FIELD
CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
Sister
Zoo Relationship
Our Venezuelan program has expanded to include a "sister
zoo" Parque Chorros de Milla in Merida, Venezuela. Cleveland
Metroparks Zoo works closely with its sister zoo as part of its
Latin American Conservation Program by providing staff training
in animal husbandry, enrichment and veterinary care. Assistance
with an interpretive graphics program, a marketing plan and with
the design of an Andean condor exhibit and several other projects
are currently underway.
Andean
Condor Reintroduction
The Zoo in conjunction with BIOANDINA Foundation and
INPARQUES, the Venezuelan National Park Service, is funding various
components of this holistic conservation program, the goal of
which is the establishment of a viable population of Andean condors
in Venezuela. This reintroduction program provides for the maintenance
of holding facilities, Coordination of the acquisition of birds
for release, monitoring of released birds through filed tracking,
environmental education programs provided to rural communities,
and a distance learning program which includes students in Merida,
Venezuela and Cleveland, Ohio.
Spectacled
Bear Program
A threatened species with population declines due largely
to hunting pressure and habitat destruction, the Spectacled Bear
Conservation Education Program is funded by the Zoo, in conjunction
with Silver Springs Attractions, a U.S. institution, and PROVITA,
a Venezuelan non-governmental conservation organization. The program
provides teacher training workshops, materials, posters and workbooks,
targeting rural schools located in areas surrounded by Spectacled
bear habitat. For more on spectacled bears, check out this web
page: http://www.cecalc.ula.ve/bioinformatica/oso/index_english.htm
Orinoco
Crocodile Recovery
Only small isolated populations of this critically
endangered species currently existing Venezuela, due primarily
to previous hunting pressure. As part of the Orinoco Crocodile
Recovery Plan, the Zoo is working in conjunction with WCS, the
Wildlife Conservation Society of New York, and the Universidad
Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora,
Guanare, Venezuela. The Zoo initially co-sponsored a workshop
to assess the status of wild populations and their habitat, then
provide field assistance and funding to monitor released crocodiles.
The Zoo is also supporting a survey to determine population status
in remote areas, as well as providing physical improvements to
one of only four existing propogation facilities located at the
university.
|
