can at least give them large jungle enclosures and proper health care. Next, through education and pressuring the authorities, we will push for existing wildlife laws to be implemented to protect these species and outlaw the keeping of them as `pets'.

RTEC has already bought an area of rainforest to use as a base, lying next to the largest continuous protected area in Belize where our field research will be done. Our land, 50 acres (20 ha), is thickly forested and has abundant wildlife including tapirs, peccaries and toucans. It forms part of the home ranges of the local ocelots, margays and jaguarundis, and pumas and jaguars are in the vicinity. We have set up a non-profit organisation called LiFeline in Belize, and already have excellent wildlife trackers ready to work for us once funding is in place. Our initial tasks will be to build cabanas for living accommodation, and enclosures for rescued cats, and then LiFeline Belize will be in operation.

The zoo has been keeping pied avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) since 1993, and in 1997 became the first zoo in Japan to succeed in artificially incubating the eggs and hand-raising the chicks. This year, too, the zoo wanted to increase its population of avocets, and planned to gather the eggs from two or three pairs for artificial incubation. However, an unexpectedly large number of eggs were laid, so some were left with the parents to be brooded.

On 6 July, four chicks hatched out from eggs that were laid in the middle of June. The chicks were able to walk the day after hatching, and foraged and ate by themselves. They ate the same food as the adults: krill, frozen ants, flamingo pellets and cat food. They seemed to be growing normally, but one died on 17 July and another on 21 July. The cause of death was osteomalacia. In the hand-raised chicks, failure of the primary feathers to develop was also seen. The cause of these disorders was not clear, but was thought to be lack of necessary vitamins and minerals, and these are now being added to the food. But a third chick died on 26 October, so that only one is now left alive.

English summary of article in Japanese by H. Hori, M. Sato and S. Morikubo, published in Animals and Zoos Vol. 51, No. 12 (December 1999)

Since its opening in July 1998, La Vallée des Singes (Primate Park) has already had more than 50 births. The squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis) have proved to be the most prolific species, with a total of 27 viable infants. The most significant births were those of 1.1 woolly monkeys: with only four births in the EAZA region during the last two years, this species is far from well established in zoos. A major event was the birth of a male gorilla on 27 September 1999. His 29-year-old, wild-born mother came to Romagne from Leipzig. She lost her first and only other baby 18 years ago due to infanticide. The father is only 16 years old, but lived in six different zoos before coming to Romagne. Although he was said to be incompatible with females, he proved to be very gentle and takes excellent care of his females as well as of his newborn son. This birth is not only important for the social life of our group (now five in number), but also adds a completely new bloodline to the European gorilla population.

Other interesting breeding results include 2.0 cotton-top tamarins, 1.1 white-fronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus albifrons), 1.0 white-faced saki and 1.0 eastern colobus.

Jan Vermeer in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

A new woodland enclosure was created for red panda, and a pair arrived in spring 1999 as a new species on the global conservation breeding programme. The female arrived pregnant and twin cubs were born, with one male cub surviving. Snake species were introduced to the park with 1.1 corn snake and 1.1 pine snake, and daily snake education and handling sessions were held in the summer. Other arrivals were: 1.0 Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, 0.1 llama, 4 guinea fowl, 34 freshwater tropical fish. Births and hatchings were: 1 Bennett's wallaby, 3 mara (1 DNS), 6 Scottish wildcat (2 DNS), 11 Arctic fox (2 DNS), 1.0 red panda (1 DNS), 4 Siberian chipmunk, 1.1 snowy owl. Deaths were: 1.0 silver fox (aged 10), 0.1 coati, 1.0 bronze turkey (aged 10).

On 5 November 1999 the long-awaited giant panda cubs Yang-Yang and Lun-Lun arrived at the zoo. To get the pandas, Zoo Atlanta not only had to persevere through difficult negotiations with the Chinese – involving former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and top Chinese leaders – but also to meet new U.S. regulations, something no other zoo has yet been willing or able to do.

In the 1980s, several American zoos borrowed pandas from China for short periods. The loans boosted attendance but did little for the endangered pandas, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began banning imports except those that would help the animals to multiply. The agency approved Zoo Atlanta as the two cubs' new home because of its $22 million plan to produce panda cubs and to find out why giant pandas don't breed well in captivity. The zoo's project will fund research both here and in China, and could make a major difference in the fight to ensure the species' survival.

The driving force behind the project is the zoo's director Terry Maple. Bringing pandas here has been his passion since 1984, when Zoo Atlanta was still called Atlanta Zoo – and was a disgrace. Conditions there were so bad that it had lost its AZA accreditation. The city, which owned the zoo, had turned it over to the private sector to run, and a new board of directors had chosen Maple, a wildlife psychologist renowned for animal research, as its director. His immediate goal was to reshape the zoo into a model of excellence, and he has succeeded to a remarkable degree. Zoo Atlanta is now known for its work in naturalistic design, education and propagation of endangered species.

As early as 1987, Maple flew to China on the first of many trips to clinch a deal for a panda loan. Later, however, relations between Beijing and Washington grew icy, and by the time they thawed, a moratorium on panda imports had been imposed by the AZA. After that moratorium was lifted, San Diego obtained two pandas, but bureaucratic difficulties ruled out any chance of importing more until 1998. Late that year, Zoo Atlanta struck a deal by promising its scientific project. It was an expensive promise – Maple had to convince Atlanta's biggest companies to lend their support. But he succeeded in raising the money and built the world's most expensive panda habitat, a $7 million facility. One of his goals is to find out if males and females, living in close proximity, can become friendly enough so that they will mate when they grow out of adolescence at about five years old.

Yang-Yang and Lun-Lun will be here for at least ten years, and the zoo expects the loan will be extended indefinitely. Any offspring, however, will be Chinese – and in three or four years, Maple hopes to send a baby panda back to Beijing.

Abridged and adapted from Bill Hendrick in Atlanta Journal Constitution (4 November 1999)

Conserving black rhinos in the wild is considerably less expensive than in captivity, according to a study sponsored by the African Wildlife Foundation, which analysed costs and outcomes at seven sites representing various management approaches. The average annual cost of protecting one rhino was US$1,657 in protected areas, US$3,315–14,399 in sanctuaries and US$16,300–28,176 in captivity.

African Wildlife News (Summer 1999)

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On 1 September 1999, the eve of his 70th birthday, William Conway stepped down as President and General Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Director of the Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Park. He joined the WCS in 1956 as Associate Curator of Birds for the Bronx Zoo, and became director of both the zoo and the society within ten years. Under his leadership the society increased its conservation efforts from six projects to 326 in 52 countries. Dr Conway will continue to advise WCS as Senior Conservationist. His successor as President is Christopher H. Smith.

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Two (0.2) yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula aterrima) were born at Leningrad Zoo, St Petersburg, Russia, in 1999, one of whom survived. The cub was mother-reared. Yellow-throated martens have bred four times at Leningrad during the last 40 years, but only two young have been raised (the first was in 1966). This species breeds in only a few other zoos – Novosibirsk and Ekaterinburg in Russia and Nikolaev in Ukraine.

Natalia Popova in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

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In December 1999, a female white rhino at Werribee Zoo (Victoria's Open Range Zoo), Australia, had her horn reduced by 60 centimetres. She has spent ten of her 14 years at Werribee with a male rhino some five years older, and although they both regularly rub their horns on logs in their enclosure, the female's horn seemed to get longer and more tapered. In October four more rhinos arrived from South Africa, and the female's horn was shortened to minimise risk of injury when the animals are introduced.

Christina Dennis in Zoo News Vol. 20, No. 1 (January 2000)

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A highly endangered Hawaiian bird species, the puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri), is breeding in the wild after 14 captive-reared individuals were released in the Alaka`i Wilderness Preserve on the island of Kaua`i, early in 1999. At least seven birds nested and four young fledged. The young puaiohi are the first endangered Hawaiian forest birds to be raised in the wild by birds raised in captivity. Apart from the released birds, only 200–300 individuals survive in the wild.

`Elepaio 59:6 (1999), 49–50

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A male aye-aye was born on 8 August 1999 at Jersey Zoo (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust). This is the sixth aye-aye birth at the Trust and the fourth surviving. It brings the total captive aye-aye population to 17. In August 1992 Jersey became the first zoo in the world to breed the aye-aye.

Richard Johnstone-Scott in EAZA News No. 29 (January–March 2000)

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The world's first known identical twin koalas, born in April 1999 at the University of Queensland, Australia, made their public début in February. Female koalas have only two nipples, and frequently when an infant is born its mother is still suckling the previous year's offspring; so on the rare occasions when twins are born in the wild, only one is likely to survive. The fact that these twins are identical has been confirmed by DNA fingerprinting.

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The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed to allow over 100 animals in Kinshasa Zoo to be relocated to safe havens in South Africa and Zambia. More than two-thirds of the zoo's animals have died in the past year, primarily because of ongoing civil disturbances and starvation conditions which lead people to look to the zoo's animals as a source of food. Additionally, a lack of food for the animals themselves has led to the recent death of at least three chimpanzees. Animals still at the zoo include leopards, crocodiles, pythons, antelopes, various primates and some domesticated species. The plan is to move the primates to the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, and the other animals to South African zoos and wildlife parks.

WildNet Africa News Release, 22 November 1999, reported in Animal Keepers' Forum Vol. 27, No. 1

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The World Wide Web's biggest reptile taxonomic database has been created by Peter Uetz at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. The database, started in 1995, has photos of more than 1,000 species and gives taxonomic information for nearly all 7,900 living species of reptiles. The Web address is: http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/˜uetz/LivingReptiles.html.

Natural Habitats Ltd of Bristol recently set up a website to provide information on all the major U.K. aquariums, whether independent or within zoological gardens. In its initial form, the website offers a directory currently including 18 aquariums with details of location and special features. In the longer term, and depending on what aquarium operators want, the site has the potential to include regularly updated information on joint captive-breeding programmes, field conservation, marine research, etc. The facility is being offered to aquariums free of charge at this stage. Natural Habitats is bearing the cost of creating the website on a `give something back' basis, though their costs obviously have to be kept to a sensible minimum.

The site may be visited at www.aquariauk.com. If you are an aquarium owner or manager and would like to add a page to the site featuring your own aquarium, or if you have any suggestions at all for the further development of this site, please contact Bob Golding, Natural Habitats Ltd, Charlton, Abbots Leigh Road, Leigh Woods, Bristol BS8 3PX (E-mail: bob.golding@natural-habitats.co.uk).