Hurricane Dean hurt all countries in it's path. Deaths for such a storm were low. Wish it were zero.

August 18, 2007
Hurricane Dean's Eye/Eye Wall (click here)


August 18, 2007
Hurricane Dean at Cat 4 - click on picture to enlarge, fascinating to see it all close up.


August 22, 2007
Hurricane Dean
Cat 5 (click here)

August 23, 2007

Hurricane Dean makes landfall (click here)

Mexico credits luck, preparations for escaping Dean relatively unscathed (click here)

POZA RICA, Mexico: It drove terror deep into Mexico, smashing ashore as the third most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to hit land.
But the furious beast proved relatively toothless, knocking down shacks, destroying sugar cane, corn crops and mango orchards, and killing at least eight people. Insured losses were estimated to be less than US$300 million.
The reason? Large-scale preparations — and a lot of luck.
Fast-moving Hurricane Dean first punched the Yucatan peninsula as a Category 5 storm, and many feared catastrophe for one of Mexico's poorest regions. It later spun through the heart of Mexico's offshore oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the mainland coast.
But luckily, Dean missed all major cities, tearing through areas of tiny villages, farmland and forest. It didn't linger like more damaging storms, and by the time it hit key oil platforms and ports, it had weakened....

Mexico's Yucatan peninsula weathers Hurricane Dean's fury Videos (click here)

Despite 165-mph winds and widespread damage, no deaths are reported in Mexico from Hurricane Dean. Officials cite education and their preparations.

Nature, good luck and good planning all combined Tuesday to deliver what the people of the Yucatan Peninsula called a miracle.
Hurricane Dean, packing 165-mph winds, was a Category 5 storm when it made landfall near this town of 20,000 people early Tuesday. And it remained a "monster" as it crossed the peninsula, causing widespread destruction....

Local estimate of Dean's damage at $8b (click here)
Julian Richardson, Business Observer reporter

Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Insurance industry and government stakeholders have placed the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Dean after it sideswiped the island two Sundays ago at approximately $8 billion, in an early assessment this week.
Director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr Wesley Hughes, told the Business Observer on Monday that preliminary assessments of the damage indicate that it may be in a range between "10 per cent less than or 10 per cent more than" the total damages caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004....

Soldier trapped by Hurricane Dean (click here)

A SOLDIER from Potters Bar was stranded in Jamaica as Hurricane Dean battered the island.Guardsman Matt Cox, 20, had been coming to the end of a six-week training exercise in the jungle.But his unit had to seek refuge at the British High Commission in Kingston as the hurricane struck.An Army spokeswoman said the soldiers were put on standby to assist with relief efforts, if requested to do so.They had already set up a generator to restore power at the High Commission and had been clearing debris at the locality.The hurricane claimed the lives of 18 people as it ripped through the Caribbean and on to Mexico, before fizzling out....

The total lunar eclipse might explain Bush's ranting about Iran when it's Iraq's assessment anticipated.

The above link is an interactive to 'dress Georgie for APEC. The article below is from Slate magazine, it primarily illustrates the reality of Bush's loss of focus to his presidency as a Lame Duck. Better said, the reality of Iraq and it's lack of sovereignty has resulted in Bush's lack of grip on his presidency. He is floundering to make Iran more of an enemy to the USA than Osama bin Laden in order to continue the genocidal occupation of Iraq. More tomorrow.


The waning power of the War Myth (click here)
As Iraq dies, Bush is falling back on his old standby: Patriotic blackmail. But this time it won't work.
By Gary Kamiya

...The inescapable truth is that Bush's war of choice has destroyed an entire nation -- and there is no way for the United States or anyone else to control what happens next. The increasingly shaky plight of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shows just how unstable Iraq's cobbled-together political system is. U.S. dreams of replacing him with a secular strongman like Ayad Allawi are delusional. The war is not winnable, and there is thus only one possible rationale for continuing it, the one Bush raised: preventing an even more apocalyptic blood bath than we have already caused. ...


Debating Iraq and the Middle East in relation to the current administration is a waste of time. The Bush White House has failed in Iraq. They have also failed in securing our nation from any terrorist network to date. The war in Iraq has produced more enemies to the USA, including what were considered allies when September 11, 2001 occurred.

The current president has failed to defeat al Qaeda and September 11th will be experiencing it's sixth year with Lower Manhattan's skyline and Memorial still in the balance. I can't help believe the ambivalence regarding rebuilding, although linked with funding, is somehow a bit defeatist because the enemy that caused the destruction of Lower Manhattan is still virulently aggressive and intact. The Bush administration and their past majority House and Senate are to blame and the nation has been a spectator in fascination of failure. To that the nation propagates it's own problem believing somewhat that the enemy is where the war is and not where it has always been, at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

London and Madrid have since experienced terrorist attacks in their major cities since September 11th originating from Pakistan/Afghanistan. Can there be any doubt where the war actually is?

The querry brought to their war propaganda, now four years since before March 19, 2003, is the fact a civil war has spawned in Iraq with the most recent events including a burgeoning conflict in Northern Iraq with Turkey and Iran sharing a common enemy in PKK. These events occurred directly because Bush invaded Iraq illegally without the consent of the entire global community and the majority of the USA. Iraq is a mercenary's war, including the exclusivity of the USA military in it's lagging enlistment and chronic redeployments.

The USA military, it's private contractors and coalition have suffered stunning defeats in every corner of Iraq, with skeptical successes the USA General Petraeus is claiming in An Albar while he has yet to prove an autonomous Iraqi police and military in that region.

The Bush Surge has produced no increase in the evidence of a sovereign Iraq and to that end the country has invading militaries from neighboring nations in order to secure their own borders. There is every estimation Turkey and Iran will either be allies in defeating PKK or enemies to each other while claiming the common enemy. Regardless, the Iraqi National forces do not exist and hence by every measure of sovereignty the current Iraqi puppet government to Bush has; cannot control it's borders and it's internal security now four years out of which one was a year of documented occupational government under Bremer.

Today, Iraq is not a sovereign country and do to the violence within it's borders neighboring countries are forced to deal with this anarchy at their borders including invading forces now engaged in Northern Iraq. This reality is being parlayed by Bush and Pataeus, in propaganda, as an escalation by Iran. That isn't the case and Iran stands ready to stabilize Iraq when the USA military is deployed out. The readiness of the Iranian military to establish a permanent presence in Iraq maybe a stabilizing event to those people and with every estimation Iraq's sovereignty will disappear as well.

Bush's impetus to war escalation with Iran are the pending Iraqi oil contracts which spawned the illegal invasion in the first place; without Iraq sovereignty the contracts are not enforceable by the USA.

The USA military has killed vast amounts of people in the region and if the Iranian military can secure the borders of Iraq then it should proceed. There is no justified killing in Iraq of the people there as Bush and Cheney entered the country without due cause and have occupied without success it's land while it's people are estranged from their culture and right to sovereignty.

Iraq is not and has not been an enemy to the USA as it has been disarmed of any weapons including WMD for decades under UN Charter. Iran has a right to it's sovereignty, therefore has a right to take any and all measures to secure that sovereignty including measures already in play in northern Iraq. Turkey can make the same claim as any neighboring countries can.

To escalate the conflict in Iraq past Iraqi borders as the current USA Commander and Chief and his Vice President is demanding of the USA Legislature is to launch into a global war of which Russia would be the least of the parties involved. It is not prudent to escalate any Middle East war to the extreme as these countries are not and have not been a threat to USA National Security. However, with a Neocon administration in the White House and at the helm of the USA miltiary, there is every reason for any other country to consider the USA a threat to their national security. Bush has been defeated in Iraq, it is time he recognize the reality staring at him and deploy the USA troops out of Iraq to avoid escalating tensions into a world war.

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.

Oppose the draft.

Troops out now.

Photos: The lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse, framed in the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (click here) The eclipse happened on August 28, 2007.

Scientists meet in Hungary to discuss saving dying frogs

Monkey frog in Peru (photo by Rhett A. Butler).

Scientists are particularly concerned about the global decline of amphibians over the past 20 years. Recent research suggests that the amphibian crisis is tied to global warming.

2008 to Become The Year of the Frog?

Amphibian Ark (click here)

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (click here)

Group to meet, launch frog-saving effort (click here)

Staff and agencies

27 August, 2007
By CHERYL WITTENAUER

Associated Press Writer

Thu Aug 23, 9:05 PM ET
ST. LOUIS - Kermit the Frog might be recruited, along with governments, corporations, and philanthropists, to help in a worldwide effort to stem the deaths of frog populations around the world.
Members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums will discuss who‘s going to take which species for safekeeping and breeding.
At the Budapest meeting, zoo and aquarium leaders also will be presented with a strategy for raising global awareness of the crisis and the initial $50 million needed to avert it.
"Protective custody has got to happen now, or within a year or two. Otherwise, it‘ll be too late. Extinction is forever."
Scientists say they have to figure out a way to get the killer fungus, called chytrid fungus, out of the environment or help the frogs develop a resistance. They can be cured with a fungicide, more easily than a person can shake athlete‘s foot, Bonner said. But they‘ll be affected again upon re-entry....

Morning Papers - continued...

Zoos


Stella in a hop over animal rights
5:00AM Monday August 27, 2007
LONDON - Stella McCartney has found herself embroiled in a campaign by animal rights activists over the use of kangaroo hides by the sporting giant behind her latest women's wear range.
McCartney, a long-time vegetarian who has attacked designers who use fur, is weeks away from unveiling her new sportswear range for adidas at London Fashion Week. But animal rights campaigners have begun publicly attacking adidas for fuelling the "largest wildlife slaughter in the world" by using kangaroo skins to make football boots.
"Adidas' use of kangaroo skin is inexcusably cruel," Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler told the Independent on Sunday newspaper.
"On the question of Stella McCartney's alleged silence, we know she opposes animal cruelty and presume she is taking the steps she feels appropriate to press the company to stop the use of kangaroo skins."
McCartney's father, Beatles frontman Paul McCartney, has previously campaigned for Vegetarians International Voice for Animals.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10460058






The man behind PETA's controversial campaigns hits St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — While star NFL quarterback Michael Vick stood in a Richmond, Va., courtroom on Monday morning pleading guilty to dogfighting charges, the man who helped cast the national spotlight on the Vick case sat in St. Louis' Central West End sipping a soy latte. Dan Mathews, in town on a book tour, was proud. He is campaigns chief for PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. And he knew that at this moment, 800 miles away, a flotilla of PETA signs were being held aloft outside the courthouse in plain sight of the media mob covering the sensational case.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3437E0425DAF18628625734500100935?OpenDocument


Aquarium Hosting Animal Math Workshop

posted August 27, 2007

Educators will be sneaking math skills into a field trip while watching sharks at an animal math workshop at the Tennessee Aquarium. So far this year, 65,000 students have received learning experiences delivered by the Aquarium’s education department. These environmental science programs have been developed and aligned using the applicable standards for Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and the National Science Education Content Standards. And now another resource for teachers is being added by using a trip to the aquarium to help teach mathematics.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_112241.asp



Rescued Tigers Find Temporary Home In Queens
(CBS) QUEENS About 25 miles from the urban jungle of Manhattan, inside a Queens home, you can find an entirely different breed of cat. Larry Wallach, also known as ‘The Tiger Man,’ takes in tigers who were either purchased as exotic pets and then abandoned; or those simply in need of a good home.“[Tigers] need to be in a proper place that protects them and the public,” said Wallach.Over the past 20-years, Wallach has taken in over 100 lions, tigers, and bears, including the tiger that was taken from a Harlem apartment in 2003.


http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_239162240.html



Elephants benefit from fight between zoos, animal rights groups
By Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) - On a sunny summer day, Chai the elephant browses on grass and branches in the one-acre elephant exhibit at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Children lean over the metal barriers, trying to reach the charismatic creature.In the nearby elephant barn, Watoto stretches her trunk to a net filled with vegetation and munches on her lunch before wandering back to the outdoor exhibit. Teenagers watch her, mimicking the movements of her trunk.Zoos showcase such scenes as evidence of the healthy and happy experience of their elephants. Animals rights groups dismiss such enclosures as woefully small and harmful to the health of creatures they say are meant to roam vast wildernesses.

http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9398371.html



Mother Nature 101: Inquisitive Young Minds Learn About Various Animal Species in New Children's Book
EASTPOINTE, Mich., Aug. 28
PRNewswire

From the smallest creature to the largest, whether living in the jungle, desert, ocean, rainforest or arctic tundra, all living things have mothers who nurture and protect their young. In her new children's book, "No One Has A Mom Like Mine" (published by AuthorHouse -- http://www.authorhouse.com/), D. Brischke reminds readers of the enduring heritage of animals and informs inquisitive minds about the conservation necessary to ensure the continued survival of such species.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,167026.shtml



Monkey in Russian zoo refuses to pose, snatches phone cameras
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, August 16 (RIA Novosti) - A Japanese macaque monkey in a Volga Region zoo insists on protecting its "family" from nuisance visitors by snatching away their cell phone cameras, a deputy zoo owner said Thursday.
In an attempt to protect his "girlfriend" and baby, the male Japanese monkey, nicknamed Samurai, has already expropriated a dozen expensive mobile phones, the spokesman said.
"Samurai never feels shy about swiping phones from an owner's hands and then hiding them in his cage," he said.
Zoo workers have managed to return some of the mobile phones intact their rightful owners, but some are in need of repair, he said.
Officials have put up a warning sign for visitors: "Dear biological relatives, we regard phones, cameras and video cameras as our property - we take and destroy them."
But the photographers, who are usually clueless as to what the strange note means, insist on taking pictures of the adorable primate, wholly unaware of its larcenous habits.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070816/71936016.html


Zoo Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ultimateanimalphotography/discuss/72157594490097660/#comment72157601660735083

Friends of Maggie
Orphaned during a cull in Zimbabwe, Maggie arrived at the zoo over 20 years ago to keep company with another female elephant. The other elephant died 10 years ago, and Maggie has since lived a solitary life. In their natural habitat, female African (and Asian) elephants live together in a herd for their entire lives; males leave the herd after weaning and generally live more solitary lives.

http://www.friendsofmaggie.net/


How zoo’s tigers were shot for the taxidermist (Videos)
Lingering death of two caged animals killed so that they could be skinned and stuffed

See the videos: 1. Zoo tigers are shot for their skins. It is unclear whether they are being killed by Jean-Pierre Gerard, a Belgian taxidermist, or by one of his associates. Warning: shows prolonged sequences of animals suffering
2. One of the shot tigers is skinned by Gerard
A TAXIDERMIST exposed for buying healthy exotic animals from zoos in order to stuff them has been filmed taking part in the brutal slaughter of two caged tigers for their skins.
Jean-Pierre Gerard, who last month offered undercover Sunday Times reporters the pelts of young zoo tigers for £3,000 each, was present while two further specimens from a German zoo were peppered with bullets.

http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200708260014120.927623



Zoo Gets New Baby Flamingos
ST LOUIS (AP) -According to the St. Louis Zoo, a dozen flamingo hatchlings are doing well, but the public won't be able to see them for another year.
The chicks, currently hand-raised and fed on special formula by the zoo, range in age from three to four weeks. The zoo recently brought in the Caribbean flamingo eggs from Hialeah Racetrack in Miami. The racetrack hasn't run a race in six years but 300 Caribbean flamingos still live in the racing oval there. The Caribbean flamingo is the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America. Hialeah has distributed eggs to zoos since the 1980s, and St. Louis is among four zoos to receive eggs this summer.

http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/a3516642-c0a8-2f11-002f-d333f7e5a947


Visitors to Oregon Zoo have until Labor Day to see Winged Wonders exhibit
Associated Press

August 26, 2007 1:05 PM ET
PORTLAND, Ore., (AP) - The end of summer means the end of a popular exhibit at the Oregon Zoo -- at least for this year.
Visitors have until Labor Day to see more than 400 kinds of butterflies at the Winged Wonders exhibit. Zoo Director Tony Vecchio says the exhibit has been a great success. This year the zoo focused on teaching people how to attract butterflies to their gardens.
Some proceeds from the butterfly exhibit help support the zoo's butterfly education and conservation efforts.
The butterfly exhibit, as well as the zoo-wide "Habitat Begins at Home" campaign, complement Metro's Nature in Neighborhoods initiative. It's a region-wide conservation effort that brings people and government together to ensure a healthy urban ecosystem.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=6984037


APEC wives to get own private Taronga Zoo
August 26, 2007 01:00am
ANIMALS from Taronga Zoo will be moved to Garden Island so the wives of APEC leaders can have a private viewing away from tourist hordes.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that as their partners deliberate on world affairs, APEC wives and girlfriends will be whisked to Garden Island on the Saturday of the conference for an exclusive display of Australian wildlife.
Among the animals to be transported from the zoo are snakes, possums, frogs, echidnas, lizards, a baby crocodile, cockatoos and owls.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22306104-2,00.html



Zoo's elephant celebrates birthday
Zahara the African elephant celebrated her first birthday a bit early Saturday, complete with a party at the Indianapolis Zoo.
When she was born Aug. 31, she weighed 266 pounds. Now she's 710 pounds, the zoo reports.
Zahara runs in the Plains Biome with her herd mate Kedar, a male who was born at the zoo in 2005. The pair are the youngest members of the zoo's herd of eight African elephants.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070826/LOCAL/708260420/-1/LOCAL17



Meet the pandas
August 26, 2007
Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave S.E., Atlanta, GA 30315; (404) 624-9453, panda cam: www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.php4. Open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission: $12.99 to $17.99. The zoo has three pandas: Lun Lun, Yang Yang and cub Mei Lan, who is almost age 1. Memphis Zoo, 2000 Prentiss Place, Memphis, TN 38112; (901) 276-9453, panda cam: www.memphiszoo.org/pandacam.aspx. Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission: $8 to $13. Memphis has two pandas, Le Le and Ya Ya, who recently miscarried.San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 234-3153, panda cam: www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/ex_panda_station.html. Open daily, including holidays. Admission: $15.50 to $22.75. Bai Yun, Gao Gao, Su Lin, Mei Sheng and a newborn cub live at the zoo. Smithsonian National Zoological Park, 301 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008; (202) 633-4800, panda cam: www.nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas /default.cfm. Open daily except Christmas. Admission free. Three pandas -- Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Tai Shan -- live here.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-tr-pandabox26aug26,1,5403068.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true



Title: Zoo Enclosure CompositionName: Marc Turner

Country: New Zealand

Software: Lightwave 3D, Photoshop3d Composition over photograph for the Auckland Zoo in New Zealand. Advertising the construction of the new otter enclosure with a 3 Day deadline. Partial plans were provided and some foundations were visible already which helped with alignment and scale. Unfortunately I didnt have enough time to include radiosity in the render with the tight deadline as I would have liked more realistic lighting, the render has 4 area lights and 3 spots for the Sasquatch grass.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=533212



Beloved polar bear's life celebrated at Lake Superior Zoo
John Myers Duluth News Tribune
Published Sunday, August 26, 2007
There were eight violinists, dozens of red balloons and a cake made out of ice, fruit and fish parts.
Hundreds of people turned up for Bubba the bear’s celebration of life Sunday afternoon at the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth.
Zoo staff and volunteers, longtime admirers and lots of children ate cookies, signed a giant goodbye card and recalled memories of the big polar bear that died of natural causes last month.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/rss.cfm?id=48961&forumcomm_check_return&freebie_check&CFID=50740474&CFTOKEN=52645685&jsessionid=8830def0d3006f2615e6


First Giant Anteater Born at the National Zoo
A giant anteater was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo the morning of Tuesday, July 24-a first in the Zoo's 118-year history.
National Zoo animal care staff and veterinarians had been closely monitoring the first-time mother for the past six months, performing regular ultrasounds and other diagnostics. Based on the typical gestation period of giant anteaters, staff expected the mother, Maripi, to give birth in early August. She surprised them early last Tuesday morning when a keeper checking on the animal discovered the tiny baby clinging to its mother's chest.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20070826141656tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html


We loved the Bronx Zoo.

http://www.reagentinct.com/2007/08/26/good-vibes-bronx-zoo/


Carnival Of The Animals
The Drive To One Of The World's Premier Zoos Is Short, Simple
BY MARYELLEN FILLO Courant Staff Writer
Simon and Garfunkel insisted it was all happening at the zoo.And it was. In our case, New York's Bronx Zoo.For is there anything better on a perfect summer day than to grab a favorite youngster and step into another world, a soothing one filled with trees, greenery, exotic animals and the best when it comes to timeless Beaux-Arts architecture? We think not. Especially when you are going to one of the largest metropolitan zoos in America and one of the best in the world.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-daycation0827.artaug27,0,1178677.story



Zoo to host 'Java in the Jungle'
August 27, 2007

UTICA – The fifth annual “Java in the Jungle” will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Utica Zoo. The event features samplings of gourmet coffees and desserts courtesy of Price Chopper in South Utica, along with the musical entertainment of the T.R. Proctor High School String Ensemble. Tickets are on sale now at the zoo and Price Chopper.Advance tickets are $6 and $8 on the day of the event. Children under the age of 10 pay $4 in advance or $6 at the door.In order to prepare for the event, the zoo will be closed during the day of Saturday, Sept. 8.

http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS/70827002


Chester Zoo's hi-tech bid to save 'the old man of the trees'
Me man. You ape...and there's not much difference, as ladies I have known would claim.
Stood close to the orang-utans in Chester Zoo's new Realm of the Red Ape facility, a feeling of kinship is hard to disown, even when the "stars" may be slouched in a corner looking like a pile of old carpet.But confront them face to face through the glass windows of their enclosure and the solemn returning gaze suggests they know a thing or two that you don't.Add to this their effortless grace in climbing, their casual feats of strength, and you realise this is an animal to admire and respect. It is also one that could be extinct in the wild during the next 10 or 20 years.Illegal logging in Borneo and Sumatra is rapidly clearing the ancient forests which are the orang's natural habitat. Added to burning to clear ground for palm oil plantations, the combined effect is to force the apes into smaller and smaller areas.

http://www.eveningleader.co.uk/latest-features/Chester-Zoo39s-hitech-bid-to.3149049.jp


Orangutan escapes exhibit at Zoo Atlanta

Ape was loose for about 30 minutes before being tranquilizedBy MARK DAVISThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 08/27/07
A 14-year-old Bornean orangutan got loose Sunday afternoon at Zoo Atlanta, spending about 30 minutes outside his compound before zoo workers tranquilized the animal and returned him to his habitat.
Sulango got out about 2:43 p.m., said Dennis Kelly, the zoo's president and chief executive officer. He roamed no farther than 100 feet from the exhibit, he said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/stories/2007/08/26/orangutan_0827.html


$57 million zoo architect visits TT
Sunday, August 26 2007
Architect Patrick Janikowski (left) chats with designer of the Tourism Park, Kemal Manickchand, at the Tourism Park, last week....
Internationally known zoo architect Patrick Janikowski met Tourism Minister Howard Chin Lee on Friday, centre of discussion was the proposed $57M upgrade of the Emperor Valley Zoo.
Janikowski who has designed zoos all over the world, is now bidding to design a US$700M zoo in Hong Kong. The $57M allocated for the local zoo upgrade will be administered by the Tourism Development Company (TDC).

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,63078.html


To Twin or not To Twin
Posted at 9:06 pm August 26, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
We have been very, very lucky here in San Diego to witness the birth of four healthy panda cubs. Each time, Bai Yun gave birth to a single infant and showed strong maternal instincts, so much so that staff need only sit by and watch her care for it. Bai Yun has always given the best of all possible circumstances. But in looking at the range of possibilities surrounding any cub birth, frankly, we have had it quite easy; pandas are certainly capable of more complex birthing scenarios than we have observed with Bai Yun.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/to-twin-or-not-to-twin/


Hogle Zoo to celebrate 10 years of fund-raiser
By Amelia Nielson-StowellDeseret Morning News
Published: Aug. 27, 2007 12:28 a.m. MDT
Hogle Zoo's biggest fund-raiser is celebrating its 10th anniversary next month.
The American Express Zoo Rendezvous brought 1,100 people to the zoo last year. And with tickets starting at $150 a head, a lot of money will again be raised for animal care and exhibit renovations.
"The entire zoo is transformed for the evening, just for this particular event," said Lauryn Wingate, the volunteer gala director. "And then proceeds go directly to animals and habitat improvement."
The decades-long event, set this year for Sept. 6, began as a way to help care for the zoo's collection of 900 animals. Just to feed the animals costs $125,000 a year.
The fundraiser started as invite-only, but now anyone can buy a ticket. Guests can wine-and-dine at food booths from 25 of Salt Lake's most high-end restaurants, like the New Yorker, Metropolitan, Cafe Madrid and Lugano. A signature 10th anniversary champagne has been created for the event by La Caille French restaurant.
Each year the fund-raiser has a theme, which focuses on an animal. For 2007, the theme is penguins.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695204721,00.html


Bubba Remembered at the Zoo
Fans, friends, and anyone who loved him, showed up Sunday for a celebration of Bubba the Polar Bear's life. Pictures, paintings, and live music all dedicated to Bubba were set up at the Lake Superior Zoo. Almost anyone you talk to has a story to tell about him; Peyton Jahn remembers visiting Bubba with her grandmother and brother every year. "Every time we came, Bubba would throw the ball up at us," she said. Bill Keute of Virginia is hard of hearing, and didn't speak until he saw Bubba. "My mom and dad didn't know I was hard of hearing. Bubba helped me talk."

http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S177667.shtml?cat=10335


Amsterdam's zoo and public library both robbed within a few hours.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: The public library and the zoo had some unusual visitors early Monday. Both were robbed.
Police said two thieves hit the ticket counter at the Artis Zoo shortly after it opened and stole an undisclosed amount of cash.
Earlier, around 2 a.m. (0100GMT), three masked and armed men overpowered the guards at a newly opened 13-story building housing the library's main branch and other offices. Police declined to say what was taken.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/27/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Robberies.php



Zoo Animals to Be Put on Diet
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Animals at the zoo in Seoul Grand Park will be put on a diet to prevent obesity.The management office of the zoo in Gyeonggi Province, one of the world's top 10 zoos with 3,000 animals covering 350 species, said Monday it would implement the new diet next month by reducing or changing the feed currently given.``We have fed the animals highly nutritive foods since 1998, and many of the animals have become fat. So we have decided to change the diet,'' an official of the park said.Many of the animals in the zoo, living in a limited space, weigh more than their counterparts in the wild. ``Fat animals cannot move fast and their fertility decreases,'' he said.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/08/117_9063.html


No more snacks for tubby zoo animals
Seoul - After almost a decade of the good life, tubby animals in a South Korean zoo are to go on a diet.Seoul Grand Park zoo, which had been feeding its charges according to 1998 guidelines, has decided to go back closer to nature, the JoongAng Daily reported on Monday."Feeding the animals according to the 1998 guidelines made the animals overweight," Park Seon-Deok, a member of the animal management team, was quoted as saying.The zoo will decrease the amount of processed food, to which the animals have become accustomed, and increase the amount of natural materials.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=29&art_id=nw20070827043935574C901837&set_id=1



Make zoo revamp plan public, demand nature lovers
Mumbai, August 27: A group of nature lovers has submitted a petition to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corportion (BMC), the superintendent of garden and the Zoo Authority of India to make public the revamp plan of the 53-acre Byculla zoo. They fear that the revamp would sound the death kneel for its rich botanical wealth.
Kicked off on July 5, the Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee has till date collected over 2,000 signatures through an online campaign. The appeal to save the zoo, along with the signatures, was submitted to the authorities on August 15.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253153


Zoo grant to be announced Thursday
Representatives of the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park are planning a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Golden Lion Tamarin area to announce the details of a grant from the Virginia and Conrad Klee Foundation.
The Binghamton Zoo and the Discovery Center will each be offering $1 admission on Thursday to celebrate the Discovery Center joining the Broome County Tobacco Free Alliance as a smoke-free area.
— Brian Liberatore

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS01/70828008


Bumper summer at the zoo
By Staff reporter
CHESTER Zoo has enjoyed a bumper summer for visitors despite washout weather.
Celebrations marked the middle of August after visitor figures for the year so far hit the 850,000 milestone. Remarkably the zoo has reached that target almost a month earlier than it did in the sun-drenched summer of 2006.
Head of marketing Sharon Leeson said: "The figures are especially encouraging given all the rain we have had this year.

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/wirralnews/display.var.1642854.0.bumper_summer_at_the_zoo.php

Children’s hearing for park zoo youths
Youths charged with causing injuries to animals at Camperdown Wildlife Centre won’t appear at Dundee Sheriff Court but will be dealt with by the children’s hearings system.
The decision was taken following a meeting between the reporter and procurator fiscal, who considered taking criminal proceedings to the sheriff court.
However a spokesman for the Crown Office last night said, “After consideration of the police report and national guidelines on the prosecution of children and after discussion between the reporter and the procurator fiscal, the case was referred to the reporter.”

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2007/08/28/newsstory10195978t0.asp


Seniors Invited To Detroit Zoo
Submitted by ruzik_tuzik on Tue, 2007-08-28 05:39.
Senior citizens are invited to enjoy a special day at the Detroit Zoo on Senior Day, Wednesday, September 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Seniors 62 and older and their caregivers will receive free admission, free parking and free rides on the Tauber Family Railroad.
Sponsored by Visiting Nurses Association, Senior Day will feature live music by the Picks & Sticks Stringband, narrated tractor train tours and bingo.
The day’s activities will also include zookeeper talks highlighting some of the Zoo’s senior animals: Jock, a river hippopotamus, who is 37 and has called the Detroit Zoo home for 36 years, and female grizzly bears Napa, Nicki and Teddy, 35 – affectionately known as the “Memphis Grizzly Girls” – who were donated by the Memphis Zoo in 2002.

http://www.huliq.com/31915/seniors-invited-to-detroit-zoo

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Croc Hunter's dad awarded for contribution to environment

Bob Irwin, front, and Australia Zoo manager John Stanton speak at a press conference yesterday. Bob Irwin says his son Steve would want to be remembered as an "ordinary bloke".Photo: AAP

Wily German kangaroo returned to petting zoo
Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — Skippi, a wily kangaroo on the run since early August was returned to his home at a petting zoo Monday in southern Germany, but not after a chase through the German Alps that left the animal with a strained leg.
The injured marsupial was captured in a cornfield near Leutkirch im Allgaeu, almost 10 miles from where his journey began, police in the nearby town of Ravensburg said.
Though residents in the area had reported multiple sightings of the kangaroo over the past few weeks, Skippi managed to elude authorities every time.
But earlier Monday, police received a call from someone claiming to have seen the animal in a cornfield not far from the last place he was spotted following a run-in with a car Friday.
Authorities captured the kangaroo and brought him to a veterinarian, who determined he had strained ligaments in one of his legs. He was then returned to his home at the petting zoo in Bad Wurzach.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/08/27/wily-german-kangaroo-returned-to-petting-zoo/



MN Zoo's MN Trail is a howling good time
posted by Greg
10:16 AM on August 28, 2007
I have a long relationship with the Minnesota Zoo, especially for a non-native. My grandparents have photos of me at the zoo in a stroller when I was smaller than a rhesus macaque. I've gone at least once a year since, and in the last five years, my family has made good use of our annual pass -- hitting the zoo at least five times a year or more.
This winter we were touring the zoo's indoor exhibits, (of which there are a great amount if you have little human monkeys you want to keep out of the cold), and after climbing the ascending sidewalk to the former beluga whale area, we were dismayed to see the Minnesota Trail was closed for renovation.

http://minneapolis.metblogs.com/archives/2007/08/mn_zoos_mn_trai.phtml



Zoo hawk flies the coop
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 08/28/07
Maybe he got stage fright and decided to take wing. Perhaps his feathers got ruffled when he saw that so few people were in the audience. Or did he decide to hawk his talents elsewhere?
Whatever the reason, the folks at Zoo Atlanta know this much: They're missing a bird — Alamo, a fierce-eyed Harris' hawk. He took off last week while a handful of people watched during a performance at the zoo's wildlife theater. He was last seen hanging out at a gas station, just like a lot of guys do.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/stories/2007/08/28/hawk_0829.html



'Naked rowers' keep clothes on at zoo
Published: Aug. 28, 2007 at 5:18 PM
BRISTOL, England, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Two British men known as “the naked rowers” kept their clothes when they set a record on a rowing machine at the Bristol zoo."We were in a family environment,” Niall McCann told The Telegraph. “Being undressed wouldn't have been appropriate in the circumstances."McCann and his rowing partner, James Burge, spent 67 hours, 24 minutes and 14 seconds rowing 1 million miles on a machine. They did their work in 1-hour shifts and kept themselves going through the nights by watching videos of “The Office” and “24.”

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/08/28/naked_rowers_keep_clothes_on_at_zoo/5561/



Summer baby boom at zoo

Dean Kirby 28/ 8/2007MUM is definitely the word at Chester Zoo, where dozens of new animals have been born this summer.The baby boom has seen the arrival of two red panda cubs, four prairie marmot kittens, 18 flamingos and a three-striped turtle.Other new additions include a buffy-headed capuchin monkey, a bongo calf, a shoal of banggai cardinal fish and a vicuna, a relative of the llama.Bosses at the zoo, which has 7,000 animals, say they are delighted with the new arrivals and in particular by the buffy-headed capuchin.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1014/1014663_summer_baby_boom_at_zoo.html



Zoo Man Killed
Man who lived in his own 'zoo' of insects was killed by his pet spider
A man who lived in a house filled with insects & reptiles was found dead in his home after being eaten by his pet black widow spider.
Spider expert and animal cruelty officer Gabi Bayer said he kept creatures “that should never be allowed in a private home”.
She said: “He had spiders so aggressive they are the equivalent of a pit-bull in the animal world.”
Described by police as a cross between a botanical garden and the butterfly breeding ground in the serial killer movie The Silence Of The Lambs... Mark Voegel's apartment was literally crawling with hundreds of insects.

http://www.bizarremag.com/weird_world/news/6134/zoo_man_killed.html



Regional health inspection performs exam of bear, kept in a zoo after signal from Animal Protection organization
28 August 2007
FOCUS News Agency
Karnobat. Experts from the regional environment and waters inspection in the Bulgarian town of Burgas performed an examination of a bear kept in a zoo in the town of Karnobat, the correspondent of FOCUS News Agency informed. The reason for the exam were publications in the media that the bear was in bad health condition and that the Four Paws foundation was not allowed to carry out an exam of the animal. It was found that the bear is feeding and moving normally. A wound on the right front paw is visible, and the wounded area was treated by the Manager of the zoo Dr. Radko Kanchev.



From wildlife warrior to catwalk model
Larissa DubeckiAugust 29, 2007
THE shorts and T-shirt are for sale, the python isn't. The jury is still out on the child.
The incredible life of Bindi Irwin — wildlife warrior, television personality, tourism ambassador, columnist, nine-year-old — took another quantum leap away from conventional notions of childhood on Sunday when she took to a Las Vegas catwalk to promote her clothing line.
Appearing just a week before the anniversary of the death of her father, "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, Bindi and her minders are hoping to crack America's $US34 billion ($A41 billion) a year children's clothing market with her Bindi Wear International fashion line for babies to 10-year-olds.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/from-wildlife-warrior-to-catwalk-model/2007/08/28/1188067111098.html




Zoo Haul
The life of a zoo keeper is anything but tame! Navigate your way through the zoo grabbing points, avoiding crashes, and picking up the animals. Then drop them at the vet, the wash house, or their cages before time runs out and you just might survive another day at the zoo.

http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/zoohaul.jsp?rssfeed=1&name=racing



The Safari Next Door
You don't have to jet to Africa for great wildlife photos. Just trek to your local zoo.
By Tom and Pat Leeson September 2007
Big-name wildlife photographers aren't eager to admit it, but many of their most famous -- and profitable -- images were taken in zoos. Surprised? Don't be. We're pro stock photographers, and we shoot at zoos all the time. They not only educate animal-lovers about wildlife, they also offer the chance to take pictures (especially portraits and close-ups) that would be difficult, if not impossible, in the wild.
And if you do it right, your photos will go far beyond the typical "zoo snapshot" and really show the beauty and majesty of the animals. Here's how:

http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/4446/the-safari-next-door.html



Life at Chimp Ridge
More than just ‘monkeying’ around for Knox Zoo’s chimps
By Amy McRary
Monday, August 27, 2007
After months of bickering, biting and antibiotics, the six apes at the Knoxville Zoo’s Chimp Ridge have an unexpected leader, a pair of possible parents and a complex mix of alliances, rivalries and relationships.
Not everything the animals decided was what the humans who oversee them expected when chimps Daisy and Jimbo arrived last year. They are the zoo’s first chimps in 16 years, joining females Debbie and Julie and males Lu and Mugsy.
Daisy, 31, and Jimbo, 28, moved from two other zoos after a Species Survival Plan, or SSP, recommendation that Knoxville be their new home.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/aug/27/life-chimp-ridge/



A look at the Crucial Steps in Your Wildlife Photo

http://www.flixya.com/post/biosman2/10822/A_look_at_the_Crucial_Steps_in_Your_Wildlife_Photo



Support Bill 154, The Regulation of Zoos Act

David Zimmer, MPP (Willowdale, Ontario) has introduced a Private Members Bill aimed at cleaning up or closing down Ontario’s roadside zoos. If passed, Bill 154, The Regulation of Zoos Act would require all Ontario zoos to adhere to professional standards of animal welfare and public safety. Currently, many of Ontario's zoos rank among the worst anywhere.

http://careaboutanimals.blogspot.com/2007/08/roadside-zoos-have-negative-impact-on.html



Dated:

Court bans breeding in zoos Web posted at: 10/10/2006 7:56:42Source ::: Agencies
New delhi • The Supreme Court yesterday banned the country’s 250 zoos from breeding programmes for their animals following allegations by animal rights activists that indiscriminate breeding was leading to overcrowding.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=India&month=October2006&file=World_News2006101075642.xml



No breeding of animals beyond prescribed manner: SC
09 October, 2006
The Supreme Court has directed the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to ensure strict compliance of its order dated Feb 7 1995, denying permission to permit breeding of animals in the zoos throughout the country beyond prescribed number. A bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabarwal and Justice C K Thakkar also issued notices to the CZA on a petition filed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeking directions to the authority to implement its order to control and check overcrowding of zoos in the country. At present there are 159 recognised zoos in the country while 84 others whose application for recognition has already been rejected by CZA are still continuing illegally. According to the petitioner, overcrowding of animals in the zoos and wild animal sanctuaries were causing spread of diseases among animals due to prevailing unhygienic conditions in such places. Lack of veterinary doctors and virtual absence of medical treatment of ailing animals has threatened some rare species with extinction. Today's directions were issued by the court which took serious view of prevailing state of affairs in the zoos in the country due to unchecked growth of population of animals for which further control and check on breeding of animals has become paramount. (UNI)

Copyright © 2006 Indlaw Communications Pvt. Limited. (ICPL).All rights reserved.
ICPL shall not be liable for the adequacy of the information, any mistakes, in accuracies or improper display of content and for any actions taken in reliance there on.

http://www.indlawnews.com/AF003961D7B40C0F1B0101A476156FA9



After 73 years, Catskill Game Farm shuts its doors
CATSKILL, N.Y. The Catskill Game Farm's seven-decade run comes to a close on Columbus Day.
The 73-year-old Hudson Valley attraction is closing for good on Monday, and the owners plan to put the zoo's one-thousand remaining animals on the auction block the following week.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5507217&nav=4QcS



Animal-adoring Czechs take puppy love to new heights
By Eric Johnson
dpa German Press AgencyPublished: Wednesday October 11, 2006
By Eric Johnson, Prague- A tobacco shop in Prague's Old Town district offers two kinds of picture postcards: the tourist sort featuring the city's architecture from every conceivable angle, and cute animals. "What do furry kittens and galloping horses have to do with Prague?" a customer asked the counter girl. "People love animals!" she gasped, stunned by a question with such an obvious answer. Obvious, at least, in Prague and the rest of the Czech Republic, where animal love is a powerful cultural phenomenon that's growing with the country's prosperity as a new European Union member.

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Animal_adoring_Czechs_take_puppy_lo_10112006.html



Molek part of global effort for Sumatran tigers
Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 11:13 am
Press Release: Auckland City Council
AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL MEDIA RELEASE
18 October 2006
Zoo's new arrival Molek part of global effort for Sumatran tigers
Sumatran tiger Molek, a mate for male Oz, has arrived at Auckland Zoo to progress the international captive breeding programme for this critically endangered big cat, now numbering fewer than 400 in the wild. While breeding will be a priority, of equally high importance will be advocacy and growing the direct support role the Zoo plays for Molek and Oz's cousins in the wild, via the 21st Century Tiger project - Kerenci Seblat National Park.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0610/S00037.htm



News from the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm



Loony for zoos
And Central Texas has four odd ones.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
My name is Michael Barnes, and I am a zoo addict.
(I'd use the term zoophile, but that comes with a completely different association.)
Of course, in the best of circumstances, animals should roam free, far from man-made enclosures and the probing eyes of curious humans.
Yet wherever I travel, among the required stops are the zoos and aquariums of the world's major cities and distant backwoods. Sometimes, they outrank the art museums and historical attractions for tourist magnetism.
Secondary confession: It's taken me more than a decade to visit the Austin Zoo, the rescue facility off U.S. 290 West. It offers none of the sophisticated charms of a big-city zoo, but, as XL contributor James Haley amply demonstrates in today's cover story, the local animal park is an educational institution and an admirably humane endeavor.

http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/arts/stories/xl/2006/10/26edblast.html

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