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SWTHUADT’BSOAOK? TAG: Snake
An AZA Regional Studbook is JAMAICAN BOA Wild habitat: Forests,
a registry that documents the plantations, and
pedigree and demographic
history of each animal in a select Andy Snider, CZS’ curator of Herps & wetlands of Jamaica
population in AZA institutions and
participating non-AZA institutions. Aquatics, is the SSP coordinator and Description:
In general, a studbook studbook keeper for two species: the Non-venomous snake,
contains information known about
each animal’s age, sex, hatch/ Jamaican boa and the turquoise dwarf 5 to 6 feet long, arboreal,
birth date and place, current
and past location(s), sire, dam, gecko. Snider is also on the steering can catch bats in midair
and date of death. A studbook
contains records for both committees for the Amphibian Taxon Life expectancy: 20 years
living and deceased animals. Advisory Group (TAG) and the Snake in the wild, can live more
TAG. He documents and manages approximately than 30 years in human care
A studbook keeper is 120 Jamaican boas living in 26 facilities.
usually a curator or another IUCN Red List Status:
member of the animal care staff
who creates and maintains a A studbook is nothing but a registry of animals. Vulnerable
studbook. He or she works with
a population biologist from You make breeding and transfer recommendations
AZA’s Population Management based on information in the studbook. There’s over 500 snakes in the Jamaican boa
Center at Lincoln Park Zoo. studbook—about 120 are living animals. We have two Jamaican boas here. They are an
SSP-recommended pairing, but the female is kind of small yet for breeding.
Chicago Zoological As the studbook keeper, I look at the genetics and demographics of that population
Society staff members and try and keep it as close as possible to the genetics and demographics of the population
maintain 15 studbooks. Zoos in the wild. I publish the studbook and a breeding and transfer recommendation every
and aquariums all over the couple of years. They get distributed to all of the institutions that have the animals and
country rely on us to keep they are published on AZA’s website so anybody can look them up.
and update these records and I make those recommendations with the help of AZA’s Population Management
we rely on studbook keepers Center at Lincoln Park Zoo. I meet with them and go over the various options for
working at other institutions the population—where the population is now and how to improve it genetically
to do the same for us. and demographically.
16 GATEWAYS | TAG TEAMS
