American Burying Beetle

This past Friday I ventured up to The Wilds in Muskingum County, Ohio, with the wildlife biologist for the Wayne National Forest and another wildlife intern for the National Forest. The Wilds is a fantastic wildlife conservation center that is known for offering open air bus tours through pastures containing rhinos, giraffes, Sichuan Takins, and a whole host of other exotic and endangered species. Our trip wasn't for these large and well-known species, though. Our trip was for a beetle... 

Meet the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). This 1.5 inch long orange and black insect is a very special species. It once ranged all across the eastern United States, from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast. However, over the course of the 20th Century the American Burying Beetle all but disappeared from the world. Population after population began dying out, prompting the government to list this species as Federally Endangered in 1989. The reason for the decline and near-extinction of the American Burying Beetle has been a mystery for decades, as no one has been able to unequivocally pin down the exact cause. Regardless of the reason why, the American Burying Beetle was in dire trouble. Zoos and other conservation centers around the United States began collecting what little natural populations remained in the northern Great Plains and other scattered regions in order to create captive breeding populations.

This brings us to The Wilds, which began captive breeding its own population of American Burying Beetles in 2007. Every year the conservationists at The Wilds take a portion of their captive population and reintroduces those beetles back into the wild at a location on their property. I was able to participate in the 2017 "Planting of the Beetles" and document the process.

The American Burying Beetle has a rather interesting and unusual reproductive method. A pair will search for a fresh animal carcass—typically something between the size of a mouse and a pigeon. Upon finding a suitable carcass, the pair will begin to bury it to a typical depth of 4-10 inches. Once buried, the beetles will alter the shape of the carcass and add chemical secretions to it which will slow down the rate of decomposition. After this, the female will lay eggs in a separate chamber above the carcass. After the eggs hatch, both the male and female will use the carcass to feed the larvae. Once the larvae are ready to pupate, the parents will leave the nest.

The whole point of this reintroduction day is for us humans to do all the hard work for the beetles about to be reintroduced. About two dozen volunteers from various agencies and organizations ventured into the forest and began digging lots of holes—110 to be exact. Once the holes were dug, each was then "seeded" with a dead rat.

Dan Beetem, the Director of Animal Management for The Wilds, examines a pair of American Burying Beetles.

After each hole was dug and seeded with a rat, the fun part began. Two coolers were stocked with dozens and dozens of tiny plastic containers, each containing a male and female beetle, with a few containing some "single" females.

The volunteers would grab a container, pick an available hole, and then carefully add the pair of beetles into the hole. By completing the first half of the beetles' work, the conservationists aim to give this new population a leg up. The hope is that the beetle pair will realize that there is an appropriate food source that's already buried, and will then decide to mate with each other and give rise to the next generation.

I first learned about the American Burying Beetle several years ago, and I've wanted to see one since then. I honestly thought I would never get to see one, but then I found myself getting to hold one. Moments like these—interacting with such a special creature on such a personal level—are what captivate and inspire me. These are the moments I hoped to experience when I chose to venture down the wildlife biology path.

When it comes to Ohio, there are several other organizations that have either previously reintroduced, or are continuing to reintroduce, populations of American Burying Beetles across the state. Whether these efforts have been successful in establishing a self-sustaining population is yet to be seen, however. An American Burying Beetle only lives for a year. For a self-sustaining population to be created, enough of the reintroduced individuals have to mate and lay eggs. Enough of these eggs must hatch and enough of the larvae must be adequately cared for. Enough of these larvae must then successfully pupate and overwinter. Enough of these overwintering individuals must then emerge, find a mate, find a carcass, and successfully reproduce. There are many steps in which something can go wrong, and most times all traces of a given reintroduced population vanish by the next summer. Take for example the efforts by the Cincinnati Zoo. Between 2013 and 2016, the Cincinnati Zoo released a total 748 adults into a park. These 748 adults were estimated to have produced a total of 2349 larvae. Each year, zoo workers would attempt to find any new adults in the area which were from last year's efforts. They only ever found 2 adults. It's possible that many new adults survived and then simply dispersed to other areas and were consequently never captured. It's also possible that most of the reproductive efforts failed at some point.

Dan Beetem, the Director of Animal Management for The Wilds, looks on the American Burying Beetles' new homes with optimism.

You might be thinking that it seems like we're fighting a losing battle when it comes to reestablishing the American Burying Beetle. Maybe that's true; there have been more losses in the world of wildlife conservation than there have been successes. But when it comes down to it, the species is still extant. There is still a chance. Conservationists will continue their struggle to help this species survive. I hope to see a day where self-sustaining populations of the American Burying Beetle dot the landscape they once inhabited. It's too early to say whether this dream is realistic or not, but I will remain hopeful.

The Wilds

Last Sunday I went out with the University Wildlife Club to The Wilds in Muskingum County. Normally I cover native Ohio plants, animals, and the like, but this post is a bit different.

For those of you who don't know, The Wilds is a wildlife center. It houses endangered (and non-endangered) animals in large pastures that used to be exposed strip mines. AEP donated the top 6-8 inches of land (they kept the underground to still be able to get oil and natural gas) so it could be converted back to a more natural environment. Now, The Wilds is a massive expanse of land (over 9,000 acres) that is dedicated to conservation of endangered species and public education.

It is open to the public from May to October and is...well, it's sort of like a zoo. Except instead of people looking at animals in an enclosure, the humans are the ones in the enclosure while the animals are free. You tour the facilities in a bus that drives through the giant pastures, so animals can literally be outside the bus window. You get amazing views of many animals, like the Sichuan Takins above.

The Wilds was not open to the public when we went (they open in May), and as far as I could tell we were the only non-worker people that were on the grounds that day. As a result, we were able to get some "special treatment" and behind the scenes access. One of the activities we were able to experience was the Columbus Zoo's Animal Ambassadors program (The Wilds works alongside the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium). The Animal Ambassadors is a public outreach program where people can get up close with some interesting animals, like the Tamandua above. They also brought out a young American Alligator, hedgehog, cornsnake, and Three-Banded Armadillo and allowed us to pet the alligator, cornsnake, and armadillo.

We were then taken behind the scenes to the rhino house. I had no idea this was going to be part of the trip, but it was definitely the most amazing part. Not only did we get up close with Indian and Southern-White rhinos, but we were allowed to pet the 9 individuals too! Petting a rhino was definitely on my list of "Things I'll probably never get the chance to do," but sometimes life surprises you.

We were also allowed to hand-feed one of the rhinos. Their upper lip is prehensile and was almost like an elephant trunk. It would reach out and grab the grass out of your hand.

They currently had two baby rhinos as well. They sort of acted like dogs; they loved the attention and would run and jump trying to play with you. It wasn't all fun and games though; rhinos have a very poor sense of body-awareness, and as a result you had to be very careful around them. There was a big metal fence between us, but that didn't do much. The mom of this individual sneezed at one point, scaring him. I was petting his horn-stub at the time and the baby jumped from fright and almost smashed my hand against the metal fence. The mom almost hit a few people with her massive horn on accident too. It's not that they're trying to hurt you though; they have poor eyesight, and couple that with huge bodies and unbelievable power and you get an animal that doesn't always realize what it's doing to other things around it.

Fear aside, it was completely exhilarating to be this close to such amazing animals. It honestly felt like the part in Jurassic Park where Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler have their first encounter with a dinosaur (the sick triceratops), and they're overcome with amazement as they pet it.

Of course, The Wilds isn't just for captive animals. The Wilds is also known for its amazing birding, and I (along with two other birders) were birding the entire time. The swan above is a Trumpeter Swan, one of the three species of swans that normally occur in Ohio. Of those three, only two are native (the Trumpeter and Tundra Swan). The other, the Mute Swan, is an invasive species. The Trumpeter Swan almost went extinct decades ago, but has since began rebounding due to conservation programs. The Wilds is part of a Trumpeter Swan conservation program and has raised and released many individuals. This one however is a wild-born one, as can be told by the lack of a green band on its neck. Other species from that day included dozens of Eastern Meadowlarks, Buffleheads, Ring-Necked Ducks, Tree Swallows, Eastern Phoebe, and many more.

And here is the group that went! I am the one on the very left with a gray "Ohio University" shirt on. It was definitely an amazing trip and I hope it will happen again next year. If you're looking for a zoo-like experience, but want something a little bit different from the usual zoo trip, definitely think about going to The Wilds. You won't regret it.