"This prestigious award internationally recognises the Montecasino Bird Gardens as being effective and trusted in animal welfare, conservation, education, research and service in line with PAAZAB's Vision and officially commits the Gardens to uphold PAAZAB's mission of 'Conservation through Cooperation'," says Deidre Jameson, property manager at Montecasino.
In line with the association's overall long-term goal of ensuring that the huge potential of zoos and aquariums throughout the world to contribute to species and habitat conservation and sustainability is fully realized, Montecasino aspires to world best practice of conservation and prides itself on being a safe haven for over 255 bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian and arachnid species, while actively participating in a number of animal conservation projects - most notably the Mabula Ground-Hornbill Project.
Montecasino has joined the Mabula Ground-Hornbill Project as one of the valuable conservation-corporate partnerships, in addition to being one of only six major sponsors. The Montecasino Bird Gardens currently holds half of the captive Southern Ground-Hornbill breeding population in South Africa and to date have hatched and hand-raised eight chicks successfully - seven from eggs and another baby adopted from the Kruger National Park.
A new and exciting addition to Montecasino Bird Gardens' conservation initiatives involves Houdini, the Nile Crocodile. "Houdini is on loan from Lory Park Zoo in Midrand and she will be with us until the end of this winter," Chris Cooke, reptile and mammal curator at the Montecasino Bird Gardens, says.
"She originally came to us under the assumption that her growth was stunted and that she would not exceed her current length. However, we have subsequently discovered that her growth is not stunted. We like to think her unexpected growth could be attributed to her happy and healthy environment. At around one metre long, she is growing well and will soon outgrow her current enclosure."
"One of the biggest reasons we joined PAAZAB is to be an integral part of African Preservation Programmes and we believe we are making a difference", continues Jameson. "It is the sad state of affairs that going forward, zoos and aquariums will be possibly the only centres for preservation of endangered wild life species around the globe. We take this responsibility very seriously and hope to be able to continue to do our part by inspiring a new generation of conservationists, while encouraging other corporates to do their part in implementing their own conservation initiatives so as to contribute to a more sustainable future for our county, continent and indeed the world."
