On Louisiana Range, the Giraffe and Antelope Will Play

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/us/near-new-orleans-a-new-effort-to-breed-endangered-species.html

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NEW ORLEANS — The Audubon Nature Institute and San Diego Zoo Global were expected on Tuesday to announce the development of a breeding program for rare and endangered species on 1,000 acres south of this city, bringing herds of antelope, okapi and Masai giraffe to graze on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The breeding site, which will be among the largest in the United States, represents the latest version of a wildlife conservation model based on the finding that certain species mate more successfully when allowed to roam in herds rather than when paired off in captivity, something to which many visitors to Bourbon Street could probably attest. It also brings two of America’s most prominent zoological organizations together from opposite sides of the country.

Public access is likely to be somewhat limited, as the facility is intended primarily for breeding and research, and for this reason the species do not have to be, as one scientist put it, the most charismatic kind. But among the more than two dozen species expected in the program, which is slated to begin in 2014, are lions, flamingos, storks and several kinds of antelopes.

Breeding programs intended to maintain endangered species in American zoos have been around for decades. But the movement toward large-acreage breeding sites has begun taking hold only in recent years, after previous, more intimate efforts at breeding fell short.

In the past, biologists would play matchmaker, looking through the general population of American zoos to find a male and a female of a species that seemed to make a good genetic match and bringing them together to mate. While this works for certain species, not all of the pairs have that spark.

“It never has been rocket science that group species breed better in groups,” said Pat Condy, the executive director of the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, a 1,700-acre nonprofit conservation site in Texas.

Females in many species, including lions and hyenas, breed according to a hierarchical structure, Dr. Condy said, while the males in some species tend to be rather uninterested in breeding unless there are other males to compete against.

Moreover, he said, breeding in groups helps enormously for animals that are going to be reintroduced into the wild, which is the plan for some of the animals bred here in south Louisiana. A herd of antelope would adjust more quickly than one or several, and the offspring reared in groups are less likely to grow up to be adults that Dr. Condy referred to as “odd or not representative.”

In addition to Fossil Rim, there are a handful of other institutions that have opened large-acreage breeding sites, including the Smithsonian and, in Ohio, the Columbus Zoo. But, said Jim Maddy, the president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, more sites are needed to prevent the rising tide of extinctions.

“We wish some of these things had been done yesterday as opposed to tomorrow,” Mr. Maddy said.

One major challenge has been the cost of large, suitable plots of land.

The San Diego Zoo, despite its considerable resources, could not expand on its current site. The Audubon Nature Institute, on the other hand, acquired 1,200 acres from the Coast Guard in 1990, most of it in Orleans Parish. There is already a high-tech research facility on site that holds the frozen genetic material of scores of endangered species, as well as a crane-breeding center.

“It’s Jurassic Park-like,” said L. Ronald Forman, the president of the Audubon Nature Institute. Knowing that San Diego was looking for a site, Mr. Forman raised the possibility of a partnership several years ago.

The location in Plaquemines Parish, which has an ideal climate for some subtropical species, does raise an obvious question. To wit: What happens to a herd of giraffes during a hurricane?

However, nearly all of the land is on high ground, and, said Robert J. Wiese, the chief life science officer of San Diego Zoo Global, ample measures would be in place to ensure the safety of the animals in all kinds of weather. Anyway, Dr. Wiese pointed out, no place is perfectly safe. “In California,” he said, “we have earthquakes.”