Zoo Diet Linked to Dip in Baby Rhino Births

Zoos may be welcoming fewer baby rhinos into the world in the future: Their reproductive rates are dropping drastically because of medical problems. New research suggests their zoo diet could be playing a role in the drop in babies and increase in disease.

The zoo diet contains relatively high levels of estrogenlike compounds from plants (called phytoestrogens), which might be contributing to reproductive failure in the females, according to the new study published in the April issue of the journal Endocrinology.

"Understanding why the captive white rhinoceros population has been dwindling for decades is an important part of protecting the future of this species," study researcher Christopher Tubbs, a scientist with the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, said in a statement. "Our work is the first step toward determining if phytoestrogens are involved in this phenomenon and whether we need to reevaluate captive white rhino diets."

Red on:  http://www.livescience.com/19265-zoo-diet-decreasing-rhino-births.html

Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer 

Otter poo reveals surprising facts about otter's diet - Includes birds and mice

Finding remains of eels, fish, crabs and even birds

February 2012: A group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves to find out more about what otters eat in North Wales  – at a special workshop earlier this month.

In the workshop, organised by the Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE) project at Treborth Botanic Gardens, more than 40 volunteers dissected otter droppings, know as spraints, to see what they could find. The remains of eels, marine and freshwater fish, crabs, amphibians and even birds and mice were all among their discoveries – more than 23 different prey species in total. 

The spraints were collected by volunteers last year, along the North Wales coast and in Waterford, Ireland. Mammal ecologist Rob Strachan helped the volunteers identify fish bones, jaws and even mammal teeth as they picked the spraints apart. 

This gives valuable information about behaviourThe MISE project is part of an EU Interreg funded project involving the Countryside Council for Wales and The Vincent Wildlife Trust to find out more about mammals and what they need to thrive in a sustainable environment.

Ceri Morris, CCW Project Officer and workshop organiser said: ‘Analysing the otter's diet can yield valuable information not only about what they eat, but where they feed and how far they roam. We found evidence of crabs in a number of the spraints, which are generally thought of as a favourite food for young otters –so this could be evidence of breeding sites near our coasts.  

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/otter-diet.html