Project Updates

Hi everyone, my name is Lisa Rijkers, a Master Animal Science student at Wageningen University & Research with a specialisation in Wildlife Ecology & Conservation. I am currently working on my master’s thesis in collaboration with IBREAM! I have gotten the unique opportunity to be involved with IBREAM’s pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), or pygmy hippo hereafter, project.

Author: Mariska Snelleman Already underway for several months and what a progress we have made! The detection dogs were initially trained with one dung sample … Read more “Update Conservation Dogs project”

A male pack member of the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve pack resting Photo credit: Pia Riddell Earlier this year our valuable collaborators at … Read more “Calming Scents: Validating perception of a novel appeasing pheromone for use in African wild dog management”

Preparation and challenges of this mission The preparation of the field data collection mission started with the purchase of field equipment, the refilling of nitrogen … Read more “Expedition in Tai forest to collect pygmy hippo pooh samples for gender analyis by conservation detection dogs: will the smell give us the answers?”

The last year has not been what we all expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and much of our original plan for the AWD project … Read more “African Wild Dog Research Update – Lab work in Australia at James Cook University”

Hello readers of the IBREAM website, I like to introduce myself. I am Estefania Erazo-Mera, another fan of Pygmy hippos in the IBREAM family. I … Read more “Meet Estefania, IBREAM’s newest Pygmy Hippo PhD student: Estefania plans to unravel several secrets of the pygmy hippopotamus”

As the year of 2020 draws to a close I have moved away from the very important research design component of my PhD project and have … Read more “African Wild Dog Research Update – Lab work in Australia at James Cook University”

African wild dogs live in highly social and hierarchical groups. However, intra-pack aggression, injuries and even mortalities may occur during temporary separation of individuals from … Read more “Can the use of appeasing pheromones from African wild dogs improve pack bonding and survival?”

On Tuesday, May 29th, 2018, the 2018 edition of the Hippo day was organized in the village of Ponan, located at 4 km south of … Read more “Pygmy Hippo Awareness Activities (2018) “

IBREAM team members (including researchers from JCU’s state-of-the-art Gamete and Embryology (GAME) Laboratory) have a plan to help low-ranked African wild dogs become part of … Read more “Being top dog doesn’t guarantee better sperm in African wild dogs”

Since I started to study for my first degree in biology, I heard a lot about Taï National Park (TNP) in Ivory Coast. Indeed, this … Read more “Pygmy Hippos in Taï Forest 2017/2018: update and first impressions”

African wild dogs have a complex hierarchical social structure that can lead to aggression, injuries and even mortality after temporary separation of individuals from the … Read more “The Use of Dog Appeasing Pheromone to Aid Pack Reintroduction”

The development of sperm freezing can significantly help conservation and management of the endangered African wild dog. With the development of a good freezing protocol, … Read more “Improved Sperm Freezing in the African Wild Dog”

Every project needs to end, including Annemieke’s involvement in our IBREAM rhino project, but the submission and subsequent acceptance of Annemieke’s Ph.D. thesis by the … Read more “The End: An Exciting Beginning!”

The pygmy hippopotamus is endangered in the wild and has been exhibited in zoological collections since the early 1900s; however, it remains one of the … Read more “Pygmy Hippo PhD 2017 Summary”

James Cook University researchers have helped develop a new way to save endangered African wild dogs. IBREAM team members have successfully developed a sperm freezing … Read more “Freezing breakthrough offers hope for African wild dogs”

The Ethiopian Wolf is one of the most endangered animals in the world and found only in Ethiopia. Because of different endangering factors prevailing in … Read more “Ethiopian Wolf Semen Banking Expedition 2014-2017”

Back in April of 2014, I travelled to 12 zoos around the USA to meet their pygmy hippos and initiate sample collection for a year-long … Read more “Pygmy Hippopotamus Labwork in Florida at SEZARC”

PhD student Dr Gabriella Flacke was interviewed by Techly Australia to explain her project with the pigmy hippos. Read the article The Aussie vet doing … Read more “Pygmy Hippo project interview”

My 6 month long USA fieldwork ended in September 2014 and I must say, it was quite an adventure! My plane landed in the cold … Read more “African wild dog research update USA: May – September 2014”

 In the last six weeks, I have driven over 4500 miles (7000km) through 14 of the 50 states in the USA, all in the … Read more “Pygmy Hippo USA Fieldwork Update May & June 2014”

One of the rhinos that IBREAM monitored intensively in South Africa, Mohlaki (meaning “explorer, discoverer”) died unexpectedly. We are all very sad about this news, … Read more “Very sad news… One of our beloved Rhinos is no longer with us now”

I left Perth on March 21st, the spring/fall equinox (depending on your hemisphere of choice) to start my second season of “fieldwork” for my PhD … Read more “Pygmy Hippo The First Month of “Fieldwork” in the USA”

Well, 2013 was certainly an eventful year in the world of pygmy hippo PhD research! During the first three months preparations were continually underway for … Read more “Pygmy Hippo Research Update – 2013 in Review”

Rhino poaching in South Africa is increasing dramatically. The newly emerged belief amongst the people in several Asian countries that rhino horn can cure cancer … Read more “White Rhino Research Update – Dec 2013”

IBREAM Rhino project in UWA news

In 2013, funding was secured to move on with additional aspects of The Taï Hippo Project, which is a collaborative endeavor between IBREAM and the … Read more “Pygmy Hippo Fieldwork begins”

In August 2011, a first expedition to Ethiopia was carried out by IBREAM members to make a start with capacity building with a training workshop … Read more “A Local Team of Ethiopian Vets Ready to Establish the Ethiopian Wolf Semen Bank”

During her fieldwork, Freya van Kersteren was followed by a film crew who has managed to capture some unique footage of her activities in Bale … Read more “Join Freya on a day in the field with the Ethiopian wolves: Wonderful Video Footage”

One step closer to solving a rhino reproductive mystery: Zoo diets for southern white rhinos may activate their estrogen receptors, so Dr. Christopher Tubbs at … Read more “Conservation update San Diego Zoo – Spring 2012”

The first six months of collecting rhino data in the field are behind me and it has been a period full of challenges, adventures and … Read more “White Rhino Research Update – March 2012”

So far, various tools have been developed for raising awareness with the aim to impact the maximum number of target groups: school children, peasants, women, … Read more “Pygmy hippo awareness activities in Tai Forest: the awareness campaign and local support programme”

The fieldwork for the rhino project has begun. I am collecting samples from various females that range freely in a nature reserve in South Africa. … Read more “White Rhino Research Update – Nov 2011”

Ethiopian wolves are medium-sized, territorial canids, endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. They live in family packs of up to 20 individuals, and within a pack … Read more “Reproductive Knowledge of Ethiopian Wolf Will Pave Way to Reproductive Conservation: Freya’s Conclusions”

High up in the Bale Mountains at the altitude of 4300m a small population of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) seek out their existence alongside an … Read more “Helping the world’s most endangered wolf species: Ethiopian Wolf”

Well the last of the field work ended earlier this month, coinciding with the last of the females giving birth a few weeks earlier. Breeding … Read more “African Wild Dog Project Update – August 2011”

In late January 2011, a second field season of monitoring free-ranging populations of wild dogs commenced. The field work is taking place in the same … Read more “African Wild Dog Project Update – May 2011”

The project based at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa, wrapped up the field work at the end of July for the year. The past couple … Read more “African Wild Dog Project Update – September 2010”

The African wild dog project has continued steadily on over the past few weeks as the breeding season continues here in South Africa. Some clear … Read more “African Wild Dog Project Update – May 2010”

As part of our efforts to gain the knowledge needed to help save the Pygmy hippo, we are studying their behavior in our field project … Read more “Pygmy Hippos Photographed in the Wild”

This excellent video shows how ear notching, a procedure that helps identify individuals, is performed on Rhinos. This video and more can be found on … Read more “Rhino Ear Notching Video”

We have been analysing the reproductive biology of the Southern White Rhino in the wild at a nature reserve in South Africa to obtain vital … Read more “White Rhino Research Update – March 2011”

Not all scientific research takes place in hi-tech laboratories. In the Bale mountains in Ethiopia, our researcher, Freya van Kesteren is living in a home-made … Read more “Home Sweet Home”

In European Zoos, African Wild Dogs are group-housed and are fed with carcasses to mimic the natural situation as closely as possible. This is great … Read more “Who’s Poo is Who’s?”

The following is a field report from our African Wild Dog researcher, Leeane van der Weyde at Hluhluwe-imfolozi Park Well the first 6 weeks of … Read more “African Wild Dog Field Report”

One of the main problems seen in captive held African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) is inter-pack aggression. Methods that have been applied to prevent or … Read more “Dog Appeasement Hormone Research Update”

One of our primary project goals on our Pygmy Hippo project is to gain an understanding of their reproductive biology to enable us to optimize … Read more “No More Poo? A New Way to Get Hormone Samples from Pygmy Hippos”

Since they are solitary, nocturnal and live in dense forest, Pygmy Hippos notoriously difficult to find in the wild so this video footage of a … Read more “Video Footage: Pygmy Hippos in the Wild!”

One thing’s for sure about Pygmy Hippos; they are definitely photogenic! Below are some of our favourite Pygmy Hippo photos taken in our partner zoos. … Read more “Pygmy Hippo Photo Montage”

Studying the reproductive hormones in Pygmy Hippos is a dirty job, because the easiest way for us to do it us by analysing their faeces.  … Read more “It’s Dirty Work! How We Study Reproductive Hormones in Pygmy Hippos”

Our field researcher in the Bale Mountains, Freya van Kesteren, has alerted the Ethiopian authorities to a fresh outbreak of Rabies, which has resulted in … Read more “Rabies Outbreak in the Ethiopian Highlands”

Aggression between African Wild Dogs is a major problem in zoos and can often have fatal consequences. This problem is a major hurdle that must … Read more “Breakthrough in African Wild Dog Project”