Q4C Spotlight – Amur Leopard & Tiger Alliance (ALTA)

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program is helping to save Amur leopards and tigers in Far East Russia by supporting the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA). Staff members Rachel Downing and Catrena Voci are champions of the ALTA Q4C project, and they are excited about the progress the group has made this year. 

Due to poaching and loss of their forest home, Amur tigers and leopards are two of the most critically endangered cat species. Funds given to ALTA are providing hope for the potential release of captive-bred leopards into the wild. ALTA also works to educate native people on the importance of saving Amur tigers in the region.

“When you look at the numbers of Amur leopards left in the wild, which is less than 40, and Amur tigers, which is less than 400, the numbers are scary and alarming, but it’s not hopeless,” Downing, Conservation Highlands Animal Keeper, said. “Great things are happening and great people are working on a solution. We are proud to be a part of the conservation work that is taking place.”

This year, ALTA’s Q4C funds will assist in building a research laboratory located in a future Amur leopard release area. Specifically, Downing and Voci are working towards raising enough money to buy a portable anesthesia machine for the research lab.

“A portable anesthesia machine would allow field researchers to anesthetize, take blood samples, and monitor the health of future released cats on the ground,” Voci, Conservation Highlands Animal Keeper, said. “In the past, researchers have had to wait for months to get lab results.  The portable machine and research lab would provide them with real-time, on-the-spot information.”

Voci and Downing explained that in addition to poaching and loss of their habitat, Amur leopards and tigers are also suffering from canine distemper, which is more prevalent due to the lack of vaccination of dogs in the region. The new research lab and equipment would help track and monitor canine distemper in leopards and tigers, too.

Q4C money from previous years funded a field team that tracked poachers and helped to educate locals about the issues that Amur leopards and tigers are facing. The funds also helped field teams promote the co-existence of people and animals by reimbursing farmers for livestock killed by big cats. Additionally, they used Q4C dollars to purchase a field vehicle. The vehicle has allowed ALTA to place camera traps in areas not originally available to them, as well as expand their educational outreach programs.

“Education is a key component of conservation,” Downing said. “ALTA is working hard in Russia to get people involved and excited to save our big cats, and we are doing the same at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.”  

Downing and Voci enjoy talking about the Zoo’s Amur tiger and leopard species ambassadors with guests, and have hope that someday ALTA will report that a captive-bred decedent from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will actually be released in Russia.

“The hope is that someday, in the near future, ALTA will be able to pull Amur leopards from zoos for wild release,” Voci said. “It’s amazing to think that we could play a role in those efforts, too.”

To learn more about Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s ALTA Q4C project, or to make a contribution, visit: www.cmzoo.org/conservation. 

Mexican Wolf Wild Population Numbers Up

According to the 2013 Mexican grey wolf population survey, there are 83 Mexican wolves living wild in Arizona and New Mexico – this is a 10% population increase from 2012! The population increase is an important milestone for the threatened species, and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is excited to be part of the team working to further their reintroduction. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with Arizona Game and Fish reported the findings in the following press release:

2013 MEXICAN WOLF POPULATION SURVEY COMPLETE

NUMBERS UP FROM 2012

During its annual year-end population survey, the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT) counted a minimum of 83 Mexican wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2013.  This number demonstrates a 10% increase in the known population of Mexican wolves in the wild compared to the 2012 minimum population count of 75 wolves. 

 “With a minimum of 83 wolves in the wild, the Mexican wolf population has nearly doubled in the past four years,” said Benjamin Tuggle, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Regional Director.  “I’m proud of the remarkable progress that the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program and its partners have achieved in bringing the Mexican wolf back from the brink of extinction.”

Tuggle noted that all the wolves currently within the recovery area are wild born, which indicates progress toward establishing a wild population from a captive breeding program that started with only 7 wolves.  He further noted that future releases of Mexican wolves from captivity will be necessary to address genetic issues within the wild population.  Tuggle credited the progress in expanding the wild population to the collaborative efforts between the Service and its partners in Mexican wolf recovery – the Arizona Game and Fish Department, White Mountain Apache Tribe, USDA Forest Service and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services, and several participating counties..  

“The continued growth of the Mexican wolf population demonstrates that our management actions and efforts to work with stakeholders are having a positive impact on the species. This is the third year of a greater than 10 percent increase in the wolf population, a success that is directly related to our science-based, on-the-ground management,’ said Arizona Game and Fish Department Director Larry Voyles. “Equally important to the population’s growth is the fact that now 100 percent of the Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico are wild-born, which is a factor that we have always considered an important milestone along the way to recovery.”

The results of the surveys reflect the end-of-year minimum population for 2013.  Results come from population data collected on the ground by the IFT from November through December of 2013, as well as data collected from an aerial survey conducted in January 2014.  This number is considered a minimum number of Mexican wolves known to exist in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, as other non-collared wolves may be present in the recovery area, but were not located during the survey period.

The aerial survey was conducted by a fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter.  Biologists used radio-telemetry and actual sightings of wolves to help determine the count.  The results from the aerial survey, coupled with the ground survey conducted by the IFT, confirmed that there are a minimum of 46 wolves in New Mexico and 37 wolves in Arizona.  The survey indicated that at least 7 of the 15 known packs produced pups with 5 of these pairs meeting the federal definition of a breeding pair at year’s end.

Pups born in the summer must survive to December 31 to be counted as part of the Mexican wolf population. The 2013 minimum population count includes 17 wild-born pups that survived through the end of the year.  This is also considered a minimum known number since it might not reflect pups surviving but not documented. This marks the twelfth consecutive year in which wild born wolves bred and raised pups in the wild.

For more information on the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program, visit www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/ or www.azgfd.gov/wolf .

How to Train a Sloth

Training a sloth takes patience.

For nearly two hours, Rick Hester, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo animal keeper, stood on a ladder waiting for Chalupa, a 13-year-old Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, to wake up from a nap and continue a training session with him. He could have gently woke her up, but it was important to him to make the training session her choice.

Hester is using positive reinforcement to train Chalupa to travel on ropes that lead out of her enclosure and around ropes secured overhead in Monkey Pavilion.

“Positive reinforcement training is about giving animals the choice to do what they want and giving them all the power,” Hester said. “If I would have woken her up, it may have been negative for her, and that is the last thing you want when training an animal. If it’s negative, they won’t want to have a session with you.”

Hester said he knows in future training sessions he might end up waiting for Chalupa for three hours, four hours or even longer. Sloths are at rest for 20 to 22 hours a day and, since their metabolism is 40% slower than other mammals their size, sometimes sleep is more important than the food rewards that Hester gives Chalupa during their training sessions. Her favorite foods are green beans, grapes and hardboiled eggs.

“When I first started training her, she would be rewarded for just opening her eyes and looking at me when I said her name,” Hester said. “Then we built upon that. I would put my finger in front of her and when she moved toward it, she would be rewarded. After two weeks she was targeting and doing laps on the rope around her exhibit.”

After a few weeks of practicing in the enclosure, they opened up the door on the exhibit and had Chalupa travel on the ropes around the Monkey Pavilion. Eventually, the Zoo hopes to create an outdoor sloth area, and Chalupa’s training sessions with Hester with have her traveling from her indoor exhibit across the ceiling and to the outdoors!

To read more stories from The Waterhole, or to keep up with the latest news, events, and behind the scenes happenings at the Zoo, sign up to receive e-newsletters:  http://www.cmzoo.org/aboutZoo/pressBox/waterhole.asp.

Fiesta Corn Bread

Are you looking for a party-perfect appetizer for your weekend get-together?  The chefs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Grizzly Grill have you covered with this delicious fiesta corn bread recipe. 

Fiesta Corn Bread

-  1 ¼ cup of masa harina

-  2 TBLS of baking powder

-  ¾ cup of frozen corn

-  ½ cup of pickled jalapenos

-  ½ cup of roasted red pepper

-  shredded cheese (optional)

1) Place corn, jalapenos & red pepper in a food processer and pulse until blended. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, mix milk, butter and eggs.

3) Mix in Masa Harina, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

4) Add corn mixture from step 1.

5) Pour into pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

6) Sprinkle with shredded cheese (optional) and allow to cool. 

Our trained chefs can make your next company gathering a palate-pleasing experience you’ll never forget.  To book your next corporate event at the Zoo, visit http://cmzoo.org/guestInformation/meetingsRentals/.

Traveling to Indonesia: Part Two

We are now well rested and caught up from being gone for over two weeks, but we wanted to share a few highlights from the rest of our November Indonesia trip.

Dina planting a tree at OIC.

Our first stop during this portion of the trip was near Besitang.  We visited an area that once was clear cut for palm oil trees and has since been reclaimed for reforestation. The reforestation site has changed greatly since we last saw it two years ago; it has been mostly left alone to grow, and the trees are getting tall!  Due to the success of this site, reforestation efforts have now grown and moved to nearby areas. The project is run by an organization called OIC (Orangutan Information Centre).  OIC staff has reported seeing elephants and orangutans using the reforested area, which is a true sign of success for this project.

Tracey planting a tree at OIC. 

We were lucky that the timing of our visit to the reforestation site allowed us to see drone technology being used to help monitor deforestation. Researchers are programming drones (Styrofoam airplanes that are about four feet long) with GPS, grid routes, and cameras built in to map and monitor forest areas. They are also using the drones to count orangutan nests (to gather population data) and check for forest encroachment, deforestation and fires. We were able to watch drones take off and talk with the researchers involved with the drone project, which was very educational.  Learn more about conservation drones at http://conservationdrones.org/our-story/.

Drone plane about to take off. 

Our next destination was Bukit Lawang. There we saw five wild Sumatran orangutans – two mothers, two older offspring and one baby. The most exciting sighting was spotting a mother, – who we’ve been able to observe on two previous trips to Sumatra. Her daughter, Catherine, was also with her. This area –Bukit Lawang –is very important because it is the most successful ecotourism area involving the Gunung Leuser National Park.  Unfortunately there has been encroachment in many other areas of the park, but there has been almost no encroachment of the original park boundaries near Bukit Lawang.  This is most likely because the local people have economic incentive to keep the forest and ecosystem intact.

Jantho

The highlight of our trip to Indonesia, and our next stop, was a visit to an orangutan reintroduction site in Jantho, north Aceh which was established by SOCP (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme).  Many of the orangutans that are released at Jantho had lost their homes due to deforestation and non-sustainable palm oil production.  After spending time in a quarantine and rehabilitation center the healthy orangutans are released at sites like Jantho.  The project’s base camp was in a very remote area, so it was about a 1.5 hour 4-wheel drive adventure just getting there.  On a forest hike at the release site, we saw two juvenile orangutans very high up in a tree and were glad to see that they had no interest in coming down to see us.  This was living proof that they are thriving and are not reliant on humans.  We also saw a variety of other wildlife around camp such as wild pigs, long-tailed macaques, a family of four white-handed gibbons, fruit bats and hornbills flying overhead, and Sumatran tiger tracks! 

Sumatran tiger foot print in Jantho.

Upon returning to Medan, Indonesia, we were able to tour the location where a really exciting conservation project will be created in the next several years: Orangutan Haven.  Not only will it provide a more natural home for non-releasable orangutans, but it will also be a wonderful place for Indonesians to make a connection with these critically endangered great apes and hopefully inspire them to take action to save them.  To learn more, go to  http://www.earth4orangutans.com/e4o/index.htm.

On the last day of our trip we met with a sustainability specialist from a palm oil company that is very involved with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). We talked about the reforestation and sustainability practices of the large company he works for, and the logistics of being on an RSPO task force.  We hope to get more involved in the RSPO by joining a working group or task force.

Harvesting fruit bunches.

During our journey we accomplished several of our goals – voting at the RSPO General Assembly which included a very important resolution on requiring palm oil growers to map their plantations boundaries. This resolution, which was passed, is very important because it keeps RSPO grower members accountable for activities that happen on their land and ensures they are not expanding beyond their property boundaries. (i.e. National forest).  We were able to discuss important sustainability topics with other Zoos and environmental conservation organizations as well as representatives from the palm oil industry from various points along the supply chain. We visited reforestation sites, saw wild orangutans and furthered our knowledge of certified and non-certified palm oil plantations. Upon returning to Colorado, we are continuing our mission to inform Zoo guests about the importance of supporting RSPO plantations, companies and manufacturers by purchasing their products. To download the sustainable palm oil Smartphone application, or to learn more about the palm oil crisis, visit www.cmzoo.org/palmoil.