The Fillies need their own turf and nothing else. A rare unblemished finish against colts isn't enough to continue to allow owners of fillies to risk their lives. The 'odds' are against them doing well or surviving.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Belles was a 20 to 1 odds entry. What does that mean?
That means if the owner of the horse placed a $10,000 wager on Belles and she won, he was due to receive $200,000 in winnings and a cool $190,000 take home profit in cash !
In what other sport can that be the case? None.
Belles finished 2nd due to the 'run' in her and she paid 16 to 1 even though she is now DEAD ! (click here)
Her ticket holders are still winners with a second place victory and I guarantee you, her owners are still taking home money without her in the trailer, and that doesn't include the 'prize money.'
You know, sometimes the odds with a good horse in a big race is just enough to make the mortgage payment this month !
It is time to charge the owners of Fillies with Cruelty to Animals. It is nothing but greed and ego that caused the deaths of either of these Fillies
Ruffian (click here) died in a 'match race' with a colt, Foolish Pleasure. It should have never taken place. The owners, trainers and jockeys should be prosecuted for Cruelty to Animals.
Dead Horse Walking - Having fillies race against colts at this level of competition is a death sentence from the beginning. The fillies have as much 'heart' to win if not more, but, their bone and muscles structures are different and they suffer unrecoverable injuries as a result because they are 'competition' horses from their birth. They don't know when they are going to hurt themselves and they are the innocent in a game of 'horse play' where millions if not billions of dollars ride on the outcome of their performance.
ENOUGH !!!
2008 Kentucky Derby: Eight Belles An Underlay at 20-1 (click here)
Written by John O'Brien
Saturday, 03 May 2008
"2008 Kentucky Derby: Eight Belles An Underlay at 20-1"
Online sports betting giant Sportsbook.com has the lone filly in the 2008 Kentucky Derby Eight Belles at 20-1 betting odds in today's race at Churchill Downs. Eight Belles is red hot coming into the 2008 Kentucky Derby on a four-race win streak with an average speed rating of 96.5. Eight Belles is a female but she comes from championship caliber stock with her sire Unbridle’d Song regarded as the most talented horse to run in the 1996 Kentucky Derby.
Eight Belles is a well-schooled horse that is as strong as her male counterparts but untested against anything but ordinary competition. History is not on Eight Belles side as only 3 filly’s in the 134 years of the Kentucky Derby have been winners....
Written by John O'Brien
Saturday, 03 May 2008
"2008 Kentucky Derby: Eight Belles An Underlay at 20-1"
Online sports betting giant Sportsbook.com has the lone filly in the 2008 Kentucky Derby Eight Belles at 20-1 betting odds in today's race at Churchill Downs. Eight Belles is red hot coming into the 2008 Kentucky Derby on a four-race win streak with an average speed rating of 96.5. Eight Belles is a female but she comes from championship caliber stock with her sire Unbridle’d Song regarded as the most talented horse to run in the 1996 Kentucky Derby.
Eight Belles is a well-schooled horse that is as strong as her male counterparts but untested against anything but ordinary competition. History is not on Eight Belles side as only 3 filly’s in the 134 years of the Kentucky Derby have been winners....
Friday, May 02, 2008
Everything east of the Mississippi should be on alert by now.
Newark International is starting to experience delays over 2 hours on arrivals due to weather (click here)
Due to WEATHER / LOW CIGS, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ (EWR). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
In viewing the Oklahoma film of the vorticity actually 'on the ground' it was noted that it jumped in more instances than not as the 'drag' by the ground was causing skids of the upper winds that sheered off the funnel only to redirect its energies into still another funnel cloud. The tornado also lasted a long time in the video. Poses huge danger in its capacity and ability to direct its own path.
May 3, 2008
0230z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (12 hour loop click here)
In this West Coast view of the same system there is a moisture feed off the equator into the continental vortex that will add heat 'capacity' with increased water vapor, hence, causing greater turbulence and more danger.
May 3, 2008
0130z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here)
In 12 hour loop, noted the system spawning tornadoes in the middle of the continent actually extends from the equator to the Atlantic. Noted that the extreme turbulence over the continent is a result of the 'severe' tornatic activity over the Northern Atlantic causing an acceleration of the air masse over the continent, with accumulation of velocity that causes an independant vortex formation over the North America continent.
May 3, 2008
0130z
UNISYS Water Vapor Hemisphere Satellite
Tornados Kill 7 in Arkansas (click here)
DAMASCUS, AK (CBS/AP) -- Tornadoes and severe storms ripped through four states Friday, leaving homes and businesses damaged and killing seven people in Arkansas, including a teenager while she slept in her bed and a father and his son.
Police said the 15-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell through a bedroom where she was sleeping at her home in Siloam Springs in north Arkansas. The father and son were in their mobile home in central Arkansas when they were killed, the Conway County Sheriff's Office said.
Three deaths also were confirmed in Van Buren County and another person was killed in Pulaski County. At least 13 people were injured throughout the state, emergency officials said.
In Oklahoma, storms produced tornadoes, strong winds and large hail, causing structural damage and power outages but no serious injuries, authorities said.
About 10,000 electric customers in the state lost power at one point, but most were back on by Friday afternoon.
At least three tornadoes raked across central and northern Oklahoma, including one in Osage County near Tulsa that was an estimated 100 yards wide.
The enormous weather-maker produced 24 tornadoes in 24 hours, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan....
Longshoremen Don't Mess Around ! How cool is this ? Very, very cool ! Gives me that 60s Vietnam Conflict feeling all over again !
Who are you going to trust with your port security ? (click title to entry)
By William Yardley / New York Times
SEATTLE — West Coast ports were shut down on Thursday as thousands of longshoremen failed to report for work, part of what their union leaders said was a one-day, one-shift protest against the war in Iraq.
Cranes and forklifts stood still from Seattle to San Diego, and ships were stalled at sea as workers held rallies up and down the coast to blame the war for distracting public attention and money from domestic needs like health care and education.
“We’re loyal to America, and we won’t stand by while our country, our troops and our economy are being destroyed by a war that’s bankrupting us to the tune of $3 trillion,” the president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Bob McEllrath, said in a written statement. “It’s time to stand up, and we’re doing our part today.”
About 25,000 union members are employed at 29 West Coast ports, but the protest took place only during the day shift. A spokesman for the main West Coast employers’ group, the Pacific Maritime Association, said it appeared that about 6,000 workers did not show up for work, which meant that about 10,000 containers would not be loaded or unloaded from about 30 cargo ships....
Union Solidarity & Military Materials Resistance at US Ports (click here)
Battle in Seattle Tribute
Video of previous protest. They are awesome people. They stand up for the best of the USA !
Weather stalls planting - So much for commodities
May 2, 2008
0930z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite
IT IS CALLED CLIMATE CHANGE ! Pump that oil from ANWR, dump more carbon into the troposphere and watch the disaster humans have created destroy there 'livable' Earth. Go ahead. Be the idiots Bush/Cheney Republicans are counting on all of you to be. Go ahead.
May 2, 2008
0931z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite
Forecasts for showers and thunderstorms Thursday and Friday will dampen more than the start of the Mushroom Festival. More rain is the last thing area farmers need right now.A cold and wet spring has delayed planting corn by two weeks, and is creating concerns of lost yield potential.
Only 8 percent of Missouri corn has been planted, compared to 41 percent last year, according to the National Agriculture Statistic Service. University of Missouri agriculture research projects that after May 5, corn yields will decrease by 8 percent.“Just today [Tuesday], some customers have started planting,” said Gregg Steele, owner of Richmond Farm and Lawn. “For every day after May 1, they’ll lose yield a bushel per acre. If the forecast is right for another rain, it will be in the first 10 days of May before all the corn is planted.”...
May 2, 2008
0930z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite
May 2, 2008
0930z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite
Chances of severe weather in the Midwest.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
It wasn't rocket science to know that Bush/Cheney were lying profiteers in the lead up to an illegal and immoral war !!!
As weapons inspectors return to Baghdad after a four-year absence, BBC News Online examines key moments in their chequered relationship with Iraq's leadership.
...18 November 2002:
Hans Blix leads UN inspectors back to Baghdad to start their mission.
"...we were being played here...it was about oil...if one hundred million people could figure that out..."
Michael Moore Unplugged
He is magnificent !!!
The 'Mind Think' of 'so called American innocence' developed to exploit by the Neocons to provide 'MARGINAL LIFESTYLES AND INCOME' to the 'godly grateful.'
Go, Michael Moore, Go !!!
Stop social and economic impoverishment in America !
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Just set the psychology straight - President Calls On Congress to Open ANWR
How Are You Dealing With High Gas Prices? (click here)
What Will You Do When Gas Hits $4 a Gallon?
Polar Bear at ANWR
Bush official fails to show for polar bear hearing (click here)
Senator wanted Interior chief to explain indecision on endangered listing
What Will You Do When Gas Hits $4 a Gallon?
Polar Bear at ANWR
Bush official fails to show for polar bear hearing (click here)
Senator wanted Interior chief to explain indecision on endangered listing
"...And I think that will help the psychology of the country...."
That's what I always say, "The hell with life and death, just make sure we set the psychology right." Don't you? Don't you always want to 'set the psychology straight?"
April 29, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Photographer states :: Taken from Godwin Blvd in Suffolk VA, Tornado hit yesterday - 4/28/08
At his news conference today, Mr. Bush found it important to focus on 'the psychology' of the country as well as others. Evidently, the 'psychology' of the moment is important and why it is important to SEND A MESSAGE.
Bush is a sociopath. Just that simple. Psychology. Okay then.
"...And so part of this is to make -- set the psychology right that says to the world, we're not going to become more beholden on your oil, we're going to open up and be aggressive and have an aggressive energy policy. Secondly, we're going to send the signal we're going to be building new refineries.
But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix. That's why I told you that if Congress had responded -- matter of fact, Congress did pass ANWR in the late 1900s -- 1990s -- and the 1900s -- (laughter) -- 1990s. But it didn't go forward. And it's my considered judgment, given the technological advances, to say this is -- we'll destroy the environment is just -- I don't think it's an accurate statement.
And so I think it's very important, Sheryl, for Congress. The other thing Congress can do, if you want to send a good signal during these uncertain times, is make the tax cuts permanent, is to let people -- send the signal that people are going to be able to keep their money. And I think that will help the psychology of the country...."
April 29, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Photographer states :: Taken from Godwin Blvd in Suffolk VA, Tornado hit yesterday - 4/28/08
At his news conference today, Mr. Bush found it important to focus on 'the psychology' of the country as well as others. Evidently, the 'psychology' of the moment is important and why it is important to SEND A MESSAGE.
Bush is a sociopath. Just that simple. Psychology. Okay then.
"...And so part of this is to make -- set the psychology right that says to the world, we're not going to become more beholden on your oil, we're going to open up and be aggressive and have an aggressive energy policy. Secondly, we're going to send the signal we're going to be building new refineries.
But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix. That's why I told you that if Congress had responded -- matter of fact, Congress did pass ANWR in the late 1900s -- 1990s -- and the 1900s -- (laughter) -- 1990s. But it didn't go forward. And it's my considered judgment, given the technological advances, to say this is -- we'll destroy the environment is just -- I don't think it's an accurate statement.
And so I think it's very important, Sheryl, for Congress. The other thing Congress can do, if you want to send a good signal during these uncertain times, is make the tax cuts permanent, is to let people -- send the signal that people are going to be able to keep their money. And I think that will help the psychology of the country...."
April 29, 2008
Suffolk, Virginia
Photographer states :: Taken from Godwin Blvd in Suffolk VA, Tornado hit yesterday - 4/28/08
Americans have to go to Australia to get the truth - At least one dead in Virginia
April 29, 2008
Driver, Virginia
Photographer states :: The Driver Antique Store was behind that truck. Tornado hit yesterday - 4/28/08
April 29, 2008
Suffolk, Virginia
Photographer states :: Taken from Godwin Blvd in Suffolk VA, Tornado hit yesterday - 4/28/08
THE PRIMARY MESSAGE FROM THE AMERICAN MEDIA WAS - "Primarily minor injuries." What exactly is the definition of MINOR ! Amazing. Destroyed lives, ruined homes, but only minor injuries. Idiots, Immoral Idiots !
It only takes a storm to become homeless these days.
Angel Brinkley walks with her baby, Cheyenne, along a stretch of road with debris after apparent tornadoes hit Suffolk, Va. Monday April 28, 2008. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Delores Johnson)
....The twister in this city outside Norfolk cut a fickle, zigzagging path 25 miles long through neighborhoods, obliterating some homes and spraying splintered wood across lawns while leaving those standing just a few feet away untouched....
...The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes struck Suffolk, Brunswick County, about sixty miles west, and Colonial Heights, about 60 miles northwest. Meteorologist Bryan Jackson described Suffolk's as a "major tornado."
The Brunswick County tornado was estimated at 86 mph to 110 mph, and cut a 300-yard path of destruction, Jackson said. It struck first, at about 1 p.m., said Mike Rusnak, a weather service meteorologist in Wakefield.
The second struck Colonial Heights around 3:40 p.m., he said.
The tornado believed to have caused damage over a 25-mile path from Suffolk to Norfolk touched down repeatedly between 4:30 and 5 p.m., Rusnak said.
At least 200 were injured in Suffolk and 18 others were injured in Colonial Heights, south of Richmond, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management....
A house in Driver, Va. is shown after a tornado blew the side off of it Monday, April 28, 2008. The National Weather Service said three tornadoes touched down in Virginia on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Daily Press, Dennis Tennant)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
What do these three men have in common? The successful diversion of the War of September 11th !
The first shot sounded sharply. It was clear something was wrong.
I heard the second crack, and a third, fourth, fifth, and at that point all the journalists were on the ground, ducking from the whizzing bullets. The Taliban were attacking a ceremony led by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
"Get down! Get down!" people yelled to each other.
Karzai and hundreds of Afghan and foreign dignitaries had been preparing to take to their seats across from Kabul's largest mosque. They were marking the 16th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet-backed communist regime in Afghanistan.
The gunfire broke out as a marching band was playing the national anthem....
...Two American soldiers who had been saluting in the bleachers near the president pointed to some nearby houses, from where the gunfire appeared to have come. They still put their hands back up to their caps in salute as the anthem ended.
Dozens of parliamentarians looked around in puzzlement before realizing the danger and scrambling for cover. Two lawmakers wearing turbans in the front row were hit by bullets. One was hit in the stomach and fell to the ground, the other slumped back in his seat, just 30 meters (yards) from where Karzai was sitting.
Karzai was hustled away, unhurt, by bodyguards to an exit at the back of the stand, and driven away in a convoy of four black SUVs.
Several minutes of automatic gunfire followed and a few louder explosions from rockets.
There was chaos as hundreds of people made their escape. The Cabinet ministers and foreign ambassadors sped away in their SUVs....
....I ran toward a three-meter (10-foot) -high wall with several other journalists clutching video cameras and tripods. To our surprise, uniformed soldiers and armed police followed hot on our heels. Uniformed musicians of the marching band also ran away.
"The security is so bad. How could they get so close to this event and fire right at us?" one army officer complained, panting with exhaustion, his face white with fear.
Soldiers barked at me to turn off my phone, fearing that anyone using a mobile phone could be helping to coordinate the attack.
Security appeared tighter than last year for the annual pageant.
Karzai had inspected assembled troops from a U.S.-supplied Humvee jeep, looking from a hatch in the roof, metal shields on either side of him. Last year he appeared in open-top jeep.
Soldiers in military vehicles had blocked off the main avenues leading to the ceremony site two days ago, and pedestrians were barred from surrounding hilltops overlooking the ceremony.
The Big One - There has been a lot of activity for quite some time now in the northeast Pacific
The Global Activity with less activity in the southwest Pacific and more in the northeast. The techtonic activity is increasing. I could 'get into' what I believe, but, hard rock geologists always say it is nonsense. The Earth is a planet of FLUID. Air/atmospheres is a fluid. Water is a fluid. And magma is a fluid. They are all related and they all absorb the turbulence of Earth's troposphere and lower stratospheric ionic vortices caused by Human Induced Global Warming.
A man who said his name was Juan cleans up the groceries that toppled from the shelves at Save Mart in Northwest Reno after Friday night's strong earthquake April 25, 2008. The quake had a preliminary reading of 4.7 and is the latest of 100's of earthquakes that have swarmed the northwest Reno area in the past six weeks with the quakes getting progressively stronger. (AP Photo/Reno Gazette Journal - Marilyn Newton)
Magnitude 4.7 - NEVADA (click here)
2008 April 26 06:40:10 UTC
Reno urged to prepare for worse as earthquakes continue (click here)
By MARTIN GRIFFITH – 10 hours ago
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada's largest city to prepare for a bigger event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long series of temblors.
More than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude 4.7 quake hit Friday night, the strongest quake around Reno since one measuring 5.2 in 1953, said researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The latest quake swept store shelves clean, cracked walls in homes and dislodged rocks on hillsides, but there were no reports of injuries or widespread major damage....
Magnitude 5.2 - ILLINOIS (click here)
2008 April 18 09:37:00 UTC
Aftershocks expected for weeks to come (click here)
(Published April 26, 2008)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Geologists who gathered a week after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook the Midwest said they expect mild aftershocks to rattle the region for several weeks.
The latest aftershock, a 3.7 magnitude temblor, was felt in Evansville on Friday as geologists from nine states met in the southwestern Indiana city to discuss the recent quakes....
NEW YORK, April 24, 2008 — The revised earthquake-hazard maps released this week by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provide greater understanding of the seismically active areas of the country, particularly the Pacific Northwest, while also highlighting the need for property owners to consider purchasing earthquake coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)....
Magnitude 6.6 - ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA (click here)
2008 April 16 05:54:19 UTC
Moderate quake shakes up northwest Alaska (click here)
By The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A moderate earthquake is being reported in the Bering Strait region.
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the quake struck at 5:41 a.m. today. It had a preliminary magnitude of 5.0.
The earthquake was centered 34 miles southwest of Point Hope.
Dorcus Rock, a Point Hope resident, tells Alaska Public Radio Network that she was making coffee when she felt the quake. Rock says she initially thought she heard a tractor trailer passing by.
There are no immediate reports of damage.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Everyone needs to 'Get it Right.' Regime change in Washington, not business as usual ! Read my lips, NO NEW TAX CUTS !!
Obama wraps up day with hoops (click here)
By THE ASSOCIATED
By THE ASSOCIATED
KOKOMO, Ind. - For Barack Obama, figuring out how to cap a long campaign day in basketball-crazy Indiana was a no-brainer - you shoot some hoops.
After a noisy campaign rally, Obama donned sweat pants and a "USMC" shirt for a little action on the courts, with no ordinary companions. His 3-on-3 team included Alison Bales, a member of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
Blake Hancock, a Marion high schooler was picked to take part in the game because he collected 150 voter registration forms, and he picked some high school friends and they joined Obama for about 15 minutes of half-court hoops....
After a noisy campaign rally, Obama donned sweat pants and a "USMC" shirt for a little action on the courts, with no ordinary companions. His 3-on-3 team included Alison Bales, a member of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
Blake Hancock, a Marion high schooler was picked to take part in the game because he collected 150 voter registration forms, and he picked some high school friends and they joined Obama for about 15 minutes of half-court hoops....
The Propaganda of the Middle East still reigns in the American Press
The appearance of propriety and legitimacy of the USA military is the greatest threat to the world's people, including its own citizens.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday.
What is normally coined as a crime in the USA, is simply the way of life in the Middle East !!!
When one considers the impoverishment the Shias face on a regular basis while fending off hostile regimes of power, from that of the USA and sanctioned militias of the Green Zone Iraqis to the unrepresented leaders of Hamas whom know their people will fight to the death; the importation of arms through Iran to the militias that hold their ground against such power structures; this is NOT an escalation of war in the Middle East but simply an IMPOSED way of life to sustain them against genocidal trends !!!
There is NO war in the Middle East that oppresses regimes of power that are a threat to the security of the USA. The American military has become a power structure in servatude to the Neocon Republican political machine and the American media continues to be its puppet !
Smuggling necessary facet of life for villages along Syrian border (click title here)
Heating oil, bread and vegetables among goods trekked over frontier
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Rita Daou
Agence France Presse
AYHA: As night falls on remote villages in eastern Lebanon that border Syria, streets and alleyways bustle into life as a small army of pick-up trucks, mules and cars are readied for action. Loaded up with whisky, bread, metal and other goods, drivers head for the dirt roads that zig-zag through nearby hillsides and valleys to deliver loads to fellow smugglers across the border before returning with staples such as heating oil, laundry detergent and vegetables.
"We work from around 9 p.m. until dawn," said one smuggler, who spoke to AFP on the condition he would only be identified by his initials of M.Z. "We leave home in our pick-ups, cars and even mules loaded with alcohol and other products."...
continued...
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday.
What is normally coined as a crime in the USA, is simply the way of life in the Middle East !!!
When one considers the impoverishment the Shias face on a regular basis while fending off hostile regimes of power, from that of the USA and sanctioned militias of the Green Zone Iraqis to the unrepresented leaders of Hamas whom know their people will fight to the death; the importation of arms through Iran to the militias that hold their ground against such power structures; this is NOT an escalation of war in the Middle East but simply an IMPOSED way of life to sustain them against genocidal trends !!!
There is NO war in the Middle East that oppresses regimes of power that are a threat to the security of the USA. The American military has become a power structure in servatude to the Neocon Republican political machine and the American media continues to be its puppet !
Smuggling necessary facet of life for villages along Syrian border (click title here)
Heating oil, bread and vegetables among goods trekked over frontier
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Rita Daou
Agence France Presse
AYHA: As night falls on remote villages in eastern Lebanon that border Syria, streets and alleyways bustle into life as a small army of pick-up trucks, mules and cars are readied for action. Loaded up with whisky, bread, metal and other goods, drivers head for the dirt roads that zig-zag through nearby hillsides and valleys to deliver loads to fellow smugglers across the border before returning with staples such as heating oil, laundry detergent and vegetables.
"We work from around 9 p.m. until dawn," said one smuggler, who spoke to AFP on the condition he would only be identified by his initials of M.Z. "We leave home in our pick-ups, cars and even mules loaded with alcohol and other products."...
continued...
Too much truth for everyone? Get rid of the lousy Republicans !
Turkish PM confirms mediation efforts for Syrian-Israeli peace
By The Associated Press
Turkey's prime minister says his country is mediating between Syria and Israel in an effort to secure peace.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will try to restart low-level negotiations between the sides with the aim of eventually getting the countries' leaders together. He was speaking in Ankara on Saturday on his return from a trip to Damascus, where he attended a Turkish-Syrian business meeting and held talks with President Bashar Assad.
"There was a request from Syria and Israel for this kind of an effort and Turkey will do its best in this regard," Erdogan said.
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"This effort will start among the lower level (officials) and if they are successful, God willing, they will end with a higher level meeting," the prime minister said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/978058.html
Syrian ambassador to U.S. says CIA fabricated photos of alleged nuclear reactor
By Reuters
Syria's ambassador to the United States said Friday that the CIA fabricated pictures allegedly taken inside a secret Syrian nuclear reactor and predicted that in coming weeks the U.S. story about the site would implode from within.
"The photos presented to me yesterday were ludicrous, laughable," Ambassador Imad Moustapha told reporters at his Washington residence.
He refused to say what the building in the remote eastern desert of Syria was used for before Israeli jets bombed it in September 2007.
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Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday they believe it was a secret nuclear reactor meant to produce plutonium, which can be used to make high-yield nuclear weapons. They alleged that North Korea aided in the design, construction and outfitting of the building.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/978052.html
Last update - 10:33 26/04/2008
IAEA slams Israel for bombing alleged nuclear reactor in Syria
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press
The United Nations nuclear monitoring agency on Friday slammed Israel for an Israel Air Forces strike last September on an alleged nuclear reactor in Syria.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said "the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime," in a statement released Friday.
IAEA Chief Mohammed ElBaradei said that by deciding to unilaterally bomb the site on September 6, 2007, Israel destroyed evidence that could have supported or refuted the claims the site was in fact a nuclear facility.
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ElBaradei also criticized the U.S. on Friday for not giving his organization intelligence information sooner on what Washington says was a nuclear reactor in Syria being built secretly by North Korea.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/978043.html
Last update - 00:21 25/04/2008
News / Top U.S. official: Syria site threatened to spread nuke arms technology
By Haaretz Staff and Channel 10
Haaretz.com/Channel 10 news roundup for April 24, 2008.
In this edition:
A top member of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee says the suspected nuclear site in Syria that Israel attacked last year threatened to spread nuclear weapons technology.
The Prime Minister's Office says Israel is genuinely interested in peace with Syria.
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The postponement of the Amos 3 communications satellite's launch causes presidential embarrassment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977828.html
continued...
Morning Papers - continued...
Zoos
Protecting species
It is hardly surprising that Iain Stephen of London Zoo believes zoos have an important part to play in stopping the extinction of amphibians (your report, 22 April).
What is perhaps more illuminating is our 2007 report that showed that 13 of the most prestigious and "progressive" UK zoos with charity status, including London and Edinburgh, were keeping only 11 threatened species of amphibian between them, with a collected population of less than 1,000 individuals. A case of all talk and no tadpoles perhaps?
CHRIS DRAPER
Born Free Foundation
Foundry Lane
Horsham, West Sussex
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Protecting-species.4019773.jp
Plans Wilt at National Arboretum
Proposed Funding Cut Exacerbates Deterioration
By Adrian Higgins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 26, 2008; Page A01
It began last weekend and will continue for five more, Washington's other springtime blossom festival. At the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, 130,000 people will show up to luxuriate in the rhododendrons, crab apples and early roses before Memorial Day.
The highlight is the peak flowering of 12,000 mature azaleas that paint a wooded hill named Mount Hamilton in pinks, reds and magentas. But the arboretum's prospects are far less rosy.
Next year's proposed budget for the federally funded institution has been cut by $2 million, targeted at the arboretum's public face. The amount is small in the scheme of things, but it would reduce funding by 60 percent for the arboretum's public programming and the care of its rich garden displays and pioneering plant collections.
This comes after almost a decade of funding erosion: The operating budget has shrunk 20 percent in five years. A master plan to fix crumbling infrastructure and forge a future has remained essentially unfunded for eight years. Even if next year's money is restored, the arboretum will continue to suffer from years of chronic underfunding and the absence of capital investment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042503693.html?referrer=emailarticle
Oregon Zoo offers lecture about bugs
April 22, 2008
A lecture about the importance of bugs in the environment, one in a monthly series of lectures at the Oregon Zoo, will be at 7 p.m. April 29 in the Banquet Center at the zoo, 10 minutes west of downtown Portland, just off Highway 26, at 4001 SW Canyon Rd. Tickets are $10, or $8 for zoo members. Parking is $1.
"What Good Are Bugs? The Case for Invertebrate Conservation," by Scott Black, an entomologist with the Xerces Society, is part of the Wildlife Conservation Lecture Series.
The motivation for the series is to build community knowledge in the areas of wildlife conservation, environmental problems and ecological systems. For information go to www.oregonzoo.org or call (503) 226-1561.
—Roy Gault
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OUTDOORS/804220340/1034/SPORTS
No more salmon for pesky sea lions
SUSAN GORDON
susan.gordon@thenewstribune.com
Published: April 26th, 2008 01:00 AM Updated: April 26th, 2008 06:09 AM
Salmon isn’t on the menu at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, but for the next couple of weeks Tacoma’s zoo will host a bunch of sea lions with expensive tastes.
The first of what could be many guests arrived Thursday night from the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, where they and dozens of other male California sea lions have dined on returning runs of spring chinook salmon for the past several years.
The behavior has earned the hungry marine mammals a nuisance reputation among Washington and Oregon fish and wildlife managers, who blame them for eating more than 4 percent of the fish heading upriver.
On Thursday, wildlife officials removed six sea lions from the waters below the dam, about 40 miles east of Portland.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/345000.html
Article published Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Toledo Zoo to expand children's area to year-round
By TOM HENRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Fencing went up yesterday in the heart of the Toledo Zoo for a $7.5 million project that could revolutionize the way visitors think of its long-standing Children's Zoo.
Nature's Neighborhood will be an indoor-outdoor facility that will be a greatly expanded version of the traditional petting zoo. It will offer far more for hands-on learning.
Children will be able to scale a climbing wall, go into a handicapped-accessible tree house, build a dam while splashing around in a manmade stream, play with guinea pigs, attend presentations in a 50-seat amphitheater, climb into make-believe beehives, learn about forests, make crafts in a workshop, listen to the squawking of birds, dress up as animals, do play acting, and find out how to care for dogs and cats in a model home.
If enough funds become available, a turtle pond and a raptor exhibit might be included.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS38/804220380/-1/NEWS
First baby camel born at Helsinki Zoo in 37 years
Seeing the baby camel at the Helsinki Zoo is a bewildering experience. Its eyes are beautiful, as if designed by Disney, but other than that it is all legs. The four-day-old camel foal is hairy, long-limbed, and clumsy.
When it squeaks, its mother, Selma, rises on her legs and walks over to the youngster. Staggering and occasionally falling, the foal seeks its way to its mother’s teats.
The father, 13-year-old Voodoo, looks at his family from behind a fence. “When the baby was born, the father stamped its feet. It was nervous”, explains the Helsinki Zoo veterinarian Eeva Rudbäck.
The family will be reunited in a couple of weeks’ time. The young has to learn to be quick to be able to flee in case its father loses his temper.
The foal is a minor miracle. The zoo staff only learned about the gestation when Selma went into labour.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/First+baby+camel+born+at+Helsinki+Zoo+in+37+years/1135235792663
Fee hikes asked for zoo, rec center, parks
Alamogordo city commission
The Daily News
By Kandra Wells, News Editor
Article Launched: 04/22/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
Increases in golf, zoo, youth and civic center fees, and a joint dispatch agreement with Otero County are among agenda items set for consideration Tuesday at the Alamogordo City Commission's regular meeting.
The session, open to the public, is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at city hall, 1376 E. Ninth St.
A plan to raise fees by 3 to 5 percent for "leisure services" and zoo, civic center and golf course fees is up for approval by the commission to offset increased operational costs for water, gas, electricity and equipment, according to a report on the proposed resolution.
Assistant City Manager Matt McNeile reported the increases, recommended by the city's Community Services Advisory Board and the Parks and Recreation Board, would raise about $53,500 in additional revenue.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/news/ci_9007538
Cast your vote for Oregon Zoo's 'Mother of the Year'
This is a press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo is celebrating Mother's Day by naming its 2008 Zoo Mother of the Year, and the public is invited to help choose the winner. This year's finalists are a Norway rat named Marge, an Oregon silverspot butterfly named Lyta and a colobus monkey named Mali. An online ballot featuring photos and short biographies of the zoo moms is posted on the zoo's Web site.
"These three moms are responsible for bringing 420 babies into the world," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "That's a first in the five years we've been voting at the Oregon Zoo."
The finalists were selected by zoo employees from an initial list of 10 zoo moms.
"Zoo employees enjoy the chance to choose the finalists," said Vecchio. "They've been known to campaign for their favorite mom, and this year was no different."
On-line votes will be accepted through Thursday, May 8, at 5 p.m. The zoo will announce its 2008 Mother of the Year on Friday, May 9.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/17996234.html
New zoo director to give talk
Buttonwood Park Zoo invites the public to meet the zoo's new director, Dr. William Langbauer, during a wine and cheese reception on Tuesday.
As the first presenter in the zoo's "Creatures Great and Small" spring lecture series, Dr. Langbauer will entertain with stories from Africa as he recounts his research among elephants — captive and wild, sober and drunken.
Dr. Langbauer is one of three researchers who discovered that elephants make sounds that humans can't hear (infrasound), which has made for some interesting research challenges.
The wine and cheese reception begins at 7, and the talk at 8. The reception and lecture are free of charge, but interested individuals are asked to RSVP at (508) 991-6178 ext. 31.
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080426/LIFE/804260357/-1/ENTERTAIN
Tip leads police to rare monkey stolen from N.B. zoo
Updated Fri. Apr. 25 2008 8:39 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A tiny, black monkey named April, stolen earlier this week from Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John, N.B., has been recovered safe and sound by police following an anonymous phone tip.
"Relieved doesn't describe (the feeling)," Lynda Collrin, director of zoo development, told CTV Newsnet Friday.
April, a rare callimico, a species also known as Goeldi's monkeys, is from the Amazon region of South America. April is part of a vital breeding program trying to keep the primate species from extinction.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080425/rare_monkey_080425/20080425?hub=CTVNewsAt11
One man's wild world at Blackpool Zoo
Published Date: 28 April 2008
By Nick Hyde
DARREN Webster is the man who speaks to the animals. Or more appropriately, he is the man who knows what his array of wild and wonderful creatures want.
And he should know, for the 38-year-old has had more than 20 years of experience in zoos across the country.
But his great challenge lies beyond the confines of Gorilla Mountain at Blackpool Zoo, which attracts thousands of people year.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/One-man39s-wild-world-at.4022891.jp
Animals beat the heat by cold drinks in Lucknow zoo
By Kamna Mathur
Lucknow, Apr 26 (ANI): Fruit juices and cucumbers helped a chimpanzee to beat the summer heat in a Lucknow zoo.
The most striking incident happened when the chimpanzee drank fruit juice off its caretaker’s hands and did not leave the glass till the content was over.
Alarmed by the soaring mercury, the zoo authorities are serving the cold drinks to the animals.
Several measures have been taken to provide every possible comfort to the animals. The zoo has deployed a team of veterinarians and vitamins and electrolytes are being added to the food and drinking water to prevent dehydration, said an official.
“See, the temperatures are rising and it isn’t only humans who are feeling the heat. Even the animals are a troubled lot. So, not only the drink but other arrangements have also been made in our zoo to make the animals feel comfortable,” said Renu Singh, Lucknow zoo Director.
She added, sprinklers have been installed in all the enclosures and the animals have been put on a nutritious diet comprising seasonal fruits like watermelon and mangoes along with cucumbers. (ANI)
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/animals-beat-the-heat-by-cold-drinks-in-lucknow-zoo_10042226.html
Minot Zoo Opens
Many have been waiting all winter. Tomorrow the Roosevelt Zoo opens for the season.
Zoo staff is gearing up for the big day by cleaning up and tidying up around the cages.
While they are willing to let the cat out of the bag on one surprise animal from the far east, the staff at the zoo remains tight lipped about bigger secrets coming up this summer.
"We`re very lucky to have gotten them. We`re one of the first zoos in the more Northern Eastern side to have gotten the Japanese Sarose," says Barb Werner of the Roosevelt Zoo.
The zoo opens at 10:00 a.m. Price of admission is $3.00 for ages 4 to 12, everyone older is $6.00. Memberships will be available as well.
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=17952
Video
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=17952
'Disneyland' comes to Baghdad with multi-million pound entertainment park
The $1 million skateboard park will open in July. 200,000 skateboards will be shipped from the US and given away free to Iraqi children
Sonia Verma in Dubai
Llewellyn Werner admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with – insurgent attacks and looting.
When you are building an amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory.
Mr Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland. “The people need this kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,” Mr Werner said.
The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis fearing food shortages.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3802051.ece
Crowds flock to Baghdad zoo for Eid
Oct 13, 2007
BAGHDAD (AFP) — War-weary Baghdadis determined to forget daily violence and economic hardships on the Eid al-Fitr holiday flocked Saturday for a day of picnicking and recreation at the zoo, despite its dearth of animals.
With entrance free for Eid, long queues formed outside Al-Zawraa zoo in central Baghdad for much of the day as people waited to pass through gates strictly secured by police in a road patrolled by US and Iraqi troops.
Inside the sprawling park, a sea of relaxed-looking Iraqis strolled between the animal compound and the funfair, winding along pathways that skirted open fields, bold water fountains and flower gardens.
Children, some holding balloons, others toting toy guns, were dressed in spanking new clothes bought for Eid, while teenagers in pressed shirts and neat trousers milled about in groups outside the Al-Baghdadi Restaurant and Casino, a few noisily beating drums and tambourines as others danced and clapped.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hQmTjlLcYUS8PMN8qWi4ebiL-qbw
Palestinian kids and the zoo
Fadi Abu Sa’ada – For over four years now – which is my child's age - I have not succeeded in taking him to the zoo. I want to begin teaching him about simple things, such as the animals.
The reason for the inability to do so is not simply that I am out of money. I do not I have permission to enter occupied Jerusalem to accompany him to the zoo, as it is the closest zoo to my town of Bethlehem, which is also occupied in the West Bank.
Last Thursday a group of friends decided to take their kids on an adventure, the destination was the zoo in occupied Jerusalem, I asked them to take my child with them, as I can not leave my work to join them. After a long discussion whether my child, Majd, will be able to cross the military checkpoint at the northern entrance of Bethlehem alone, without parents, without a birth certificate, my friends decided to take him and give it a try.
After nearly half an hour I received the first phone call. They succeeded crossing the checkpoint. I was deeply happy that my child finally will go to the zoo for the first time in his life. And not this only, but he was able to go on a journey that I was not able to take him on for the many reasons created by occupation.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2694&Itemid=28
Primate residence
Published Date: 26 April 2008
By Claire Black
Edinburgh Zoo's chimps are right at home in their new world-class compound
Ricky is stretched out in the sun. Head tipped back, one arm outstretched, hand lazily gripping the rope hanging beside him, he's enjoying a good scratch and the odd yawn. He looks as if he might have 40 winks. At 44, he's only recently moved into one of Edinburgh's newest and costliest homes. It's a proper des-res, built to a detailed specification, filled with custom-built fixtures and fittings and surrounded by a beautifully landscaped garden – including a moat. The price tag was a cool £5.6 million but if you ask Ricky, it's money well spent.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Primate-residence.4007045.jp
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens Travel Reviews
Nov 17, 2007
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is located within Griffith Park, a 4200 acre park in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The zoo may be one the most affordable attractions in Los Angeles...adults (13 & up) are $10, seniors are $7, children (2-12) are $5, and children under 2 are FREE. Zoo parking is FREE to boot!
The zoo grounds are decorated with lush floral specimens. The animal habitats are constantly being renovated to look more and more realistic to the animal's natural habitats. For instance, in 2000, Red Ape Rain Forest was opened to highlight the orangutan. In 2007, the Campo Gorilla Reserve was unveiled to house 6 western lowland gorillas. Currently being renovated is the Asian Elephant habitat. The zoo is also an integral part of the California Condor Recovery Program with over 100 condor hatchings at the zoo.
http://www.travbuddy.com/Los-Angeles-Zoo-and-Botanical-Gardens-v192774
Friday, April 25, 2008 - 2:45 PM CDT
Zoo unveils name for $2.8M restaurant
Wichita Business Journal - by Josh Heck
Sedgwick County Zoo'S new sit-down restaurant now has a name. A sign bearing the name Plaza Beastro was unveiled during a ceremony Friday, marking the restaurant's grand opening.
The name was chosen out of more than 3,0000 entries from a naming contest put on by local radio station B98 FM. Jinger Titus was credited with picking the winning name.
"I think it's great," she says of seeing her name selection adorn the restaurant. "It's a big honor."
Plaza Beastro replaces the old concession stand that was perched in the zoo's central plaza area and gives patrons a chance to take a break from the summer's heat inside the air-conditioned building. The restaurant has a seating capacity of 125 people.
"It's a much welcomed addition to our already first-class, world-class zoo," says Allan Allford, president of the Sedgwick County Zoological Society.
The restaurant's soft opening was in March. Zoo executive director Mark Reed says the $2.8 million facility is larger and more modern than the concession area that was once perched in the zoo's plaza. That structure was recently razed and the site converted into a man-made pond.
"The official opening of our new restaurant is a very exciting time for us," Reed says.
WDM Architects designed the building and Sauerwein Construction Co. was the general contractor.
http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2008/04/21/daily53.html
Zoo Welcomes Rare Newborn Somali Wild Ass
Posted on: Friday, 25 April 2008, 15:00 CDT
The first Somali wild ass to be born at the St. Louis Zoo arrived earlier this month.
The animal, a wild horse, is very rare, with only 1,000 believed to be surviving in the wild, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. They are threatened by political unrest and hunting in North Africa and must compete with domestic animals for grazing.
The St. Louis Zoo has seven wild asses with another 20 living in other zoos in North America. The new foal's dam Fataki and sire Abai are both in St. Louis.
The foal, a female, has a gray body, black stripes on the legs and a white belly. When she is full-grown, she will stand about 4 feet high and weigh 600 pounds.
Source: United Press International
http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1358717/zoo_welcomes_rare_newborn_somali_wild_ass/
Birds, bats and bugs to be featured at Air Zoo
Birds, bats and bugs—oh my! On Saturday, April 26, the Air Zoo will be offering its second annual “Birds, Bats and Bugs—the Natural Flyers” program that will include presentations, exhibits, crafts, live animal demonstrations and a chance to meet area mascots.
Beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, guests will be able to visit displays on birds, bats and insects, make crafts and rubbings and visit birds that will be available for adoption. Local mascots such as Old Country Buffet’s “O.C. Bee,” Red Robin’s “Red” and the K-Wings’ “Slappy” will also make an appearance.
http://www.airzoo.org/news/birds-bats-bugs-april-26/
Dublin Zoo names its newest elephant
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Dublin Zoo has officially named its new elephant calf Budi following a competition that attracted over 1,000 entries.
11-year-old Tallaght student Cian Cooke picked the Indonesian name, which means 'wise one', to reflect the elephant's Asian heritage.
Budi was born in February, just the second elephant born in Ireland.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0424/elephant.html
Stolen monkey back to Canada zoo
www.chinaview.cn
2008-04-26 03:10:59
OTTAWA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A little callimico monkey stolen earlier this week from a zoo in Canada's eastern New Brunswick province was safely back home Friday, police and zoo officials said.
Acting on a phone tip, police in the city of Saint John said they found the black monkey named April in a box on a street corner near a city gas station.
A male called from a pay phone telling police to find the monkey behind a building near a gas station. "We went to the area where we found a type of box with holes cut through the top of it and the noise inside indicated it was our missing monkey," policeSgt. Pat Bonner told Canadian Television.
The little animal turned out to be in good health after being checked by ecstatic zoo officials.
April was stolen Wednesday morning when someone jumped a fence, kicked in a door, and took her from the enclosure she shared with her mother, father and brother.
Police are now reviewing the tipster's call to determine if the voice provides any clues to the theft.
The rare primates, also known as a Goeldi's monkies, are from the Amazon region of South America and considered an endangered species in the wild. They are tiny creatures, at nine months, April weighs only about half a kilogram.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/26/content_8052454.htm
Zoo worker set to take leap of faith for frogs
AN Edinburgh Zoo worker is set to abseil from the Forth Bridge dressed as a frog as part of a fundraising drive.
Polly Phillpot, the zoo's senior education officer, will descend 165 feet to raise cash for the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) 2008 Year of the Frog Campaign.
The main goal of this year's campaign is to raise awareness of the serious plight facing frogs and amphibians.
The funds raised will help support Amphibian Ark, a programme co-ordinated by the World Conservation Union, and finance regional initiatives such as rescues, training workshops and cooperatively managed centres.
Ms Phillpot, who will be taking the plunge tomorrow, said: "Amphibians play an important role in ecosystems and are essential environmental indicators for climate change, therefore holding great importance in scientific research.
"It would be catastrophic and tragic to lose such a key group of animals.
"I hope my leap will be a hopping success to raise funds in support of the EAZA campaign."
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Zoo-worker-set-to-take.4024009.jp
London Zoo celebrates its 180th birthday
By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:01pm BST 26/04/2008
It is now one of the world's leading conservation organisations, helping to protect endangered wildlife with breeding programmes, carrying out vital research and educating the public. But when London Zoo opened its doors 180 years ago, experts were more interested in turning its exotic creatures into beasts of burden and farmyard animals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/26/eazoo126.xml
Exhibition held for zoo founder
Ms Badham received an MBE for her work in 2002
A special exhibition is on show at Twycross Zoo this weekend in memory of 93-year-old co-founder Molly Badham, who died last year.
Ms Badham helped build the largest collection of primates in the world at the zoo, located on the Leicestershire-Warwickshire border.
The display tells the story of how she set up the zoo with rival pet shop owner Nathalie Evans.
It also shows her work as a chimpanzee trainer on television adverts.
Exotic animals
A marquee has been set up to house the exhibition and a book of condolence will also be available for visitors to sign.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/7368534.stm
Bird Fest 2008 at the National Zoo
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/BirdFest/activities.cfm
Hoaxer gets callers to overwhelm Dublin Zoo for weeks
April 25th, 2008
Text messages from a “G Raffe” has caused a lot of stress at the Dublin Zoo
A hoaxer has been sending text messages to mess with the Dublin Zoo in Ireland. The texts told the recipients to call the Dublin Zoo for an “urgent message,” and about 100,000 people did call in the past two weeks. The texts are a hoax, sent out by a witty “joker” signing his (or her) name “G Raffe, C Lion, Rory Lyons, and Anna Conda,” all quite “clever” adaptations of the names of animals. The zoo’s phone system has been choked with “13 calls a minute” and the zoo’s marketing manager admitted that they had lost their “sense of humor” about the calls. The real question this raises is who would call a zoo for an “urgent message” sent by a mystery texter? Apparently 100,000 people from Ireland will.
http://www.itstrulyrandom.com/2008/04/25/hoaxer-gets-callers-to-overwhelm-dublin-zoo-for-weeks/
Its cool at Nandankanan Zoo in Orissa
April 25th, 2008 - 7:44 pm ICT by admin -
Nandankanan Zoological Park (Orissa), April 25 (ANI): Authorities at the famous Nandakanan Zoological Park in Orissa are taking various measures to prevent inmates from suffering from scorching heat that has set in advance this summer.
Desert coolers have been installed outside the enclosures of felines, bears and other caged inmates, sprinklers are being used to give showers to all animals and aviaries are covered with palm reeds and leaves to shield the birds from heat.
Sufficient water supply, along with other facilities and proper management has made a big difference comparing to the earlier years.
Animals are given bath twice or thrice in a day. The enclosures are sprinkled to maintain cool.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/its-cool-at-nandankanan-zoo-in-orissa_10041996.html
Petting Zoo Update
Published by Creation Museum
April 24th, 2008 in Museum Updates
Today at the Creation Museum was momentous! The first 3 members of the new petting zoo just arrived today – three miniature donkeys.
Numerous staff were there to welcome the latest additions to the CM family. The Petting Zoo will be open to visitors and guests on May 23rd. Mark your calendars and make sure when you visit this summer to take in the new zoo.
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/museum/2008/04/24/petting-zoo-update/
AWOL Marine charged in petting zoo fire
SHARIF DURHAMS
sdurhams@charlotteobserver.com
A tip to investigators has led to the arrest of a Marine charged in a 2006 Salisbury-area petting-zoo fire that killed more than 40 animals.
Jerry Lane Harwood, 18, of Rockwell, was arrested Saturday and charged with 41 counts of animal cruelty and with burning a public or government building. Harwood had his first court appearance Monday.
He's being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $250,000 secured bond.
Goats, sheep, rabbits and other animals were killed in the fire at the T.M. Stanback Petting Barn in Dan Nicholas Park, southeast of Salisbury.
Rowan County Sheriff's Office investigators and State Bureau of Investigation arson experts said they didn't home in on Harwood as a suspect until they received a tip this month.
Investigators say they discovered Harwood joined the Marines shortly after the petting zoo fire. He's now listed as AWOL, Rowan investigators said.
Investigators said that in searching Harwood's apartment after Saturday's arrest, they found evidence connecting him to recent car break-ins and two business break-ins in the Rockwell area.
Sheriff's deputies said they also found three marijuana plants in the apartment, drug paraphernalia and burglary tools. No charges have been filed.
Harwood has another court appearance scheduled April 30.
Sheriff's deputies said they're still investigating.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Sam Henline or Sgt. Chad Moose of the Rowan County Sheriff's Office at 704-216-8668 or call Rowan Crime Stoppers at 866-639-5245.
http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/592586.html
continued...
Protecting species
It is hardly surprising that Iain Stephen of London Zoo believes zoos have an important part to play in stopping the extinction of amphibians (your report, 22 April).
What is perhaps more illuminating is our 2007 report that showed that 13 of the most prestigious and "progressive" UK zoos with charity status, including London and Edinburgh, were keeping only 11 threatened species of amphibian between them, with a collected population of less than 1,000 individuals. A case of all talk and no tadpoles perhaps?
CHRIS DRAPER
Born Free Foundation
Foundry Lane
Horsham, West Sussex
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Protecting-species.4019773.jp
Plans Wilt at National Arboretum
Proposed Funding Cut Exacerbates Deterioration
By Adrian Higgins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 26, 2008; Page A01
It began last weekend and will continue for five more, Washington's other springtime blossom festival. At the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, 130,000 people will show up to luxuriate in the rhododendrons, crab apples and early roses before Memorial Day.
The highlight is the peak flowering of 12,000 mature azaleas that paint a wooded hill named Mount Hamilton in pinks, reds and magentas. But the arboretum's prospects are far less rosy.
Next year's proposed budget for the federally funded institution has been cut by $2 million, targeted at the arboretum's public face. The amount is small in the scheme of things, but it would reduce funding by 60 percent for the arboretum's public programming and the care of its rich garden displays and pioneering plant collections.
This comes after almost a decade of funding erosion: The operating budget has shrunk 20 percent in five years. A master plan to fix crumbling infrastructure and forge a future has remained essentially unfunded for eight years. Even if next year's money is restored, the arboretum will continue to suffer from years of chronic underfunding and the absence of capital investment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042503693.html?referrer=emailarticle
Oregon Zoo offers lecture about bugs
April 22, 2008
A lecture about the importance of bugs in the environment, one in a monthly series of lectures at the Oregon Zoo, will be at 7 p.m. April 29 in the Banquet Center at the zoo, 10 minutes west of downtown Portland, just off Highway 26, at 4001 SW Canyon Rd. Tickets are $10, or $8 for zoo members. Parking is $1.
"What Good Are Bugs? The Case for Invertebrate Conservation," by Scott Black, an entomologist with the Xerces Society, is part of the Wildlife Conservation Lecture Series.
The motivation for the series is to build community knowledge in the areas of wildlife conservation, environmental problems and ecological systems. For information go to www.oregonzoo.org or call (503) 226-1561.
—Roy Gault
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OUTDOORS/804220340/1034/SPORTS
No more salmon for pesky sea lions
SUSAN GORDON
susan.gordon@thenewstribune.com
Published: April 26th, 2008 01:00 AM Updated: April 26th, 2008 06:09 AM
Salmon isn’t on the menu at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, but for the next couple of weeks Tacoma’s zoo will host a bunch of sea lions with expensive tastes.
The first of what could be many guests arrived Thursday night from the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, where they and dozens of other male California sea lions have dined on returning runs of spring chinook salmon for the past several years.
The behavior has earned the hungry marine mammals a nuisance reputation among Washington and Oregon fish and wildlife managers, who blame them for eating more than 4 percent of the fish heading upriver.
On Thursday, wildlife officials removed six sea lions from the waters below the dam, about 40 miles east of Portland.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/345000.html
Article published Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Toledo Zoo to expand children's area to year-round
By TOM HENRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Fencing went up yesterday in the heart of the Toledo Zoo for a $7.5 million project that could revolutionize the way visitors think of its long-standing Children's Zoo.
Nature's Neighborhood will be an indoor-outdoor facility that will be a greatly expanded version of the traditional petting zoo. It will offer far more for hands-on learning.
Children will be able to scale a climbing wall, go into a handicapped-accessible tree house, build a dam while splashing around in a manmade stream, play with guinea pigs, attend presentations in a 50-seat amphitheater, climb into make-believe beehives, learn about forests, make crafts in a workshop, listen to the squawking of birds, dress up as animals, do play acting, and find out how to care for dogs and cats in a model home.
If enough funds become available, a turtle pond and a raptor exhibit might be included.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS38/804220380/-1/NEWS
First baby camel born at Helsinki Zoo in 37 years
Seeing the baby camel at the Helsinki Zoo is a bewildering experience. Its eyes are beautiful, as if designed by Disney, but other than that it is all legs. The four-day-old camel foal is hairy, long-limbed, and clumsy.
When it squeaks, its mother, Selma, rises on her legs and walks over to the youngster. Staggering and occasionally falling, the foal seeks its way to its mother’s teats.
The father, 13-year-old Voodoo, looks at his family from behind a fence. “When the baby was born, the father stamped its feet. It was nervous”, explains the Helsinki Zoo veterinarian Eeva Rudbäck.
The family will be reunited in a couple of weeks’ time. The young has to learn to be quick to be able to flee in case its father loses his temper.
The foal is a minor miracle. The zoo staff only learned about the gestation when Selma went into labour.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/First+baby+camel+born+at+Helsinki+Zoo+in+37+years/1135235792663
Fee hikes asked for zoo, rec center, parks
Alamogordo city commission
The Daily News
By Kandra Wells, News Editor
Article Launched: 04/22/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
Increases in golf, zoo, youth and civic center fees, and a joint dispatch agreement with Otero County are among agenda items set for consideration Tuesday at the Alamogordo City Commission's regular meeting.
The session, open to the public, is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at city hall, 1376 E. Ninth St.
A plan to raise fees by 3 to 5 percent for "leisure services" and zoo, civic center and golf course fees is up for approval by the commission to offset increased operational costs for water, gas, electricity and equipment, according to a report on the proposed resolution.
Assistant City Manager Matt McNeile reported the increases, recommended by the city's Community Services Advisory Board and the Parks and Recreation Board, would raise about $53,500 in additional revenue.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/news/ci_9007538
Cast your vote for Oregon Zoo's 'Mother of the Year'
This is a press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo is celebrating Mother's Day by naming its 2008 Zoo Mother of the Year, and the public is invited to help choose the winner. This year's finalists are a Norway rat named Marge, an Oregon silverspot butterfly named Lyta and a colobus monkey named Mali. An online ballot featuring photos and short biographies of the zoo moms is posted on the zoo's Web site.
"These three moms are responsible for bringing 420 babies into the world," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "That's a first in the five years we've been voting at the Oregon Zoo."
The finalists were selected by zoo employees from an initial list of 10 zoo moms.
"Zoo employees enjoy the chance to choose the finalists," said Vecchio. "They've been known to campaign for their favorite mom, and this year was no different."
On-line votes will be accepted through Thursday, May 8, at 5 p.m. The zoo will announce its 2008 Mother of the Year on Friday, May 9.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/17996234.html
New zoo director to give talk
Buttonwood Park Zoo invites the public to meet the zoo's new director, Dr. William Langbauer, during a wine and cheese reception on Tuesday.
As the first presenter in the zoo's "Creatures Great and Small" spring lecture series, Dr. Langbauer will entertain with stories from Africa as he recounts his research among elephants — captive and wild, sober and drunken.
Dr. Langbauer is one of three researchers who discovered that elephants make sounds that humans can't hear (infrasound), which has made for some interesting research challenges.
The wine and cheese reception begins at 7, and the talk at 8. The reception and lecture are free of charge, but interested individuals are asked to RSVP at (508) 991-6178 ext. 31.
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080426/LIFE/804260357/-1/ENTERTAIN
Tip leads police to rare monkey stolen from N.B. zoo
Updated Fri. Apr. 25 2008 8:39 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A tiny, black monkey named April, stolen earlier this week from Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John, N.B., has been recovered safe and sound by police following an anonymous phone tip.
"Relieved doesn't describe (the feeling)," Lynda Collrin, director of zoo development, told CTV Newsnet Friday.
April, a rare callimico, a species also known as Goeldi's monkeys, is from the Amazon region of South America. April is part of a vital breeding program trying to keep the primate species from extinction.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080425/rare_monkey_080425/20080425?hub=CTVNewsAt11
One man's wild world at Blackpool Zoo
Published Date: 28 April 2008
By Nick Hyde
DARREN Webster is the man who speaks to the animals. Or more appropriately, he is the man who knows what his array of wild and wonderful creatures want.
And he should know, for the 38-year-old has had more than 20 years of experience in zoos across the country.
But his great challenge lies beyond the confines of Gorilla Mountain at Blackpool Zoo, which attracts thousands of people year.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/One-man39s-wild-world-at.4022891.jp
Animals beat the heat by cold drinks in Lucknow zoo
By Kamna Mathur
Lucknow, Apr 26 (ANI): Fruit juices and cucumbers helped a chimpanzee to beat the summer heat in a Lucknow zoo.
The most striking incident happened when the chimpanzee drank fruit juice off its caretaker’s hands and did not leave the glass till the content was over.
Alarmed by the soaring mercury, the zoo authorities are serving the cold drinks to the animals.
Several measures have been taken to provide every possible comfort to the animals. The zoo has deployed a team of veterinarians and vitamins and electrolytes are being added to the food and drinking water to prevent dehydration, said an official.
“See, the temperatures are rising and it isn’t only humans who are feeling the heat. Even the animals are a troubled lot. So, not only the drink but other arrangements have also been made in our zoo to make the animals feel comfortable,” said Renu Singh, Lucknow zoo Director.
She added, sprinklers have been installed in all the enclosures and the animals have been put on a nutritious diet comprising seasonal fruits like watermelon and mangoes along with cucumbers. (ANI)
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/animals-beat-the-heat-by-cold-drinks-in-lucknow-zoo_10042226.html
Minot Zoo Opens
Many have been waiting all winter. Tomorrow the Roosevelt Zoo opens for the season.
Zoo staff is gearing up for the big day by cleaning up and tidying up around the cages.
While they are willing to let the cat out of the bag on one surprise animal from the far east, the staff at the zoo remains tight lipped about bigger secrets coming up this summer.
"We`re very lucky to have gotten them. We`re one of the first zoos in the more Northern Eastern side to have gotten the Japanese Sarose," says Barb Werner of the Roosevelt Zoo.
The zoo opens at 10:00 a.m. Price of admission is $3.00 for ages 4 to 12, everyone older is $6.00. Memberships will be available as well.
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=17952
Video
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=17952
'Disneyland' comes to Baghdad with multi-million pound entertainment park
The $1 million skateboard park will open in July. 200,000 skateboards will be shipped from the US and given away free to Iraqi children
Sonia Verma in Dubai
Llewellyn Werner admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with – insurgent attacks and looting.
When you are building an amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory.
Mr Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland. “The people need this kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,” Mr Werner said.
The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis fearing food shortages.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3802051.ece
Crowds flock to Baghdad zoo for Eid
Oct 13, 2007
BAGHDAD (AFP) — War-weary Baghdadis determined to forget daily violence and economic hardships on the Eid al-Fitr holiday flocked Saturday for a day of picnicking and recreation at the zoo, despite its dearth of animals.
With entrance free for Eid, long queues formed outside Al-Zawraa zoo in central Baghdad for much of the day as people waited to pass through gates strictly secured by police in a road patrolled by US and Iraqi troops.
Inside the sprawling park, a sea of relaxed-looking Iraqis strolled between the animal compound and the funfair, winding along pathways that skirted open fields, bold water fountains and flower gardens.
Children, some holding balloons, others toting toy guns, were dressed in spanking new clothes bought for Eid, while teenagers in pressed shirts and neat trousers milled about in groups outside the Al-Baghdadi Restaurant and Casino, a few noisily beating drums and tambourines as others danced and clapped.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hQmTjlLcYUS8PMN8qWi4ebiL-qbw
Palestinian kids and the zoo
Fadi Abu Sa’ada – For over four years now – which is my child's age - I have not succeeded in taking him to the zoo. I want to begin teaching him about simple things, such as the animals.
The reason for the inability to do so is not simply that I am out of money. I do not I have permission to enter occupied Jerusalem to accompany him to the zoo, as it is the closest zoo to my town of Bethlehem, which is also occupied in the West Bank.
Last Thursday a group of friends decided to take their kids on an adventure, the destination was the zoo in occupied Jerusalem, I asked them to take my child with them, as I can not leave my work to join them. After a long discussion whether my child, Majd, will be able to cross the military checkpoint at the northern entrance of Bethlehem alone, without parents, without a birth certificate, my friends decided to take him and give it a try.
After nearly half an hour I received the first phone call. They succeeded crossing the checkpoint. I was deeply happy that my child finally will go to the zoo for the first time in his life. And not this only, but he was able to go on a journey that I was not able to take him on for the many reasons created by occupation.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2694&Itemid=28
Primate residence
Published Date: 26 April 2008
By Claire Black
Edinburgh Zoo's chimps are right at home in their new world-class compound
Ricky is stretched out in the sun. Head tipped back, one arm outstretched, hand lazily gripping the rope hanging beside him, he's enjoying a good scratch and the odd yawn. He looks as if he might have 40 winks. At 44, he's only recently moved into one of Edinburgh's newest and costliest homes. It's a proper des-res, built to a detailed specification, filled with custom-built fixtures and fittings and surrounded by a beautifully landscaped garden – including a moat. The price tag was a cool £5.6 million but if you ask Ricky, it's money well spent.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Primate-residence.4007045.jp
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens Travel Reviews
Nov 17, 2007
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is located within Griffith Park, a 4200 acre park in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The zoo may be one the most affordable attractions in Los Angeles...adults (13 & up) are $10, seniors are $7, children (2-12) are $5, and children under 2 are FREE. Zoo parking is FREE to boot!
The zoo grounds are decorated with lush floral specimens. The animal habitats are constantly being renovated to look more and more realistic to the animal's natural habitats. For instance, in 2000, Red Ape Rain Forest was opened to highlight the orangutan. In 2007, the Campo Gorilla Reserve was unveiled to house 6 western lowland gorillas. Currently being renovated is the Asian Elephant habitat. The zoo is also an integral part of the California Condor Recovery Program with over 100 condor hatchings at the zoo.
http://www.travbuddy.com/Los-Angeles-Zoo-and-Botanical-Gardens-v192774
Friday, April 25, 2008 - 2:45 PM CDT
Zoo unveils name for $2.8M restaurant
Wichita Business Journal - by Josh Heck
Sedgwick County Zoo'S new sit-down restaurant now has a name. A sign bearing the name Plaza Beastro was unveiled during a ceremony Friday, marking the restaurant's grand opening.
The name was chosen out of more than 3,0000 entries from a naming contest put on by local radio station B98 FM. Jinger Titus was credited with picking the winning name.
"I think it's great," she says of seeing her name selection adorn the restaurant. "It's a big honor."
Plaza Beastro replaces the old concession stand that was perched in the zoo's central plaza area and gives patrons a chance to take a break from the summer's heat inside the air-conditioned building. The restaurant has a seating capacity of 125 people.
"It's a much welcomed addition to our already first-class, world-class zoo," says Allan Allford, president of the Sedgwick County Zoological Society.
The restaurant's soft opening was in March. Zoo executive director Mark Reed says the $2.8 million facility is larger and more modern than the concession area that was once perched in the zoo's plaza. That structure was recently razed and the site converted into a man-made pond.
"The official opening of our new restaurant is a very exciting time for us," Reed says.
WDM Architects designed the building and Sauerwein Construction Co. was the general contractor.
http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2008/04/21/daily53.html
Zoo Welcomes Rare Newborn Somali Wild Ass
Posted on: Friday, 25 April 2008, 15:00 CDT
The first Somali wild ass to be born at the St. Louis Zoo arrived earlier this month.
The animal, a wild horse, is very rare, with only 1,000 believed to be surviving in the wild, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. They are threatened by political unrest and hunting in North Africa and must compete with domestic animals for grazing.
The St. Louis Zoo has seven wild asses with another 20 living in other zoos in North America. The new foal's dam Fataki and sire Abai are both in St. Louis.
The foal, a female, has a gray body, black stripes on the legs and a white belly. When she is full-grown, she will stand about 4 feet high and weigh 600 pounds.
Source: United Press International
http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1358717/zoo_welcomes_rare_newborn_somali_wild_ass/
Birds, bats and bugs to be featured at Air Zoo
Birds, bats and bugs—oh my! On Saturday, April 26, the Air Zoo will be offering its second annual “Birds, Bats and Bugs—the Natural Flyers” program that will include presentations, exhibits, crafts, live animal demonstrations and a chance to meet area mascots.
Beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, guests will be able to visit displays on birds, bats and insects, make crafts and rubbings and visit birds that will be available for adoption. Local mascots such as Old Country Buffet’s “O.C. Bee,” Red Robin’s “Red” and the K-Wings’ “Slappy” will also make an appearance.
http://www.airzoo.org/news/birds-bats-bugs-april-26/
Dublin Zoo names its newest elephant
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Dublin Zoo has officially named its new elephant calf Budi following a competition that attracted over 1,000 entries.
11-year-old Tallaght student Cian Cooke picked the Indonesian name, which means 'wise one', to reflect the elephant's Asian heritage.
Budi was born in February, just the second elephant born in Ireland.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0424/elephant.html
Stolen monkey back to Canada zoo
www.chinaview.cn
2008-04-26 03:10:59
OTTAWA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A little callimico monkey stolen earlier this week from a zoo in Canada's eastern New Brunswick province was safely back home Friday, police and zoo officials said.
Acting on a phone tip, police in the city of Saint John said they found the black monkey named April in a box on a street corner near a city gas station.
A male called from a pay phone telling police to find the monkey behind a building near a gas station. "We went to the area where we found a type of box with holes cut through the top of it and the noise inside indicated it was our missing monkey," policeSgt. Pat Bonner told Canadian Television.
The little animal turned out to be in good health after being checked by ecstatic zoo officials.
April was stolen Wednesday morning when someone jumped a fence, kicked in a door, and took her from the enclosure she shared with her mother, father and brother.
Police are now reviewing the tipster's call to determine if the voice provides any clues to the theft.
The rare primates, also known as a Goeldi's monkies, are from the Amazon region of South America and considered an endangered species in the wild. They are tiny creatures, at nine months, April weighs only about half a kilogram.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/26/content_8052454.htm
Zoo worker set to take leap of faith for frogs
AN Edinburgh Zoo worker is set to abseil from the Forth Bridge dressed as a frog as part of a fundraising drive.
Polly Phillpot, the zoo's senior education officer, will descend 165 feet to raise cash for the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) 2008 Year of the Frog Campaign.
The main goal of this year's campaign is to raise awareness of the serious plight facing frogs and amphibians.
The funds raised will help support Amphibian Ark, a programme co-ordinated by the World Conservation Union, and finance regional initiatives such as rescues, training workshops and cooperatively managed centres.
Ms Phillpot, who will be taking the plunge tomorrow, said: "Amphibians play an important role in ecosystems and are essential environmental indicators for climate change, therefore holding great importance in scientific research.
"It would be catastrophic and tragic to lose such a key group of animals.
"I hope my leap will be a hopping success to raise funds in support of the EAZA campaign."
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Zoo-worker-set-to-take.4024009.jp
London Zoo celebrates its 180th birthday
By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:01pm BST 26/04/2008
It is now one of the world's leading conservation organisations, helping to protect endangered wildlife with breeding programmes, carrying out vital research and educating the public. But when London Zoo opened its doors 180 years ago, experts were more interested in turning its exotic creatures into beasts of burden and farmyard animals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/26/eazoo126.xml
Exhibition held for zoo founder
Ms Badham received an MBE for her work in 2002
A special exhibition is on show at Twycross Zoo this weekend in memory of 93-year-old co-founder Molly Badham, who died last year.
Ms Badham helped build the largest collection of primates in the world at the zoo, located on the Leicestershire-Warwickshire border.
The display tells the story of how she set up the zoo with rival pet shop owner Nathalie Evans.
It also shows her work as a chimpanzee trainer on television adverts.
Exotic animals
A marquee has been set up to house the exhibition and a book of condolence will also be available for visitors to sign.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/7368534.stm
Bird Fest 2008 at the National Zoo
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/BirdFest/activities.cfm
Hoaxer gets callers to overwhelm Dublin Zoo for weeks
April 25th, 2008
Text messages from a “G Raffe” has caused a lot of stress at the Dublin Zoo
A hoaxer has been sending text messages to mess with the Dublin Zoo in Ireland. The texts told the recipients to call the Dublin Zoo for an “urgent message,” and about 100,000 people did call in the past two weeks. The texts are a hoax, sent out by a witty “joker” signing his (or her) name “G Raffe, C Lion, Rory Lyons, and Anna Conda,” all quite “clever” adaptations of the names of animals. The zoo’s phone system has been choked with “13 calls a minute” and the zoo’s marketing manager admitted that they had lost their “sense of humor” about the calls. The real question this raises is who would call a zoo for an “urgent message” sent by a mystery texter? Apparently 100,000 people from Ireland will.
http://www.itstrulyrandom.com/2008/04/25/hoaxer-gets-callers-to-overwhelm-dublin-zoo-for-weeks/
Its cool at Nandankanan Zoo in Orissa
April 25th, 2008 - 7:44 pm ICT by admin -
Nandankanan Zoological Park (Orissa), April 25 (ANI): Authorities at the famous Nandakanan Zoological Park in Orissa are taking various measures to prevent inmates from suffering from scorching heat that has set in advance this summer.
Desert coolers have been installed outside the enclosures of felines, bears and other caged inmates, sprinklers are being used to give showers to all animals and aviaries are covered with palm reeds and leaves to shield the birds from heat.
Sufficient water supply, along with other facilities and proper management has made a big difference comparing to the earlier years.
Animals are given bath twice or thrice in a day. The enclosures are sprinkled to maintain cool.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/its-cool-at-nandankanan-zoo-in-orissa_10041996.html
Petting Zoo Update
Published by Creation Museum
April 24th, 2008 in Museum Updates
Today at the Creation Museum was momentous! The first 3 members of the new petting zoo just arrived today – three miniature donkeys.
Numerous staff were there to welcome the latest additions to the CM family. The Petting Zoo will be open to visitors and guests on May 23rd. Mark your calendars and make sure when you visit this summer to take in the new zoo.
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/museum/2008/04/24/petting-zoo-update/
AWOL Marine charged in petting zoo fire
SHARIF DURHAMS
sdurhams@charlotteobserver.com
A tip to investigators has led to the arrest of a Marine charged in a 2006 Salisbury-area petting-zoo fire that killed more than 40 animals.
Jerry Lane Harwood, 18, of Rockwell, was arrested Saturday and charged with 41 counts of animal cruelty and with burning a public or government building. Harwood had his first court appearance Monday.
He's being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $250,000 secured bond.
Goats, sheep, rabbits and other animals were killed in the fire at the T.M. Stanback Petting Barn in Dan Nicholas Park, southeast of Salisbury.
Rowan County Sheriff's Office investigators and State Bureau of Investigation arson experts said they didn't home in on Harwood as a suspect until they received a tip this month.
Investigators say they discovered Harwood joined the Marines shortly after the petting zoo fire. He's now listed as AWOL, Rowan investigators said.
Investigators said that in searching Harwood's apartment after Saturday's arrest, they found evidence connecting him to recent car break-ins and two business break-ins in the Rockwell area.
Sheriff's deputies said they also found three marijuana plants in the apartment, drug paraphernalia and burglary tools. No charges have been filed.
Harwood has another court appearance scheduled April 30.
Sheriff's deputies said they're still investigating.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Sam Henline or Sgt. Chad Moose of the Rowan County Sheriff's Office at 704-216-8668 or call Rowan Crime Stoppers at 866-639-5245.
http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/592586.html
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