Cooperative Living August 2018 - 16

CoverStory | by Sari Carp, Contributing Writer
Pandas and Ferrets
and Oryxes, Oh My!
F
ront Royal's a pretty ordinary
Virginia town.
Peopled by a congenial mix of
lifelong residents and retirees escaping
the Washington, D.C., rat race, it nestles
unremarkably at the edge of Shenandoah
National Park. Dogs gambol in the
verdant new dog park, cows graze,
and birds chirp overhead.
And, on 3,200 acres just outside the
center of town, pandas guzzle bamboo,
cheetahs speed through former cow
pastures, and nearly extinct ferrets train
for life on the prairie.
Many locals aren't even aware of the
existence of the Smithsonian Conservation
Biology Institute (SCBI), the National
Zoo's field research and breeding facility.
It's home to scientific researchers from
all over the globe, as well as more than
20 species of endangered animals.
Originally constructed as an Army
remount depot, the campus retains many
original buildings and features, such as
a cemetery where long-dead Army horses
slumber under dogwoods. After incarnations
as a WWII POW camp, a K-9 training
center and an experimental cattle-breeding
station, the property was turned over to
the Smithsonian in the 1970s.
SCBI isn't a zoo. It opens to the public
only one day a year, and the animals
are rarely in viewer-friendly habitats.
SCBI species run the gamut from small
songbirds to big cats, but they all
have one thing in common: they're
critically endangered.
The institute's mission is twofold,
learning more about these vital creatures
while breeding more of them to replace
those eliminated by habitat loss, climate
change or predation. SCBI researchers
collaborate closely with their colleagues
at the National Zoo, and occasionally
animals rotate between the facilities.
When I visited last fall, panda-keeper
Ginger Eye was preparing new mother
Nutmeg and her cub for their move to
the big city, where they now star in
D.C.'s red panda exhibit.
One veterinarian, Kelly Helmick, is
responsible for all of the SCBI animals,
including hoof stock like scimitar-horned
oryxes and Przewalski's horses, birds
from kiwis to siskins, maned wolves,
cheetahs, clouded leopards, red pandas
and more. It's an extraordinary mandate
when you consider that many veterinarians
treating domestic animals refuse to take
patients beyond dogs and cats.
Fortunately, Helmick trained for this.
Her specialty is zoo and wildlife
medicine, or the " care of free-range
animals, " and for her and her veterinary
technician, " variety is the spice of life. "
Dolores Reed, supervisory biologist
for hoof stock, arrived at SCBI in 1986
after working in a traditional zoo. She's
spent most of her career in Front Royal,
and appreciates the sheer physical scale
of the SCBI campus. Her charges are
territorial herd animals, unwilling to
share small spaces. " Zoos don't have this
type of space; they can't hold more than
a couple of males, maybe until they're
sexually mature. "
A larger herd affords Reed the
opportunity to study behavior in a
more realistic setting, as well as offering
far more genetic diversity for breeding.
It's better for the animals too. She says,
" They get to stay in the herd, and they
don't have to deal with constant
interruptions. " However, the space
creates challenges for researchers and
keepers managing their charges. Reed
points out, " In a lot of zoos they don't
have to physically go in with the animals
[to perform tests and collect data].
We have to; they have the space to get
away from us. "
With larger communities of animals,
staying on top of herd management is
key. Reed knows the personalities of the
Veterinarian Dr. Kelly Helmick is responsible
for all animals at SCBI.
14 | Cooperative Living | August 2018
Dolores Reed, supervisory biologist for hoof stock, arrived at SCBI in 1986. Her charges are
territorial herd animals, unwilling to share small spaces.
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Cooperative Living August 2018

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