Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Honk for Peace, Honk-Honk for Justice!
By Victor Kittila / Patriot
My court date is 1:00 PM, Wednesday, July 26th, 2006
43rd District Court
305 East Nine Mile Road
Ferndale, MI 48220-1796
My arrest was ordered by Michael Kitchen (Police Chief)
The arresting officer was Jason Collett
Magistrate: Mead
I believe I am being charged with "disorderly conduct" and "disturbing the peace" (I hope the irony isn't lost.)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=687
Parking lot of 43rd District Court, Ferndale, MI
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=&daddr=305+E+9+Mile+Rd,+Ferndale,+MI+48220&ie=UTF8&ll=42.460795,-83.131356&spn=0.014532,0.04313&om=1
Arraignment in Ferndale
By Victor Kittila, Patriot
I will wear my BlueNovember Peace shirt. I will, no doubt, be asked to remove it before entering the court. I will. If people come wearing slogans on their shirts, pants, or underpants, please be prepared to remove them before entering the court. Also, you cannot enter the courtroom naked. Plan ahead.
I've ordered 100 "HONK" buttons and I will make small "HONK" signs of various flavors. No buttons or signs will be allowed in the courtroom. I hope there will be songs of freedom...
This is just an arraignment. Nothing will be resolved at this point except my plea which will be Not Guilty. It will be over quickly once it comes before a judge. All that will happen will be the possible setting of a court date. It will be months away.
At last Monday's vigil, at least one driver, Joe Plambeck, 27, of Ferndale, was issued a $110 ticket for honking to show support. He may not be alone.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=693
Raging Grannies Will be There Singing
By Granny Nancy Goedert, Patriot
We Raging Grannies will be there singing. Our songs are sung to familiar tunes, so we will pass out song sheets and perhaps others will join us.
The police action against the motorist is exactly what I would expect of a bully. They are going overboard with this. It makes me feel so sad.
Nancy
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=694
Have Your Website Honk-Honk for Peace
Please steal the above images. Post them on your website and link them to this page. Together, we can all get the internets honking for peace and honk-honking for justice.
To have your web page honk-honk for peace, you just need to paste some HTML code into your page. We recommend putting the code at the bottom of your web page, just above the closing tag. This will ensure that it won’t interfere with the layout of the page.
Click here to view the code to paste into your page.
HONK-HONK!
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=692
Peace activist arrested after Ferndale protest
Signs that urged honking cited
By Gina Damron / Detroit Free Press
"Ferndale Cops Say: Don't Honk if You Want Bush Out."
That message, scrawled in permanent marker on a piece of poster board, got antiwar activist Victor Kittila arrested in Ferndale -- a move some say violated his First Amendment rights. But police say he was breaking the law.
Either way, he says that next Monday, he'll be back.
The Eastpointe resident is one of a handful of activists who meet for an hour weekly on Mondays at Woodward and 9 Mile to peacefully protest the war in Iraq. They had always carried signs urging motorists to "Honk for Peace."
But about three weeks ago, after receiving several complaints from motorists, Ferndale police asked the activists to stop encouraging drivers to honk their horns, which state laws say should be used only for necessary situations.
So, Kittila, 55, changed his message from "Honk if You Want Bush Out" to "Ferndale Cops Say: Don't Honk if You Want Bush Out."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7461
Iraq war protester says arrest won't keep him silent
Police say signs caused honking that was not necessary
By Christy Strawser / Macomb Daily
FERNDALE, MI -- In front of his wife and their 13-year-old daughter, war protester Victor Kittila, 55, was handcuffed and threatened with a Taser if he resisted in any way.
It wasn't his best day.
But Kittila, of Eastpointe, said his brush with the law will not stop him from protesting the Iraq war at Nine Mile and Woodward, the same place local peace groups have been stationed for four years. They started the weekly vigil when the United States sent troops into Afghanistan.
"I'll be back there," said Kittila, who joined protesters about a year-and-a-half ago. "I'm not sure if we'll have the 'Honk if you want Bush out' sign -- I may come up with something worse. If we put up images of bodies blown up in the war on large posters, I don't think they would enjoy that, either."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7495
Hundreds turn out to support war protester
By Christy Strawser / Daily Tribune
FERNDALE, MI -- If police hoped to quiet Monday afternoons at Nine Mile and Woodward by arresting war protester Victor Kittila last week and charging him with disorderly conduct -- they failed.
Several hundred people clustered there Monday and filled every side of the intersection holding signs and banners protesting George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
Before the arrest, 20-30 protesters usually showed up.
"We're in support of fighting that arrest," said Phyllis Livermore of Birmingham. "It was outrageous."
Many said it was their first time at the anti-war event, which started four years ago and happens around 4:45-5:45 p.m. every Monday.
"In a way, this was a good thing," Livermore said. "This many people are never here."
Last Monday Kittila, 55, was arrested in front of his wife and their 13-year-old daughter and threatened with a Taser if he resisted. Police Chief Michael Kitchen said he was arrested for holding a sign that inspired drivers to honk their horns.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7535
Group calls for peace
Activists protest Iraq war, fighting in Middle East
By Danielle Quisenberry / Port Huron Times-Herald
PORT HURON, MI -- The simple symbols printed on their T-shirts and signs summed up the reason for their protest.
They want peace.
A group of about 40 people, wearing and holding peace symbols, gathered Thursday at the corner of Sanborn Street and Pine Grove Avenue in Port Huron.
They "demand peace" by calling for an end to the Iraq war and fighting in the Middle East.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7598
Accused troops: We were under orders to kill
Soldiers say officers commanded them to ‘kill all military age males’ in Iraq
Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas - Four U.S. soldiers accused of murdering suspected insurgents during a raid in Iraq said they were under orders to “kill all military age males,” according to sworn statements obtained by The Associated Press.
The soldiers first took some of the men into custody because they were using two women and a toddler as human shields. They shot three of the men after the women and child were safe and say the men attacked them.
“The ROE (rule of engagement) was to kill all military age males on Objective Murray,” Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard told investigators, referring to the target by its code name.
That target, an island on a canal in the northern Salhuddin province, was believed to be an al-Qaida training camp. The soldiers said officers in their chain of command gave them the order and explained that special forces had tried before to target the island and had come under fire from insurgents.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=7597
An Update from Michael Moore (and an invitation to his film festival)
Friends,
Just a quick note to let you know how things are going.
Back in February, I asked if people would send me letters describing their experiences with our health care system. I received over 19,000 of them. It was truly overwhelming as we literally took a month and read them all. To read about the misery people are put through on a daily basis by our profit-based system was both moving and revolting. That's all I will say right now.
We've spent the better part of this year shooting our next movie, "Sicko." As we've done with our other films, we don't discuss them while we are making them. If people ask, we tell them "Sicko" is "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on earth."
But like my other movies, what we start with (General Motors, guns, 9/11) is not always what we end with. Along the way, we discover new roads to go down, roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas -- and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with. That, I can say with certainty, is happening now as we shoot "Sicko." I don't think the country needs a movie that tells you that HMOs and the pharmaceutical companies suck. Everybody knows that. I'd like to show you some things you don't know. So stay tuned for where this movie has led me. I think you might enjoy it.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=196
Traverse City Film Festival 2
http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/
The New Zealand Herald
Typhoon Kaemi hits China, 700,000 evacuated
5.20pm Wednesday July 26, 2006
Typhoon Kaemi has struck China's southeast coast, sparking the evacuation of more than 700,000 people in an area still reeling from a tropical storm that claimed 600 lives.
The typhoon, which earlier passed over Taiwan, causing widespread disruption but little damage, has hit mainland China's Fujian province.
Kaemi also brushed past the Philippines, triggering heavy rain which caused floods around the capital, Manila.
With the storm packing winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour as it approached China, authorities evacuated more than 643,000 people from Fujian province, and another 80,000 from neighboring Zhejiang.
Fujian is still trying to cope with the impact of Bilis, which struck mainland China on July 14, killing at least 43 people in the province.
The Xinhua news agency says Zhejiang, which did not suffer too badly from Bilis, is preparing for a much tougher time with Kaemi.
Neighboring Guangdong province to the south, where 106 people were killed in Bilis, is also making preparations for strong winds and heavy rain, even though it is not expected to be directly hit by Kaemi.
According to the latest government figures, Bilis killed at least 612 people in southern, eastern and central China, with 208 still missing.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10393135
Abuse hurled at teacher-murder accused [audio report]
UPDATED 11.25am Tuesday July 25, 2006
By Juliet Rowan and Anne Beston
Abuse was shouted at a 23-year old man when he appeared in court in Tokoroa today charged with the murder of teacher Lois Dear.
Around 200 people gathered at the town's district court before the hearing, Newstalk ZB reported.
When the man appeared, wearing a white boiler suit, he was shouted at and the abuse was repeated inside court.
The crowd lined fences along the courtyard from Tokoroa Police Station to the court house as the accused was escorted there and back by police officers.
Other police officers stood in front of the crowd, to prevent them getting to the accused.
"You'll never make sentencing," one onlooker shouted.
The court house was packed and 20 or 30 people were forced to remain outside.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10392843
Goff says trade talks impasse will cost
1.00pm Tuesday July 25, 2006
The suspension of the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round is a tragedy that means lost potential for New Zealand, Trade Minister Phil Goff said today.
Talks by six major trading countries to save the Doha Round collapsed yesterday after ministers from the G6 group - Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, the European Union and the United States - failed to make a breakthrough.
They had been trying to reach a deal on how to boost trade in farm and industrial goods or risk seeing the round fail.
But the last-ditch negotiations failed to make progress in the key area of farm subsidies, known as domestic support, where the United States has been under pressure to make further concessions.
The US has been blamed by some for the impasse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10392896
Safety-net plan for children praised by ministers
1.00pm Tuesday July 25, 2006
A proposal for a child "safety-net" from Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro has been welcomed by ministers.
They met Ms Kiro yesterday to discuss her plan, and Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope said he and his colleagues were keen to follow up on its suggestions.
He said Ms Kiro's plan was for an integrated framework to track children's health, safety and education from birth to adulthood.
It involved welfare, health and education agencies working together to "cement the cracks" so that no child needing help was left without support.
"A lot of it we're doing now. She describes it as a 10-year vision to make sure that every single child has what they need, and that sits pretty comfortably with the policy of the party that I'm part of," Mr Benson-Pope said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10392875
Annan to press for an international force for Lebanon
Tuesday July 25, 2006
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would press for a truce in the Middle East crisis as well as the deployment of an international force in south Lebanon at a Rome ministerial meeting this week.
He said yesterday that short-term measures were needed to halt the violence followed by a package that would include giving the Beirut government power over Hizbollah, releasing two abducted Israeli soldiers and settling Lebanon's borders.
"What is important is that we leave Rome with a concrete strategy as to how we are going to deal with this, and we do not walk away empty-handed and once again dash the hopes of those who are caught in this conflict," Annan told reporters.
The secretary-general, accompanied by Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, left yesterday for the conference on Wednesday, called by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10392924
UN deaths put pressure on Rome talks for ceasefire
Wednesday July 26, 2006
By Alistair Lyon
BEIRUT - Israel's killing of four UN observers piled pressure on an international conference in Rome on Wednesday to end a 15-day-old Middle East conflict, as Hizbollah vowed not to accept any "humiliating" truce terms.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded Israel investigate the "apparently deliberate targeting" of a UN post in southern Lebanon where an Israeli air strike killed the four UN military observers on Tuesday.
Israel, waging a military offensive in Lebanon against Hizbollah guerrillas, announced it would hold a probe and expressed regret at the deaths but said it was shocked Annan had suggested the observers may have been deliberately targeted.
A Chinese national was among the four observers killed, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. It said the other three were from Finland, Austria and Canada.
UN officials said the air strike had caused the building housing the observers to collapse and that rescue teams had been sent to retrieve the bodies from the rubble.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10393142
Israel PM vows to pursue Hizbollah war
Wednesday July 26, 2006
By Sue Pleming
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed overnight to allow aid airlifts to Lebanon but said he was determined to pursue an offensive against Hizbollah.
After talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Olmert said both agreed resolving the crisis must include disarming Hizbollah, its removal from Israel's border and deploying an international force to ensure it cannot menace the Jewish state.
Israel believes a force of up to 20,000 peacekeepers is needed to take over southern Lebanon and that a force could be deployed within two weeks of approval by Western powers, senior Israeli officials have said.
The estimate of 20,000 would be nearly double the size of the multilateral force being discussed by European powers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10393060
'Security zone' scheme for southern Lebanon
Wednesday July 26, 2006
By Donald Macintyre
AVIVIM - Israel will enforce a "security zone" in southern Lebanon until such time as a multinational force moves in to control the Lebanese border area, the minister directly responsible for the two-week-old military offensive said yesterday.
The remarks by the Israeli Defence Minister, Amir Peretz, appeared to set the seal on Israel's conversion to the idea of a Western-led international military deployment to keep armed Hizbollah guerrillas from threatening it, if and when the still slow-moving diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire finally succeed.
Beirut was heavily bombarded with new airstrikes yesterday after Israeli military aircraft killed six people in a pre-dawn raid on the southern Lebanon city of Nabatiyeh, and Israeli troops effectively sealedoff the town of Bint Jbeil, 25km further to the south, which it regards as a Hizbollah stronghold.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10393113
Bali bombers 'may be executed in August'
Wednesday July 26, 2006
DENPASAR, Indonesia - Indonesia may execute three militants sentenced to death for the 2002 Bali bombings in August, an official from the district attorney's office on the resort island has said.
The three men - Iman Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron - have been on death row for more than two years after courts convicted them of playing leading roles in the October 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, including three New Zealanders.
"Last week, we sent letters to the convicts, their families and their lawyers to notify preparation for the execution," said Made Suratmaja, the head of Denpasar's district attorney office.
Suratmaja said the execution would be around the third week of next month or at the end of August.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10393058
Bush, Maliki agree on more US troops for Baghdad
1.00pm Wednesday July 26, 2006
WASHINGTON - President George W Bush and Iraq's prime minister agreed today that more US and Iraqi troops will go to Baghdad to try to slow sectarian violence, but their talks also exposed differences on the fighting in Lebanon.
"God willing, there will be no civil war in Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.
Bush, at a news conference with Maliki that lacked much warmth, said troops going to Baghdad would be pulled from areas in Iraq deemed relatively free of violence.
The new security plan was an acknowledgment that Maliki's attempt to pacify Baghdad had failed, with hundreds of people killed in sectarian violence every week.
It was unclear how the new plan would affect Pentagon hopes of reducing US troops in Iraq by year's end. Republicans had hoped a troop reduction would help them deflect voter anger over Iraq in November elections when they are fighting to keep control of the US Congress.
There are now 127,000 American troops in Iraq.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10393106
Somali Islamists refuse peace talks
Wednesday July 26, 2006
MOGADISHU - Somalia's Islamists said overnight they would not attend peace talks with the interim government until Ethiopian troops left their soil, and for the first time acknowledged Eritrean backing for their cause.
Somalia's interim government had earlier agreed to attend talks with the Islamists in Khartoum on August 1-2, responding to a UN drive to avoid war in the Horn of Africa country.
"We will go to Khartoum without any preconditions," said Abdirizak Adam, interim President Abdullahi Yusuf's chief of staff, after talks with a senior UN envoy in the government's base in the provincial town of Baidoa.
However, the Islamists' main leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, told foreign correspondents in Mogadishu: "As long as Ethiopia is in our country, talks with the government cannot go ahead."
Ethiopia has sent several thousands troops into Somalia, according to witnesses and regional experts, to counter expansion by the Islamists, who took Mogadishu last month, and protect the fragile interim government.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10393061
'Two governments' cause turmoil for Cook Islands
2.20pm Tuesday July 25, 2006
The Cook Islands has two political groups claiming to be the government.
The confusion follows a by-election win for the opposition Cook Islands Party, led by Sir Geoffrey Henry.
The win gave the party 12 votes in parliament - the same as the government of Jim Marurai.
The speaker - Cook Islands Party (CIP) member of parliament, Norman George - then said he intended to support a vote of no-confidence - once as an MP, and once as speaker, using his casting vote to change the government.
That led to the Queen's representative, Fred Goodwin, dissolving parliament and calling fresh elections.
Radio Australia's Bruce Hill says bizarre scenes in parliament followed, with CIP members turning up and broadcasting a session in which they claimed to have voted in their leader, Sir Geoffrey Henry, as prime minister.
Sir Geoffrey then endeavoured to see the Queen's representative so that he could be formally sworn in, but he was refused an audience.
It is believed the CIP will now go to the High Court to get the dissolution overturned.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10392916
Malaysian princess murdered by own son
1.00pm Wednesday July 26, 2006
By Justin Huggler
The horrific death of a Malaysian princess, stabbed to death by her own son as she tried to stop him attacking his father, has put the country's troubled royal family in the spotlight.
Tengku, or Princess, Puteri Kamariah, the sister of the Sultan of Pahang, was killed trying to protect her wheelchair-bound husband on Monday, it emerged yesterday.
She tried to intervene as her 21-year-old son, Tunku, or Prince, Rizal Shazan, rushed at his father with a screwdriver. In the ensuing struggle, Tunku Rizal grabbed a hunting knife and stabbed his mother in the back.
The 21-year-old died later the same day of a drug overdose.
Police said they suspected Tunku Rizal was under the influence of 'some kind of designer drugs' at the time of the attack. According to reports from Malaysia, it was syabu, a local version of crystal meth.
The case will provoke comparisons with the massacre of almost the entire royal family of Nepal in 2001, which was blamed on the drunken crown prince.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10393099
Child groups urge clarification on smacking law repeal
5.15pm Wednesday July 26, 2006
The fear of being treated as criminals for disciplining their children is stopping parents supporting the removal of section 59 from the Crimes Act, child advocates said today.
Section 59 allows parents to defend charges of assault against their children by claiming use of reasonable force.
The spokesman for umbrella group Every Child Counts, Mike Coleman, updated a group of about 100 delegates at the group's conference in Wellington on the progress made towards removing section 59.
Child advocates including representatives from Plunket, Barnardos, Save the Children and Unicef said the fear of criminalisation was preventing parents from seriously examining the arguments for repealing the section.
"People who have no desire to beat their children are a bit worried that they may get prosecuted if they smack their child," Mr Coleman said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10393136
Broadcasters see no reason to ban fast food ads
1.00pm Wednesday July 26, 2006
Banning television advertising of fast foods, sugary drinks and sweets would have little impact on curbing obesity, television broadcasters say.
The Television Broadcasters Council, representing TVNZ and CanWest TVWorks, was appearing today before Parliament's health select committee which is carrying out an inquiry into obesity.
There have been calls to ban food advertising during the hours children mainly watch television.
But council executive director Bruce Wallace argued the link between television advertising of foods, fast food outlets, beverages and sweets was "very small" compared to the influence of parents and other societal factors.
A ban on such advertising on television was unlikely to have any significant impact on obesity levels, he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10393090
Fossil exhibition to tour country
4.00pm Tuesday July 25, 2006
A major fossil exhibition is to tour New Zealand next year.
The collection will include fossils of dinosaurs, moa, marine reptiles and other sea creatures, insects, shells, plants, and even fossil vomit.
The multi-media exhibition on fossil hunting (past, present and future) is being developed by GNS Science, with sponsorship from Shell New Zealand.
Designed for audiences of all ages, it aims to tell a unique New Zealand story and will tour through museums and science centres for two years, beginning in late 2007.
The exhibition tour will coincide with the International Year of Planet Earth (2008) and the International Year of Darwin (2008).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10392909
continued …
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Veterinary hospital set to be relocated to purpose-built new premises
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Everything from snakes to budgerigars will be treated at a new multi-million dirham veterinary hospital that is set to open on October 1.
The Veterinary Hospital is moving from its current site close to the Iranian Hospital in Jumeirah to a new purpose-built base near Interchange Three on Shaikh Zayed Road.
A special operating theatre designed for treating birds will be among the features of the new hospital.
Dr Max Spicer, one of two partners in the practice, said there would be more advanced equipment for the diagnosis of injury and illness.
"We have very much outgrown our current premises. We have many vets with their own specialities and this centre will be ideal for them. We have a very good record with our procedures and surgical success, and now it should improve further," he said.
Spicer, who trained as a vet in Liverpool in England and has worked in the UAE for about 10 years, said the new hospital would contain four operating theatres, compared to two in the current centre.
Three of the operating theatres will be for small animals and the fourth for birds, primarily falcons.
Five veterinary surgeons, four Britons and an Australian, work for The Veterinary Hospital practice.
All of them are members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
The practice dates back 28 years, making it, according to Spicer, the longest-established private veterinary practice in the UAE.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10053170.html
Meerkats teach their young to hunt, study finds
Washington, United States
14 July 2006 10:54
Meerkats actively teach their young how to catch and eat their prey, British researchers said in a study that is one of the first to prove that animals show such complex behaviour.
While animals are known to learn from one another by watching, the team at Britain's University of Cambridge said they had demonstrated that the animals actually teach, as defined by clear principles.
Older meerkats will bite the stinger off a live scorpion and give it to a youngster to kill and eat, and if the pup fails to do the job before the prey can crawl away, will nudge it back, Alex Thornton and Katherine McAuliffe reported.
Older meerkats -- not necessarily the parents -- will watch youngsters to see how they are doing, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
Meerkats are a type of mongoose and live in groups of three to 40 in dry regions of Southern Africa. Each group includes a dominant male and female who produce 80% of the pups, and older animals that help to watch over and rear the young.
The animals rely on hard-to-catch prey such as grasshoppers, and various species of scorpions, including poisonous ones.
Thornton and McAuliffe watched 13 different groups of meerkats as part of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, in South Africa's Kuruman River Reserve.
They used accepted criteria to define teaching: that an individual modifies its behavior only in the presence of a naive observer, that the "teacher" gets no benefit from its actions and in fact may lose opportunities to forage itself, and that the "student" learns more rapidly than it would have on its own.
"Teaching is ubiquitous in human societies, but although social learning is widespread in other species, it is not yet clear how commonly teaching is involved," the researchers wrote.
The meerkats demonstrate clearly that they teach, and do not merely allow the pups to learn by observing, Thornton and McAuliffe said.
"A greater understanding of the evolution of teaching is essential if we are to further our knowledge of human cultural evolution and for us to examine the relations between culture in our own species and cultural behavior in other animals," Thornton said in a statement. - Reuters
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Enjoy an African savannah at the new-look Al Ain zoo
By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
Al Ain: The Al Ain Zoological Park has received a facelift in a Dh15-million rapid improvement programme, with new theme exhibits and recreational and resting facilities.
The programme includes a series of developments that will give the zoo a more natural look and offer more facilities to visitors, said Mark Craig, the zoo's director.
An African savannah has been created on five hectares to house animals in their natural environment. "It's a new concept and facility that offers the environment in which these animals live in the African wild," he said.
A similar exhibit for Arabian animals is also under construction where Arabian Oryx, Gazelles and other animals would be kept in the natural settings. "These exhibits have been designed to provide better viewing options for the visitors [along with] two African-style watchtowers," he said.
The zoo's entrance has recently been renovated and some 15 cages have been demolished to set up the new display.
The improvement programme also includes a redesign of the zoo's landscape and the introduction of a visitors' train that will add to the beauty of the enclosure with Jebel Hafeet as the backdrop, said Craig.
"This is the biggest zoo in the Middle East as it covers ... 850 hectares with more than 200 species of animals, reptiles and birds."
The director said that the visitors' area would also be reduced to 50 hectares.
"This would be the core area of the zoo with facilities such as air-conditioned rest areas, refreshment dispensers and provision outlets," he said.
This was planned keeping in mind that visitors can never walk around the entire 850 hectares. The visitors' walkway now has roofs and mist dispensers.
Work on a special centre has begun to offer information on animals, their habitats and other related aspects to visitors to enhance the zoo's educational value. The centre would be equipped with the latest audio-video aids and expert staff, said Craig.
He said that the improvement programme is an on-going one but most of its objectives would be achieved by the end of the year.
The zoo was taken over from Al Ain Municipality by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi last year. It also became a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza). "We [are] implementing Waza codes of ethics and practices," said Craig.
This will help promote the zoo on an international level.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Leisure/10053641.html
Maine Moose on the Loose
http://yourphotos.boston.com/pages/photo_page.php?mm=51246&gallery=1336
Yes, "Superman Returns'' ... to the Cape! Congratulations to Richard Coutts of Cambridge, who linked to another icon in his winning entry. Among this week's 400 captions were references to Kryptonite, Aqua Man, Lois Lane, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, Jane Swift, and the Cape's notoriously busy hotels and ferries. Check out the runners-up as well below. Although the submission period has ended, check back Sunday to see the winners for this week's contest.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/cityweekly/toons/
Sen. Murkowski lands 63-pound king salmon
In this photo provided by the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sen. Murkowski hugs a 63-pound king salmon she caught July 7, 2006, along the Kenai River in Alaska, during the annual Kenai River Classic. The event, primarily attended by senators, corporate executives and lobbyists, raised about $800,000 for river conservation. BP Vice President Peggy Hudson caught the largest fish, a 67-pound king. (AP Photo/Office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski)
July 20, 2006
FAIRBANKS, Alaska --Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski had the home river advantage. She caught a 63-pound king salmon in the 11th annual Kenai River Classic, the biggest catch among the nine senators who took part in the annual fundraiser July 6-10 for conservation of habitat along the Kenai River.
Participants included Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
BP Vice President Peggy Hudson caught the largest fish, a 67-pound king. The event raised about $800,000.
Alaska's other U.S. senator, Ted Stevens, and Gov. Frank Murkowski co-hosted this year's event. It drew about 200 people, many of them lobbyists and executives from major U.S. industries.
Others senators attending this year were Kit Bond of Missouri, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Larry Craig of Idaho, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Pat Roberts of Kansas and John Sununu of New Hampshire. All are Republicans. No House members attended.
Ricky Gease, executive director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, said genetic samples from the largest three kings caught showed they all came from eggs spawned in 1999 and all had spent one year in the gravel, one year in freshwater and five years in saltwater
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/07/20/sen_murkowski_lands_63_pound_king_salmon/
Elephant kills handler in Tennessee sanctuary
Updated 7/21/2006 10:28 PM ET
By Christopher Berkey, AP
Winkie, a female Asian elephant, prepares to cool down at a nine-foot deep pond in The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., in 2003. On Friday she killed one of her handlers and injured another.
ELEPHANT ATTACK 90 YEARS AGO ENDED IN HANGING
The 1916 death of a circus employee in upper East Tennessee ended with the elephant's execution by hanging.
The animal in question was a circus elephant named Mary. She killed the circus worker as the troupe visited Kingsport, in upper East Tennessee.
The local populace, with the apparent cooperation of the circus owner, Charlie Sparks, decided Mary should be put to death — somehow.
Reportedly, a hail of gunfire and electrocution were tried, but without success.
Finally, the pachyderm was led to the Clinchfield Rail Yard in Erwin, Tenn., where a large chain was placed about the large animal’s neck and a railroad crane lifted her until she died. Reportedly, thousands witnessed the spectacle.
Source: Blue Ridge Country magazine
By Leon Alligood, USA TODAY
A 36-year-old woman whose love for pachyderms led her from her native Maine to rural Lewis County, Tenn., was attacked and killed Friday morning at a preserve for aging elephants, authorities said.
Also, a man who handles the 22 Asian and African elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary was injured and hospitalized late Friday at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tenn.
Because the employees' next of kin had not been notified Friday night, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Lewis County Sheriff's Department would not release their names.
The aggressor was Winkie, a 40-year-old female Asian elephant who has been at the sanctuary for six years and who has a history of attacking humans who worked with her.
The veteran handlers were tending to Winkie around 11:30-11:45 a.m. Friday.
"She was on one side. He was on the other. The elephant turned on her. She was apparently on the side where the elephant had an injury, an eye injury," said Doug Markham, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The agency licenses and inspects facilities, such as the sanctuary.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-21-elephant-attack_x.htm
Agriculture Board Approves New Rules For Petting Zoos
POSTED: 1:08 pm EDT July 20, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The state Board of Agriculture has approved new sanitary rules for petting zoos in hopes of preventing illnesses such as E. coli, which more than 40 people contracted at the State Fair petting zoo in 2004.
"This is an attempt to achieve a balance between protecting the public from E. coli and making sure that kids have the opportunity to be educated about farming and the importance of agriculture," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
The 11 members of the state Board of Agriculture, the policy-making body for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, supported the new rules Wednesday.
The rules require the department's animal health technicians and veterinarians to inspect the petting zoos before they open. The zoos will have to have 29-inch high fences to separate animals from people and warning signs about the possible health risks of touching the animals and hand-washing stations.
Food, drink and pacifiers are prohibited in the animal exhibits.
The regulations go into effect in September, the busiest month for county fairs.
Last year, all 45 North Carolina county fairs voluntarily complied with the animal exhibit guidelines before they became law, agriculture officials said.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9549376/detail.html
Haifa Zoo Locks Animals in Bomb-Proof Cages
18:25 Jul 18, '06 / 22 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) The Haifa Zoo, fearing that rocket explosions may allow dangerous animals to roam in the city, have put lions and tigers in bomb-proof cages. Zookeeper Yoav Ratner told Reuters News Agency, "If a rocket hits the open-air pen and one of the carnivores escapes into the city, it would not be a nice prospect."
Leopards and bears also have been placed in secure cages. The zoo was closed shortly after the Hizbullah terrorist war began.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=107713
Orphaned Cougars Find Home At Oregon Zoo
PORTLAND, Oregon - Chinook and Takini faced an uncertain future until Michelle Schireman stepped in. The two orphaned cougar cubs were rescued by Schireman, the Association of Zoo and Aquariums' puma population manager and a keeper at the Oregon Zoo. The young cougars will make their debut at the Oregon Zoo on Aug. 4.
http://www.grantspassnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=331671&cp=4275
SpongeBob the monkey stolen from zoo
Jul 18, 2006, 13:20 GMT
Police in London are today hunting for an animal thief after an endangered squirrel monkey was stolen from a zoo.
The two–year-old squirrel monkey, called SpongeBob, is believed to have been taken from the zoo at Chessington World of Adventures in south-west London after a break-in was discovered yesterday morning.
Nine other monkeys in his troop were found near or in their enclosure but SpongeBob, a breeding male brought to England from South Africa at the end of last year, was not among them.
Police and zoo officials believe this was a 'pre-planned strike' and are concerned for the safety of the endangered animal, which has a highly specialised diet.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/uk/article_1181935.php/SpongeBob_the_monkey_stolen_from_zoo
Elephant calf born at Dickerson Park Zoo this morning
Springfield News-Leader
A 238-pound female elephant calf has been born at Dickerson Park Zoo.
The mother, 25-year-old Moola, delivered the calf outdoors at the zoo's new cow barn after a brief labor early this morning.
It?s the sixth successful elephant birth at the zoo.
Moola and the calf, who hasn?t been named yet, will remain off exhibit for a period of time to foster a strong bond.
Zoo officials say they are preparing a communitywide naming effort.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060718/BREAKING01/60718004
Peacock attacks child at Oregon Zoo
10:53 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 19, 2006
By ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff
It was a case of a foul fowl -- a peacock at the Oregon Zoo attacked a toddler Monday, prompting the boy’s parents to rush him to the hospital and zoo officials to emphasize the infrequency of such incidents.
“We were next to the tigers when the peacock came up… it goes down to get a piece of purple candy and my son stepped towards the peacock and it jumped up on him and grabbed my son on both shoulders with its talons and stuck its beak into his chest,” said Shane Woodward.
He kicked the bird, which then ran off toward some other children, according to Woodward.
“When it happened, everyone grabbed their kids and picked them up right away,” Woodward said.
He said his two-year-old son Zach was, “really traumatized. He kept saying, ‘bad peacock, bad peacock.’ “
Zach suffered two deep scratches to his left shoulder, and the wounds were still bleeding an hour and a half after the incident, according to Woodward. The child also has welts on both arms. He was treated by zoo staff, who described the wounds as superficial.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071806_news_peacock_attack_.258a87c5.html
Nashville Zoo to open new habitat
Nashville Business Journal - 9:04 PM CDT Tuesday
The Nashville Zoo announced Tuesday it will open its newest habitat, Alligator Cove, on July 22.
The habitat is located at the former otter exhibit. It will have more than a dozen alligators, and the zoo plans to add turtles and fish at a future date. Alligator Cove is the result of a donation from Mr. and Mrs. David B. Johnson.
Last year, the Nashville Zoo set an attendance record with 513,561 visitors, a 4 percent increase from the previous year.
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2006/07/17/daily18.html
Petting zoo safety
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Children who enjoy petting zoos at community fairs and festivals are getting some gentle reminders to wash their hands afterward from the Allegheny County Health Department.
Free signs promoting hand-washing are being handed out by the department to event organizers, if they call 412-687-ACHD or download from the Web site www.achd.net.
Hand-washing reduces the risk of contracting diseases that animals can sometimes carry, such as E. coli and salmonella.
Health officials suggest these tips on how to enjoy petting zoos without getting sick:
Don't kiss the animals and limit your contact with them and nearby fencing, stalls and gates, because manure may be present on their body and in their environment.
Watch young children and tell them to keep their hands out of their mouths.
Don't take food or drink into the animal area.
Wash your hands as soon as you leave the animal area, and help young children wash their hands properly. Washing with soap and warm water is best.
Clean your shoes when you return home and after doing so wash your hands.
Call your doctor if you or your children get sick with stomach cramps, vomiting or diarrhea within a week of visiting a petting zoo. Tell the doctor you were around farm animals.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06200/706688-114.stm
China delegation visits giant pandas in Zoo Atlanta
By Huang Zhiling (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-07-24 08:27
Some 500 people gathered together here Saturday morning in Zoo Atlanta to welcome the arrival of a Chinese delegation which came specially to see the two giant pandas in the zoo.
The 11-member delegation, which consists of government officials, a panda researcher, journalists and a TV production crew, was from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
"We came here to visit Lun Lun and Yang Yang whose parents live in the Chinese city with 10 million people and 80 percent of the world's giant pandas," said Song Minwen, chief of the delegation, in the ceremony marking the arrival of the Chinese group
Both pandas arrived in Zoo Atlanta on a 10-year loan from the Chinese Government in 1999. "Since then, they have brought great joy to locals, children in particular," said Blythe Randolf, vice-president of Zoo Atlanta, in an interview with chinadaily.com.cn.
Jennifer Mullins, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Planning and Services in the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology, visits Zoo Atlanta with her 2.5-year-old daughter Abbey Headerson once in a month to see pandas and elephants.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/24/content_647530.htm
A zoo with birds and bees
24 July 2006
Though I have no formal training in the zoological sciences, I pride myself on the fact that I was first among the crowd of onlookers at Wellington Zoo last weekend to realise what was going down – or, perhaps, going up – when a male lion began enthusiastically licking his partner's fur.
"How lovely, he's grooming her," cooed an elderly woman in a strikingly unbecoming South American hat. He? Grooming her? I may not be an expert on lions, but I know that males of any species don't bother grooming their womenfolk unless they want something.
In this case, as the lion obviously wasn't buttering up his partner as a prelude to asking her to bring him a beer or let him watch the rugby on television, it didn't take David Attenborough to figure out what he was after.
Inevitably, the lion didn't waste much time on the grooming. A frisson of barely concealed delight ran through the crowd when everyone realised the treat in store – live porn, free of both fees and guilt.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3742416a1861,00.html
Weekend Getaways: Exotic Resort Zoo (Video)
(CBS 42) JOHNSON CITY For Marylin Baque, a stroll around her land in the Hill Country could mean running into some of her pet donkeys, but Baque’s love for animals extends way beyond that.
As owner of Johnson City’s Exotic Resort Zoo, Baque hosts hundreds of visitors each week who come and enjoy mingling with her 500-plus animals from around the world.
“What most people enjoy about this (is) it’s a hands on experience.” Baque said. “You touch animals in the petting zoo when you’re doing the tour -- when you hear people laughing because Omar stole their bucket.” She explained: “He’s our camel.”
Baque’s exotic animal experience started more than 10 years ago. She said keeping her animals happy and healthy is a big job, but it’s not as difficult as people might think.
Baque said one of the most interesting things about caring for her exotics is that she gets to know them individually.
“They’re all different,” she said. “Every one has a different personality. It’s like children and adults. Some are moody. Some aren’t.”
Baque said people have enjoyed her animals so much she decided to expand the business. She recently added overnight accommodations so that folks can get that safari feeling for the entire weekend.
“We do have 4 cabins that we rent and two of them have full kitchens,” Baque said. “We have a swimming pool and hot tub. We do camp fires in the evenings so the kids can do smores or marshmallows.”
Operating nearly every day of the year, the work is hard, but the payoff is worth it. The zoo is a childhood-goal-come-true for an animal lover who likes sharing her passion for exotic critters.
“That’s my dream.” Baque told CBS 42. “It’s just for people to enjoy my place -- my animals. That’s all.”
Baque said her cabins have become so popular, even business people have chosen to stay at her resort while doing business nearby.
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_364022834.html
Gulf Coast zoo dodging hurricanes
July 23, 2006
The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo will relocate from Gulf Shores to a nearby 25-acre site in Baldwin County in hopes of avoiding future hurricane damage.
Hurricane Ivan's floodwaters in Gulf Shores forced the evacuation of the animals in September 2004. Two more evacuations last year were caused by Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina.
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The zoo became known as "The Little Zoo That Could" in an Animal Planet television feature in February.
Ivan flooded the zoo with several feet of water and destroyed much of the park. Zoo director Patti Hall hosted 267 animals at her home in Elberta, Ala.
The zoo will move to land along Baldwin County 6 just east of Alabama 59, the main beach route from Interstate 10, according to the Mobile Press-Register newspaper.
The property was donated by businessman Clyde Weir and his daughter, Andrea Weir Franklin, owners of the Souvenir City shops in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Construction could begin next year.
Last month, 18,311 paying customers visited the zoo, compared with 8,411 in June 2004, the summer before the park was struck by Ivan, Hall said.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/travel/article/0,1426,MCA_532_4860774,00.html
Zoo visit as community service?
The Denver Housing Authority's liberal reading of a federal requirement for service draws criticism
Marla Big Horse, right, owed about 100 hours of community service when she was evicted from her Denver Housing Authority duplex after 19 years. Her son Christopher, 17, is at left. (Post / Cyrus McCrimmon)
Denver public-housing residents have been fulfilling federal requirements to perform community service by reading at the library; visiting the zoo, botanic gardens or art museum; and attending the ballet or symphony.
Those activities wouldn't qualify with other housing authorities nationally, officials say. And a former congressman who sponsored legislation creating the rule questions Denver's liberal interpretation of it.
Denver Housing Authority officials defend the practice. They say getting residents to put in eight hours of community service or self-sufficiency activity each month is so difficult - statistics show that barely one in six residents does - that practically any activity is acceptable.
For instance, helping a senior citizen who lives in public housing play bingo can be counted toward community service.
"At least it's getting them into the outside world," DHA Director Sal Carpio said of the non-traditional activities. "This enhances their quality of life, and for people that don't or won't leave their units or the complex, it's progress."
Advocates for the poor agree, saying any activity that can help improve someone's life should be enough, even if it's as simple as reading a book.
"People in need have a host of issues that need addressing, and any type of positive activity that can help fulfill that is better than nothing," said John Parvensky, director of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. "Anything that is a piece toward self-improvement is useful to getting their lives back together."
But DHA admits it doesn't know whether such activities are contributing to the community or self-improvement. No one monitors the quality of activities, only attendance.
It's unlikely residents gain community service credit by reading a library book to themselves, Carpio said. Rather, it's presumed the book is read to a child. Same with the museums. Or they could share a book with other tenants.
Those not complying can lose housing
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4087212
Zoo the place for mom, kids
I just love the zoo. Having grown up in Jackson I can remember watching in awe as the enormous polar bear would swing his head back and forth just before plunging into the deep water hole causing waves to crash over the edge. He would get in and out dozens of times swing his head again as if to say, "Hey ya'll, watch this!"
Over the years I have had the joy of exposing my kids to some pretty interesting things at the Hattiesburg Zoo.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060724/LIFESTYLE/607240321/1024
Ag Expo a petting zoo for some visitors
by ERIN CUNNINGHAM erinc@herald-mail.com
SHARPSBURG - For some of its youngest visitors, the Washington County Ag Expo was more like a trip to a petting zoo.
Raven Morningstar, 12, of Sharpsburg, her sister and two friends spent Sunday afternoon petting animals.
"Come pet this one," she said. "He's real sweet."
There were other larger, more active rabbits, but Raven said her favorite was the brown rabbit that stayed still when she pet him.
Raven and Rachel Morningstar, 13, Michael Selby, 6, of Funkstown, and Anna Blevins, 6, of Sharpsburg, said they enjoyed petting all of the animals, including sheep and cows.
The rabbits, though, were their favorites.
"They're soft, cute and cuddly," Raven said.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=143186&format=html
Killer elephant spent 30 years at Henry Vilas Zoo
HOHENWALD, Tenn. The elephant that killed its handler at a Tennessee sanctuary earned a reputation as dangerous while cared for at a Madison zoo.
Caregiver Joanna Burke was killed Friday at The Elephant Sanctuary in Lewis County, Tennessee when an Asian elephant named Winkie stepped on her or kicked her.
The elephant's biography on the sanctuary's Web site say Winkie spent 30 years at the Henry Vilas Zoo and hurt several staffers and visitors.
She was moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in September of 2000 upon recommendation of the U-S Department of Agriculture.
The nonprofit sanctuary says Burke would not want the animal euthanized. The sanctuary's seven-member board will be responsible for determining the elephant's fate.
The 36-year-old Burke had been the primary caregiver for the Asian elephants at the sanctuary for eight years. She
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=5189116
Zoo gets federal funds for biomass
Written by Staff
Monday, 24 July 2006
CHERRY CREEK - A one million dollar appropriation will support Denver Zoo’s plans to build a new, environmentally-sound, 10-acre exhibit called Asian Tropics, the future home of 15 Asian species including elephants and rhinoceros. An exceptional component of the new exhibit will be the installation of a biomass gasification system designed to convert the zoo’s solid waste materials into on-site energy generation and distribution.
The funds were secured by Senator Wayne Allard.
“We are thrilled. This has been in the works the better part of a year and we are very grateful for Senator Allard’s efforts and vision,” says Denver Zoo President and CEO Clayton Freiheit.
The biomass gasification system is expected to convert more than 90 percent of the zoo’s trash into useable energy that will be utilized to operate the Asian Tropics facilities. “The concept of being able to convert animal waste and human trash – both of which the zoo produces in abundance – to provide heating, cooling and power for Asian Tropics’ buildings and animal exhibit water features is mind boggling. Widespread future use of this technology could, over time, mean an end to sanitary landfills and have a huge positive effect on our environment. As a conservation-oriented institution, vitally concerned with the future of our natural world, we're extremely pleased” says Freiheit.
http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/content/view/598/2/
Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo Historical Tours
2006-07-24
Author: Linsay Rabyj- CJWW News
The Kinsmen Express mini train is giving guided tours of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo.
The tour will interpret the history of the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station.
John Moran, Manager of Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo says the nursery played a vital role in the settlement and development of the Prairies.
The nursery was closed in 1965 but a portion of the site was reopened as the Forestry Farm Park by the City of Saskatoon 1966. It has been the site of recreational activities for residents and visitors ever since.
The tour will also showcase many of the heritage buildings and landscapes of the park.
The guided tours are ongoing for the remainder of the summer between 10am and 6pm.
http://www.saskatoonhomepage.ca/news_view_story_2147496304.php?story_id=2147503598&cat_id=2147483652
Zoo elephant steps up for casting call
Research could yield information on dinosaurs, climate change
By Sophia Maines (Contact)
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
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Elephants aren’t dinosaurs, but they’re close enough for Brian Platt.
The Kansas University doctoral student took his research to the Topeka Zoo on Monday where he called on Tembo, an 8,000-pound African elephant, to be his guinea pig.
“It is kind of crazy,” he said of his research. “No one’s tried it before.”
Tembo’s only chore was to walk across a sandy path, enticed by the occasional carrot.
Platt measured Tembo’s footsteps — hoping the study of her tracks in the sand can help him formulate an equation. He wants to find a way to determine the amount of moisture present in prehistoric soil by studying a dinosaur’s tracks.
With enough data, researchers could track moisture and precipitation at various points in prehistoric times, Platt said.
And while Platt’s primary focus is measuring the moisture of the soil, he and others believe the research could also have implications for the study of climate change.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jul/25/zoo_elephant_steps_casting_call/?ku_news
El Paso Zoo welcomes spectacled bear
By Leonard Martinez / El Paso Times
A recent trip to the Manila Zoo in the Philippines left Jackie Blankenship even more appreciative of the El Paso Zoo.
"The El Paso Zoo is better," she said. "It has better animals, and they take care of them better."
Blankenship said she has to check out the orangutans whenever she goes to the El Paso Zoo.
"My favorite is the biggest one -- the laziest one," Blankenship said. "They've done a lot to improve the zoo, especially the sea lions exhibit. It was really nice, especially when you go down below and see the entire pool."
This week, another change is coming to the zoo with the debut of Inca the spectacled bear.
The spectacled bear's scientific name is Tremarctos ornatus. The species is endangered.
Liz Kern, the zoo's marketing coordinator, said the bears are called "spectacled" because they have pale yellow bands across the base of the nose and sometimes across the foreheads to the cheeks and throat. This pattern makes the bears look as if they were wearing glasses.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/entertainment/ci_4090324
Temps melt crowds at zoo
By ADAM CLAYTON, STAFF
When it gets this hot, people tend to stay indoors or seek out shade. And the animals at the Assiniboine Park Zoo are no different.
Zoo co-ordinator Doug Ross said attendance has dropped slightly during the heat wave gripping Winnipeg. Ross said the zoo typically has less visitors when the weather is extremely hot as many animals are resting during the peak hours of the day.
"One thing we don't do is force our animals out on display," he said. "They've got lots of shade and lots of water."
MORNING VISITS BEST
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2006/07/25/1701028-sun.html
TV show will spotlight college's Teaching Zoo
By Star staff
July 24, 2006
The national spotlight will shine on Moorpark College on Friday, when NBC-TV's "Today Show" plans to broadcast a segment about America's Teaching Zoo on campus, according to a college official.
The TV segment will feature Boston writer Amy Sutherland, author of a new book that gives an inside look at the experiences of students in Moorpark College's Exotic Animal Training and Management program.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/mo/article/0,1375,VCS_167_4868353,00.html
Flamingo chicks lively at Riverbanks Zoo
By Joey Holleman
McClatchy Newspapers
No. 23 attacks every creature in sight, straining to peck even when held back by friendly hands.
No. 4 is calm, self-sufficient. Needs no attention. Fast learning curve.
No. 5 wants to eat all the time. Begs for food even right after eating.
Seems baby flamingos can be as different as baby people.
Riverbanks Zoo's bird keepers have been especially busy in recent weeks with the hatching of 15 flamingo chicks from eggs imported from Hialeah Park in South Florida. They don't have names yet, just numbers based on the red bands placed on their legs.
Hundreds of flamingos, part of the ambience of the now-closed Hialeah Park horse racing facility, still live in the track infield. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association has encouraged zoos to raise eggs harvested from nests at Hialeah, helping to diversify the genetic pool in zoo populations, said Martin Vince, bird curator at Riverbanks.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/15115524.htm
Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation donates to Chilean flamingo conservation group
by Heather Muller , 7/25/2006
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation, in collaboration with the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group, recently donated $500 to support the Chilean Flamingo Conservation Program in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
“Chilean flamingos are crowd favorites at many zoos around the world, with their colorful plumage and gregarious behaviors,” according to a news release issued by the zoo foundation.
Sequoia Park Zoo has about a dozen Chilean flamingos, which, during a Sunday visit, entertained visitors by pecking noisily at each other, grooming themselves and taking leisurely strolls around the mud flats and shallow waters in their enclosure.
In the wild, however, Chilean flamingo populations have suffered dramatic population declines since the mid-1980s, as a result of habitat disturbance, the release stated.
The primary culprits are thought to be mining activities and unregulated tourism, which can interrupt feeding and breeding behaviors. But until recently, according to the release, few field investigations had been conducted to determine the exact causes of flamingo population decline.
The principal goals of the Flamingo Conservation Program are to gather information regarding flamingo health, habitat selection and flight pattern behavior, and to work with local mining and tourist industries to protect remaining flamingo populations and their unique habitat.
Sequoia Park Zoo manager Gretchen Ziegler said that because of their vulnerability in the wild, Chilean flamingos are one of few species encouraged to breed in captivity at the zoo.
“As a flagship species for the zoo, their survival in the wild is important to us, and we’re proud to help support all efforts to that end.”
While the flamingos at Sequoia Park Zoo are not as brightly colored as some, they are fascinating to watch. Their necks move like snakes, and the animals appear to stand on their heads while feeding.
According to signs posted around the exhibit, the technique is called “filter feeding.” Water is pumped through the beak and runs off, leaving small aquatic plants and animals trapped in the bristle-like edges of the bill.
The sharply bent shape of the beak allows flamingos to keep their heads mostly above water while feeding, enabling the birds to keep an eye out for signs of danger.
The news release stated that promoting conservation — “in our own backyard and worldwide” — is an important aspect of the zoo’s mission.
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation supports the zoo through fundraising and promotion of the zoo’s mission and programs. The foundation is a California Public Benefit corporation.
For additional information about the foundation, visit the foundation offices at 2414 W St., in Eureka, e-mail info@sequoiaparkzoo.net or phone 707-442-6552.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13279
New restaurant opens at Joburg Zoo
The leafy surrounds of a new restaurant at the Johannesburg Zoo is a great experience for both parents and children.
July 25, 2006
By Thabang Mokoka
A NEW addition has been made to the Johannesburg Zoo – the recently opened Café Fino restaurant.
Situated near the Ape House, the restaurant is in the zoo's Heart of Africa zone, under leafy, tropical vegetation.
The restaurant is just one of several additions to the zoo, which is in the midst of an ambitious five-year renovation plan, with the development of seven distinct zones and the refurbishment of several of the zoo's enclosures.
With colourful maroon tents outside, Café Fino, part of the Fournews Group that runs the News Cafés, blends into the zoo's atmosphere.
The restaurant caters for families, allowing parents to enjoy the tranquil scenery over a cup of bottomless filter coffee and freshly baked muffins, while on weekends an entertainer, like a magician, will keep the small people occupied.
http://www.joburg.org.za/2006/july/jul25_restaurant.stm
I wanted to wait for the dust to settle a bit on this issue before adequately addressing my concerns. I RARELY advocate for political action, but, zoos are a weekly feature here and I believe in responsibly. I believe people involved with responsible treatment of animals want to be taken seriously. I also believe their insight to the connection between society, family, children and the keeping and appreciation of exotic animals is unique.
Something very disturbing occurred in the name of zoos, and primarily petting zoos. There was a name of a petting zoo entered into the 'database' of terrorist targets. It was a very bad mistake. I'd like to say why here and what has happened to Homeland Security funding because of a 'bad formula' for setting funding in the country.
How did New York City loose it's Homeland Security funding?
In an article spawned by the inclusion on a terrorist list of a petting zoo there was this paragraph. It reveals a poorly conceived idea of a Homeland Security Funding equation.
"Lewis thinks that Old MacDonald's was entered in the database when the feds asked the state to come up with places where large gatherings occur. Then the state asked the county, which asked Woodville. "I live in a town of 800, so when I have 50 people in my zoo, that's a large gathering of people," she explained. Then the list was compiled and given to the state, which, in a race against the terrorists, didn't have time to review the list before rushing to ask the government for money."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein18jul18,0,2232051.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary
This is very manipulative and the bottom line is quite frankly 'the bottom line' of state and local funding. I don't know why any petting zoo would even participate in such ludicrous assessment. Have everyone park their backpacks at the gate ANYWAY. Having a list of terrorist sites is a way of frightening the public. It also asks the public to take control over the policing of their own safety. It is irresponsible of government to even provide such frightening 'ideas' to places as this. If the government can't do better than this then we truly have people with no leadership ability. The problem is that zoos/parks/petting zoos are not the highest priority of terrorist networks like al Qaeda. It doesn't serve their primary interest. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were huge events. The terrorists literally wrested four huge commercial airliners away from their pilots. In doing so they killed innocent people on board those planes in brutal acts of murder. Then they aimed these jets laden heavy with 'highly flammable jet fuel' in the infrastructure of the USA. The World Trade Towers was a successful attack on commerce. The Pentagon was a successful attack on our highest military. I am confident if the pilot of that plane knew exactly where Rumsfeld was that morning he would no longer be alive today. The fourth jet liner was scuttled by it's passengers to stop it from reaching either the Capitol Building or White House.
All those structures are hugely significant to the functioning of our society. For some time afterward the Stock Exchange floundered in disbelief and fear. The Pentagon was shocked to the point where the retaliate attacks which probably required some of the personnel that were killed that day took nearly a month to launch. Our country did not attack al Qaeda until October. The Shanksville, Pennsylvania site is now hallowed ground to frightened passengers that were determined to save their own lives and unwittingly saved a devastating strike against the core structure of the government. I think they were headed for The Capitol Building myself.
The point is I sincerely believe any of 'the list' is likely NOT a target unless is fulfills the criteria of the events of September 11, 2001, as a very close match. Al Qaeda and terrorist networks like them including Hezbollah want to permanently damage and disable this country and other great societies such as found in Spain, Britain, Egypt, Israel and Indonesia. There are many, many others such as Kenya and Turkey that have had incidents mar their landscape for the purpose of destroying the civilized world. Although any 'nut case' in the country might try an event of such stature scaring people and possibly injure and possibly kill; those are domestic haphazards that should be stopped before they happen by the FBI. There is no guarantee any such person so badly demented could ever be tracked by law enforcement although everyone sincerely hopes it does, life is without guarantees but exist only 'margins of safety' by people that give a damn.
When silliness or perhaps it's corruption occurs, it hurts the reputation of all. The 'Old McDonald' Petting Zoo has been used today to make an example of the type of tragedy poor leadership brings to damage reputation while causing unnecessary public concern.
Old McDonald Had a Bomb
http://www.outsidethetent.com/wp/archives/old-mcdonald-had-a-bomb/
I strongly feel if we are to be brave, as Americans determined to have a secure country, we need to first protect what seem "LIKELY" targets, namely our big cities. If anyone reading this would kindly stop to realize how ludicrous this formula is that Washington is using to determine where best to spend our tax dollars in sincere efforts to stop dangerous, international terrorists; then write your state and federal legislators and tell them to 'get serious' about our country's security and stop creating bad jokes from bad government policy.
Thank you.
Best regards.
concluding …
I am asking for any reader to take a political stand at the end of this entry. I don't like to do that, but, I feel there is a wrong being done and it cannot go unaddressed by this blog. I appreciate your patience in this matter. I am not asking anyone to agree with me if one strongly feels differently just for the sake of doing so, but, more to consider our special insight and dedication, so as not to trivialize any 'good purpose' that comes out of efforts that might be spawned in the names of zoos.
Veterinary hospital set to be relocated to purpose-built new premises
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Everything from snakes to budgerigars will be treated at a new multi-million dirham veterinary hospital that is set to open on October 1.
The Veterinary Hospital is moving from its current site close to the Iranian Hospital in Jumeirah to a new purpose-built base near Interchange Three on Shaikh Zayed Road.
A special operating theatre designed for treating birds will be among the features of the new hospital.
Dr Max Spicer, one of two partners in the practice, said there would be more advanced equipment for the diagnosis of injury and illness.
"We have very much outgrown our current premises. We have many vets with their own specialities and this centre will be ideal for them. We have a very good record with our procedures and surgical success, and now it should improve further," he said.
Spicer, who trained as a vet in Liverpool in England and has worked in the UAE for about 10 years, said the new hospital would contain four operating theatres, compared to two in the current centre.
Three of the operating theatres will be for small animals and the fourth for birds, primarily falcons.
Five veterinary surgeons, four Britons and an Australian, work for The Veterinary Hospital practice.
All of them are members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
The practice dates back 28 years, making it, according to Spicer, the longest-established private veterinary practice in the UAE.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10053170.html
Meerkats teach their young to hunt, study finds
Washington, United States
14 July 2006 10:54
Meerkats actively teach their young how to catch and eat their prey, British researchers said in a study that is one of the first to prove that animals show such complex behaviour.
While animals are known to learn from one another by watching, the team at Britain's University of Cambridge said they had demonstrated that the animals actually teach, as defined by clear principles.
Older meerkats will bite the stinger off a live scorpion and give it to a youngster to kill and eat, and if the pup fails to do the job before the prey can crawl away, will nudge it back, Alex Thornton and Katherine McAuliffe reported.
Older meerkats -- not necessarily the parents -- will watch youngsters to see how they are doing, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
Meerkats are a type of mongoose and live in groups of three to 40 in dry regions of Southern Africa. Each group includes a dominant male and female who produce 80% of the pups, and older animals that help to watch over and rear the young.
The animals rely on hard-to-catch prey such as grasshoppers, and various species of scorpions, including poisonous ones.
Thornton and McAuliffe watched 13 different groups of meerkats as part of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, in South Africa's Kuruman River Reserve.
They used accepted criteria to define teaching: that an individual modifies its behavior only in the presence of a naive observer, that the "teacher" gets no benefit from its actions and in fact may lose opportunities to forage itself, and that the "student" learns more rapidly than it would have on its own.
"Teaching is ubiquitous in human societies, but although social learning is widespread in other species, it is not yet clear how commonly teaching is involved," the researchers wrote.
The meerkats demonstrate clearly that they teach, and do not merely allow the pups to learn by observing, Thornton and McAuliffe said.
"A greater understanding of the evolution of teaching is essential if we are to further our knowledge of human cultural evolution and for us to examine the relations between culture in our own species and cultural behavior in other animals," Thornton said in a statement. - Reuters
SMS 'mg' to 31883 to surf M&G Online breaking news on your cellphone via GPRS or 3G at only R10 a month plus WAP charges (SA users only)
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=277506&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Enjoy an African savannah at the new-look Al Ain zoo
By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
Al Ain: The Al Ain Zoological Park has received a facelift in a Dh15-million rapid improvement programme, with new theme exhibits and recreational and resting facilities.
The programme includes a series of developments that will give the zoo a more natural look and offer more facilities to visitors, said Mark Craig, the zoo's director.
An African savannah has been created on five hectares to house animals in their natural environment. "It's a new concept and facility that offers the environment in which these animals live in the African wild," he said.
A similar exhibit for Arabian animals is also under construction where Arabian Oryx, Gazelles and other animals would be kept in the natural settings. "These exhibits have been designed to provide better viewing options for the visitors [along with] two African-style watchtowers," he said.
The zoo's entrance has recently been renovated and some 15 cages have been demolished to set up the new display.
The improvement programme also includes a redesign of the zoo's landscape and the introduction of a visitors' train that will add to the beauty of the enclosure with Jebel Hafeet as the backdrop, said Craig.
"This is the biggest zoo in the Middle East as it covers ... 850 hectares with more than 200 species of animals, reptiles and birds."
The director said that the visitors' area would also be reduced to 50 hectares.
"This would be the core area of the zoo with facilities such as air-conditioned rest areas, refreshment dispensers and provision outlets," he said.
This was planned keeping in mind that visitors can never walk around the entire 850 hectares. The visitors' walkway now has roofs and mist dispensers.
Work on a special centre has begun to offer information on animals, their habitats and other related aspects to visitors to enhance the zoo's educational value. The centre would be equipped with the latest audio-video aids and expert staff, said Craig.
He said that the improvement programme is an on-going one but most of its objectives would be achieved by the end of the year.
The zoo was taken over from Al Ain Municipality by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi last year. It also became a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza). "We [are] implementing Waza codes of ethics and practices," said Craig.
This will help promote the zoo on an international level.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Leisure/10053641.html
Maine Moose on the Loose
http://yourphotos.boston.com/pages/photo_page.php?mm=51246&gallery=1336
Yes, "Superman Returns'' ... to the Cape! Congratulations to Richard Coutts of Cambridge, who linked to another icon in his winning entry. Among this week's 400 captions were references to Kryptonite, Aqua Man, Lois Lane, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, Jane Swift, and the Cape's notoriously busy hotels and ferries. Check out the runners-up as well below. Although the submission period has ended, check back Sunday to see the winners for this week's contest.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/cityweekly/toons/
Sen. Murkowski lands 63-pound king salmon
In this photo provided by the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sen. Murkowski hugs a 63-pound king salmon she caught July 7, 2006, along the Kenai River in Alaska, during the annual Kenai River Classic. The event, primarily attended by senators, corporate executives and lobbyists, raised about $800,000 for river conservation. BP Vice President Peggy Hudson caught the largest fish, a 67-pound king. (AP Photo/Office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski)
July 20, 2006
FAIRBANKS, Alaska --Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski had the home river advantage. She caught a 63-pound king salmon in the 11th annual Kenai River Classic, the biggest catch among the nine senators who took part in the annual fundraiser July 6-10 for conservation of habitat along the Kenai River.
Participants included Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
BP Vice President Peggy Hudson caught the largest fish, a 67-pound king. The event raised about $800,000.
Alaska's other U.S. senator, Ted Stevens, and Gov. Frank Murkowski co-hosted this year's event. It drew about 200 people, many of them lobbyists and executives from major U.S. industries.
Others senators attending this year were Kit Bond of Missouri, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Larry Craig of Idaho, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Pat Roberts of Kansas and John Sununu of New Hampshire. All are Republicans. No House members attended.
Ricky Gease, executive director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, said genetic samples from the largest three kings caught showed they all came from eggs spawned in 1999 and all had spent one year in the gravel, one year in freshwater and five years in saltwater
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/07/20/sen_murkowski_lands_63_pound_king_salmon/
Elephant kills handler in Tennessee sanctuary
Updated 7/21/2006 10:28 PM ET
By Christopher Berkey, AP
Winkie, a female Asian elephant, prepares to cool down at a nine-foot deep pond in The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., in 2003. On Friday she killed one of her handlers and injured another.
ELEPHANT ATTACK 90 YEARS AGO ENDED IN HANGING
The 1916 death of a circus employee in upper East Tennessee ended with the elephant's execution by hanging.
The animal in question was a circus elephant named Mary. She killed the circus worker as the troupe visited Kingsport, in upper East Tennessee.
The local populace, with the apparent cooperation of the circus owner, Charlie Sparks, decided Mary should be put to death — somehow.
Reportedly, a hail of gunfire and electrocution were tried, but without success.
Finally, the pachyderm was led to the Clinchfield Rail Yard in Erwin, Tenn., where a large chain was placed about the large animal’s neck and a railroad crane lifted her until she died. Reportedly, thousands witnessed the spectacle.
Source: Blue Ridge Country magazine
By Leon Alligood, USA TODAY
A 36-year-old woman whose love for pachyderms led her from her native Maine to rural Lewis County, Tenn., was attacked and killed Friday morning at a preserve for aging elephants, authorities said.
Also, a man who handles the 22 Asian and African elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary was injured and hospitalized late Friday at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tenn.
Because the employees' next of kin had not been notified Friday night, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Lewis County Sheriff's Department would not release their names.
The aggressor was Winkie, a 40-year-old female Asian elephant who has been at the sanctuary for six years and who has a history of attacking humans who worked with her.
The veteran handlers were tending to Winkie around 11:30-11:45 a.m. Friday.
"She was on one side. He was on the other. The elephant turned on her. She was apparently on the side where the elephant had an injury, an eye injury," said Doug Markham, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The agency licenses and inspects facilities, such as the sanctuary.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-21-elephant-attack_x.htm
Agriculture Board Approves New Rules For Petting Zoos
POSTED: 1:08 pm EDT July 20, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The state Board of Agriculture has approved new sanitary rules for petting zoos in hopes of preventing illnesses such as E. coli, which more than 40 people contracted at the State Fair petting zoo in 2004.
"This is an attempt to achieve a balance between protecting the public from E. coli and making sure that kids have the opportunity to be educated about farming and the importance of agriculture," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
The 11 members of the state Board of Agriculture, the policy-making body for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, supported the new rules Wednesday.
The rules require the department's animal health technicians and veterinarians to inspect the petting zoos before they open. The zoos will have to have 29-inch high fences to separate animals from people and warning signs about the possible health risks of touching the animals and hand-washing stations.
Food, drink and pacifiers are prohibited in the animal exhibits.
The regulations go into effect in September, the busiest month for county fairs.
Last year, all 45 North Carolina county fairs voluntarily complied with the animal exhibit guidelines before they became law, agriculture officials said.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9549376/detail.html
Haifa Zoo Locks Animals in Bomb-Proof Cages
18:25 Jul 18, '06 / 22 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) The Haifa Zoo, fearing that rocket explosions may allow dangerous animals to roam in the city, have put lions and tigers in bomb-proof cages. Zookeeper Yoav Ratner told Reuters News Agency, "If a rocket hits the open-air pen and one of the carnivores escapes into the city, it would not be a nice prospect."
Leopards and bears also have been placed in secure cages. The zoo was closed shortly after the Hizbullah terrorist war began.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=107713
Orphaned Cougars Find Home At Oregon Zoo
PORTLAND, Oregon - Chinook and Takini faced an uncertain future until Michelle Schireman stepped in. The two orphaned cougar cubs were rescued by Schireman, the Association of Zoo and Aquariums' puma population manager and a keeper at the Oregon Zoo. The young cougars will make their debut at the Oregon Zoo on Aug. 4.
http://www.grantspassnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=331671&cp=4275
SpongeBob the monkey stolen from zoo
Jul 18, 2006, 13:20 GMT
Police in London are today hunting for an animal thief after an endangered squirrel monkey was stolen from a zoo.
The two–year-old squirrel monkey, called SpongeBob, is believed to have been taken from the zoo at Chessington World of Adventures in south-west London after a break-in was discovered yesterday morning.
Nine other monkeys in his troop were found near or in their enclosure but SpongeBob, a breeding male brought to England from South Africa at the end of last year, was not among them.
Police and zoo officials believe this was a 'pre-planned strike' and are concerned for the safety of the endangered animal, which has a highly specialised diet.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/uk/article_1181935.php/SpongeBob_the_monkey_stolen_from_zoo
Elephant calf born at Dickerson Park Zoo this morning
Springfield News-Leader
A 238-pound female elephant calf has been born at Dickerson Park Zoo.
The mother, 25-year-old Moola, delivered the calf outdoors at the zoo's new cow barn after a brief labor early this morning.
It?s the sixth successful elephant birth at the zoo.
Moola and the calf, who hasn?t been named yet, will remain off exhibit for a period of time to foster a strong bond.
Zoo officials say they are preparing a communitywide naming effort.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060718/BREAKING01/60718004
Peacock attacks child at Oregon Zoo
10:53 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 19, 2006
By ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff
It was a case of a foul fowl -- a peacock at the Oregon Zoo attacked a toddler Monday, prompting the boy’s parents to rush him to the hospital and zoo officials to emphasize the infrequency of such incidents.
“We were next to the tigers when the peacock came up… it goes down to get a piece of purple candy and my son stepped towards the peacock and it jumped up on him and grabbed my son on both shoulders with its talons and stuck its beak into his chest,” said Shane Woodward.
He kicked the bird, which then ran off toward some other children, according to Woodward.
“When it happened, everyone grabbed their kids and picked them up right away,” Woodward said.
He said his two-year-old son Zach was, “really traumatized. He kept saying, ‘bad peacock, bad peacock.’ “
Zach suffered two deep scratches to his left shoulder, and the wounds were still bleeding an hour and a half after the incident, according to Woodward. The child also has welts on both arms. He was treated by zoo staff, who described the wounds as superficial.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071806_news_peacock_attack_.258a87c5.html
Nashville Zoo to open new habitat
Nashville Business Journal - 9:04 PM CDT Tuesday
The Nashville Zoo announced Tuesday it will open its newest habitat, Alligator Cove, on July 22.
The habitat is located at the former otter exhibit. It will have more than a dozen alligators, and the zoo plans to add turtles and fish at a future date. Alligator Cove is the result of a donation from Mr. and Mrs. David B. Johnson.
Last year, the Nashville Zoo set an attendance record with 513,561 visitors, a 4 percent increase from the previous year.
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2006/07/17/daily18.html
Petting zoo safety
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Children who enjoy petting zoos at community fairs and festivals are getting some gentle reminders to wash their hands afterward from the Allegheny County Health Department.
Free signs promoting hand-washing are being handed out by the department to event organizers, if they call 412-687-ACHD or download from the Web site www.achd.net.
Hand-washing reduces the risk of contracting diseases that animals can sometimes carry, such as E. coli and salmonella.
Health officials suggest these tips on how to enjoy petting zoos without getting sick:
Don't kiss the animals and limit your contact with them and nearby fencing, stalls and gates, because manure may be present on their body and in their environment.
Watch young children and tell them to keep their hands out of their mouths.
Don't take food or drink into the animal area.
Wash your hands as soon as you leave the animal area, and help young children wash their hands properly. Washing with soap and warm water is best.
Clean your shoes when you return home and after doing so wash your hands.
Call your doctor if you or your children get sick with stomach cramps, vomiting or diarrhea within a week of visiting a petting zoo. Tell the doctor you were around farm animals.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06200/706688-114.stm
China delegation visits giant pandas in Zoo Atlanta
By Huang Zhiling (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-07-24 08:27
Some 500 people gathered together here Saturday morning in Zoo Atlanta to welcome the arrival of a Chinese delegation which came specially to see the two giant pandas in the zoo.
The 11-member delegation, which consists of government officials, a panda researcher, journalists and a TV production crew, was from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
"We came here to visit Lun Lun and Yang Yang whose parents live in the Chinese city with 10 million people and 80 percent of the world's giant pandas," said Song Minwen, chief of the delegation, in the ceremony marking the arrival of the Chinese group
Both pandas arrived in Zoo Atlanta on a 10-year loan from the Chinese Government in 1999. "Since then, they have brought great joy to locals, children in particular," said Blythe Randolf, vice-president of Zoo Atlanta, in an interview with chinadaily.com.cn.
Jennifer Mullins, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Planning and Services in the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology, visits Zoo Atlanta with her 2.5-year-old daughter Abbey Headerson once in a month to see pandas and elephants.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/24/content_647530.htm
A zoo with birds and bees
24 July 2006
Though I have no formal training in the zoological sciences, I pride myself on the fact that I was first among the crowd of onlookers at Wellington Zoo last weekend to realise what was going down – or, perhaps, going up – when a male lion began enthusiastically licking his partner's fur.
"How lovely, he's grooming her," cooed an elderly woman in a strikingly unbecoming South American hat. He? Grooming her? I may not be an expert on lions, but I know that males of any species don't bother grooming their womenfolk unless they want something.
In this case, as the lion obviously wasn't buttering up his partner as a prelude to asking her to bring him a beer or let him watch the rugby on television, it didn't take David Attenborough to figure out what he was after.
Inevitably, the lion didn't waste much time on the grooming. A frisson of barely concealed delight ran through the crowd when everyone realised the treat in store – live porn, free of both fees and guilt.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3742416a1861,00.html
Weekend Getaways: Exotic Resort Zoo (Video)
(CBS 42) JOHNSON CITY For Marylin Baque, a stroll around her land in the Hill Country could mean running into some of her pet donkeys, but Baque’s love for animals extends way beyond that.
As owner of Johnson City’s Exotic Resort Zoo, Baque hosts hundreds of visitors each week who come and enjoy mingling with her 500-plus animals from around the world.
“What most people enjoy about this (is) it’s a hands on experience.” Baque said. “You touch animals in the petting zoo when you’re doing the tour -- when you hear people laughing because Omar stole their bucket.” She explained: “He’s our camel.”
Baque’s exotic animal experience started more than 10 years ago. She said keeping her animals happy and healthy is a big job, but it’s not as difficult as people might think.
Baque said one of the most interesting things about caring for her exotics is that she gets to know them individually.
“They’re all different,” she said. “Every one has a different personality. It’s like children and adults. Some are moody. Some aren’t.”
Baque said people have enjoyed her animals so much she decided to expand the business. She recently added overnight accommodations so that folks can get that safari feeling for the entire weekend.
“We do have 4 cabins that we rent and two of them have full kitchens,” Baque said. “We have a swimming pool and hot tub. We do camp fires in the evenings so the kids can do smores or marshmallows.”
Operating nearly every day of the year, the work is hard, but the payoff is worth it. The zoo is a childhood-goal-come-true for an animal lover who likes sharing her passion for exotic critters.
“That’s my dream.” Baque told CBS 42. “It’s just for people to enjoy my place -- my animals. That’s all.”
Baque said her cabins have become so popular, even business people have chosen to stay at her resort while doing business nearby.
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_364022834.html
Gulf Coast zoo dodging hurricanes
July 23, 2006
The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo will relocate from Gulf Shores to a nearby 25-acre site in Baldwin County in hopes of avoiding future hurricane damage.
Hurricane Ivan's floodwaters in Gulf Shores forced the evacuation of the animals in September 2004. Two more evacuations last year were caused by Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina.
Advertisement
The zoo became known as "The Little Zoo That Could" in an Animal Planet television feature in February.
Ivan flooded the zoo with several feet of water and destroyed much of the park. Zoo director Patti Hall hosted 267 animals at her home in Elberta, Ala.
The zoo will move to land along Baldwin County 6 just east of Alabama 59, the main beach route from Interstate 10, according to the Mobile Press-Register newspaper.
The property was donated by businessman Clyde Weir and his daughter, Andrea Weir Franklin, owners of the Souvenir City shops in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Construction could begin next year.
Last month, 18,311 paying customers visited the zoo, compared with 8,411 in June 2004, the summer before the park was struck by Ivan, Hall said.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/travel/article/0,1426,MCA_532_4860774,00.html
Zoo visit as community service?
The Denver Housing Authority's liberal reading of a federal requirement for service draws criticism
Marla Big Horse, right, owed about 100 hours of community service when she was evicted from her Denver Housing Authority duplex after 19 years. Her son Christopher, 17, is at left. (Post / Cyrus McCrimmon)
Denver public-housing residents have been fulfilling federal requirements to perform community service by reading at the library; visiting the zoo, botanic gardens or art museum; and attending the ballet or symphony.
Those activities wouldn't qualify with other housing authorities nationally, officials say. And a former congressman who sponsored legislation creating the rule questions Denver's liberal interpretation of it.
Denver Housing Authority officials defend the practice. They say getting residents to put in eight hours of community service or self-sufficiency activity each month is so difficult - statistics show that barely one in six residents does - that practically any activity is acceptable.
For instance, helping a senior citizen who lives in public housing play bingo can be counted toward community service.
"At least it's getting them into the outside world," DHA Director Sal Carpio said of the non-traditional activities. "This enhances their quality of life, and for people that don't or won't leave their units or the complex, it's progress."
Advocates for the poor agree, saying any activity that can help improve someone's life should be enough, even if it's as simple as reading a book.
"People in need have a host of issues that need addressing, and any type of positive activity that can help fulfill that is better than nothing," said John Parvensky, director of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. "Anything that is a piece toward self-improvement is useful to getting their lives back together."
But DHA admits it doesn't know whether such activities are contributing to the community or self-improvement. No one monitors the quality of activities, only attendance.
It's unlikely residents gain community service credit by reading a library book to themselves, Carpio said. Rather, it's presumed the book is read to a child. Same with the museums. Or they could share a book with other tenants.
Those not complying can lose housing
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4087212
Zoo the place for mom, kids
I just love the zoo. Having grown up in Jackson I can remember watching in awe as the enormous polar bear would swing his head back and forth just before plunging into the deep water hole causing waves to crash over the edge. He would get in and out dozens of times swing his head again as if to say, "Hey ya'll, watch this!"
Over the years I have had the joy of exposing my kids to some pretty interesting things at the Hattiesburg Zoo.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060724/LIFESTYLE/607240321/1024
Ag Expo a petting zoo for some visitors
by ERIN CUNNINGHAM erinc@herald-mail.com
SHARPSBURG - For some of its youngest visitors, the Washington County Ag Expo was more like a trip to a petting zoo.
Raven Morningstar, 12, of Sharpsburg, her sister and two friends spent Sunday afternoon petting animals.
"Come pet this one," she said. "He's real sweet."
There were other larger, more active rabbits, but Raven said her favorite was the brown rabbit that stayed still when she pet him.
Raven and Rachel Morningstar, 13, Michael Selby, 6, of Funkstown, and Anna Blevins, 6, of Sharpsburg, said they enjoyed petting all of the animals, including sheep and cows.
The rabbits, though, were their favorites.
"They're soft, cute and cuddly," Raven said.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=143186&format=html
Killer elephant spent 30 years at Henry Vilas Zoo
HOHENWALD, Tenn. The elephant that killed its handler at a Tennessee sanctuary earned a reputation as dangerous while cared for at a Madison zoo.
Caregiver Joanna Burke was killed Friday at The Elephant Sanctuary in Lewis County, Tennessee when an Asian elephant named Winkie stepped on her or kicked her.
The elephant's biography on the sanctuary's Web site say Winkie spent 30 years at the Henry Vilas Zoo and hurt several staffers and visitors.
She was moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in September of 2000 upon recommendation of the U-S Department of Agriculture.
The nonprofit sanctuary says Burke would not want the animal euthanized. The sanctuary's seven-member board will be responsible for determining the elephant's fate.
The 36-year-old Burke had been the primary caregiver for the Asian elephants at the sanctuary for eight years. She
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=5189116
Zoo gets federal funds for biomass
Written by Staff
Monday, 24 July 2006
CHERRY CREEK - A one million dollar appropriation will support Denver Zoo’s plans to build a new, environmentally-sound, 10-acre exhibit called Asian Tropics, the future home of 15 Asian species including elephants and rhinoceros. An exceptional component of the new exhibit will be the installation of a biomass gasification system designed to convert the zoo’s solid waste materials into on-site energy generation and distribution.
The funds were secured by Senator Wayne Allard.
“We are thrilled. This has been in the works the better part of a year and we are very grateful for Senator Allard’s efforts and vision,” says Denver Zoo President and CEO Clayton Freiheit.
The biomass gasification system is expected to convert more than 90 percent of the zoo’s trash into useable energy that will be utilized to operate the Asian Tropics facilities. “The concept of being able to convert animal waste and human trash – both of which the zoo produces in abundance – to provide heating, cooling and power for Asian Tropics’ buildings and animal exhibit water features is mind boggling. Widespread future use of this technology could, over time, mean an end to sanitary landfills and have a huge positive effect on our environment. As a conservation-oriented institution, vitally concerned with the future of our natural world, we're extremely pleased” says Freiheit.
http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/content/view/598/2/
Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo Historical Tours
2006-07-24
Author: Linsay Rabyj- CJWW News
The Kinsmen Express mini train is giving guided tours of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo.
The tour will interpret the history of the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station.
John Moran, Manager of Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo says the nursery played a vital role in the settlement and development of the Prairies.
The nursery was closed in 1965 but a portion of the site was reopened as the Forestry Farm Park by the City of Saskatoon 1966. It has been the site of recreational activities for residents and visitors ever since.
The tour will also showcase many of the heritage buildings and landscapes of the park.
The guided tours are ongoing for the remainder of the summer between 10am and 6pm.
http://www.saskatoonhomepage.ca/news_view_story_2147496304.php?story_id=2147503598&cat_id=2147483652
Zoo elephant steps up for casting call
Research could yield information on dinosaurs, climate change
By Sophia Maines (Contact)
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
advertisement
Elephants aren’t dinosaurs, but they’re close enough for Brian Platt.
The Kansas University doctoral student took his research to the Topeka Zoo on Monday where he called on Tembo, an 8,000-pound African elephant, to be his guinea pig.
“It is kind of crazy,” he said of his research. “No one’s tried it before.”
Tembo’s only chore was to walk across a sandy path, enticed by the occasional carrot.
Platt measured Tembo’s footsteps — hoping the study of her tracks in the sand can help him formulate an equation. He wants to find a way to determine the amount of moisture present in prehistoric soil by studying a dinosaur’s tracks.
With enough data, researchers could track moisture and precipitation at various points in prehistoric times, Platt said.
And while Platt’s primary focus is measuring the moisture of the soil, he and others believe the research could also have implications for the study of climate change.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jul/25/zoo_elephant_steps_casting_call/?ku_news
El Paso Zoo welcomes spectacled bear
By Leonard Martinez / El Paso Times
A recent trip to the Manila Zoo in the Philippines left Jackie Blankenship even more appreciative of the El Paso Zoo.
"The El Paso Zoo is better," she said. "It has better animals, and they take care of them better."
Blankenship said she has to check out the orangutans whenever she goes to the El Paso Zoo.
"My favorite is the biggest one -- the laziest one," Blankenship said. "They've done a lot to improve the zoo, especially the sea lions exhibit. It was really nice, especially when you go down below and see the entire pool."
This week, another change is coming to the zoo with the debut of Inca the spectacled bear.
The spectacled bear's scientific name is Tremarctos ornatus. The species is endangered.
Liz Kern, the zoo's marketing coordinator, said the bears are called "spectacled" because they have pale yellow bands across the base of the nose and sometimes across the foreheads to the cheeks and throat. This pattern makes the bears look as if they were wearing glasses.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/entertainment/ci_4090324
Temps melt crowds at zoo
By ADAM CLAYTON, STAFF
When it gets this hot, people tend to stay indoors or seek out shade. And the animals at the Assiniboine Park Zoo are no different.
Zoo co-ordinator Doug Ross said attendance has dropped slightly during the heat wave gripping Winnipeg. Ross said the zoo typically has less visitors when the weather is extremely hot as many animals are resting during the peak hours of the day.
"One thing we don't do is force our animals out on display," he said. "They've got lots of shade and lots of water."
MORNING VISITS BEST
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2006/07/25/1701028-sun.html
TV show will spotlight college's Teaching Zoo
By Star staff
July 24, 2006
The national spotlight will shine on Moorpark College on Friday, when NBC-TV's "Today Show" plans to broadcast a segment about America's Teaching Zoo on campus, according to a college official.
The TV segment will feature Boston writer Amy Sutherland, author of a new book that gives an inside look at the experiences of students in Moorpark College's Exotic Animal Training and Management program.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/mo/article/0,1375,VCS_167_4868353,00.html
Flamingo chicks lively at Riverbanks Zoo
By Joey Holleman
McClatchy Newspapers
No. 23 attacks every creature in sight, straining to peck even when held back by friendly hands.
No. 4 is calm, self-sufficient. Needs no attention. Fast learning curve.
No. 5 wants to eat all the time. Begs for food even right after eating.
Seems baby flamingos can be as different as baby people.
Riverbanks Zoo's bird keepers have been especially busy in recent weeks with the hatching of 15 flamingo chicks from eggs imported from Hialeah Park in South Florida. They don't have names yet, just numbers based on the red bands placed on their legs.
Hundreds of flamingos, part of the ambience of the now-closed Hialeah Park horse racing facility, still live in the track infield. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association has encouraged zoos to raise eggs harvested from nests at Hialeah, helping to diversify the genetic pool in zoo populations, said Martin Vince, bird curator at Riverbanks.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/15115524.htm
Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation donates to Chilean flamingo conservation group
by Heather Muller , 7/25/2006
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation, in collaboration with the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group, recently donated $500 to support the Chilean Flamingo Conservation Program in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
“Chilean flamingos are crowd favorites at many zoos around the world, with their colorful plumage and gregarious behaviors,” according to a news release issued by the zoo foundation.
Sequoia Park Zoo has about a dozen Chilean flamingos, which, during a Sunday visit, entertained visitors by pecking noisily at each other, grooming themselves and taking leisurely strolls around the mud flats and shallow waters in their enclosure.
In the wild, however, Chilean flamingo populations have suffered dramatic population declines since the mid-1980s, as a result of habitat disturbance, the release stated.
The primary culprits are thought to be mining activities and unregulated tourism, which can interrupt feeding and breeding behaviors. But until recently, according to the release, few field investigations had been conducted to determine the exact causes of flamingo population decline.
The principal goals of the Flamingo Conservation Program are to gather information regarding flamingo health, habitat selection and flight pattern behavior, and to work with local mining and tourist industries to protect remaining flamingo populations and their unique habitat.
Sequoia Park Zoo manager Gretchen Ziegler said that because of their vulnerability in the wild, Chilean flamingos are one of few species encouraged to breed in captivity at the zoo.
“As a flagship species for the zoo, their survival in the wild is important to us, and we’re proud to help support all efforts to that end.”
While the flamingos at Sequoia Park Zoo are not as brightly colored as some, they are fascinating to watch. Their necks move like snakes, and the animals appear to stand on their heads while feeding.
According to signs posted around the exhibit, the technique is called “filter feeding.” Water is pumped through the beak and runs off, leaving small aquatic plants and animals trapped in the bristle-like edges of the bill.
The sharply bent shape of the beak allows flamingos to keep their heads mostly above water while feeding, enabling the birds to keep an eye out for signs of danger.
The news release stated that promoting conservation — “in our own backyard and worldwide” — is an important aspect of the zoo’s mission.
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation supports the zoo through fundraising and promotion of the zoo’s mission and programs. The foundation is a California Public Benefit corporation.
For additional information about the foundation, visit the foundation offices at 2414 W St., in Eureka, e-mail info@sequoiaparkzoo.net or phone 707-442-6552.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13279
New restaurant opens at Joburg Zoo
The leafy surrounds of a new restaurant at the Johannesburg Zoo is a great experience for both parents and children.
July 25, 2006
By Thabang Mokoka
A NEW addition has been made to the Johannesburg Zoo – the recently opened Café Fino restaurant.
Situated near the Ape House, the restaurant is in the zoo's Heart of Africa zone, under leafy, tropical vegetation.
The restaurant is just one of several additions to the zoo, which is in the midst of an ambitious five-year renovation plan, with the development of seven distinct zones and the refurbishment of several of the zoo's enclosures.
With colourful maroon tents outside, Café Fino, part of the Fournews Group that runs the News Cafés, blends into the zoo's atmosphere.
The restaurant caters for families, allowing parents to enjoy the tranquil scenery over a cup of bottomless filter coffee and freshly baked muffins, while on weekends an entertainer, like a magician, will keep the small people occupied.
http://www.joburg.org.za/2006/july/jul25_restaurant.stm
I wanted to wait for the dust to settle a bit on this issue before adequately addressing my concerns. I RARELY advocate for political action, but, zoos are a weekly feature here and I believe in responsibly. I believe people involved with responsible treatment of animals want to be taken seriously. I also believe their insight to the connection between society, family, children and the keeping and appreciation of exotic animals is unique.
Something very disturbing occurred in the name of zoos, and primarily petting zoos. There was a name of a petting zoo entered into the 'database' of terrorist targets. It was a very bad mistake. I'd like to say why here and what has happened to Homeland Security funding because of a 'bad formula' for setting funding in the country.
How did New York City loose it's Homeland Security funding?
In an article spawned by the inclusion on a terrorist list of a petting zoo there was this paragraph. It reveals a poorly conceived idea of a Homeland Security Funding equation.
"Lewis thinks that Old MacDonald's was entered in the database when the feds asked the state to come up with places where large gatherings occur. Then the state asked the county, which asked Woodville. "I live in a town of 800, so when I have 50 people in my zoo, that's a large gathering of people," she explained. Then the list was compiled and given to the state, which, in a race against the terrorists, didn't have time to review the list before rushing to ask the government for money."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein18jul18,0,2232051.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary
This is very manipulative and the bottom line is quite frankly 'the bottom line' of state and local funding. I don't know why any petting zoo would even participate in such ludicrous assessment. Have everyone park their backpacks at the gate ANYWAY. Having a list of terrorist sites is a way of frightening the public. It also asks the public to take control over the policing of their own safety. It is irresponsible of government to even provide such frightening 'ideas' to places as this. If the government can't do better than this then we truly have people with no leadership ability. The problem is that zoos/parks/petting zoos are not the highest priority of terrorist networks like al Qaeda. It doesn't serve their primary interest. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were huge events. The terrorists literally wrested four huge commercial airliners away from their pilots. In doing so they killed innocent people on board those planes in brutal acts of murder. Then they aimed these jets laden heavy with 'highly flammable jet fuel' in the infrastructure of the USA. The World Trade Towers was a successful attack on commerce. The Pentagon was a successful attack on our highest military. I am confident if the pilot of that plane knew exactly where Rumsfeld was that morning he would no longer be alive today. The fourth jet liner was scuttled by it's passengers to stop it from reaching either the Capitol Building or White House.
All those structures are hugely significant to the functioning of our society. For some time afterward the Stock Exchange floundered in disbelief and fear. The Pentagon was shocked to the point where the retaliate attacks which probably required some of the personnel that were killed that day took nearly a month to launch. Our country did not attack al Qaeda until October. The Shanksville, Pennsylvania site is now hallowed ground to frightened passengers that were determined to save their own lives and unwittingly saved a devastating strike against the core structure of the government. I think they were headed for The Capitol Building myself.
The point is I sincerely believe any of 'the list' is likely NOT a target unless is fulfills the criteria of the events of September 11, 2001, as a very close match. Al Qaeda and terrorist networks like them including Hezbollah want to permanently damage and disable this country and other great societies such as found in Spain, Britain, Egypt, Israel and Indonesia. There are many, many others such as Kenya and Turkey that have had incidents mar their landscape for the purpose of destroying the civilized world. Although any 'nut case' in the country might try an event of such stature scaring people and possibly injure and possibly kill; those are domestic haphazards that should be stopped before they happen by the FBI. There is no guarantee any such person so badly demented could ever be tracked by law enforcement although everyone sincerely hopes it does, life is without guarantees but exist only 'margins of safety' by people that give a damn.
When silliness or perhaps it's corruption occurs, it hurts the reputation of all. The 'Old McDonald' Petting Zoo has been used today to make an example of the type of tragedy poor leadership brings to damage reputation while causing unnecessary public concern.
Old McDonald Had a Bomb
http://www.outsidethetent.com/wp/archives/old-mcdonald-had-a-bomb/
I strongly feel if we are to be brave, as Americans determined to have a secure country, we need to first protect what seem "LIKELY" targets, namely our big cities. If anyone reading this would kindly stop to realize how ludicrous this formula is that Washington is using to determine where best to spend our tax dollars in sincere efforts to stop dangerous, international terrorists; then write your state and federal legislators and tell them to 'get serious' about our country's security and stop creating bad jokes from bad government policy.
Thank you.
Best regards.
concluding …
Click on to animate
July 25, 2006. 9:00 am. Antarctica.
The areas that were 4 degrees C two weeks ago were then 2 degrees C last week and this week are 1 degree C. (Click on. Thank you.)
Hm.
An exponential drop in Antarctica temperatures while there is an exponential migration of the sun to the equator. Wonder what that is all about? Maybe a changing shadow of solar radiation across the continent.
The only really coldest spot I noted was Vostok wtih it's (-) negative 75 C. There are other areas that have had a temperature rise from that -75 to a much warmer temperature of -59. I don't know if that really matters much. Once the temperature goes below -50 C it's all pretty much the same. But hats off to any Russian this week that actually puts his nose outside in Vostok.
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Clear
-29.0°
Updated Wednesday 26 Jul 1:00AM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
55 °F / 13 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
82%
Dew Point:
50 °F / 10 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.82 in / 1010 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 200 ft / 60 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
Scott Base
Clear
-29.0°
Updated Wednesday 26 Jul 1:00AM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
55 °F / 13 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
82%
Dew Point:
50 °F / 10 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.82 in / 1010 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 200 ft / 60 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
I made mention below of the Mexican coastline. This so there is no doubt. (click on)
July 25, 2006.
1235 gmt.
The Gulf of Mexico Satellite. Also noted storm southeast of Florida.
Tropical Weather Could Head for the Valley
A tropical wave and surface low pressure off the Mexican coast is expected to move north toward the Rio Grande Valley over the next two days.
The low pressure system is about 100 miles south of the Rio Grande near La Pesca, Tamaulipas.
Weather forecasters aren't certain yet if the development will become a tropical depression, but it is possible if the surface low stays offshore.
"We believe the low pressure system will travel north along the Mexican coast," said Action 4 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Hale. "As it nears the Valley there is a good possibility we'll experience showers and thunderstorms."
While we'll get some of the rain, Hale says most of the heavy rains will travel north of the Valley into the Corpus Christi area and eventually into the Texas Hill Country.
"The storms we'll experience will begin on Tuesday through late Wednesday," said Hale.
Click here if you'd like to print a 24/7 hurricane tracking map. Stay with the 24/7 Weather team for the latest developments in the gulf and the tropics.
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