Robert McNeill Alexander. 7 July 1934—21 March 2016

Neill Alexander graduated in natural sciences at the University of Cambridge in 1955. After a PhD at Cambridge and a lecturership at the University College of North Wales in Bangor, he was appointed to the chair of the Department of Pure and Applied Zoology at the University of Leeds in 1969. At that stage, he switched his research interests abruptly from fishes to the mechanics of legged locomotion. He conducted experiments with a variety of mammals, calculating forces, stresses and strains in muscle fibres, bones and tendons. His speciality became the application of mathematical models to animal locomotion, including repurposing the Froude number, devised by the Victorian engineer William Froude (FRS 1870) for use with ships, to estimate the speed of dinosaurs based on the spacing of their fossil footprints. Subsequent work included modelling the optimization of mammal performance and the minimization of energy costs. In 1992, following an announcement that London Zoo would have to close as a result of shortage of funds, Neill was appointed secretary of the Zoological Society of London. During the period of his secretaryship, the Society's finances recovered, with both its zoos (London and Whipsnade) breaking even in 1993 and the Society returning a surplus in each subsequent year. Neill was awarded the CBE in 2000. The National Portrait Gallery holds his portrait by John Arnison.

A Case Study Exploring the Use of Virtual Reality in the Zoo Context

Virtual Reality (VR) is now a popular tool in education and for engagement with the natural world, but to date little research has investigated its potential in a zoo setting. We aimed to gauge the interest of the visiting public in using VR technology at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo. A VR (n = 12) and a video condition (n = 12), both introducing the lives and conservation concerns of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), were used to gain greater insight of the thoughts and perceptions of how individuals evaluated a purpose-built VR experience and to enable comparisons of learning outcomes for both technologies. We used semi-structured interviews; responses were evaluated through thematic analysis and descriptive analysis. Younger participants (aged 13-18 years) emphasized that VR allowed them close and personal access to the animals. Adult participants (aged 19 and above) pointed out the entertainment value of the VR experience while highlighting the potential of its educational aspect; that of enabling visitors to see animals in their natural habitat. While our results require further confirmation due to the limited sample size and restricted circumstances of data collection, we suggest that VR could be usefully introduced as a public education and visitor engagement tool that would benefit the visitors’ learning and overall experience at the zoo.

Looking to the future: what next for the dingo?

Few animals in Australia evoke as much controversy as the dingo. There are debates about its cultural significance, what to call it, and its ecological and economic impacts. Resolving these debates requires consensus and agreement among researchers, land managers and other stakeholders. To aid this, I briefly summarise how far we have come in terms of increasing our knowledge of the ecology and behaviour of dingoes since the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales held its first symposium on the dingo in 1999. I summarise the key debates that have arisen during this period, and then summarise some of the key recommendations made in papers that were written following the 2019 symposium. I finish with some suggestions for future dingo research, focusing on (1) how we can better understand and appropriately acknowledge the cultural significance of the dingo through research, broader consultations and appropriate representations on national, state and local pest planning committees, (2) produce taxonomic consensus through the appointment of an independent panel and future research using genome-wide DNA technology, and (3) resolving ecological and economic debates via reintroduction experiments in both conservation and managed agricultural landscapes. Without such efforts, I see a future for the dingo that continues to be steeped in controversy and debate.

Leonard George Goodwin. 11 July 1915—25 November 2008

For 24 years Leonard George Goodwin was responsible for developing chemotherapeutic agents against parasites at what became the Wellcome Laboratories of Tropical Medicine. Having degrees in pharmacy, physiology and, eventually, clinical medicine, he was active from the start of World War II in the drive to protect Allied forces in the field from tropical diseases. It was in the 1940s, 1950s and into the 1960s that Goodwin had most immediate and lasting impact, through the establishment of five major drugs: sodium stibogluconate, for treatment of leishmaniasis; pyrimethamine, for malaria; piperazine, to combat ascariasis; bephenium, for ankylostomiasis; and phenanthridine derivates, to treat trypanosomiasis. Such agents also became important in veterinary medicine. In 1963 he became director of the new Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine and then director of science at the Zoological Society of London. Although Goodwin never worked in higher education, he nonetheless influenced many careers through his involvement with scientific societies.

“On Deposit”: animal acquisition at the Zoological Society of London, 1870–1910 (Patron's review)

When the zoological gardens in Regent's Park opened to the public in 1847, they immediately became very popular, providing a source of both entertainment and instruction for visitors and a vital stream of revenue for the Zoological Society of London. However, the ongoing popularity of the gardens was endangered by the consistently high mortality rates which afflicted the Society's animals throughout the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This paper examines how the Society's efforts to combat this challenge led them to foster and sustain relationships which centred on the act of animal “deposit”. Often a temporary arrangement, somewhat like a loan, depositing involved a range of individuals involved in the animal trade, including commercial animal dealers and the naturalist Lionel Walter Rothschild. Through the system of depositing, the Zoological Society became the custodians of a wide range of animals which they could exhibit. However, their lack of ownership of these animals, combined with a lack of knowledge about how to care for them, ultimately constrained the Society's management of them and impeded its longer-term goals of reducing both animal mortality and the impact of high mortality rates on the menagerie's ability to attract visitors and sustain its economy.

A Model for Dental Age Verification Using Ultrastructural Imaging for Modern and Fossil Representatives of the Rhinocerotidae Family

The analyses were performed on a right third premolar (P3) of a white rhinoceros female (Ceratotherium simum, Burchell 1817). The specimen was born in captivity at London Zoo (Zoological Society of London), then in the 1970s transferred to Kiev Zoo (Peremohy Avenue), Ukraine, and was kept there until it died at a documented chronological age of 48 years. The female died because of its age, which indicates it was kept in good conditions adequate to the requirements of this species. Photographs and micrographs with radiological documentation were taken on the said tooth. Its structural characteristics were determined, and on the occlusal surface areas and points of anatomical constitution of its crown were identified. The tooth was also histologically evaluated via sections taken horizontally in a mesial-distal plane through the crown, horizontally in a mesial-distal plane through the coronal portion of the root, and longitudinally in a lingual-buccal plane through the crown and the root. Preparations with ground sections were made and observed in white, polarized, and reflected light. In the subsequent stage X-ray and SEM imaging has also been used, for analysis of the distribution of annual growth layers of mineralized dental tissues of cement and dentine, counted from the root canal center to the buccal surface. An attempt was also made to confirm the annual season in which the animal died, based on cement growth lines. It was observed that the growth lines were visible in all the analyzed sections, in dentine and cement. In the cement, the lines were relatively few and did not represent the attested age of the animal. The analysis of the coloration of the cement lines indicated that the animal was regularly fed a diet that was not seasonally differentiated. From the X-ray examination comes a conclusion that the animal did not suffer from periodontal diseases. Visible growth lines were observed on the dentine. On the horizontal section through the crown growth lines in the dentine were few and unclear. On the longitudinal section, both on the caudal and rostral roots, these lines were clearly visible and much more numerous than expected considering the known age of the animal, as more than 50 were counted. On horizontal sections through the upper part of both roots, distinct growth lines were observed in the dentine, and their number—48 for both roots—corresponded precisely to the age of the animal. The results of our study indicate that this method has significant potential for application to verify the age at death for modern and fossil representatives of rhinoceros.

Charles Porter Ellington. 31 December 1952—30 July 2019

Charles Ellington graduated at Duke University, North Carolina, and came to Cambridge in 1973 to work for a PhD on insect flight dynamics. He developed novel methodology and software for the kinematic analysis of freely hovering insects and applied them to his own high-speed films of a range of species. He identified five new non-steady-state mechanisms for lift generation, was the first to develop a vortex theory for flapping flight and developed and extended the use of morphometric parameters in calculating the forces and power requirements of flight. He remained in Cambridge, married a colleague, joined the staff of the Department of Zoology, became a fellow of Downing College and continued to work on insect aerodynamics and energetics, publishing on flight muscle efficiency, the factors limiting flight performance and the aerodynamic implications of the origin of insect flight. Building a closed-circuit wind tunnel connected with a sensitive oxygen analyser, he studied with colleagues how the aerodynamics and metabolic power input of bumblebees vary with flight speed, challenging the orthodox theory that this should follow a U-shaped curve. Outstanding among later research was the discovery that hawkmoths, and by implication many other insects, gain high levels of lift by generating a vortex above the leading edge, stabilized by spiralling out along the span—a major focus of animal flight research ever since. His many administrative roles included editorship of theJournal of Experimental Biology. He became a British citizen in 1995, was elected FRS in 1998 and to a chair of animal mechanics in 1999. Awards include the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society and the University of Cambridge Pilkington Prize for teaching excellence. He was diabetic throughout his adult life, and suffered progressive ill health following a heart attack in 1996. He took early retirement in 2010, lived quietly with his wife and two sons at home near Newmarket, and died in July 2019.

Longitudinal Improvements in Zoo-Housed Elephant Welfare: A Case Study at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Over the last two decades, criticisms were raised regarding the welfare experienced by elephants in European and North American zoos. Concerns regarding the welfare of zoo-housed elephants in the UK and Europe were consolidated in the publication of several key reports, and media interest peaked. Throughout this study we aim to outline the behavioural measures of welfare observed in the current group of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo, using key welfare indicators for this species and comparing them to previous published work. Following the instigation of a species-specific research programme, empirical behavioural data were available to quantify any developments in care and welfare. The collection of behavioural information revealed that individuals in our study group engage in low levels of stereotypic behaviour, have formed and maintain strong associations with one another and display a high proportion of engagement in lying rest. We outline that by applying simple, low-cost methods of behavioural data collection and analysis, it is possible to collect evidence that allows us to evaluate individual level welfare. This facilitates the adoption of an evidence-based approach to zoo management as well as demonstrating compliance with updated legislation for this species.