The coqui, a frog native to Puerto Rico, lends its name to the Central Florida Zoo's annual festival celebrating Hispanic culture. The zoo has a breeding program for the frog.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Accreditation in hand, NEW Zoo looks to future
Facility one of 216 in nation to receive designation
By Sara Boyd
sboyd2@greenbaypressgazette.com
Christmas has come early for the NEW Zoo.
The zoo is finally able to cross a much-needed ultrasound machine off its wish list, said director Neil Anderson.
"That was one of those big-ticket budget items that the zoo had difficulty being able to afford," he said. "To have this type of equipment out here is truly fantastic."
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/GPG0101/709210596/1207/GPGnews
Zoos build gene pool to save devil
Andrew Darby In Hobart
September 22, 2007
Page 1 of 2 Single page
A BLUEPRINT has been drawn up for a globally pioneering attempt by zoos to save an animal species from disease, with the prospect that the Tasmanian devil will crash to extinction in the wild.
The devil facial tumour disease is scything relentlessly through the marsupial's population, which is thought to have at least halved in a decade.
In the forests and valleys across most of its range, the once common scavenging carnivore has been reduced to scattered remnants, and its night-time banshee growl is only a memory.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/zoos-build-gene-pool-to-save-devil/2007/09/21/1189881777219.html
September 2007
Holiday File
Boo at the Zoo!
Animal adventures go spooktacular
Ah, the age-old Halloween dilemma: Your kids love dressing up and trick-or-treating, but they’re still too young for zombies, werewolves, and fright fests. A fall getaway to one of the country’s most kid-friendly zoos might be just the ticket. These days, zoos across the country are offering family-friendly trick-or-treat events, minus the ghouls and goblins. This makes them ideal for the under-12 set (not to mention their scaredy-cat parents). Here’s how some top-notch zoos are putting the focus on fun, not fright:
http://www.wejustgotback.com/default.aspx?mod=halloween_zoo
The Great Outdoors
Posted at 1:02 pm September 12, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
Many of you have noticed that Bai Yun is increasingly absent from the den these days. This is esentially due to the normal development of the relationship between mother and infant. Once a cub has developed a bit of fat to insulate itself and some fur to help keep it warm, the dam is no longer required to hold the infant so close to aid in thermoregulation. This frees the mother panda up to attend to other things, including her own ever-increasing appetite.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/the-great-outdoors/
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo celebrates
125th anniversary with ‘Zoobilee’
By Charles Cassady
Insights
Published Sept. 12, 2007
Will you guys keep it down? It’s getting to be like a zoo in there!
Oh, correction. It is a Zoo in there. Namely, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest, celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2007 with “Zoobilee,” a day-long celebration with music and fun on Saturday, with extended Zoo hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We’ve never had a Zoobilee before,” said Tom O’Konowitz of the Zoo’s marketing department. “Because of our 125th anniversary we wanted to have a special party like none we’ve ever had before.”
http://www.westlifenews.com/2007/09-12/insights.html
Zoobilee Raises $650,000 for Zoo
Posted: 12:52 PM Sep 12, 2007
Last Updated: 12:52 PM Sep 12, 2007
The Sedgwick County Zoo’s annual fundraising gala, Zoobilee, is being called a success. The yearly event was held on Saturday and raised more than $650,000.
The theme was Party with the Penguins and offered food and drink samples from nearly 70 restaurants as well as silent and live auctions.
Nearly 6000 people attended the event, which raised is the Sedgwick County Zoo’s largest fundraising effort. Proceeds from the event go to support daily Zoo operation.
As part of the Zoo’s commitment to conservation, a portion of this year’s funds will go to support the Humboldt Penguin Conservation Initiatives in Chile and Peru.
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/9738792.html
St. Louis Zoo gets endowed
Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 1:50 p.m.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Saigh Foundation is giving $1.7 million to the St. Louis Zoo to endow the position of the Fred Saigh curator of the Children's Zoo.
Zoo officials say the endowment will provide for hands-on educational opportunities at the Children's Zoo.
The Children's Zoo features 332 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians which interact with visitors.
Admission to the St. Louis Zoo is free. For the Children's Zoo, admission is $4, but free from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Children's Zoo admission is also free to children age 2 and younger.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://www.khqa.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=50192
Flip Top Zoo Chairs Allows Young Children to Sit or Ride
These adorable Zoo Chairs designed by Clement Produse Design have been developed for younger children who can either use them as chairs or play items thanks to their flip top design.
Coming in several animal forms – namely Elephant, Camel and Horse – there’s just something we love about these and we don’t doubt that young children will take to them like an Elephant/Camel/Horse to water.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we are unable to ascertain pricing as the entire range of these Zoo Chairs appears to have completely sold out, though we would hope that further stock will become available soon.
http://www.e-potpourri.com/index.php/2007/09/13/flip-top-zoo-chairs-allows-young-children-to-sit-or-ride/
Strapped schools to give zoo $200,000
Seminole will honor its promise in the face of likely losses. The cash covers student discounts.
Dave Weber Sentinel Staff Writer
September 13, 2007
SANFORD - There may not be enough cash for kids in Seminole County schools this year, but there is money for monkeys.
School-district officials are worried that they may lose as much as $9.4 million in funding because of a slump in state revenues. Declining enrollment this year will cut state funding, too. And the prospect of Florida voters in January changing the way property is taxed for schools and other agencies could mean the loss of millions more.
Despite the bleak financial picture, the School Board approved its annual $200,000 donation to the Central Florida Zoo near Sanford, fulfilling a promise made several years ago.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-zoocash1307sep13,0,7527732.story
Popcorn Park Zoo's gift auction set for Oct. 6 in Toms River
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/13/07
BY BONNIE DELANEY
Popcorn Park Zoo's annual gift auction will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Elks Lodge on Clifton Avenue and Washington Street in Toms River.
"Our list of items for the auction continues to grow, thanks to so many businesses and individuals who have provided merchandise and services for the auction," said Roseann Trezza, executive director of the nonprofit Associated Humane Societies, Inc., which operates the zoo in Lacey which cares for hundreds of domestic, wild, exotic and farm animals.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/NEWS02/709130415/1070/NEWS02
Mutant turtle draws visitors at the zoo
Staff Reporter
Yellow turtle at Nandana Kanan Zoo.
BHUBANESWAR: Every time visitors pass by the turtle enclosure in Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here, a distinct member in the enclosure captures the attention of everybody.
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091356710200.htm
Manatee Nursed By Zoo On Way To Freedom
Lenora Lake, Tribune correspondent
Published: September 13, 2007
Photo Gallery
TAMPA - A 1,050-pound Florida manatee that had been rescued in Corpus Christi, Texas, was released about 11:30 a.m. today in Crystal River in Citrus County.
The 7-year-old male manatee, Texas, had left the zoo on West Sligh Avenue about 9 a.m., accompanied by staff from the Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The staff members saw him swim away before starting a return trip to Tampa.
The manatee was loaded from a holding pool by crane into a truck for the trip. A blood sample was taken, and he was patted by the caregivers, a procedure used for "settling them down," said David Murphy, the zoo's veterinarian who oversaw the animal's care.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/13/manatee-nursed-zoo-way-freedom/?news-breaking
Rare giraffe born in Vienna zoo
13 September 2007
VIENNA - A so-called Rothschild giraffe, an endangered sub-species of the ruminant mammal, has given birth to a calf in the Schoenbrunn zoo here, the zoo announced today.
Weighing an estimated 70 kilograms and already topping 1.90 metres in height, the calf, named Akasha, was born at midday yesterday, the zoo said in a statement.
Akasha was "naturally very wobbly on his feet to start with and fell into the muddy ground when he tottered outside. But the baby giraffe had a comfortable first night and was up and around this morning," the zoo said in a statement.
The Rothschild giraffe is one of the most endangered of the nine different sub-species of giraffe and there are only around 500 animals living in the wild in eastern Africa.
The Rothschild giraffe can grow as tall as six metres and weigh as much as 1,900 kilograms and has a life expectancy of around 25 years.
Akasha’s mother, Carla, was also born in captivity in the Dvur Kralove zoo in the Czech Republic.
Vienna’s Schoenbrunn zoo is Europe’s oldest and has had giraffes since 1828.
It announced the birth of a baby panda in August, the first in Europe to be conceived naturally while in captivity.
AFP
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=563865
Peta presses campaign for zoo closure
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 11:20pm (Mla time) 09/13/2007
MANILA, Philippines – Members of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) renewed yesterday calls for the closure of all zoos in the country.
Protesters painted from head to toe in bright colors held a lunchtime rally in front of the Manila Zoo and the Botanical Garden in Malate carrying banners that read: “Let animals show their real colors, boycott the zoos.”
The protest was part of Peta’s worldwide campaign against zoos, said Rochelle Regodon, campaigns manager.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=88443
Zona Zoo may introduce school-spirit scholarships
By: Siobhan Daniel
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
Starting next month, students who exude school spirit may be able to apply for a $1,000 Erin Hertzog Scholarship.
The details for the scholarships are not yet final, but there should be at least three given away, said David Roost,
executive director of Zona Zoo.
"We want someone who appreciates school spirit," he said. "There are plenty of scholarships out there for people with excellent grade-point averages. We want to recognize the sports fans, like the people who get to the games four hours prior just to make sure they get a great seat."
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2007/09/13/News/Zona-Zoo.May.Introduce.SchoolSpirit.Scholarships-2966654.shtml
Taking flight with a Northwest endangered butterfly
Woodland Park Zoo has participated in the Oregon silverspot butterfly breeding project for the last since 2000. These beautiful butterflies have not been seen in the wild, mostly the dunes and meadows along the Washington, Oregon and northern California coast, since 1990. Wanting to head off extinction, WPZ, along with Oregon Zoo and support from the Washington and U.S. Departments of Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and Lewis and Clark College are "headstarting" silverspots for release at our two zoos. We bring in eggs and care for them over the winter until they pupate. Just last month, staff from WPZ took down 162 pupated silverspots for release into a protected area on the Oregon Coast. In total, we have produced 492 pupae for release.
http://woodlandparkzblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/taking-flight-with-northwest-endangered.html
The Auckland Zoo
http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/index.php
Endangered crane may be sent to Seoul: Taipei Zoo
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Sep 14, 2007, Page 2
Dan Dan, an endangered red-crowned crane, walks around its cage at Taipei Zoo yesterday.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAIPEI ZOO
A Taipei Zoo official said yesterday that an endangered crane, which has been staying at the zoo after an accident three years ago, may be transferred to South Korea and released into the wild.
The red-crowned crane, dubbed "Dan Dan" (丹丹), was injured at Hsinchu Air Force Base in September 2004 and taken to the zoo for treatment.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/09/14/2003378664
How Racine sewer money becomes zoo money
By Brent Killackey
Journal Times
Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:07 PM CDT
RACINE -- It’s an odd arrangement: Taking funds from the local sewer utility and spending that money on the Racine Public Library, Racine Zoo and the Charles A. Wustum Museum.
Yet that’s exactly what’s spelled out in Section 8 of a 2002 sewer agreement involving Racine County communities east of Interstate 94.
The bulk of the agreement outlined revenue-sharing plans and funding arrangements for a major sewer plant expansion. But the agreement also agreed to spend wastewater utility capital reserve funds — basically a savings account for the utility — on the library, zoo and museum.
For the zoo and museum, the agreement essentially set an annual fixed contribution. The library’s funding increased or decreased to make up for a shortfall in Racine County funding for the library. However, the county was not part of the sewer agreement and did not sign onto it.
In 2007, $609,736 in sewer reserve funds — $146,026 for the library, $330,393 the zoo and $133,317 for the museum — was transferred to the city.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/09/13/local_news/doc46e9eb639b9b5304482379.txt
Zoo board chooses California sanctuary for Maggie
By JIM HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
Published: September 13, 2007
Last Modified: September 13, 2007 at 02:58 PM
Maggie the elephant, the subject of intense debate this summer, will be heading to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., the Alaska Zoo Board announced Thursday.
http://www.adn.com/front/story/9300026p-9214619c.html
Rare red bird of paradise hatched at Houston Zoo
04:47 PM CDT on Thursday, September 13, 2007
KHOU.com staff report
A rare red bird of paradise, considered near-threatened in the wild, is being raised by its mother at the Houston Zoo. The chick hatched in the Zoo’s off exhibit breeding area following an incubation period of 17 days.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070913_rm_rarebird.ceba371a.html
Home Video entitled, "Isabel Does a Face Plant at the Zoo"
http://media.revver.com/qt/396414.mov
Newborn Hippo cheers animal lovers at Patna Zoo
Posted September 14th, 2007 by Kiran Pahwa
Patna, Sep.14: The birth of a baby hippo at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park past Monday night (September 10) has spread a wave of cheer among animal lovers and zoo officials here.
Authorities at the Sanjay Gandhi Botanical Park, popularly known as Patna Zoo, said that the baby hippo and its mother were in a healthy condition.
The newborn has been attracting scores of visitors, especially children and women, to the zoo. Visitors are watching the newborn remaining close to its mother and spending most of the time inside the pool at the zoo.
http://www.topnews.in/newborn-hippo-cheers-animal-lovers-patna-zoo-21741
Camera shy tiger cubs make their zoo debut
They're the largest cats on earth, weighing up to 550 pounds when fully grown.
But two Amur tiger cubs born at Brookfield Zoo were scaredy-cats when it came to their first public appearance.
The cautious duo took two days to emerge into the sunshine after four months indoors with mother, Tiara, a 12-year-old Amur tiger.
Keepers flung open the doors of their outdoor enclosure Wednesday but Tiara was the only family member who showed.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=37715&src=5
Detroit Zoo produces toadlets in captive breeding program
9/14/2007, 12:28 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Zoo has produced a group of 40 toadlets through a captive breeding program for Wyoming toads that has involved scientists at zoos and universities around the nation.
The endangered species, known as Bufo baxteri, grows to about 2 inches long and weighs less than 30 grams. Its careful camouflage allows the toad to blend into diverse habitats around the Laramie River basin.
"The only ones found in the wild are there because captive breeding programs put them there," Danna Schock, Detroit Zoological Society Curator of Amphibians, told The Daily Tribune for a recent story. "The population can't sustain itself."
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1189788012182260.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Young alligator leaves Virginia Zoo, becomes pet
05:12 PM EDT on Friday, September 14, 2007
By Dottie Wikan, WVEC.com
It was a short stay at the zoo for the young alligator captured in Lake Holly in Va. Beach earlier this week.
http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_091407_gator_gone_.d2c866e2.html
Pumpkin-loving sculptor seeks inspiration at zoo
Thursday, September 13, 2007 3:31 AM
By Matt Tullis
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Growing huge pumpkins was once Gus Smithhisler's specialty.
Now he focuses on carving and sculpting them.
Smithhisler has turned the facade of a pumpkin into a homage to the Ohio State-Michigan game. He has sculpted at the Indiana State Fair and the Indianapolis 500. Last weekend, he was in Las Vegas to carve pumpkins for the Bellagio hotel-casino.
This weekend and next, the Columbus resident will return for the second annual Jack Hanna Fall Fest at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/weekender/stories/2007/09/13/9A_OUTDOORS_13.ART_ART_09-13-07_T29_7O7SB1R.html?sid=101
Endangered crane may be sent to Seoul: Taipei Zoo
09/14/2007 (Taipei Times)
A Taipei Zoo official said on Thursday that an endangered crane that has been staying at the zoo after an accident three years ago, may be transferred to South Korea and released into the wild.
The red-crowned crane, dubbed "Dan Dan", was injured at Hsinchu Air Force Base in September 2004 and taken to the zoo for treatment.
Zoo director Chen Pao-chung said that South Korea has obtained permission from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) -- an international treaty drafted in 1973 to protect wildlife and prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction -- allowing Taiwan to send the bird to South Korea legally.
With the document, South Korea hopes to take Dan Dan to its zoo in Seoul to build up the bird's muscles before releasing it into the wild.
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=87927&CtNode=39
Vilas Children's Zoo adds some zip
SANDRA KALLIO
608-252-6181
skallio@madison.com
The goats' glory days are over at Vilas Zoo. Bovid ruminants take a back seat to a 50-foot zip line the other kind of kids will ride from a giant treehouse to a gibbon exhibit in the renovated Children's Zoo, which officially opens at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Well, more of it opens.
The opening has been staged, from the Conservation Carousel's first rides in April 2006 to the Conservation Education Pavilion's opening in June 2007, and includes access to the play area and animal exhibits. A few other additions are to come, including a trackless train, flamingo exhibit, new barn and more animals.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/index.php?ntid=244558&ntpid=1
Zoo carries a message
Senior citizens get glimpse into unknown world
By Jennifer Choi Sun reporter
September 15, 2007
A plant wilted after being touched, but seemed to spring back to life a few minutes later. Hundreds of tiny insects scurried inside petri dishes. Herman, the panther chameleon, caught crickets by swiftly unraveling his tongue.
For years, Lisa Nowakowski has spread the word of environmental awareness in schoolrooms. Yesterday, she took her message -- and some plants and animals-- to Towson's Bykota Senior Center.
As part of her "Survival Show," which focuses on nature's adaptive abilities, she discussed the pitcher plant's ability to lure insects into its deep, tube-like leaves with its sweet nectar. The Mimosa pudica looks anything but appetizing when it temporarily wilts upon being touched. The stapelia flower's odor of rotting flesh attracts certain pollinating bugs.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.reptiles15sep15,0,3365733.story
Rare Tibetan wolf dies in Himachal zoo
Shimla, Sep 15 : A rare Tibetan wolf has died abruptly in a Himachal Pradesh zoo, wildlife officials said here Saturday.
The rare animal found in the Tibetan plateau died Friday at Kufri Nature Park, 16 km from here. The autopsy of the animal has been carried out but the details have not been made public by the authorities.
Four wild animals, including a snow leopard and a brown bear, have died this year at the park that is located 9,000 feet above sea level.
--- IANS
Children's zoo creates added adventure
Bill Novak — 9/15/2007 7:52 am
Kids of all ages will be astounded to find out all that's inside the new children's zoo at the Henry Vilas Zoo.
What other zoo has a tree house, climbing wall, red pandas and diggable dinosaur bones?
Zoo visitors have their first chance to see the new $3 million children's zoo at 1:30 p.m. Sunday when the gates swing open onto a wonderful world of wildlife and playtime.
"It's got everything for fun," said County Executive Kathleen Falk.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/244677
Naples Zoo plans night tours
By Daily News staff
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The Naples Zoo once again will host night tours this fall and winter.
Zoo Director David Tetzlaff for the sixth year will provide private guided tours of Naples Zoo after night falls.
Visitors will see the nocturnal activities of rare animals in the dark, including tigers and lions using night vision scopes.
After an orientation in the Safari Canyon theater and a review of equipment, Tetzlaff and staff will lead visitors into the darkness for over two hours. For example, there is a night cruise through islands of primates.
Tour Dates in 2007 are Friday, Nov 16; Friday, Nov 30; Friday, Dec 7; Thursday, Dec 13 and in 2008 they are Wednesday, Jan 9; Friday, Jan 11; Wednesday, Jan 30; Friday, Feb 8; Wednesday, Feb 13; Friday, Feb 15 and Wednesday, March 5.
Go to www.napleszoo.org/night for more info and to purchase tickets online.
Only 16 people can go on each tour and they must be strong walkers in good health and sign a release form, zoo officials said, adding that participants must be at least 14 and all minors must be accompanied by an adult..
Cost is $79.95 per person for Naples Zoo members and $89.95 for non-members.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/sep/15/naples_zoo_plans_night_tours/?breaking_news
The Roar Report
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=48
Ronit Abramson San Diego Zoo's Arctic Ambassador
Written by San Diego Zoo
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Ronit Abramson, a 16-year-old junior from Canyon Crest Academy, is the San Diego Zoo's "Arctic Ambassador." She is one of 16 students worldwide who has been selected to journey to the Arctic later this month and participate in Polar Bears International's Polar Bear Leadership Camp. This is the fourth year the Zoo has sponsored a student for this concentrated educational retreat.
Polar Bear Leadership Camp is a 10-day learning adventure from Sept. 29 - Oct. 8 in Churchill, Manitoba, which is known as "the polar bear capital of the world."
To prepare Abramson for her upcoming adventure, she spent Sept. 10 working with animal keepers behind the scenes at the San Diego Zoo's Polar Bear Plunge exhibit. Through hands-on experience she learned about bear biology, husbandry and research. She interacted with the bears and helped set up their habitat with food and enrichment items.
http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=2
Volunteers take sneak peek at zoo's Amazonia
A sudden rain shower only added to the magical ambience of the special tour of the magnificent Amazonia exhibit at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden.
Dan McGinn, the zoo's director, and Friends of Mesker Park Zoo donated a dinner and behind-the-scenes tour as a silent auction item at the recent Evening on the River event. The zoo received a check for $25,000 from the event, presented by Jim Keck, president of the Parks Foundation.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/sep/16/volunteers-take-sneak-peek-at-zoos-amazonia/
El Paso Zoo Wild Things
September 16, 2007
Time: 1 p.m.
Terrible roars! Gnashing of terrible teeth! Rolling of terrible eyes!
Showing of terrible claws! Join us as we have a wild rumpus!
The El Paso Zoo is where the Wild Things are!
We are opening our Zoo doors and inviting another wild thing inside - besides our own wild animals!
Bring the kids to see a storybook character come to life from the book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.
This Zoolightful appearance is a joint venture between the El Paso Public Library and the El Paso Zoo as we share resources to bring you more Quality of Life events.
WHAT: A Wild Thing Appearance at the El Paso Zoo
WHEN: Sunday, September 16, 2007: 1:00p.m.
WHERE: El Paso Zoo’s Breezeway area: 4001 E. Paisano. (Off US 54, across from Coliseum)
WHO: Everyone’s invited! Adults $5, Kids 3-13 $3, Zoo Members Free!
http://www.newspapertree.com/calendar/268-el-paso-zoo-wild-things
k1049 BC-NE-ZooClosed 09-15 0398
9/15/2007
Royal zoo's future grows more uncertain each day
ROYAL, Neb. (AP) -- A small, rural zoo temporarily closed until its federally issued license can be renewed may not have the money to operate for much longer.
Zoo Nebraska director Ken "Junior" Schlueter said the attraction has lost operating revenue since the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the closure in May. The zoo has been using donations from its Board of Directors and others to feed and house the animals, but has had to shut off its telephone and nonessential electricity, he said.
The board was scheduled to meet next week to discuss how long it can stay afloat.
Schlueter said the USDA inspector has repeatedly told him that the zoo doesn't belong in a small town like Royal.
http://www.hdnews.net/Story/k1049_BC_NE_ZooClosed_09_15_0398
Oregon Zoo hosts sea otter awareness week
Associated Press - September 16, 2007 12:15 PM ET
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Zoo and Defenders of Wildlife celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week from September 23rd through the 29th.
Zookeepers and the zoo's ocean conservation mascot, Sandy the Sea Otter, help kick off the event. It features interactive activities such as "Where Your Water Goes," which shows how dumping dangerous chemicals down the drain can harm marine wildlife.
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7081502
continued...
Facility one of 216 in nation to receive designation
By Sara Boyd
sboyd2@greenbaypressgazette.com
Christmas has come early for the NEW Zoo.
The zoo is finally able to cross a much-needed ultrasound machine off its wish list, said director Neil Anderson.
"That was one of those big-ticket budget items that the zoo had difficulty being able to afford," he said. "To have this type of equipment out here is truly fantastic."
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/GPG0101/709210596/1207/GPGnews
Zoos build gene pool to save devil
Andrew Darby In Hobart
September 22, 2007
Page 1 of 2 Single page
A BLUEPRINT has been drawn up for a globally pioneering attempt by zoos to save an animal species from disease, with the prospect that the Tasmanian devil will crash to extinction in the wild.
The devil facial tumour disease is scything relentlessly through the marsupial's population, which is thought to have at least halved in a decade.
In the forests and valleys across most of its range, the once common scavenging carnivore has been reduced to scattered remnants, and its night-time banshee growl is only a memory.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/zoos-build-gene-pool-to-save-devil/2007/09/21/1189881777219.html
September 2007
Holiday File
Boo at the Zoo!
Animal adventures go spooktacular
Ah, the age-old Halloween dilemma: Your kids love dressing up and trick-or-treating, but they’re still too young for zombies, werewolves, and fright fests. A fall getaway to one of the country’s most kid-friendly zoos might be just the ticket. These days, zoos across the country are offering family-friendly trick-or-treat events, minus the ghouls and goblins. This makes them ideal for the under-12 set (not to mention their scaredy-cat parents). Here’s how some top-notch zoos are putting the focus on fun, not fright:
http://www.wejustgotback.com/default.aspx?mod=halloween_zoo
The Great Outdoors
Posted at 1:02 pm September 12, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
Many of you have noticed that Bai Yun is increasingly absent from the den these days. This is esentially due to the normal development of the relationship between mother and infant. Once a cub has developed a bit of fat to insulate itself and some fur to help keep it warm, the dam is no longer required to hold the infant so close to aid in thermoregulation. This frees the mother panda up to attend to other things, including her own ever-increasing appetite.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/the-great-outdoors/
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo celebrates
125th anniversary with ‘Zoobilee’
By Charles Cassady
Insights
Published Sept. 12, 2007
Will you guys keep it down? It’s getting to be like a zoo in there!
Oh, correction. It is a Zoo in there. Namely, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest, celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2007 with “Zoobilee,” a day-long celebration with music and fun on Saturday, with extended Zoo hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We’ve never had a Zoobilee before,” said Tom O’Konowitz of the Zoo’s marketing department. “Because of our 125th anniversary we wanted to have a special party like none we’ve ever had before.”
http://www.westlifenews.com/2007/09-12/insights.html
Zoobilee Raises $650,000 for Zoo
Posted: 12:52 PM Sep 12, 2007
Last Updated: 12:52 PM Sep 12, 2007
The Sedgwick County Zoo’s annual fundraising gala, Zoobilee, is being called a success. The yearly event was held on Saturday and raised more than $650,000.
The theme was Party with the Penguins and offered food and drink samples from nearly 70 restaurants as well as silent and live auctions.
Nearly 6000 people attended the event, which raised is the Sedgwick County Zoo’s largest fundraising effort. Proceeds from the event go to support daily Zoo operation.
As part of the Zoo’s commitment to conservation, a portion of this year’s funds will go to support the Humboldt Penguin Conservation Initiatives in Chile and Peru.
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/9738792.html
St. Louis Zoo gets endowed
Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 1:50 p.m.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Saigh Foundation is giving $1.7 million to the St. Louis Zoo to endow the position of the Fred Saigh curator of the Children's Zoo.
Zoo officials say the endowment will provide for hands-on educational opportunities at the Children's Zoo.
The Children's Zoo features 332 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians which interact with visitors.
Admission to the St. Louis Zoo is free. For the Children's Zoo, admission is $4, but free from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Children's Zoo admission is also free to children age 2 and younger.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://www.khqa.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=50192
Flip Top Zoo Chairs Allows Young Children to Sit or Ride
These adorable Zoo Chairs designed by Clement Produse Design have been developed for younger children who can either use them as chairs or play items thanks to their flip top design.
Coming in several animal forms – namely Elephant, Camel and Horse – there’s just something we love about these and we don’t doubt that young children will take to them like an Elephant/Camel/Horse to water.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we are unable to ascertain pricing as the entire range of these Zoo Chairs appears to have completely sold out, though we would hope that further stock will become available soon.
http://www.e-potpourri.com/index.php/2007/09/13/flip-top-zoo-chairs-allows-young-children-to-sit-or-ride/
Strapped schools to give zoo $200,000
Seminole will honor its promise in the face of likely losses. The cash covers student discounts.
Dave Weber Sentinel Staff Writer
September 13, 2007
SANFORD - There may not be enough cash for kids in Seminole County schools this year, but there is money for monkeys.
School-district officials are worried that they may lose as much as $9.4 million in funding because of a slump in state revenues. Declining enrollment this year will cut state funding, too. And the prospect of Florida voters in January changing the way property is taxed for schools and other agencies could mean the loss of millions more.
Despite the bleak financial picture, the School Board approved its annual $200,000 donation to the Central Florida Zoo near Sanford, fulfilling a promise made several years ago.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-zoocash1307sep13,0,7527732.story
Popcorn Park Zoo's gift auction set for Oct. 6 in Toms River
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/13/07
BY BONNIE DELANEY
Popcorn Park Zoo's annual gift auction will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Elks Lodge on Clifton Avenue and Washington Street in Toms River.
"Our list of items for the auction continues to grow, thanks to so many businesses and individuals who have provided merchandise and services for the auction," said Roseann Trezza, executive director of the nonprofit Associated Humane Societies, Inc., which operates the zoo in Lacey which cares for hundreds of domestic, wild, exotic and farm animals.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/NEWS02/709130415/1070/NEWS02
Mutant turtle draws visitors at the zoo
Staff Reporter
Yellow turtle at Nandana Kanan Zoo.
BHUBANESWAR: Every time visitors pass by the turtle enclosure in Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here, a distinct member in the enclosure captures the attention of everybody.
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091356710200.htm
Manatee Nursed By Zoo On Way To Freedom
Lenora Lake, Tribune correspondent
Published: September 13, 2007
Photo Gallery
TAMPA - A 1,050-pound Florida manatee that had been rescued in Corpus Christi, Texas, was released about 11:30 a.m. today in Crystal River in Citrus County.
The 7-year-old male manatee, Texas, had left the zoo on West Sligh Avenue about 9 a.m., accompanied by staff from the Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The staff members saw him swim away before starting a return trip to Tampa.
The manatee was loaded from a holding pool by crane into a truck for the trip. A blood sample was taken, and he was patted by the caregivers, a procedure used for "settling them down," said David Murphy, the zoo's veterinarian who oversaw the animal's care.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/13/manatee-nursed-zoo-way-freedom/?news-breaking
Rare giraffe born in Vienna zoo
13 September 2007
VIENNA - A so-called Rothschild giraffe, an endangered sub-species of the ruminant mammal, has given birth to a calf in the Schoenbrunn zoo here, the zoo announced today.
Weighing an estimated 70 kilograms and already topping 1.90 metres in height, the calf, named Akasha, was born at midday yesterday, the zoo said in a statement.
Akasha was "naturally very wobbly on his feet to start with and fell into the muddy ground when he tottered outside. But the baby giraffe had a comfortable first night and was up and around this morning," the zoo said in a statement.
The Rothschild giraffe is one of the most endangered of the nine different sub-species of giraffe and there are only around 500 animals living in the wild in eastern Africa.
The Rothschild giraffe can grow as tall as six metres and weigh as much as 1,900 kilograms and has a life expectancy of around 25 years.
Akasha’s mother, Carla, was also born in captivity in the Dvur Kralove zoo in the Czech Republic.
Vienna’s Schoenbrunn zoo is Europe’s oldest and has had giraffes since 1828.
It announced the birth of a baby panda in August, the first in Europe to be conceived naturally while in captivity.
AFP
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=563865
Peta presses campaign for zoo closure
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 11:20pm (Mla time) 09/13/2007
MANILA, Philippines – Members of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) renewed yesterday calls for the closure of all zoos in the country.
Protesters painted from head to toe in bright colors held a lunchtime rally in front of the Manila Zoo and the Botanical Garden in Malate carrying banners that read: “Let animals show their real colors, boycott the zoos.”
The protest was part of Peta’s worldwide campaign against zoos, said Rochelle Regodon, campaigns manager.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=88443
Zona Zoo may introduce school-spirit scholarships
By: Siobhan Daniel
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
Starting next month, students who exude school spirit may be able to apply for a $1,000 Erin Hertzog Scholarship.
The details for the scholarships are not yet final, but there should be at least three given away, said David Roost,
executive director of Zona Zoo.
"We want someone who appreciates school spirit," he said. "There are plenty of scholarships out there for people with excellent grade-point averages. We want to recognize the sports fans, like the people who get to the games four hours prior just to make sure they get a great seat."
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2007/09/13/News/Zona-Zoo.May.Introduce.SchoolSpirit.Scholarships-2966654.shtml
Taking flight with a Northwest endangered butterfly
Woodland Park Zoo has participated in the Oregon silverspot butterfly breeding project for the last since 2000. These beautiful butterflies have not been seen in the wild, mostly the dunes and meadows along the Washington, Oregon and northern California coast, since 1990. Wanting to head off extinction, WPZ, along with Oregon Zoo and support from the Washington and U.S. Departments of Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and Lewis and Clark College are "headstarting" silverspots for release at our two zoos. We bring in eggs and care for them over the winter until they pupate. Just last month, staff from WPZ took down 162 pupated silverspots for release into a protected area on the Oregon Coast. In total, we have produced 492 pupae for release.
http://woodlandparkzblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/taking-flight-with-northwest-endangered.html
The Auckland Zoo
http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/index.php
Endangered crane may be sent to Seoul: Taipei Zoo
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Sep 14, 2007, Page 2
Dan Dan, an endangered red-crowned crane, walks around its cage at Taipei Zoo yesterday.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAIPEI ZOO
A Taipei Zoo official said yesterday that an endangered crane, which has been staying at the zoo after an accident three years ago, may be transferred to South Korea and released into the wild.
The red-crowned crane, dubbed "Dan Dan" (丹丹), was injured at Hsinchu Air Force Base in September 2004 and taken to the zoo for treatment.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/09/14/2003378664
How Racine sewer money becomes zoo money
By Brent Killackey
Journal Times
Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:07 PM CDT
RACINE -- It’s an odd arrangement: Taking funds from the local sewer utility and spending that money on the Racine Public Library, Racine Zoo and the Charles A. Wustum Museum.
Yet that’s exactly what’s spelled out in Section 8 of a 2002 sewer agreement involving Racine County communities east of Interstate 94.
The bulk of the agreement outlined revenue-sharing plans and funding arrangements for a major sewer plant expansion. But the agreement also agreed to spend wastewater utility capital reserve funds — basically a savings account for the utility — on the library, zoo and museum.
For the zoo and museum, the agreement essentially set an annual fixed contribution. The library’s funding increased or decreased to make up for a shortfall in Racine County funding for the library. However, the county was not part of the sewer agreement and did not sign onto it.
In 2007, $609,736 in sewer reserve funds — $146,026 for the library, $330,393 the zoo and $133,317 for the museum — was transferred to the city.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/09/13/local_news/doc46e9eb639b9b5304482379.txt
Zoo board chooses California sanctuary for Maggie
By JIM HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
Published: September 13, 2007
Last Modified: September 13, 2007 at 02:58 PM
Maggie the elephant, the subject of intense debate this summer, will be heading to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., the Alaska Zoo Board announced Thursday.
http://www.adn.com/front/story/9300026p-9214619c.html
Rare red bird of paradise hatched at Houston Zoo
04:47 PM CDT on Thursday, September 13, 2007
KHOU.com staff report
A rare red bird of paradise, considered near-threatened in the wild, is being raised by its mother at the Houston Zoo. The chick hatched in the Zoo’s off exhibit breeding area following an incubation period of 17 days.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070913_rm_rarebird.ceba371a.html
Home Video entitled, "Isabel Does a Face Plant at the Zoo"
http://media.revver.com/qt/396414.mov
Newborn Hippo cheers animal lovers at Patna Zoo
Posted September 14th, 2007 by Kiran Pahwa
Patna, Sep.14: The birth of a baby hippo at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park past Monday night (September 10) has spread a wave of cheer among animal lovers and zoo officials here.
Authorities at the Sanjay Gandhi Botanical Park, popularly known as Patna Zoo, said that the baby hippo and its mother were in a healthy condition.
The newborn has been attracting scores of visitors, especially children and women, to the zoo. Visitors are watching the newborn remaining close to its mother and spending most of the time inside the pool at the zoo.
http://www.topnews.in/newborn-hippo-cheers-animal-lovers-patna-zoo-21741
Camera shy tiger cubs make their zoo debut
They're the largest cats on earth, weighing up to 550 pounds when fully grown.
But two Amur tiger cubs born at Brookfield Zoo were scaredy-cats when it came to their first public appearance.
The cautious duo took two days to emerge into the sunshine after four months indoors with mother, Tiara, a 12-year-old Amur tiger.
Keepers flung open the doors of their outdoor enclosure Wednesday but Tiara was the only family member who showed.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=37715&src=5
Detroit Zoo produces toadlets in captive breeding program
9/14/2007, 12:28 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Zoo has produced a group of 40 toadlets through a captive breeding program for Wyoming toads that has involved scientists at zoos and universities around the nation.
The endangered species, known as Bufo baxteri, grows to about 2 inches long and weighs less than 30 grams. Its careful camouflage allows the toad to blend into diverse habitats around the Laramie River basin.
"The only ones found in the wild are there because captive breeding programs put them there," Danna Schock, Detroit Zoological Society Curator of Amphibians, told The Daily Tribune for a recent story. "The population can't sustain itself."
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1189788012182260.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Young alligator leaves Virginia Zoo, becomes pet
05:12 PM EDT on Friday, September 14, 2007
By Dottie Wikan, WVEC.com
It was a short stay at the zoo for the young alligator captured in Lake Holly in Va. Beach earlier this week.
http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_091407_gator_gone_.d2c866e2.html
Pumpkin-loving sculptor seeks inspiration at zoo
Thursday, September 13, 2007 3:31 AM
By Matt Tullis
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Growing huge pumpkins was once Gus Smithhisler's specialty.
Now he focuses on carving and sculpting them.
Smithhisler has turned the facade of a pumpkin into a homage to the Ohio State-Michigan game. He has sculpted at the Indiana State Fair and the Indianapolis 500. Last weekend, he was in Las Vegas to carve pumpkins for the Bellagio hotel-casino.
This weekend and next, the Columbus resident will return for the second annual Jack Hanna Fall Fest at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/weekender/stories/2007/09/13/9A_OUTDOORS_13.ART_ART_09-13-07_T29_7O7SB1R.html?sid=101
Endangered crane may be sent to Seoul: Taipei Zoo
09/14/2007 (Taipei Times)
A Taipei Zoo official said on Thursday that an endangered crane that has been staying at the zoo after an accident three years ago, may be transferred to South Korea and released into the wild.
The red-crowned crane, dubbed "Dan Dan", was injured at Hsinchu Air Force Base in September 2004 and taken to the zoo for treatment.
Zoo director Chen Pao-chung said that South Korea has obtained permission from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) -- an international treaty drafted in 1973 to protect wildlife and prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction -- allowing Taiwan to send the bird to South Korea legally.
With the document, South Korea hopes to take Dan Dan to its zoo in Seoul to build up the bird's muscles before releasing it into the wild.
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=87927&CtNode=39
Vilas Children's Zoo adds some zip
SANDRA KALLIO
608-252-6181
skallio@madison.com
The goats' glory days are over at Vilas Zoo. Bovid ruminants take a back seat to a 50-foot zip line the other kind of kids will ride from a giant treehouse to a gibbon exhibit in the renovated Children's Zoo, which officially opens at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Well, more of it opens.
The opening has been staged, from the Conservation Carousel's first rides in April 2006 to the Conservation Education Pavilion's opening in June 2007, and includes access to the play area and animal exhibits. A few other additions are to come, including a trackless train, flamingo exhibit, new barn and more animals.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/index.php?ntid=244558&ntpid=1
Zoo carries a message
Senior citizens get glimpse into unknown world
By Jennifer Choi Sun reporter
September 15, 2007
A plant wilted after being touched, but seemed to spring back to life a few minutes later. Hundreds of tiny insects scurried inside petri dishes. Herman, the panther chameleon, caught crickets by swiftly unraveling his tongue.
For years, Lisa Nowakowski has spread the word of environmental awareness in schoolrooms. Yesterday, she took her message -- and some plants and animals-- to Towson's Bykota Senior Center.
As part of her "Survival Show," which focuses on nature's adaptive abilities, she discussed the pitcher plant's ability to lure insects into its deep, tube-like leaves with its sweet nectar. The Mimosa pudica looks anything but appetizing when it temporarily wilts upon being touched. The stapelia flower's odor of rotting flesh attracts certain pollinating bugs.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.reptiles15sep15,0,3365733.story
Rare Tibetan wolf dies in Himachal zoo
Shimla, Sep 15 : A rare Tibetan wolf has died abruptly in a Himachal Pradesh zoo, wildlife officials said here Saturday.
The rare animal found in the Tibetan plateau died Friday at Kufri Nature Park, 16 km from here. The autopsy of the animal has been carried out but the details have not been made public by the authorities.
Four wild animals, including a snow leopard and a brown bear, have died this year at the park that is located 9,000 feet above sea level.
--- IANS
Children's zoo creates added adventure
Bill Novak — 9/15/2007 7:52 am
Kids of all ages will be astounded to find out all that's inside the new children's zoo at the Henry Vilas Zoo.
What other zoo has a tree house, climbing wall, red pandas and diggable dinosaur bones?
Zoo visitors have their first chance to see the new $3 million children's zoo at 1:30 p.m. Sunday when the gates swing open onto a wonderful world of wildlife and playtime.
"It's got everything for fun," said County Executive Kathleen Falk.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/244677
Naples Zoo plans night tours
By Daily News staff
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The Naples Zoo once again will host night tours this fall and winter.
Zoo Director David Tetzlaff for the sixth year will provide private guided tours of Naples Zoo after night falls.
Visitors will see the nocturnal activities of rare animals in the dark, including tigers and lions using night vision scopes.
After an orientation in the Safari Canyon theater and a review of equipment, Tetzlaff and staff will lead visitors into the darkness for over two hours. For example, there is a night cruise through islands of primates.
Tour Dates in 2007 are Friday, Nov 16; Friday, Nov 30; Friday, Dec 7; Thursday, Dec 13 and in 2008 they are Wednesday, Jan 9; Friday, Jan 11; Wednesday, Jan 30; Friday, Feb 8; Wednesday, Feb 13; Friday, Feb 15 and Wednesday, March 5.
Go to www.napleszoo.org/night for more info and to purchase tickets online.
Only 16 people can go on each tour and they must be strong walkers in good health and sign a release form, zoo officials said, adding that participants must be at least 14 and all minors must be accompanied by an adult..
Cost is $79.95 per person for Naples Zoo members and $89.95 for non-members.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/sep/15/naples_zoo_plans_night_tours/?breaking_news
The Roar Report
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=48
Ronit Abramson San Diego Zoo's Arctic Ambassador
Written by San Diego Zoo
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Ronit Abramson, a 16-year-old junior from Canyon Crest Academy, is the San Diego Zoo's "Arctic Ambassador." She is one of 16 students worldwide who has been selected to journey to the Arctic later this month and participate in Polar Bears International's Polar Bear Leadership Camp. This is the fourth year the Zoo has sponsored a student for this concentrated educational retreat.
Polar Bear Leadership Camp is a 10-day learning adventure from Sept. 29 - Oct. 8 in Churchill, Manitoba, which is known as "the polar bear capital of the world."
To prepare Abramson for her upcoming adventure, she spent Sept. 10 working with animal keepers behind the scenes at the San Diego Zoo's Polar Bear Plunge exhibit. Through hands-on experience she learned about bear biology, husbandry and research. She interacted with the bears and helped set up their habitat with food and enrichment items.
http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=2
Volunteers take sneak peek at zoo's Amazonia
A sudden rain shower only added to the magical ambience of the special tour of the magnificent Amazonia exhibit at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden.
Dan McGinn, the zoo's director, and Friends of Mesker Park Zoo donated a dinner and behind-the-scenes tour as a silent auction item at the recent Evening on the River event. The zoo received a check for $25,000 from the event, presented by Jim Keck, president of the Parks Foundation.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/sep/16/volunteers-take-sneak-peek-at-zoos-amazonia/
El Paso Zoo Wild Things
September 16, 2007
Time: 1 p.m.
Terrible roars! Gnashing of terrible teeth! Rolling of terrible eyes!
Showing of terrible claws! Join us as we have a wild rumpus!
The El Paso Zoo is where the Wild Things are!
We are opening our Zoo doors and inviting another wild thing inside - besides our own wild animals!
Bring the kids to see a storybook character come to life from the book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.
This Zoolightful appearance is a joint venture between the El Paso Public Library and the El Paso Zoo as we share resources to bring you more Quality of Life events.
WHAT: A Wild Thing Appearance at the El Paso Zoo
WHEN: Sunday, September 16, 2007: 1:00p.m.
WHERE: El Paso Zoo’s Breezeway area: 4001 E. Paisano. (Off US 54, across from Coliseum)
WHO: Everyone’s invited! Adults $5, Kids 3-13 $3, Zoo Members Free!
http://www.newspapertree.com/calendar/268-el-paso-zoo-wild-things
k1049 BC-NE-ZooClosed 09-15 0398
9/15/2007
Royal zoo's future grows more uncertain each day
ROYAL, Neb. (AP) -- A small, rural zoo temporarily closed until its federally issued license can be renewed may not have the money to operate for much longer.
Zoo Nebraska director Ken "Junior" Schlueter said the attraction has lost operating revenue since the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the closure in May. The zoo has been using donations from its Board of Directors and others to feed and house the animals, but has had to shut off its telephone and nonessential electricity, he said.
The board was scheduled to meet next week to discuss how long it can stay afloat.
Schlueter said the USDA inspector has repeatedly told him that the zoo doesn't belong in a small town like Royal.
http://www.hdnews.net/Story/k1049_BC_NE_ZooClosed_09_15_0398
Oregon Zoo hosts sea otter awareness week
Associated Press - September 16, 2007 12:15 PM ET
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Zoo and Defenders of Wildlife celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week from September 23rd through the 29th.
Zookeepers and the zoo's ocean conservation mascot, Sandy the Sea Otter, help kick off the event. It features interactive activities such as "Where Your Water Goes," which shows how dumping dangerous chemicals down the drain can harm marine wildlife.
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7081502
continued...
‘Capturing’ the wild
Photo by Judy Yaker
Judy Yaker took this photo of two of the three Amur tigers — born at the Detroit Zoo on Aug. 12, 2003 — during their first big snow day at the zoo. The framed photograph will be available for purchase during the exhibition, and reprints can also be ordered. The one-woman exhibition, “Natural Selections: Photographs by Judith G. Yaker,” is a collection of 182 color and black and white photographs of various wildlife.
Morning Papers - continued...
Zoos
Winners of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo photo contest
Posted by Donna J. Miller
September 19, 2007 13:40PM
Categories: Photos
Amateur photographers were invited to submit photos taken between Memorial Day and Labor Day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The winners were picked last week by a panel of judges made up of zoo employees and the event's sponsors.
George Fraatz of Lakewood took "Best of Show" with his close-up of a vulture perched in a tree at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. He won a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo and other prizes.
All winners receive family zoo memberships, tickets to the zoo and Discount Drug Mart gift cards.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/09/photo_safari_winners_picked_at.html
More Photos from ZOObilee!
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=51
Deputies Investigate Stabbings, Thefts Of Pigs At Petting Zoo
By JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune
Published: Sep 17, 2007
SUN CITY - Big Pig is such a docile animal that he waddles over to his owner to eat yogurt and drink canned soda out of her hand.
But the 400-pound family pet was treated like a wild boar late Saturday night or early Sunday morning when someone - maybe several people - broke into his petting zoo pen and stabbed him at least 10 times, said his owner, Cornelia Winn.
The attacker also took as many as five other pigs from Sun City Stables' pigpen, Winn said.
Her family originally thought as many as 15 had been stolen, but several returned to the pen from a wooded area nearby.
A pregnant pig that is expected to give birth in the next month also was stabbed. She sustained a gash about 10 inches long and 3 inches deep, running from her back to her belly, Winn said.
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200709170009160.386299
Second arrest in petting zoo pig stabbing investigation
Last Update: 9/18 1:28 pm
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Detectives say Richard Charles Pinegar III was arrested a short time ago and faces cruelty to animals charges.
William Andrew Lilley was arrested earlier in connection with the slashing and theft of pigs at Sun City Stables on September 16, 2007.
Additional arrests are expected.
An investigation determined that the suspects spent the day of September 16 consuming alcohol and decided to do some hunting.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=e296f954-eaf2-4d57-917a-530ac3721462
Pittsburgh Zoo welcomes polar bears
New exhibit, Water's Edge, features artic predators
Pillbox Julia Kennedy
The Pittsburgh Zoo’s newest exhibit, Water’s Edge, features a fictional pier town complete with boats, fish markets, and houses. It’s also the new home of a pair of polar bears.
The exhibit’s goals are to educate its visitors as well as provide the bears with a suitable habitat. Water’s Edge contains three primary exhibits, featuring pairs of polar bears, sea lions, and sea otters.
The exhibit contains facts such as how polar bears can travel at rates up to 25 miles an hour, and that a male polar bear can reach a weight of more than 1500 pounds. A sign listing Pier Town’s population statistics shows an increase in the human population directly correlating to a decrease in the polar bear population. Likewise, the exhibit provides facts about the living situation of polar bears in the wild.
http://www.thetartan.org/2007/9/17/pillbox/polar_bears
Greenville church service feels like a petting zoo
Congregation invites people, pets to special event
By Kate McGinty
Post-Crescent staff writer
GREENVILLE — Two goats sat in on a Lutheran service Sunday.
Daisy and Duke, a family's pet pygmy goats, joined congregants Sunday morning at Christus Lutheran Church for a special service that looked more like a petting zoo than worship.
For the first time, the church invited anyone to bring four-legged creatures to its contemporary service, an event timed partly by the upcoming celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
"Now more than ever people are thinking of their pet as a part of their family," said Patti Ruhle, ministries coordinator. "This is really meant to be an outreach to the community and to those who don't have a church … because you never know what might bring someone to a church."
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/APC0101/709170471/1003/APC01
Baboon adopts a chicken at Lithuanian zoo
VILNIUS (Reuters) - A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said on Friday.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
Mitis has been fed chicken meat before, but this time he fell in love with his food, Legeckas said.
"He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child," the zoo director said.
"But I am not sure how long this affair would last, because baboon may finally realise this is food."
Baboons, with their distinctive long dog-like muzzles and heavy powerful jaws, are omnivorous, but usually prefer fruit. In the wild, they live in close-knit social groups.
"Obviously this baboon needed someone to communicate with," the director said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070914/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_lithuania_chicken;_ylt=Aqh7QvXHBy80TXLAT84rQ5qdk3QF
Baboon adopts a chicken at Lithuanian zoo
A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said on Friday.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
http://www.thothweb.com/article5710.html
Family of girl injured by runaway gorilla sues Boston zoo
September 17, 2007
BOSTON
--It's been nearly four years since the gorilla named Little Joe escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo and injured a 2-year-old girl.
Now, a lawsuit brought by the family of Nia Simone Scott is going to trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the case, with the family accusing the zoo of failing to protect the public from the 350-pound gorilla.
Nia, now 6, sustained a gash on her head and other injuries when Little Joe knocked her from the arms of her teenage baby sitter. The family says medical bills totaled nearly $8,000.
It was the second time in six weeks the adolescent gorilla had escaped from the zoo's Tropical Forest exhibit, which has since undergone a $2.3 million renovation.
Little Joe was kept out of public view for about three years after the incident.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/17/family_of_girl_injured_by_runaway_gorilla_sues_boston_zoo/
300-pound gorilla attacked toddler at zoo, witness testifies
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/09/300pound_gorill.html?p1=MEWell_Pos4
Feast with the Beast to benefit The Zoo
The first Feast with the Beast benefitting The Zoo Northwest Florida is planned as an evening of exotic culinary fare.
The event will be 7 p.m. to midnight Sept. 28 and will include some of the Pensacola Bay Area's hottest restaurants: Skopelos, The Angus, Peg Legs, Side Lines, Zaxby's, Seville Quarter, Billy Bob's Beach Barbecue, The Fish House, Jimmy's Seafood, Moe's South West Grill � Gulf Breeze, CC's Wines, East River Smoke House, The Melting Pot, Chick-fil-a, Bagelheads-Downtown, Big Sexy Food, Inc, Appetite for Life, Madison's, Ed Smith Catering, Mesquite Charlie's and Buffalo's on the Bay.
The Zoo's naturally wild pathways will be lined with local restaurateurs as guests stroll through the zoo sampling cuisines from around the world. Take a ride on the Safari Line Ltd. Train through the 30 acres of wildlife preserve. Dance under the stars, with live entertainment from the Reunion Band, and party like an animal with your friends. Pose for a picture with an exotic "Beast.''
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/LIFE/709170325/1004
Jack Hanna, Flamingo Stuck in Turnstile
3 days ago
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Animal expert Jack Hanna and an 11-month-old flamingo became trapped while trying to squeeze through an airport security turnstile. It took firefighters to finally get the flamingo out.
Hanna, the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and a frequent guest on nationally televised talk shows, was returning from a zoo fundraiser with a mongoose, a small leopard and the flamingo. Three other people were with them.
The entourage arrived at the Ohio State University Airport just after midnight Sunday to find the terminal closed. The only way to leave the tarmac was through a 10-foot-tall metal turnstile with several horizontal bars — not the easiest exit to squeeze through when you're traveling with boxed-up animals, Hanna said.
"I never thought about the crate being square and the turnstile being round," he said.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5fVLe4ocTfMQJ_28LfA9FUBb-Xg
Lehigh Valley Zoo Saddened by Deaths of Animals
Four animals at the Lehigh Valley Zoo and Trexler Nature Preserve have died in separate and unrelated incidents over the last two months, zoo officials said. The animals were two horses, an ostrich, and a zebra. "Animal deaths at the zoo are always painful for us because it is difficult to lose a friend," said executive director Stacey Johnson. "Even when we can discover the cause, and know that we did everything possible for the animal, it affects us deeply."
http://wfmz.com/view/?id=151234
Animal deaths puzzle Lehigh Valley Zoo officials
Loss of zebra last week was 4th in a month. Incidents are unrelated, says director.
By Daniel Patrick Sheehan Of The Morning Call
September 18, 2007
Lehigh Valley Zoo officials say they are baffled by the sudden death last week of a seemingly healthy 6-month-old zebra filly, which had sustained a serious bone fracture but had no outward signs of trauma.
The zebra is one of four animals that have died at the Schnecksville zoo in the past month. A 24-year-old female horse died of abdominal tumors Aug. 21 and a 13-year-old female horse died Aug. 31 of complications from anesthesia. An 8-year-old ostrich died Sept. 9 from a still-unidentified infection.
http://www.mcall.com/all-b1_5zoo-q.6048062sep18,0,2969470.story
Baboon adopts chicken at zoo
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:06am AEST
A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
Mitis has been fed chicken meat before, but this time he fell in love with his food, Mr Legeckas said.
"He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child," the zoo director said.
"But I am not sure how long this affair would last, because baboon may finally realise this is food."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/18/2035862.htm
Polar Bears’ Stash
Posted at 11:13 am September 17, 2007 by Kelly Murphy
When Polar Bear Plunge was built in 1996, a method for delivering live fish to the main pool on a variable schedule was included: a 10-inch diameter PVC pipe that runs underground from the fish tank behind the exhibit all the way to the front, right by the “point,” as we call it. Well, this system was good in theory but ended up having too many problems; it is now inoperable and no longer used. But the pipe is still there. Mind you, it runs directly into the pool, and therefore we are unable to access it except when we do our pool maintenance, which is about every 18 months. This pipe makes a great place for the polar bears to store things they don’t want us to have!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/polar-bears-stash/
Big Beasts To Roam in New City Zoo
By Irina Titova
Staff Writer
At least five elephants, a herd of zebras and thousands more animals from St. Petersburg’s zoo will find a new spacious home near the Yuntolovsky reserve by 2011.
A decision on the construction of the new zoo in the Primorsky district was announced by Governor Valentina Matviyenko last week at a meeting of City Hall.
“It should be done in such a way that the animals will be living not in ‘communal apartments’ [cramped multi-family residences common in downtown St. Petersburg] but in luxurious separate accommodation,” Matvienko said. That way, she said “we can watch them with pleasure.”
“The city needs a zoo that is part of nature and not the one trapped in the center of the city,” she said.
http://www.sptimes.ru/story/23019
U.S. zoo works with Mongolia to save endangered vulture
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
A U.S. zoo, working in cooperation with Mongolia, has reported success in hatching and raising an endangered cinereous vulture.
The vulture chick was born May 14 at the Denver Zoo. Zoo staff members had to assist the chick in breaking out of its shell. Weighing only one-half pound, the bird had to be hand-fed for its first seven weeks.
To assure the bird would adapt to a wildlife habitat, zoo staff fed the bird using a hand puppet vulture to prevent the chick from associating its being fed with human contact. Today, the chick weighs 16 pounds.
The cinereous vulture population in the world has been decimated through illegal hunting, poisoning and the general encroachment by human communities. It is estimated that only 7,000 to 10,000 cinereous vulture couples exist today.
The Denver Zoo has worked with Mongolian officials to tag and track the vultures within the country. The information has allowed officials to develop a conservation program for the birds.
The Denver Zoo has also begun a program of artificial insemination to increase the number of vultures in the wild.
http://www.mongolia-web.com/content/view/1368/2/
New York physician examines healthy party scene and zoo life in new Memphis home
By Michael Donahue
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Two-weeks into living in Memphis, New York transplant Dr. Dan Otten was in a party whirlwind.
Saturday afternoon, he listened to bands and strolled by the booths at the Cooper-Young Festival. That night, he traveled a few blocks north to Zoo Rendezvous at the Memphis Zoo.
Dan, who moved to Memphis to work at the Stern Cardiovascular Center, agreed with a fellow New York transplant who described Cooper-Young as a blend of the Chelsea and Greenwich Village areas of New York City.
As for Zoo Rendezvous, where guests dress in animal-print attire and party while the animals are asleep, Dan said, "As you bring closure to the summer, having such a festive event is original and invigorating."
Zoos, he said, are "oftentimes under-valued treasures of a city. And to have this kind of a celebration in that kind of a venue is great."
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/18/transplanted/
High hopes for rare tiger birth in Jerusalem Biblical zoo
By Jonathan Lis
There is great anticipation at the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem where keepers believe that a pair of Sumatran tigers have successfully mated after a long period of time.
Hannah, the female tiger, was seen mating with Avigdor, her male partner, following an eight-month effort that is part of a major project to preserve the endangered sub-species. At the zoo, the hope is that Hannah will soon prove to be carrying a cub.
"We are almost certain that during their first mating, six weeks ago, Hannah was not impregnated," Shmulik Yafuv, chief zoologist at the zoo, said this week.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/904535.html
Lehigh Valley Zoo investigates death of 6-month-old Zebra
The Associated Press
SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - Lehigh Valley Zoo officials are looking into the death of a six-month-old zebra colt.
Tests are being done on the remains of the zebra, which had suffered a serious bone fracture but otherwise appeared healthy with no outward sign of trauma.
In addition to the zebra, two horses and an ostrich have died at the zoo in the Trexler Nature Preserve in less than a month.
Executive Director Stacey Johnson says the deaths are unrelated, but have upset the zoo staff.
,,,
Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-09182007-1409324.html
New zoo for Accra
2007-09-17 16:08:12
Accra - The Management of the Accra Zoo is determined to keep a zoo in Accra irrespective of the relocation of the previous one at Kumasi to pave way for the building of the Presidential Palace.
The new zoo, started two weeks ago in the heart of the Achimota Forest, already has some monkey species feared to be nearly extinct such as the White Napped Mangabey and Diana. There are also parrots, peacocks, a donkey and some ducks.
The collection being the core of the new zoo would be beefed up within the next couple of weeks with other animal species through the collaboration of the West Africa Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA), an NGO.
Dr Richard Suu-Ire, Manager, Accra Zoo, in an interview with the sub-region.
http://www.kessbenfm.com/news_read.php?nid=1045
New Accra To Zoo Boost Ghana’s Tourism Industry
In October 2006, Professor Dominic Fobih, the then Minister for Lands Forestry announced in a ministerial briefing that the Accra Zoo was going to be relocated to the Kumasi Zoo to make room for a new presidential complex.
According to the Minister, the zoo was going to be built by the Ghanaian Government in collaboration with the London Zoological Society.
Many tourism enthusiasts were quite disturbed about the idea of destroying the Accra Zoo which served as a good Tourism Destination for Ghana.
http://www.ghanabloggers.com/2007/09/18/new-accra-to-zoo-boost-ghanas-tourism-industry/
Zoo gets $1 million grant for new elephant exhibit
September 18, 2007
SAN DIEGO: The San Diego Zoo has received a nearly $1 million state grant to help build a new elephant exhibit. The zoo is weeks away from breaking ground on the $45 million project.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070918-9999-1m18b2briefs.html
Binder Park Zoo to host 'Cheetahs in Conflict'
Submitted by Binder Park Zoo
Binder Park Zoo is proud to welcome Mary Wykstra, Kenya Representative for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), for an evening reception and lecture presentation on September 24th beginning at 5:30. Mary is on a tour throughout the U.S. to raise awareness on the issues facing cheetah survival in Kenya and the CCF's long-term conservation projects to help save this endangered animal.
The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Guests will have a chance to talk one-on-one with Mary about her work with cheetahs in Africa and then will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at cheetah conservation in action at Binder Park Zoo.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/LIFESTYLE08/709180302
Chester Zoo dedicates lion cub to Rhys Jones
Sep 18 2007 by Ben Rossington, Liverpool Echo
LIONHEART Rhys Jones is having a cub dedicated to his memory at Chester Zoo.
The 11-year-old’s best pal James Rigby emailed bosses after seeing the newly-born Tejas on television and thinking of his friend.
He urged them to offer the cub in memory of Rhys, because he had the “heart of a lion.”
Now parents Melanie and Stephen will officially adopt the animal after being offered the opportunity by zoo bosses.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/09/18/chester-zoo-dedicates-lion-cub-to-rhys-jones-100252-19807411/
Zoo receives accreditation
© 2007, Springfield News-Leader
Dickerson Park Zoo has received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the association announced today.
The Springfield zoo�s accreditation was granted by AZA�s independent accreditation commission.
To be accredited, the zoo underwent an investigation in areas including animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety.
AZA members must undergo an accreditation process every five years.
�Only the very best zoos and aquariums can meet tough Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation standards,� AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy said in a prepared statement.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/BREAKING01/70918032
Zoo breeds extinct toads
Forty toadlets give species chance for survival
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
ROYAL OAK -- The dark-colored Wyoming toads have a dark future, but a captive breeding program at the Detroit Zoo and one clutch of eggs found in the wild gives curators hope.
Forty gray and black toadlets born to a toad brought in from New York and his local mate grow bigger every day in a quarantined room inside the National Amphibian Conservation Center at the zoo.
Curator Donna Shock and her assistant, Becky Johnson, watch over the toads -- now the size of a fingernail -- like doting parents, keeping the water temperature just right and providing a steady diet of five to 10 fruit flies a day each.
http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/091307/loc_frogs001.shtml
Indian zoo tries to save baby elephant orphaned and hurt when mother killed by train
2007-09-21 - BHUBANESWAR, India
Veterinarians at a zoo in eastern India struggled Friday to save an orphaned baby elephant who was injured when a train killed its mother, officials said.
The 4-month-old elephant was brought to the Nandankanan Zoo in the city of Bhubaneswar with slight injuries, but its chances of surviving without its mother were estimated at 50 percent, said zoo director Ajit Patnaik. The Nandankanan zoo earlier had the opportunity to take care of more than 20 orphaned wild baby elephants and nearly 50...
http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=2761
Spicy Event: Zoo B Que brings its smoky flavor (and music and fun, too) to fall
by Lee B. Roberts
Journal Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10:35 AM CDT
The sweet, smoky aroma of barbecue will fill the air this weekend when the second annual Zoo B Que takes place at the Racine Zoo.
This two-day benefit event, which is built around a national barbecue competition, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, is a feast for all the senses.
The tasty portion of the Zoo B Que kicks off Friday night with a CEO Grill Off and party, and continues Saturday with the national barbecue competition, featuring 30 contestants from six states. Friday night’s contest pits local executives (each with a professional teammate) against one another in creating grilled specialties, and includes a People’s Choice contest as well. On Saturday, visitors can watch contestants — ranging from novice to veteran grill masters — prepare several different kinds of meat, in hopes of winning over the judges with their culinary skills.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/09/18/life/doc46eff0932af5f251456789.txt
Gather Up Your Little Ghosts and Goblins for Boo at the Zoo
Halloween is right around the corner and that means it's time for everyone's favorite Halloween event – Boo at the Zoo at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The safe, fun-for-all-ages event runs October 18 to 21 and 25 to 28 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
New this year is Boo Bayou. Step into the mystical bayou and experience creatures of the swamp. Learn about the importance of wetlands and the creatures that live there. Boo Bayou is located across from the popular Monster Mash Dance Party near Waterfowl Lake.
See what the animals are like at night and roam the Zoo to see entertainers and costumed characters. This spooky, but not-too-scary event includes magic shows, puppet shows and the Creepy Crawly Critter Animal Show. Venture through the Not-So-Haunted Greenhouse and catch a ride on the Jack-O-Lantern Express. Listen to your favorite tunes as Radio Disney rocks the Zoo Amphitheater.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/pressroom/index.asp?action=details&pressrelease_id=1265
Indiana Girl Left Behind At Zoo On Church Trip
11-Year-Old Wandered City Alone For 6 Hours Before Finding Help
(CBS) MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. A young girl from Indiana found herself alone in Chicago after she was left behind following a church outing.
Her mother says the 11-year-old was with her church group at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but she says her daughter was left to wander around Chicago by herself.
CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli spoke to the mother and daughter Tuesday in an exclusive interview.
Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton, Ind., routinely takes its young members on field trips. Trouble is, Taylor Neal found herself left behind after one of those trips. The church would not comment Tuesday about the incident.
“I wasn’t scared at all,” Taylor said.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_261184536.html
Motorist Runs Down Ducklings Outside Zoo
POSTED: 6:06 pm EDT September 18, 2007
UPDATED: 7:16 pm EDT September 18, 2007
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.J. -- Carol Kirshenbaum can't get the images out of her mind.
"I have never seen anything like that done deliberately," she said.
View Images
Kirshenbaum said she watched in horror Saturday afternoon as a driver intentionally ran over two Muscovy ducklings from Bridgeton's Cohanzick Zoo just outside the zoo's entrance.
"One minute, two little cute babies are crossing the street, and the next minute they're on their sides, kicking and bloody," Kirshenbaum said.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/14144850/detail.html
MarylandZoo.TV - Brew at the Zoo (Video)
http://blip.tv/file/385778
Topeka Zoo steadily attempting to roar back
Cub's birth, reaccreditation seen as significant steps
By Barbara Hollingsworth
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Adia is putting on a show.
Her mom, Asante, saunters near the outskirts of the Lion's Pride exhibit where human moms point at her for small children in strollers. Three-month-old Adia sneaks up behind Asante.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/091907/loc_200827244.shtml
Gardening Field Trip Flora at the NC Zoo
By Dolly R. Sickles
Posted: Sep. 19, 2007
All right all you wild animals and tracked-out kids, today the optimistic gardeners are making a road trip to the North Carolina Zoo in the lovely little town of Asheboro.
Just a quick 45-minute or hour trip from the capital city, the Zoo will be a hopping place today. No oppressive temperatures, no glaring direct sun, no summertime overcrowding. Just cool fresh air and rustling trees.
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/house_and_home/blogpost/1834282/
Buffalo Zoo Receives AZA Accreditation
Sep 18, 2007 06:44 PM EDT
(Buffalo, NY, September 18, 2007) - - The Buffalo Zoo was granted full professional accreditation for the next four years by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) at the organization's national conference being held this week in Philadelphia. James W. Smyton, chair of the Zoo's board of directors and Dr. Donna M. Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo, attended the hearing of the accreditation commission held on Sunday, September 16th.
http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7094927
Queen of Spain visits the giant pandas in Madrid Zoo
By m.p. - Sep 19, 2007 - 6:17 PM
Queen Sofía was at Madrid Zoo on Wednesday, for the official presentation of the pair of giant pandas which have been loaned to Spain by China following a visit by the King and Queen to Beijing this June.
Seven year old Bing Xing (Ice Star) and four year old Hua Zui Ba (Coloured Mouth) arrived at the zoo on 8th September, and are amongst only five giant pandas in Europe, and the only two in Spain. It is hoped that they will breed in the 10 years they are due to remain here.
The male, Bing Xing, was the only one of the pair who was seen during the ceremony which took place outside the panda house, and which included a rendition of ‘The Song of the Panda’ by children from the Beata Filipina primary school in Madrid.
It was composed in memory of Chulín, who was born in Madrid Zoo in 1982 and died there in 1996.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_12558.shtml
Zoo's baby elephant turns 6 months old
650-lb. toddler shows off tricks to celebrate
By Sheldon S. Shafer
sshafer@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Scotty, the Louisville Zoo's pride and joy, can raise each of his legs on command and, at least sometimes, can hold on to the tail of his mother, Mikki, with his still-developing trunk.
In addition to learning a trick or two, the baby African elephant is learning to be calm around people and to show some patience, said Dave Campbell, the zoo's elephant-area supervisor.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/NEWS01/709190818/1008/NEWS01
Discount online for Zoo
Florida residents can get 50 percent off admission through November with a discount ticket available for purchase online at www.napleszoo.org.
The public can see the new Leopard Rock exhibit, a baby Colobus monkey and new animals in the Zoo's featured wildlife areas.
Regular price for Zoo admission is $18.50 for adults and $9.95 for children ages 3 to 12. Full-day resident tickets are $9.25 for adults and $4.95 for children.
As an added value, visitors who become zoo members will get full ticket price credit toward the purchase of an individual, family or grandparent Zoo membership.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18827956&BRD=2605&PAG=461&dept_id=523946&rfi=6
Yahoo, Yahoo, Yahoo, I went to the Zoo
Yeeeeeeahhhhhhh!!!!
I went to the zoo yesterday, the tropical zoo in Palm Cove to be exact, and I loved it!!!!!! It was definitely one of the highlights of my stay...
And guess what! I cuddled a Koala, lots of Kangaroos and Wallabies and a Wombat... well, I didn't exactly cuddle the wombat, but I could pet it... cranky little buggers...
But the Koalas were amazing and they had a maternal station with baby koalas.... they're called joeys...
and I saw a breeding cassowary and dingoes and cockatoos and budgies and parrots and snakes and lizards and emus and frogs and kookabooras and cute zookeepers and northern hairy nosed wombats and southern hairy nosed wombats and common wombats and crocs (lots of diffrent sized crocs, freshwater, salties etc) and....
So it was soooo exciting....
http://www.travelblog.org/Australasia/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/blog-203580.html
Denver Zoo: New hours, lower fees start Oct. 1
By Rocky Mountain News
September 21, 2007
New hours and lower fees are on the horizon at the Denver Zoo as summer fades into the sunset.
Starting Oct. 1 through the end of March, the zoo will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission tickets will be on sale until 4 p.m. each day.
Admission fees during that period will be $9 for ages 12-64; $5 for children 3-11; and $7 for visitors age 65 and up.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5704037,00.html
Bellin Health Donates Ultrasound to NEW Zoo
Sep 19, 2007 05:27 PM EDT
The NEW Zoo staff in Suamico can cross a much-needed piece of medical equipment off its wish list. Bellin Health donated an ultrasound machine to the zoo.
Bellin recently purchased new machines and didn't know what to do with its older model, until a Bellin official took a trip to the zoo and realized its animal hospital needed an ultrasound machine.
Zoo director Neil Anderson says this donation will significantly upgrade the level of care for the animals.
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=7100670
Knoxville Zoo uses animals as teaching tools for Knox County students
By: LaSaundra Brown, Reporter
Date created: 9/19/2007 3:42:24 PM
Last updated: 9/21/2007 9:39:58 AM
The zoo is just one of six different museums around town the kids will visit, to learn about social studies and science. The zoo has found the program to be a great way to engage kids. Chad Fifer is the zoo's education specialist. He says animals can relate to just about every school subject.
http://www.wbir.com/life/programming/local/liveatfive/story.aspx?storyid=49245&provider=gnews
Local moms plead: 'Oprah, save our zoo!
Two local women are taking the plight of The Zoo to a higher authority: The Oprah Winfrey Show.
"We're just stay at home moms, and we love The Zoo," said Keena Landrum.
She and Linda Kellner are faithful watchers of the Oprah show, and one day Landrum visited the show's website where there was a question about "Why is your community so great?"
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/0920/Community/008.html
Zoo move on hold again as safari park plan axed
By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
Published: September 19, 2007, 23:21
Dubai: Animals cramped in Dubai's small zoo will continue to suffer as construction of a new bigger zoo has once again been delayed, Gulf News has learnt.
Although a Dubai Municipality official said in July construction of the new Dubai Zoo would start in August, the ambitious plan to have the biggest zoo in the region, which included a safari and night zoo, never took off as the project has been thrown out of Dubailand - the last planned venue for the zoo.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/09/20/10154773.html
Students, socialites rally 'round The Zoo
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News
news@gulfbreezenews.com
Traci L. Pitre/Special to Gulf Breeze News Joe Snider enjoys the train ride at the Zoo during the recent Rotary Family Day celebration while his father Paul watches ahead for the wildebeest.
Santa Rosa County students are pitching in to "change" the future of The Zoo of Northwest Florida - by donating loose change to help raise funds!
"Our community is so excited about this effort that there was already a bucket of change waiting at the front office this morning when I arrived to set out the collection bottles," says school coordinator, Kim Aldridge, Gulf Breeze Elementary School teacher. "Thousands of students visit The Zoo each year and we need to show our support. It makes 'cents' that together we can make a difference to save our wonderful zoo. We can help them one coin at a time!"
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/0920/Front_Page/003.html
Change is Good
Posted at 12:38 pm September 19, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
Fall is coming, and change is in the air at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station. Last week the weather changed again, and we have had delightfully cool mornings followed by moderate daytime temperatures for several days. The new bus route past the panda facility has proved to be pretty uneventful for the bears (see blog, A New Day in Panda Canyon), as a few days out Mei Sheng and Su Lin don’t even blink when the buses pass by. Mei Sheng is being prepped for his departure to China, scheduled to occur sometime next month. But the biggest changes are visible right there on the Panda Cam.
Our not-so-giant panda is growing by leaps and bounds! I watched her closely on Sunday and Monday night (my data collection nights until late next month) and was amazed. She is so big now that it is hard for Bai Yun to lie down and hold the baby up off the ground. Invariably, when she is picked up, parts of her slop over momma’s paws and flop onto the ground. Only when sitting in an upright posture can Bai Yun seem to contain the cub on her body!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/change-is-good/
The Sounds of Shoebills
Posted at 8:23 am September 19, 2007
by Matt Anderson
Studying animal bioacoustics and unraveling the meaning of calls doesn’t come as first nature to us. We are primarily visual animals and as such perceive our world, first and foremost, in terms of what we see around us. Many other species utilize other senses much more readily. If we are to truly understand the sensory ecology of another species we really need to imagine ourselves in their world.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/the-sounds-of-shoebills/
continued...
Winners of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo photo contest
Posted by Donna J. Miller
September 19, 2007 13:40PM
Categories: Photos
Amateur photographers were invited to submit photos taken between Memorial Day and Labor Day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The winners were picked last week by a panel of judges made up of zoo employees and the event's sponsors.
George Fraatz of Lakewood took "Best of Show" with his close-up of a vulture perched in a tree at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. He won a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo and other prizes.
All winners receive family zoo memberships, tickets to the zoo and Discount Drug Mart gift cards.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/09/photo_safari_winners_picked_at.html
More Photos from ZOObilee!
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=51
Deputies Investigate Stabbings, Thefts Of Pigs At Petting Zoo
By JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune
Published: Sep 17, 2007
SUN CITY - Big Pig is such a docile animal that he waddles over to his owner to eat yogurt and drink canned soda out of her hand.
But the 400-pound family pet was treated like a wild boar late Saturday night or early Sunday morning when someone - maybe several people - broke into his petting zoo pen and stabbed him at least 10 times, said his owner, Cornelia Winn.
The attacker also took as many as five other pigs from Sun City Stables' pigpen, Winn said.
Her family originally thought as many as 15 had been stolen, but several returned to the pen from a wooded area nearby.
A pregnant pig that is expected to give birth in the next month also was stabbed. She sustained a gash about 10 inches long and 3 inches deep, running from her back to her belly, Winn said.
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200709170009160.386299
Second arrest in petting zoo pig stabbing investigation
Last Update: 9/18 1:28 pm
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Detectives say Richard Charles Pinegar III was arrested a short time ago and faces cruelty to animals charges.
William Andrew Lilley was arrested earlier in connection with the slashing and theft of pigs at Sun City Stables on September 16, 2007.
Additional arrests are expected.
An investigation determined that the suspects spent the day of September 16 consuming alcohol and decided to do some hunting.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=e296f954-eaf2-4d57-917a-530ac3721462
Pittsburgh Zoo welcomes polar bears
New exhibit, Water's Edge, features artic predators
Pillbox Julia Kennedy
The Pittsburgh Zoo’s newest exhibit, Water’s Edge, features a fictional pier town complete with boats, fish markets, and houses. It’s also the new home of a pair of polar bears.
The exhibit’s goals are to educate its visitors as well as provide the bears with a suitable habitat. Water’s Edge contains three primary exhibits, featuring pairs of polar bears, sea lions, and sea otters.
The exhibit contains facts such as how polar bears can travel at rates up to 25 miles an hour, and that a male polar bear can reach a weight of more than 1500 pounds. A sign listing Pier Town’s population statistics shows an increase in the human population directly correlating to a decrease in the polar bear population. Likewise, the exhibit provides facts about the living situation of polar bears in the wild.
http://www.thetartan.org/2007/9/17/pillbox/polar_bears
Greenville church service feels like a petting zoo
Congregation invites people, pets to special event
By Kate McGinty
Post-Crescent staff writer
GREENVILLE — Two goats sat in on a Lutheran service Sunday.
Daisy and Duke, a family's pet pygmy goats, joined congregants Sunday morning at Christus Lutheran Church for a special service that looked more like a petting zoo than worship.
For the first time, the church invited anyone to bring four-legged creatures to its contemporary service, an event timed partly by the upcoming celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
"Now more than ever people are thinking of their pet as a part of their family," said Patti Ruhle, ministries coordinator. "This is really meant to be an outreach to the community and to those who don't have a church … because you never know what might bring someone to a church."
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/APC0101/709170471/1003/APC01
Baboon adopts a chicken at Lithuanian zoo
VILNIUS (Reuters) - A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said on Friday.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
Mitis has been fed chicken meat before, but this time he fell in love with his food, Legeckas said.
"He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child," the zoo director said.
"But I am not sure how long this affair would last, because baboon may finally realise this is food."
Baboons, with their distinctive long dog-like muzzles and heavy powerful jaws, are omnivorous, but usually prefer fruit. In the wild, they live in close-knit social groups.
"Obviously this baboon needed someone to communicate with," the director said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070914/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_lithuania_chicken;_ylt=Aqh7QvXHBy80TXLAT84rQ5qdk3QF
Baboon adopts a chicken at Lithuanian zoo
A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said on Friday.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
http://www.thothweb.com/article5710.html
Family of girl injured by runaway gorilla sues Boston zoo
September 17, 2007
BOSTON
--It's been nearly four years since the gorilla named Little Joe escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo and injured a 2-year-old girl.
Now, a lawsuit brought by the family of Nia Simone Scott is going to trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the case, with the family accusing the zoo of failing to protect the public from the 350-pound gorilla.
Nia, now 6, sustained a gash on her head and other injuries when Little Joe knocked her from the arms of her teenage baby sitter. The family says medical bills totaled nearly $8,000.
It was the second time in six weeks the adolescent gorilla had escaped from the zoo's Tropical Forest exhibit, which has since undergone a $2.3 million renovation.
Little Joe was kept out of public view for about three years after the incident.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/17/family_of_girl_injured_by_runaway_gorilla_sues_boston_zoo/
300-pound gorilla attacked toddler at zoo, witness testifies
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/09/300pound_gorill.html?p1=MEWell_Pos4
Feast with the Beast to benefit The Zoo
The first Feast with the Beast benefitting The Zoo Northwest Florida is planned as an evening of exotic culinary fare.
The event will be 7 p.m. to midnight Sept. 28 and will include some of the Pensacola Bay Area's hottest restaurants: Skopelos, The Angus, Peg Legs, Side Lines, Zaxby's, Seville Quarter, Billy Bob's Beach Barbecue, The Fish House, Jimmy's Seafood, Moe's South West Grill � Gulf Breeze, CC's Wines, East River Smoke House, The Melting Pot, Chick-fil-a, Bagelheads-Downtown, Big Sexy Food, Inc, Appetite for Life, Madison's, Ed Smith Catering, Mesquite Charlie's and Buffalo's on the Bay.
The Zoo's naturally wild pathways will be lined with local restaurateurs as guests stroll through the zoo sampling cuisines from around the world. Take a ride on the Safari Line Ltd. Train through the 30 acres of wildlife preserve. Dance under the stars, with live entertainment from the Reunion Band, and party like an animal with your friends. Pose for a picture with an exotic "Beast.''
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/LIFE/709170325/1004
Jack Hanna, Flamingo Stuck in Turnstile
3 days ago
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Animal expert Jack Hanna and an 11-month-old flamingo became trapped while trying to squeeze through an airport security turnstile. It took firefighters to finally get the flamingo out.
Hanna, the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and a frequent guest on nationally televised talk shows, was returning from a zoo fundraiser with a mongoose, a small leopard and the flamingo. Three other people were with them.
The entourage arrived at the Ohio State University Airport just after midnight Sunday to find the terminal closed. The only way to leave the tarmac was through a 10-foot-tall metal turnstile with several horizontal bars — not the easiest exit to squeeze through when you're traveling with boxed-up animals, Hanna said.
"I never thought about the crate being square and the turnstile being round," he said.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5fVLe4ocTfMQJ_28LfA9FUBb-Xg
Lehigh Valley Zoo Saddened by Deaths of Animals
Four animals at the Lehigh Valley Zoo and Trexler Nature Preserve have died in separate and unrelated incidents over the last two months, zoo officials said. The animals were two horses, an ostrich, and a zebra. "Animal deaths at the zoo are always painful for us because it is difficult to lose a friend," said executive director Stacey Johnson. "Even when we can discover the cause, and know that we did everything possible for the animal, it affects us deeply."
http://wfmz.com/view/?id=151234
Animal deaths puzzle Lehigh Valley Zoo officials
Loss of zebra last week was 4th in a month. Incidents are unrelated, says director.
By Daniel Patrick Sheehan Of The Morning Call
September 18, 2007
Lehigh Valley Zoo officials say they are baffled by the sudden death last week of a seemingly healthy 6-month-old zebra filly, which had sustained a serious bone fracture but had no outward signs of trauma.
The zebra is one of four animals that have died at the Schnecksville zoo in the past month. A 24-year-old female horse died of abdominal tumors Aug. 21 and a 13-year-old female horse died Aug. 31 of complications from anesthesia. An 8-year-old ostrich died Sept. 9 from a still-unidentified infection.
http://www.mcall.com/all-b1_5zoo-q.6048062sep18,0,2969470.story
Baboon adopts chicken at zoo
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:06am AEST
A lonely baboon in a private Lithuanian zoo has adopted a chicken he saved from certain death last month and the two have formed a fast friendship, the zoo's director said.
The chicken was intended as food for other animals in the zoo, but escaped and was sheltered by Mitis, a six-year-old Hamadryas Baboon, Edvardas Legeckas, who runs the zoo near the port city Klaipeda in western Lithuania, told Reuters.
Mitis has been fed chicken meat before, but this time he fell in love with his food, Mr Legeckas said.
"He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child," the zoo director said.
"But I am not sure how long this affair would last, because baboon may finally realise this is food."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/18/2035862.htm
Polar Bears’ Stash
Posted at 11:13 am September 17, 2007 by Kelly Murphy
When Polar Bear Plunge was built in 1996, a method for delivering live fish to the main pool on a variable schedule was included: a 10-inch diameter PVC pipe that runs underground from the fish tank behind the exhibit all the way to the front, right by the “point,” as we call it. Well, this system was good in theory but ended up having too many problems; it is now inoperable and no longer used. But the pipe is still there. Mind you, it runs directly into the pool, and therefore we are unable to access it except when we do our pool maintenance, which is about every 18 months. This pipe makes a great place for the polar bears to store things they don’t want us to have!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/polar-bears-stash/
Big Beasts To Roam in New City Zoo
By Irina Titova
Staff Writer
At least five elephants, a herd of zebras and thousands more animals from St. Petersburg’s zoo will find a new spacious home near the Yuntolovsky reserve by 2011.
A decision on the construction of the new zoo in the Primorsky district was announced by Governor Valentina Matviyenko last week at a meeting of City Hall.
“It should be done in such a way that the animals will be living not in ‘communal apartments’ [cramped multi-family residences common in downtown St. Petersburg] but in luxurious separate accommodation,” Matvienko said. That way, she said “we can watch them with pleasure.”
“The city needs a zoo that is part of nature and not the one trapped in the center of the city,” she said.
http://www.sptimes.ru/story/23019
U.S. zoo works with Mongolia to save endangered vulture
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
A U.S. zoo, working in cooperation with Mongolia, has reported success in hatching and raising an endangered cinereous vulture.
The vulture chick was born May 14 at the Denver Zoo. Zoo staff members had to assist the chick in breaking out of its shell. Weighing only one-half pound, the bird had to be hand-fed for its first seven weeks.
To assure the bird would adapt to a wildlife habitat, zoo staff fed the bird using a hand puppet vulture to prevent the chick from associating its being fed with human contact. Today, the chick weighs 16 pounds.
The cinereous vulture population in the world has been decimated through illegal hunting, poisoning and the general encroachment by human communities. It is estimated that only 7,000 to 10,000 cinereous vulture couples exist today.
The Denver Zoo has worked with Mongolian officials to tag and track the vultures within the country. The information has allowed officials to develop a conservation program for the birds.
The Denver Zoo has also begun a program of artificial insemination to increase the number of vultures in the wild.
http://www.mongolia-web.com/content/view/1368/2/
New York physician examines healthy party scene and zoo life in new Memphis home
By Michael Donahue
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Two-weeks into living in Memphis, New York transplant Dr. Dan Otten was in a party whirlwind.
Saturday afternoon, he listened to bands and strolled by the booths at the Cooper-Young Festival. That night, he traveled a few blocks north to Zoo Rendezvous at the Memphis Zoo.
Dan, who moved to Memphis to work at the Stern Cardiovascular Center, agreed with a fellow New York transplant who described Cooper-Young as a blend of the Chelsea and Greenwich Village areas of New York City.
As for Zoo Rendezvous, where guests dress in animal-print attire and party while the animals are asleep, Dan said, "As you bring closure to the summer, having such a festive event is original and invigorating."
Zoos, he said, are "oftentimes under-valued treasures of a city. And to have this kind of a celebration in that kind of a venue is great."
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/18/transplanted/
High hopes for rare tiger birth in Jerusalem Biblical zoo
By Jonathan Lis
There is great anticipation at the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem where keepers believe that a pair of Sumatran tigers have successfully mated after a long period of time.
Hannah, the female tiger, was seen mating with Avigdor, her male partner, following an eight-month effort that is part of a major project to preserve the endangered sub-species. At the zoo, the hope is that Hannah will soon prove to be carrying a cub.
"We are almost certain that during their first mating, six weeks ago, Hannah was not impregnated," Shmulik Yafuv, chief zoologist at the zoo, said this week.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/904535.html
Lehigh Valley Zoo investigates death of 6-month-old Zebra
The Associated Press
SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - Lehigh Valley Zoo officials are looking into the death of a six-month-old zebra colt.
Tests are being done on the remains of the zebra, which had suffered a serious bone fracture but otherwise appeared healthy with no outward sign of trauma.
In addition to the zebra, two horses and an ostrich have died at the zoo in the Trexler Nature Preserve in less than a month.
Executive Director Stacey Johnson says the deaths are unrelated, but have upset the zoo staff.
,,,
Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-09182007-1409324.html
New zoo for Accra
2007-09-17 16:08:12
Accra - The Management of the Accra Zoo is determined to keep a zoo in Accra irrespective of the relocation of the previous one at Kumasi to pave way for the building of the Presidential Palace.
The new zoo, started two weeks ago in the heart of the Achimota Forest, already has some monkey species feared to be nearly extinct such as the White Napped Mangabey and Diana. There are also parrots, peacocks, a donkey and some ducks.
The collection being the core of the new zoo would be beefed up within the next couple of weeks with other animal species through the collaboration of the West Africa Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA), an NGO.
Dr Richard Suu-Ire, Manager, Accra Zoo, in an interview with the sub-region.
http://www.kessbenfm.com/news_read.php?nid=1045
New Accra To Zoo Boost Ghana’s Tourism Industry
In October 2006, Professor Dominic Fobih, the then Minister for Lands Forestry announced in a ministerial briefing that the Accra Zoo was going to be relocated to the Kumasi Zoo to make room for a new presidential complex.
According to the Minister, the zoo was going to be built by the Ghanaian Government in collaboration with the London Zoological Society.
Many tourism enthusiasts were quite disturbed about the idea of destroying the Accra Zoo which served as a good Tourism Destination for Ghana.
http://www.ghanabloggers.com/2007/09/18/new-accra-to-zoo-boost-ghanas-tourism-industry/
Zoo gets $1 million grant for new elephant exhibit
September 18, 2007
SAN DIEGO: The San Diego Zoo has received a nearly $1 million state grant to help build a new elephant exhibit. The zoo is weeks away from breaking ground on the $45 million project.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070918-9999-1m18b2briefs.html
Binder Park Zoo to host 'Cheetahs in Conflict'
Submitted by Binder Park Zoo
Binder Park Zoo is proud to welcome Mary Wykstra, Kenya Representative for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), for an evening reception and lecture presentation on September 24th beginning at 5:30. Mary is on a tour throughout the U.S. to raise awareness on the issues facing cheetah survival in Kenya and the CCF's long-term conservation projects to help save this endangered animal.
The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Guests will have a chance to talk one-on-one with Mary about her work with cheetahs in Africa and then will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at cheetah conservation in action at Binder Park Zoo.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/LIFESTYLE08/709180302
Chester Zoo dedicates lion cub to Rhys Jones
Sep 18 2007 by Ben Rossington, Liverpool Echo
LIONHEART Rhys Jones is having a cub dedicated to his memory at Chester Zoo.
The 11-year-old’s best pal James Rigby emailed bosses after seeing the newly-born Tejas on television and thinking of his friend.
He urged them to offer the cub in memory of Rhys, because he had the “heart of a lion.”
Now parents Melanie and Stephen will officially adopt the animal after being offered the opportunity by zoo bosses.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/09/18/chester-zoo-dedicates-lion-cub-to-rhys-jones-100252-19807411/
Zoo receives accreditation
© 2007, Springfield News-Leader
Dickerson Park Zoo has received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the association announced today.
The Springfield zoo�s accreditation was granted by AZA�s independent accreditation commission.
To be accredited, the zoo underwent an investigation in areas including animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety.
AZA members must undergo an accreditation process every five years.
�Only the very best zoos and aquariums can meet tough Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation standards,� AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy said in a prepared statement.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/BREAKING01/70918032
Zoo breeds extinct toads
Forty toadlets give species chance for survival
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
ROYAL OAK -- The dark-colored Wyoming toads have a dark future, but a captive breeding program at the Detroit Zoo and one clutch of eggs found in the wild gives curators hope.
Forty gray and black toadlets born to a toad brought in from New York and his local mate grow bigger every day in a quarantined room inside the National Amphibian Conservation Center at the zoo.
Curator Donna Shock and her assistant, Becky Johnson, watch over the toads -- now the size of a fingernail -- like doting parents, keeping the water temperature just right and providing a steady diet of five to 10 fruit flies a day each.
http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/091307/loc_frogs001.shtml
Indian zoo tries to save baby elephant orphaned and hurt when mother killed by train
2007-09-21 - BHUBANESWAR, India
Veterinarians at a zoo in eastern India struggled Friday to save an orphaned baby elephant who was injured when a train killed its mother, officials said.
The 4-month-old elephant was brought to the Nandankanan Zoo in the city of Bhubaneswar with slight injuries, but its chances of surviving without its mother were estimated at 50 percent, said zoo director Ajit Patnaik. The Nandankanan zoo earlier had the opportunity to take care of more than 20 orphaned wild baby elephants and nearly 50...
http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=2761
Spicy Event: Zoo B Que brings its smoky flavor (and music and fun, too) to fall
by Lee B. Roberts
Journal Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10:35 AM CDT
The sweet, smoky aroma of barbecue will fill the air this weekend when the second annual Zoo B Que takes place at the Racine Zoo.
This two-day benefit event, which is built around a national barbecue competition, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, is a feast for all the senses.
The tasty portion of the Zoo B Que kicks off Friday night with a CEO Grill Off and party, and continues Saturday with the national barbecue competition, featuring 30 contestants from six states. Friday night’s contest pits local executives (each with a professional teammate) against one another in creating grilled specialties, and includes a People’s Choice contest as well. On Saturday, visitors can watch contestants — ranging from novice to veteran grill masters — prepare several different kinds of meat, in hopes of winning over the judges with their culinary skills.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/09/18/life/doc46eff0932af5f251456789.txt
Gather Up Your Little Ghosts and Goblins for Boo at the Zoo
Halloween is right around the corner and that means it's time for everyone's favorite Halloween event – Boo at the Zoo at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The safe, fun-for-all-ages event runs October 18 to 21 and 25 to 28 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
New this year is Boo Bayou. Step into the mystical bayou and experience creatures of the swamp. Learn about the importance of wetlands and the creatures that live there. Boo Bayou is located across from the popular Monster Mash Dance Party near Waterfowl Lake.
See what the animals are like at night and roam the Zoo to see entertainers and costumed characters. This spooky, but not-too-scary event includes magic shows, puppet shows and the Creepy Crawly Critter Animal Show. Venture through the Not-So-Haunted Greenhouse and catch a ride on the Jack-O-Lantern Express. Listen to your favorite tunes as Radio Disney rocks the Zoo Amphitheater.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/pressroom/index.asp?action=details&pressrelease_id=1265
Indiana Girl Left Behind At Zoo On Church Trip
11-Year-Old Wandered City Alone For 6 Hours Before Finding Help
(CBS) MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. A young girl from Indiana found herself alone in Chicago after she was left behind following a church outing.
Her mother says the 11-year-old was with her church group at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but she says her daughter was left to wander around Chicago by herself.
CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli spoke to the mother and daughter Tuesday in an exclusive interview.
Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton, Ind., routinely takes its young members on field trips. Trouble is, Taylor Neal found herself left behind after one of those trips. The church would not comment Tuesday about the incident.
“I wasn’t scared at all,” Taylor said.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_261184536.html
Motorist Runs Down Ducklings Outside Zoo
POSTED: 6:06 pm EDT September 18, 2007
UPDATED: 7:16 pm EDT September 18, 2007
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.J. -- Carol Kirshenbaum can't get the images out of her mind.
"I have never seen anything like that done deliberately," she said.
View Images
Kirshenbaum said she watched in horror Saturday afternoon as a driver intentionally ran over two Muscovy ducklings from Bridgeton's Cohanzick Zoo just outside the zoo's entrance.
"One minute, two little cute babies are crossing the street, and the next minute they're on their sides, kicking and bloody," Kirshenbaum said.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/14144850/detail.html
MarylandZoo.TV - Brew at the Zoo (Video)
http://blip.tv/file/385778
Topeka Zoo steadily attempting to roar back
Cub's birth, reaccreditation seen as significant steps
By Barbara Hollingsworth
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Adia is putting on a show.
Her mom, Asante, saunters near the outskirts of the Lion's Pride exhibit where human moms point at her for small children in strollers. Three-month-old Adia sneaks up behind Asante.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/091907/loc_200827244.shtml
Gardening Field Trip Flora at the NC Zoo
By Dolly R. Sickles
Posted: Sep. 19, 2007
All right all you wild animals and tracked-out kids, today the optimistic gardeners are making a road trip to the North Carolina Zoo in the lovely little town of Asheboro.
Just a quick 45-minute or hour trip from the capital city, the Zoo will be a hopping place today. No oppressive temperatures, no glaring direct sun, no summertime overcrowding. Just cool fresh air and rustling trees.
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/house_and_home/blogpost/1834282/
Buffalo Zoo Receives AZA Accreditation
Sep 18, 2007 06:44 PM EDT
(Buffalo, NY, September 18, 2007) - - The Buffalo Zoo was granted full professional accreditation for the next four years by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) at the organization's national conference being held this week in Philadelphia. James W. Smyton, chair of the Zoo's board of directors and Dr. Donna M. Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo, attended the hearing of the accreditation commission held on Sunday, September 16th.
http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7094927
Queen of Spain visits the giant pandas in Madrid Zoo
By m.p. - Sep 19, 2007 - 6:17 PM
Queen Sofía was at Madrid Zoo on Wednesday, for the official presentation of the pair of giant pandas which have been loaned to Spain by China following a visit by the King and Queen to Beijing this June.
Seven year old Bing Xing (Ice Star) and four year old Hua Zui Ba (Coloured Mouth) arrived at the zoo on 8th September, and are amongst only five giant pandas in Europe, and the only two in Spain. It is hoped that they will breed in the 10 years they are due to remain here.
The male, Bing Xing, was the only one of the pair who was seen during the ceremony which took place outside the panda house, and which included a rendition of ‘The Song of the Panda’ by children from the Beata Filipina primary school in Madrid.
It was composed in memory of Chulín, who was born in Madrid Zoo in 1982 and died there in 1996.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_12558.shtml
Zoo's baby elephant turns 6 months old
650-lb. toddler shows off tricks to celebrate
By Sheldon S. Shafer
sshafer@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Scotty, the Louisville Zoo's pride and joy, can raise each of his legs on command and, at least sometimes, can hold on to the tail of his mother, Mikki, with his still-developing trunk.
In addition to learning a trick or two, the baby African elephant is learning to be calm around people and to show some patience, said Dave Campbell, the zoo's elephant-area supervisor.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/NEWS01/709190818/1008/NEWS01
Discount online for Zoo
Florida residents can get 50 percent off admission through November with a discount ticket available for purchase online at www.napleszoo.org.
The public can see the new Leopard Rock exhibit, a baby Colobus monkey and new animals in the Zoo's featured wildlife areas.
Regular price for Zoo admission is $18.50 for adults and $9.95 for children ages 3 to 12. Full-day resident tickets are $9.25 for adults and $4.95 for children.
As an added value, visitors who become zoo members will get full ticket price credit toward the purchase of an individual, family or grandparent Zoo membership.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18827956&BRD=2605&PAG=461&dept_id=523946&rfi=6
Yahoo, Yahoo, Yahoo, I went to the Zoo
Yeeeeeeahhhhhhh!!!!
I went to the zoo yesterday, the tropical zoo in Palm Cove to be exact, and I loved it!!!!!! It was definitely one of the highlights of my stay...
And guess what! I cuddled a Koala, lots of Kangaroos and Wallabies and a Wombat... well, I didn't exactly cuddle the wombat, but I could pet it... cranky little buggers...
But the Koalas were amazing and they had a maternal station with baby koalas.... they're called joeys...
and I saw a breeding cassowary and dingoes and cockatoos and budgies and parrots and snakes and lizards and emus and frogs and kookabooras and cute zookeepers and northern hairy nosed wombats and southern hairy nosed wombats and common wombats and crocs (lots of diffrent sized crocs, freshwater, salties etc) and....
So it was soooo exciting....
http://www.travelblog.org/Australasia/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/blog-203580.html
Denver Zoo: New hours, lower fees start Oct. 1
By Rocky Mountain News
September 21, 2007
New hours and lower fees are on the horizon at the Denver Zoo as summer fades into the sunset.
Starting Oct. 1 through the end of March, the zoo will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission tickets will be on sale until 4 p.m. each day.
Admission fees during that period will be $9 for ages 12-64; $5 for children 3-11; and $7 for visitors age 65 and up.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5704037,00.html
Bellin Health Donates Ultrasound to NEW Zoo
Sep 19, 2007 05:27 PM EDT
The NEW Zoo staff in Suamico can cross a much-needed piece of medical equipment off its wish list. Bellin Health donated an ultrasound machine to the zoo.
Bellin recently purchased new machines and didn't know what to do with its older model, until a Bellin official took a trip to the zoo and realized its animal hospital needed an ultrasound machine.
Zoo director Neil Anderson says this donation will significantly upgrade the level of care for the animals.
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=7100670
Knoxville Zoo uses animals as teaching tools for Knox County students
By: LaSaundra Brown, Reporter
Date created: 9/19/2007 3:42:24 PM
Last updated: 9/21/2007 9:39:58 AM
The zoo is just one of six different museums around town the kids will visit, to learn about social studies and science. The zoo has found the program to be a great way to engage kids. Chad Fifer is the zoo's education specialist. He says animals can relate to just about every school subject.
http://www.wbir.com/life/programming/local/liveatfive/story.aspx?storyid=49245&provider=gnews
Local moms plead: 'Oprah, save our zoo!
Two local women are taking the plight of The Zoo to a higher authority: The Oprah Winfrey Show.
"We're just stay at home moms, and we love The Zoo," said Keena Landrum.
She and Linda Kellner are faithful watchers of the Oprah show, and one day Landrum visited the show's website where there was a question about "Why is your community so great?"
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/0920/Community/008.html
Zoo move on hold again as safari park plan axed
By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
Published: September 19, 2007, 23:21
Dubai: Animals cramped in Dubai's small zoo will continue to suffer as construction of a new bigger zoo has once again been delayed, Gulf News has learnt.
Although a Dubai Municipality official said in July construction of the new Dubai Zoo would start in August, the ambitious plan to have the biggest zoo in the region, which included a safari and night zoo, never took off as the project has been thrown out of Dubailand - the last planned venue for the zoo.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/09/20/10154773.html
Students, socialites rally 'round The Zoo
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News
news@gulfbreezenews.com
Traci L. Pitre/Special to Gulf Breeze News Joe Snider enjoys the train ride at the Zoo during the recent Rotary Family Day celebration while his father Paul watches ahead for the wildebeest.
Santa Rosa County students are pitching in to "change" the future of The Zoo of Northwest Florida - by donating loose change to help raise funds!
"Our community is so excited about this effort that there was already a bucket of change waiting at the front office this morning when I arrived to set out the collection bottles," says school coordinator, Kim Aldridge, Gulf Breeze Elementary School teacher. "Thousands of students visit The Zoo each year and we need to show our support. It makes 'cents' that together we can make a difference to save our wonderful zoo. We can help them one coin at a time!"
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/0920/Front_Page/003.html
Change is Good
Posted at 12:38 pm September 19, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
Fall is coming, and change is in the air at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station. Last week the weather changed again, and we have had delightfully cool mornings followed by moderate daytime temperatures for several days. The new bus route past the panda facility has proved to be pretty uneventful for the bears (see blog, A New Day in Panda Canyon), as a few days out Mei Sheng and Su Lin don’t even blink when the buses pass by. Mei Sheng is being prepped for his departure to China, scheduled to occur sometime next month. But the biggest changes are visible right there on the Panda Cam.
Our not-so-giant panda is growing by leaps and bounds! I watched her closely on Sunday and Monday night (my data collection nights until late next month) and was amazed. She is so big now that it is hard for Bai Yun to lie down and hold the baby up off the ground. Invariably, when she is picked up, parts of her slop over momma’s paws and flop onto the ground. Only when sitting in an upright posture can Bai Yun seem to contain the cub on her body!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/change-is-good/
The Sounds of Shoebills
Posted at 8:23 am September 19, 2007
by Matt Anderson
Studying animal bioacoustics and unraveling the meaning of calls doesn’t come as first nature to us. We are primarily visual animals and as such perceive our world, first and foremost, in terms of what we see around us. Many other species utilize other senses much more readily. If we are to truly understand the sensory ecology of another species we really need to imagine ourselves in their world.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/the-sounds-of-shoebills/
continued...
Elephants painters seen behind-the-scenes at the Virginia Zoo
Zookeeper Jill Tarrant hands Cita, a 38-year-old African elephant, a paintbrush as fellow zookeeper Aubry Jacobsen, left, helps Kristen Buck of New York City steady the canvas for the elephant's painting at the Virginia Zoo.
The e-mail stated, "This is not coolaid, this is the river that is causing cancer in Greece."
Stated that the city in Greece has experienced an increase to 34% in it's cancer rate in the past two years. They state this is not a form of dangerous algae, it is however toxic waste. I placed it here because there isn't much on the net about this stuff and the residents are asking for international awareness to write their Greek Ambassadors.
WATER PROTEST
Oropos official files suit over heavily polluted water in their area
The mayor of Oropos, north of Athens, yesterday filed a legal suit against all parties responsible for the high toxicity of the municipality’s drinking water and invited local manufacturers, believed to be causing the pollution, to talks on solving the problem. “We don’t have to meet only in court,” Giorgos Gavriil told Kathimerini. “We must remind them that that it is a crime to pollute the (River) Asopos with their waste and that they should finally use environmentally friendly materials to create their products,” he added. Tests on drinking water in Oropos and the nearby municipality of Oinofyta have revealed high levels of depleted chromium. “Every day we test the water, and every day we find it is dangerous,” Gavriil said.
Oropos drinking water is toxic (click here)
The municipality of Oropos, north of Athens, has instructed some of its residents to stop drinking tap water after tests found it to contain toxic substances, in the second case of dangerously contaminated water being detected recently.
Giorgos Gavriil, the mayor of Oropos, told Kathimerini he issued an urgent call to residents to stop drinking tap water in the areas of Halkoutsi, Pefkias and Nea Ekali.
«There is not just microbiologic contamination, but a contamination from heavy metals. The chromium is above allowable levels, while there are traces of depleted chromium. The water is unsuitable for drinking and cooking,» said Gavriel.
Samples were taken from three wells used to supply homes with water. Officials pointed out that water is only drawn from the wells - which have since been shut down - during the summer months.
Drinking water in the winter period is drawn from other reserves, according to officials.
Gavriil blamed the highly polluted area of Oinofyta nearby as being responsible for polluting his district.
«The Asopos River is not just the carrier (of pollution). Analysis shows there is extensive pollution in the water table,» he said referring to water collected underground in porous rocks.
«Depleted chromium does not just come from the river,» he added.
Tests showed in July that water from the Asopos River in Oinofyta is highly polluted due to untreated waste dumped in the river from the industrial plants in the area.
Since then government officials have decided to stop drawing drinking water from the Asopos but evidence now indicates that the broader area has been affected.
Water in the Oropos area has also been found in the past to be unfit for human consumption. According to tests held on other Oropos wells, the water was found to have very high concentrations of nitrates and iron and is only suitable for irrigation purposes.
...just in case the nation has forgotten what decency looks like...
MICHAEL MOORE’S ‘Sicko’ will end American resistance to universal health care
By Pat Murphy
Sentinel Editor & PublisherCopyright © 2007 San Francisco Sentinel
A single movie — Michael Moore’s ‘Sicko’ scheduled for release June 29 — will end American resistance to universal health care.
Pre-screened in San Francisco last night, the film is airtight. It cannot be dismissed as propaganda....
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
George threatens to veto health care for 10,000,000 children, accuses Dems of helping poor too much
September 21st, 2007 1:57 am
Bush Threatens Veto of Child Health Bill
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 — President Bush, bracing for a series of battles with Congress over spending, threatened today to veto a bill expanding a popular children’s health insurance program, calling it “a step toward federalization of health care.”
The program expires Sept. 30, and Congress is on the verge of renewing it by providing coverage to an additional 4 million children over the 6.6 million already enrolled — at an additional cost of $35 billion over five years. Mr. Bush says the bill would expand a program aimed at helping the poor beyond its original intent.
The veto threat is just one of nearly a dozen the White House has issued recently aimed at a variety of bills including measures on education spending and money for medical research. With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Mr. Bush and Congressional Democrats are headed for a showdown over spending similar to the one that preceded the government shutdown of 1995.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10255
Physicians for National Healthcare
http://www.pnhp.org/
Single-Payer National Health Insurance
Single-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private.
Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 46 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered.
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php
Thursday, July 26th, 2007
See the Movie, Start the Revolution ...a letter from Michael Moore
Friends,
I am overwhelmed by the response to "Sicko." And I'm not just talking about all the wonderful, heart-felt letters you've sent me and the stories you've shared with me about the abuse you've suffered from our health care system.
No, I'm talking about how thousands of you are taking matters into your own hands and using the movie to do something. From Seattle to New England, each day I learn of numerous groups holding meetings or dinners after the movie to discuss it and to plot a course for action. A church in Plano, TX took its weekly bible study group to see "Sicko." 70 people crammed into a Wisconsin coffee shop's back room. Groups are plotting over pancakes in Illinois and microbrew in Missouri. E-mail addresses are being exchanged in theater lobbies. A Connecticut group is inviting legislators to see "Sicko" and keeping a tally on their website. Local groups have been buying out theaters to have special screenings for their members. Information tables are set up, literature is distributed, action groups are formed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=219
September 20th, 2007 7:03 pm
Bush: MoveOn.org ad on Petraeus 'disgusting'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A MoveOn.org political advertisement that criticized the top U.S. commander in Iraq was "disgusting," President Bush said Thursday, accusing Democrats of being afraid to criticize the anti-war group.
Bush told reporters at a White House news conference that MoveOn.org's ad in The New York Times about Gen. David Petraeus was a "sorry deal." The September 10 full-page ad was titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"
"I felt like the ad was an attack, not only on Gen. Petraeus, but on the U.S. military," Bush said. "And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democratic Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10252
September 20th, 2007 7:05 pm
Senate OKs Cornyn's anti-MoveOn.org bill
By Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn won approval Thursday of a measure condemning a liberal group for criticizing the top military commander in Iraq — a measure similar to the one Cornyn was rebuffed for last week.
The Senate voted 72-25 to attach Cornyn's amendment criticizing MoveOn.org to the defense authorization bill.
Cornyn failed to get a similar amendment into the transportation and housing spending bill last week because it was ruled not germane to that bill.
"I can't believe that any member of this Senate would vote against this amendment which condemns this character assassination," Cornyn said from the Senate floor.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10253
Democrats Throw Their Base Under the Bus; Cave to Wing-Nuts on MoveOn Resolution
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet.
Posted September 20, 2007.
On the eve of the Petraeus hearings, I wrote that if the Democrats didn't call out the general on his partisan, politically motivated spin of the events unfolding in Iraq, they would prove their irrelevance on the issue of the ongoing occupation once and for all.
In the end, it was much worse than that. Today, Senate Democrats took the time to join their Republican colleagues in condemning an ad produced by MoveOn.org that -- accurately -- pointed out Petraeus' previous spin about progress in Iraq and warned that the general would "Betray Us." The resolution passed by a vote of 72-25. Among the presidential contenders in the senate, Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd voted against the resolution and Barack Obama and Joe Biden abstained.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/63160/
September 20th, 2007 1:40 pm
Pope 'refused audience for Rice'
By David Willey / BBC News
Pope Benedict XVI refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources say.
The Pope refused a request for an audience during the August holidays.
Senior Vatican sources told the BBC the Pope does not normally receive politicians on his annual holiday at the Castelgandolfo residence near Rome.
But one leading Italian newspaper said it was an evident snub by the Vatican towards the Bush administration.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10246
September 19th, 2007 7:58 pm
Senate Republicans block Iraq bill
By Susan Cornwell / Reuters
WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a plan to give U.S. troops in Iraq more leave time, defeating a proposal widely considered the Democrat's best near-term chance to change President George W. Bush's Iraq strategy.
The measure to give troops as much rest time at home as they spend deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan needed 60 votes to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate; it received just 56 votes, with 44 against.
It had been offered by Sen. Jim Webb, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former Navy secretary who said U.S. troops are being "burned out" by repeated redeployments to Iraq.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10243
Clinton's Health-Care Plan Echoes What Rivals Offered
By Aliza Marcus / Bloomberg
Sept. 18 -- Hillary Clinton's new plan to provide health care for all Americans differs more from her 1993 proposal known as ``Hillarycare'' than it does from ideas offered by her chief Democratic rivals in the 2008 presidential campaign.
Clinton's proposal, presented yesterday in Iowa, draws on the same four principles that opponents Barack Obama and John Edwards already put on the table: Allowing many Americans the option of paying to join a new government-run plan, requiring insurance companies to accept all applicants and not charge more for those who are ill, giving subsidies to help families afford coverage and raising taxes on upper-income Americans to pay for it all.
``The big message is how similar the plans are,'' said Len Nichols, who worked on health-care issues for President Bill Clinton and is now director of the Washington-based New America Foundation's health program. ``These are very smart people who are very ambitious, and they are ending up with very much the same rough contours.''
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10238
Taking the Temperature of the Presidential Candidates
Contributions from the Health Industry - January 1st to March 31st, 2007HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, physicians and other health professionals.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/sickos-for-sale/candidates/
Make Sure Your Rep. Supports H.R. 676
"Which congressional district am I in?"
CLiCK here and enter your address to find out.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/what-can-i-do/boxscore/index.php?action=print
H.R.676 Title: To provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] (introduced 1/24/2007) Cosponsors (82) Latest Major Action: 2/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00676:@@@N
Thank Joe Baca. He among the latest House members to co-sponsor bill HR 676.
Information onRepresentative Joe Bacaof Congressional District number 43 of California
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=CA43&site=ctc&address=&city=&state=CA&zipcode=&plusfour=
Artist on Artist: Tom Morello & Michael Moore
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=8272191
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