MAY, 1997

Aloha BOPSIC members,

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee at the Phoenix AZA Western Regional Conference. I was pleased that the meeting went well and very much appreciate all your support. Much was accomplished and we have set some real and attainable objectives that will move us ahead toward our goal to establish these fascinating birds in our collections.

There is much more to do though. As you may know, the BOPSIC will be meeting in July in New York City at the same time as the Galliformes TAG. At that time, we will review the progress on the targets that were set in Phoenix and focus on the next phase of action plans, as well as finalizing a five year plan. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend, as I will be in Papua New Guinea collecting Birds of Paradise. James Mejeur, the Curator of Birds at the Honolulu Zoo will conduct the meeting in my absence. He will also be the contact person for this meeting, so if you have any questions about the meeting or issues that you want to see addressed, give him a call, fax or email.

The exact hours for the BOPSIC meeting have not yet been set. The BOPSIC meeting can be held either on the afternoon of July 9th, or the evening of July 10th. My thought is that if the meeting could be held on the 9th there would be more time to work and everyone would be a bit more relaxed. The down side is, can everyone be in New York by the afternoon of the 9th. From a convenience standpoint, the 10th may also be good since everyone will be there, but having an additional meeting in the evening following a full day of Galliformes meetings may be a bit too long. Please contact James immediately and let him know which date works best for you, so we can lock in the time and date.

I encourage all of you to attend if possible; this promises to be a good meeting.

A Hui Hou Kakou,

Peter Luscomb
General Curator - Honolulu Zoo

James Mejeur
Curator of Birds – Honolulu Zoo

 

Aloha Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee members,

I would first like to thank all those that participated in the Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee meeting at the AZA Western Regional Conference in Phoenix. We had a good meeting and were able to set targets that we feel can be accomplished by mid-summer.

The purpose of this meeting was to get the BOPSIC started and identify goals that could be accomplished in a short period of time to get much need momentum for the group. All those that attended the meeting were helpful and most were willing to take on several projects in spite of busy schedules.

Those that attended were:

Mike Mace

San Diego Zoo

Dave Rimlinger

San Diego Zoo

Ed Lewins

San Diego Zoo

Chris Sheppard

New York Wildlife Conservation Society

Wendy Worth

New York Wildlife Conservation Society

Jeff Rouse

San Antonio Zoo

Chris Brown

Ft. Worth Zoo

Chelle Plasse

Houston Zoo

Lee Schoen

Houston Zoo

Martin Vince

Riverbanks Zoo

John Seltz

Sedgwick County Zoo

Sue Mahr

Lincoln Park Zoo

David Hancock

Hancock Wildlife Services

James Mejeur

Honolulu Zoo
There were others that could not attend because of other conflicting meetings, but I met with them individually. I apologize if I left anyone off the list.

I will quickly review the objectives that were deemed to be highest priority by the group and could be accomplished in a short period of time. Also noted is who volunteered to be the point person for that project. Refer to the attached Goals and Objectives of the Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee (page 4). There have been a few additions to the objectives that were not on the original G&O that was distributed prior to the meeting. Specifically, numbers 1.6, 2.5, 2.6, 3.3.1 and 3.3.2.

1.2: Survey Zoo interest in Bird of Paradise.

James Mejeur will head this project. A direct mail-out survey can be conducted of those institutions currently holding BOPs. In addition, a short survey and accompanying article can be printed in the Quill. The short survey will gather information about institutions that wish to become involved in the BOPSIC in the future. This article should outline the basic needs to house and breed the various Birds of Paradise and serve to generate interest in working with the these species.

1.3: Identify the number of species that US zoos can accommodate, then identify target species. This information should be included as part of the BOP interest survey, so this will also be taken care of by James Mejeur. As to the target species, the species currently in captivity will be the major focus. One or two species may be added if there is enough space available in zoos and the SIC believes that another species is warranted. 2.1: Conduct literature searches and develop bibliographies on Family and Species. Dave Rimlinger of the San Diego Zoo offered to head up this project since he has already amassed a rather extensive bibliography on the species that SDZ is currently holding and also other species in the family

2.2 Develop short 1-2 page information sheet on Family and species.

As previously covered in objective 1.2, James Mejeur agreed to write a basic information sheet on Bird of Paradise that could be sent to interested facilities to give them a better idea if they have the resources to hold or breed BOP’s. This info sheet could be included with the BOP interest survey and/or printed in The Quill

2.3 Develop husbandry protocols on species

 Each facility that has an area of expertise in certain species of BOP, will write up or at least collect husbandry information and write protocols for maintaining and breeding that species. Dave Rimlinger of San Diego Zoo offered to handle Raggianas and Superb BOP. James Mejeur of Honolulu Zoo will write up the Magnificent BOP. Chris Sheppard suggested the services of either Kurt Hundgen or Patty Cooper for Lesser BOP and Red BOP. A standardized format will have to be developed to simplify the compilation of the data into book form.

 2.4: Develop a home page on the Internet.

Martin Vince of Riverbanks Zoo kindly offered to head up this project. This may be difficult at first, but once it is up and running it may be the fastest way to disseminate information to all interested parties. The husbandry protocols for species and articles or references of importance to BOP will be posted here. Eventually, a bulletin board can be developed that will be a forum for discussion about these birds. It is hoped that all those that are interested in BOP will eventually have access to email in the near future, as it is fast, inexpensive and convenient. A list of E-mail address for BOPSIC members will soon be made available. If you have E-mail and have not received an email from James Mejeur please send him a short message with your email address so that it can be added to the list.

3.3 Determine health concerns with Birds of Paradise in captivity and develop a program to mitigate health and dietary problems.

Each facility that is holding or has held BOPs should compile all health records for their birds and talk to their vets about what they feel are the most pressing health concerns for BOPs. These comments should be compiled at a future date and then sent back to vets for comments. The outcome should give us a good understanding of exactly what the most serious health problems for BOPs are and what can be done about it.

4.1: Establish captive populations of Birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea.

Honolulu Zoo is already working with The Wau Ecology institute do develop a captive population of BOP in New Guinea. New York Wildlife Society is currently working with Peter Clark in Lae. The PNG national museum has also expressed interest in developing a collection of BOPs but will need help in getting started. In situ captive populations may be an excellent source for future specimens for BOPSIC members and may provide opportunities for BOP research.

4.2: Establish a training program for New Guinea personnel

Honolulu Zoo has taken tentative steps in this direction by bringing two keepers from Wau Ecology Institute to the Honolulu Zoo for a two week training course. San Diego Zoo said that they had experience in keeper training and would be willing to help in this area.

5.2: Identify funding sources and initiate funding acquisition.

John Seltz of Sedgwick County Zoo and Chairman of the PACT-TAG volunteered his services to help acquire funding through the PACT-TAG. It is important though to identify budget needs for committee actions before actually funding is solicited. Hopefully some of these issues can be ironed out in the BOPSIC meeting in New York in July.

An Action List detailing the actions, facilitator and target date is included on this Web Page

It was decided that the BOPSIC should meet mid-summer to assess progress on current objectives and move forward on new ones. The group discussed the time when most participants would be available, and the agreed upon dates were during the Galliformes TAG meeting in New York July 10th and 11th. Exact times and dates will be sent to all committee members when they are nailed down.

Goals and objectives that were not addressed in Phoenix meeting will be brought up and addressed in the July meeting in New York. We will also work to refine a five-year plan. Please review the Goals and Objectives included with this web page and send additional comments, thoughts or suggested changes to James Mejeur.

Again I would like to thank all those that participated in the Phoenix meeting for their support. If anyone has comments, ideas, suggestions or criticisms please contact me. My work phone is 808 971-7169, fax 808 971-7182, home phone 808 922-4836, email jamo@hgea.org

Aloha Kakou

James Mejeur

 

Goals and Objectives for the Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee

As reviewed by committee meeting Friday April 11, 1997

Mission statement: To facilitate the development of a representative collection of Birds Of Paradise in captivity that is self-sustaining.

Goals and Objectives:

  1. Develop a representative collection of Birds of Paradise in captivity.
    1. Inventory Birds of Paradise in captivity.
    2. Survey Zoo interest in group
    3. Identify the number of species US Zoos can accommodate then identify target species
    4. Facilitate the acquisition of Birds of Paradise
    5. Establish facilities with active breeding programs for Birds of Paradise
    6. Population management strategies, genetic issues
  2. Develop informational resources on Birds of Paradise to assist aviculturalists.
    1. Conduct literature searches and develop bibliographies on Family and species
    2. Develop short ( 1-2 page ) information sheets on Family and species
    3. Develop husbandry protocols on species
    4. Develop a home page on internet
    5. Management book 60-120 pages
    6. Standard data collection system / what do we want to know
  3. Develop techniques to manage and breed Birds of Paradise in captivity.
    1. Develop research program to identify factors which inhibit or stimulate reproduction in Birds of Paradise
    2. Develop program to test techniques and protocols to determine their ability to induce reproduction in a variety of situations
    3. Determine health concerns with Birds of Paradise in captivity and develop a program to mitigate health and dietary problems
      1. Identify heat tolerances etc.
      2. Collect veterinary health records to identify health problems specific to Birds of Paradise
    4. Develop techniques to enhance exhibit potential for grouping
  4. Develop in situ programs to aide in the conservation of Birds of Paradise.
    1. Establish captive populations of Birds of Paradise in Papua New Guinea
    2. Establish a training program for New Guinea personnel
    3. Establish a Bird of Paradise sanctuary in Papua New Guinea
    4. Develop educational material for New Guinea school system
  5. Develop funding options to facilitate committee actions
    1. Identify budget needs for committee actions
    2. Identify funding sources and initiate funding acquisition
    3. Develop an accounting system to monitor budget
  6. Committee action review
    1. Establish a prioritized list of actions needed to accomplish Goals and objectives
    2. Develop a time line for actions and establish bench marks and target completion dates
    3. Conduct a semi-annual review of all actions

Action List:

Due to constraints of time etc. all of these actions may not be finished by the target dates, but this gives us a time line to work from. If any of the target dates are unattainable, we can adjust the schedule to a more realistic time frame. These are only target dates not commandments.

Action

Facilitator

Target Date

1.2 Survey Zoo Interest in BOPs

James Mejeur

July Meeting

1.3 Identify the number of species that US zoos can accommodate

James Mejeur

July Meeting

Conduct Literature Search/ Create Bibliography

Dave Rimlinger

July Meeting

Develop a 1-2 Page Info Sheet on BOPs

James Mejeur

July Meeting

Develop Husbandry Protocols on Species

Dave Riminger-Raggianas/Superb
James Mejeur-Magnificent
Kurt Hundgen/Patty Cooper-Lesser/Red

Next year? Standardized format can be agreed upon at July meeting.

Develop Home Page on Internet

Martin Vince

Ongoing project – Martin has already initiated first steps

Determine health Concerns of BOPs / Compile all health records of BOPs

All Zoos currently or formally holding BOPs

July Meeting

Establish Captive Populations of BOPs

Various Zoos

Ongoing

Establish a training program for New Guinea personnel

Honolulu Zoo / San Diego Zoo

Ongoing

Identify Funding Sources and Initiate Funding Acquisition

John Seltz

Ongoing


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