The Leibniz-IZW is an internationally renowned German research institute. It is part of the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. and a member of the Leibniz Association. Our goal is to understand the adaptability of wildlife in the context of global change and to contribute to the enhancement of the survival of viable wildlife populations. For this purpose, we investigate the diversity of life histories, the mechanisms of evolutionary adaptations and their limits, including diseases, as well as the interrelations of wildlife with their environment and people. We use expertise from biology and veterinary medicine in an interdisciplinary approach to conduct fundamental and applied research – from the molecular to the landscape level – in close dialogue with the public and stakeholders. Additionally, we are committed to unique and high-quality services for the scientific community.
+++ Current information on African swine fever: The Leibniz-IZW conducts research on the population dynamics, on models of disease outbreaks in wild boars and on the ecology and human-wildlife interaction in urban areas. African swine fever is a reportable disease in domestic swine and therefor is the purview of the respective federal state laboratories and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Federal Research Institute for Animal Health) FLI. +++
News

Eating poisonous plants saves life of gemsbok in Namibian desert
In drought periods browsing springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) feed on all plant material they can find, while grazing gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella), in contrast, switch their diet to a high proportion of poisonous plants – and they survive. These findings were just published in the scientific online journal PLOS ONE.
Read more … Eating poisonous plants saves life of gemsbok in Namibian desert

Imaging techniques can improve management and husbandry of rhinoceroses
High-resolution computed tomography and digital radiography in captive rhinos reveal that bone pathologies in the feet of these pachyderms are highly prevalent and diverse.
Read more … Imaging techniques can improve management and husbandry of rhinoceroses

Forscher entdecken neue Retroviren bei Eisbär Knut und Panda Bao Bao
Nach dem Tod des Eisbären Knut ergaben Untersuchungen am Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung (IZW), dass Knut wohl an einer durch Viren verursachten Gehirnentzündung litt. Bei der Analyse seines Erbguts haben Forscher der Saar-Uni und des IZW nun neue Sequenzen endogener Retroviren entdeckt und charakterisiert. Auch bei dem Pandabären Bao Bao fanden sich diese Viren. Dass sich diese Viren bereits vor etwa 45 Millionen Jahren in das Genom eines Vorfahren der Bären eingebaut haben, zeigen die Forscher in einer aktuellen Studie in der Fachzeitschrift Virology. Darüber hinaus sind die neu entdeckten Viren denen im Erbgut von Fledermäusen, Rindern und sogar Menschen sehr ähnlich. Beim Menschen stehen einige von ihnen im Verdacht, Krankheiten mit auszulösen.
Read more … Forscher entdecken neue Retroviren bei Eisbär Knut und Panda Bao Bao

Wildtiererfassung neuen Stils:
In der Stadt lebende Wildtiere verschiedenster Arten stellen Bevölkerung und Behörden vor neue Herausforderungen. Das Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung startet jetzt zwei beispielhafte Studien über Wildschweine und Igel in der Stadt. Alle Berliner sind aufgerufen, sich an der wissenschaftlichen Datenerhebung zu beteiligen und möglichst viele Wildtierbeobachtungen zu melden.

You are what (and where) you eat – mercury pollution threatens Arctic foxes
New scientific results show that arctic foxes accumulate dangerous levels of mercury if they live in coastal habitats and feed on prey which lives in the ocean. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Moscow State University and the University of Iceland just published their discovery in the science online journal PLOS ONE.
Read more … You are what (and where) you eat – mercury pollution threatens Arctic foxes

Competing for milk can be a stressful thing for hyena twin siblings
Researchers from the German Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) demonstrate for the first time in a free-ranging mammal that hunger and conflict for access to resources can be “stressful” for subordinate siblings and socially challenged dominant siblings, and hence increase their cost of maintaining homeostasis. These findings were published in the science journal Biology Letters.
Read more … Competing for milk can be a stressful thing for hyena twin siblings

Demographic transition does not stop human evolution
In many places around the world, people are living longer and are having fewer children. But that’s not all. In a study of people living in rural Gambia, it appears that this modern-day “demographic transition” may lead women to be taller and slimmer, too. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) as well as British, American and Gambian institutes and universities just published their discovery in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.
Read more … Demographic transition does not stop human evolution

For the first time Iberian lynx embryos are collected and preserved: Another ray of hope for the most endangered cat species worldwide
A pioneering procedure in felines allows the collection of biological material from Iberian lynx females before castration. The preserved biological material of the lynxes will be used in future conservation breeding programmes.