Some of my books have wild animals in the story but experiencing the real thing is something different!
Am having such an amazing week. My eldest granddaughter has almost completed a year’s internship at Shaldon Wildlife Trust as part of her biology and veterinary training. The zoo, which is set in beautiful semi tropical woodland, is home to some of the rarest and most endangered species known to man. It is regarded as one of the best zoos in the UK for the conservation of critically endangered primates.
Only yesterday, a year old margay (a small South American wild cat with spectacular light brown and dark brown markings) was transferred to a zoo in France as part of the European breeding program. The margay is on what is known as the IUCN red list for threatened species. Its numbers have declined dramatically due to loss of habitat caused by deforestation as well as the illegal wildlife pet trade!
The zoo has golden lion tamarins, cotton-top tamarins, red ruffed lemurs, red titi monkeys, venomous slow loris, yellow-breasted capuchins, the list goes on. There are also various poisonous dart frogs, one of whose poison can kill 10 men just by touching a small cut in their skin. This poison is still used by hunters on the tips of their arrows.
There are many more primates, reptiles and birds in the zoo, all in small groups and all mainly kept for breeding, education, and sharing with other similar zoos worldwide in an attempt to maintain viable numbers. In some cases this is more a question of faith than certainty but the work goes on thanks to dedicated conservationists, zookeepers and veterinarians amidst a continual plea for funding.
One of the ways they raise money is to offer the public ‘experiences’ in strictly limited numbers and this is why I’m having such a good time. I’ve not only fed the lemurs, meerkats and cotton-top tamarins, I’ve been able to watch some of the positive reinforcement training necessary to encourage animals to voluntarily enter crates for veterinary visits, as well as less stressful transports to other zoos.
All the animals have immaculately kept and generous inside and outside accommodation, at least 3 nutritionally balanced meals a day and, where appropriate, enrichment activities to encourage their natural wild behaviours. This is especially important for the cleverer animals as well as the larger groups to make sure that everyone is always occupied!
I can’t begin to explain how it felt when a tiny (0.4kg), critically endangered cotton-top tamarin took a peanut from my hand or a meerkat sat on my lap while I held its food bowl other than to say it was a great privilege to get so close to wild creatures and have them look me in the eye as if sizing me up! All approaches are made by the animals. Visitors are not allowed to pet them or touch them in any way and have to respect their habitat, so for one to decide to climb on you and trust you in such a way is a privilege indeed.
That such zoos are necessary is the sadness. The illegal pet trade, deforestation, the development of agricultural mono crops and, in the past, overhunting, have led to the need for safety-net populations and breeding programs to ensure the continued survival of so many species. Mankind is driving so many wild creatures to near extinction that it is heartbreaking.
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