HADLOW COLLEGE

Kent’s Only Rural and Land-based College

Hadlow College runs multiple agricultural and animal management courses. As well as a vast range of domesticated livestock, students at level three and above can work with exotic animals ranging from marine fish to marmosets. As well as gaining insight into the dayto-day management of these animals, students are also contributing to ‘best practice’ guides for a range of taxa which are less prevalent in zoo collections. Nocturnal mammals are an excellent example of animals which are undesirable to many zoos that rely on public funding because of their cryptic behaviours. Although ‘nocturnal’ exhibits can be created by using red lights, visitor interaction has limitations when a species is naturally shy and nocturnal. Therefore, private collections and educational facilities offer extra opportunities to study cryptic species, which may benefit conservation efforts in the future.

Please see Hadlow College website for more information on all of our rural and land-based courses – www.hadlow.ac.uk and to check out our events.

less keen. Neither seemed interested in live food. This is valuable information for collections working with other members of the Phalangeridae family. Typically, most arboreal mammals will opportunistically feed on invertebrates as a good source of protein and calcium. Understanding what a species or a captive individual feeds on can help reinforce husbandry practices elsewhere.

Ex-situ and in-situ research

Although there are currently 13 Phalanger species, the wider Phalangeridae family consists of six genera with a total of 28 species. Hailing from remote regions of Wallacea, a zoogeographical area famed for its biodiversity, it is highly likely that there are still more species to be uncovered. This amplifies the necessity for a good understanding of captive husbandry with a model species such as Phalanger gymnotis. Unfortunately, the students at Hadlow College are limited to ex-situ research strategies.

“There are rumours that there are two separate subspecies of the ground cuscus, but our research suggests they’re both the same” added Paige. “We can’t distinctly say that we can see a morphological difference but perhaps in the future, more studies will identify some subspecies. This is a limitation we’ve faced in captivity as we haven’t had the chance to see wild cuscuses to really define any differences. There was a paper that investigated DNA sequence evidence for placement of the ground cuscus in the tribe Phalangerini, so genetic analysis of the captive populations of ground cuscus would be a really interesting study and update, but unfortunately, it just hasn’t been done.”

The students are keen to network with other collections to perform comparative studies of the captive populations of ground cuscus. By formulating a pool of knowledge, they can begin to formulate the basis of a wider research project with in-situ initiatives. For now, the students are working as closely with their captive cuscuses as possible to help inform a

‘best practice’ guide. A major part of this process is stress reduction. Whilst a hands-off approach generally allows the keeper to study more natural behaviours, desensitisation and training techniques can be beneficial for routine checkups or visits to the vets.

Mia explained: “We started scale training Bulolo in March, where he follows a target so he can be effectively weighed. We have also just started crate training. Now, he can get into a crate on voice command which is incredible. I don’t think people realise how cognitively able they are, but we’ve found they can definitely perform tasks.”

Paige added: “With Morobe, we also ‘pouch train’. We need to be able to check her and her pouch without causing too much stress. Although not many people train cuscuses, we’ve found they actually train very well. We have them as a non-handleable species, so our crate training makes things much less stressful for them if they need to go to the vet. We’ve also heard from other collections that if an individual keeper takes a cuscus to the vets, they can end up holding a grudge against that specific keeper, which is something we needed to avoid. Since we started training them, their personality really has come out.”

What’s next for cuscus care?

The students and staff at Hadlow College are now searching for more collections to share their findings with. Paige concluded: “It’s hard to build up this knowledge when some zoos don’t want to cooperate based on contracts, but we’re working on networking and building those contacts and we are so proud to work with the cuscuses and develop our own best practice guides. It’s a privilege to work with them”. Unfortunately, the boundaries between zoos, private keepers and educational institutions can prevent the spread of information and knowledge and may be slowing progress in exotics keeping. Private keepers rarely have the platform or time to reach large audiences, whilst zoos are under pressures of ‘reputational risk’ for working with individuals outside of their sector. Educational institutions represent a unique middle ground, unrestricted by visitor footfall and international governing bodies and may perhaps hold the key to understanding unique flora and fauna in a different setting. It is important that hobbyists working with rarely-kept species document their husbandry practices to share with the wider community. The students and staff at Hadlow College are excellent examples of what can be achieved when information is transparent and education is shared. Hopefully, in the years to come, more people will know of the ground cuscus and its fascinating behaviours.

Anyone who has any experience with ground cuscus in either a zoo or private setting are encouraged to contact Hadlow College via: groundcuscus@gmail.com