AS/A2 Conservation and the role of the zoo: a Painted Dog studyInformation and guidance for teachers

CURRICULUM LINKS

AQA Environmental Studies3.1.2 Wildlife Conservation

OCR Biology2.3.4 Maintaining Biodiversity

Edexcel Biology2.1.4 Biodiversity and Natural Resources

WJEC Biology 5.8 Effects of human activities and sustainability

Last updated: January 2014

The subject of this session:

One of Chester Zoo’s Painted Dogs

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After attending this workshop all students will be able to:• List the four roles of a modern zoo (recreation,

education, science and conservation)• Explain why Painted Dogs are threatened

Most students will be able to:• Link the work of a modern zoo with conservation• Recognise the connection between the threats faced

by Painted Dogs and the conservation measures being taken

Some students will be able to:• Justify the need for evaluation as part of a

conservation project

Jaguars are great at

exploring their surroundings

LESSON PLAN

The lesson is held in our immersive Painted Dogs exhibit, one of Chester Zoo’s newest exhibits. Students will take part in group activities and utilise the exhibit itself, including unique footage from Chester Zoo supported field projects:

Introduction• Look at the history of zoos, how and why have they

changed in recent years?• Consider the four roles of the modern zoo

Painted Dogs at Chester Zoo• Apply the four roles of modern zoos to Chester Zoo,

with a focus on our Painted Dogs• Investigate collection planning and the roles Painted

Dogs play in Chester Zoo’s collection

Plenary• A summary of the session and an opportunity for

questions

A visitor favourite: ‘Boris’ the

Chimpanzee

IMPORTANT NOTES

Some Discovery Workshops MAY include a selection of bio-artefacts. Please inform us in advance of any

allergies or phobias that may be affected by this. An antibacterial foam hand wash will be offered to all

students at the end of the session. In order for this to be effective, teachers are asked to ensure that all

students have clean hands on arrival at the venue.

Young Orangutan: inquisitive minds at

Chester Zoo

FOR LARGER GROUPS

Elephants of the Asian Forest case study

If you have more students than we can accommodate for a Painted Dog session we can

run the same session in our Elephants of the Asian Forest Exhibit focusing on Asian

Elephants.

If you have any questions about this session please contact the Education Department Learning@chesterzoo.org or 01244650205

PLAN A ROUTE

• The session is based in our Painted Dogs exhibit. This area of the zoo houses a number of savannah species including Black Rhinos.

Chester Zoo has 10 major field programmes around the globe. In the zoo we hold a number of species that are the focus of these programmes. These include:• Red Pandas (China Programme)• Black Rhinos (Black Rhino Programme)• Chimpanzees (Nigeria Programme)• Mountain Chickens, Axolotl, Caecilians (Amphibian

Programme)• Asian Elephants (Asian Elephant Programme)• Orangutans (Bornean Orangutan Programme)• Rodrigues Fruit bats (Mauritius Programme)• Jaguars (Jaguar Programme)• Philippine Spotted Deer, Warty Pigs (Philippines

Programme)• You may also like to visit our Acting Locally hut to find

out about some of our work with native species (UK Programme)

A Meerkat on ‘look out’ duty

DURING YOUR VISIT• We have a range of curriculum-linked, self-led Explorer

Trails available for download at; http://www.chesterzoo.org/education/AS-A2/trails-and-resources

http://www.chesterzoo.org/~/media/Files/Education/workbook-exotic-animal-health-and-husbandry.ashx

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR VISIT

BEFORE YOUR VISIT• Check out our website, you’ll find lots of information

about the work of Chester Zoo; http://www.chesterzoo.org/conservation-and-research

• Also see our our annual report; http://www.chesterzoo.org/global/about-us/annual-reports

• For more case studies (including more in depth information about Painted Dogs) head to; http://www.chesterzoo.org/education/case-studies

One of our tallest

sights

AFTER YOUR VISIT• Find out more about our work with Painted Dogs and

other in-situ and ex-situ conservation programmes around the world; http://www.chesterzoo.org/conservation-and-research , and in our annual report http://www.chesterzoo.org/global/about-us/annual-reports

• Create a collection plan for a zoo• Devise an in-situ and ex-situ conservation plan for a

particular species

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR VISIT

• Encourage your students to visit some of the other large exhibits in the zoo (e.g. Realm of the Red Ape, Spirit of the Jaguar and Elephants of the Asian Forest) to find out about our conservation and research work with these species.

• Ask your students to imagine they are a zoo collection manager. Which five species of animal would they choose to save and why? This echoes the role of our curator who must decide which species we will keep in our collection.

One of Chester Zoo’s

Cheetahs