Biodiversity Conservation at Al Ain Zoo

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1 32 Biodiversity Conservation at Al Ain Zoo Lisa Banfield and Hessa al Qahtani, Conservation Department, Al Ain Zoo, Abu Dhabi The Role of the Modern Zoo Gone is the day when it was acceptable for zoos to exist purely for entertainment value. In the last few decades zoos are focusing equally or even more on education and conservation. In fact WAZA (the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) urges all zoos to make conservation their major goal.

2 33 Issue 6, Sep 2013 With more than 600 million visitors around the world every year, zoos have a unique opportunity to raise awareness among their visitors of conservation issues and to encourage environmentally-friendly behaviour. Additionally, modern zoos are now one of the biggest contributors to efforts to prevent endangered species from becoming extinct. As well as having financial resources that can utilised for conservation, zoos have unique animal collections which are invaluable for research and as well as unique skills and expertise. Zoos are involved in a wide range of activities such as: Captive breeding and population management. Research e.g. animal behaviour, genetics, health, disease, reproduction. Training e.g. animal handling, transfer, training, breeding. Education and awareness-raising among visitors, school children and students. Reintroduction programmes sending animals bred in captivity back to their native habitats in the wild. In situ activities e.g. surveying and monitoring of endangered species, investigation of species declines, working to improve wild populations of endangered species. A Magazine for the Environmental Center for Arab Towns

3 34 The History of Al Ain Zoo Whilst most zoos were established with recreation as the main goal, Al Ain Zoo has always had conservation at its heart. Being concerned about the wildlife and nature of his homeland all his life, the late Sheikh Zayed established Al Ain Zoo in 1968 with the vision of creating natural habitats for animals to live freely. Since its founding, Al Ain Zoo has been a centre for endangered species conservation, most notably with the successful breeding of desert antelopes and gazelles such as the Arabian oryx. Conservation is the Heart of Al Ain Zoo Al Ain Zoo has committed in its strategic plan to building an effective and impactful conservation programme that will mark Al Ain Zoo as a modern, progressive, internationally recognized and respected zoo. The Zoo s conservation mission is to build capacity for and deliver professional in situ and ex situ conservation and research projects, following international best practice, for the benefit of threatened arid land species. In recognition of its expertise and heritage, the conservation programme will focus on arid land species and habitats, initially in Arabia and Africa. Arid lands hold unique and valuable biodiversity that provides livelihoods and services for millions of people. The Zoo is about to embark on its next 5 year conservation strategy which will build upon its previous successes and expand its activities further. Conservation Activities of Al Ain Zoo 1. Ex situ Conservation - Maintaining Sustainable and Viable Captive Populations of Endangered Species Al Ain Zoo holds some globally important populations of endangered species. In addition to the large populations of Arabian oryx and Scimitarhorned oryx mentioned above, it also has the largest population of Arabian sand cats, currently numbering 32 animals. The Sahara Desert antelope the Addax, of which there could be less than 300 animals in the wild, number 72 animals in Al Ain Zoo. The Dama gazelle, a critically endangered species of the Sahara desert and the Mhorr gazelle (extinct in the wild) are also safeguarded in the Zoo.

4 35 Issue 6, Sep 2013 Arabian oryx, Addax and Arabian sand cat at Al Ain Zoo. Al Ain Zoo. 2. Reintroductions Releasing Captive-Born Animals to the Wild Taken from the wild to protect them, Al Ain Zoo safeguarded some of the last remaining Arabian oryx. This flagship Arabian species became extinct in the wild because of unrelentless hunting and without this swift action by zoos would almost certainly have become extinct. Al Ain Zoo embarked on a hugely successful breeding programme and has since contributed many animals to reintroduction programmes in the UAE and across Arabia. Since 2008 Al Ain Zoo has been part of a group of zoos and conservation organisations planning to 3. DNA Research Programme - Establishing the Identity and Value of our Collection Al Ain Zoo is three years into an ambitious project to conducting genetic testing on our animal collection. The aim of this research is to confirm the taxonomic identity of some species as well as measure the genetic diversity on our important populations. These analyses will help us determine the conservation value of our collection and plan breeding and conservation programmes. Some of the species that we completed the genetic testing were Arabian Oryx, Scimitarhorned Oryx, Addax, Dama Gazelle, Mhorr Gazelle and Speke s Gazelle. Screening is also about to take place on the Zoo s entire population of Arabian sand cats (currently standing at 35, the largest population in the world). 4. In situ Conservation and Research Programme - Conserving Endangered Species in the Wild. In partnership with other zoos and conservation organisations, Al Ain Zoo is working to protect endangered species and their habitats in the wild. One of Al Ain Zoo s Scimitar-horned oryx. Al Ain Zoo reintroduce the Scimitar-horned oryx back to its native lands in Africa. Currently extinct in the wild, Al Ain Zoo has over 200 of these noble animals. As a good example of an in situ conservation partnership, Al Ain Zoo has proudly supported the in situ conservation of one of the world s rarest antelopes; the hirola, in collaboration with the nonprofit organisation the Northern Rangelands Trust based in Kenya. The Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy was established to create communityled conservation actions designed to prevent the hirola s potential extinction. Conservation of hirola habitat benefits other endangered species of the area such as lions and African wild dogs. A Magazine for the Environmental Center for Arab Towns

5 36 Further links: 1. Al Ain Zoo: 2. Northern Rangeland Trust: org/ The Hirola antelope. Northern Rangelands Trust 5. On-Site Biodiversity Study Documenting and Protecting Wild Biodiversity in the Zoo Biodiversity in Zoos is not only found as captive animals within enclosures. Zoos can provide an attractive refuge for wild, native species from the surrounding area because they often provide; food, water, nesting sites, and relative safety from predators. Al Ain Zoo is currently recording all the native, wild species in zoo site including birds, reptiles, plants and insects. This information will be built into the interpretation of the zoo to raise awareness of the local environment and wildlife to the public. 6. Establishing the Arabian Zoos and Aquarium Association Regions across the world have formed associations to bring their zoos together for collaborative captive breeding and population management, conservation and research projects, training and education and to maintain acceptable animal welfare standards. To date Arabia is one of the few regions in the world which does not have an association. In 2012 Al Ain Zoo funded and hosted the first ever discussion forum involving representatives from zoos throughout the region. At the forum it was agreed that Al Ain Zoo will take the lead in establishing the Arabian Zoos and Aquarium Association. This will benefit not only the conservation of Arabian species but many other facets of zoo activities.