Dear Members,

Last year completed seven years of performances at The Dallas World Aquarium by Grupo Pakal.  What started in 2004 with the opening of Mundo Maya, as part of our grand opening of the expansion, has become a routine portion of our weekends, holidays, spring breaks and summer months.  During this time, they have performed throughout the facility, both inside and outside.  At the present time, they can be seen above the left side of the Temple of the Jaguar.  This allows guests to see the performance from more vantage spots, without blocking the pathways.

Our two Antillean manatees have now been DWA residents for twelve full years.  Having arrived in December 1999, we asked their main keeper, and friend, to write an article about Manati and Ayurami.  Luis Sandoval (known to us as Zammy), relates how the manatees have affected his life – reinforcing much the same sentiments we are experiencing at our center in Peru with the Amazonian manatees.

New for 2012, are the beautiful red and black Pesquet’s Parrots now exhibited as part of the main entrance. They will soon be joined by other equally intriguing species.

When it became time to list those bird species that have reproduced at the DWA, it was not only quite lengthy, it was also impressive.  More than 100 species in 16 orders and 31 families have successfully hatched, with seven believed to be world-firsts.  Although we are located in downtown Dallas with all the hustle and bustle of a large city, this evidently does not interfere with “the birds and the bees” of our avian collection.  You can read about one of our more prolific species in The Mountain Toucan article.  The selection for Book of the Month this quarter is written about another species that is on the bird reproduction list, the Burrowing owl.

In 1993, the AZA Board of Directors established a Field Conservation Committee (FCC).  One of the primary goals of the committee is to “significantly increase the amount of resources being committed to field conservation”.  Field conservation is considered to be action that helps secure the long-term survival of species in natural ecosystems and habitats. It is the recommendation of the committee that every AZA institution dedicate at least three percent of its operating budget to field conservation within three years.  The results of their findings for the year 2010 have now been compiled and show that of the 225 AZA institutions, 21 have already reached that goal, including the DWA.  The figures are being compiled for 2011 and we feel confident that we will again exceed the recommended contribution.  The Three-wattled bellbird (one of the resident species at the DWA) has been selected as the symbol of the “3% in 3 years” campaign.  It was selected due to its strong voice in the rainforest, reportedly the loudest call of any bird.  This symbolizes the need for a “strong voice for conservation” by participating institutions.

Thanks for your continued support of the DWA.

Daryl Richardson

Director