A Crowded Ark

Three years ago, 15 golden lion tamarins were released into a Brazilian wildlife preserve; an endangered species, these tiny monkeys came from the National Zoo in Washington. The Arabian oryx, gone from the wild, has been re-introduced to its native habitat from captive herds in Phoenix and San Diego. At the Bronx Zoo, a Holstein cow gave birth to a gaur calf, and in St. Louis, a horse produced a zebra foal. What is going on in the zoo world? Luoma, author of Troubled Skies, Troubled Waters, shows us responsible zoos, cooperating with each other, in the forefront of research on reproductive technology, committed to environmental education. At the Minnesota Zoo, Ulysses Seal works on artificial insemination of Siberian tigers (the author gives clinical details). At the Cincinnati Zoo, Betsy Dresser maintains a frozen zoo; her specialty is interspecies transfer. Luoma looks briefly at the history of zoos and names the best exhibits in the country. Some of the same material was covered by Jeremy Cherfas in Zoo 2000, but Luoma presents more specifics on current research. His conclusion: zoos are indeed vital in conservation, education and future wildlife management. Photos not seen by PW. (November 10)