New technique helps Kansas zoo strengthen conservation efforts

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (KSNW) – A zoo in Garden City is expanding its road runner population.

Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City uses “in-ovo sexing” to determine the gender of road runner embryos before they develop into chicks.

“This gives us more opportunities to expand the population in zoos and to do so through captive breeding,” said LRZ Deputy Director Joe Knobbe. “It’s a much better situation for the population to help with the captive population, but it’s also better for each individual animal because now you have a greater chance of housing them socially in a pair.”

The zoo found two female eggs and had the parent birds incubate them. It is rare for two female road runners to hatch in zoo captivity, as most are males.

“There are actually twice as many males as there are females, and in the monogamous species of bird, that creates real challenges we have. We can’t pair everyone up. What that also means is that we can’t just have a male in the periphery because there could be some competition, so with that imbalance, we have to find homes for each of those individual males,” said Knobbe.

When the females are old enough, they will be carefully selected to be paired with a male at another zoo.

“We breed to keep a base of strong genetics … keep them with the animals that they want and need for their habitats,” said Knobbe. “We will be able to find homes for those females because there’s a lot of males out there that need pairing.”

The chicks will be out in the public view when they’re old enough.

The Lee Richardson Zoo is located at 312 E. Finnup Dr. in Garden City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more about the zoo, click here .

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