SOUTHERN CASSOWARY HUSBANDRY WORKSHOP
SUMMARY:
OVERVIEW, OUTCOMES & ACTIONS
Administrator: James Biggs, Cairns Tropical Zoo
Facilitator: Carolyn Hogg, Zoo & Aquarium Association
Date: 3rd & 4th AUGUST 2011
Location: DREAMWORLD, GOLD COAST
Report prepared by James Biggs
17-08-2011
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James Biggs, Bird Department Supervisor at Cairns Tropical Zoo; Recent role of Captive Population
Manager/Species Co-ordinator for the Southern Cassowary in the Australasia Region. It is my job to ensure the
genetic and demographic health of the captive population. I’ll focus this discussion on where we are currently; the
management of the species; and what we are doing to improve the situation in captivity.
The primary rationale for the current program, established in 2001, is one of public education,
conservation awareness and development of husbandry techniques. Have we been successful in educating and
raising awareness about conservation? Somewhat. Have we been successful in developing husbandry techniques?
To maintain birds, yes. Have we been successful in consistently breeding birds? Apart from Cairns Tropical Zoo
and a handful of other places, no. You might ask why they aren’t breeding? Can’t you just put them in an
enclosure together? - Let me assure you it is far more complex than that. Basically the program had come to a
grinding halt which is why I decided that 1) the existing captive management manual needed turfing; 2) captive
management of the species needed to be turned on its head; 3) and a workshop should be held to update current
best practices, and to see if we could identify what is causing the quiescence of the program – and of course to try
to actively fix some of the problems instead of just crossing our fingers and hoping that the issues affecting our
birds would just disappear.
The workshop outcomes were designed and guided by several main topics which will be incorporated
into the existing chapters of the revised manual (Biggs, unpublished) prior to completion around June 2012.
Participants explored general husbandry, housing, handling, health, reproduction, behaviour, nutrition, artificial
incubation and rearing, and the use of Cassowaries as a conservation tool. Invitations were offered to full
members, associate members and non-members of the Zoo and Aquarium Association, including a number of
representatives from the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Population Managers for the
North American and European Studbooks, and Veterinarians who have specialised in Cassowary care.
The workshop ran over two days and was held at Dreamworld, Gold Coast, from 3rd-4th August 2011. See
attached agenda for timetable.
A number of presentations were given –
“GENETIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SOUTHERN CASSOWARY POPULATION”
“MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY OF THE SOUTHERN CASSOWARY”
“CRUDE ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN CASSOWARY STUDBOOK: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT”
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PRESENTATIONS
“GENETIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SOUTHERN CASSOWARY POPULATION”
by James Biggs, Southern Cassowary Species Coordinator; and Clancy Hall, Studbook Keeper; impromptu by
Nicole LaGreco AZA Population Manager, San Diego Zoo
Executive Summary:
Non-recommended transfers occurred; 2 new founders; 90% of recommendations
attempted; 10% achieved; F = 0.000
Priorities for Program: Reconfirm commitment to program by participating institutions and other institutions
wishing to participate; run husbandry workshop; identify institutions willing to hold 2.1.0 to allow mate choice
trials; finalize and circulate revised Cassowary Husbandry Manual; provide institutions with studbook extracts;
review and collate captive breeding techniques.
General Recommendations: No further recruitment of birds from outside of the current ASMP population unless
the opportunity to acquire known wild origin founders presents itself; Limit reproduction of prioritised pairing to
one clutch per pairing within the time frame to promote genetic diversity without compromising available regional
spaces; ALL animal movements to be coordinated through the Species Coordinator;
Discourage reproductive
events from specimens other than prioritized pairings in the PMP; Institutions to provide regular updates to
ensure studbook to remains current; Institutions that have specimens placed on historical loan to non-member
institutions to review loan agreements and ensure that there is the potential for a percentage of offspring to be
recruited back into the program as required.
Outlined some new realistic goals:
Husbandry Goals: Achieve reliable, consistent breeding in line with recommendations; Change our management
practices such that they align with identified natural history of the species.
Demographic Goals: Potential to achieve target population by breeding. 35:25.0 ten birds in ten years is
achievable at current rate.
Genetic Goals: Retain at least 90% gene diversity over 50 years – not currently achievable but is assisted by
acquisition of new birds that are unable to be successfully rehabilitated; Maintain inbreeding coefficients at or
below F = 0.125
Recruitment and Placement of Founders; Facilities Available: QSMP discussion; ZAA & ZAAQ discussion.
Developments – Research News & AZA: CSIRO, JCU, EthoTrak, Ultrasonography. Nicole LaGreco.
Concerns: Quiescent program; Inbreeding; Non-recommended transfers.
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“MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY OF THE SOUTHERN CASSOWARY”
by Adam Northam, Department of Environment and Resource Management
Conservation Status & Distribution
Cassowary Recovery, Cyclone Yasi - DERM’s initial response: Assessment of the QPWS Cassowary Rehabilitation
Facility- Garners Beach (infrastructure and birds); Establishment of a Cassowary Incident Management Team; A
collaborative aerial habitat assessment including transects flown between Innisfail to Cardwell Range- CSIRO,
WTMA; Aerial food drops to encourage cassowaries not to venture into urban areas/ near busy roads- Approx
1000kg; Preparation for a supplementary feeding program- liaison with food suppliers, purchase of equipment
etc.
Cyclone Yasi – Supplementary Feeding Program: 94 Active Feed stations. Total fruit delivered 74 359kg. 2554
volunteer hours. 84 scats collected. 55 feeding exemptions issued. Budget forecast 2.7million (18 month
program).
Captive Management: DERM’s priority for supporting cassowary recovery is to direct available resources towards
in-situ conservation projects eg. Responding to natural disasters, threat abatement, habitat protection and
management, undertaking ‘in house’ research projects and/or collaboration with external stakeholders; To
supplement wild populations, DERM undertakes the rehabilitation and release of wild sick, injured and orphaned
animals at the Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre (Garners Beach).
DERM’s Support for ZAA Managed Programs: DERM actively supports the Queensland Species Management Plan
(QSMP) and considers this to be the primary tool for determining priority placement for non-releasable
cassowaries; Post Cyclone Larry DERM placed 3 cassowaries with ZAAQ members via the QSMP process; 1
cassowary placement between cyclones; To date 1 cassowary has been placed with a ZAAQ member post Cyclone
Yasi.
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“CRUDE ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN CASSOWARY STUDBOOK: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT”
by Carolyn Hogg, Zoo and Aquarium Association; Chris Hibbard, Zoo and Aquarium Association; and Clancy Hall,
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Studbook Analysis: Conducted crude analysis of the historical studbook and of birds that have produced 5 or
more successful clutches to get a better idea of which birds are actually breeding.
Determinations that have implications for captive management: Seasonality; viability of hatched eggs; average
size of successful clutch; age at peak reproduction; how long after introduction are birds successfully producing;
These will affect how quickly we can turn around the current situation.
Results:
Cassowaries will breed (hatch eggs) from September-January in captivity – this will impact when
introductions should be attempted; viability of chicks hatching and surviving past one year = 1 chick per clutch –
this will impact genetic and demographic analyses in PM2000; average size of successful clutch is recorded as 1 in
the studbook, however this may be due to the fact that only hatched eggs are recorded, as opposed to total
number of eggs in a clutch; female peak reproduction 9-16 years old, male peak reproduction 8-15 years old –
James will incorporate age data when recommending pairings and include MK values and F statistics; successful
pairs are breeding 2 years after being in the same facility
Requirements of Program: Prioritize breeding of birds between 8-16 years; Start more mate-choice programs;
Consider increasing our established F statistic parameter from 0.125 to 0.25 to increase number of breeding
events; Start ‘stirring the pot’ – Reproductive assessment of birds that are paired but not producing fertile eggs
and move birds if breeding is unsuccessful after a few years; Protocol to determine fertility of eggs; Egg postmortem protocol; Determine whether infrasound plays an important role in the lead up to breeding season;
Consider surrogacy of eggs if parents are unsuitable;
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DISCUSSIONS & OUTCOMES
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Outcomes:
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DERM has post mortem protocol for use by zoo industry;
Need to determine whether infrasound plays an important role in communication;
DERM has ‘back-score rating’ - physiological assessment of condition visually, for use by zoo industry –
James to further develop;
Agreed to regularly weigh to develop optimum weight range database;
Concurred that hormones are affecting appetite throughout breeding season;
Concurred that Cassowaries are not strict frugivores.
BEHAVIOUR
Outcomes:
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Interested institutions to implement EthoTrak;
Developed pre-breeding behaviour list to provide carers with cues for successful introductions;
Developed enrichment list;
Developed behavioural and environmental checklist for introductions and breeding events;
Developed records template for reproductive behaviour, physiological and environmental data
Developed a more specific sexual, social and agonistic ethogram for captive birds.
HOUSING
Outcomes:
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Developed safe enclosure template to facilitate mate-choice trials, adult separation, chick safety and
keeper safety – all dynamics discussed and agreed upon.
HEALTH EVALUATION & DISEASE
Outcomes:
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Obtained growth development data from AZA;
Established the need to develop clinical database of illnesses, injuries, treatments etc.;
Inclusion of ultrasonography in medical assessment pre inclusion in program;
Developed checklist for behavioural signs of disease.
NUTRITION & FEEDING
Outcomes:
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Revised adult diet to match components from CTZ, ARP, Fleays, Australia Zoo, Currumbin – what to feed,
what not to feed;
Identified capacity of Cassowaries to consume toxic foods;
Revised juvenile diet.
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REPRODUCTION
Outcomes:
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Reviewed current industry pairings standard to reflect species natural history;
Revised egg management, when eggs should be considered infertile, and developed protocol to remove
eggs;
Established parameters for data to collect from eggs;
Developed method to check fertility of eggs;
Developed egg post mortem protocol;
Developed protocol for pair formation;
Seasonality and when to introduce birds;
See Behaviour section.
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION & REARING
Outcomes:
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Institutions to consider surrogacy between species and institutions;
Identified sources to contribute to this area – CTZ, ARP, Denver Zoo, Ratite farms.
CAPTURE, HANDLING & TRANSPORT
Outcomes:
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Uniform transport box to be developed to facilitate easy inter-institutional movements;
Developed protocols for conditioning birds for transport;
Developed protocols for chemical and manual restraint of adult birds for medical assessment and
transport;
Training seminars and practical experience opportunities to be developed and arranged by DERM for
Cassowary carers.
CAMPAIGN & INTERPRETIVE DISPLAYS DEVELOPMENT
Outcomes:
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Developed standard data to present in interpretive displays and campaign material;
Part of campaign funds to be donated to DERM for monitoring work.
IN SUMMARY:
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The captive program now aims to ensure the persistence of a captive population in ZAA institutions that: 1) Can
support the development and documentation of husbandry techniques for the species; and 2) Supports the
illustration of biodiversity – which leads me to my next point…
The Zoo Industry lacks a significant Cassowary conservation/education campaign that is co-ordinated between
zoos. We also lack of solid conservation partnerships with other Cassowary stakeholders.
Australian Zoos see around 15 million visitors each year. A perfect opportunity to get some loud, clear messages to
the public about our endangered wildlife. For example “Dont Palm Us off”, “They’re Calling on You”, “Wipe for
Wildlife”. Millions of dollars are raised by zoos each year to assist with conservation initiatives. What I hope to do
in the coming year is develop a number of “Conservation Partnerships” and in turn, facilitate the development of a
wholesome zoo-based campaign that could include some scope to drill campaigns from other stakeholders, such as
your recent “Cassowary Extinction Emergency”, amongst others. I envision that funds raised by the zoos for
Cassowaries will go to organizations such as RR, and to DERM to continue their crucial monitoring work.
Discuss and develop with Cassowary Recovery Team (CRT) a uniform zoo-based Cassowary conservation/education
campaign that is aligned and coordinated with the CRT efforts. Will include a fundraising element to supply funds
to eg - DERM to continue tracking/monitoring research or to contribute to organizations such as RR.
David Wescott re: review manual?
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WORKSHOP ACTIONS
Tasks / Actions
Assigned
to
Deadline
Send Specimen Records or ARKS and MedARKS records of all Cassowaries
historically held at your institution to James: wildlife@cairnstropicalzoo.com
to build clinical database of treated illnesses/injuries for inclusion in HM
ALL
30.11.2011
James to fill in addressed sections of cassowary questionnaire and circulate
for completion by workshop participants. Definitions and selected images to
be included in HM
James Biggs /
ALL
30.11.2011
Collect any gross pathology, histopathology, haematology and blood
biochemistry data if not included in ARKS/MedARKS files and send to James
ALL
30.11.2011
Hatch data/Egg data form – Template from ArkSAG Suzy Barlow
Carolyn Hogg
01.03.2012
Reproductive data collection – including AZA and EAZA – Chris to compile and
circulate reproductive data sheet template
Chris Hibbard /
ALL
31.03.2012
Workshop participants to film any reproductive events (courtship, mating)
and send to James. Please list your name and institution so that you can be
credited on the dvd
ALL
01.03.2012
Prepare and circulate institutional costing for EthoTrak.
James Biggs
01.10.2011
Institutions to notify James of interest in EthoTrak
ALL
31.12.2011
Compile and circulate workshop documentation
James Biggs /
Clancy Hall
01.10.2011
Open discussion with DERM re: possibility of zoo staff assisting with, or
obtaining training videos with planned wild cassowary capture, restraint and
transport procedures
Dan Mead
James Biggs
30.11.2011
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/
Develop visual back-score rating
James Biggs /
Dan Mead /
Graham L
01.03.2011
Acquire DERM crate dimensions/design (sedated birds)
James Biggs /
Dan Mead /
Kylie Goodall
30.11.2011
Open communication with Margaret Thorsborne about wild Cassowary data
James Biggs /
Kylie Goodall
30.11.2011
Conduct trial egg candling on emu eggs
Clancy Hall
As produced
Acquire cassowary post mortem schedule
Graham
Lauridsen
01.03.2011
Acquire egg post mortem schedule
Michele Barnes
01.09.2011
Collect developmental weights for cassowary and send to James
Nicole LaGreco
30.11.2011
Acquire contact details for cassowary fruit farmer
Jacqui Brumm
31.10.2011
Acquire draft quarantine protocol from VetSAG
Vere Nicolson
01.09.2011
Discuss and develop with Cassowary Recovery Team (CRT) a uniform
Cassowary conservation campaign that is aligned and coordinated with the
CRT efforts. Zoos to implement. Will likely include a fundraising element to
supply funds to DERM to continue tracking/monitoring research. Tie in with
training of zoo staff.
Discuss Cassowary exports/imports with AZA
James Biggs /
TBA
Chris Hibbard
__.09.2011
Create Cassowary Husbandry listserve with agreed participants as contacts
Carolyn Hogg
31.08.2011
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Finalize and circulate husbandry manual and DVD
James Biggs
30.06.2012
ATTACHMENT A
FINAL AGENDA
Time
Issue
11:00
Bus departs Marina Quays International bound for
Dreamworld
12:30
Welcome & Introduction
12:45
Priorities for Cassowary - introduction of delegate and ALL
what they see as the main issues for Cassowary
13:15
Overview of current population
James Biggs & Clancy
a) brief presentation on demographics and genetics Hall
of current population
b) recruitment of founders
c) facilities available
d) wild populations
e) official position from DERM on captive mgmt and
position on wild birds (tentative)
14:15
Discussion around issues
a) breeding
b) nutrition
c) health evaluation & disease
d) capture, restraint, transport
e) enclosure design
f) other issues that arise
15:00
Afternoon tea
15:15
Continue discussion around issues
17:00
Day ends
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Presenter
Al Mucci & James Biggs
ALL – lead by facilitator
17:30
Bus departs Dreamworld bound for Marina Quays
International
Day Two – 4th August 2011
Time
Issue
Presenter
08:00
Bus departs Marina Quays International bound for
Dreamworld
9:00
Welcome & agenda for Day 2 based on discussions from
Day 1
9:15
Developing future strategies
10:30
Morning Tea
10:45
Agreed position on significant issues
12:30
Lunch
13:30
Husbandry Manual Development
14:45
Afternoon Tea
15:00
Actions
15:45
Summary
16:00
Meeting closes
17:00
Bus departs Dreamworld bound for Gold Coast
Domestic Airport.
PARTICULARS
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James Biggs
Whether self-drive, or catching the chartered bus from Marina Quays, please check-in with
Security upon arrival at Dreamworld – look for a blue demountable building near the entrance
to the park. Rhonda or Matt will guide you to the workshop venue for tea and coffee.
Afternoon tea will be provided on Day 1. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided
on Day 2.
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