David Oehler
David Oehler is the Vice-President of the Nashville Zoo, and a biologist focused on wildlife conservation and research. His research and publications focus on protecting habitat and improving the care of animals in zoos and in the wild. Whether studying elusive seabirds in Alaska, monitoring penguins off the coast of Chile, rescuing animals in the Congo, or researching bats in Trinidad, David continues to inspire people to care for the planet and its inhabitants. He and his wife, Donna, have shared many of these adventures over the years, and both share a love for wildlife and wild places. David’s appearances in the Animal Planet series “The Zoo” and “Nova Science Now” have highlighted these efforts and provided a platform to connect people and wildlife in a positive way. David A. Oehler provides leadership with intensified strategic planning, improved wildlife conservation and care, and a drive to develop a positive connection between people and animals.
As the Vice President at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, he oversees the living animal conservation management, as well as facets of the operations of the Zoo, and training and development of the staff involved in these processes. For David, advocating for wildlife and wild places is an advantageous role. When not in his office or monitoring the operations of the Nashville Zoo, David enjoys artwork, science fiction, and, most of all, spending time with his beautiful wife and the love of his life, Donna, and his ever-growing family.
He is a creative and motivated manager who has effectively developed a positive and productive team culture within his staff. His efforts at the Wildlife Conservation Society involved building on the solid commitment to animal care and conservation that has become synonymous with the WCS. While at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, we successfully launched a transformation in the Animal Division, with increased engagement and empowerment of the staff interacting with zoo visitors. This imparted a greater understanding of our living world to the public. It allowed the animal staff to share their passion and knowledge of the animals under their care. He founded Feather Link, Inc., a non-profit organization connecting birds and people through education and conservation.
Address: 1013 Westchester Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 USA
As the Vice President at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, he oversees the living animal conservation management, as well as facets of the operations of the Zoo, and training and development of the staff involved in these processes. For David, advocating for wildlife and wild places is an advantageous role. When not in his office or monitoring the operations of the Nashville Zoo, David enjoys artwork, science fiction, and, most of all, spending time with his beautiful wife and the love of his life, Donna, and his ever-growing family.
He is a creative and motivated manager who has effectively developed a positive and productive team culture within his staff. His efforts at the Wildlife Conservation Society involved building on the solid commitment to animal care and conservation that has become synonymous with the WCS. While at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, we successfully launched a transformation in the Animal Division, with increased engagement and empowerment of the staff interacting with zoo visitors. This imparted a greater understanding of our living world to the public. It allowed the animal staff to share their passion and knowledge of the animals under their care. He founded Feather Link, Inc., a non-profit organization connecting birds and people through education and conservation.
Address: 1013 Westchester Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 USA
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The “pipping muscle” (yellow arrow - right), allows the chick to apply pressure to the interior portion of the shell and diminishes in size after the bird hatches.
The brainstem and cerebellum (red arrow – right) are disproportionately large compared to the rest of the cerebrum. Notice the fine folia or "feather like" structures of the cerebellum while the cerebrum is very smooth. The cerebellum of most birds is well developed for moving in a three-dimensional environment. The optic lobe would also be prominent, while the olfactory bulbs (at least in penguins) would be smaller.
Over the past several months, the Ornithology Department has participated in programs to assess and assist local bird populations, provide support for rehabilitating endangered parrots, utilize our avian conservation management population to analyze GPS tracking units for use in the field and provide medical advances that will increase the success rates in rehabilitation facilities. Graphics, direct communications between the staff and the public and now highlighting these efforts on an ongoing cable network series allows us to showcase our efforts and educate the general public as to the importance of zoos and aquariums. This issue of the Neornithes News highlights just some of these programs and it is with great pride that we present these updates to you.
These long-lived birds are popular as pets due to their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech. Demand for the African Grey Parrots has increased in China and the presence of Chinese development in the Congo (mining, oil, and logging) may adversely influence the illegal exportation of birds. Due to this continued exploitation of the wild populations, the African Grey Parrot joined all other Psittaciformes and was listed as CITES Appendix II in 1981. This taxon was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2016.
The future survival of the wild African Grey Parrot is dependent on increased regulation of trade and monitoring of wild populations to determine ongoing threats and trends. We have identified one of the major conservation concerns for this taxon as the establishment of protocols for the management of wild birds confiscated from the illegal trade activities.
Le perroquet gris africain, Psittacus erithacus, est originaire de l'Afrique équatoriale. Le déclin de la population, au sein du Congo, a été attribué au piégeage de ces populations pour le commerce des oiseaux de compagnie, bien que la perte d'habitat joue également un rôle important dans cette tendance. De 1982 à 2014, plus de 1,3 million de perroquets gris africains sauvages ont été capturés pour le commerce international (ce qui comprend à la fois P. erithacus et P. Timneh, bien que le nombre de timneh soient significativement moindre que l'erithacus). Les taux de mortalité sont en moyenne de 35% pendant le piégeage initial des oiseaux et de 25% durant le transit du site de piégeage vers les points d'exportation, ce qui signifie que plus d’ 1,8 million d'oiseaux ont été capturés et retirés de la population sauvage pendant cette période. Bien que le nombre exact soit difficile à quantifier, il semble qu'environ 21% de la population sauvage soit récoltée annuellement, ce qui entraînerait une diminution de la population de 50 à 79% sur trois générations.
Ces oiseaux, qui vivent longtemps, sont populaires comme animaux de compagnie en raison de leur intelligence et de leur capacité à imiter la voix humaine. La demande pour les perroquets gris africains a augmenté en Chine et la présence de développements chinois au Congo (mines, pétrole et exploitation forestière) pourrait avoir une influence négative sur l'exportation illégale d'oiseaux. En raison de cette exploitation continuelle des populations sauvages, le perroquet gris africain a rejoint tous les autres Psittaciformes et fut répertorié sous l’annexe II de la CITES en 1981, puis fut élevé à l'Annexe I de la CITES en 2016.
La survie future du perroquet gris africain dépend d'une réglementation accrue du commerce et du suivi des populations sauvages pour déterminer les menaces et tendances en cours. Le développement de protocoles pour la gestion des oiseaux confisqués d’activités commerciales illégales a également été identifié comme un élément de conservation important.