Conservation Policy
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Since the park had been taken over by the current owners in 2008 a lot more emphasis has been put on conservation both within and outside our park boundaries. Before the current owners took over the park, there were few conservation projects which the park engaged in and when we arrived here there were only 2 projects which had been set up but never followed through and continued. These two projects were:
· A site established in the car park of the park which was to be used and maintained as a breeding ground for Slow Worms. This breeding mound was populated by a group of Slow Worms, but little work was carried out
following this to ensure the upkeep of the site which quickly became inhabited by rabbits. It is an aim of ours to re-assess this site as soon as we can, to try and establish whether a colony has set up in the mound or whether it has been completely taken over by wild rabbits. If this is the case we can go from there to see whether it is possible to remove the rabbits and re establish it with Slow Worms.
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· A release program was set up with the Scottish Wild Cats which we were involved in when a number of cats bred at the park were released on one occasion. We have been in talks since the park was taken over with the studbook co-ordinator for the species, who also liaises with the organisation which releases the animals. However we are getting on very slowly with this process, even though we have it on high authority that ours are amongst the purest Scottish Wild Cats in the country. We will continue to engage in talks to release more individuals in the future and have already selected a group of 3 individuals which we think will be suitable for release, leaving us with a strong pair to continue breeding for further releases in the future. Due to the decline in pure Wild Cats in Scotland and increase in cross breeds with feral cats the project is however looking uncertain as a number of organisations have changed their minds about whether or not it is a viable release project in the long run, and that the cat is perhaps doomed to hybridisation and eventually extinction with no way of halting this.
We have found that one of the most effective and financially viable conservation efforts which we can and are engaged in is to try and involve our customers in as much conservation education as possible (without flooding them with it and ultimately putting them off through an information overload). We have developed a number of ideas to help us put this in to effective use, while tying in to our parks ethos of being a park for all the family.
To try and keep people interested we have used a variety of different methods to educate people about similar problems including:
· Flip up signs which interactively ask people questions, revealing the answer when the sign is flipped over.
· Each enclosure has an animal information sign with one thing highlighted on each sign being their conservation status and any threats which the wild populations are under.
· Any animals which are listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered or higher have a sign on the enclosure which states their rating as well as when it was last evaluated.
· Two hands on educational talks are carried out in which a keeper will allow visitors to handle a small selection of animals, accompanied by a talk which covers topics such as diet, habitat and conservation.
Keeping on the paperwork side of conservation work we also both run and participate in global studbooks for a number of species. Firstly we hold the ESF (European Studbook Foundation) studbook for all Mantella species. This studbook is maintained in house and currently has over 60 individual specimens represented within it. Mantellas are a family of frogs all of which are becoming more threatened in their natural Madagascan range. As part of this program we are hoping to soon acquire a new bloodline to add to the Golden Mantella studbook, as well as starting new studbook populations of 1 or 2 further species (possibly Bronze Mantellas and Madagascan Mantellas) which are so far not represented within the studbook.
Our participation in other studbooks is so far restricted to 2 species, which is partly because it can be fairly difficult for non BIAZA and non EAZA affiliated collections to be granted entry in to both EEP and ESB programs. However we have acquired primates which are part of their respective EEP studbooks and report back regularly to ensure that the studbook keepers are able to keep their records up to date. The two species which we currently hold involved in EEPs are the Goeldi’s Monkeys and White Cheeked Gibbons. We certainly plan on joining more such programs in the future as our animal collection expands, and we hope that we will be given more such opportunities now that we have joined BIAZA as a provisional member.
The ultimate aim which everyone who joins such studbooks should be looking for is to have breeding success with that particular species allowing the offspring to be released to other zoos as new bloodlines and ultimately where ever possible back to the wild. We are hoping to get breeding success with our Goeldi’s monkeys in the very near future with 3 seperate groups having been put together at our park, whereas we will not have any success without White Cheeked Gibbons, both of which are male. However it is our fondest hope that through the EEP we will be given the opportunity to acquire, at least 1 (but preferably 2) females of the species. The animals represented in studbooks are however not the only ones which we aim to breed at the park, with further animals which are considered to be under threat on the IUCN Red List being bred at the park including:
· Red Fronted Brown Lemur (Eulemur rufus) – data insufficient, population decreasing
· Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra) – Endangered
· Black & White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) – Critically Endangered
· Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) – Endangered
· Lilac Crowned Amazon (Amazona finschi) – Vulnerable
· Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta) – Vulnerable
· West African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) – Vulnerable
· Barbary Macaque (Macaca sylvanus) – Endangered
· Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) – Critically Endangered
· Mollucan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) – Vulnerable
· Umbrella Cockatoo (Cacatua alba) – Vulnerable
We put a lot of emphasis on ensuring that any animal which is of conservation value is given the best possible opportunity to reproduce at our park. Any such offspring are then offered as surplus animals to other zoos who may be interested in using them to improve the bloodlines which they have at the park. We feel that one of the most important aspects of captive breeding if we are to keep healthy animals alive in captive collections for future generations is to ensure that pure bloodlines are kept alive with the least amount of inbreeding as possible (preferably none).
Our conservation work does not however extend to merely exhibits and signs inside the park but also through pro-active work and funding to aid animals which are far outside our park boundary. The closest to home out of these projects uses items within the park to help any birds which may live or breed in the area. The most obvious of these are nest boxes which are specifically designed to serve the needs of the different types of birds which often frequent this area. The nest boxes and feeding stations which they can use are all accompanied by signs which explain the item and its uses to try and encourage people to engage in such work in their own back garden.
Our help does reach much further than this through fund raising carried out within our park for projects in other places around the world, to try and help us ensure that these animals are not only protected and bred by us in captivity but also given a real shot at long term survival in the wild.
One type of primate which is represented within our park in 2 different forms is the Gibbon, an animal which simply through its natural demeanours is incredibly popular with all of our visitors. When trying to raise funds to support the in situ conservation of a species, there is no more effective way than to put people face to face with those animals in a setting which will arouse not only their sympathy but also enjoyment. The Gibbons are incredibly active animals which move both with grace and a hint of comedy which makes them an instant charm for any animal lover. It is our aim to work with The Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand (WARF) by trying to raise funds towards their work. The work which they do is aimed at rehabilitating Gibbons which have been taken from the illegal pet trade or from entertainment businesses who charge tourists to have their photo taken with a monkey etc. The work which they have done in the past with releases have always been well practiced and monitored and as such for a species which we hold dear within our park, we would be more than happy to help make contributions towards their cause.