Oregon Zoo Future for Wildlife

Oregon Zoo International Conservation Partnerships

Funded items listed after a projected indicate grants received from the
Future for Wildlife Conservation Fund.

Development of a Sumatran Elephant Resource Center

Dr. Susan Mikota, D.V.M., a Senior Research Associate of Oregon Zoo, has been working with Elephant Conservation Centers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra since April 2000. Her initial goal was to improve the standard of veterinary care provided to Sumatra's 400+ captive elephants by development of a model program at the Sebanga Elephant Conservation Center. After spending most of 2001 at Sebanga, she has expanded her mission to include the development of an island-wide infrastructure that addresses the health care and management that works in concert with the central administration in Jakarta and with other international conservation organizations. She has already succeeded in convincing the government to declare a 2-year moratorium on capturing additional wild elephants until the issues of poor capture techniques, over-crowding, and inadequate care at ECCs are addressed. Fund-raising is underway to allow Dr. Mikota's continued role in conserving this declining subspecies of Asian elephant. Dr. Mikota has arranged for one of the Oregon Zoo's veterinarians to visit Sumatra and participate in an elephant care workshop.

Humboldt Penguin Conservation and Research at Punta San Juan, Peru

Punta San Juan is a Peruvian headland protected from the mainland by a 1.5 km concrete wall built 50 years ago. The wall keeps out predators (both animal and human) and is critical to the survival of the penguin colony. By 1998, the wall was in very poor repair, missing entire sections. Peruvian foxes have repeatedly invaded the reserve and killed penguins. The Wildlife Conservation Society is a partner in this project. Initial funds were raised by OZF independently of the Conservation Fund, including a $10,000 challenge grant from the IFC Foundation, resulted in a complete repair of the wall.

Repair of Punta San Juan, Peru, barrier wall. Patricia Majluf, WCS/Bronx Zoo, $25,529.
Sex differences in parental investment of Humboldt penguins at Punta San Juan. Sabrina Taylor (Smithsonian Institution, Dalhousie University), $6,533 (3 funding cycles).
Field support for "Sex differences in parental investment of Humboldt penguins, Punta San Juan, Peru," June 8-15, 1999. Shawn St. Michael, Oregon Zoo, $1,700.
Support to attend the Humboldt Penguin Population Habitat Viability Analysis (CBSG, Chile). Cynthia Cheney, Penguin Conservation, $1,300.
Monitoring 1999 Humboldt penguin nesting success at Punta San Juan, Peru. Rosana Paredes, WCS/Bronx Zoo, $1,500.
The stress response in Humboldt penguins: How much does habitat and body condition matter? P. Dee Boersma, University of Washington, $2,270.
Field support for guano harvest observer, Punta San Juan, Peru, February 16-March 2, 2001. Jan Steele, Oregon Zoo, $1,427.
Logistical support for WCS/Humboldt Penguin SSP guano harvest monitoring project, Patricia McGill and Patricia Majluf, Brookfield Zoo and WCS, Peru, $1,500.
Where do Humboldt penguins go when they aren't breeding, Punta San Juan, Peru, P. Dee Boersma, University of Washington, $5,300.
Emergency interim support for Punta San Juan Reserve, Peru. David
Shepherdson, Oregon Zoo (on behalf of Patricia Majluf and Patricia McGill), $3,000.

Rodrigues, Mauritius Conservation Educator Program

In 1998, the Oregon Zoo joined the Philadelphia Zoo's One With Nature program to help develop a grass roots environmental education program on the island of Rodrigues, which is part of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius. Mary Jane Raboude was hired by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation as its first full-time environmental educator. Her objectives are to raise environmental awareness and promote reforestation on her native island of Rodrigues. This work will eventually restore habitat for the endangered Rodrigues Fruit Bat. The Zoo also participates in the Rodrigues Fruit Bat SSP and has one of the largest North American collections of this species. The Oregon Zoo has helped support Mary Jane's position for the past five years. In 2003, Mary Jane took time from a U.S. State Department-sponsored visit to the U.S. to present her work an Oregon Zoo all staff meeting.

Rodrigues Fruit Bat Environmental Education Project, Rodrigues, Mauritius. Kim Whitman, Philadelphia Zoo's "One with Nature" program, $8,000 (3 funding cycles, 1998-2000).
2000-2001 support for Rodrigues Conservation Education Project in cooperation with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Kim Whitman, Philadelphia Zoo, $4,000.
Environmental Educator for Rodrigues, Mauritius, 2002. Kimberly Whitman, Zoological Society of Philadelphia, $3,000.
Environmental educator for Rodrigues, Mauritius, 2003. Kimberly Whitman,
Zoological Society of Philadelphia. $3,000.

Tree Kangaroo Conservation in Papua New Guinea

For the past four years, the Oregon Zoo has contributed to the tree kangaroo conservation project developed by Dr. Lisa Dabek of Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. Lisa has worked with local clans, the major land owners in Papua New Guinea, to raise their awareness of tree kangaroo biology and conservation needs. She has arranged visits to North America by her colleagues from New Guinea and has been successful in establishing 75,000 acres of a planned 150,000 acre protected habitat on clan-owned land on the Huron Peninsula of Papua New Guinea. The program will ultimately be administered by wildlife biologists recruited from local clans and educated with project support at the University of Papua New Guinea. The Oregon Zoo shared the 2002 AZA International Conservation Award for its participation on this program.

Tree kangaroo in-situ conservation project in Papua New Guinea, 2000, Lisa Dabek, Roger Williams Park Zoo, $3,000.
Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program in Papua New Guinea, 2001 support. Lisa Dabek, Roger Williams Park Zoo, $3,000.
Tree kangaroo conservation program in Papua New Guinea (continued funding, 2002), Lisa Dabek, Roger Williams Park Zoo, $3,000.
Tree kangaroo conservation program in Papua New Guinea, 2003. Lisa Dabek,
Roger Williams Park Zoo. $3,000.

Matabeleland Cheetah and Leopard Conservation and Research, Zimbabwe

In early 2001, Zoological Curator Chris Pfefferkorn began a partnership with Mr. Vivian Wilson of the Chipangali Wildlife Trust in Gulawayo, Zimbabwe, to carry out research on the feasibility of relocating leopards and cheetahs from agricultural areas to protected national parks. Chris is embarking on his fourth trip to Zimbabwe in the summer of 2003. He not only assists in cheetah and leopard trapping and tracking but is able to carry equipment to support the research that is not available in Zimbabwe.

Matabeleland cheetah and leopard research program, Zimbabwe, Vivian J. Wilson,Chipangali Wildlife Trust, and Chris Pfefferkorn, Oregon Zoo, $4,025.
Matabeleland cheetah and leopard research program (continued funding), Vivian J. Wilson, Chipangali Wildlife Trust, and Chris Pfefferkorn, Oregon Zoo, $3,035.
Matabeleland cheetah and leopard research program. Vivian J. Wilson,
Chipangali Wildlife Trust, and Chris Pfefferkorn, Oregon Zoo, $4,225.
Matabeleland cheetah and leopard research program. Vivian J. Wilson,
Chipangali Wildlife Trust, and Chris Pfefferkorn, Oregon Zoo. $5,000.

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