Ardastra is celebrating the births of two hutias, the first babies of their kind to be born at the Zoo and Conservation Centre.

A critically endangered species, these rabbit-sized rodents are the only land mammal native to The Bahamas.

“We haven’t been hands on with the babies yet so we’re not sure of their sex,” said the facility’s animal curator, Bonnie Young.

The mothers, Coral and Sunny, were brought to New Providence last November, along with three male hutias – Junkanoo, Warderick “Ricky” and Raphael.

Originally from Warderick Wells Cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the animals were introduced to their new habitat in February of this year after a brief quarantine period.

“Most animals, when they make a move to a new area or are adjusting to a new habitat, it places stress on them. We really didn’t expect to start our breeding program until next year. We thought it was going to take them about a year to settle in and get used to life in the zoo, but they had other plans,” said Ms Young. “They apparently like the zoo, the cleaning service and the company that they are keeping.”

Although most people associate rodents with multiple births, the Bahama hutia bears one live young at a time after a gestation period lasting 85-120 days.

The first baby hutia was born in July, followed by the second in late August. The pair added to the community of five adults.

Considered an endangered species, the Bahama hutia is protected under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it as “vulnerable”. It is illegal to harm, capture or export this animal.

Once an important food source for the earliest inhabitants of The Bahamas, the Lucayan Indians, the hutia population dwindled over the centuries. They were thought to be extinct for most of the twentieth century until being re-discovered in 1966 on East Plana Cay – a small, uninhabited island in the southern Bahamas located east of Acklins and west of Mayaguana.

According to the Bahamas National Trust, in order to protect the species a small hutia population was transplanted from East Plana to two other cays, Warderick Wells and Little Wax. The latter is adjacent to the Exuma Land and Sea Park.

Up to the 1980s, the hutias on the three islands were thriving. Then, one of the communities disappeared. Based on the population of rats on Little Wax Cay, researchers believe they introduced a disease into the environment which wiped out the hutias there.

“The Bahama hutias are now only found in the wild on two islands,” said Ms Young. “If one of those islands had been hit by Hurricane Dorian, they might have been wiped out completely.”

The hutia babies are scheduled to have their first real human interaction, a doctor’s appointment, sometime this month. The vet check will reveal their sex.

“Whenever we have animals born in the zoo, we try to intervene as little as possible. Their best chance at survival is always going to be with their parents. As a prey animal, any type of handling could be very stressful for the animals and very risky for them, particularly with young babies,” explained Ms Young.

“We want to make sure they have a very good start to their life and intervene as little as possible until later in their development when they are sturdier.”

The five adult hutias in their exhibit shortly after their arrival to the zoo. Photos courtesy of Ardastra Gardens.

Considered an endangered species, the Bahama hutia is protected under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it as “vulnerable”.

More relief will soon be on the way to Abaco and Grand Bahama as the Bahamas Red Cross works to unload a 20-foot container full of supplies from Consolidated Water (Bahamas) Ltd. (CWCO). The reverse osmosis water supply company shipped the goods from Florida to New Providence to contribute to the Bahamas Red Cross’ ongoing Dorian relief efforts. Cleaning supplies, air mattresses, tarps, batteries, propane fuel, toiletries, emergency food supply kits, first aid kits and more were included in the shipment.

Bahamas Red Cross representative Ms. Mackey said the shipment will help meet ongoing needs for people on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. “Of course in the initial aftermath of any major storm you expect an influx of donations, but the effort to rebuild is an ongoing process. One month later people still need food and necessities, so please, don’t stop the donations. Keep them rolling in.”

CWCO General Manager Bryan Russell said the company wants to do what it can to help those affected by the storm. “It’s just what we as Bahamians do – we come together and support each other. Corporate citizens have a responsibility to the communities they serve, and at no other time is that more true and more essential than in a time of national crisis like this. “I’m glad to say our Cayman Water operations also donated $3,500 to relief efforts here in The Bahamas through a campaign hosted by the Caribbean Desalination Association (CaribDA), which has encouraged all of its members to contribute to this cause.”

Cayman Water General Manager Manuel Thomaz said, “Cayman Water knows very well what it is like being hit by a major storm. Fortunately, the Cayman Islands has been lucky enough to be out of the hurricane paths for more than 10 years now. However, we do suffer the pain anytime a Caribbean island is not that fortunate and we feel we need to help them with the recovery efforts that take place in the aftermath of a hurricane strike.”

The Bahamas Red Cross’ Ms. Mackey said donations from corporate Bahamas will go a long way in Dorian relief efforts. “We cannot say how overwhelmed we’ve been with the support we’ve received to date and we trust that it continues, because we’re in this for the long haul. Like I said, the period to bring relief and rebuild is an ongoing process, and we expect it to last at least 18 months to two years.”

According to Ms. Mackey, the shipment of relief supplies from CWCO should go out within the next week. “Everything that was put into that shipment is well-received. We can use all of those items. There’s nothing I can think of that the people on the affected islands need that would have been left out, so we’re very appreciative of CWCO.”

Consolidated Water (Bahamas) Ltd. (CWCO) donated a 20-ft container full of supplies to the Bahamas Red Cross for Hurricane Dorian relief. The shipment contained cleaning supplies, air mattresses, tarps, batteries, propane fuel, toiletries, emergency food supply kits, first aid kits and more. L to R: CWCO Stores Manager Deno Campbell; Bahamas Red Cross Representative Chris; and CWCO Accounts Manager Welliya Cargill.

Hi Everyone, we have started a list of organizations people can donate towards the animal relief efforts for Hurricane Dorian where we know people will be involved in assisting. You can donate to Animal Relief Efforts at the following organizations:

Grand Bahama Humane Society https://thekohnfoundation.org/donate.php…

The Abaco Shelter - abacoshelter.org

North Abaco Potcake Rescue - https://www.gofundme.com/f/north-abaco-potcake-rescue-and-f… Baark - https://www.globalgiving.org/…/help-animals-affected-by-hu…/ or http://www.baarkbahamas.com/donate-2/

The Bahamas Humane Society - http://www.bahamashumanesociety.com/donate/

Veterinarian Medical Association of the Bahamas - https://www.vmabahamas.com/ - Bank account info is First Caribbean CIBC Palmdale Branch ac # 201705185

Caribbean Animal Rescue Effort (CARE) - https://caribbeananimalrescueeffort.org/

Eleuthera Animal Rescue Society (EARS) - https://www.earseleuthera.org/

Briland Animal Rescue - https://www.facebook.com/BrilandAnimalRescue/

Cat Island Humane Society - http://www.catislandhumanesociety.org/

It was an unlikely classroom for middle and high school students from the US, but within the lush, tropical gardens of Ardastra – The Bahamas’ only zoo and conservation centre – American teens discovered whether their true life’s calling is to provide care for animals.

In Ardastra’s second year of collaboration with Broadreach, a unique program which combines global exploration with experiential learning opportunities, students gained exposure to the many sides of animal medicine and the different opportunities available to pursue their passion for birds, mammals, reptiles or marine mammals.

“When Broadreach first approached Ardastra in 2015 to discuss participating in an Introduction to Veterinary Medicine Program here in Nassau we knew this was a great opportunity to showcase some of the incredible veterinary and animal science talent here in The Bahamas and hopefully impact the career paths of students from around the globe,” said Ardastra’s animal curator, Bonnie Young.

“As the host facility, the majority of the lessons take place at Ardastra Gardens, but we have been able to add so much more depth to the program by including lessons with the Bahamas Department of Agriculture Veterinarians and staff at the Bahamas Humane Society, Dolphin Encounters and Baha Mar Beach Sanctuary. While most of the students come from the United States, it was important to us that all of the Broadreach programs are open to students from all over the world, so we hope to see Bahamian and more international students in future programs.”

From July 5–16, chaperoned middle school students aged 12 to 14 participated in the 12-day program. When they left, a group of high school students, aged 14 to 17, came for the start of their adventure which ran July 19–30.

“Most of them know that they really like animals. They are on this program to gain exposure to different exotic species here at the zoo. They are using this experience to guide them as they figure out how to get to their ultimate career goal,” said chaperone Jessica Smith, a veterinarian from Raleigh, North Carolina. This is her third summer leading a vet med program for Broadreach.

“Broadreach uses locations outside of the United States to broaden students’ exposure to different cultures and different ways of doing things. The Bahamas is the perfect location. The weather is good. It’s fairly easy to get to and there are lots of different species here.”

Students from across the United States learnt about animal care, nutrition, husbandry, wildlife  and conservation. They collected data on Ardastra’s world-famous flamingo colony, in addition to observing surgeries and lending a helping hand at the Bahamas Humane Society and demonstrating the skills they learned by catching goats for physical exams at the Maillis family farm.

A packed schedule featured hands-on lessons in anatomy, physiology, suturing and capture and restraint. Still, it wasn’t all work and no play. Memorable experiences included getting up close and personal with dolphins and stingrays at Dolphin Encounters, a kayaking excursion and a snorkeling adventure, among other fun-filled events.

“Twelve days can go by pretty quick and if you’re not challenging yourself you’re not going to get the most out of the program,” said chaperone Brooke Fox, a California-based marine biology instructor who made her first trip to The Bahamas last summer, accompanying the inaugural Broadreach contingent.

Given unprecedented access to an exotic array of animal species including iguanas, monkeys, snakes and more at Ardastra, students learnt not only how to interpret animal behavior but also how to properly handle a variety of different creatures.

“It has been, actually, one of the best times of my life. I can’t do any of this stuff where I live,” said

Molly Louvau, a 17-year-old rising twelfth grader from California.

“Here there are so many different animals, so many learning opportunities, but Broadreach makes it fun. It's not dry, sitting in classrooms. It’s totally hands on. I'm learning stuff that I never would have been able to learn in a classroom setting about the animals, veterinary medicine and marine biology.”

For Harper Carroll, a 16-year-old rising tenth grader from Maryland, the trip affirmed his career choice.

“I want to become an army vet and this experience confirmed this is the right thing for me to do,” he said.

Like Carroll, 15-year-old Ashleigh Provoost from New Jersey embarked on the veterinary medicine adventure to discover whether she was truly interested in the field as a career.   “Before going into this program, I was uncertain about whether I wanted to do anything with animal science in the future, but taking this program reaffirmed me wanting to do veterinary studies in the future,” she said.

“I think it’s really great to have a program like this to expose you to what’s out there. It’s been really eye opening to see all these different branches of veterinary science, really just scratching the surface but still exposing me to different types of animals and jobs that I could have.”

Meantime, Grace Beck, 15 of New York knew she wanted to work with animals, what stymied her was the setting.

“I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to work in a zoo or an aquarium environment. That’s what I really wanted help with, the final factors of what I want to do and how to go about it,” she explained.

“This entire experience pushed us out of our boundaries and brought us out of our comfort zone. We received a hands-on zookeeper experience and not just with land animals. We were exposed to aquatic animals as well. I feel like the marine aspect is what I’m most passionate about.”

Although it was an extraordinary educational journey for 14-year-old Kate Emerick from Connecticut, the one-of-a-kind Bahamas experience was also fun.

“I made a lot of new friends and made memories that I will never forget,” she said.

Middle and high school students from the United States were in town during the month of July, to participate in Broadreach Veterinary Medicate 12-day adventure in The Bahamas, a unique program which combines global exploration with experiential learning opportunities. At Ardastra Gardens Zoo and Conservation Centre many confirmed for themselves that they were on the right path, choosing a career providing care to animals.