CONSERVACIÓN DE BIODIVERSIDAD

Source: Behind the thrills | By Dr. Grey Stafford

In 2014, prominent members of the zoological community led by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums(AMMPA) and others began a lengthy educational and relationship-building campaign with leaders from Sir Richard Branson’s company, Virgin Holidays, in the wake of its rollout of a pledge asking suppliers not to take cetaceans from the wild.Several AMMPA members elected to sign the pledge at that time– not surprising considering the great success of managed breeding programs over the past several decades, which has resulted in about 75% (and rising) of the dolphins currently living in North American facilities having been born in human care. In other words, zoos and aquariums in the U.S. don’t need to collect cetaceans from the wild and haven’t for decades.

Link: https://www.ammpa.org/virgin-holidays-decision-undermines-conservation

Virgin Holidays’ Pandering to Animal Rights Extremists is Unfortunate; Missed Opportunity to Support Work that Is Helping Animals in the Wild

It’s sad and unfortunate to see Virgin Holidays use its brand and resources to attack world-class, accredited aquariums and marine parks and undermine their work to educate people about marine mammals, study them, and conserve them in the wild. The company could have made a real difference for whale and dolphin conservation by supporting that work and spearheading new efforts to help imperiled animals in the wild but instead chose to try to appease animal rights extremists by severing its long-standing partnerships with zoological facilities that display cetaceans and supporting the creation of ill-conceived, activist-run “sea sanctuaries.”

Source: https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/centre-val-de-loire/zoo-aquarium-nouvelles-arches-noe-1691406.html

Le 6 mai 2019 était divulgué un chiffre choc : un million d’espèces animales et végétales – soit une sur huit – risquent à brève échéance de disparaître du fond des océans et de la surface de la Terre.

Aquariums et Zoo aident à la préservation des espèces

Face à ce triste constat, les aquariums et les zoos jouent désormais un rôle central et prennent une part active dans la conservation des espèces en danger allant jusqu’à représenter, pour nombre d’entre elles, le seul espoir.

C’est le cas du petit poisson Cyprinodon alvarezi, qui aurait complètement disparu sans l’aide des zoos, notamment ceux de Bristol et Londres. Cette espèce endémique du Mexique est en effet aujourd’hui totalement éteinte à l’état naturel.

Si par le passé la reproduction d’animaux n’avait pour but que la présentation des bébés au public, aujourd’hui la multiplication des naissances permettrait la constitution d’un « réservoir » d’animaux suffisant pour assurer leur avenir.

En France, plus de 750 naissances d’animaux ont par exemple été enregistrées au ZooParc de Beauval en 2017, parmi lesquelles des espèces rares comme le panda géant ou le lamantin. Mais le zoo est aussi à l’initiative de la première banque de semences mondiale d’éléphants sauvages.

Aux États-Unis, le Parc animalier de San Diego a lancé un programme d’élevage de panthères de l’amour, une espèce très menacée puisqu’il ne reste que 80 spécimens à l’état sauvage et seulement 220 à travers les programmes mondiaux de conservation. Ce zoo américain abrite également la plus grande collection de cellules animales du monde.

Source: http://zoologic.libsyn.com/oh-canada

An all star panel of Zoo Logic alumni discusses current wildlife news stories including why the misguided and unscientific cetacean ban recently passed by Canada's parliament will have a chilling effect on conservation research. Researchers Dr. Kelly Jaakkola and Dr. Jason Bruck join Killing Keiko author and wildlife advocate, Mark Simmons to describe some of the negative implications for wildlife conservation, public education, field research, and policymaking everywhere, not just in Canada.

The panel examines the critical role zoological facilities play in conducting important research and developing technology and methods necessary for species conservation that would simply not be possible to do in the wild. Plus, hear the panel's views on counteracting one-sided and often anti-cap media, the future of those Russian orcas and belugas, and "spy whale."

Photo by: Jose Luis Tella.

Written by: David Waugh, Loro Parque Fundación

Link: https://www.birdguides.com/articles/the-impacts-of-habitat-loss-and-poaching-on-neotropical-parrots/ 

It is a sombre thought that your favourite parrot species has a high chance of being threatened with extinction in the wild. Sadly, 28 per cent of all parrot species are classified as Threatened under IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) criteria, making them one of the most imperilled bird families in the world.

Agriculture, logging, hunting, and trapping for the pet trade markets are all major threats to parrots, with the highest percentage of threatened species – 37 per cent – being found in the Neotropical region. Here, the high numbers of parrots sold in markets of large South American cities is evidence that capture can be to satisfy the domestic demand for pets. Without doubt the poaching of parrots constitutes a major threat, but the relative impacts of domestic consumption versus international trade still require greater clarity.

Source: Kai Zheng, Staff Writer April 12, 2019 Filed under Columns, Opinion.

https://www.thechannels.org/opinion/2019/04/12/zoos-are-saving-endangered-species-from-brink-of-extinction/ 

One of my earliest memories as a kid was running through the gates of the San Francisco Zoo, right as the doors opened. The drizzling Bay Area weather wasn’t enough to stop me from spending the entire day there, parents willing.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by animals. A perfect ending to a day at the zoo was coming home and binging nature programs like “The Crocodile Hunter,” “Zoboomafoo” or “Walking with Dinosaurs.” 

I often get negative feedback when I tell people I volunteer at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Many people are under the misapprehension that zoos are more in line with a circus— a place where animals are kept for the amusement of the general public instead of living life in their natural habitat.

But that simply isn’t the case.