Habitat 56 Spring 2019

2 | March/April/May 2019 The Detroit Zoological Society has a long history of leading and supporting bird conservation programs around the world as well as right here in Michigan. Like superheroes, in certain cases, DZS bird care staff and veterinarians rush to the aid of birds in need of rescue and rehabilitation, sometimes upending their lives for weeks at a time to help our avian friends. In 2000, bird supervisor Jessica Jozwiak and associate bird curator Bonnie Van Dam became part of an international rescue effort for tens of thousands of African penguins caught in an oil spill off the coast of South Africa. Fast forward nearly two decades later to this past February – Bonnie returned to South Africa, joined by bird supervisor Cher Fajardo, to help save more than 1,800 lesser flamingo chicks abandoned in their nesting grounds after a severe drought. DZS veterinarian Dr. Sarah Woodhouse was among the first responders to lend a hand in that massive flamingo rescue effort. Fortunately, she was already in South Africa at the time the crisis unfolded, working with VulPro – a vulture rescue, rehabilitation and conservation organization – to provide health exams on vultures intentionally poisoned by hunters (to prevent rangers from discovering the remains of poached animals) or injured by collisions with power lines. Director of Animal Health Dr. Ann Duncan last year led a team of DZS life sciences staff to explore the impacts of infectious disease, pollution and tourism on wild penguin and seabird populations in the Falkland Islands. Bird zookeeper Flo Yates recently returned from a six-week expedition to Antarctica, conducting scientific research on how the changing climate is impacting populations of penguins and other seabirds. Here at home, bird curator Tom Schneider has organized a large group of bird care staff from zoos across the country for the past 18 summers to save Great Lakes piping plovers – tiny shorebirds that make shallow nests on the beaches of northern Michigan. By 1986, 600 nesting pairs had dwindled to just 17. Tom leads a federal recovery program to hatch abandoned eggs and rear the chicks until they can be released to join wild plovers. Last year, he received the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Champion Award for his years of service to this program. Jessica, Bonnie, Cher, Dr. Sarah, Dr. Ann, Flo and Tom are just some of the dozens of dedicated DZS life sciences staff who help to save species on six continents. Their work will be celebrated on March 16 at our annual Wildlife Conservation Gala. There are still tickets available for this extraordinary evening, themed “Saving Birds Around the World”, proceeds from which will benefit our global conservation work. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit our website. Please join us and meet some of our conservation superheroes. From the Director Ron Kagan Executive Director/CEO Detroit Zoological Society Printed in the USA. 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. The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. 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 © 2019 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 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