2014 Presenter Conference

2014 Presenter Conference 

 Chester Zoo - Wednesday 19th March

Attracting, Engaging and Inspiring our Visitors

Are you trying to enthuse your visitors about science, nature and conservation?  Then this year’s Presenter Conference is the one for you! 

It’s taking place at Chester Zoo and we’re now happy to attach the programme and hope that you’ll be interested in attending.  In particular, we’re looking forward to David Price, our guest speaker, who will be talking about enthusing visitors about science with on the spot ‘busking’.  Should be fun!  David will be presenting and running a workshop.

  

The Conference will be held in our Lecture Theatre and in the zoo.  If you’re attending the Conference and would also like to visit the zoo on either Tuesday 18th March or Thursday 20th March, please let Kate know and we’ll organise free entry for you as delegates of the Conference.

  

The cost of the conference is £45.00 which includes registration, lunch and refreshments.  We hope the programme has whetted your appetite and if so, please register by using the attached booking form and sending it to Kate at k.brankin@chesterzoo.org 

The closing date for registrations is Wednesday 5th March.  Let us know, too, whether you’d like to attend the Icebreaker on the evening of Tuesday 18th March.

Asian Elephant Health, Reproduction and Breeding Management - 2014

This is an International training course on the management of nutrition, health, reproduction and breeding of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The course has two components: (a) a stand-alone distance learning (online-based) course of 6 weeks duration that can be done from the participant’s home country, and (b) a hands-on practical training course of one-week that will be conducted on-site in Sri Lanka.

The distance learning course is designed to provide participants with background knowledge in elephant anatomy, physiology, nutrition, management, reproduction, breeding, health and diseases. It will include interactive on-line discussions with tutors, quizzes, an individual assignment and a terminal assessment. It is designed to provide the knowledge necessary for participants to fully engage in and benefit from the on-site practical training course.

The on-site course will include one day of lecture/discussions at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine & Animal Science of the University of Peradeniya, followed by 4 days of practical training and demonstrations at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage (PEO) and the Elephant Transit Home (ETH), plus a game drive through the Uda-Walawe National Park (UWNP). The PEO has a herd of over 85 elephants of all ages and a highly successful natural breeding programme that has produced over 70 calves. The ETH is engaged in rehabilitating, conditioning and returning orphaned elephant calves back to the wild. It has a population of around 40 calves at any given time and has released over 100 calves back to the wild. The UWNP has an extent of 30,000 ha, contains a rich diversity of fauna and flora, and is home to over 600 wild elephants. Participants will therefore have a unique opportunity to gain experience on different semi-captive and wild elephant management systems.

Download our Registration Form Here

Course Dates - Applications Close May 1st 2014

Registration		12th May – 18th May
Unit 1	Elephant Anatomy, Physiology, Nutrition and Management	19th May – 25th May
1.1	Relevant Clinical Anatomy and Physiology
1.2	Nutrition and Feeding, Body Condition Scoring, Neonatal Care
1.3	Management / Preventive Care (Range Countries and Western Zoos)
Unit 2	Reproductive Anatomy, Physiology and Management	26th May – 1st June
2.1	The Female Elephant
2.1	The Male Elephant
2.3	Breeding and Parturition Management
Unit 3	Reproductive management, Semen Collection and AI	2nd June – 8th June
3.1	Endocrine Monitoring of Females
3.2	Endocrine Monitoring of Males
3.3	Semen Collection and Evaluation
3.4	Ultrasonography
3.5	Artificial Insemination
3.6	Conservation Genetics
Unit 4	Health, Diseases, surveillance and restraint	9th June – 15th June
4.1	Health and Physical Examination
4.2	Diagnostic Aids
4.3	Therapeutics
4.4	Disease (Non-Infectious Diseases and Infectious Diseases)
4.5	Restraint and Anaesthesia
Assessment	Submission of Assignment Report & Test	16th – 19th June
Practical component	Sri Lanka: University of Peradeniya, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, Elephant Transit Home and Uda-Walawe National Park (Programme available on request)	7th – 11th July
Optional Post-Course Tours	Can be arranged on request: Yala National Park, Bundala National Park, etc.	12th July onwards

Course Partners

  
This course is a collaboration between the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of National Zoological Gardens and Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka, Chiang Mai University and National Elephant Institute in Thailand, the Royal Veterinary College in London (UK) and the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute in the USA. It is partially sponsored by the British Council and Bayer plc UK.

Applications Close: May 1st 2014

Download our Registration Form Here Further information: info@asiaelephanthealth.org

Reduced fees

The number of places on both the distance learning and practical courses for participants from “Asian elephant range countries” and for students are limited, as these places are on reduced fees. If you require further information regarding fees or any other details, please email your details to info@asiaelephanthealth.org

Partially Funded by

 

Elephant Training Course Costs

Course Fees	Online Component	Practical Component	Combined Fees
Range Countries*	£50	£150	£200
Reduced Fees**	£150	£400	£550
Non range countries	£350	£400	£750
* Nationals of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, plus Singapore **Students (you must prove that you are a registered student)
Travel
International Travel to Sri Lanka	Not Included
Airport Transfer from Colombo Airport to Kandy	Not Included	LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees) 7,500 (approx. cost)
Internal Transport associated with the course	Included
Accommodation
Stay in Kandy (6th, 7th and 8th July)	Not Included	Approx LKR (Sri Lankan Rupee) 5,000-6,000 /night for 2-3 Star type Hotels. Cheaper options in guest houses will be available for students and those on a more limited budget
Stay at Uda Walave (9th and 10th July)	Included
Food
Lunches during the course	Included
Breakfast and evening meals at Uda Walave	Included

Optional Post-Course Tours:

The following tours with overnight stay and jeep safaris can be arranged for individuals or groups based on prior requests: - Visit to Yala National Park (prime location for spotting leopards) - Visit to Bundala National Park (Ramsar Wetland, prime location for bird-watching)

Animal welfare set to become key part of China’s vet training

Animal welfare set to become key part of China’s vet training

Animals Asia has welcomed the news that animal welfare looks set to become a key part of China’s veterinary curriculum.

The Chinese Veterinary Medicine Association (CVMA) is working with the Ministry of Education on plans to integrate animal welfare as a compulsory examinable subject in its national examinations. The move has been applauded by China’s animal welfare advocates and activists and is being seen as part of a wider movement within the country to recognise the needs of animals. 

While animal welfare is already taught at many veterinary universities, new plans will see it become institutionalised as a compulsory aspect of the national syllabus. The move will require the training of teaching staff and the production of textbooks on the issue, with materials and expertise on the topic currently in scarce supply. 

Pivotal in the preparatory process will be experts like Professor Fei Rong Mei. 

Recently named one of the top 10 vets in China by the CVMA for her contribution to animal welfare, Professor Fei Rong Mei is also a World Organisation for Animal Health representative and animal welfare lecturer at the Nanjing Agricultural University. 

In 2013, Prof Fei worked with Animals Asia and the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education on an animal welfare and veterinary skills teaching symposium in Nanjing, where she helped update the training of more than 20 teachers from around the country. In the 10 years she’s dedicated to teaching and research on animal welfare and veterinary work, this “super-vet” has pushed animal welfare curriculum training, helped produce the country’s best textbooks on the subject and played a pivotal role in preparing the ground for the upcoming developments. 

 Animals Asia Animal Welfare Director Dave Neale said: 

“It’s the right time for China to make animal welfare an examinable and compulsory subject for vets. The groundwork laid by dedicated professionals like Professor Fei Rong Mei in-country, has done so much to increase well-being and reduce suffering of animals and we very much look forward to supporting Professor Fei and her colleagues in any way we can as they make this important next step. 

“Vets dedicate their lives to animals. If we can ensure animal welfare is part of their training then not only can they better treat animals, they can also continue to share the message of respect for animals day-in-day-out right across China on a massive scale.”

Adopt a Sperm

Can't have tiger sperm of your own? Adopt-a-sperm instead!

The South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation launches a unique way to help support the repopulation of endangered species.

Every day, all throughout the animal world, millions of sperm are going to waste, swimming their way to fruitless oblivion. This sperm, if properly harvested and shared, could be used to help save the planet's endangered species from extinction.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140212/FL64294)

The South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation (SEZARC) is on a mission to do just that — and is now asking the public to lend a hand to their sperm collecting efforts.

By simply texting SPERM to 91011, texters will receive a link that allows them to donate $10 (or more) to SEZARC's efforts to artificially inseminate endangered species at wildlife conservation centers and zoos around the world.

Before potential adopters start trolling Craigslist for tigers or Somali wild asses in heat, SEZARC Director Dr. Linda Penfold is quick to clarify that people who adopt the exotic sperm will not actually receive frozen animal semen in the mail: "All human donors will be parents in name and spirit only; the sperm we collect is stored and maintained in scientific-appropriate facilities until a prime candidate for impregnation is found."

Adoptive parents may not get the seed, but they won't be left empty handed once they've done the good deed: all donors will receive a link to a Certificate of Adoption that they can print, frame and proudly display.

While the "Adopt-a-Sperm" campaign has an air of irreverence, the organization it supports is actually a serious scientific collective endorsed by leading zoos and conservation groups. SEZARC is currently working on many breeding projects and studies around the globe, including studying the reproductive endocrinology and behavior of giant river otters, stingrays and Malayan tigers in captivity; artificially inseminating jaguars and cheetahs, and collecting and banking sperm from South African elephants, Somali wild asses, cheetahs, gorillas, antelope species, maned wolves and more.

"The Adopt-a-Sperm idea is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek," says Dr. Penfold. "But the reality is, the financial donations it generates will go a long way to helping a great number of endangered species in need."

"Just like the male animals in our program, we encourage everyone to give, and give often."

To donate, text SPERM to 91011 or visit www.sezarc.org.

The South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation (SEZARC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving endangered species through reproductive science. Specializing in pregnancy and fertility checks, assisted reproduction and conservation planning, SEZARC actively collaborates with scientists, veterinarians and animal managers at zoological institutions, governments and universities around the world.

SEZARC partners include Birmingham Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens, North Carolina Zoo, Micanopy Zoological Preserve, White Oak Conservation Center, Turner Enterprises, Inc. and University of North Florida.

Collaborators include Chester Zoo (U.K.), Chestnut Centre Conservation and Wildlife Park (U.K.), Cleveland MetroParks, SeaWorld, New England Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, Ripley's Aquarium, Los Angeles Zoo, the Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals, Elephant Population Management Program, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and more.

Wildlife CSI Techniques to Protect African Forest Elephants

Wildlife CSI Techniques to Protect African Forest Elephants

The Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba will later this week unveil a new initiative to help curb the illegal poaching of African elephants for their ivory. Gabon will utilise forensic DNA techniques from United Kingdom scientists based in Edinburgh to track elephants in an attempt reduce their slaughter due to illegal poaching.

President Ali Bongo Odimba will be in London as part of the UK Governments Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference. Hosted by the David Cameron and in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the conference is also supported by the Prince William’s Royal Foundation. Also at the London meeting will be senior government representatives from over 50 countries, all with the joint aim of spurring action to combat the growing threat to endangered wildlife and producing new and improved multi-lateral agreements to combat the illegal trade.

Elephant poaching is on the increase in Africa as demand for ivory increases in some Asian countries. Statistics show that 96 elephants were killed every single day in 2012 and in 2013 large scale ivory movements were 20% higher than the previous peak in 2011.

“The elephants in Gabon are extremely susceptible to poaching activities as they live in forests rather than savannah and are therefore more difficult to monitor and protect,” says Prof Lee White, Director of Gabon’s National parks. Whyte adds, “The geographical proximity of Gabon, in central Africa, to more lawless states offers poachers easy access and retreat with their contraband.”

The ambitious project, funded by the European Union, is a collaboration between the National Parks Agency of Gabon and UK genetic and forensic expertise from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and TRACE Wildlife Forensic Network. Bone and tissue fragments from elephant carcasses killed by poachers will be recovered and forensic DNA techniques utilised to produce unique profiles for subsequent matching against blood stained clothing or ivory recovered locally or in Asia.

Dr Rob Ogden, Director of Conservation Science for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said, “We routinely use wildlife genetic analysis to provide information for conservation management, but the same DNA tools and data can be transferred into forensic investigations to support wildlife law enforcement.  RZSS is extremely happy to be involved in this project which bridges the gap between conservation genetics and wildlife DNA forensics, enabling the Gabon authorities to understand elephant population structure in its National Parks and apply this information to the fight against poaching.”

“Elephant poaching can really be classified as an organised crime due to the level of coordination and logistics required to move shipments internationally,” says Dr Ross McEwing from the UK based NGO TRACE Wildlife Forensic Network. “Terrorist organisations, such as Al-Shabaab, responsible for last year’s bloody shopping mall siege in Kenya, have recently been linked to deriving profits from illegal ivory shipments.” Dr McEwing adds “Combatting organised crime requires the use of all available enforcement tools, including wildlife forensic techniques, not only to save species at risk from extinction, but also to help with the investigations of criminal networks that can undermine national and international security.”

Funds for the project were provided by CEEAC under the ECOFAC V Programme (Fragile ecosystems of Central Africa), funded by the European Union.

Al Ain Zoo Celebrates Successful Breeding of Speke’s Gazelle

Al Ain Zoo Celebrates Successful Breeding of Speke’s Gazelle

Endangered Speke’s gazelle population increases after zoo introduces new blood line

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 10 February, 2014:  As a lead organisation in arid wild life and conservation effort, Al Ain Zoo has successfully bred the Speke’s gazelle, following the introduction of two male Gazelles from Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre in Dubai. The Speke’s gazelle is classified as an endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, issued in September 2008.

Al Ain Zoo’s Speke’s gazelle herd appeared to be derived from a founder group with no new genetic contribution from new founders; therefore the zoo looked to introduce a new blood line in 2013 – two male gazelles from Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre in Dubai. After careful coordination between the two organisations, the two gazelles arrived at Al Ain Zoo, initially housed under quarantine conditions for approximately one month, and then introduced to two separate groups of adult females with the purpose of overcoming in-breeding issues and improving the genetic diversity at Al Ain Zoo.

Adult females were divided into two groups, each male gazelle was introduced to a separate group and almost one year since the introduction, Al Ain Zoo Speke’s gazelle population increased from 18 to 30, indicating a successful breeding of 12 newborns from both breeding groups.

Muna Al Dhaheri, Chief Executive of Education and Conservation, commented:

“Al Ain Zoo has long been committed to wildlife preservation and conservation, and collaborating with many organisations that are aligned with our cause helps us work towards a shared goal. The successful breeding of the Speke’s gazelle supports the vision of the late Sheikh Zayed for the UAE to become a leader in environmental sustainability and wildlife protection, including of desert species.”

The zoo has successfully introduced conservation and breeding programs for a number of species over the past decades, including species of oryx, gazelle, the Arabian Leopard and the Houbara bustard. Al Ain Zoo is also a proud member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA). Strategic partnerships have been set up with leading zoos, conservation agencies and associations from across the world, including the World Conservation Union and Species Survival Commission, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, San Diego Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, the Northern Rangelands Trust of Kenya and the Sahara Conservation Fund.

Richard Hughes Scholarship Fund 2014

Richard Hughes Scholarship Fund 2014