In the Field
In situ, or in the field, projects provide a wealth of valuable information about animal species, behavior, population dynamics, and habitat preference and usage. This information can then be used to improve husbandry techniques, medication, exhibit design, and the overall health of animals in captivity. The Tulsa Zoo Conservation Program contributes money to important conservation programs to help fund their work, while also sending Zoo personnel to work in the field with researchers from around the globe. This type of support allows our staff to gain useful experience in their area of expertise while providing hands-on help with data collection, research station construction, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, etc.
Census Studies for Native Birds and Mammals Takes Tulsa Zookeeper to Distant Lands - Peru. Marcon, Peru is a long way from home for Tulsa Zookeeper Tom Mortimer who recently returned “humbled” by his experience alongside the Humboldt penguins at the Punta San Juan Reserve (PSJ). The trip, funded by the Tulsa Zoo Friends and the Tulsa Zoo Conservation Program exemplifies the zoo’s push for continuous education among its staff.
Mortimer, a Zookeeper in the bird department at Tulsa Zoo, focused on Humboldt penguin guano harvest and protection, with the help of staff from the Mystic Aquarium and the Philadelphia Zoo. The three worked alongside Peruvian students on a number of animal projects, including census studies on Inca Terns, Sea Lions, Fur Seals and Humboldt Penguins.
Tom wasn’t just watching Humboldts, but also government workers, called Gueneros, as they collected penguin waste or guano, which is commercially sold in Peru as fertilizer. While guano harvest is managed as a sustainable industry with respect to the guano bird species, it has negatively impacted the penguins through both direct mortality and through reduced reproductive success.
In 2001, the Humboldt penguin SSP organized and supported the first international observer program to monitor the guano harvest. This effort was highly successful in protecting penguins and their burrow breeding sites.
Humboldt populations have declined significantly in the past 30-40 years. The Punta San Juan Reserve (PSJ) is the largest Humboldt penguin colony in Peru and has among the highest rates of reproduction recorded anywhere for this threatened species. The single site at PSJ also supports approximately 30% of the Peruvian penguin population. Thus, securing the future of the population of penguins at PSJ is important not only for the local population, but also for the world population.
Alligator Snapping Turtle Conservation in Oklahoma. Staff members from the Tulsa Zoo joined forces with The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Oklahoma State University to establish a release program benefiting one of Oklahoma’s native species, the alligator snapping turtle. The plan was to release confiscated adult turtles (being held in a National Fish Hatchery in Arkansas) into their natural range in Oklahoma to bolster reproductive rates of the wild population.
Oklahoma is home to the alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii), the largest freshwater turtle in the U.S. Once common in Oklahoma, the alligator snapping turtle has virtually disappeared from the state. These turtles migrate up rivers in the Mississippi River drainage and are found as far north as Ohio. Dams along waterways have hindered migration in Oklahoma and elsewhere in the turtle’s range. These structures also decrease the amount of suitable river habitat, thereby decreasing turtle breeding and nesting. Harvesting alligator snapping turtles is illegal in the state, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation considers them a Category II protected species.
Our team’s first job was to capture a sample of the turtles being housed at the hatchery and assess their overall condition. Since the turtles had shared a small space for several months, the chance of disease or serious injury from conspecifics was high, and our goal was to assess 20-25 individuals. Each turtle was weighed, measured, cleaned of external parasites, and tagged using a unique pattern of scute ties. Blood and tissue samples were also taken. The turtles were then released back into the hatchery pond to await our next visit.
We returned a month later to collect all the turtles from the hatchery pond, tag them, take blood samples, tissue samples, and measurements, and transport them to the Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery in Oklahoma. From there they were taken to several predetermined locations along the Washita River and released. Over the course of two days, the team captured and processed 277 turtles ranging from juveniles to adults weighing well over 100 pounds. The average weight of the turtles was just over 35 lbs. After processing, each animal was sexed and readied for transport. Tulsa Zoo staff then transported the turtles to Oklahoma
Sixteen turtles were fitted with radio transmitters to aid in future monitoring efforts. The research team at OSU will track these turtles for the next four years to plot movement patterns and survival rates. Trap-recapture techniques will be used to monitor the rest of the group and assess any impact they have on the wild population. The Tulsa Zoo is now involved in the captive breeding and reintroduction phase of this program.
TZCP Support of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation’s Blue Iguana Recovery Program. When most people think of a trip to Grand Cayman Island, they envision relaxing on the beach with their favorite book and a tropical beverage. Not Betsy Olsen. Betsy is one of the Reptile department keepers here in the Tulsa Zoo’s Tropical American Rainforest exhibit, and she had more important things to do on her trip. The Grand Cayman blue iguana is an extremely endangered species of ground iguana native only to this island. The Blue Iguana Recovery Program is a project in conjunction with the International Reptile Conservation Foundation dedicated to the captive rearing of iguanas with the purpose of releasing them into their natural habitat. The Tulsa Zoo Conservation Program has a history of support with this organization and felt it was important to continue this relationship. The Tulsa Zoo is one of only a handful of institutions housing the endangered Grand Cayman blue iguana.
More information on the IRCF and the Blue Iguana Recovery Program can be found at http://www.blueiguana.ky