Research for Endangered Species Reintroductions
The Center for Conservation Research at the Calgary Zoo focuses on conducting research to re-introduce endangered species back into the wild. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tian Everest, Conservation Research Program Coordinator for the Calgary Zoo, earlier this week about the work they do.
She is part of the recovery team for black footed ferrets (also see my blog article below). The team was established in 2004, when a group of Canadian and American prairie species experts decided it was feasible to try to reintroduce the ferrets in the Grasslands National Park. The first joint species (black footed ferret and black tailed prairie dog) recovery team in Canada was formed, led by Parks Canada who held jurisdiction on the land targeted for the reintroduction. The team included a range of stakeholders including some American experts who had experience reintroducing ferrets in the US.
Much of the research to date has focused on the black tailed prairie dogs because they form around 90% of the black footed ferrets diet. The research included prairie dog colony density and distribution, and the information was used to guide where the ferrets were released, Tian explained. Researchers continue to monitor the do prairie dogs and the black footed ferrets. The prairie dogs are a species of special concern in Canada, but it has been found in the US the reintroductions of black footed ferrets have not had negative impacts on the prairie dog population. However, the American and Canadian prairie dogs differ in such features as the Canadian ones hibernate but the American ones typically don’t. Saskatchewan winters are famous for being particularly cold!
Tian also works with a reintroduction team for burrowing owls in BC, with the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC. Burrowing owls are endangered across Canada and were extinct in BC. A recovery effort in the Kamloops area has been ongoing since the early 1990’s, but has faced some challenges. Burrowing owls don’t dig their own burrows – they rely on prairie dogs and other animals to dig burrows for them. But the natural burrowing animals have become extinct in that area as well. So artificially constructed burrows are being used, which are made by a group of dedicated volunteers who perform the back breaking work of building burrows. But no one had considered what type of burrow most appealed to the owls. So Tian studied the burrows and the land to gather information to support a successful reintroduction of burrowing owls into the area.
All the research that Tian and her Calgary Zoo colleagues do is to support their focus of applying science to solve problems. They do science based, academic quality research which then is used in working closely with stakeholders such as government agencies, industries, landowners and local communities so their work can have a positive impact for wildlife. “We’re very focused on transferring the science into action,” Tian told me.
The kind of action that results in being part of the team responsible for the most successful reintroduction of a nationally extirpated carnivore in the world. The Zoo has been working with a reintroduction program launched in the early ‘80’s. They recently had the pleasure of announcing that swift foxes have been downgraded from endangered to threatened. The swift foxes team’s success is based on good science including “over 10 years of census data on swift fox numbers and where they are in the landscape, and overlaying that with GIS habitat maps and running it through models so we can look at all the different layers in the landscape whether it’s soil type, moisture, road locations, structures, vegetation types” and other information, Tian informed me. They run that through population modeling computer programs that tell them “what elements in the landscape are really key to the swift fox at different stages of their life cycle. That information is now being used by the recovery team to assign critical habitat which then becomes a legal designation” that protects the land.
Most of the research the Calgary Zoo’s team does places the researchers out in the field. The Zoo has an offsite captive breeding facility at which they have breeding programs for whooping cranes and Vancouver Island marmots as well as other species. Even these captive breeding programs have the focus of being useful in the field. Their main goal is to reintroduce species back into the wilderness.
Tian and her colleagues are making a positive difference in our world. She feels fortunate to be doing so. They “work for many years on a species, […] attend so many meetings, things being hashed back and forth between all the different stakeholders, there are certainly so many highs and lows with that, but it’s such an amazing feeling when you actually get to open the crate and the ferret touches its feet on Canadian soil and goes down into its burrow,” Tian reflected.
Overall, the Calgary Zoo is an excellent example of the positive contributions to wildlife conservation that zoos can make. It’s also a great zoo, and anyone who enjoys animals will have fun visiting it when you’re in Calgary.
Tags: black footed ferrets, burrowing owls, Calgary Zoo, Conservation Research, critical habitat, endangered wildlife, Grasslands National Park, Parks Canada, prairie dogs, swift fox, Vancouver Island marmot, wildlife reintroductions
Black-Footed Ferrets: A Conservation Success Story
Black-footed ferrets, once thought to be extinct, are turning into one of North America’s conservation success stories. History was made on October 2, 2009, when 34 black-footed ferrets were released in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park. They are the first ferrets to live in the Canadian wilderness in over 70 years.
From considered extinct, to a known population of ten black-footed ferrets in 1985, these animals now number over 6,500 ferrets raised in captivity. Around 1,000 ferrets in total were living in the wild as of the fall of 2008, having been released on sites across the animal’s former range in the western and central US and northern Mexico. And now they are living in the Canadian prairies wilderness. What a great story in the making!
Since 2004, the Toronto Zoo, Parks Canada, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Calgary Zoo, WWF Canada and WWF US, amongst others, worked together on this conservation program with the goal of reintroducing black-footed ferrets into their traditional Canadian home range – from south of Calgary, Alberta to south of Regina, Saskatchewan, on the western prairies.
Some of the ferrets released in Canada were raised at the Toronto Zoo and then attended a Colorado camp in which they were trained to hunt wild prairie dogs, their main prey. The ferrets were released in Grasslands National Park because that’s where Canada’s largest population of prairie dogs lives. Following lots of research and planning, the groups involved and the ferrets were ready for release.
“The most exciting moment was taking part in a black-footed ferret release team,” Emily Giles, Conservation Program Coordinator, WWF Canada, explained to me last week. “We had the privilege of releasing six black-footed ferrets back into their Canadian home. It was very symbolic to take part in a release.” The event took place with members from various organizations in Canada and the US. “It symbolized the cross-border collaboration that was necessary to ensure this species’ long-term survival,” Emily explained. Nature doesn’t recognize borders, and many successful conservation programs include members from different countries and organizations. Complex situations like the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret – a top predator whose range spans the border of three countries –requires cross-border cooperation. Conservation and recovery of species at risk takes collaboration among governments, landowners, and NGO’s.
Reintroduced black-footed ferrets are now living in the wild in Canada, the US and Mexico, which gives conservationists great hope. “The black-footed ferret is a unique example in species recovery, because this is a species that was believed to be extinct globally, and miraculously was given a second chance for survival. It was completely wiped out from Canada, and [now] this animal can once again roam the Canadian prairies. The return of the black-footed ferret offers hope to the recovery of the grassland ecosystem, an ecosystem that has been dramatically altered from its natural state,” Emily explained.
Further, “it has shown conservationists that tough conservation goals can be achieved!” Emily continued. It also encourages endangered species breeding programs, since some of the animals released were born at the Toronto Zoo in Spring 2009. This release also highlights the importance of maintaining National Parks and protected places so species can be reintroduced. Not to mention it restores part of the national heritages of Canada, the US, and Mexico.
The ferrets will be monitored to estimate their population size, survival and reproduction. Annual population sizes, over-winter survival, spatial distribution, and litter production will all be important factors in ensuring the long-term success of the ferrets. The ultimate goal for the Canadian black-footed ferret recovery program is to have the population grow enough so that their endangered status can be downlisted and they settle once again into being a native species. Even with several North American black-footed ferret reintroduction sites being self-sustaining, these conservation achievements form only about 20% of the recovery plan’s target for wild ferret populations.
The black-footed ferret recovery strategy clearly indicates the critical habitat needed for the species’ recovery. Only a small fraction of Canada’s endangered species have recovery strategies with their critical habitat adequately defined. WWF-Canada, as well as other organizations, are working towards changing this and could use your support.
Tags: black footed ferret, captive breeding, Conservation, Grasslands National Park, Parks Canada, reintroduction, Wildlife, WWF Canada
