Annual report of the Wildlife Conservation Society

86 Pages·1998·8.8 MB·English

by  Wildlife Conservation Society

WILDLIFE
CONSERVATIO
SOCIETY
Annual Report
1998
wcs
TO SAVE WILDLIFE TO TEACH ECOLOGY TO INSPIRE CARE FOR NATURE
ThemissionoftheWildlifeConservationSociety,sinceitsfoundingin 1895 astheNew
York Zoological Society, has beentosavewildlifeand inspirepeopletocareaboutour
natural heritage.Today, 103 yearslater,thatmission isachievedthroughthenation's
largestsystemofurbanzoological facilities—theBronxZoo,theNewYorkAquarium,
—
andtheWildlifeCentersin Central Park, Queens,andProspectPark aswell asthrough
pioneeringenvironmentaleducation programsthatreachmorethantwomillion
schoolchildren in theNewYork metropolitan area andareused in49 statesand 14
nations,and through theworld's leadinginternationalconservation programworking in
52 nationstosaveendangered speciesandecosystems. Weareworkingtomakefuture
generations inheritors, notjustsurvivors.
TheCityofNewYork,through itsDepartmentofCultural Affairs, provides parrof
theannual operatingsupport forthe Bronx Zooand theNew York Aquarium, both
ofwhich occupy City-owned property.TheWildlifeConservation Societyadministersthe
Central Park, Queens,and Prospect Park WildlifeCentersfortheCity's Departmentof
Parksand Recreation, which providesannualoperatingsupport fortheCenters.The
Wildlife Conservation Societyalso receivesannual funds from the Natural Heritage
Trust,a program ofthe New York StateOffice ofParksand Recreation.

Trustees and Advisors of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Board ofTrustees AndrewH.Tisch BOARD OF ADVISORS TazewellA.Smith
AnnUnterberg VickeeJordanAdams PamelaM.Thye
(asoructoDerjl, \yyo)
RichardA.Voell Dr.JosephP.Allen F.SkiddyvonStadeIII
OFFICERS RobertAlvine AlanN.Weeden
DavidT.Schiff, EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES Mrs.RandV.Araskog Mrs.CharlesL.WilsonHI
ChairmanoftheBoard RudolphW.Giuliani, JorgeL.Batista JayWinthrop
andoftheExecutiveCommittee Mayor,CityofNewYork CynthiaLewisBeck AnWolfe
HowardPhipps,Jr., AlanG.Hevesi, Mrs.WilliamC.Beutel E.LiskWyckoff,Jr.
ChairmanEmeritus Comptroller,CityofNewYork GilbertButler PaulaZahn
FrankY.Larkin, SchuylerG.Chapin, MarthaL.Byorum LeslieR.Coleman,exofficio
ViceChairmanforConservation Commissioner,CulturalAffairs, GlennClose SusanLeness,exofficio
HenryClayFrickII, CityofNewYork JonathanL.Cohen GeorgeB.Moore,Jr.,exofficio
ViceChairman HenryJ.Stern, AmaliaLacrozedeFortabat
Mrs.GordonB.Partee, Commissioner,ParksandRecre- ElyssaDickstein sctandJi-ng Committees
ViceChairman ation,CityofNewYork GaryC.Fink
JohnN.IrwinIII, FernandoFerrer, CandiceK.Frawley BUDGET, COMPENSATION, AND
Treasurer President,BoroughofTheBronx Mrs.RoswellGilpatric OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
RobertW.JohnsonIV, HowardGolden, AnneGilchristGleacher JohnN.IrwinIII,Chairman
Secretary President,BoroughofBrooklyn Mrs.BenjaminA.Groves RobertW.JohnsonIV
JohnMcKew,AssistantSecretary PeterF.Vallone, ChristopherW.Johnson JamesM.Large,Jr.
SpeakerandMajorityLeader, RobertW.Kean,Jr. FrankY.Larkin
TRUSTEES NewYorkCityCouncil Mrs.AnitaL.Keefe HowardPhipps,Jr.
JaneAlexander WilliamB.Lloyd DavidT.Schiff,exofficio
GeorgeF.BakerIII LIFE TRUSTEES Mrs.GeorgeB.Moore
FrederickW.Beinecke Mrs.VincentAstor ElizabethP.Munson EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
RoscoeC.Brown,Jr. RobertE.Blum JohnS.NewberryIV DavidT.Schiff,Chairman
GuyCary RobertG.Goelet Hon.WilliamA.Newsom FrederickW.Beinecke
J.MichaelCline JohnN.IrwinII RalphNunez Mrs.CharlesA.Dana,Jr.
WilliamConway JohnPierrepont AnneL.Partee JohnElliott,Jr.
Mrs.CharlesA.Dana,Jr. LauranceS.Rockefeller GeorgeD.Phipps WilliamE.Flaherty
JamesH.Dowling RobertWinthrop GeorgePlimpton HenryClayFrickII
JohnElliott,Jr. JonathanRinehart FrankY.Larkin
RobertEsnard HONORARY TRUSTEES Dr.JeffreyA.Sachs SusanLytleLipton
C.SimsFarr Mrs.EdgarM.Cullman JohnT.Sargent Hon.AnthonyD.Marshall
WilliamE.Flaherty WilliamGruenerwald PeterG.Schiff EugeneR.McGrath
HenryClayFrickII PeterMatthiessen IrwinSegelstein FrederickA.Melhado
MurrayGell-Mann GuyG.Rutherfurd CarolineN.Sidnam Mrs.GordonB.Partee
BradleyGoldberg Mrs.JosephA.Thomas Mrs.JosephR.Siphron Mrs.LeonardStem
JohnD.Goldman Mrs.RichardB.Tweedy Mrs.AlexanderB.Slater AnnUnterberg
PaulA.Gould Mrs.SueErpfVandeBovenkamp BradfordD.Smith JohnN.IrwinIII,exofficio
JudsonC.Green RobertW.JohnsonPV,exofficio
GilbertM.Grosvenor HowardPhipps,Jr.,exofficio
GeorgeV.Grune
KindA.Haupt INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
*
JohnR.Hearst,Jr. FrederickA.Melhado,Chairman
JohnB.Hess SOCIETY GeorgeF.BakerIII
JohnN.IrwinIII GuyCary
RobertW.JohnsonIV SusanLytleLipton
JamesM.Large,Jr. JulianH.Robertson,Jr.
FrankY.larkin ^tCH^ JohnN.IrwinIII,exofficio
SusanLytleLipton HowardPhipps,Jr.,exofficio
Hon.AnthonyD.Marshall DavidT.Schiff,exofficio
Mrs.RomanMartinezIV
EugeneR.McGrath AUDIT COMMITTEE
FrederickA.Melhado RobertW.JohnsonIV,Chairman
Mrs.GeorgeK.Moss GuyCary
CarlA.Navarre,Jr. JamesM.Large,Jr.
EdithMcBeanNewberry F.henW.Pyne
Mrs.GordonB.Partee
RichardT.Perkin NOMINATING COMMITTEE
HowardPhipps,Jr. EugeneR.McGaAjCharmm
EbcnW.Pyne JohnElliott;Jr.
JulianH.Robertson,Jr. RobertEsnard
DavidT.Schiff RobertW.JohnsonIV
HelenM.Spalding SusanLytleLipton
MichaelStcmhardt Mrs.LeonardStern
Mrs.LeonardStern RichardA.Voell
Dr.JudithSulzberger IInwardPhipps,Jr.,exofficio
CraigTaylor l^iyla,ababylowlandgorillabornattheBronxZooinApril /9°<S\ DavidT.Schiff,exofficio
2 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
KeeperPaul
Moylettgives
aPacificsea
ottera
command
duringbehavior
demonstrations
attheWildlife
Conservation
New
Society's
YorkAquarium.
Contents
WILDLIFE PARKS TrusteesandAdvisors 2
8
BronxZoo 10 Chairman's Letter 4
Mammalogy 10
President'sLetter 6
Ornithology 13
Herpetology 13 Events 54
St. CatherinesWildlifeSurvival Center 14 Animal Census 58
NewYorkAquarium 16
CityWildlifeCenters 18 Financial Report 62
CentralPark WildlifeCenter 18
Contributors 65
Queens Wildlife Center 19
ProspectPark Wildlife Center 19 Committees 72
Exhibitsand GraphicArts 21 WCSStaff 74
WildlifeHealth Sciences 22
ScienceResourceCenter 24 StaffPublications 79
WILDLIFE EDUCATION FactsandFigures 82
26
BronxZoo Education 28
NewYorkAquarium Education 31
The Covers
Central ParkWildlife CenterEducation 32
ProspectParkWildlifeCenterEducation 34 TheBronxZoohastwotroopsof
QueensWildlifeCenterEducation 35 lowlandgorillasandisamember
WildlifeConservationmagazine 35 ofaSpeciesSurvivalPlantohelp
savethiscriticallyendangered
INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION species. Aninnovativenewexhibit
36 forgorillasisunderwayatthe
Africa 38 zoo:TheCongo GorillaForest
Asia 42 willopeninlatespring1999.
Insidefrontcover. WCS
LatinAmerica 45
ConservationistGrahamHarris,
NorthAmerica 48
inablind,studyingthebird
ListofProjects 49 colony(page 1, royalterns)at
Map 49 PuntaLeon,Argentina.
Chairman's Letter
PASSION.
Safeguarding the Earth's wildlife for future generations
is our passion. Conservation, education, and protection of the natural world
are our mission. Science, inspiration, and action are our methods. We are WCS
—
the Wildlife Conservation Society. From our Bronx Zoo headquarters, we
are leading a monumental global effort to protect precious species and fragile
WCS
wild places. As this Annual Report shows, galvanizes passion for, and
commitment to, wildlife into effective conservation ofwildlife.
Amongtoday'smanythreatstowildcrea- besthope forhundreds ofendangered spe-
—
tures,themostseriousisthattheywill beig- cies fromWyomingtoadstonortheastern
nored,condemnedbyhumanitytoclosetsof bogturtles, from elephants to tigers, from
irrelevance. Youpresumablybelieve,asIdo, sharkstosturgeon.
that our fellow species are vitally relevant. Our incredible scope and global goals
— —
Thiscore belief thatwildlifematters be- areshaped bythe realization that, as indi-
comes infinitelypowerful when pairedwith viduals,wecan affectthe futureofthe nat-
the beliefthatwhatwedomatters,thatwe uralworld:Wedomakeadifference.
canmakeadifference. Many individualschoosetomakeadif-
WCStransformsthese beliefs intoaction, ference by supportingWCS'scrucialwork.
as our scientists, on the ground or in the Wearegrateful formajorsupportfrom the
oceans,uniquelymakepossibletheseemingly Lila AchesonWallace Fund, foroperations
impossible:Theycreatewaysinwhichpeople and capital projects atthe Bronx and Cen-
andwildlifecancoexistharmoniously. The tral Park zoos.Theextraordinarygenerosity
transformationoccurseverydayoncountless of the Laurence A. Tisch and Preston R.
fronts, at our zoos and aquarium in New Tisch families made possibletheopeningof
York Cityand in 52nationswherewecon- ADeBrazzamonkeywilljoinfiveotherprimate the Tisch Children's Zoo at Central Park
ductover320conservation projects. Itisfu- speciesintheBronxZoo'sCongoGorillaForest. WildlifeCenter,whichalsoreceivedsplendid
eled by staff, members, trustees,volunteers, supportfromTheCityofNewYork,Joyce
and friendswho, like you, believedeeply in ical andeconomicdisasters.WCSeducators and Daniel Cowin,The ChaisFamilyFoun-
the relevance ofwild creatures and places reached outto newstudents in Papua New dation,The Freed Foundation,TheHorace
and inourresponsibilityfortheirsurvival. Ciuineaand China;whilein NewYork,our W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Charles
—
Lastyear,WCSbuiltaspectacularzcx)for livingclassrooms the Bronx Zcx),theNew Hayden Foundaton, The Robert Wood
veryyoungchildren on lessthan an acre in York Aquarium,and Central Park, Queens, Johnson Charitable Trust, The Edith and
—
Manhattan,evenaswe protected nearlysix and Prospect Park wildlife centers wel- HerbertLehman Foundation,andtheOver-
million acres ofkey habitat in Brazil. WCS comed morethan4.4 million visitors. Atour brook Foundation.
scientistsmonitoredtheenvironmental tollof Wildlife Health Center, staff perfected laser The Bronx Zoo's CongoGorilla Forest
—
natural disasters from Hi Nino in Peru to surgery techniques; in Argentina, our field received significantnewsupport. Generosity
—
devastating fires in Indonesia astheircol- veterinarians monitored pampasdeer. And ofTheTina and William E. Flaherty- Family
leaguesinAfricaworked inthewakeofpolit- all thewhile, ourexperts provided the last, Foundation is helping create the Flaherty
4 WllDLIFK. (ONSFRVATION SOCIETY
LearningCenter;SusanandJack Rudin pro
vided support for Congo animals; Elyssa
and Mark Dicksteinestablished an endow-
ment forgorillas. Key supporthasalso been
receivedfromTheHelenClayPrick Founda-
tion, Anita and Harry Keefe, The Alan C.
Greenberg Philanthropic Fund, the late
GeorgeHecht, Virginia and Warren Schw-
erin,andTheEugeneV. and ClareE.Thaw
ChantableTrust. Noteworthysupportcame
from Poppi Thomas, for the purchase of
sculptures by Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof
fortheBronxZoo.
Long-standingfriends sustained ourin-
ternational efforts: The Liz Claiborne and
Art Ortenberg Foundation, for projects in
Kenya, Cameroon, Laos, and Argentina;
TheJohn D. and CatherineT. MacArthur
Foundation for Myanmar, Laos, Tibet,
David T. Schiff
Colombia, and Ecuador;TheWaltDisney
CompanyFoundation forAfrica,Asia, and CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SouthAmerica;The RobertWoodJohnson
1962 CharitableTrustforourCongo/Zaire dowment;Virginia andWarren Schwerin, ElyssaDickstein,Co-chairofthePatrons
program;andTheRobertW.WilsonFoun- forthefield vetprogram; Dr.Judith P. Sulz- Committee; Kathie Moore, Co-chairofthe
dation for work in Central America, Bo- berger, for the field vet program and the 1998 Gala; and Paula Zahn, well-known
livia,and Indonesia. EdithNewberry'sgen- ChairinWildlifeHealth Science;and Caro- newscaster,joinedtheBoardofAdvisors.
erosity supported projects in various wild line Sidnam and PamelaThye, forthe field Three long-time Trustees with distin-
—
places.AndMr.andMrs.GaryC.Finkcon- vetprogram,pathologyresidency,andNorth guished records of service John Pierre-
tinuedtheirchallengegrantfortigers. America programs. pont, RobertG. Goelet, andJohn N. Irwin
—
Importantnewgifts includedthe Chris- The Edward John Noble Foundation II wereelected LifeTrustees. FiveTrustees
tensen Fund supportforPapuaNew Gui- continued its support ofourWildlife Sur- and Advisors became HonoraryTrustees:
nea, Myanmar,and orangutans;TheCline vival Centeron St. CatherinesIsland, Geor- Mrs. EdgarM. Cullman,William Gruener-
Foundation Fund, NewYork Community gia.JulianH. RobertsonandEnidA. Haupt wald, PeterMatthiessen, Mrs. Richard B.
Trust,forAlanRabinowitz'swork;TheFord provided keygeneral supporttoWCS, and Tweedy,andSueErpfVandeBovenkamp.
Foundation for the Adirondacks; Monica The Howard Phipps Foundation and JJJ Frederick W. Beinicke succeeded John
Krick and StevenPrattforeffortstoprotect CharitableTrust sustained projects ofthe PierrepontasChairman oftheInternational
tigers;theNational FishandWildlife Foun- Wildlife Crisis Campaign. The David and ConservationCommitteeanditsnewSteering
dation/Save theTiger Fund for India; The Lucille Packard Foundation supported the Committee. CraigTayloragreedtoChairthe
Derald H. RuttenbergFoundation forpro- Aquarium's Ocean Awareness Campaign EcotourismSubcommittee.JaneAlexander
jects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; andourfisheriesprogram. tookon leadershipofthenewMedia Com-
SacharunaFoundationforGeorgeSchaller's Theremarkablededicationofourboards mittee. Elyssa Dickstein succeeded Allison
work in Tibet; andJonathan Vannini for andcommittees guided oursuccess during SternasCo-chairofthePatronsCommittee,
tigerandpredatorprojectsacrossAsia. theyear. The Board ofTrusteeswelcomed and George B. Moore,Jr. succeeded Mea-
SustainingoureducationworkwereThe Jane Alexander, distinguished actress and gan Dowlingas Co-chairofthe Conserva-
William Randolph HearstFoundation and formerchairman ofthe National Endow- tion Council. ANewEngland Councilwas
TheHomeland Foundation, forprograms mentfortheArts; Michael Cline, General established, co-chaired by Trustee Edith
J.
in Congo Gorilla Forestand fortheChaun- Partner in General Atlantic Partners and Newberry and Mrs. John G. Stevenson.
cey Stillman Chair in Education. WCS's formerWCSAdvisor; Paul Gould, Manag- William Conway chaired a new Strategic
Wildlife Health Sciences benefited fromthe ingDirector atAllen & Co.; and Andrew PlanningCommittee.
supportofTheTinaandWilliamE.Flaherty Tisch, ChairmanoftheManagementCom- All generously gave their time to the
FamilyFoundation,forfieldveterinarianen- mittee,Loew'sCorporation. workofWCSandthecauseofconservation.
President's Letter
PROTECTION
The global human population, now almost
•
six billion, is increasing by 85 million people each year, and as they multiply, hu-
mans appropriate wildlife habitat. Because WCS's education and conservation
services focus upon the protection of wild animals and their habitats, under-
standing the trends in population and economic development is critical. Careful
calculations suggest that if tropical forests continue to be felled at the current
rate, one-quarter of all wild species on Earth will be lost in 50 years.
ButWCSscientistsfindthattherateisac- ternationalprogramfocusingonwildlifere-
celerating. Thousands ofspecies ofplants search, training, and conservation action
andanimalsarebeingdoomedtoextinction has grown to encompass more than 320
eachyear. Thus, building forthe future for fieldprojectsin50nations.
WCS means beingprepared to adapttothe WCS's involvement in the worldwide
constantlygrowingneedsofwildlife. attemptto dealwith today's profound bio-
The "Wildlife Conservation Society is logical extinction crisis, and the directef-
builtuponfourcornerstones: itszoos,itsed- fects ofthatcrisis uponWCS'swild animal
ucation programs, its science, and its inter- institutions, forcefully distinguish us from
national conservation efforts.This unusual other New York cultural organizations.
combination ofskills makes the WCS ap- They focusour planning forthe future not
—
proach toconservation both fundamental simply on the duality' ofWCS services to
anddistinctive.Thewildanimalslivinginits the people of the New York region as a
fourzoos, itsaquarium, and itsrareanimal cultural institution and to society in gener-
breedingcenterdo not permit usto ignore al as a wildlife conservation organization
—
the factthattheirkindsexist.Thesewildlife but also upon the interdependence of
populations and the associated scientific, their purposes, their strength and mutual
medical, education, and administrative reinforcement. Life and live animals are
staffscreatean information- and action-ori- antidotes to death and extinction, spiritual
ented base uniqueamonginternationalcon- aswell asmaterial.
servationorganizations. Thetutparakeet(above)isoneofmanyspecies ByfarWCS'sboldestexperimentincom-
WCS's five New York City-based wild- thatinhabitBrazil'shugeAnianaStatePark, bining international wildlife conservation
life facilities provided cultural services to protectedasaresultofthe Wildlife and public education is the Bronx Zoo's
—
4.4 million people in the past year an ex- ConservationSociety'slong-termworkthere. Congo Gorilla Forest, which will open in
traordinary resource for urban dwellers 1999, the zoo's 100th year. The immense
with a potential forconservation support jumped yet again, toover 94,000. Ouren- tropical forestcentered in Africa's Congo
that we are only beginning to tap. The vironmental education programs now pro- Republic isoneofthe last three major rain
magical newTisch Children's Zoo brought videstudentand teachertrainingand envi- forests remainingon Earth. It isextremely
Central Park Wildlife Center's attendance ronmental sciencecurricula in49statesand rich in fauna and flora, with more than
to over one million. WCS memberships 14 foreign countries. Meanwhile, WCS's in- 1,600speciesofmammalsand S00ofbirds.
6 WIIDIIhF CONSERVATION SOCIETY
—
alongwith tens of thousands ofspecies of
plants. Yet, people now threaten the very
existence of the forest: Mining, logging,
overhunting, and the hreakdown ofsocial
ordercloud its future. In Cameroon, beef
wassellingfor$2a pound inthespring,go-
rilla for$5,andelephantmeatfor$10.
Spurred by theon-goingdestruction of
this magnificent forest region and itsextra-
ordinarywildlife,and in lightofWCS's long
involvementinAfricanconservation,weare
creatinga livingexposition toenhancethe
BronxZoovisitors' understandingofandto
stimulatevisitorparticipation inAfricanfor-
estconservationefforts.Theconceptissim-
ple;theexecutionisnot.
The 6.5-acre simulated Congo rain for-
estwill exhibitgorillas, okapis, mandrills,
Congo peafowl, rock pythons, hornbills,
and other rain forestanimals. Itincludesa
Rain ForestWalk, Congo Treasures Gal-
lery, Conservation Showcase, Gorilla The-
ater,and GreatApes Gallery,topped bythe
Flaherty Learning Center, in which class-
roomslook into livinganimal habitats. The
exhibit concludes with a wholly new ele-
ment: a Conservation Choices, or voting,
Gallery. The "simple" conceptisthatvisi- William Conway
tors makeacontribution upon enteringthe
exhibit and make a conservation choice PRESIDENT AND GENERAL DIRECTOR
upon leaving by votingto havetheirinitial
contribution used forone ofa selection of zations, including CARE, The Peregrine Declaration ofthe reserve isa tributetothe
conservation projects. Ifsuccessful,theex- Fund, Stanford Center for Conservation, work ofJose MarcioAyres,who holdsthe
hibitwill produceanewstreamofsupport andtwolocalgroups. GabondeclaredLope WCS James Walter Carter Chair of Rain
—
forAfrican forestconservation and a new Forest Reserve Protected Area an effort ForestConservation.
visionfortheroleofzoos. led byWCS's LeeWhitewith ECOFACand ThroughoutallofWCS'sprogramsthere
One ofthe more powerful and lasting WWF, amongothercollaborators. A small runs a profoundconcern with the survival
solutionstospeciesandenvironmental pro- but critical reserve, Punta Izopo was set ofhuman biological life-supportsystems in
tection isthecreation ofa park orreserve. asideontheRioPlatanoofHondurasandis the face oftheir acceleratingdegradation.
But as our planet becomes increasingly partoftheseven-nationPaseoPantera pro- Thus,atourfiveNewYorkCity-basedzoos
crowded, inducing people to use land for ject,directed byWCS'sCaribbeancoordina- andaquariumwestrivetoeducatethe pub-
conservationgrowsmore difficult. I hope, torArchieCarrIH. lic about the human predicament and to
therefore,youwill share myadmirationfor Finally, there is the huge Amaha State move recreationandeducation intoconsid-
someoftheWCSerswhorecentlyshepherd- Park in Brazil, whichconnectstheJauNa- eration, involvement, and support for re-
edfoursuchprotectedareasintobeing: tional Parkwith the Mamiraua Ecological sponsiveaction,whilemakinga visittothe
The government of Madagascar de- Reserve, creating the largest contiguous zoowonderfullyenjoyable. Inourfieldcon-
claredtheMasoalaNational Park, thelast blockofprotectedrainforestintheworld servation programswegatherfacts, teach,
major intact rain forest on the island and 22,300squaremiles,aboutthesizeofCosta train, inspire, cajole, and work with local
the resultofwork bytheWCSteam led by Rica. Amaha is hometogreatcrocodilians, peoplesonthefrontlinesofconservation. It
ClaireKremen, Phil Guillery, andVincent exquisite birds, brilliant fishes, and anas- isatask thatwe, andthe restofhumanity,
Razafimahatratra andcollaboratingorgani- tonishingarrayofotheramazingcreatures. cannotaffordtoabandon.
PRESIDENT'S LETTER 7