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AnimalmagnetismZoo Helps Conserve Wildlife Populations

Posted on: Sunday, 23 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By ALLISON PERKINS

ASHEBORO --

For a long time, Jim Smalls life was all about prepping baby bottles.

He had three tiny mouths to feed, each attached to an enormous appetite.

All we did was make bottles for those little guys, he says, slipping into a memory. And the bigger they got, the more they needed.

Those little guys eventually grew into 8,000-pound African elephants. Two would barely live past their second birthdays.

But the third, Nita, would steal Smalls heart.

She was my sweetie, he says.

When Nita died, practically in Smalls arms 25 years later, the keeper and his staff were devastated.

Life and death. Beginnings and ends. Celebrations and mournings.

Life comes full circle every day at the North Carolina Zoo.

In this earthlike microcosm, keepers are much more than custodians to their animal charges. They are their families, watching over them like parents, coaching them through childbirth and ushering them softly into death, all the while protecting them - - and learning.

A lot of people dont understand, they have their own personalities, Small says of the elephants and nearly every animal at the zoo. Some days theyre grouchy, some days theyre on top of the world.

The keepers know the animals moods, needs, fears -- all from a few signals in their movements.

They build trust. They become attached. They learn to love.

Its almost more of a privilege to be this close to a polar bear and have him snort fish breath on you, says Amy McGuire, a keeper.

Every day the humans and animals learn to work together.

Almost on command, the polar bears climb onto a scale, open their mouths or lift their feet for check-ups.

The elephants turn and lift their enormous legs.

The meerkats hold their tiny hands out for a manicure.

The keepers only interact with most of the animals through the safety of thick, separating barriers.

Each task, which oftentimes seems more like play than work, is intended to minimize stress during exams or medical procedures.

The training seems amazing, and it is.

Its also not easy.

Ever try to get a teenage, 400-pound gorilla to move out of a doorway when hes not in the mood? It just aint happening.

Teenagers are teenagers, no matter the species.

Sometimes, hes like, Make me, keeper Shelley Limpany says. You have to work around them. Make them think its the greatest idea in the world, but it has to be their idea. You have to be creative.

Every creature must be worked with every day. That requires time and staffing, two things the zoo is short of as it faces ongoing budget cuts.

Its frustrating for us to have so much potential and so much talent but not have the resources, says Guy Lichty, curator of mammals.

As the job of zookeeper has changed, so have zoos. They are no longer just places to just look at animals.

Zoos are at the forefront of reproductive technology, working to preserve species that have become rare in the wild, and, in captivity.

But again, space and staff are limited. Although some animals thrive, others are tabled until later -- hopefully.

Sometimes its very disheartening. Every year, zoos have to decide what species well stop working with and start focusing on the one in the most trouble, Lichty says.

In the next year or so, Small hopes to retire after one more celebration and complete a life circle that began with Nitas arrival.

The zoo is embarking on an $8 million project to expand its rhinoceros and elephant population, making the North Carolina Zoo home to the largest captive herds in the United States.

Small wants to be there when that first calf arrives -- his very own grandbaby, of sorts.

The chance to have babies on the ground again ... theyre neat to be around, Small says, turning to mush when he talks about how cute the 500-pound infants can be.

Theres just one key element missing.

I wish, he says, Nita could have been part of this.

Contact Allison Perkins at 373-7157 or aperkins@news- record.comThe N.C. Zoo participates in the national Species Survival Plan, started in 1981 by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The groups goal is to manage and conserve wildlife populations.

The SSP keeps the genetic history of every animal in accredited zoos. Most of the programs 125 species are endangered or threatened. The N.C. Zoo participates with 11 animals, including:

HAMADRYAS BABOONS

At last count, there were 65 of this species in North America. The N.C. Zoo is home to 21 of them.

About seven years ago, the hamadryas baboon population was in trouble -- most zoos had animals too old, or too related, to breed.

The N.C. Zoo found five infants in a Florida lab that were genetically unrelated to any others in their current group.

Those five animals rejuvenated the population. The zoo is now home to 21 baboons, including six male toddlers.

We are at the forefront in housing a multimale group, said keeper Jennifer Ireland. In the wild they live in multimale groupings, so thats really helped the breeding situation.

The relationships between males and females and males and males is right on the ball. Its like reading their natural history by watching them interact.

Theres just one drawback -- in the wild, baboons break into family units. And here, all the girls are in love with one particular male baboon.

Weve gotten to the point where his genetics are getting overrepresented, Ireland said. In the past two months there have been three unplanned births from this proud papa.

All the girls just loved him, Ireland said. Hes very attractive.

AFRICAN LIONS

Last year, the zoo embarked on a pedigree African lion breeding program.

Lichty said there are about 85 lions in captive population in the United States. About 150 are needed to maintain genetic variation.

In July 2004, two cubs were born at the zoo, making it one of the few facilities in the United States with a successful African lion birth.

Breeding, Lichty said, is very technical. Its not simply putting a male and female animal together. Often, because the animals are not comfortable in the surroundings, nothing happens.

Also, keepers have to keep track of the animals lineage. Inbreeding can result in life-threatening disease.

We only have so many animals, so there has to be a willingness from institutions for cubs to go to another facility, Lichty said. The N.C. Zoos cubs have already been transferred to other zoos.

Babies draw people to the gate, but they need to be in breeding programs, Lichty said. Were not breeding babies to have babies, its because the population needs them.

Hopefully it wont be long before visitors will have another cub to coo at. Breeding efforts, Lichty said, could have a cub on display by Memorial Day.

BOX TURTLES AND COPPERHEAD SNAKES

Box turtles and copperhead snakes have the largest exhibits at the N.C. Zoo. They freely roam the entire property.

Its the only way that scientists such as John Groves, curator of amphibians and reptiles, will be able to learn how to use land in construction and maintain adequate habitats for the animals.

Both the snakes and the turtles have been fitted with monitoring devices that follow their movements around the zoo. The virtual leash gives Groves an intimate look at a day in the life of a turtle.

Were gathering natural history on the animals that will be used in the future for the conservation of the species, he said. We cant protect an animal unless we know how it behaves in the wild.

Already, scientists have discovered that the snake travels farther than they thought and always returns within 100 feet of its hibernating spot.

Although neither animal is currently endangered, Groves said human encroachment into their homes could deplete their numbers.

AFRICAN PYGMY GEESE

There are high hopes for these five young geese.

The group hatched on July 31 and were the first of their kind born at the N.C. Zoo.

Although the species is not endangered or specifically threatened, their habitat, the wetlands, is shrinking around the world.

And the geese have proved difficult to breed over the years. With only about 50 living in zoos around the United States -- and the bulk of those being female -- the birth was a significant event, especially because four of the babies are male.

Ken Reininger, curator of birds, said scientists have found that birds born in captivity often breed easier. The hope is that these five tiny and colorful infants will do just that.

The zoo is waiting for recommendations on where to send the birds to prepare them for adulthood and breeding.

You have to make most of genetics you have, Reininger said. You cant do this without knowing how it will impact the population.

Very quickly, all the animals could be very inbred and start to have problems, and then the population just crashes.

Source: Greensboro News Record

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