A second life for Dana
Science, nature and education are the three major pillars our founders envisioned. In light of that, the skeleton of a deceased giraffe is being reassembled at the University of Antwerp, so that students can use it.
Stories
- All stories
- Short stories
- Primatology
- Animal welfare and behaviour
- Animal health and disease
- Conservation genetics
- Nature conservation
- Tropical ecology
- Social sciences
- Population management
- Animal Nutrition
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The Sting Is in the Tail
The trade, among other things, in the tail of the Kordofan giraffe has resulted in this subspecies being included in the IUCN’s red list of critically threatened animals. In other words this subspecies faces an extremely high threat of extinction. At present only about 1,900 Kordofan giraffe still survive.
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Jacques Kets Award
Every year we honour an innovative master’s dissertation in zoology. Even so taking part in the Jacques Kets Award is not just about winning a prize. Finalists also learn how to explain their scientific work in just a minute’s time.
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Sleeping apes
Chimpanzees adapt their sleeping habits to changes in their surroundings. That is one of the conclusions of our large-scale study in Africa. Knowing about sleep helps us protect apes and gives us better insight into our own sleeping habits and evolution.
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Wild ape on the menu
Hunting bushmeat in Africa is a major problem. With our Grands Singes project in Cameroon we are combining scientific research with raising awareness among the local population. We offer them alternatives to hunting endangered forest animals.
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May I have a piece of your fur?
In Brazil, we collect fur from golden-headed lion tamarins to find out how they are changing, genetically. Deforestation leaves them isolated, and they don’t swap some genes. In order to avoid having to catch the tamarins, we are testing a system with an adhesive roller here.
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Vultures… Making a comeback
In the summer of 2018, we released black vultures in Bulgaria. It’s the first step in setting up new breeding colonies in a country where the last breeding bird was seen fifty years ago . Is this the beginning of a new Bulgarian population?
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Hooking up stripes
As pedigree record-keeper and leader of the European breeding program, we are okapi experts, as well as matchmakers. Who breeds with whom to maintain genetic diversity and help the species survive? Because in their homeland, the Congo, there are only 15,000 okapis left.
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Gardener of the rain forest
In Cameroon we are investigating how large-scale logging is threatening the survival of gorillas. As fruit eaters they are crucial for the distribution of seeds and renewal of the forest. The purpose: to have logging companies change the way they operate.
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When it’s too late…
Our veterinary surgeon regularly supplies samples to researchers worldwide such as from our elephant calf Qiyo (2) who succumbed to elephant herpes. Attempts are ongoing globally to develop a vaccine to inoculate young elephants in the future.