Fresno zoo breeding new hope

ERIC PAUL ZAMORA / THE FRESNO BEE - Kiri, a Malayan tiger, paces in the exhibit at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The zoo is beginning efforts to breed endangered tigers and orangutans in Fresno.

By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee

Their habitats are shrinking, and their numbers are already greatly reduced. The survival of endangered species such as orangutans and Malayan tigers could depend on breeding efforts half a world away, in places such as Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

The zoo — which sent two endangered addaxes to a preserve in Africa in 2007 — has received permission from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to begin breeding its two tigers and three of its four orangutans.

Officials say participation in breeding programs gives credibility to Fresno Chaffee Zoo, which less than three years ago was in jeopardy of losing its accreditation with the national association because of inadequate housing for some animals and political infighting among board members.

AZA officials say getting permission for the breeding programs is a recognition that the Fresno zoo can meet the association’s expectations.

“It’s a real expression that staff and the facilities are in top shape based on the needs of that particular species,” said Steve Feldman, a Maryland-based AZA spokesman.

“It’s huge for us,” said Scott Barton, executive director for Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

The survival of tigers and orangutans is very much in question. Both need a large habitat. Tigers, for example, have ranges of 30 to 40 square miles in the wild, said Andy Snider, Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s director of animal care and conservation.

As forests have been cut down and replaced with palm oil plantations, the animals lose territory and food that’s critical for their survival, he said.

Tigers also are lost through poaching for traditional medicine, such as tiger bone.

Ron Tilson, Minnesota Zoo director of conservation and AZA’s species survival plan coordinator for tigers, said tiger populations in southeast Asia have declined by 50% over the past 20 years because of poaching and loss of habitat.

Recently, South China tigers became extinct in the wild and now can only be found in zoos.

Only 600 to 800 Malayan tigers remain in the wild, and that population also is in danger. But the species might well survive through captive breeding, which helps to raise public awareness. Malayan tigers in Fresno are among 50 being managed in AZA facilities, which hold some 400 tigers total, Tilson said.

“This form of management is a genetic insurance policy,” he said.

The AZA makes its breeding recommendations through a “species survival plan” that’s followed by participating zoos such as Fresno’s. Under a species survival plan, a zoo is required to relinquish bred animals as requested by AZA.

Less endangered animals, such as giraffes, are bred under a “population management plan” that focuses on maintaining a zoo’s animal stock and lets the zoo keep animals bred there. At Fresno Chaffee Zoo, for example, staff are keeping a close eye on a female giraffe, Uzuri, that could give birth any day now.

Genetic management is key to breeding programs. Zoos must guard against inbreeding and also cross-breeding. For example, Malayan tigers should not be bred with South China or hybrid tigers.

Orangutan breeding is similarly complicated. In the 1980s, orangutans were determined to have two distinct subspecies. Hybrids that are a mixture of the two subspecies are not allowed to be part of the AZA’s reproduction program, so the subspecies may remain distinctly separated.

Lori Perkins, director of animal programs at Zoo Atlanta and coordinator for AZA’s orangutan species survival plan, said Fresno’s orangutans are a perfect age to mate. Busar, the male, was originally from Atlanta, and is 25 years old. Siabu, the female, is 20. Sara, the other female, is 39, which is near the end of her reproductive years. But, Perkins said, Sara has been a good mother in the past — and may well be a mother again.

To control animal breeding, zoos use contraception. Methods used include implants, surgeries, specialized feed, injections, pills and liquids.

If bred successfully, the tigers and orangutans will not be reintroduced into the wild because of shrinking habitats in southeast Asia and the lack of reserves in those countries.

And orangutans bred in captivity likely would not survive in the wild, Perkins said.

“Orangutans have the longest dependent childhood … it almost takes them as long as humans to grow up,” she said.

Unlike their African ape counterparts that will eat leaves and other foliage, orangutans have to learn to eat fruit, know when their food is in season and know how to remove it from trees.

The Fresno zoo’s tiger and orangutan offspring will be available to other zoos or wildlife preserves, where visitors can learn about them and their species.

“It’s about these guys being ambassadors for their wild counterparts,” Perkins said.

And if some catastrophe were to destroy remaining habitat, zoo breeding programs will keep species alive, Tilson said.

“There could be a war or some kind of disease,” he said. “If their numbers are knocked down so low, this is where the captive tigers can be useful.”

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