An American Avicultural Legend: Kenton C. Lint (March 19, 1912 - December 3, 1992) Part II

Abstract

For the greater part of K.C.'s professional career, his efforts at establishing self-sustaining populations of captive birds were hindered by a lack of similar commitment on the part of other zoos. A particularly painful case is that of the Guam Rail (Gal/ira/Ius owstoni). In 1968, when this species' population was estimated at a probable all time high of 80,000, ten were sent to San Diego (Lint, 1968b). (From 1939 through 1967, 12 other species of rails bred there, according to K.C.'s private list.) From 1968 through 1975, Guam Rails bred prolifically at San Diego, and K.C., quite typically, sent them to several other U.S. zoos. But when, in the early 1980s, it had become suddenly apparent this bird would shortly be extinct due to the population explosion of the introduced Brown Tree Snake, none then existed in captivity. The successful species survival program that has since been implemented from a handful of survivors had to be started entirely from scratch. Why had the San Diego line of Guam Rails, so generously spread across the continent by K.C. in the late '60s and early '70s, been allowed to die out? The answers reflect an avicultural world very different from the one that now exists. One need only look at the December 31, 1970 bird taxa inventories I have compiled in Table II. By comparison, here are some January 1, 1992 species and subspecies totals (American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, 1992); San Diego Zoo: 440, San Antonio: 237, New York Zoological Park: 327, Los Angeles: 253, St. Louis: 213, National Zoological Park: 155, Lincoln Park: 97, Milwaukee: 103, Cleveland: 171, Philadelphia: 190, Dallas: 134, and Brookfield: 129. (The collections in Table II not included in the above list are eitehr larger or not all that different from the earlier figures.) Comparing statistics across 21 years
makes it obvious that different philosophies from today's were in practice. 

Of course, it was ever so much easier to acquire birds then. Into the early 1970s, there were few tropical countries prohibiting (or seriously regulating) bird exports. CITES did not exist. The major factor, however, was the absence of quarantine requirements for all but a few species of birds entering the U.S. There can be little argument that the imposition of Exotic Newcastle's Disease quarantine in 1972 was, perhaps, the single pivotal event influencing American aviculture, which, of course, led to the formation of the American Federation of Aviculture. I cannot help but believe that the Newcastle's restrictions have ultimately had a wonderfully positive effect on aviculture in this country. If, at times, I might look back wistfully to 1972, when I bought waxbills for $3.98 a pair at Woolworth's, I cannot ignore the fact that, under such circumstances, it would have been thought unconscionable for a public zoo to pay someone to work at propagating African finches to the extent of the program with which I am now involved at Fort Worth. The 1970 statistics for Table II result from a simple fact. For most species, it was uneconomical to establish in captivity that which could be procured from the
wild for less than it cost to employ someone to breed it. Not only was the emphasis of the American zoo in 1970 on exhibiting as many taxa as space and finances allowed, but as many unique or rarely exhibited ones as possible. Today, no matter what zoo one visits, if their bird collection is of any size, there are certain species, now almost entirely captive- bred, that one can expect to see almost everywhere -"American zoo standards" so to speak; Sacred Ibis, Ringed Teal, African Spur-winged Plover, Pink-crested Touraco, Lilacbreasted Roller, Red-billed Hornbill, Superb Starling, Rothschild's Mynah, etc. Many others will soon join the ranks; The Jambu Pigeon and the Azure-winged Magpie come to mind. 

In the days when large collections distinguished by rarely-seen "esoterica" were the norm, it was easy for brown ground birds to be lost in the cracks. (The fact that Guam Rails are notoriously aggressive to other species, each other, and humans, did not encourage their propagation at other zoos when they appeared more
secure in the wild. A keeper once told me he was unaware of any other bird that could appear so totally determined to hurt people.) Of course, K.C. was not alone in his efforts to establish the results of his breeding sucesses at other zoos. The Bronx Zoo's Panamanian Boatbills, and Los Angeles' Crimson-rumped Toucanets...