State’s zoo populations aging

? Two Asian small clawed otters who share exhibit space in the Topeka Zoo’s rain forest are good examples of the difference in ages in the zoo’s collection.

At 19, Louie is nearly blind. Champei is quite the opposite at age 9.

Recently, the two otters slept next to each other in a log. The primary zookeeper of the rain forest, Joe Munz, woke the otters and fed them. Louie listened for the sound of Munz’s voice and sought him out for a fish.

“The life span of an otter is 20 years,” Munz said. “Louie has been here the last five years.”

Codi, one of the zoo’s female flamingos who struts around the rain forest, is nearing 40 years old, Munz said, and one of the bats doesn’t fly.

There are several geriatric animals currently housed at the Topeka Zoo, said director Brendan Wiley. At the opposite end of the spectrum is an array of younger animals, such as a baby Hoffman’s Sloth, two 2-year-old mountain lions and eight flying foxes that are 1 year old or younger.

“Most are past their prime or young,” Wiley said. “Where are the in-between? I don’t know yet.”

Wiley, zoo veterinarian Shirley Llizo and other staff members are beginning to work on the zoo’s collection plan. The Topeka Zoo is required to have a collection plan in place to receive accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo’s last full update to the collection plan was in 2007, Wiley said.

The collection plan, which Wiley described as a “living document,” lists the number of animal enclosures, the number of animals, the ages of the animals, alternate species and describes the zoo’s future intentions, Wiley said.

“It helps you manage and plan your future,” he said. “A lot of times it is a reflection on an individual zoo’s future.”

The Topeka Zoo will need to have its collection plan updated for the 2011 AZA accreditation process.

With the completion of a document that lists the species, names of animals, ages and birthdays of all of the zoo’s mammals, the process is under way, Wiley said.

Problem everywhere

Geriatric animals aren’t something the Topeka Zoo is facing alone, said Scott Shoemaker, zoo director of the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan.

“It’s not unique to Topeka or to us,” Shoemaker said. “It’s an issue facing zoos all over the country. We have a female chimpanzee that is 56. The average lifespan for a chimpanzee is 60 in captivity. We just last year lost a grizzly bear (to age).”

The Sunset Zoo also has bald eagles who are in their upper 20s and an aging Colobus monkey who is getting old, according to Shoemaker, who has been the director of Sunset for 14 years.

“With better vet care, the animals are living longer,” he said. “There is better nutrition, too. The mortality in zoos is 100 percent. Every animal is going to die. But we are exceeding what we would normally see. Our big concern here at Sunset is quality of life. There is a great cost because they need medication and more routine check-ups. But there also is a moral obligation.”

Topeka Zoo director Wiley agrees.

“There are certain animals that are more expensive to maintain,” he said. “Elephants require a lot of care and attention. If you are going to give an elephant antibiotics, it’s going to take a lot more because of its body size.”

Shoemaker, along with veterinarians from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and zookeepers help determine if and when an animal should be euthanized because of age-related illness.

Wiley also works closely with zoo staff to make the same determination.

Zookeeper Munz said while staff members can get attached to aging animals, they still are able to judge what is best for the animal.

“It’s an emotional thing,” he said. “But you sign up for it when you start.”

Some surprises

An example of care of an aging animal at the Topeka Zoo is 43-year-old Daisy Mae, a Bornean orangutan. Daisy is one of the zoo’s oldest animals. Staff members recently recognized Daisy was having trouble breathing and had mucus coming from her nose. She had to be separated from the rest of the orangutans and is being treated with antibiotics.

Toward the end of that week, zookeepers and Wiley weren’t sure if Daisy would pull through. By that Sunday, she was doing slightly better, Llizo said.

“Daisy is a sweet little gal,” said her zookeeper, Beckee Niemackl. “She has her own personality.”

Niemackl, who has worked with Daisy for more than 25 years, is remaining positive, but realizes that age is a factor in Daisy’s fate. The orangutan will turn 44 on Sept. 10.

At the Sunset Zoo, the 56-year-old chimpanzee, Susie, gave birth. The third-oldest chimpanzee among AZA was taken off birth control because of her age. She unexpectedly became pregnant.

The Topeka Zoo also had an unexpected delivery when Mara, an 8-year-old river hippo, gave birth to a healthy baby. Mara had been given a grain that contained an additive which increases the amount of progesterone as a form of birth control.

Staff members had administered a pregnancy test in February, but the test, which is a process that takes 55 days, was negative.

“We may never know why we received that false negative,” Wiley said.

The contraceptive the zoo was using doesn’t have any side effects on babies. The baby, which staff members believe to be female, came out of the water recently for the first time.

“She is nursing and does seem to be healthy,” Wiley said.