Edinburgh zoo halts giant panda breeding programme

Keepers to suspend efforts for at least a year and reassess strategy after five failed attempts

Severin Carrell Scotland editor

Tue 13 Mar 2018 11.09 GMTLast modified on Tue 13 Mar 2018 11.47 GMT

Edinburgh zoo has suspended its giant panda breeding programme for at least a year after failing five times to produce cubs through artificial insemination.

The zoo, run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said it needed to reassess its strategies before making a final decision on whether to again put its female Tian Tian through artificial insemination.

“We will not attempt to breed our giant pandas this year because we want to further assess the incredibly complex and unpredictable breeding process,” a spokeswoman said.

“This pause, which is supported by our giant panda team and other key specialists, will allow us further time to consider the scientific data, our own experiences and those of colleagues around the world, including the latest thinking on giant panda accommodation.”

The RZSS loaned Tian Tian and Yang Guang from China for 10 years in 2011, for a fee of $1m (£720,000) a year, as part of a £2.6bn trade deal.

Tian Tian had had twins in China in 2009, but the RZSS tried natural mating only once, in 2012. It subsequently used artificial insemination with Yang Guang’s semen and defrosted semen from a bear that had successfully bred at Berlin zoo.

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34 Critically Endangered Red wolf pups born this season in the wild

Additional 23 pups born as part of breeding programme

June 2013. The final red wolf pup count for the 2013 whelping season has been announced as Thirty-four, spread across seven litters in the restored red wolf population in eastern North Carolina, down slightly from recent years' pup counts.

Captive born pup raised by wild wolf

The Red Wolf Recovery Program reported 39 pups from nine litters born in the wild in 2012, 40 pups from 10 litters in 2011, and 43 pups from nine litters in 2010. The Red Wolf Recovery Program also reported 23 pups from 4 litters born in zoos and nature centres participating in the Species Survival Plan captive breeding program. In addition, as part of the efforts to increase the genetic diversity of the wild population, a captive-born pup was fostered into a wild-born litter to be raised as a wild wolf. Reasons for the decline in the number of pups born in the wild this year are not apparent.

World population reduced to just 17 animals

The red wolf (Canis rufus) is one of the world's most endangered wild canids. Once common throughout the south-eastern United States, red wolf populations were decimated by the 1960's due to intensive predator control programs and loss of habitat. A remnant population of red wolves was found along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. After being declared an endangered species in 1967, efforts were initiated to locate and capture as many wild red wolves as possible. Of the 17 remaining wolves captured by biologists, 14 became the founders of a successful captive breeding program. Consequently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service declared red wolves extinct in the wild in 1980.

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Critically Endangered Mauritian skinks breeding fast at Durrell

Trio of female Mauritian skinks kick-start breeding programme in Jersey

September 2012. The breeding skills of three female orange-tailed skinks have impressed conservationists and given the new safety net population for their Critically Endangered reptile species a real chance for the future.

16 juveniles and 4 eggs
Over the past four months at the Durrell headquarters in Jersey, the females have produced a staggering 16 juveniles between them, all of which are doing well, and another 4 eggs are currently incubating. This is despite the fact that female skinks produce only two large eggs at one time and the trio were the only females out of 22 rescued orange-tailed skinks that were brought to Durrell a year ago that were able to breed; the others were still too small or male.

Matt Goetz, Head of Durrell's Herpetology Department, said: "These three orange-tailed skinks have gone above and beyond our expectations for them since they arrived at Durrell a year ago and started breeding in March. When they were rescued from Flat Island in Mauritius following the invasion of the predatory Indian musk shrew, we knew that a safety net population elsewhere was going to be essential as their numbers were critically low.

But even in our wildest dreams, we couldn't have hoped that the females would get off to such a flying start. They are clearly happy and healthy, and we are delighted that population numbers of the orange-tailed skink in Jersey are increasing so rapidly."

Tourism development led to local extinction
The invasion of Flat Island by the Indian musk shrew followed the development of tourism there and sadly recent surveys have confirmed that no orange-tailed skinks have survived on the island.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mauritian-skinks.html

Rescued ploughshare tortoises start first European breeding programme

Safety net population to ensure Ploughshare survival

August 2012. Conservationists are launching the first European breeding programme for ploughshare tortoises in an attempt to create a vital safety net population of the Critically Endangered animals.

Ploughshare tortoises are already being kept in captivity in America, where 20 animals are registered within three institutions, but it is the first time that they are being coordinated to form a breeding population in Europe. It follows a boom in the Asian pet trade, where ploughshares are being sold illegally for high prices, raising further concern for the future of the species.

The ploughshare tortoise is one of the most threatened species on the planet and until now, conservation efforts have focused on saving the species in its home range in Madagascar and protecting its native habitat, where Durrell began working with the species in 1986.

13 tortoises seized in Hong Kong
To start the European breeding programme, 13 rescued tortoises have been brought to three respected zoological institutions. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, Chester Zoo and Rotterdam Zoo are each receiving some of the animals, which were part of shipments that were seized by the Hong Kong government in 2009 and 2010.

Matthias Goetz, Head of Durrell's Herpetology Department, said: "Thankfully the rescued tortoises were given to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden (KFBG) wild animal rescue centre, which took great care of them and started working with international partners to identify new homes for the animals. Along with the other two European institutions, Durrell is delighted to be receiving some of the tortoises and playing a part in a new captive breeding programme which aims to save these beautiful creatures from extinction."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ploughshare-breeding.html