Habitat 54 Fall 2018

H ABITAT Celebrating and Saving Wildlife T h e M a g a z i n e o f t h e D e t r o i t Z o o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y Habitat is produced quarterly for Members of the Detroit Zoological Society. PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ArborOakland Group CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jennifer Thomas GRAPHIC DESIGN Jen Valente Design Copyright © 2018 Detroit Zoological Society All rights reserved. PLEASE CONTACT: Detroit Zoological Society 8450 W. 10 Mile Road Royal Oak, MI 48067 Phone: (248) 541-5717 Fax: (248) 541-2489 www.detroitzoo.org For questions about membership, please contact: info@dzs.org. facebook.com/detroitzoo youtube.com/detroitzoo twitter.com/detroitzoo instagram.com/detroitzoo The Detroit Zoological Society – a renowned leader in humane education, wildlife conservation, animal welfare and environmental sustainability – operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center. Printed in the USA. 2 | September/October/November 2018 From the Director Ron Kagan Executive Director/CEO Detroit Zoological Society The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. As temperatures begin to cool down, political races across the country are heating up. At the Detroit Zoo, our very own Mayor of Amphibiville – 11-year-old Trinity Favazza of Shelby Township – is wrapping up a successful two-year term overseeing the 2-acre wetland village that is home to the National Amphibian Conservation Center. Trinity was sworn into office as Amphibiville’s leader in November 2016 after her winning essay caught our attention. She vowed to educate her classmates about amphibians, encourage her neighbors to use natural fertilizer, help clean up local wetlands and promote her efforts on social media. Since then, she has kept her campaign promises and more, participating in many amphibian-related activities such as the local chapter of the citizen-science program FrogWatch USA. In September, she will travel to Washington, D.C., as one of 10 students nationally to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 President’s Environmental Youth Award for her work to protect local wetlands and raise awareness for amphibian conservation as Mayor of Amphibiville! It’s been a busy and productive time not only for Trinity, but for staff at the National Amphibian Conservation Center as well. With nearly half of the world’s known 7,878 amphibian species at risk due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution, infectious diseases and other factors, we continue to do our part in reversing the global extinction crisis these animals are facing. We made national news this summer when 11,226 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles bred at the Detroit Zoo were released in the El Tallonal biological reserve in Puerto Rico as part of a federal program to restore this critically endangered amphibian. These tadpoles joined the more than 52,000 Zoo-born tadpoles released in Puerto Rico over the past decade. We also recently completed a habitat transformation for five Japanese giant salamanders at the National Amphibian Conservation Center. Their new 1,850-square- foot space has been expanded to provide these aquatic amphibians with a home twice the size of their previous habitat. Naturalistic elements resemble their native landscape, including a waterfall, a flowing stream and several underwater caves. Once the salamanders have become fully acclimated to their new home, we will be participating in a cooperative breeding program with a partner zoo in Japan, working to bolster the population of the species and, eventually, releasing them in the wild. Meanwhile, we are looking for a new leader to leap into office as Mayor of Amphibiville this November for a two-year term. To join the race, budding conservationists ages 7 to 12 who live in Michigan may submit an essay of 100 words or fewer on what they can do to help amphibians. Having a mayor of this important conservation center helps spread our mission to younger generations who have so much to contribute as they grow up and become stewards of this planet. All essays must be submitted by October 5 to Mayor of Amphibiville, Detroit Zoological Society, 8450 W. 10 Mile Rd., Royal Oak, MI 48067. Entries must include the candidate’s name, age, address and daytime telephone number.