Morning Papers - continued

The Independent

Police hunt serial killer as two more bodies bring toll to five
An urgent manhunt was under way last night after a suspected serial killer claimed the lives of two more prostitutes, bringing the number of young women murdered in Suffolk to five.
The naked bodies of the two sex workers were found dumped in fields close to Ipswich.
A police chief described the killings as "unprecedented" and said they were progressing at a more alarming rate than in the case of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, who murdered 13 women between 1975 and 1980.
Officers from throughout the country have been drafted in to help the beleaguered Suffolk police force as fears grow that the killer will strike again.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2070211.ece


Wanted: cultural anthropologist to sort out Seattle's 'holiday trees'
In Seattle, Christmas has already come, and gone, and come back again. One day, the seasonal trees that adorn the international terminal at Seattle-Tacoma airport were there, all twinkling with lights and brightly coloured decorations.
The next day they were gone, victims of a bizarre bureaucratic tussle involving a litigious Orthodox rabbi and a cast of overzealous, politically correct officials terrified of either offending or indulging anyone's religious sensibilities.
In the US as in Britain, this sort of nonsense is becoming an annual phenomenon that right-wing cable news pundits like to call "The War on Christmas".
The furore in Seattle began when a Jewish building consultant wondered if it would not be a good idea to erect a giant menorah next to the traditional airport Christmas trees to acknowledge the Jewish seasonal holiday, Hanukkah. When that idea was rejected, a local Hasidic rabbi, Elazar Bogomilsky, became enraged and threatened to sue the airport if he was not personally allowed to erect and light an 8ft menorah.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2070196.ece


Independent Appeal: Rusty van which supplies Gaza's life-blood
Dr Hassan Deed Suleiman stares at the three pieces of ricketymachinery that stand between him and a meltdown in Gaza's hospital network.
"We do not have back-ups for any of the essential components of our largest blood bank," he says, shaking his head. "If - when - one of them breaks, we will not be able to do proper blood transfusions in much of Gaza. The flow of blood to our hospitals will stop. The effects will be terrible."
Dr Suleiman is the director of Shifa Blood Bank, which supplies 60 per cent of the blood needed in Gaza, for everything from Caesarean sections to bomb victims to haemophiliacs. He talks over the low, unhealthy hum of the battered pieces of old equipment: the refrigerator that stores blood until it can be processed; the centrifuge that separates blood into its components; and the incubator that keeps the resulting platelets warm.
"All of these machines have been in continuous use since 1996," he says. "How much longer can they last?"

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2070204.ece


No 10 hosts green business summit
Executives from some of Britain's biggest firms, with a combined total of 250 million customers, met at 10 Downing Street yesterday to work out a combined plan for a new range of "green" products, to be launched in the new year.
Companies such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, HSBC, BSkyB, B&Q, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse have committed themselves to "accelerating the roll-out of practical, simple solutions" to help consumers reduce carbon emissions.
The BBC director general Mark Thompson, and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, also joined the breakfast summit with the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary, David Miliband. A statement from the firms described their action as "a partnership of collective effort: major brands and organisations reducing their own impact, while simultaneously facilitating action among their customers". Their campaign starts in March.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2067575.ece


Woman gets double hand transplant
A Spanish woman has been given the world's first double hand transplant, doctors have disclosed.
The patient, known only as Alba, was said to be recovering well after the 10-hour, pioneering operation in which surgeons used microscopic technology to attach an anonymous donor's hands to her arms. The 47-year-old, whose hands were amputated after a laboratory explosion 20 years ago, was pleased with the results. "They look beautiful," she said.
The go-ahead for the operation was given by Spain's National Organisation for Transplants. After finding a donor, understood to be a woman declared brain dead after an accident, the operation was scheduled for 30 November. The limbs had been removed from above the elbow, chilled and transported to Hospital La Fe in Valencia in less than five hours. Surgeons then joined the bones using metal plates and screws before connecting the nerves, arteries and veins.
The lead surgeon, Pedro Cavadas, said he hoped the surgery would enable Alma, from Castellon, to gain feeling and even limited movement within six weeks.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2070189.ece


Diet guide warns of weight loss risks
Amid the avalanche of seasonal diet books the Government's watchdog on new treatments today adds another to the pile - with the first official advice on what constitutes the ideal weight-loss diet.
It warns that crash dieting may be dangerous and recommends cutting down by no more than the equivalent of one Mars bar and one Danish pastry a day as the most effective way of losing weight.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2070206.ece


Fiji Times

Bainimarama reassures Fiji investors
1840 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 6.40PM Fiji's military rulers have assured local and overseas investors that their investments are absolutely safe and they should continue with their businesses with full confidence and trust".
Head of the military regime Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has also assured that existing as well as potential investments will continue unhindered.
Commodore Bainimarama said at a press conference an hour ago that the primary aim of the army's "clean-up campaign" was to rid Fiji of bad governance and the endemic corruption which existed under the SDL leadership".
"Both these malpractices have been a great disincentive and hindrance to doing business in Fiji. Our rating as an ideal place to do business continued to show mixed results in the last 6 years," he said.
"As a result, this country has been denied with much needed new and incremental capital, skills and export marketing opportunities. Investors have been in many instances given a 'merry go round' or pushed from 'pillar to post'. This in effect has given them the perception that things do not get facilitated in Fiji without money changing hands, especially 'under the table or side deals'.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=53460


Military regime makes new appointments
1830 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 6.30PM Fiji's military regime has announced a list of new appointments made this afternoon.
Self-appointed President Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama confirmed that Fijian Affairs Ministry CEO Adi Litia Qionibaravi's contract had been terminated.
Adi Litia was reportedly ordered out of her office by armed soldiers earlier this afternoon.
Commodore Bainimarama's brother Ratu Meli, a career civil servant, has been chosen to replace Adi Litia.
Ratu Meli was previously CEO Provincial Development.
As well Rodney Acraman has been appointed acting Ombudsman. The office had been vacant since earlier this year when incumbent Walter Rigamoto, a lawyer by profession, resigned to go into private.
Justice Ministry CEO Sakiusa Rabuka will also be acting Solicitor-General after Nainendra Nand was sacked by the military government. This is until a suitable person is identified.


Qarase, Ratu Josefa 'are weak leaders'
1850 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 6.50PM Deposed Fiji prime minister Laisenia Qarase and president Ratu Josefa Iloilo have been described as weak leaders who forced the military's hand.
And former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who was acquitted of mutiny charges two days ago, said the two were to blame for the crisis in Fiji.
Mr Rabuka, a former army commander, told local media in an interview that Mr Qarase should have seen the military takeover coming.
He adds that had the two men listened to the military's concerns, things would be different.
Despite his comments, Mr Rabuka said he did not support the coup.
He conducted Fiji's first military coup in 1987, deposing the Labour coalition government of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra.


Fiji province confirms rival government plans
1715 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 5.15PM One of Fiji's largest and most populous provinces has confirmed plans to form a 'de facto' government.
The Ba Province, which forms the bulk of the western part of the main island Viti Levu, has confirmed that it discussed a suggestion to offer deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase "the opportunity to establish his government on its soil".
The confirmation has come from a council member who refused to be named.
The council member told Pacific news agency service PACNEWS that the idea of offering Ba Province as the seat of a rival government was later adopted in the form of a meeting resolution.
"These councillors say the offer should be made as a way to protest the unlawful action of the Fiji military in removing a government that we had elected into power," the source said.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=53457


US, Aussies demand return to democracy
1300 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 1PM The US and Australia have demanded a return to democracy in Fiji after last week's military coup and expressed concern about recent political instability in the South Pacific region.
The Fijian military must "return the country immediately to the elected civilian government" and "withdraw completely from politics", said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in a joint statement following talks in Washington yesterday.
Rice and Downer "agreed to continue to work together to help Pacific island countries build stability, democratic governance and economic reforms", according to the statement.
They agreed to encourage other countries in the region and elsewhere to support the same objectives.
It's the first time someone in US President George Bush's inner sanctum has made a comment on the situation in Fiji.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=53451


Provinces back Qarase, rule of law
1515 FJTWednesday, December 13, 2006
Update: 3.15PM The home province of Fiji's deposed Prime Minister says it will only support democratically elected Government.
Chairman of the Lau Provincial Council Ratu Josefa Basulu says the province of Lau "fully supports" Laisenia Qarase's government and that has never changed despite the military takeover of the elected government.
Ratu Josefa is also paramount chief of Mualevu district, where Mr Qarases Mavana Village is situated.
He said the province would only support a government that was elected through the rule of law by the people and would make this clear at next week's Great Council of Chiefs meeting to be held in Suva.
Ratu Josefa made the comments despite the fact that military-appointed prime minister Dr Jona Senilagakali is also from the same province.
Dr Senilagakali is from Waciwaci in Lakeba.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=53454


Use of public funds
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
WHILE a proposal by the military regime to scrap the budgeted 2.5 per cent increase in VAT will be very popular among the poor and ordinary citizens, it comes with a cost.
It's simple: if the regime takes away a source of revenue, it must find an alternative source to fund government services which it has promised the people to continue providing through this crisis.
Either that or it must put in place drastic cost-cutting measures to avoid plunging the Government into a worse financial mess which will take years to put right.
This may come down to reducing the size of the civil service, a decision which it may be reluctant to consider in the political climate.
Pay cuts for civil servants is the other option which was implemented after the May 2000 illegal takeover of the Chaudhry-led government. But again because it will be very unpopular, the military regime may not consider it just yet.
Civil servants are due for another cost of living adjustment before Christmas and this will put an extra burden on the government coffers.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?item=leader


Revive tourism: Economist
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
THERE is an urgent need to move the economy of the country forward and critical to this is the restoration of law and order, says an economist from the Australian National University.
Doctor Satish Chand said the guarantee of law and order was critical for the tourism industry to return to normalcy.
He said economic managers should concentrate on reviving tourism because this was the one industry with the most potential for growth and employment creation.
"If we are able to revive this industry quickly and effectively, then the economic fallout from the coup could be contained," said Dr Chand.
For the interim government, Dr Chand said managing government finances would be the biggest immediate challenge.
He said government finances and the country's foreign reserve positions are both in perilous state thus extreme care would have to be taken to avert a fiscal and balance of payments crisis.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=53431


Los Angeles Times

Rash of murders has England fearing another 'Ripper'
London -- Dread mounted that the peaceful east coast of England had given birth to a new "Ripper" as police hunted Tuesday for the killer of five women whose bodies were discovered in the past two weeks.In recent days, police reported that three bodies had been found naked and abandoned around the city of Ipswich in Suffolk county. Tuesday afternoon, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, head of the Suffolk police crime-management team, told journalists that officers had found two more bodies.
Gull said the women were believed to be prostitutes, although the bodies found Tuesday had yet to be identified. The discoveries revived memories of the reign of "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, who killed 13 women, many of them prostitutes, in northern England in the late 1970s. Nearly a century earlier, Jack the Ripper slit the throats of five prostitutes in London's East End; his identity is still a mystery.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ripper13dec13,0,256734.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Ex-LAPD officer linked to stabbing
The watchman who stabbed an intruder at the Beverly Hills mansion of celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson is a former police officer awaiting trial on charges he lied and created false documents to become a security guard, police and prosecutors confirmed today.Michael Buchanan, a former LAPD officer, was identified in court documents as the security guard who stabbed Nicholas Samuel Marino after he broke into the home Wednesday of Peterson and his wife, Janet.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-121206cop,0,4861943.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Poll finds a U.S. public weary of war in iraq
WASHINGTON -- A majority of Americans favor setting a fixed timetable for bringing troops home from Iraq and just 12 percent would support a plan to increase troop strength, an option under serious consideration by the military, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.A month after the midterm election switched control of Congress to the Democrats, respondents expressed low confidence in President Bush's ability to resolve the conflict in Iraq. By a hefty margin they said Iraq should be the top priority for the new Congress, with a plurality of 45 percent saying they had more trust in Democrats to handle the war. Only 34 percent said they had more confidence in the president, who has rejected the idea of setting a timetable for withdrawing troops.Nearly two-thirds said they believe Iraq has descended into "civil war," which Bush has denied.At a time when the Bush administration is at work on a new strategy for Iraq and is resisting calls to start bringing troops home, the poll suggests that the president and his staff are out of step with public opinion.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-poll12dec12,0,6072121.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Kerry to Meet Soldiers, Leaders in Iraq
By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writer9:34 PM PST, December 12, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Kerry, whose botched joke about U.S. troops in Iraq dealt a blow to his presidential ambitions, will travel to Iraq this weekend to meet with soldiers, political leaders and military officials. "I've talked to plenty of guys who've come back from Iraq, who are there now, who understand exactly what happened," Kerry said of his joke in a telephone interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. "They laugh at it."
The Iraq stop will be part of a nine-day Mideast trip that includes stops in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Israel. A week before the midterm elections, Kerry told a group of California students that individuals who don't study hard and do their homework would likely "get stuck in Iraq." He said he meant to say "get us stuck in Iraq," but the botched joke intended to criticize President Bush forced the senator to apologize and then lay low for the remaining days of the campaign.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top12dec12,0,710854.story?coll=la-ap-topnews-headlines


Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer8:11 PM PST, December 12, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced. The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 -- meaning 105 percent of its goal.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top14dec12,0,1497288.story?coll=la-ap-topnews-headlines


Nuclear 'slip of the lip' puts Olmert on hot seat
Jerusalem -- For half a century, military censors have struggled to defend Israel's worst-kept secret -- that the country possesses atomic weapons.Even as its nuclear history has leaked into declassified documents, articles and books, an official policy of "ambiguity" has endured: By refusing to confirm or deny that it has the bomb, and refraining from testing one, Israel has lived up to a quiet understanding with the United States to avoid fueling a Middle East arms race.So why does it appear that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert finally spilled the beans?In an interview on German television late Monday, the Israeli leader seemed to list Israel among the world's nuclear club, raising an outcry across the political spectrum here and questions about whether the long-standing policy had been abandoned.Asked by the interviewer about Iran's calls for the destruction of Israel, Olmert replied that Israel had never threatened to annihilate anyone.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-secret13dec13,0,6950596.story?track=mostviewed-storylevel


KILLINGS PUT GAZA ON EDGE
The gunning down of a Palestinian official's sons inflames tensions between rival factions.
GAZA CITY — Leaders of the Fatah Party accused gunmen of deliberately ambushing and killing the three young sons of a senior Palestinian intelligence officer Monday, an attack that threatened to escalate fighting between rival factions.The boys and their driver were killed by black-masked men who riddled their car with more than 60 rounds of automatic-weapons fire as they were leaving for school. The boys' father, Col. Baha Balousheh, a Fatah loyalist who dodged a September shooting by Hamas militants, was not in the car.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza12dec12,0,7519656.story?coll=la-headlines-world


UCLA seeks to allay fears on data breach
While some potential victims see a connection to identity theft, UCLA officials say there's no evidence of misuse.
By Rebecca Trounson and Stuart Silverstein, Times Staff Writers9:56 PM PST, December 12, 2006

Mari Nicholson doesn't know for sure that her recent problems with identity theft have anything to do with a major computer security breach disclosed this week by UCLA. But it might explain some weird coincidences.Nicholson, a 2003 UCLA graduate, was among those who received e-mail notification Tuesday that their personal information may have been stolen by hackers who broke into a central UCLA database in the fall of 2005 and had access to sensitive records until last month.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla13dec13,0,7569895.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Vehicle mileage estimates get real
Ratings for '08 models, especially hybrids, will drop in new EPA tests.
By John O'Dell, Times Staff WriterDecember 12, 2006
That 55-mile-per-gallon hybrid car you've been eyeing may end up being a 44-mpg hybrid if you wait for the 2008 model.The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced a new system Monday for evaluating fuel economy that will lower mileage estimates for most vehicles.
On average, vehicles rated under the 2008 method will post a 12% drop in city gasoline mileage and an 8% decline in highway mileage, said Bill Wehrum, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for air and radiation.With the new testing requirements, the EPA is attempting to come up with estimates that more closely reflect the real-world mileage motorists can expect when they purchase a vehicle.Under the current system, which has been in effect since 1975 and was last changed in 1984, actual mileage is often far lower than the posted EPA ratings.Hybrids will be hit harder because the new test eliminates some of the all-electric driving that helped them produce impressive results under the present system, Wehrum said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fuel12dec12,0,1026595.story?coll=la-home-business


Craft spots huge mountain range on Titan
By John Johnson Jr., Times Staff Writer5:33 PM PST, December 12, 2006

San Francisco -- The Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn has found a mile-high mountain range on the giant moon Titan, scientists said Tuesday.The range, which lies in the moon's southern hemisphere, is nearly 100 miles long. It is the tallest range on Titan found by Cassini, which has been investigating the Saturnian satellite for the past two years.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-titan13dec13,0,417377.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Older cement kilns get EPA pass on mercury
Plants built more than a year ago, including 11 in California, won't have to upgrade controls.
By Janet Wilson, Times Staff WriterDecember 12, 2006

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it would not require cement manufacturers — including the nation's largest emitter, in Tehachapi, Calif. — to upgrade plants to control mercury.Cement kilns are an integral part of the building boom in Southern California and elsewhere, turning raw limestone and waste ash from coal plants into the material used to build highways, tract homes and commercial developments.
Mercury, which can be emitted when stone or coal ash is processed, is a potent neurotoxin that can harm developing brains. The emissions also pollute water bodies.Environmental groups that sued under the federal Clean Air Act to force tighter controls said the decision ignored two court orders. The EPA's ruling will require kilns built in December 2005 and onward to limit and measure actual emissions. The agency said that would reduce emissions by as much as 3,000 pounds, in an industry estimated to emit 6.6 tons of mercury annually. But the regulators said that upgrading existing plants would be too costly for industry and the resulting air-quality improvements would be too scant.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cement12dec12,0,7688748.story?coll=la-home-nation


Justice on Katrina time
Hundreds, if not thousands, languish behind bars without their day in court.
NEW ORLEANS — In October 2005, less than two months after Hurricane Katrina struck, Pedro Parra-Sanchez was arrested for allegedly stabbing a man with a broken bottle during a fight. With the city's prison damaged by flooding, he was taken to a makeshift jail at the Greyhound bus station, then transferred to a correctional facility about 70 miles away, and later to a prison in southwest Louisiana. That's where Parra-Sanchez sat for more than a year — never seeing a lawyer or setting foot in a courtroom. At the time of the fight, he had been in New Orleans only six days: He'd left his family in Bakersfield, Calif., and come to help with the storm cleanup effort. By law, the district attorney should have brought Parra-Sanchez to court to formally charge him within 60 days. Instead, "he disappeared," said Pamela R. Metzger, director of Tulane University's Criminal Law Clinic. "The system failed."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-defenders12dec12,0,2624049.story?coll=la-home-nation


Used furniture for school kids
About 400 school administrators spend their Saturday mornings scrambling for a talent agency's unwanted office furniture.
By Roger Lowenstein, ROGER LOWENSTEIN is the founder and executive director of the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, a public charter middle and high school in Koreatown.December 12, 2006

IF ANYONE NEEDED evidence of the chronic underfunding of public education in Los Angeles, one only had to show up at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at Creative Artists Agency's world headquarters in Beverly Hills.The talent agency, about to move into new offices in Century City, offered its castoff office furniture to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The line of 400 administrators, principals, assistant principals and teachers stretched around CAA's massive marble building on Wilshire Boulevard. Each person would be allowed to place tags on five pieces of furniture. As executive director of a public charter school, I jumped at the opportunity too. My school was No. 109.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-lowenstein12dec12,0,1328174.story?coll=la-opinion-center


New York Times

Strains on Nature Are Growing, Report Says
By REUTERS Published: March 31, 2005
SLO, March 30 - Humans are damaging the planet at a rapid rate and raising risks of abrupt collapses in nature that could spur disease, deforestation or "dead zones" in the seas, an international report said Wednesday.
The study, by 1,360 researchers in 95 nations, the biggest review of the planet's life support systems ever, said that in the last 50 years a rising human population had polluted or overexploited two-thirds of the ecological systems on which life depends, including clean air and fresh water. "At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning," said the 45-member board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. "Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted."
The report said future strains on nature could bring sudden outbreaks of disease. Warming of the Great Lakes in Africa from climate change, for instance, could create conditions for a spread of cholera.
The study urged changes in consumption, better education, new technology and higher prices for exploiting ecosystems.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/science/31enviro.html?ex=1166072400&en=fb96666c9588c85e&ei=5070



New Zealand Herald

EU warns four countries over missing CO2 plans

12.30pm Wednesday December 13, 2006

BRUSSELS - The European Commission issued final warnings to Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Italy today for failing to submit plans that allocate how much carbon dioxide (CO2) their industries may emit in 2008-2012.

The Commission sent "reasoned opinions" to the four countries, the final legal step before taking them to the European Court of Justice -- Europe's highest court.

The plans are the cornerstone of the European Union's emissions trading scheme.

Companies receive permits to emit CO2 -- the main gas blamed for global warming -- and trade them on a market. EU states set limits on how much CO2 power plants or oil refineries may emit, and the companies buy or sell the allowances based on whether they overshoot or undershoot their caps.

The plans for the next trading period from 2008-2012 were due to the Commission on June 30. Aside from the four nations that have yet to submit, France withdrew its plan at the last minute last month in the face of likely rejection by the EU.

"For the good functioning of the Emissions Trading Scheme we will have no choice but to take them to court if they do not send their allocation plans soon," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement.

The Commission said it was also taking action against seven member states "for failing to provide complete reports on their progress in limiting or cutting greenhouse gas emissions".

The seven were France, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Luxembourg and Spain.

The Commission also said it was taking Finland, Sweden and Portugal to the European Court of Justice for failing to ensure proper treatment of urban waste water in a significant number of towns and cities.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10415185



Australia bushfires burn across three states

12.10am Wednesday December 13, 2006

CANBERRA - Bushfires burned across three Australian states today, destroying houses and blackening an area larger than Luxembourg, with one major fire front stretching 250 kilometres.
A firestorm on the southern island state of Tasmania struck the east coast town of Scamander, destroying up to 23 houses, although hard-pressed firefighters had little time to assess the damage as gusting winds opened fresh fronts. "You could hear houses exploding and trees going down, you could see the flames roaring up over the hill," resident Sue Brown told local media.
In Victoria, bushfires sparked by lightning strikes continued to burn in rugged bushland in the northeast of the state, destroying more than 280,000 hectares.
Two of the largest fires had linked to form a 250-km front, although cooler weather was assisting a 2,000-strong force of firefighters, troops and 45 water-bombing aircraft before the forecast return of soaring temperatures later in the week.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10415182


Fiji police suspended from Pacific police organisation

12.30pm Wednesday December 13, 2006
In an unprecedented move, Fiji has been suspended from the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP).
Suspension followed an urgent ballot by members, which include New Zealand.
"The PICP members have agreed to suspend Fiji police from participating in the activities of the PICP, pending the restoration of the rule of law in Fiji," chairman Hazime Telei of Palau said.
"The members expressed their strong concern at the intimidation shown against the Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, and his senior staff."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415198



Fiji sliding into Saddam-like dictatorship, Qarase says

Wednesday December 13, 2006By Paul Mulvey
SUVA - Fiji's deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase says the country is sliding into a dictatorship to compare with Saddam Hussein's Iraq as he denied claims he was plotting to set up a de facto government.
Military ruler Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who seized power from Qarase in a bloodless coup last Tuesday, today said he had received information that the former prime minister was planning to set up a de facto government in the country's west.
Bainimarama warned Qarase and his supporters that any rival government would be put down and those assisting would be "putting themselves in harm's way."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415104



NZ mammal fossil find could rewrite textbooks

Wednesday December 13, 2006
The discovery of three small bones near St Bathans in Central Otago is set to rewrite the textbooks on New Zealand evolution.
A team led by palaeontologist Trevor Worthy and Te Papa fossil curator Alan Tennyson discovered the remains of what is a primitive land mammal five years ago.
The creature, believed to be about the size of a mouse, was between 16 to 19 million years old.
The fossils, which were sent to Australia for further analysis, were found in layers of sediment in a site near St Bathans Loop Rd.
Mr Tennyson said the mammal might not be big in size but it was one of the most important fossil finds in New Zealand's history.
"This ranks up there with the discovery of the first moa bones, the first dinosaur bones in New Zealand," he said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10415144


Glide time easy on McCaw's bones
Wednesday December 13, 2006
Richie McCaw at the controls over Omarama. He first flew solo about a year ago.
"Hell, it's awesome," Richie McCaw beams while describing gliding.
And, the All Black captain says, standing on the bustling Omarama Airfield with gliders taking off every few minutes: "It's great not getting bashed up."
McCaw, 25, is in Omarama honing his skills in a sport he took up a couple of years ago, inspired by the gliders he used to see at his parents' farm in the Hakataramea Valley, the former base of the North Otago Gliding Club.
His father, Donald, was keen on gliding and McCaw recalls being around gliders when he was young.
While he had flown fixed-wing aircraft since 2002, clocking up 180 hours, gliding was providing a different challenge - and he was loving it.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415143


World-class Eden Park vital to Cup: rugby chief

Wednesday December 13, 2006 Bernard Orsman
Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs has made an impassioned plea for a world-class stadium at Eden Park amid speculation that a cheap upgrade is on the cards for the 2011 World Cup.
"To maximise the benefits of hosting the tournament, Rugby World Cup 2011 needs to be flawlessly delivered and we need to have a centre-stage, world-class, 60,000-seat stadium that all of New Zealand can be proud of," the former All Black captain said.
Mr Hobbs was speaking in Auckland yesterday at the resource consent hearing for a $320 million upgrade of the existing stadium - subsequently notched up by the Eden Park Trust Board to a "legacy masterplan" costing $385 million.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415134


Prisoner transport changes to start 'right at the top'

Wednesday December 13, 2006
Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor says an overhaul of the prisoner transportation system will start at the top.
A Corrections report into Liam Ashley's violent death in a prison van on August 24 detailed a series of miscommunications, errors and misunderstandings that culminated in the teenager's murder.
Ian Ashley, father of the dead 17-year-old, said the family were considering suing the department for putting his son in the same compartment of the prison van as his killer, George Baker.
Questioned in Parliament, Mr O'Connor said he would oversee changes to the Corrections system to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415129


NZ scientists make malaria advance

Wednesday December 13, 2006
New Zealand researchers are working on a novel weapon to combat malaria parasites that kill about two million people a year, mostly in the tropics.
A team of chemists at Crown research institute Industrial Research in Lower Hutt is working with Albert Einstein Medical College in the US to exploit the fact that malaria parasites cannot make compounds called purines needed for reproduction.
The parasites must salvage and recycle purines from the red blood cells of their human "host".
The project is partly funded by Swiss non-profit organisation Medicines for Malaria and its drug discovery and technology director, New Zealander Ian Bathurst.
Industrial Research, in collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has designed and synthesised a new class of compounds it calls "immucillins", one dose of which could provide a month's protection from malaria.
Potentially the immucillins could help clinicians reduce the effects of a range of auto-immune conditions such as arthritis, prevent rejection in organ transplants, and even provide a treatment of T-cell cancers.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10415135


Gates Foundation pledges $123m to battle malaria

Wednesday December 13, 2006
SEATTLE - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged another US$83.5 million ($123 million) to fight malaria by paying for better controls, vaccine research and prevention of a disease that kills more than a million people a year.
The Gates Foundation, the world's largest charity, said the new grants would also help pay for better malaria tests and for advocacy to get more attention for the disease.
All totalled, the charity started by Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman and world's richest man, and his wife, Melinda, has donated US$765 million to fight malaria, which kills one person every 30 seconds.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415064


New 'Peace model' to challenge Police interview techniques

12.40pm Wednesday December 13, 2006
Police interviewing techniques might be about to undergo a revamp, in an effort to uncover the truth, rather than force a quick confession that could be open to dispute.
A police review over the last year has resulted in an initiative, based on an English "Peace" interviewing model, to be recommended to the Commissioner.
Police News magazine said today the model "provides a framework for gaining the maximum amount of information from an interviewee in the shortest period of time".
No longer would the first aim of a suspect interview be to get a confession.
"Under the new scheme, the aim of all interviews would be to establish the truth."
There were five phases to the Peace model:
* Planning and preparation, which recognised there was no successful interview without planning beforehand;
Engage and explain, which described how to cope with the problems of beginning an interview and established the ground rules;

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10415200


Police need to mind language

Wednesday December 13, 2006
Elizabeth Binning
Police officers' attitude and language ranks highly among complaints to the Police Complaints Authority in the past year.
According to the latest PCA annual report 1741 people made 2829 complaints about the police, most of which were accepted for investigation.
Complaints covered perjury to disgraceful conduct but the main areas of concern were neglect of duty, practice and procedure and the attitude and language of police.
Of the complaints, 96 were partially or fully sustained and 207 were settled after meetings between the police and the complainant.
Professional standards national manager, Superintendent Stuart Wildon, said police made hundreds of thousands of contacts with the public every year. It was therefore expected that there would be occasions when officers failed to meet public expectations.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415137



Concerns over African methamphetamine-like drug in Hamilton

11.15am Wednesday December 13, 2006By Simon O'Rourke
Hamilton Police are concerned an African plant with methamphetamine-like effects is being imported into New Zealand.
Last week 10 kilos of the plant khat (pronounced cot or chat) were discovered during searches of two houses in Claudelands, Hamilton.
Khat is plant material from the catha edulis tree, a native to north-east Africa.
It is also known as African tea.
Detective Sergeant Karl Thornton says khat is a Class C controlled drug in New Zealand, as is cannabis.
Usually chewed, brewed as a tea, or smoked, it is popular in African and Middle Eastern countries.
Police believed it was being used by some immigrant communities in New Zealand.
Mr Thornton said major concerns centred on the fact the drug was finding its way into the country.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415187


Month of whiskers raises $700,000

7.00am Wednesday December 13, 2006
The hirsute month of "Movember" - when 11,000 men grew moustaches - raised more than $700,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Barry Young, president of the foundation, said the Movember campaign raised the profile of men's health issues and prostate cancer in particular.
Prostate cancer kills 600 men a year.


Cullen tax cuts look like only a matter of time

Wednesday December 13, 2006Paula Oliver
It now appears to be a case of when rather than if Finance Minister Michael Cullen will deliver personal tax cuts.
Yesterday Dr Cullen said Reserve Bank warnings on spending did not mean he had to sit still forever.
Speaking after the Treasury revealed the Government's operating surplus was already $800 million ahead of forecast, Dr Cullen said he had heard Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard warn last week against excessive loosening of the purse strings.
"No Government could ignore the warnings of the Reserve Bank," he said last night. "But nor would I read the bank's messages as an excuse to sit still. The bank is not saying 'never' to tax cuts, it is saying 'not now'."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415147


Billboards face the boot from Auckland's city centre [+audio]

Wednesday December 13, 2006Bernard Orsman and Claire Trevett
Workers whose drive into town is cheered by a shot of Daniel Carter's abs could soon be disappointed - the council wants to ban central-city billboards so people can appreciate the "buildings, heritage and natural landscape" instead.
Auckland City Council plans to ban billboards in the Queen St valley - from Hobson St across to Anzac Ave - including Britomart, Karangahape Rd and the Viaduct Harbour. It is argued the ban will help to make Auckland an "international city".
But the chief executive of the Communication Agencies Association, Mark Champion, said it would be more like the "Eastern Bloc before the fall of the Berlin Wall".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415146


Anger as transtasman drug agency bill passes first reading

Wednesday December 13, 2006Ruth Berry
A controversial bill creating a transtasman drug agency passed its first reading yesterday, hours after Winston Peters strode out to confront a protest on Parliament's forecourt, angrily denying he'd reneged on promises.
If passed, the bill will mean complementary medicines - natural health products and dietary supplements - are regulated for the first time.
This has angered consumer groups, which believe the costs and the way the Australians have regulated the medicines will force many smaller producers out of business and products off the shelves.
Critics also argue it raises sovereignty questions and will remove New Zealanders' health choices.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415132


Rotorua park eruption spews out mud and rocks

Wednesday December 13, 2006
The biggest eruption in Kuirau Park since 2001 has served as another reminder Rotorua is at the mercy of unpredictable geothermal activity.
Steam pressure under a mud pool broke through the surface causing an eruption at 7pm on Sunday. Nobody was in the immediate vicinity at the time.
It lasted about an hour and blew mud 15m high over a 30m radius around the pool, singeing trees and grass.
The area, close to the site of an eruption in 2001, has been draped in a ghostly grey coating of mud.
Crystal, 12, and Daniel West, 9, live on Tarewa Rd near the Rotorua Aquatic Centre and saw the "massive explosion" while they were outside their house.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415083


Fiji police suspended from Pacific police organisation

12.30pm Wednesday December 13, 2006
In an unprecedented move, Fiji has been suspended from the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP).
Suspension followed an urgent ballot by members, which include New Zealand.
"The PICP members have agreed to suspend Fiji police from participating in the activities of the PICP, pending the restoration of the rule of law in Fiji," chairman Hazime Telei of Palau said.
"The members expressed their strong concern at the intimidation shown against the Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, and his senior staff."
Mr Telei said this included the unlawful detention of the acting commissioner and assistant commissioner, which subsequently forced their resignations from the Fiji police force.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10415198


Fiji sliding into Saddam-like dictatorship, Qarase says

Wednesday December 13, 2006
By Paul Mulvey
SUVA - Fiji's deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase says the country is sliding into a dictatorship to compare with Saddam Hussein's Iraq as he denied claims he was plotting to set up a de facto government.
Military ruler Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who seized power from Qarase in a bloodless coup last Tuesday, today said he had received information that the former prime minister was planning to set up a de facto government in the country's west.
Bainimarama warned Qarase and his supporters that any rival government would be put down and those assisting would be "putting themselves in harm's way."
Qarase vehemently denied he was plotting a new government from his home island Vanuabalavu where he was banished following the coup.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415104


Date set for sentence review of 2002 Bali bombers

Wednesday December 13, 2006By Olivia Rondonuwu
DENPASAR, Indonesia - The first hearing date has been set for the review of the death sentence of the three key 2002 Bali bombers, despite a defence plea to move the trial location away from Bali.
Denpasar District Court - where the death sentence was first handed to "smiling bomber" Amrozi, his brother Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - will hear the reopening of the case for the first time on December 22.
Lawyers for the trio last week filed their Supreme Court challenge to the executions, arguing the anti-terrorism law used to convict the men was retroactive because it was introduced after the 2002 bombings and could not be applied.
The men were convicted of playing lead roles in the Bali nightclub attacks, which killed 202 people, including three New Zealanders and 88 Australians.
The executions of the bombers - originally set down for July - was delayed after their lawyers said they planned to lodge the judicial review in the Indonesian Supreme Court months ago.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415102


Voters happy to overlook economy in Iran elections

Wednesday December 13, 2006Edmund Blair
TEHRAN - Prices are steadily rising, Iran's queues of jobless remain stubbornly long and investors are keeping a tight hold on their purse strings.
The perfect recipe, it would seem, for voters to punish President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters in local council elections on Friday, the first nationwide vote since the presidential election last year.
But that's not the message from those struggling to make ends meet in Iran's sprawling capital.
"I support Ahmadinejad because he is a righteous person and it is not his fault if inflation is high. It has always been going up. It has no relation to Ahmadinejad whatsoever," said Ali Farrokhi, 20, who runs a stall selling electrical supplies.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415075


Austria to rebuild Jewish sport club shut by Nazis

8.20am Tuesday December 12, 2006
By Alexandra Zawadil
VIENNA - Austria laid foundation stones today for the reconstruction of SC Hakoah Vienna, a Jewish sports club that was closed in the 1938 Nazi takeover of the country.
Officials said the planned 57 million euros ($110 million) complex, to include a school and synagogue, underlined the rising status of Jews in the post-war Austrian democracy after their community was all but wiped out by the Nazi Holocaust.
Ariel Muzicant, head of Austria's 6000-member Jewish community, said the Hakoah facilities to be completed in 2008 in Vienna's flagship Prater park, with partial state financing, would be the largest such Jewish centre in Europe.
"It's almost 70 years since the property was 'aryanised' by the Nazis, but just 18 months since we obtained restitution," Muzicant told reporters. "I believe this is an essential contribution to the viability of the Jewish community."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10414958


Mozart's entire musical score now free on internet

9.20am Tuesday December 12, 2006
LONDON - Mozart's year-long 250th birthday party is ending on a high note with the musical scores of his complete works available from today for the first time free on the internet.
The International Mozart Foundation in Salzburg, Austria has put a scholarly edition of the bound volumes of Mozart's more than 600 works on a website http://dme.mozarteum.at.
The site allows visitors to find specific symphonies, arias or even single lines of text from some 24,000 pages of music.
"We had 45,000 hits in the first two hours...we would not have expected that," programme director Ulrich Leisinger told Reuters in a telephone interview.
A user who types in "Pamina" from Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" will see the music for all five arias she sings, as well as critical texts discussing those passages.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10414964


Bush delays announcing new Iraq strategy until early 2007

10.00am Wednesday December 13, 2006
By Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush will delay announcing a new strategy for Iraq until the New Year, aides said today amid new polls showing Americans are more pessimistic about the war and want a change.
A senior White House official said after Bush held talks with US military commanders that the president was "more likely now" to announce his new policy early in 2007.
Aides previously said Bush hoped to announce a new strategy next week, before the Christmas holiday.
"The point here was not to meet a deadline but to get the job done right and there's still work to be done," the official said on condition of anonymity.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415170


Annan warns US against go-it-alone diplomacy

10.00am Tuesday December 12, 2006
INDEPENDENCE - Kofi Annan, in his last major speech as UN secretary general, urged the United States today to shun go-it-alone diplomacy and collaborate on its world challenges, including the Iraq war.
In a farewell address delivered at Harry Truman's presidential library in Independence, Missouri, Annan praised the 33rd US president's legacy, and quoted Truman in cautioning that "no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others."
Truman was a strong backer of the United Nations and was president when it came into being. The presidential library said it was chosen as the site for Annan's last big speech because of Truman's role in helping found the United Nations.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10414970


Two more bodies found in prostitute murder hunt

8.35am Wednesday December 13, 2006By Michael Holden and Matthew Jones
LONDON - Police hunting a possible serial killer targeting prostitutes said they had found two more bodies today and that they believed five sex workers had now been found dead in the last ten days.
The head of the small local police force said his detectives were facing an "unprecedented" investigation as they attempted to solve five murders in and around Ipswich.
"I can confirm this afternoon two bodies have been found," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.
He said the bodies were probably those of missing prostitutes Paula Clennell, 24, who has not been seen since Sunday, and of 29-year-old Annette Nicholls, who has been missing for at least a week.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415157


Parents of missing prostitute remember 'wonderful girl'

Wednesday December 13, 2006Terri Judd
IPSWICH - "I never in my worst nightmares thought your life would turn out like this," read the card attached to a bunch of flowers where Gemma Adams was last seen.
To her parents, she was still the intelligent, animated child who had played the piano and joined the Brownies while growing up in the comfortable suburb of Kesgrave, near Ipswich.
Yesterday, it became increasingly likely that Adams, the girl who was once so devoted to her dog, Holly, would forever be linked with the ravages of a serial killer.
Brian and Gail Adams were still reeling from the news, broken to them two weeks ago, that their "wonderful" daughter was working as a prostitute and had disappeared off the streets of Ipswich. A fortnight later, police returned to tell them the 25-year-old's naked body had been found in a brook a few kilometres away.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415099



Police say prostitutes 'hold key' to killer

Wednesday December 13, 2006
LONDON - Police hunting the killer of at least two prostitutes in East Anglia said on Tuesday they believe the street walkers of Ipswich may have vital information that could help identify the murderer.
"I am convinced the working prostitutes in Ipswich probably hold the key as to who is responsible and they need to contact Suffolk Police with any suspicions they may have," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.
He appealed for sex workers to come forward after police mounted high-visibility patrols in the red light area of the city overnight.
Gull said it was too early to say whether one individual or more were behind the murders. Three prostitutes have been found dead and two more reported missing.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415105


Two African Union staff kidnapped in Sudan

Tuesday December 12, 2006
KHARTOUM - Armed men have kidnapped two African Union military personnel in Sudan.
"The force commander of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is utterly dismayed at the hijacking yesterday...of an AMIS vehicle together with two military personnel by unidentified armed men," the AU said in a statement.
The AU called on the kidnappers to release the two and their vehicle immediately and unconditionally.
No more details were immediately available.
The AU maintains a 7000-strong force in Sudan's Darfur region to monitor a peace agreement that has so far failed to halt violence there.
It agreed just a fortnight ago to extend the mandate of its Darfur force for six months, after Sudan rejected proposals for the deployment of a larger United Nations force to replace it.


Euthanasia debate rages in Italy as man asks to die

8.15am Wednesday December 13, 2006
ROME - Supporters and opponents of euthanasia today awaited a court's ruling on the fate of a paralysed, terminally ill Italian man who wants doctors to take him off life support so he can die.
The case of 60-year-old Piergiorgio Welby has sparked fierce debate in the predominantly Roman Catholic country where euthanasia is illegal.
Welby suffers from advanced muscular dystrophy and is confined to a bed, attached to a respirator. But he has become one of the most recognised faces in the country.
Welby, who is lucid and speaks via a computer that interprets his eye movements, has appeared on news programs and written to Italy's president and newspapers asking to be allowed to "find peace for my tortured and shattered body".
A Rome court began examining an appeal on his behalf on Tuesday but the ruling could take days.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10415153

continued …

New Zealand Police Dogs

Police dog Diesel finds a new job he can enjoy

Friday December 8, 2006

Diesel, the British police dog who pined so much when his former handler emigrated to New Zealand that he lost his job, may yet see his offspring working for the police.

Sergeant John Gallagher, of Wellington, paid $5832 to bring Diesel out from Britain.

Diesel, a 4-year-old german shepherd, is now his family's pet, but is still serving law enforcement, in a manner of speaking.

He has been standing at stud in New Zealand to bitches whose genetic lines have produced good police dogs.

"In the near future there will be some Diesel pups around," said Mr Gallagher.

"We're hoping his offspring will be suitable for police work - Diesel's line is very popular in Europe."

New Zealand police have brought a bitch from Holland and are considering another from Canada to introduce the right mix to their breeding lines for police dogs.

When Mr Gallagher, 42, moved to New Zealand two years ago to train police dogs and their handlers at Trentham, British police kept Diesel as he was doing a good job in East Lancashire.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10414326

December 11, 2006

Near Willows, California

Photographer states :: Tens of thousands of snow geese spend the winter in the Sacramento Valley. These were near the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge.

ADI Submits Evidence to USDA in Case Against Elephants in Captivity

AZA: Zoo Elephants Thriving; New Data Filed with Federal Government Thwarts Anti-Zoo Extremists

12/12/2006 9:30:00 AM

To: National Desk

Contact: Steve Feldman, 301-562-0777, ext. 252

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Comments filed yesterday by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveal new data that demonstrates elephants in accredited zoos are in very good health.

"Anti-zoo extremists should call off their orchestrated attacks against zoos. The facts are indisputable - elephants in accredited zoos are thriving," said AZA Executive Director Kristin Vehrs. "AZA-accredited zoos care for more than 280 elephants across North America. We have compelling data to show that AZA's mandatory 'Standards for Elephant Care and Management' are working. The elephant population in AZA-accredited zoos is healthy."

AZA comments to USDA state:

American Tortoise Rescue (click on)

December 10, 2006

Englewood, Florida

Photographer states :: This was taken at Lemon Bay Park in Englewood, Florida. This park is just crawling with these slow creatures.

Morning Papers - concluding

Zoos

All but Ageless, Turtles Face Their Biggest Threat: Humans
This was no euphemistic brushoff, no reptilian version of “Sorry, I’ll be busy that night washing my hair.” Paddling around in a tropically appointed pool at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the husky female Gibba turtle from South America made all too palpable her disdain for the petite male Gibba that pursued her. He crawled onto the parqueted hump of her bark-brown shell. She shrugged and wriggled until he slipped off. He looped around to show her his best courtship maneuvers, bobbing his head, quivering his neck. She kicked him aside like a clot of algae and kept swimming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/science/12turt.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin


PETA's only concern was for animals at Primarily Primates
Kathy Guillermo / Guest Column
A recent opinion piece by Friends of Animals' Lee Hall (“The struggle to save a sanctuary and a movement,” Nov. 21) attempted to portray Primarily Primates Inc. in San Antonio as a victim of greedy people who are attacking the facility for self-serving reasons. But all one has to do is look at the information released by the Texas Attorney General's office to see that this simply isn't true.
On Oct. 13, in response to the attorney general's 32-page complaint, a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order and law enforcement officials converged on Primarily Primates Inc., seizing control of the facility. The attorney general's complaint alleged financial mismanagement, misappropriation of charitable assets, neglect and mistreatment of animals, cruel confinement, failure to provide for the animals' psychological needs, hoarding and human safety concerns. The court appointed a temporary receiver to marshal PPI's assets and to take responsibility for animal care and financial operations.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061206/OPINION02/612060321


Flag Acres Zoo plans to shut down
Owners say next season is their last, citing increasing regulation and costs
HOOSICK -- When big Bud the black bear was a cub, he loved to ride in the passenger seat of Harry "Butch" Vonhaggin's pickup truck on errands down to the village.
“As he got bigger we had to stop that because people were so surprised when they saw him, it could have caused an accident," Vonhaggin said as he poked his hand through the cage wire and rubbed Bud, now a very old 20, on the head.
"We been buddies a long time, huh Bud ol' boy," the zookeeper said as he pushed some fresh green grass through heavy wires of the large farm corn hopper that served as a cage.
The Capital Region will soon lose Bud and all the 200 plus animals at the Flag Acres Zoo. Vonhaggin and his wife Lynne said the increasing rules and regulations governing small operations like theirs and escalating expenses will force them to close in the fall of 2007, the end of their next season.
The zoo has been open to school groups and the public each year between May 10 and Sept. 10 since 1989.
They plan to set up shop on a property outside Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2008 season.
"All the regulations are just getting crazy," Vonhaggin said.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=541976&category=RENSSELAER&BCCode=&newsdate=12/6/2006



Ashley students take oyster report to D.C.
A delegation of Ashley High School students will deliver a presentation about oyster restoration in Washington, D.C., from Dec. 5-8. (From left) students Matt Albee, Mary Greer, Josh Jenners, Peter Nemmers, N.C. Aquarium educator Stefanie Misner and Ashley science teacher Bryan Bishop. A schedule of events appears at the end of the release.
Kure Beach – Four science students from Ashley High School will deliver a presentation about oyster restoration at the National Student Summit on Oceans and Coasts in Washington, D.C., during the week of Dec. 5-8.
Ashley juniors Matt Albee, Josh Jenners and Peter Nemmers, and senior Mary Greer have spent the past several weeks preparing their 20-minute audio-visual report, which details the economic and environmental importance of oysters and recommends steps for restoring oyster populations depleted over the past century. The four will be accompanied by their biology teacher, Bryan Bishop, and by Stefanie Misner, an educator from the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Bishop and Misner advised the students during preparation of the report.

http://www.topsail-island.info/wordpress/index.php/ashley-students-take-oyster-report-to-dc/


Rock wallaby return
Wednesday, 6 December 2006
Reporter: (online) Terri-Anne Kingsley
Presenter: Fiona Parker
The critically endangered brush-tailed rock wallaby is returning to the Grampians, with the official opening of a re-introduction facility on the edge of the National Park.
Tony Corrigan is a Parks Victoria ranger, and he says the re-introduction facility will help increase the success rate of introducing zoo-raised rock wallabies into the wild."It's a two-hectare paddock. We're bringing animals that have been bred in zoos into this paddock so they can get used to the climate in the Grampians and get used to being outside a pen, in a more open environment."The pen is fox-proof, the fox being the main threat to rock wallabies and other small native animals, but there are other causes that contributed to brush-tailed rock wallaby's decline.

http://www.abc.net.au/westernvic/stories/s1805678.htm?backyard


Genders of zoo's baby penguins a mystery
By Jody CallahanContact December 7, 2006
They call the little guy "Samson," but the zookeepers know that might have to change.
That's because no one knows whether the Memphis Zoo's penguin chick, hatched just a little over a month ago, is a boy or a girl.
Penguins, you see, have no external reproductive organs, so the only way you can tell if it's a "Mr." or a "Ms." is to do a blood test -- or wait for an egg.
So for now, the three baby penguins at the zoo -- Samson is joined by Dee Dee, 18 days old, and Liam, 14 days -- will keep their given names.
But what happens if Samson decides to lay an egg one day?

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/article/0,2845,MCA_25340_5195569,00.html


Ontario MPP demands zoo regulations with teeth
RECENT NEWS
A Liberal MPP has introduced new legislation to address the deplorable conditions animals are kept in at Ontario’s roadside zoos. If passed, Bill 154, “‘The Regulation of Zoos Act’ would require all Ontario zoos to comply with professional animal welfare and public safety standards. The proposed legislation would ensure every zoo animal receives appropriate care and housing and that zoo visitors, staff and surrounding communities are safe.
We’re calling on all Ontario residents to support this bill.

Click here to help us improve the lives of zoo animals.

Bill 154 has the support of the three leading animal welfare organizations in Ontario: the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Ontario SPCA), and Zoocheck Canada. MoreView First Reading of Bill 154, "The Regulation of Zoos Act" here
Ontario stands out as the worst jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to ensuring the proper care of captive wildlife.

http://www.ontariozoos.ca/


Study: Ebola killed gorillas too
WASHINGTON - Recent outbreaks of ebola among people in Africa also killed thousands of gorillas, animals already threatened by hunting, a new study reports.
Outbreaks in Congo and Gabon in 2002 and 2003 killed as many as 5,500 gorillas and an uncounted number of chimpanzees, a research team led by Magdalena Bermejo of the University of Barcelona in Spain reports in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
While conservationists had raised concern about gorilla mortality previously, Bermejo's study provides an estimate of how many died in the epidemic.
"Add commercial hunting to the mix, and we have a recipe for rapid ecological extinction," the researchers wrote. "Ape species that were abundant and widely distributed a decade ago are rapidly being reduced to a tiny remnant population.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is marked by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain — and many suffer internal and external bleeding.
The researchers began studying gorillas in the region in 1995 and by 2001 were focusing on 143 animals who had become accustomed to having people around.
In 2002, ebola flared in among people in the region, killing dozens, and 130 of the gorillas in the study also perished. The researchers turned their attention to another group of 95 gorillas, but a 2003 ebola outbreak killed 91 of those animals.
That prompted the team to analyze the regional pattern of gorilla deaths and they concluded the disease spread primarily from gorilla to gorilla starting in the north and moving southward through the region. They concluded that at least 3,500 gorillas died in the outbreaks and possibly as many as 5,500.
They also found evidence of a large number of chimpanzee deaths but said they didn't have enough evidence to make an estimate of the total.
The research was funded by Energy Africa Oil Company, the

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061207/ap_on_he_me/ebola_gorillas


Tas devils arrive on mainland
Twelve wild tasmanian devils have arrived at Victoria's Healesville Sanctuary as part of a nationwide effort to ensure the survival of the species.
The population of tasmanian devils seriously declined after the emergence of devil facial tumour disease in the mid 1990s.
Forty-seven devils are being sent to zoos around Australia as part of a captive breeding program.
Dr Graeme Gillespie from Zoos Victoria says it is hoped the program will lead to the long-term security of wild populations.
"The plan is to bring over a colony of animals to the mainland and these animals will be distributed amongst a number of zoological institutions in various states, including Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1809587.htm


ADI Submits Evidence to USDA in Case Against Elephants in Captivity
Monday December 11, 6:25 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the USDA concludes its consultation reviewing living conditions for captive elephants in the US. With evidence mounting of the difficulties of adequately caring for these animals in captivity, Animal Defenders International (ADI) has presented the USDA with a substantial dossier of scientific research which highlighting that many captive elephants in the U.S. are being held in conditions which seriously compromise their welfare.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061211/sfm209.html?.v=1


27 Maharashtra zoos may shut down soon
NAGPUR: Zoological parks in Maharashtra may soon be passé, as the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a statutory body under union ministry of forest and environment, has asked as many as 27 small zoos across the state to shut down for violating rules.
The apex body has also written to the state government some time back saying barring Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Pune, no other zoo follows the standards prescribed under the National Zoo Policy, 1988.
Some of the popular Sunday stops that are facing the closure are the Maharajbagh zoo of Nagpur and the Jeejmata Udyan of Mumbai.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1068576


Fight the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) (S.3880) defines as "terrorism" causing any business classified as an "animal enterprise" (e.g., factory farms, fur farms, vivisection labs, rodeos, zoos and circuses) to suffer a profit loss and is punishable by a long prison sentence -- even if the company's financial decline is caused by peaceful protests, boycotts, media campaigns or leafleting. Defining non-violent activist tactics that cause exploitive corporations to lose profit but don't physically hurt anyone as "terrorism" is both a deceptive misapplication of a serious termand a completely unacceptable violation of our Constitutionally-granted First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Industry groups pushed the AETA through Congress quickly and with little public scrutiny.The AETA was unanimously passed in the Senate on September 29th and on November 13th it was passed in the House with only 5 Representatives voting. President Bush signed the AETA into law on November 27th.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=41079128&blogID=203687891


Wildlife Park Workers on Strike, Leaving Animals Unfed
Friday, December 08, 2006
Hundreds of workers at a state-owned wildlife park in south China's Guangdong Province are on strike in protest against pay levels, leaving the animals unfed.
Shenzhen Wildlife Park closed to visitors on Thursday morning, saying it was unsafe as no staff were working, the Nanfang Daily reported on Friday. Only foreign tourists in a package tour were admitted, but found few animals on view. They said they saw monkeys eating weeds from lake. More than 100 park keepers gathered in front of an office building beside the entrance gate, holding a banner asking to be justly paid for "10 years of toil." A man surnamed Xie, who worked in the park's transport department, said all 400 park workers were on strike the whole of Thursday.

http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=915802


Fight the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) (S.3880) defines as "terrorism" causing any business classified as an "animal enterprise" (e.g., factory farms, fur farms, vivisection labs, rodeos, zoos and circuses) to suffer a profit loss and is punishable by a long prison sentence -- even if the company's financial decline is caused by peaceful protests, boycotts, media campaigns or leafleting. Defining non-violent activist tactics that cause exploitive corporations to lose profit but don't physically hurt anyone as "terrorism" is both a deceptive misapplication of a serious termand a completely unacceptable violation of our Constitutionally-granted First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Industry groups pushed the AETA through Congress quickly and with little public scrutiny.The AETA was unanimously passed in the Senate on September 29th and on November 13th it was passed in the House with only 5 Representatives voting. President Bush signed the AETA into law on November 27th.Read the full text of the bill

http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle17969.html

One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and six

An Act To provide the Department of Justice the necessary authority to apprehend, prosecute, and convict individuals committing animal enterprise terror.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act'.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO ANIMAL ENTERPRISES AND THREATS OF DEATH AND SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO ASSOCIATED PERSONS.

http://noaeta.org/S3880ENR.pdf


Ol' black eyes is back
Once the world's most prominent endangered species, the panda population is booming with hands-on help from Chinese scientists. But are the results a triumph - or an ethical minefield? Jonathan Watts reports Saturday December 9, 2006The Guardian
Viagra, pornography, partner-swapping, artificial tongues and electrified rectal probes. No, they are not the ingredients for a new series of Sex And The City; they are the hard-core husbandry techniques behind the biggest boom ever seen in the captive giant panda population.
The world's most famous endangered species is making a comeback. After a record 31 births in zoos and research centres this year, Chinese scientists say they have developed a near-100% success rate for breeding the animals. The population in the wild has stabilised at just over 1,500 and their habitat - one of the most important centres of biodiversity in the world - has been given a new and expanded guarantee of protection by the government. But the story is not nearly as black and white as the animals, as a visit to the Wolong Nature Reserve, deep in the forested mountains of Sichuan Province, suggests.

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1966664,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1


ANNUAL FLU PANDEMIC WARNING FOR HAJ PILGRIMAGE GENERATES CALLS FOR MASS VACCINATIONSEXPERTS SAY BIRD FLU VIRUS IS STILL "SMOULDERING"It's time once again for the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, so that means the now standard annual warning of a possible flu pandemic breaking out amongst the millions of Muslim worshippers is being sounded.The difference this year is the rising call for worshippers to be vaccinated before they arrive in Saudi Arabia. Not only is the call being promoted as a necessity, but some experts are demanding the vaccinations become mandatory.

http://birdflublog.blogspot.com/2006/12/annual-flu-pandemic-warning-for-haj.html



Mayor to help Krasnoyarsk zoo buy giraffe and Tibetan Yak
Krasnoyarsk, Dec. 7 (Newslab) - Krasnoyarsk Mayor Petr Pimashkov discussed cooperation prospects with directors of two Czech zoos. The parties touched upon exchange of animals between Krasnoyarsk flora and fauna park "Royev Ruchey" and Brno and Vyskov zoos, Czechia, at the meeting.
In particular, they discussed an opportunity to buy a giraffe and a unique Tibetan yak for "Royev Ruchey", Krasnoyarsk mayor's office reported.
The Czech zoo directors assessed the development rate of Krasnoyarsk zoological garden highly and said they wanted to buy musk-oxen, Siberian deer and gluttons in Krasnoyarsk.
"I am pleased with cooperation with the Czech zoos. It will be a great event for "Royev Ruchey" to buy a giraffe, and we are going to contribute to this by all means."

http://english.newslab.ru/news/208018


Maryland Zoo Losses Heading Higher

BALTIMORE -- The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is struggling with red ink.
Zoo Director Billie Grieb told the Board of Public Works that the zoo lost $3 million in the last fiscal year and will likely have bigger losses this year.
Grieb said expenses are going up but zoo funding hasn't changed. However, she said she is optimistic.
"We have been chronically under-funded for many years, and we're now trying to address that with the state, which is our principal funder," she said.
Grieb said she knows the prices at the zoo are too high.
"We would like to lower admission prices, because we think we have priced ourselves above where most people are comfortable paying. We'd like to get visitorship up where we think it should be," she said.
The budget is made up of two parts -- the operating budget and the capital budget. The capital budget covers set costs, including new construction.
"We have received very generous state support on the capital side. Also, it's easier to raise capital money, because donors like to put their names on buildings and exhibits and things like that," Grieb said.
The operating budget, like food for the animals, is what falls short each year. To make up for the shortfall, prices would have to jump higher without additional state help.
"We would have to charge another $10 per visitor … that's really a lot," Grieb said.
Grieb and officials from other Baltimore attractions spoke about different ideas for marketing their attractions to draw more tourists.
Three years ago, the zoo almost had to close due to financial problems.

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/10481233/detail.html


Zoo bird flu vaccinations considered success
Researchers say a trial of preventive avian flu vaccinations for birds at a number of Swiss zoos last year was reasonably successful.
The tests, authorised by the Federal Veterinary Office, showed that most of the animals had supported the treatment well and many of them had built up resistance to the influenza virus.
The vaccination campaign was launched after the deadly HN51 virus made it to the shores of the Black Sea in autumn 2005. The zoos in Basel, Zurich, Bern and Goldau put in a request to immunise their birds.

http://www.nzz.ch/2006/12/07/eng/article7328309.html


"(AP) Memphis Zoo must wait to learn gender of 3 penguin chicks"
The Memphis Zoo celebrated the births of three African black-footed penguin chicks this year, but it may be a long time before zookeepers know whether they are females or males.
Samson hatched a little over a month ago and is waiting in the zoo's hatchery to be joined by Dee Dee, who is 18 days old, and Liam, who is 14 days old.
Zookeeper Meeghan Bell says the names of the three chicks are arbitrary because penguins have no external reproductive organs.
The only way for the zoo to learn their gender is a blood test _ or just wait for an egg.
"We do have one female over there named Rupert," Bell...

http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/ap-memphis-zoo-must-wait-to-learn-gender-of-penguin-chicks/64131.htm


A Trip To The Zoo And Look Real Reindeers!

http://skyeblue2u.blogspot.com/


Siberian tiger cub dies at Peoria zoo
Associated Press
PEORIA, Ill. - A Siberian tiger was found dead in his holding area at the Glen Oak Zoo in Peoria over the weekend.
An examination showed that Danya, a 1-year-old cub, died Saturday from suffocation after suffering a crushed windpipe.
Zoo officials said the injury was most likely caused by another tiger, and they hadn't ruled out the possibility that it was an accident from aggressive tiger cub play.
Danya, a 150-pound male who arrived at the zoo in October from a Colorado zoo, shared an enclosure with two female tiger sisters, Nika and Kyra.
Staff had slowly started introducing the tigers so they could eventually share the same exhibit space.
The tigers were expected to be a major attraction at Glen Oak. Saturday was their sixth day together.
Experts said the circumstances of Danya's death were rare and that zoo staff handled the situation appropriately.
"There's nothing they should have done differently," said Ron Tilson, director of conservation at the Minnesota Zoo and coordinator of the Tiger Species Survival Plan.
Zoo staff in Peoria were shaken by Danya's death.
"The news was shocking," said Yvonne Strode, the zoo's director. "We're still in shock."

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/16219719.htm


N.C. Zoo's lion cubs go on exhibit
ASHEBORO — Three African lion cubs born in October went on public view for the first time Monday at the N.C. Zoo. Taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather and a delay in plans for renovations to their holding facilities, the three cubs followed their mother, Sala, into the outdoor lion exhibit about 11 a.m. The public may be able to see the cubs again during the next month, depending on weather conditions. Skies must be sunny and temperatures at least 50 degrees to give the cubs "access" to the outdoor habitat, according to keepers.A renovation project slated for the lion holding area has been postponed until mid-January, but may keep the cubs indoors for two months after construction begins.For now, the male and two females cubs will be exhibited only with their mother. Visitors can see the adult male lion on days the cubs are not on display.Born Oct. 23, the triplets marked only the second lion-cub birthing at the N.C. Zoo since 1983 and the first since two female cubs were born in July 2004.

For keeper reports and interim updates on the cubs’ progress, the public can visit a special "Cubs Corner" section of the zoo’s Web site at www.nczoo.org.

Read more in Tuesday's News & Record or visit us again online.


PEORIA: One of endangered tigers found dead at zoo
PEORIA - Danya, one of four Siberian tigers expected to be major attractions at the expanding Glen Oak Zoo, was found dead in his enclosure Saturday morning.
The 1-year-old tiger cub died from suffocation caused by a crushed windpipe, an examination showed. The injury was likely inflicted by another tiger.
"The news was shocking," said Yvonne Strode, the zoo's director. "We're still in shock."
Danya, a 150-pound male, who came to Peoria Oct. 13 from a Colorado zoo, died away from human view in an enclosure with two female tiger cubs. Zoo officials had recently begun taking small steps introducing the tigers so that one day they could share the same exhibit space.

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/121106/PM__BBPJL7PL.045.shtml


Raja's 14th birthday party will include a workout, zoo says
News-Democrat News-Democrat
The St. Louis Zoo's male Asian elephant, Raja, will celebrate his 14th birthday in a party at 11 a.m. Dec. 27 at River's Edge, zoo officials announced Monday.
Weather permitting, Raja will show off his daily exercise routine, in which zoo keepers ask him to raise his legs, sit up, bend his knees and raise his trunk.
"These exercises are tailored to strengthen his core muscles, which are important for a breeding bull elephant," the zoo said in a press release. "For a successful workout, Raja will be rewarded with healthy snacks of hay, bananas, apples, melons and leafy browse.
"Some of the female elephants will also open “presents” in yards on either side of him."
Visitors are invited to sing “Happy Birthday” and cheer Raja as he works out. Visitors can sign a giant birthday card and take part in activities at Lakeside Cafe. Birthday cakes and hot chocolate will be available for purchase.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/breaking_news/16216284.htm


Zoo visitors mourn the loss of Ruby
By Dawn Jefferies / WSLS Newschannel 10
Dec 11, 2006
Gone, but not forgotten. "They're very enamored and everybody knows Ruby. Ruby is part of the community," Dawn Roberts said about her children.
Mill Mountain's siberian tiger was part of Dawn's son Luke and daughter Sara Beth's young lives as well. "They wanted to know if they could bring flowers," she said.
So much so, they skipped a plan to meet Santa to pay their respects. "They didn't want to do that. They'd rather do this today instead so that's what we decided to do. They kinda understand, they know she's in heaven."

http://www.wsls.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSLS%2FMGArticle%2FSLS_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149192128783&path=!news!localnews


White Buffalo born at Pa. zoo
FARMINGTON, Pa., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Woodland Zoo in Farmington, Pa., has announced the birth of a rare white buffalo -- a one in 10 million occurrence.
A naming ceremony for the calf, which was born Nov. 12, has been scheduled for Dec. 23 at the zoo, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday.
White buffalo hold a special significance for American Indians, many of whom believe the birth of such a creature is a sign of the return of a prophetess.
"The appearance of the white buffalo signifies the return of the White Buffalo Calf Woman," said Wynne Brown, one of the organizers of the naming ceremony who said she is part Cherokee. Many tribes believe the prophetess will teach people to communicate with the creator.
The buffalo's birth "is a unique opportunity across the nation for healing to occur," Brown said. "The name of the buffalo must reflect that."
She said a name would be chosen from submitted ideas by zoo owners Sonny and Jill Herring.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061211-125828-7534r



Racine Zoo to start charging admission soon
RACINE — In January the Racine Zoo will leave the dwindling ranks of free zoos around the country. The new ticket booth at the Main Street entrance marks a new chapter in the facility’s history, said Jay R. Christie, Zoo President and CEO.It was announced in May that the institution would start charging admission on Jan. 1, 2007. Christie said to help reduce the growing financial deficit in the zoo’s operating budget, they will be implementing a defined fee schedule for admission every day but Monday starting Jan. 1.Zoo members will enjoy free admission every day along with an array of other special benefits. For Racine county residents, admission on Mondays will continue to be by voluntary donation.Admission fees from April 1 to Oct. 31, when the animals are most active, will be $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and $2 for children ages 3-15. Fees will be reduced by 50 percent during the winter months, when animals such as the rhino and the giraffe are not on display. Children under age three get in free year-round. Zoo members will also be admitted for free.

http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=9579


Wildlife artist gives zoo talk
A WILDLIFE artist is to give a talk at Edinburgh Zoo on her experiences of being a volunteer with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.
Carol Barrett spent a month with the wildlife group in September. The talk takes place at the zoo education centre on February 15 from 7.30pm.

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=951&id=1839442006


Zoo gets new eagle
The David Traylor Zoo of Emporia’s newest member seems happy with her new surroundings.
Dottie, a female bald eagle now joins the zoo’s other eagle, a male, who doesn’t yet have a name. Dottie sat perched on the top branch of the eagle exhibit while the other eagle sat below.
“She wanted the top perch from the beginning and he gave it to her,” said Steve Trebilcock, the zoo’s director.
Dottie arrived to Emporia’s zoo in October, but had to be in quarantine for a period of time before she could join her new mate. Dottie was found with a dislocated shoulder in Alaska. The shoulder couldn’t be repaired enough for Dottie to be released back into the wild. Dottie is flighted a little bit, but not enough.
“She can’t hunt on her own,” Trebilcock said.
Trebilcock said the transition has been smooth for Dottie and the other eagle. They both sat quietly in the eagle exhibit watching their surroundings.
“What you see now is pretty much like it was (when they were first introduced),” Trebilcock said.
Representatives from Emporia State Bank were on hand to view the birds Monday morning. Jim Wayman, president, and Karen Sommers, vice-president of marketing were there to view the birds.
Emporia State Bank donated the money to build the exhibit and they donated the $250 is took to get Dottie to Emporia.
“It’s fun to see her looking (so) natural,” Wayman said as he looked at the birds. “It’s magnificent.”
Trebilcock said he is happy to see the birds in the exhibit together.
“We’re really happy to see them,” he said. “There’s not any aggression.”


Zoo camels heading to Alberta to meet groom
The Assiniboine Park Zoo's three female Bactrian Camels are scheduled to be shipped to a zoo at Innisfail, Alberta, where Kleaver, the groom, is waiting anxiously for their arrival.
This species is uncommon in Canada, so it is important that the Zoo's females reproduce. Highly endangered in the wild, there are only 850 wild Bactrian Camels surviving in the cold deserts and high plateaus of Mongolia and south western China. Along with the Dromedary or One-humped Camel, it was brought into domestication about 6,000 years ago. Camels originated in North America and spread to other continents via the Bering and Panamanian land bridges as early as 2.5 million years ago. Manitoba's native species of camels became extinct just 8,200 years ago.
The Zoo has maintained Bactrian Camels since 1961, during which time two other males, Buddy and Ringo, sired 18 offspring. The Assiniboine Park Zoo is the only zoo in North America, and one of the few in the world, to display all six members of the camel family. Well-adapted to the cold, all six species are on display everyday throughout the winter.

http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2006/12/11/2736877.html
Los Angeles Zoo


Md. Zoo names new CFO, asks state for more funds
BALTIMORE - The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is taking a hard look its finances and is turning to a new chief financial officer for direction.
“Reality is that the biggest challenge [faced by the Zoo] is funding. We need to deal with that right up front,” said Thomas M. Berger, who took the post of chief financial officer last week. Previous CFO Follin E. Cullen resigned this past summer.
Berger said the Zoo is asking for $4 million in supplemental funding from the state, above the $4.1 million is currently receives. Of that amount, $3.1 million is used for operating expenses and about $1 million is paid by the state Department of Education to allow Maryland school students to visit the Zoo at no charge. That figure fluctuates based on the number of students in the state, Berger said.
The Zoo’s total operating budget is $12 million.

http://www.examiner.com/a-448949~Md__Zoo_names_new_CFO__asks_state_for_more_funds.html


NaplesNews.com - Naples Daily News - Naples, Florida
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006 Updated at 6:10 a.m.

Commissioners OK refinancing, cutting Naples Zoo loan by $3M

By Laura Layden
Monday, December 11, 2006
While the Naples Zoo is growing, the loan that saved it is shrinking.
About a year ago, Collier County borrowed $35.9 million to purchase the land under and around the landmark zoo to keep it out of the hands of developers.
On Nov. 28, Collier County commissioners unanimously agreed without discussion to refinance the loan and to cut it by $3 million.
The zoo is now leasing its land from the county. With its survival no longer threatened, it is investing in new exhibits, new signs and new animals.
The county refinanced the zoo loan Tuesday so it could avoid making a balloon payment that was due then. The loan was structured that way because the county expected to be able to pay down the debt with taxpayer money and other contributions collected over the past year.
As it turns out, only taxpayer money is available to shrink the debt. Private contributions never came through and neither did money from other government agencies.
Collier County has qualified to receive as much as $9.9 million from the state's Florida Forever program to create a 79-acre park next to the zoo, and $1.5 million of that grant would go toward repaying the loan for the land purchase. But that money isn't expected to come until next year.
Last December the county bought 130 acres, including the roughly 40 acres under the zoo, for $41.5 million. Other land was sold off to reduce the county's cost, and the county used more than $5 million in taxpayer money to reduce the loan amount up-front.
Two years ago, voters agreed in a referendum to pay $40 million for the land and to tax themselves annually as much as $1.50 for every $1,000 of taxable property for 10 years to rescue the zoo. The county began collecting the money in fiscal 2006.
"The intent at this point is to levy the 0.15 mil and retire this as quickly as the cash is collected," said County Budget Director Mike Smykowski.
Based on an 8 percent growth rate in the county's taxable value the loan could be paid off by 2010, using the maximum tax rate, he said. That does not take into consideration the money that would come from the state grant.
A slowdown in the local real estate market could mean it will take longer to pay off the loan, Smykowski said.
"Everything was built around the assumption of 8 percent," he said. "Whether we will have 8 percent growth is anyone's guess. We won't know that until next July when we get a certified taxable value from the property appraiser."
The county has a $2 million surplus available from the tax levy last year and another $1 million from early tax collections this year to reduce the loan amount.
Last year, the county collected nearly $8.9 million from taxpayers for the land purchase. This year, the tax will generate nearly $11.6 million and most of that money is expected to come to the county later this month, Smykowski said.
The new loan is for five years. But it's a commercial paper loan, which gives the county the flexibility to pay it off sooner and to make principal reductions at any time.
At one time, the Big Cypress Basin, a water management agency, talked about kicking in $5 million toward the land purchase. But the board never voted to contribute the money because "the county never asked us for assistance," said Clarence Tears, the basin's executive director.
"I think they found all the funding needed to pay for the parcels," he said. "So at this point, where I see we can provide support is probably in the construction phase."
There's still a lot of work to be done before a check can be cut by the state through the Florida Forever program.
It may be another 10 months before the county gets the money. A project plan must be approved and an award agreement has to be executed, said Amanda Townsend, operations analyst with Collier's Parks and Recreation Department.
While the county expects to get $9.9 million through the program, how much it actually receives will depend on the results of land appraisals.
The county has quotes from three firms to do the appraisals, Townsend said. Two appraisals are required and they would be averaged to come up with a value for the land.
"We are working to get surveys now for appraisers," Townsend said.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/11/commissioners_ok_refinancing_cutting_naples_zoo_lo/?local_news


Zoo showcases reindeer
BLOOMINGTON -- A band of families touring Miller Park Zoo on Sunday bundled up in hats, mittens and scarves to stay warm.But zoo resident Ealu -- the star attraction of the day -- stood happily in the snow near the zoo’s carousel, her nose buried deep and searching for a taste of grass.“Sometimes I hear people say ‘Oh those poor reindeer, out there in the cold’,” said zookeeper Carol Pagluica.“But I explain they don’t need to worry about staying warm: They like the snow,” she said, loosely holding Ealu’s leash.The Bloomington zoo owns two female reindeer, Ealu and her littermate Rikka. The pair were born in 2003 at the Cincinnati Zoo, and transported as youngsters to Illinois.Of the sisters, Ealu, tends to work better with crowds, said Pagluica. So, this afternoon Rikka got to rest in her stable, while Ealu posed for family pictures and let children and adults pet her back.Her good behavior was rewarded with extra nibbles at a cup of reindeer chow — a mix of crushed Aspen leaves, vitamins and minerals. “She loves this stuff,” said the zookeeper.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/12/10/news/doc457cd61b7c072754008222.txt


Tears flow for deer
Christina Straby quickly ate her toast yesterday so she could be on time to leave with her husband.
She didn't want to miss the daily visit to Bam-Bam, the deer they raised at the farm of their friends, the Livingstons.
Yesterday, the Greely couple had farther to travel. Bam-Bam was seized Tuesday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and moved to the Papanack Park Zoo in Wendover, about 50 km east of Ottawa.
"On the way over we thought maybe it would be better for Bam-Bam to be with other deer," Bruce Straby, 72, said.
After seeing their beloved deer, that opinion quickly changed. Tears streamed down 69-year-old Christina's face as she scanned the zoo.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2006/12/11/2735801-sun.html

New Year’s Eve Jungle Party at Auckland Zoo

AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL 11 December 2006 New Year’s Eve Jungle Party at Auckland Zoo
Come along to Auckland Zoo on 31 December for the best family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration in town – the Buzz! Junior Jungle Party.
As party-goers come through the main gates at 6pm, they’ll be magically transported into “Tiger Time”. Tiger Time is three hours into the future, so everyone can cheer in the New Year at the earlier time of 9pm at the Band Rotunda with live band, The Zoolus, and other fabulous guests and entertainers.
There will be plenty to keep the family entertained throughout the evening, including roving characters, an inflatable wave slide, bouncy castle, interactive games and spot prizes and giveaways. For kids looking for adventure, there’s even a Buzz! Junior trail to follow that will take them to the new Playstation 2 game, Buzz! Junior Jungle Party, so that they can find out what all the buzz is about.
The zoo party hasn’t forgotten about the grown-ups, who can kick up their heels and dance away the last few hours of 2006 to great music, courtesy of The Zoolus, at the New Year's Eve Party Zone (Band Rotunda). The zoo's licensed cafe, Darwin's, will be open, and catering for all ages, and there's also the opportunity to join the kids and take a walk through the zoo grounds to check out what the animals are doing on New Year’s Eve.
“New Year’s Eve can be a tricky night for families- you want to do something special, but know midnight is a stretch for littlies. Our Buzz! Junior Jungle Party solves that problem by having midnight at 9pm, and it’s a fabulous way for all the family to welcome in 2007,” says Jackie Sanders, Auckland Zoo events and sponsorship coordinator.
“We also want to encourage families to think globally about their New Year’s Eve resolutions, and make some that will help the planet, and future generations. Small achievable achievable actions like reducing their plastic bag use, recycling organic waste to make compost to fertilise their gardens, or being less reliant on cars by using public transport more, will all help,” says Ms Sanders.

Auckland Zoo’s Buzz! Junior Jungle Party event is brought to you by Buzz!

Junior Jungle Party in association with Playstation

2. Supported by 91Zm and Flava 96.1.

Buzz! Junior Jungle Party – New Year’s Eve:

- Sunday, 31 December, 6pm – 9.30pm the Zoo will be cleared at 5.30pm and reopened at 6pm.
- tickets available from Auckland Zoo –

www.aucklandzoo.co.nz

or phone 360 3805 and from Ticketek –

www.ticketek.co.nz

or phone 370 5000

- prices – adults $22.00, children (4-15 years) $15.00, under 4 years free.

Family passes and concessions available.

FOTZ members receive a 20per cent discount.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0612/S00120.htm

Horses need help this winter
THURMONT -- Horses at Tranquility Farm Equestrian Center are the cast-offs of a society which does not provide for animals that no longer can provide for society.
There's Ima, who can't be ridden because of a slipped hock, there's Cinnamon, who has bad knees but a loving attitude, and there's Um'lette, who outlived her usefulness on the racetrack.
Sarah Transeau, 31, has tried to provide for these horses while running a not-for-profit riding school that caters to disabled as well as able-bodied people. But she's running out of feed and money for veterinary care. She's hoping people will remember the horses in need when making holiday donations.

On the Web: www.tranquilityfarmequestrian.com

Maleah Stringer: Horses are still waiting for help

About seven years ago there were several of us in the community who tried to get help for some horses on Indiana 236 going toward Middletown.
For those of you who travel this road you know the ones I mean. More often than not, this little piece of paradise is flooded. The horses had been known to stand in mud up to their chests. Often, there was no food and the water trough was empty. People brought hay and water.
At last count there were over 75 calls into various agencies trying to get something done. Former State Representative Scott Mellinger got involved and was able to persuade the state veterinarian to visit the site. Unfortunately, the veterinarian’s comments were disappointing. To sum it up, yes, the horses were suffering from neglect and probably should be removed but he’d seen worse, and they did have food and water. Legally, according to Indiana animal abuse laws, they could not be removed. Huh.

http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/peopleandplaces/local_story_341165549.html?keyword=topstory

Retired New York Police Department horses will be relocated to new pastures
OTISVILLE, New York: About 30 retired New York Police Department horses will be relocated to other pastures under a deal that ends a legal fight between the city and the owner of an Orange County ranch.
Old police horses had been coming to this pasture two hours north of Manhattan for decades under a lease covenant signed in 1983, when New York City sold the land. But the city last year accused the biotech company that owns the ranch of improperly caring for roughly 30 Mounted Unit horses. Lawyers for Breonics Inc. denied the charge and claimed instead the city was shirking its responsibility.
A state judge this summer ruled the lease covenant no longer applied, but left it to Breonics and the city to agree on how to continue caring for the animals.
Under the deal announced by the city late Wednesday, the horses will be relocated within 120 days and the city will continue to pay for care and upkeep. The city will relinquish its claim that Breonics is required to care for the horses on the Orange County property and Breonics will sell the pasture and pay the city $175,000 (€131,835) from the proceeds.
New York City has been looking at other retirement ranches in upstate New York and New Hampshire. Some horses have already been adopted by individuals.
"This settlement permits the city and the NYPD to ensure the level of care that the retired horses deserve, secured by long term contracts with qualified stables that will provide excellent conditions for both the current and future retired horses," John Low-Beer, a lawyer with the New York City Law Department, said in a prepared statement.
Breonics president Ernest Green said the settlement was good because it frees the company to sell the land and stops the city from continuing the legal fight. "It stops them from just carrying this on and on," he said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/07/america/NA_GEN_US_NYC_Old_Police_Horses.php

New Surface Aims To Make Arlington Park Safer For Horses
Officials Say Synthetic Surface Safer
CHICAGO -- Officials at Arlington Park racetrack announced on Thursday that they would replace the main track's surface with a new surface that they said would reduce the risk of injury.
Last season, 21 horses died after running the track.
"We have to go ahead and do it," said Track President Col. Roy Arnold. "It's simply the right thing to do -- that's really the bottom line."
The cost for replacing the existing surface at the 80-year-old racecourse is approximately $10 million. Although repeated investigations failed to pinpoint a cause for the typically fatal injuries, NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski reported that track officials said the track was safe. They said the synthetic surface, which is made of recycled rubber, wax and sand, is safer.
"It’s a fantastic drainage system," said Kevin Greely, vice president of racing at Arlington Park. "It completely removes weather from the equation."
Only Arlington Park's main dirt track would be replaced. The grass track and the practice track would remain unchanged.
A number of European tracks use synthetic surfaces, Wojciechowski reported, but in the United States, the Keeneland Track in Kentucky was among the first to convert to a synthetic surface.
"The main thing we found in a synthetic track is it is a lot safer" said trainer Carl Nafzger.
Arlington Park officials said they don't think the winter weather will have much impact on their project, and said they hope to have the project completed by next April. Construction begins on Monday.
"We aren't going to be left behind," said Arlington Park Chairman Richard Duchossois. "We are going to be a leader."

http://www.nbc5.com/news/10486506/detail.html

Assateague Horse Population Runs Wild
Assateague Island park officials say that the population of wild horses is too large and wants to reduce the herd in order to prevent overgrazing.The 138 horses dine on salt marsh grasses that block harmful nutrients from seeping into the water. The grasses also provide a nursery for species of fish and shellfish. The options include contraception or removing some of the horses, or both. The park service will take written public comments until December 15th.The National Park Service held a public meeting on the issue yesterday attended by more than 30 people.

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/displaystory.asp?id=3654

Police horses plan clears another hurdle
ANOTHER fence has been cleared in the race to return police horses to the streets of Essex.Plans to reinstate a mounted section to the county's force after a seven-year absence have been endorsed by Essex Police Authority.However the decision, taken at the meeting of the full authority at County Hall in Chelmsford this week, still needs rubberstamping by the finance and audit committee in the New Year.Essex Police disbanded its mounted section in 1999 in a cost-cutting exercise because of lower-than-expected budget settlements from the Government.Robert Chambers, authority chairman, said he was delighted Essex Police were looking to bring back the horses.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED07%20Dec%202006%2001%3A00%3A24%3A973

Roundup of sick horses ends in Md.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHARPSBURG, Md. -- A roundup of dozens of sick and underfed horses is complete, five days after animal control authorities seized a farm, the Humane Society said.
Authorities seized Windrinker Farm on Saturday, after they found dozens of horses dead or in various stages of poor health.
No charges had been filed against the farm owner, Barbara K. Reinken, who has denied mistreating the animals.
The Humane Society of Washington County said workers and volunteers had removed 52 of the 74 live horses found on the 33-acre farm by late Tuesday.
Investigators found 10 dead horses, and one died before it could receive care. Some carcasses were in a field, others had been buried and five were mostly skeletal remains.
The remains of at least four horses were sent to a lab for necropsies, Humane Society spokeswoman Katherine Cooker said.
A report on the investigation will be sent to the office of the state's attorney, according to the Humane Society.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_BRF_Sick_Horses.html

Daredevil horse stunt clip goes international
HE became the talk of the town when he pulled off the heart-stopping stunt astride Malibu the horse to light the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 cauldron at the Opening Ceremony on Friday. And barely two days since, Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani’s name has crossed the boundaries of the Gulf, with the nearly five-minute long video clip of the daring stunt circulating via MMS and e-mail not just in Qatar but in faraway countries as well.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=120740&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Horse in dramatic stunt at Asian Games opening ceremony
December 4, 2006
A horse took centre stage at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006. For the first time in the history of the Games, a horse was involved in the act of lighting the cauldron. Final torchbearer Sheik Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani cantered up a steep ramp the height of the stadium to light the flame.
The horse, with specially adapted shoes for extra grip, slowed momentarily halfway up the ramp, but continued on to complete the stunt.
The horse may have been temporarily blinded by the hundreds of camera flashes from the spellbound spectators.
Al Thani is the coach of the Qatar Endurance team. The purebred brown Arabian horse he chose for his well documented ride was trained in Australia by Steven Jeffery, who starred as the Lone Rider at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Three horses were trained in Australia for the stunt over an eight-month period, and the sheik chose his mount only a day before the opening ceremony.
Horses play a vital part in Arabian traditions and that was beautifully demonstrated in front of 50,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers all around the globe in a choreography called "Tribute to the Desert Horsemen". Riders in white traditional vestments and 64 horses did their freestyle.
Growing Asian interest in equestrian is evident in Doha where the number of participating teams in Dressage and Jumping has nearly doubled from previous events. With Endurance included for the first time, medals will now be decided in four disciplines. Eventing, the oldest discipline at the Asian Games, started in 1982, but Doha is the first Arabian location to host a cross country competition.

National Zoo Ready to Show New Sloth Bear
WASHINGTON - One of the newest additions to the National Zoo is ready for its first public appearance.
A four-and-a-half month old sloth bear has spent most of its time indoors, but the Zoo is ready to send the cub outdoors.
The cub won't have long to adapt to his new surroundings -- all three of the Zoo's sloth bears are scheduled to move into a new exhibit in September.
As for the cub's new name? The Zoo hasn't come up with one yet.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=799122


Zoo celebrates tortoise arrivals

Staff at Chester Zoo are celebrating the arrival of three tiny additions which are set to continue their work to save a species from extinction.
Three Egyptian tortoises, each smaller than a raspberry, were hatched at the zoo in the last few days.
Kevin Buley, head of lower vertebrates and invertebrates, said the survival of the species depended on breeding programmes at zoos across the world.
The Egyptian Tortoise is critically endangered in the wild.
Habitat destruction
"Our tortoises might well be tiny at the moment but what they currently lack in size, they make up for in importance," said Mr Buley.
"It is only through the continued successful breeding of this species in zoos in the coming years, that there can be any hope of one day seeing these animals returned to the wild."
The Egyptian Tortoise is found in the wild in Mediterranean coastal deserts of Egypt, Eastern Libya and western Negev in Israel.
Its numbers have rapidly declined since the 1960s because of the exotic pet trade and destruction of its habitat through development.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/5005210.stm


National Wildlife Federation Officially Recognizes Oregon Zoo For Butterfly Exhibit

PORTLAND, Oregon - The National Wildlife Federation officially recognizes the Oregon Zoo's butterfly garden Winged Wonders as a certified wildlife habitat. This site demonstrates conscientious planning, landscaping and sustainable gardening while providing wildlife with the four basic elements -- food, water, cover and places to raise their young.

http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=330837&cp=10997


Paramedics to the horse's rescue

It was a bizarre animal incident at a children's play farm - paramedics were called in to help save a miniature horse because no vets were available.Early on Saturday at the Kinderplaas Zoo in Rietfontein, a pig got into "Chokkie" the horse's enclosure. It took a bite at the horse, leaving a gaping wound in his leg. The owner of the play farm, Suzette du Plooy, said: "I was quite worried as Chokkie was bleeding badly. "I first tried to phone for a vet to come - and I couldn't get hold of one in the entire Moot area."When Du Plooy called ER24, the service immediately sent someone out to help. "When the paramedic arrived, he warned me he normally only works with humans, but he would try his best," said du Plooy.Chokkie was doing fine after being bandaged up. The pig, whose name Du Plooy would not disclose, is still in the dog box. - Staff Reporter

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=vn20060522044437469C921405


For the seals' next trick … a new home

FIVE fur seals in the Melbourne Zoo will get a new $20 million home as part of next week's state budget.
After 80 years of wear and tear — and the occasional leak — the zoo's popular seal pool will be replaced with a bigger and deeper one.
Environment Minister John Thwaites said that once the upgrade was complete, the exhibition would have state-of-the-art filtration systems, an underwater viewing window, and a separate "show pool" with an amphitheatre for visitors and keepers.
"The Australian fur seals are one of the most popular animals at the zoo, and this new home will see them become an even bigger attraction," Mr Thwaites said.
The existing seal display was built in 1938, but was originally designed as a monkey enclosure called Monkey Island. Fifteen years later it was filled with water and converted into a seal pool.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/for-the-seals-next-trick-133-a-new-home/2006/05/21/1148150124425.html


Replacement Erie Zoo Gorilla Dies En Route

Tumai, the 21 year old lowland gorilla enroute to the Erie Zoo, on Thursday, May 18th, has died. The gorilla was being delivered from a zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, when zoo officials say his heart simply "stopped beating." He was onboard an airplane scheduled to land in Cleveland when he died. This is the second time a gorilla expected to arrive at the Erie Zoo has died. In November 2005, Kuba, a 16 year old gorilla from Topeka, Kansas died of a heart attack, just prior to his arrival. Both Tumai and Kuba were to be mated with Samantha, Erie's female gorilla. Erie Zoo spokesman Scott Mitchell said in a phone conference with Newswatch that the zoo is devistated by the loss, and it's too early to tell what the zoo's next step will be. A necropcy will be performed to determined Tumai's exact cause of death.

http://www.35wsee.com/news2a.cfm?more=8748&category=1&news=fullstory



Denver Zoo To Open New Lorikeet Exhibit
New Exhibit Offers Up-Close Interaction with Lorikeets
(CBS4) DENVER Denver Zoo will open its newest exhibit, a new open-air aviary designed for public interaction with Lorikeet parrots on May 27. The new Lorikeet Adventure exhibit will provide visitors an up-close and personal experience with some fine-feathered friends.“Denver Zoo visitors have enjoyed close interaction with lorikeets since Lorikeet Adventure opened in 2002,” Denver Zoo VP for Planning & Capitol Projects, George Pond said. “The new aviary will provide an even better experience for our visitors.” The $1.9 million exhibit includes a 3,500 square-foot mesh walkthrough aviary designed to allow visitors to hand feed these brightly-colored parrots nectar throughout the year weather-permitting. The new exhibit will provide guests with easier entry, wider pathways for navigation and a rolling brook that winds through the exhibit and seating areas. The structure, just west of Primate Panorama will also provide more room for bird housing.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_140120126.html


Photo in the News: Elephant Shuns Jumbo Treadmill

May 19, 2006—You can lead an elephant to a treadmill, but you can't make her walk.
That's the lesson zookeepers are learning in Anchorage, Alaska, where they have been struggling to get the zoo's resident elephant to exercise.
Maggie, a 23-year-old African elephant (pictured here on May 16), is the only pachyderm at the Alaska Zoo, where she is kept indoors much of the time to protect her from the cold.
Critics have charged that Maggie should be moved to a zoo in a warmer climate, where she can enjoy the outdoors and the company of other elephants.
But rather than give her up, Alaska Zoo officials decided to build Maggie the world's first elephant treadmill.
The 25-foot-long (7.6-meter-long) apparatus was custom-made by an Idaho firm that constructs conveyor belts. But building it turned out to be the easy part.
Since the treadmill arrived at the zoo last September, Maggie has refused to use it, despite all kinds of tasty enticements from her handlers.
Zookeepers have used apples, carrots, birch-tree branches—and, yes, peanuts—to try to coax her onto the contraption. But so far she's gotten just three of her feet on the belt before backing off.
Still, Maggie's keepers are confident that she will come around in time.
"We have to be patient. Nobody has ever done this before," trainer Beth Foglesong told the Anchorage Daily News.
"The instructional video didn't come with [the treadmill]."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060519_elephant.html

Zoo Bears Test 'Bear-Proof' Trash Cans

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- If you want to make sure your trash can is bear-proof, give it to some bears to test.
That's what the Bear Education and Resource Group did recently at a zoo in Lacey Township, N.J.
Four bears went after trash cans the group bear-proofed and filled with snacks.
They bears barely made a dent in the trash cans after 30 minutes.
The number of bears in New Jersey has skyrocketed and the group wants homeowners to keep their property safe.

http://www.wesh.com/news/9239988/detail.html


RAPID CITY - The mountain lion siblings that were captured in Rapid City this week have been split up.

The female lion was shipped to a zoo in Portland, Ore., this morning; the male was released back into the wild later in the day.
The eight-month-old lions were orphaned when their mother was tracked, treed and killed Tuesday morning. The 40-pound female kitten was darted and captured Sunday; the 60-pound male kitten was trapped and darted Wednesday morning.The local lion adventure started Sunday when a local resident spotted the female kitten in a tree. He alerted authorities, who darted and captured the young female cougar.Game, Fish & Parks big-game biologist John Kanta then spotted a mule deer carcass nearby that was being watched by the mother lion. It ran off when efforts were made to capture or kill it.The lion, which had a radio collar on it, was pursued and finally treed by hounds Tuesday morning. It was killed with several shots from a pistol.The adult lion was deemed to be a hazard to public safety, GF&P officials said.Traps were set for the last of the lions and the young male was found in a trap Wednesday morning. The lion was darted and moved to the Rapid City GF&P building, where both kittens were kept.GF&P Assistant Director George Vandel said the female left for Portland on a 5 a.m. flight Thursday."We actually had a very unique situation here," said Tony Leif, game program manager. "The placement of an animal that young is not easy."But the Oregon Zoo had another lion of a similar age and was willing to adopt the female, Leif said. The two lions will have a calming effect on each other, he said.The male lion was much more aggressive, so much so that it had to be tranquilized every time it was handled by GF&P staffers, Vandel said."It's a very wild animal," Leif said. "It's 60 pounds of muscle, claws and teeth."It's been placed "as far away from communities as we can get it," he said. The sub-adult male was taken into the wilds at 11 a.m. Thursday and dropped off.The lions were orphaned after a decision was made to kill the mother. Vandel said putting down a lion is never an easy decision. But in this case, it was the right one, he said."We have basically zero tolerance for lions that move in or live in communities," Vandel said. "It's just not a safe situation. These are large predators and they are capable of unpredictable behavior."GF&P Secretary John Cooper made the call to kill the mother lion and was consulted on the decision to relocate the kittens."It's unfortunate we have to take out individual lions," Vandel said. "Nobody likes doing it."He said everything that was done was in keeping with an established GF&P policy.Public safety must override concerns for wildlife, Vandel said. There has never been a fatal lion attack in state history, but there have recently been several close encounters in which the lion backed off, he said.He is concerned that people are coming too close to lions and don't realize they are dealing with a wild and dangerous animal. "If you encounter a mountain lion, keep your distance," Vandel said.The state mountain lion plan is available at

http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/MountainLions/MtLionPlan.pdf
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16660335&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156925&rfi=6

Healthy Kids: It's at the zoo
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Something new is happening at the zoo. It could mean a lot for children, their knowledge of the wild and even their health.
Woodland Park Zoo today opens an exhibit that introduces children to animals and environments in an active way. Zoomazium is pretty amazing.
Children of various ages will be able to walk and climb through a series of realistic mountain, forest and grassland exhibits. They can participate in plays and puppet shows or use interactive exhibits.
For a generation raised on TV, iPod and computer games, this is a healthy move. As Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder," told a P-I reporter during a zoo visit this year, "They really understand that it is very, very important within the zoo to offer a hands-on experience beyond a petting zoo."
As Louv has observed, today's children get relatively few opportunities for any kind of physical activity, especially in nature. (Zoomazium is indoors; the past week's weather notwithstanding, this is still Seattle.) Despite the mania for cramming children full of facts, their mental development is harmed by lopsided experiences.
Other groups are trying to help. Seattle Audubon has a number of efforts to connect kids with nature. The National PTA has launched a campaign to save recess, which is most shortchanged in poorer neighborhoods.
The trends are stacked against active kids. Zoomazium is a promisingly countercultural institution.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/270782_zoomed.html

concluding …

One white cap after another. This storm would simply toss anything in the water around like a toy.

December 8, 2006

Llanes, Asturias, Spain

Photographer states :: Too much strength. No surfer in the water.

December 8, 2006

Santander, Spain

Photographer states :: A furious temporary one has whipped the Coasts of the Cantabrian one. Large waves, winds of 100 Km/h. and a lot of wind. In the coast and Beaches could be seen large furious waves breaking of way.

There are no degree readings below negative 26 C. That is at Dome C. Vostok is - 19 C.

Conditions and temperatures across the continent (click on)

It would be grossly imprudent of me to ignore the fact that sublimination of huge ice masses may very well end with a 'Big Splash' in surrounding ocean waters. If that should occur with Greenland and Antarctica there will be significant tidal waves (tsunamis) that will kill people in coastal cities. The reality of such event(s) would result in permanent sea level rise immediately. Coastal communities would not be recoverable. Populations could be lost. Once those big ice cubes enter the oceans they will only remain somewhat bouyant for a while but will degrade quickly into water as soon as they hit subtropical and tropical gyres. The splash zone would be incredibly significant as well depending on the size of the iceberg resultant out of 3 mile high Blue Ice.

Humidities are significant, over 50% in over half of the reporting stations.

Ross Ice Shelf could 'collapse quickly' (click on)

SCIENTISTS working in Antarctica fear the Ross Ice Shelf, an ice platform the size of France, could collapse quickly and trigger a rapid rise in sea levels.

A research team drilling in the frozen continent has recovered three million years of climate history, New Zealand newspaper The Press reported today.

An analysis of sea floor samples near Scott Base suggested the Ross Ice Shelf had collapsed before, probably suddenly.

Scientist Tim Naish said the sediment record gave crucial evidence about how the Ross Ice Shelf would react to climate change.

"If the past is any indication of the future, then the ice shelf will collapse," he told the newspaper.

"If the ice shelf goes, then what about the West Antarctic Ice Sheet? What we've learnt from the Antarctic Peninsula is when once buttressing ice sheets go, the glaciers feeding them move faster and that's the thing that isn't so cheery."

Antarctica stores 90 per cent of the world's water, with the the West Antarctic Ice Sheet holding an estimated 30 million cu km.

In January, British Antarctic Survey researchers predicted that its collapse would make sea levels rise by at least 5m, with other estimates predicting a rise of up to 17m. Mr Naish, a sedimentologist with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, said the team was retrieving a detailed history of the ice shelf.

"We know from the Larsen Ice Shelf (which collapsed on the Antarctic Peninsula in 2002) that they go extremely quickly," he said.

Morning Papers - concluded

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Conditions
Snow

Temperature (temperate)
-3.0 C

Updated Tuesday 12 Dec 2:15AM

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Temperature
34 °F / 1 °C

Conditions
Overcast

Humidity
81%

Dew Point
28 °F / -2 °C

Wind
5 mph / 7 km/h / 2.1 m/s from the North

Pressure
28.92 in / 979 hPa

Windchill
30 °F / -1 °C

Visibility
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV
0 out of 16

Clouds
Mostly Cloudy 700 ft / 213 m Overcast 1600 ft / 487 m
(Above Ground Level)

end

This happened last year as well. First day of Summer in Australia is December 21, 2006

December 11, 2006

Black Hills Tasmania, Australia

Photographer states :: Fires rage on the East Coast of Tasmania [and we are a very small state], snow is falling on the West Coast, and we are in between. Taken prior to sunset at 8.00 pm. Extremely strong winds blew in this bank of cloud, which bought hail and heavy rain - briefly. Not enough to break the drought. Yesterday temperatures were in excess of 30 degrees centigrade. Tomorrow snow predicted to 700 metre level.