On Tuesday 19 March, Year 12 biologists travelled to Whipsnade Zoo to compliment the conservation part of their course. Below is the report provided by R Ash:
"Early in the morning, we travelled to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and took part in two seminars. The first of which focused on the role of modern zoos and how they operate. We learned how zoos have changed from entertainment facilities to places for conservation of animals that are critically endangered and extinct in the wild. We also looked at a species studbook and talked about how mates were chosen for animals at different zoos
One animal of particular interest was the Scimitar Horned Oryx, which is extinct in the wild due to civil unrest in countries such as Chad. ZSL were part of a breeding program that has allowed a herd of around 150 Oryx to be released back into the wild with the first Scimitar Horned Oryx calves born in the wild for 40 years
We had a chance to look around the zoo and saw some of the animals being fed. It was interesting to see how the keepers were trying to encourage natural behaviour and keeping the animals happy by doing this.
The second talk of our day was about the EDGE project; a program designed to bring animals back from the edge of extinction. The challenge faced here was deciding which animals should be conserved and where the money should be spent. We learned that ratings were given to each animal, which determined how threatened they were as a species.
It was a great day with much fun had by all. Many thanks to Mr Lawson for driving and Mr Reynolds for organising."
