SACRAMENT0 ZOO MAKES ROOM
FOR MALE AFRICAN LION
The Sacranenco Zoo recendy debuted Aslan, a seven-year-old
male Ahican lion on
loan from the Knoxville
Zoo who wiill be introduced to biassina,
Sacranlento Zoo's 13year-old female, by recommcndation of rhc
Lion Species Survival
Plan (SSP). &lan was
captive born in South
Africa and represents a
brand new genetic line
for the SSP.
Although the Miican
lion is not listed as
cndangercd, thcy arc Far
from plentiful. 'l'heir
habitats arc now only in
S serdwn,~
ac
gmic racrvcs in Eastern
and Soud~ernAfria. Lions arc an important rcsourcc to game
resenres in the region, bringing in nluch needed visitors :uid
income from eco-tourism. Loss of genetic diversig from inbreeding, fragmentation, disease and loss of habiut are all problems
that concinuc to thrcaren this species. Diseases from domestic
cats and dogs have also made an impacr on wild
populations.
WOODLAND PARK ZOO
WELCOMES MALAYAN TAPIR
-4sa group of Woodland Park Zoo visirors watched in awe, an
endangered Malaym tapir delivered a male d f o n c~hibiton 29
September. Zookeepers were fortunacc ro capturc rhc rare birth
on vidco. Thc 29-pound, unnamed calf is the second successful
birth for the 8-year-old parents. The calf will remain off exhibit
in a heated barn for an extended period of ti~ncduc to tcnlpcrature needs. Zoo-goers may view him on a doscd-circuit "tapir
cam" in the Trnil of K~zesexhibit.
\Voodland Park Zoo's last M a l a y a tapir birth occurred in
Spring 2000. "'lhe birth of the rapir is significant bemuse his
genetic line is underrepresented in the Norrh American zoo population," says Bret Sellers, the ZOO'SC~llecdonManager of
Mammals. Sellca noted that jusr threc Malayan tapir birrhs
occurred in North Amcrican zoos in the last six months. The
Zoo's birth brings the total number of htlalayan tapirs in Norrh
American zoos to 56. Nativc to Surnatra, rhe blalay Peninsula,
Burma, souther11Thailand and possibly Los, an estimated 900
to 3,000 ~Malayantapirs remain in the wild.
R H I N O ARRIVES AT AUDUBON
Audubon Zoo, a facility of Audubon Nature Institute, is
proud to announce the first birch of a rhino in Ncw Orlcana,
born the evening of 8 September. His birth is cspccially
significant because both parents are captive born. The calfs
farhcr was born at
thc
Jacksonville
Zoo 12 years ago,
while his 13-ycarold mother wvas
born in Knoxvillc
and is owned by the
Baton Rouge Zoo.
Mother and youngster arc thriving and
can bc viewed daily
via the Audubon
"Rh inoCam" ar wu~w.nr~dztbo~ri~~(tifute.
org.
U .Id&"
7-
PARMA WALLABY DEBUTS AT
ROGER WlLLlAMS PARK ZOO
A p n s c all odds, Dash, a female pa-nla wallaby, is finally on
exhibit at Rogcr Williams Park Zoo. Dash is one of eight wallabies rescued froin Kawau Island, New Zmland, list Fcbruary by
Adrienne Millcr. ZOO Collection Manager. Wrhout Miller's
efforcs, Dashi future, like thousands of endangered parnia wallabies on %wau Island, would have been very uncertain. Thc Nav
Zraland Department of Conservation is actively elxdicating w\dlabies from the island due to thc ccological problems they are
causing. Parma wallabies are a non-native species originally inuoduced to Kaw;lu island in the 1880s. Astay of exccution has been
granted in order to rescue as many parlna wallabies as possible for
mnsfcr to interested zoos. As head of the AZA I'arma Wallaby
Population management Plan, which is based at Roger Williams
Park &o, bfillcr has spearheaded etTorrs to gct as many wallabies
into North American zoos as possible.
Dash was quarantined &er her arricd in February, but has
rcccndy been issued a dean bill of hcdth and can finally be seen
in her new home in thc Zoo's A~umzlaria&bit, along with nvo
other female parrna wallabies who came to the Zoo from Kawvau
Idand in 1997. Miller will travel back to the island this fall to
rcscarch the current xvallahy population and, ifnecessary arternpt
the rescue of more aninimals.
DETROIT ZOO ANNOUNCES AMUR TIGER BIRTHS
The Deuoic Zoo recently celebrated the births of t h e e
critically endangered Amur tiger cubs. The 10-pound cubs wvere
born on 12 August and are rucked awvay in their den with heir
mother. The cubs are just starting to play and walk, and are
expected to appear on cxhibit in November. This is dlc second
successful set of birrhs in nvo decades, with three other cubs born
in 2000.
The tiger cubs, o&pring of 13-year-old Bmlsk and 1 l-yearold Sheba, are a ~velcomcaddition to the Detroit Zoo due to
thcir critically endangered sutus. Sheba joined Bransk earlier this
y e s as a part of a Species Smiwal Plan (SSP) recommendation.
Zoo Dircctor Ron Kagan states, "We wvcrc fortunate to be
chosen as one of 11 zoos in North America to breed Amur tigers,
[and] we are also very excited for the public" Currendy, only 63
zoos in Norrh America hold Amur tigers.