SREL Reprint #1771

Conserving threatened components of the world's faunal biodiversity: the untapped resource of children's zoo programs

I. Lehr Brisbin, Jr.

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Conclusion: Many children's zoo programs are currently in transition toward more structured and sophisticated interpretation of genetic diversity, with livestock as an example. Rare breeds of livestock, including regionally adapted and historic populations of domestic, landrace and feral animals can greatly enhance the delivery of this information to the public, while at the same time providing opportunities to introduce concepts such as habitat and adaptation to the content of this message. There are a number of individual and organizational sources of support available to zoos which might be interested in such concepts for their children's zoo programs. In particular; the American Minor Breed Conservancy (AMBC) of Pittsboro, North Carolina can provide a broad range of contacts and technical support services to zoos interested in such undertakings. The AMBC maintains stud books for a number of rare or threatened breeds, conducts periodic censuses to evaluate the status of various breeds of domestic livestock and also surveys the distribution and genetic importance of free-living feral populations of livestock in North America. By working with groups such as The Nature Conservancy (eg. Anon. 1988a), the AMBC can offer advice on the placement and captive conservation of particularly important feral populations which occasionally may need to be removed from lands controlled by such organizations. These programs can offer a number of opportunities for participation on the part of zoos interested in working with the AMBC and other related organizations, to address conservation concerns for these often overlooked components of the world's faunal biodiversity.

SREL Reprint #1771

Brisbin, I. L., Jr. 1993. Conserving threatened components of the world's faunal biodiversity: the untapped resource of children's zoo programs. pp. 276-282 In: Regional Conference Proceedings of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).