Recently in my zoo career, I've been left wondering how big an impact I have on animal conservation. I know I form relationships with animals I work with every day and try my best to provide them with the best welfare, but I worry I don't impact their wild counterparts enough.
The primary reason I chose the Brazil EE was to see the relationship between zoos and wild conservation. I've read about several zoo success stories, like the condor and black footed ferret. I even had the opportunity to see the captive breeding side at NC Zoo with the red wolves, but never before had I experienced the reintroduction side. Seeing the tamarins and knowing that a third a of the wild population today exists because of zoos was an amazing experience and has changed the way I look at zoos.
Captive breeding has long been controversial for conservationists and challenged as a solution (Cohn, 1988), but learning about how it can be successful for the right species was inspiring. Seeing the change that zoos can impact when they work together reminded me of the importance and purpose of zoos.
Although it was inspiring to see how far the golden lion tamarin population has come, it was also sobering to see how far they still need to go. Before seeing conservation in real time, it's hard to understand every aspect that goes into the cause. Being on the captive breeding side, I never considered the habitat side of conservation really. I obviously knew that having adequate habitat was necessary for reintroduction to be successful, but I didn't think about the government regulations, if they habitat isn't connected and how to make the habitat adequate. Reforestation is vital to restoring habitats. Participating in the planting of saplings in Borneo was an amazing experience, but not once while I was there did I question where the saplings originated. Having the whole day to see the greenhouses, collect seeds and process them really made me realize how much goes into just one singular tree in reforestation.
Brazil was an incredibly impactful trip. I'm still processing everything I learned. Most importantly, my faith in the importance of zoos was restored. I talk to visitors all the time at our South American primate exhibit and share the story of the golden lion tamarin. Most never even realized that zoos have reintroduced animals into the wild and played a crucial role in conservation. My time in Brazil is helping me to inspire others and help visitors learn about conservation. The lessons I learned in Brazil are ones I will never forget.
Cohn, J. (1988) Captive breeding for conservation, BioScience, 38(5), p312-316
