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From the Archives: First Komodo Dragons in U.S. Hatch on Mason Campus

Colleen Rich — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:00:36 +0000

From the Archives: First Komodo Dragons in U.S. Hatch on Mason Campus Colleen Rich Thu, 08/11/2022 - 09:00

This story ran in the October 30, 1992, print edition of the Mason Gazette.

Mason biologist Geoffrey Birchard with five-week-old Komodo dragon. Photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution

In the movie “The Freshman,” Matthew Broderick agrees to deliver a Komodo dragon, a rare and endangered lizard, to Marlon Brando—illegally. ��AV biology professor Geoffrey Birchard has also had Komodo dragons delivered to him—but legally, as part of a joint project with the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.

Birchard, a herpetologist, was called on by the zoo's curator of herpetology, Dale Marcellini, last January to incubate 10 of the 26 eggs that were the result of a monthlong courtship between the zoo's two 10-year-old lizards. The adult lizards had been given to the zoo in 1988 by the ambassador of lndonesia.

During the eight-month incubation period, several eggs died, but on Sept. 13, in one of the university's labs, the first dragon hatched out of his leathery-shelled egg. Twelve others quickly followed their brother's lead. Two more are still to go.

''Everyone here is beaming with pride," says Marcellini.

Marcellini turned to ��AV because he literally did not want to put all his eggs in one basket and wished to avoid potential disasters, like electricity failure or fire, that could destroy the eggs. And George Mason had higher-quality incubators.

The university's eggs hatched first because they were kept at a slightly higher temperature. which accelerated the process.

“Things went extremely well," says Birchard. ''We're looking forward to doing other projects [with the zoo] as well."

This is not the first time Birchard has been involved with the National Zoological Park. Over the past five years, he has served as a consultant for the zoo. And in return the zoo has donated surplus eggs—including those of pythons and milk snakes—to Birchard for his research on the physiology of developing animals.

Baby lizard comes out of his shell with some help from a friend. Photo by Jessie Cohen, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution

During the dragons' incubation period, he performed metabolic studies on the embryos, recording the gas exchange between the eggs and the environment.

“This proved to be quite an experience," says Birchard. “Every day for the past eight months l had to come in to make sure the eggs were okay. But professionally, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

When born Komodo dragons, whose natural habitat is the Komodo and Flores islands, off the coast of Indonesia, are about 8 to 16 inches long and weigh up to 4 ounces. Their yellow, brown, and black skin is heavily patterned with chevron and circle markings—and yes, they have a forked tongue. Gradually their striking skin turns a uniform gray and eventually they can weigh as much as 300 pounds and reach a length of more than 10 feet, making them the world's largest lizards. The National Zoological Park is the first only other place in North America where place to breed the lizard outside of Indonesia.

At present, all the young Komodo dragons are back at the zoo, happily feeding on mice and insects. A few are already on display at the Reptile House.

"These guys are Iike scaly pandas when it comes to getting people excited," says Marcellini.

Plans are being discussed to send some of the babies to other zoos and to loan the female adult dragon to the Cincinnati Zoo, the only other place in North America where Komodo dragons are kept.

The Mason Gazette, University and Student Publications, #R0128, Special Collections Research Center, ��AV Libraries.

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Retro Mason: Smithsonian-Mason Semester 2009

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 18:25:46 +0000

Retro Mason: Smithsonian-Mason Semester 2009 Colleen Rich Wed, 07/13/2022 - 14:25

In September 2009, during a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., hippo keeper John “J. T.” Taylor brought out a hippo skull to show students participating in the Smithsonian-Mason Semester. During the same visit, the students had the opportunity to feed Happy, a 5,500-pound Nile hippopotamus.

In 2000, Mason and the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) joined forces to educate the next generation of conservation leaders. The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation was created.

During the Smithsonian-Mason Semester, students live at SCBI's 3,200-acre campus in Front Royal, Virginia, and learn directly from prominent conservation practitioners and Smithsonian scientists as they engage in hands-on research that’s critical to saving endangered species and preserving biodiversity.

Mason is one of the few universities to partner with the Smithsonian Institution in this way.

Read more about the early years of the Smithsonian-Mason Semester in the Mason Spirit magazine.

Photo credit: Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

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Smithsonian-Mason team keeps watch, so elephants can doze off

Colleen Rich — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:22:41 +0000

Smithsonian-Mason team keeps watch, so elephants can doze off Colleen Rich Fri, 12/17/2021 - 11:22

Learn more about SMSC

Because elephants only sleep three to four hours a night, and frequently wake during that time, their sleep is a precious commodity.

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation student Eva Noroski (left) works with Mason Alumna and Elephant Trails Keeper Ashley Fortner to research elephant sleep patterns at the National Zoo. Photo by: Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��AV

That’s why ��AV senior Eva Noroski has spent a month this semester assisting 2017 Mason alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching how these massive mammals can get optimal sleep.

“Sleep is super important for the elephants because they don’t actually do a lot of it,” said Fortner, who studied for a year at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC).

“Eva’s work is actually directly, every day, impacting how we take care of the elephants.”

Noroski has been accessing footage from the Smithsonian’s camera system to monitor the elephants from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m., and logging what she observes. In particular, she’s tracking Kamala, a female elephant who has arthritis, which causes her difficulty in laying down and getting up.

“I’m trying to determine which elephants she sleeps best with, if she sleeps best by herself, if there are any social dynamics that appear during the night that I can let the keepers know about,” said Noroski, an environmental science major and conservation studies minor. “That’s all really significant information because their sleep is important to their health, and if any mammal is losing sleep, they could become more susceptible to illness.”

Noroski’s findings will help management create pairings that offer the best sleep for each of their five elephants, said Fortner, who graduated from Mason with a integrative studies degree and a concentration on applied global conservation.

When Noroski isn’t behind the computer, she can be found performing zookeeping tasks, and shadowing Fortner as she interacts with, trains, and completes wellness checks with the elephants.

“I have made great connections, not only with people here at the zoo, but also with my [SMSC] teachers who are active conservationists,” Noroski said. “They’re super willing to help students find opportunities as well as connect us with other people—that’s a really unique thing you can’t just get in any conservation program.”

That’s exactly why Fortner said she also “fell in love” with the SMSC program.

“It means so much,” Fortner said of being able to mentor students in the same way she was mentored. “Once I found my path, I found that having those practicums and hands-on learning experiences helped me make that decision.”

“For the mentor side of it, it’s giving back to the conservation community,” she said. “It was really important for me to not only take care of elephants and give back to conservation in that way, but to help people that also want to do this see that this is possible.”

Noroski, who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said she chose Mason after researching schools with the best conservation programs.

Being at SMSC with a small cohort of students and teachers is one of the most rewarding parts, she and Fortner agreed.

“It’s a great program where you get really personal attention, as well as amazing practical experience that you will not just be able to find anywhere else,” Noroski said. “You are put in a position where you are pretty much handed useful, practical experience in the real working world.

“That’s invaluable when you’re an undergrad and trying to get your foot in the door,” she said.

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Red pandas on red alert: Mason student, alumni conduct research to save endangered species

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 15:30:00 +0000

Red pandas on red alert: Mason student, alumni conduct research to save endangered species Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 12/02/2019 - 10:30

Saving an endangered species is possible, but it takes a village. Conservationists, including three ��AV alumni working at the Smithsonian and a current student, are part of the team at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) working to ensure red pandas move off the endangered list.

“Our main focus is breeding, expanding the population and looking at genetics,” said SCBI’s carnivore curator Juan Rodriguez, BS Biology ’09. In the event that something catastrophic happens in the wild, their goal is to have a genetically viable population in captivity to stave off extinction, he said.

Rodriguez and his team help produce red panda and clouded leopard cubs and maned wolf pups, he said. This year, 4-year-old red panda Moonlight gave birth in June.

Moonlight's new cub was born in June. Photo by Jessica Kordell/Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Since April 2018, Monika Conrad, an environmental science and policy graduate student, has been conducting behavioral research on the red pandas, including Moonlight and her cub, at SCBI and the National Zoo as part of her master’s program.

“The idea is to understand what disturbs red pandas, what changes their behaviors and their physiology, to see what may negatively impact welfare,” said Conrad, who also assists the undergraduate students in their research at SMSC. “If we can give them the best possible welfare, we can improve breeding success.”

Conrad, who came to Mason after learning about Mason School of Integrative Studies professor and Mason alumna Elizabeth Freeman’s red panda research during a Smithsonian internship, spent 14 months observing the animals and logging their behaviors. She also recorded the climate (temperature, humidity and wind speed), noise levels, and zoo visitor numbers to see if and how these environmental factors influence red pandas.

This semester Conrad spends her days in the SCBI endocrine lab, extracting hormones from the red panda’s fecal samples. Later, she’ll analyze the behavioral data with the hormone concentrations to see if there are connections between the two.

Jessica Kordell, who has been an animal keeper at Smithsonian since 2007, helped hand-raise Moonlight when she was a cub, and continues to provide care for SCBI’s red pandas and clouded leopards. The Mason alumna, who earned her master’s in environmental science and policy in 2017 and studied under Professor Freeman, also mentors undergraduate practicum students attending SMSC.

Mason student Monika Conrad (left) and Mason alumna Jessica Kordell. Photo by Evan Cantwell/��AV

Working with the young cubs and educating students are the most rewarding parts of her job, Kordell said.

“The work that we do here, both with the students and with the animals day-to-day, really matters because we are in this stage where if we don’t work hard to save them or save their environment, [the species] could be gone,” Kordell said.

Moonlight's cub. Photo by Evan Cantwell

Kordell said her Mason experience was significant for her career.

From courses on climate change to learning about collecting genetic samples noninvasively, her classes “really helped me understand more about what I do as a professional and how that actually helps save our species.”

The preservation extends beyond the animals, since each species plays a unique role in the ecosystem and in everyone’s survival, Kordell and Rodriguez agreed.

“Students like Monika are excellent for what we do,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really very fulfilling to see that such a younger generation is ready to go out there and preserve these amazing species.”

This semester Conrad spends her days in the SCBI endocrine lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell.

Conrad and undergraduate students at SMSC work directly with scientists who are at the forefront of conservation research. It’s an unparalleled experience, as most students would otherwise learn about these topics from books or videos, Rodriguez said.

“It’s amazing to be here as a student,” Conrad said. Both the Smithsonian scientists and Mason professors are eager to answer questions and inspire the next generation of conservationists, she said.

“[You’re] never going to be able to find another program that can really immerse [you] in conservation like coming to SMSC will,” Conrad said. “I love that I’ve been able to have this opportunity—not just the knowledge, but the opportunities to connect with these researchers and learn more.”

Moonlight and her cub. Photo by Evan Cantwell/��AV

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Mason alumna is a champion for clouded leopards

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:28:42 +0000

Mason alumna is a champion for clouded leopards Colleen Rich Wed, 11/13/2019 - 12:28

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How Mason prepared Steven Monfort to be Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Melanie Balog — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 10:00:32 +0000

How Mason prepared Steven Monfort to be Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Melanie Balog Tue, 11/27/2018 - 05:00