The following species are currently being studied:
Komodo Dragon Conservation
Native only to the Indonesian islands of Flores, Komodo, and Rinca, Komodo dragons are highly endangered. The National Zoo is a leader
in the fight to conserve this fascinating creature—the world's largest species of lizard.
The National Zoo was the first zoo outside of Indonesia to hatch Komodo dragon eggs, and has reared 55 dragons, which have been sent to about zoos worldwide. The Zoo's Komodo dragon inhabits a 620-square-foot outdoor enclosure by the Reptile Discovery Center.
More about the Komodo dragon:
Sea Turtle Conservation and Research
Sea or marine turtles are what scientists term a
"flagship species"—they are large, attractive,
and charismatic, and
thus humans relate to them more closely and are more likely
to care about them. Sea turtles are ambassadors of the world's
oceans; they are also critically endangered.
The National Zoo, in cooperation with many partners around
the world, is currently conducting a satellite-tracking program
to learn more about these important animals.
Sea turtles spend most of their lives at sea, and scientists
hope that by tracking turtles via satellite they will gather
information on the animals' movements and distribution.
Learning how a creature lives in and relies upon its
environment
is a vital first step in the effort to save
it.
more
Plight of the Eastern Box Turtle
The Torch, Smithsonian Institution, July 2002
Desirability
as Pets Threatens Box Turtles
By Jo Ann Webb
OPA Staff Writer
In late May, a man with a dog stumbled upon the remains
of missing Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy in a
heavily
wooded area of Rock Creek Park. As reported in the Washington
Post, the man told police he and his dog were looking for
turtles.
“Box turtle populations throughout the eastern United States have declined,” says George Zug, Natural History Museum curator of amphibians and reptiles, “partly because people are collecting them in large numbers to sell to the pet-trade industry.”
Many amphibians and reptiles collected in the wild for sale as pets die before they reach the pet store, Zug says. Commercial shipping conditions of live reptiles are often poor and improper, as are conditions in some pet stores, he adds. Most pet-store salespeople, Zug says, do not know the proper care to be given these animals, such as what they should eat or at what temperature or humidity they should be kept.
“Many times, they don’t even know what kind of animal they have or where it came from.”
Animals that survive this ordeal often arrive at the home of their new owners weak and sick. Owners, Zug observes, “also don’t know their turtle’s habitat requirements, which can be very specific, nor their dietary needs.... The average person does not know how to keep amphibians and reptiles healthy in captivity,” Zug says.
“Each species has a different need for temperature, moisture, light and food. Some need to be kept alone; others do better if kept in groups; some eat a variety of foods, while others will eat only certain kinds.”
Once a pet turtle becomes sick or its owner tires of caring for it, it is often released into nearby woods.
“If the turtle has become sick from a disease it contracted while in captivity,” Zug explains, “that disease may then be introduced” to the local wild turtle population. In addition, if the turtle survives and mates with another species, you have also caused “genetic pollution” of the wild population. “You are reducing the reproductive potential and survival of the original population,” Zug adds.
In the 1980s, Zug says, the pet-trade industry greatly reduced wild-tortoise populations in Europe. During a five-year period, large areas in Europe lost their tortoise populations, he says.
Europe has since imposed a ban on collecting tortoises, which in turn transferred the harvest to other turtle species. The attention of pet-traders is now focused on the North American box turtle, among other species. Fortunately, many U.S. states are now enacting laws that make it illegal to own these animals or remove them from their habitats.
Should you come across a turtle this summer, Zug advises, leave it alone. “You are not rescuing a box turtle when you pick it up and take it home. Even if you plan to release it later, it is highly likely that you will not release it exactly where you found it.
“If you want to help these creatures remain a part of our natural world, leave them alone,” Zug says. “If you see one crossing the road, give it a hand by picking it up and taking it to the other side. It’s not lost. It knows where it is going and what it is doing. It doesn’t need a home; it has one—the woods where it belongs.
“We have stewardship, not ownership, of these creatures,” Zug continues. “Stewardship is about ensuring that our activities do not diminish the ability of other species to survive.”
Box turtle fact sheet
