Buffalo Zoo workers take the lead on conservation BUFFALO — As animal species worldwide face extinction, CSEA members working in zoos throughout the state are involved every day in conservation efforts. At The Buffalo Zoo, two CSEA members have been recognized for their passion and honored as leaders in their fields. Saving the hellbender In a darkened clean-room filled with aquarium tanks, Penny Felski, the zoo’s herpetological manager and 11-year zoo employee, monitors dozens of hellbenders, the third largest salamander species. “We need to protect the biodiversity of our streams,” Felski said. “The hellbender is important to the food chain; they’re predator and prey. They are also a bio-indicator. If they are healthy and doing well, we can assume our streams are healthy. Without clean water, they can’t live. Water is important to humans, so the health of the streams is something we need to monitor.” Because of the hellbenders’ sensitivity, zoo staff take extra precautions, including requiring removing jackets in the lab, covering outdoor shoes with thick, plastic disposable boots and forbidding anyone but zoo staff to touch the hellbenders. Lighting, the room temperature and the conditions inside the aquariums are monitored to ensure the animals’ health. “‘Hellbender Head Start’ has been a huge undertaking, but it’s very rewarding,” Felski said. “Zoos often focus on exotic animals, but we can’t forget about what is in our own backyard. The conservation of native species is one of the most important things we can do.” Scientists and zoological workers noticed a decline in the number of hellbenders in a watershed in the Southern Tier, and the zoo is working to boost the species’ number. “We raise them to a size at which they’re less likely to be preyed upon and more likely to mature to breeding age,” Felski said. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums recently appointed Felski to its taxon advisory group, a steering committee responsible for the conservation of a certain species or group of species. “I always wanted to work with animals,” said Felski. “This is my dream job; I can’t imagine being anywhere else. This place feels like home.” Proud “rhino dad” Ask Joe Hauser about baby Monica and his eyes light up. He’ll tell you how much she has grown, and about how she likes to run and play. Monica is a baby Indian rhinoceros. “I am obviously a proud dad,” said Hauser, lead rhino keeper and a 10-year zoo employee. “This is cool. It’s nice to have people coming now to see Monica. People need to know that The Buffalo Zoo is doing something a little different to contribute to the species. This is a chance to educate the public about the animals and what they face in the wild.” What makes baby Monica different from other baby rhinos is that her mother was artificially inseminated. Monica’s rhino father died 10 years ago. “It was really important to get his genes back into the pool,” Hauser said. “It’s very Jurassic Park. It’s a little miracle of science and it helps us keep the captive population as genetically healthy as possible. Bringing in genetics that have been out for 10 years is a big help.” Hauser needed to fully train the mother rhinoceros before the insemination. The mother would be awake during the process, as general anesthesia would interfere with ovulation. Posing a potentially dangerous situation for Hauser was the adult rhino’s size. Hauser worked to get the mother used to a very tight pen that would keep her — and Hauser— safe during the insemination. Hauser also worked with her to get her used to medical tests and monitoring. During the procedure, Hauser worked with the rhino in Buffalo while a Cincinnati veterinary specialist assisted by phone. “The way we worked together is how we got it on the first attempt,” Hauser said. “In 104 days, we could see the baby on the ultrasound. She was only four inches at that point.” Full gestation is almost 16 months. At birth last June, Monica weighed 144 pounds, Penny Felski works with a hellbender in the Buffalo Zoo’s clean-room. and she will weigh about 4,000 pounds as an adult. At press time, she weighed about 700 pounds. “We had five cameras in the barn at the time of the birth,” Hauser said. “We wanted the mother to pay attention to the birthing, not to the staff.” New technologies There are only 58 Indian rhinos in North America and fewer than 2,500 in the wild, Hauser said. More than 1,000 rhinos have been poached and killed in recent years in South Africa. Other rhinoceros species have become extinct recently or face extinction. “We are losing our rhinos,” Hauser said. “That makes the work we are doing here even more important. Once we get more people trained we can ship cryopreservation materials rather than ship rhinos. It is a lot easier and saves the animal a lot of stress.” The Buffalo Zoo is only the third institution to artificially inseminate a rhinoceros, Hauser said. Previous successful efforts took place in Cincinnati and Montgomery, Ala. The Buffalo Zoo’s female rhino last gave birth in 2008, and the zoo’s male rhino is too young for breeding. The female needed to give birth again to avoid developing cysts that would make her unable to breed, Hauser said. That made her a good candidate for the artificial insemination. Hauser was recently elected by his peers to the board of directors of the International Rhino Keepers Association, which is dedicated to sharing knowledge of the five remaining species of rhinoceros. “We are working hard to increase awareness,” he said. “We are sharing our knowledge and experience to keep the rhinos here as long as we can.” — Lynn Miller Joe Hauser poses with Monica, the zoo’s baby rhinoceros. (Photo provided by The Buffalo Zoo.) 6 The Work Force January 2015
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