Green Practices - Table of Contents

Occasionally on this blog, and especially in this past month (March 2018), I've highlighted some simple steps that all of us can do to reduce our environmental impact and build a better world for wildlife.  Not starting a captive-breeding program and reintroducing a species into the wild, or establishing a lengthy field-research project.  Little things.  I thought it would be a good idea to start compiling them into a Table of Contents, here, which I will periodically update as new ideas come to mind.

Thanks, and good luck going greener!

• Landscape your yard with native plants to make more wildlife habitat
• Avoid single-use plastic items, such as straws or plastic grocery bags.  Either use re-usables, or do without them
• Participate in a Citizen Scientist program, like FrogWatch USA
• Only purchase sustainable seafood - Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch App is a great place to start
• Modify the windows of your home or workplace to reduce the risk of bird strike

We Are AZA

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

"You and I in a little toy shop

Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got.

Set them free at the break of dawn

Till one by one they were gone."

- 99 Luftalloons, Kevin McAlea

In Kevin McAlea's classic anti-war song (based on the German version by the band Nena), 99 red balloons, released on a whim, lead, pretty much, to the total destruction of the world.  That might be a bit of an exaggeration.  Still, releasing balloons can have disastrous consequences for some of our planet's creatures.

Balloon releases are a popular way to celebrate an occasion, be it a sporting event, a wedding, or a memorial service.  We all see the brightly colored spheres float up into the sky and imagine that they are free (as if inanimate objects could be "free").  The problem is, that which comes up must come down... even if it is full of helium.

Many of those balloons settle over the ocean as they deflate.  There, they can be mistaken for jellyfish by hungry sea turtles, which will then eat them and then... die.  Even more problematic are balloons that are released with their strings attached, which can entangle or strangle wildlife.  Sea turtles are equally imperiled by plastic bags, such as those used in grocery stores, which constitute an enormous amount of waste every year.

Methods to help wildlife are simple.  First of all, don't release balloons.  Just don't.  Even those listed as "biodegradable" aren't really, and may take a long time to break down, before which something is almost certain to try and eat them.  The best way to prevent balloon releases is to raise awareness and present alternatives (tree plantings, for example, to remember a loved one) before an event is planned.  People who are caught up in the emotions of a special occasion are less likely to listen to urges to change their plans after they've been second.  Secondly, avoid the use of plastic bags.  Use reusable ones of cloth or other materials.  If you work in a zoo, sell reusable bags.  If you must offer plastic bags in your gift shop, consider adding a small tax to it, with the proceeds going to conservation.  Encourage visitors to avoid single-use bags.

Learn more about the perils that balloons pose to wildlife at Balloons Blow.

Save a sea turtle.  Find some other way to make an occasion memorable.

Species Fact Profile: Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

Moon Jellyfish (Common Jellyfish, Moon Jelly, Saucer Jelly)

Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Worldwide
Habitat: Coastal Waters, Estuaries
Diet: Plankton, Mollusks, Crustaceans, Worms
Social Grouping: Asocial, but may gather in large congregations
Reproduction: Fertilized eggs are placed in pockets of the arms that surround the mouth.  Larvae are released in the fall, settling down and developing into small sedentary organisms which in turn develop into small, free-swimming jellies.  Reach maturity at about three months old.
Lifespan: 1 Year
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated

• Saucer-shaped body is translucent and colorless, except for four or five violet spots (the gonads) at the center of the disk.  Grows to a diameter of 25-40 centimeters
• Swim by pulsating the bell-shaped upper-part of the body; primary purpose of swimming is to maintain position near the surface of the water, rather than to move through the water
• Prey is captured in the mucous-coated tentacles, then passed up to the mouth (which also functions as they anus)
• Predators include sunfish and sea turtles; may also be preyed upon by birds which are after the arthropods living in the bells of the jellyfish, but which may kill or injure the jellyfish in the process
• Have a high tolerance for water with low concentration of dissolved oxygen, which helps explain why their numbers appear to be so high in the summer months.  One of the most common, persistently-occurring species in polluted waters.

From the News: Veterans dive with the sharks at N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island

Veterans dive with the sharks at N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island

It's great to see a local aquarium reaching out to community members and giving them a chance to interact with their animals and exhibits, building a sense of community and gaining a new appreciation for wildlife.  Lots of aquariums offer dive programs such as this, perhaps most famously Georgia Aquarium's program allowing guests to swim with their famous whale sharks.  

As a dry-lander, it just occurred to me how bizarre this is from the zookeeper perspective.  What would our equivalent be?  Inviting visitors in for a hike across the elephant exhibit?  A walk around the inside perimeter of the wolf enclosure?  We'd collectively freak out at the idea.  Or is this more or less the wet version of a walk-through aviary, albeit one where some of the "birds" are considerably larger than the visitors?

None of this is to suggest that there is anything wrong with these carefully monitored, closely supervised dive programs.  I think they're a great asset to their facilities and their communities.  It just goes on to reinforce for me - I'll never understand aquarium management, no matter how hard I try.

Shandi Black (left), Kayla Jakubczak, Matt Riey, Rob Williams, Justin Sisco, Lopaka Bounds. (NCARI)

A Chain of Zoos

Willa: We all have to live in the real world, or this place is gonna close... but I just want you all to know I intend to run this one business really we.
Bugsy: And if you do, we could open a chain of them all over the world.  Little zoos popping up everywhere, all exactly the same.  Leopards on the left, rhinos on the right, monkeys in the middle, sea lions in the center...

- Fierce Creatures

I actually have no idea how the SEA LIFE aquariums, such as the one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are operated or organized.  Still, the thought of a chain aquarium struck me as very interesting concept.  It made me wonder what it would be like to have zoos or aquariums managed uniformly, as a chain.

There is a reason that zoos and aquariums (well, apart from SEA LIFE, SeaWorld, and a few other facilities) are managed uniformly.  Virtually all zoos originated independently, many of them founded by municipal governments or zoological societies.  It was only with the establishment of the AZA that zoos began working in a cooperative manner - while still working under their own management systems.  As a result, there is a tremendous amount of variation in how zoos manage their animals.

Some facilities prefer to feed their animals a more processed diet - chows, pellets, prepared meats - whereas others are more in favor of a more naturalistic diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole prey.  At some facilities animals are kept in the enclosures day and night, at others they are secured in indoor quarters in the evening.  Different zoos have different approaches and comfort levels with mixed species exhibits, or visitor-interaction with animals, or which species are worked free-contact versus protected contact.

Perhaps these differences are most readily seen when animals are transported from one facility to another.  When this occurs, keepers at the sending and receiving institutions must communicate constantly to ensure a smooth transaction, helping make sure the animal is made as comfortable as possible in its new home and with its new care routine.  The differences can be jarring sometimes.  For example, I was working at a southern zoo when we received a sloth from a northern zoo.  At its former facility, it was maintained in a giant walk-through rainforest building.  At our zoo, it was kept outdoors.  That change alone must have been jarring for the little fellow.

It probably would be easier if zoos and aquariums - or at least AZA-accredited ones - were managed in the exact same ways.  The exact same animal care protocols, including diets and veterinary regiments - could be implemented at all zoos for uniform care.  Staff would undergo the same hiring and training standards, and could transfer more easily from zoo to zoo for personal or professional reasons.  Education, conservation, and breeding programs could be organized more smoothly.  The fact is, though, that zoos and aquariums aren't uniform - some are big, and some are small.  Some are government run, others are private, or a combination of the two.  They are spread across the country, in areas ranging from sub-arctic to sub-tropical, urban to rural.  They can't all be managed the same because they aren't all the same.

And thank goodness for that.  How boring would this job be if everything was easy?

Zoo Review: SEA LIFE Michigan

While the number of zoos in the United States seems to be holding pretty steady, public aquariums have proven to be increasingly prolific.  It seems that every city that currently doesn't have an aquarium is looking to add one, often as part of the revitalization of an area or a building in order to boost tourism.  Many have followed the path blazed by Baltimore, Chattanooga, Newport, et al - building a large complex on the city's waterfront.  Then there is SEA LIFE.

SEA LIFE could best be described as the Hard Rock Cafe of the zoo and aquarium world.  It's a chain-aquarium, owned by Merlin Entertainments, also known for its Legoland and Madame Tussaud's properties.  SEA LIFE aquariums are relatively small, kid-friendly aquariums, often built in shopping malls; for example, the old aquarium at Minnesota's Mall of America is now a SEA LIFE.  At the current time there are over fifty of these aquariums in over a dozen countries on four continents.  I recently visited by first, SEA LIFE Michigan, located at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, not far from Detroit.

I'll admit, I was skeptical of SEA LIFE (it's not me - they really do write themselves in all caps).  It was between the food court and a Rainforest Cafe, and I braced myself for a cheesy experience.  It didn't help when I entered and was immediately trapped in a corny theater that showed an educational cartoon, from which there was no escape - and believe me, I tried.  Fortunately, it was brief, and then I was able to explore the aquarium quietly and my leisure.

SEA LIFE Michigan has a basic, modest collection arranged in a series of themed galleries.  Many of the most popular aquarium species were to be found here, such as green moray, jellyfish, sea horses, and giant Pacific octopus.  One of the themed galleries was octopus-themed, which I must admit I enjoyed, seeing as it was one of the few places I'd ever seen different species of octopus.  There was a touch tank, a native trout display, and, towards the exit, an enormous Japanese spider crab in a circular tank.  The largest display featured an acrylic tunnel leading through some submerged oceanic ruins of the type that H. P. Lovecraft would have delighted in, while black-tipped reef sharks and a green turtle drifted about amicably.

I'll still admit, though, when I finished, my reaction was mostly... "that's it?"  I ended up going back and forth through the aquarium three times, during which I read every label and played with every interactive, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

While my primary interests are in birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, I do consider myself to be something of an aquarium connoisseur, and SEA LIFE Michigan... kind of bored me.  To be fair, though, I'm not the target audience.  It is very child-friendly, with lots of simple graphics and exhibits that feature conservation-themed messaging, and it's small size would make it ideal for families with small children.  Which is good, because I've long believed that zoos and aquariums are for everyone - not just elitist snobs like me.

SEA LIFE Michigan

From the News: Sudan, World's Last Male Northern White Rhino, Dies

Sudan, World's Last Male Northern White Rhino, Dies

Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, grazes at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in May 2017.  The 45-year old rhino's health started deteriorating in late February - STR/AP

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Eh, I've had worse road trips...

No Excuse for Single Use

Creating wildlife habitat on zoo grounds, such as toad abodes and bat boxes, is one way in which zoo and aquarium professionals can help wildlife.  Another is to reduce waste.  This means not only in the animal side of the organization, but on the visitor side.  Especially where consumables are most often used - the gift shop and the concession stand.

An enormous percentage of the trash in our landfills is of the single-use plastic product nature.  These include plastic bags, drinking straws, and cups and cutlery.  Even more distressingly, many of these items don't make it to the landfill, because they are discarded on the ground or make their way into waterways.  These are all items that zoos and aquariums utilize - and all can be replaced.

Many zoos do not sell drinking straws.  Not only are they wasteful, but they can easily find their way into enclosures where they may be consumed by animals.  Plastic bags can be replaced with reusable ones, for sale in the gift shop.  Some cities, such as Washington DC, are already charging customers a tax on plastic bags to discourage their use - an extra five cents or so per bag at the grocery store.  Cups and cutlery could be replaced with metal or reusable hard plastic, which can be washed and served again.

Zoos should practice what they preach about conservation.  Then, they should preach again, louder and more clearly.  We should make going to the snack bar just as educational of a lesson in conservation as any of the animal exhibits around the park.

Species Fact Profile: Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara)

Atlantic Goliath Grouper

Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822)

Range: Coastal Atlantic Ocean
Habitat: Shallow Coastal Waters, Mangroves (Juveniles)
Diet: Crustaceans, Fish, Mollusks
Social Grouping: Solitary, Small Schools
Reproduction: Breed July through September.  Gather at breeding sites to spawn.  Mature slowly - males mature at 4-6 years old, females at 6-7.
Lifespan: 40 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered

• Body length up to 2.5 meters, weight up to 360 kilograms
• Dull green, grey, or brown-yellow scales with small dark spots on the head, body, and fins.  Smaller individuals tend to have vertical striping or blotching
• Large, stocky body with broad head and small eyes, rounded fins
• Only predators of adults are large sharks and humans; smaller individuals may be preyed upon by barracuda, moray eels, and smaller sharks
• Believed to have the ability to change sex at some point during their lives - this has been documented in other grouper species, and is assumed to be the case with this one
• Populations in the Pacific Ocean now listed as a separate species, the Pacific goliath group (Epinephelus quinquefasciatus)
• Very susceptible to overfishing due to large size and slow reproductive rate, popular with fisherman due to taste and size.  Populations have been recovering ever since protection was offered in the 1990's
• Historically was called "jewfish", though unknown exactly why - suggestions have included it being a corruption of "jawfish" or saying that it was kosher.  No longer used by American Fisheries Society after being deemed culturally offensive
• Potentially aggressive, have been known to attack human SCUBA divers.  Territorial - if angered, will make a rumbling sound with its swim bladder.
• Bred in captivity for the first time in 2015 by Colombian biologists 

Satire: Rate a Species

About a week ago, the Oregon Zoo created a simple instagram post, featuring one of their river otters.  It was an Amazon.com style review of the animal, highlighting its adaptations and attractions.  The post was given the hashtag #rateaspecies.  The hashtag spread across social media, with zoos, aquariums, and private individuals weighing in.  I've decided that from now on, I'm going to rank every new animal we acquire.  Some of them might not be suitable for public posting...

Check out a few other reviews here!

Grow Your Backyard Wild

Putting up Toad Abodes is a simple, easy, cheap way to make your backyard better wildlife habitat.  There are plenty of other options you can choose, however, to make a small-scale local difference for native species.  Besides toads, you can provide shelter for birds and bats by erecting birdhouses and bat boxes.  You can set out bird feeders and birdbaths.  You can add a rock pile.  You can try to reduce your dependency on pesticides and herbicides.  Make sure your windows and glass doors are bird-safe.  If you have the space, you can add a small pond.

A Southwestern Garden at the Albuqurque BioPark Botanic Garden - if you're in a desert, why plant water-hungry ornamentals when you could landscape with natives already adapted to drought?

One of the best decisions that you can make for wildlife is to replace a high-maintenance grassy lawn (with the endless requirements of watering, spraying, and mowing) with a garden of native plants.  These species add a lot of benefit to your yard.  Not only do they require much less maintenance, since they'll be growing in the environmental conditions that they've evolved to thrive in, they provide food and shelter and nesting material for native species.

A major challenge is that many homeowner's associations require that homes maintain a grassy lawn, but hopefully if enough people start moving towards the native landscaping, more HOA will relent.

If you are interested in making your own home better wildlife habitat, check out the National Wildlife Federation's "Garden for Wildlife" certification program.  Check off the items on the list that you do to provide shelter, food, and water, and you could get your own yard certified as "Wildlife Habitat."  And not just homes - every school, community center, park, business campus, and basically anyplace else that has some green space should strive for this.

To say nothing of every zoo.

Wildlife needs habitat to survive and thrive - it's as simple as that.  We can try to set off large areas for them, like National Parks - but I've come to believe that every little extra bit helps as well.

Toad Abodes

Kermit aside, frogs and toads get a bad rap - people think they're slimy (true, in the case of frogs) or that they give you warts (false).  In truth, we have a lot to be grateful to them for - they are some of our ecosystems' most effective agents at controlling the number of mosquitoes and other insects, as well as slugs, snails, and other gardening pests.  What better way to share our appreciation then by inviting them to come over and stay with us?

A fun, simple, kid-friendly way to make your backyard better amphibian habitat is the Toad Abode.  At its simplest, it's just a clay flower pot, placed on its side and either propped up with rocks so it doesn't move around or half-buried in ground.  Place it in a damp part of the yard, then place some damp leaves inside it to act as a moisture-retaining substrate.  If you want to go all-out you can add a saucer of water (with gently-sloping sides please!) outside to serve as a soaking pool, periodically filling it up with clean, chemical-free water.

Individuals or families with artistic bends can derive a lot of fun by painting or otherwise decorating the pot before placing it outside.  In my case I think I'd prefer to leave it unadorned so it would blend in more easily with the garden's settings, but that's just my taste.  Because these days everyone finds ways to make hobbies more expensive, some garden stores are now selling actual "Toad Abodes" which look like little houses or igloos or other structures.  They would work as well, though again, a simple pot works just fine.

A Toad Abode costs maybe five bucks or so and takes about ten minutes to install, and that's assuming you or your kids want to paint it first.  Once it's done, you've got a nifty little amphibian shelter for your yard.  There aren't many ways to make a positive difference in improving wildlife habitat for little cost and little effort, so it's great to take the opportunities when they arise.

Species Fact Profile: Giant Waxy Tree Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor)

Giant Waxy Tree Frog (Monkey Frog)

Phyllomedusa bicolor (Boddaert, 1772)

Range: Northern South America
Habitat: Rainforest, Tropical Grassland
Diet: Insects
Reproduction: Breed year round, but most commonly in the rainy season (November through May).  Construct nests in trees over ponds.  Up to 600 eggs laid in a gelatinous mass, which are folded up in the leaves by the male.  After 8-10 days, the eggs hatch and the tadpoles drop into the water, where they will undergo metamorphosis.
Lifespan: 10 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

• Body length 9-12 centimeters, with females slightly larger than males
• Skin is dark green on the back, fading to white or pale yellow on the stomach.  Some small white spots outlined in black, denser on the sides and back legs.
• The fingers end in large adhesive disks, which are used to help cling to trees when climbing - they tend not to jump too much
• Active by night; during the day, they lie on a leaf or cling to a branch, where their bright green back coloration blends in with the foliage
• To reduce the risk of drying out in the tropical sun, these frogs produce a wax-like substance from special glands on their skin, which they then wipe across their bodies
• Skin secretions contain toxins which are being studied for potential pharmaceutical applications.  These secretions were used in shamanic rituals in parts of the species range, producing hallucinations and hypersensitivity that were believed to help hunters possess the energy and stamina to hunt for days
• Locally common, but may be declining in some areas due to habitat loss

FrogWatch USA

Growing up, my lifelong dream of becoming a zookeeper was periodically interrupted - or at least complimented - by a second dream.  It involved traveling the world to study animals in the wild as a field biologist.  I'd picture myself perched atop a termite mound, scanning the grasslands with my binoculars, or pushing my way down a narrow rainforest trail, tracking wildlife.

Fortunately for me, I spent a semester in college doing just that and decided, before I committed too deeply, that there were only so many days that I could sleep on the ground and eat rice and beans for every meal before my body started to break, all while walking fifteen miles a day without seeing a single animal, and so it was back to zookeeping I went.

None of which is to say that important fieldwork with wildlife can only happen in the Serengeti, the Amazon, or some other far off place.  In fact, there is an excellent program, sponsored by the AZA, that gives anyone who is interested the chance to become a citizen-scientist and take a crack at fighting one of the major extinction challenges of our times.

FrogWatch USA is a community-based conservation plan that trains folks to monitor populations of amphibians in our own backyards.  Because frogs and toads are some of the species which are the most sensitive to environmental changes, they serve as an indicator species for the health of a wetland ecosystem.  Furthermore, unlike many vertebrates they are quite vocal - for every spring peeper I've ever seen with the naked eye, I've heard hundreds chorusing on an April evening.  Volunteers are trained to identify frogs and toads by their calls and then submit their findings to scientific authorities.  This will allow biologists to monitor trends in amphibian populations.

Joining Frogwatch USA is easy.  Chapters can be formed by any interested party and are led by trained experts, who will mentor participants in how to identify and record their findings.  Data is made available for all, mapped out and analyzed by the National Geographic Society.  Participants will have the chance to get to know their local habitats better, to contribute to the conservation of declining species, and to enjoy friendship and fellowship with others with similar interests.  WHen  look back on my college years, for every happy memory from the classroom, I've usually got two or three from being out herping with my friends.

To learn more about FrogWatch, or to get started, email frogwatch@aza.org - and happy frogging!

Sporcle Quiz: Sporcle at the Zoo - Golden Frog

Sporcle at the Zoo - Golden Frog

Today we're picking back up with the series, Sporcle at the Zoo.  This month, we'll be highlighting our first amphibian, the absolutely gorgeous - and critically endangered - golden frog.

Hear Them Roar

This year, World Wildlife Day is honoring the big cats - the lion and leopard, tiger and jaguar, snow leopard and (depending on who you ask) cheetah, puma, and clouded leopard.

Even compared to other large predators, big cats have an over-sized hold on our imagination and culture, and zoo life is no exception.  Many large zoos possess a nearly full complement of the big cats, whereas few have many species of large canine or bear.  Historically, many zoos had an entire house or row devoted to displaying the cats, a trend which has decreased with the rise of geographically-themed exhibit areas.  Still, lions tend to anchor African exhibits, tigers dominate Asian exhibits, and Latin American zoo regions are often headlined by jaguars.

The big cats are among the most popular of animals with zoo visitors - everyone wants to know where the lions and tigers are (fun fact: to many zoo visitors, there are only three species of cats: the lion, the tiger, and "the spotted one").  Big cat births are celebrated in the news.  Big cat deaths are treated as a communal loss and cause for mourning.  Big cats are some of the zoo residents that animal rights' groups target most frequently in their critiques of zoos.  Big cat training and enrichment demonstrations are flocked to by visitors.  And yes, when a zookeeper is killed by an animal, it is almost always by a big cat.

Over the years, I've had the chance to work with all eight species of big cat.  Humans have been keeping cats in zoos for millennia, and they tend to do quite well under human care.  Most species breed very well in managed care, and the remaining two - cheetahs and clouded leopards - are slowly giving up their secrets. 

The charisma and star power of big cats has enormous potential for conservation.  By their nature, big cats occupy large territories, and to preserve them in the wild, you must preserve a lot of land (it's crazy to think that an entirely sustainable zoo population of lions or tigers could be maintained in less space needed than for a single animal in the wild).  When you preserve that land, you also preserve the habitats of the prey species that these cats rely on, as well as a host of other species, some quite obscure and far more endangered than the cats themselves. 

Likewise, big cats and other top predators regulate the number of their prey species and thereby influence the fate of their ecosystem.  By protecting big cats, we can save entire ecosystems.  And there are few better places to develop an appreciation for big cats than the zoo.

From the News: Actor John Goodman helps promote new St. Louis aquarium

Actor John Goodman helps promote new St. Louis aquarium