The latest egg was laid April 7 by Wiloq. She and her mate, Woy, will sit on the egg for up to two weeks before keepers remove it to test its fertility.

“The eggs are naturally incubated for 10 to 14 days,” said Shawn St. Michael, Zoo assistant curator. “Then they are pulled, candled, put into an incubator and replaced with dummy eggs.”

When the chicks start to hatch, at about 57 days, keepers switch the eggs back, so the chicks will hatch under their parents. If keepers decide to encourage Woy and Wiloq to mate again (also called “double clutching”), they may remove Wiloq’s dummy egg.

Unfortunately, an abundance of eggs does not guarantee an abundance of chicks. Of the seven eggs laid last year, only three condor chicks hatched. The low fertility was likely due to the number of young females in the program. Last year’s eggs included two from condor pairs that had never produced eggs before.

The Zoo’s condor recovery efforts take place at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in Clackamas County on Metro-owned open space. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors. The Jonsson Center is currently home to 26 condors. The center has produced 15 eggs since it was established and 10 chicks have hatched.

In 2001, the Oregon Zoo became the third zoo in the nation to join the California Condor Recovery Program. California condor captive-breeding programs are also operated at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey. The Oregon Zoo was the recipient of The Wildlife Society’s Conservation Award for “creating the nation’s fourth California condor breeding facility” in
April 2005.

For more information about the Oregon Zoo’s California condors, visit http://www.oregonzoo.org/Condors/index.htm . For Oregon Zoo condor biographies, visit http://www.oregonzoo.org/Condors/condorBios.htm.

Condors, the largest land birds in North America, have wingspans of up to 10 feet and weigh 18 to 30 pounds. They are highly intelligent and inquisitive, often engaging in play. During the Pleistocene Era, which ended about 10,000 years ago, condors’ range extended across much of North America. By 1940, that range had been reduced to the coastal mountains of Southern California, and in 1967 condors were added to the first federal list of endangered species. In 1987, the 17 condors remaining in the wild were brought into
captivity and a captive-breeding program was developed.

The Zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the Zoo is currently working to save endangered Washington pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid’s lupine, in addition to California condors. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The Zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The Zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238 RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the Zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.

# # #
Contacts: Bill LaMarche 50-220-2448 (office) or 503-497-5812 (pager)

Linda D’Ae-Smith 503-220-5716 (office) or 503-441-7573 (pager)

Oregon Zoo ̈ 4001 SW Canyon Rd. ̈ Portland, Oregon 97221 ̈ 503-226-1561

This is the norm for panda cubs. With each of Bai Yun’s previous youngsters, we have seen them take to the trees at about six months of age. Once their climbing skills come on line, they remain ensconced in high branches for hours on end, and at about the 17th month of life they begin to spend more time on the ground. There are two factors which are driving this trend in their preference for high places: evolutionary history and dietary preferences.

After abandoning the den, the female panda forages far and wide for the bamboo she needs to meet her caloric requirements. Her youngster may not be able to keep up with mom as she traverses her habitat. As such, mom can probably reach her objectives quicker if the cub is stashed somewhere safe while she satiates herself. To this end, young panda cubs are often left alone by their mothers. In some cases, wild cubs have been noted as being left alone for more than 24 hours at a time.

Historically, panda cubs are at risk of predation by animals such as tigers, leopards, and martins. In order to reduce the likelihood of succumbing to predation, solitary cubs climb high and remain several meters above ground until their mother returns. This makes them a harder target, since their clumsy, slow gait on the ground would be easier pickings for a stealthy predator. Additionally, cubs spend hours and hours asleep up in those trees. When they are resting quietly in the branches, they can be hard to spot. Even our cubs, sleeping in trees pruned to allow for better visibility for our guests, can easily be overlooked.

Today, pandas have fewer predators than they did historically. Tigers are generally not found in what remains of panda habitat, and leopards are found in reduced numbers. But the drive to remain safe is still the same and is exhibited even in pandas housed in zoos and breeding centers.

Since young pandas rely on their mothers for their nutrition, they are able to fill their bellies with milk. It seems a bit unfair, but as mom is stuck ingesting low-calorie grasses, the cub enjoys a highly caloric meal with fats to aid in growth (and satiation!). In fact, when our nutritionist aided the Wolong staff in the development of a formula for hand-reared panda infants, the mixture was a hybrid of human and dog formula substitutes—a richer food source than many of you might have predicted given the bamboo-feeding tendencies of the panda mother. This appetite-quenching meal from mom can help keep cubs content for hours on end, allowing them to wait patiently for mother’s return from foraging bouts.

At about a year of age, panda cubs begin ingesting bamboo. Initially, the quantities ingested are very small and can’t account for much in the way of meeting caloric needs. But within a few months, some of the burden for satiating themselves shifts to the cubs and their new bamboo feeding skills. Perhaps their ever-increasing size requires more calories than mom can provide, or perhaps as maternal fat stores become depleted, this alters the caloric content of mother’s milk. Either way, cubs begin spending more time on the ground, increasing their time spent feeding and focusing more heavily on bamboo consumption.

This, of course, is in preparation for life on their own. When weaning occurs, the cub is well equipped to feed itself and meet its caloric needs without its mother. Even in the final days of mother-cub association, nursing may be occurring, but not at a high rate. At that point, most of the young panda’s nutrition is coming from direct ingestion of bamboo and other plant materials.

Zhen Zhen is nearly a year away from making that transition. She hasn’t even begun to ingest bamboo yet and won’t for several more months. Which is why she will continue to enjoy spending most of her time in the high perches of her enclosure. As frustrating as it may be for our Zoo guests or Panda Cam watchers to have limited visual access to our cub at times, we hope you will understand that this is a normal and healthy part of our little one’s life, and we would expect no less from her. She is showing us that, like her siblings before her, her panda instincts are right on track.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Unit.

Note: Snow Day for pandas has been moved up to Sunday, April 27!

The hatchling, the 140th at the Wild Animal Park, will be raised through the process of puppet rearing, in which keepers feed the chick with a condor puppet to disguise their presence. At a month old, the chick will be gradually introduced to visual contact with other condors. By five to six months of age, the condor chick will fledge and join a mentor bird that will teach the youngster how to behave like a condor in preparation for possible release into the wild.

The California condor was near extinction in the 1980s when the world population of this species hit a low of 22 individuals. Since then, thanks to a multi-agency effort, the condor now numbers nearly 300 birds.

The California Condor Recovery Program is built upon a foundation of private and public partnerships. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implements the recovery program in partnership with other U.S. and Mexican government agencies, the Zoological Society of San Diego, Los Angeles Zoo, The Peregrine Fund, Oregon Zoo, Chapultepec Zoo, Ventana Wilderness Society and the National Park Service among others.

The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 100-acre San Diego Zoo and the department of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas worldwide.

CONTACT: Public Relations
619-685-3291
WEB SITE: www.wildanimalpark.org

Coming from the wild, Tama is extremely valuable as a breeding founder bird. During her time in the Recovery Program, Tama has laid numerous eggs and successfully raised many chicks. It is important for condor chicks to have strong role models, because the youngsters pattern their behavior after adults. Tama’s experience in the wild allows her to teach her chicks how to survive once they are released.

Tama is also known for her dominant personality and the way she throws her weight around. She has built a reputation as a girl who likes her space. She never shies from conflict with other female birds, and usually comes out victorious.

Most of the time, the mornings start off with Kalluk and Chinook on exhibit. (We have researchers who have been doing daily observations to help us monitor the season.) Sometimes the bears start off right away with play while other times they simply acknowledge each other, forage some, and then settle down in different places for their morning naps. Usually before noon, we do our first switch to allow Kalluk and Tatqiq time together on exhibit. Our final switch of bears usually comes around 1:30 p.m., where the kids get to go back out together or Chinook gets the exhibit by herself.

Tatqiq seems to be getting a little tired of her time in the bedrooms, so she’s been a bit more playful now. She and her brother have had several good play sessions over the past few weeks. She’s also been a little slower coming off exhibit, too. This is an example of her behavior telling us what her needs are and it’s up to us to meet them. But she’s not the only one. Chinook has been a little slower to go onto exhibit. Chinook and Tatqiq have also had some interesting interactions in the back area through the doors. We may need to reevaluate everything soon and determine what direction to take from here.

This doesn’t mean that we’re giving up. There’s always the chance that Chinook might just come into a later estrous. We have experienced hormonal changes in these bears as late as June and into July. But for now, Kalluk and Chinook are just remaining good friends.

In the meantime, we continue to get things ready for Bear Awareness Days (May 8 to 11). We’ll kick it off with a fun enrichment activity on May 8, there will be keeper and researcher talks daily, and the weather is predicting snow on Saturday. We’ve also added a behind-the-scenes opportunity to our list of auction items. This will give someone the chance to have a special encounter with our polar bears and speak with a keeper about the daily management of the animals as well as some of the research that we’re participating in. You might even get to meet one of the polar bears up close. For more information, keep checking the Web site for the most recent updates. And I hope to see you all at the Bear Awareness Event!

Kelly Murphy is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Fortunately, the prevailing tradewinds have been pushing the fumes southwest, away from the facility. Rarely do the winds blow from the south, so for now, the birds, the staff, and the facilities are out of harm’s way, but we need to be prepared. If Madame Pele continues to fuss and fume and the winds come in our direction, we need to be prepared.

Staff will be protected with masks and respirators and we may have to box and transport the bird inventory to temporary quarters at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, our sister facility. Although the evacuation accommodations on Maui will be tight, it is best to be prepared—after all, these birds are species that are perhaps the most endangered in the world!

In the meantime, the volcanic gases and the bubbling lava that flows from Kilauea and the Pu`u O`o vent on the volcano’s west flank are providing a spectacular show for tourists, residents, and the volcanologists who are thrilled with so much volcanic activity.

Alan Lieberman is the conservation program manager for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Here’s more information about the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program…
Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Alan, posted in October 2007…

And already I saw a familiar face: the gal who brought in the cake was none other than Amy, whom I met, coincidentally, at my first Visit-A-Job years ago at the Zoo’s Bird Department. She may now be in a different department, but she still retains that bright smile. The second minute on the job and I already had a long-lost friend!

I immediately noticed the friendly cohesiveness of the staff. Don Sterner, animal care manager, runs a happy office, and it shows. After introductions and briefings, it was decided to place me with Fatima first, so I wouldn’t have to change my clothes. Fatima is a California condor keeper. What we had to go through with sanitary hygienic precautions to assure a sterile, aseptic environment surprised me. Had I started out in a different bird area, called a “string,” I would have had to go even further and actually change into different clothing. “You’re lucky, Drew,” whispered Fatima. “Many people do not get an opportunity to visit the condor area.”

Because there were no chicks, only incubating eggs and copulating condor couples, I was allowed into the successive trailers. In one, Fatima placed a brand-new, just-arrived, fake-condor puppet-glove over my hand and showed me a gnarly, used one. (Here’s a video and more information about the 10th-grade student who made and donated the condor puppet.) We had to be super quiet around the holding pens as we snuck peeks through secret flaps on hidden windows. We could observe the condors on the computer as well, with the aid of conveniently placed cameras spaced around the compound. I was impressed.

My next assignment was to help out Sheila in “The Field.” She was almost as excited as I was! She used to work this string a year ago and missed “her babies.” Now, Sheila works up at condors, but on this day, she was substituting for another keeper. We counted and fed storks and pelicans, always vigilant of a stray gazelle that could stab with sharp horns as we leaned over to grab a food tray. Mammal keepers feed the ostriches, but they strutted over to us anyway.

Going in and out of the field was a scene right out of Jurassic Park. One door would open, we’d drive into a mini holding area, and the door behind us would close. Then the door in front of us would magically open, and we’d be amid chilled-out rhinos and giant, carrot-seeking giraffe heads. In fact, the makers of the Jurassic Park film came to the Wild Animal Park, it turns out, and copied the idea for their movie.

When lunchtime rolled around, the entire team dined together harmoniously in the break area. I wondered if my department would all eat together as a team if our scattered scheduling actually allowed for it.

From the lunch table, I jolted with Janessa to the “BBC.” I can’t remember what she said BBC stood for (moderator’s note: Bird Breeding Complex. Read the blog, BBC: Clapper Rail Chicks), but I call it “Back Behind the Canyon!” It took us a good 20 minutes to drive to it through miles of dirt back roads that I never knew existed. We ended up in a huge behind-the-scenes holding facility for large (smelly) birds. I never thought I’d use the words “adorable” and “vulture” in the same sentence, but the carrion-consuming cherubs I saw were just that. The charming chicks followed us around, flapping their fuzzy proto-wings, hoarsely calling out to me and their keeper-friend. Janessa showed me how close the October 2007 fire storms got to the pens (see blog, Fire Update from the Wild Animal Park), in some cases burning the plywood surrounding them or melting the plastic water tubing pipes. It was near the inferno detritus that I encountered secretary birds (pictured at top). Working with these lanky, feisty creatures was the closest I’ll ever come to working with velociraptors! These “dinosaurs” clucked and squawked loudly as they raced around their enclosure in unison. It made me realize that birds really ARE modern-day dinosaurs, and one was about to charge me!

My next assignment was to shadow Amy, who takes care of the birds in the Hidden Jungle aviary. Quetzals swiftly swooped by and manakins hovered colorfully near the misting system. Butterflies fluttered by, landing on guests’ heads and shoulders. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful work environment!

Heidi, a keeper in the Heart of Africa (HOA), then picked me up and carted us both to the HOA for a late feeding of rambunctious hornbills and even more reptile-like secretary birds.

The day was over before I knew it. Bottom line: my Visit-A-Job with Park birds and their keepers was a flight of fancy. I thank Don and his spirited flock for an amazing opportunity, and I thank the Zoological Society of San Diego for offering this employee-friendly program, which fosters pleasant morale and altruism between departments.

Drew Searing is a tour guide at the San Diego Zoo.

During that time (March 8, 2008) a professional photographer, Gaku Tozuka, who is in contact with our colleagues in Japan, took a picture of this eagle on the Shiretoko Peninsula. His photos clearly show the antenna from the transmitter and the coded color band (5H) we fitted to the eagle as a nestling. (The Shiretoko Peninsula is famous for the Steller’s sea eagles that winter there, although the concentration of eagles has lessened in the last 20 years as numbers of sika deer have increased elsewhere on Hokkaido, and the amount of fish available to eagles near Shiretoko has, perhaps, decreased.)

On March 29, #65632 made her first move away from her wintering ground and was about 120 km (90 miles) west. Fingers crossed and goggles down, let’s hope for the best and see where she goes now! Just to remind you, this bird was marked as a nestling in 2006. She spent her first winter on islands northwest of Hokkaido and the subsequent summer on Sakhalin Island, right in among the oil and gas development. In autumn 2007, she made an excursion to the northern tip of Sakhalin, then thought better of it and headed south to Hokkaido. In mid-November, she hopped from Hokkaido to the southernmost Kuril Islands (Russia), where she spent part of her second winter.

Dr. Mike McGrady is a researcher with Natural Research Limited, partnered with the San Diego Zoo.

Here’s more information about the Steller’s Sea Eagle project…

The move went very smoothly with all three tigers being loaded into different crates. The crates were secured in the tiger house and attached to the doorways between the bedrooms. Crate training began about two weeks ago when the tigers were first allowed access to walk freely through them. The next step was to close one end and have the cats come inside; this was usually accomplished with a keeper at the closed end of the crate ready to reward the brave tiger with blood and pieces of beef heart for entering the crate. These cubs quickly caught on that it was a great idea to walk into the crate! This acclimatization allowed the morning of the move to be as stress free as possible for the cats. They all walked into the crates as normal, except today the door was closed behind them.

Many guests have had the opportunity over the past months to observe the cubs as they grew into the enormous tigers they are today. They have grown to have such distinct personalities and quirks but have definitely proven that they are tigers with roars and chuffs to express their moods. The move to Topeka is bittersweet, since we will all miss the kids, but we take great satisfaction in knowing that they are beginning a new life that will hopefully result in each being paired with others to start families of their own. Since tigers typically do not mate until they are two to three years old, the sibling group will remain intact for some time longer.

All of the Sumatran tigers here at the Wild Animal Park are registered in the Species Survival Plan (SSP), so the movement of these cats has a great conservational impact on the tiger population North America. Being the first litter of cubs born to Delta and Utan, they are very important genetically to the breeding population. The key to conserving this species of endangered cat is through maintaining a high level of genetic diversity in the population. Currently there are fewer than 300 Sumatran tigers thought to be living in the wild. Moving these three to another facility has also opened up several rooms in our tiger house, so perhaps Utan and Delta will be provided with another opportunity to mate!

Kym Nelson is a keeper at the Wild Animal Park.