Page 22 - March-2015-Life-in-Naples-Magazine

For endangered Life in Naples | March 2015

SPECIES

It’s not as simple as boy meets girl

by Tim L.Tetzlaff

Director of Conservation & Communications | Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

M eeting that special someone can be a challenge for anyone. But
what if you’re an endangered slender-horned gazelle? If you’re
one of the approximately 250 left wandering the sand seas of
northern Africa, you’ll need all your desert adaptations to find a suitable
mate among the dunes. But if you’re in Naples, you’ve got a team of
researchers, database engineers, geneticists, and zoologists to help
insure your species survives to see another day.

COMPUTER DATING?
BEEN DOING THAT FOR DECADES

It may kill a bit of the romance, but before a young gazelle’s
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love in the spring, a host of
expert advisors weighs in. As Naples Zoo’s Director of Animal
Programs Liz Harmon puts it, “The mountain of analysis from
generations of breeding records balanced with conservation needs
and institutional capacities can make Chinese algebra look easy.”

Because of the many zoos involved, the Association of Zoos
and Aquariums (AZA) coordinates these efforts. AZA’s Wildlife
Conservation and Management Committee manages over 500
cooperative Animal Programs, including Taxon Advisory Groups,
Species Survival Plan® Programs, and Studbook Programs. With
input from AZA Scientific Advisory Groups, Institutional Liaisons and
Institutional Representatives, goals of cooperative animal management,
conservation, and scientific initiatives are enacted. Suffice to say, it’s a far cry
from “What’s your sign, baby?”

MATCHING GLOBAL NEEDS
AND LOCAL RESOURCES

Custom genetics software crunches numbers from databases populated with
decades of records to help inform decisions. Once breeding recommendations
are made, it’s up to wildlife professionals like Harmon across the country to
integrate overall species needs with available local resources. After all institutions
involved agree on the plan, it’s time to begin the logistics of safely moving rare and
dangerous wildlife from one place to another. So yes, sometimes there really are
snakes on a plane – or tigers in a truck.

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