Zoos
Dog Parks And Zoos A Boost To Quality Of Life
Published on 11/21/2005
Letters To The Editor:
I love dogs and I can honestly say that my life would not be complete without them.
On Oct. 30, in celebration of my friend's birthday, we brought our dogs to the park designed especially for them.
We had a marvelous time; I felt like a child again. It was exhilarating watching our dogs running and happily playing together, and making new friends.
It felt so safe to be able to let the dogs off their leashes, and have them enjoy absolute freedom in the fenced in area's provided for them.
It was also nice to converse with the other dog owners. Responsible and kind people who own dogs are some of the nicest people (providing they are indeed responsible and kind to their dogs.)
Dog parks are free of cost, and people of all ages can enjoy them.
What I would really like also to see built in this area is a zoo. I can remember going to the Bates Woods zoo and visiting Rocky the gorilla and all the other critters.
I also used to love taking my daughter to Mohegan Park in Norwich and traveling to Roger Williams Park in Providence and the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
The zoo would also help to provide safe homes for the overabundance of wildlife.
Maybe someday the zoo will happen, but for now the dogs and their proud owners are having a memorable time at the parks.
Diane L. Amburn
Waterford
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=2d304c52-4955-47d3-b86e-70eec8d15714
Activists promote preserve for elephants
BY JULIE STOIBER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
PHILADELPHIA - Watching elephants in the wild is an experience so powerful that wildlife author Douglas H. Chadwick describes it as "a whole different level of being alive."
It's an experience most of us won't have, though, since elephants' natural habitats are far away, in Africa and Asia.
And so we visit zoos, many of which are rethinking exactly how the world's largest land mammals should be shown. Last month, for example, the Philadelphia Zoo announced that it did not have the money to build a new savanna for Petal, Dulary, Bette and Kallie, but said it hoped someday to replace the quarter-acre elephant exhibit and 1,800-square-foot barn.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/13223720.htm
Zoo forced to take tiger and giraffe off menu
Associated Press in Bangkok
Tuesday November 22, 2005
Visitors to the Chiang Mai Night Safari zoo in northern Thailand will not get to taste tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe as previously planned, after critics said the menu would encourage wildlife trafficking in a region notorious for smuggling endangered species.
Now only farm-reared alligator and ostrich will be served to VIPs at the zoo's grand opening next year, project director Plodprasop Suraswadi said. "Any animal that is on display [at the zoo] will not be on the menu because it will cause confusion and misunderstanding about the intentions of the Chiang Mai Night Safari," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1647978,00.html
Reindeer arrive at San Francisco Zoo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO -- Some of Rudolph's cousins are paying an early visit to San Francisco. Four reindeer arrived at the San Francisco Zoo this weekend.
They're part of the zoo's "Reindeer Romp" exhibit which closes on New Year's Day. There are no red noses among the reindeer, but they do have some impressive antlers. Unlike Dasher, Dancer and Blizten, these reindeer don't fly. The four white-and-brown females were trucked from a reindeer farm in central Oregon.
The reindeer, which weigh between 250 and 275 pounds, were greeted by an excited crowd when they emerged from their horse trailer.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Reindeer.html
FW Zoo hopes new elephant will improve breeding
02:46 PM CST on Monday, November 21, 2005
From Staff Reports
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant, is on a three-year loan to the Fort Worth Zoo.
A five-ton special delivery arrived in North Texas last week as an early Christmas present for the Fort Worth Zoo.
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant belonging to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was brought to the zoo by an 18-wheeler equipped with a 40-foot trailer designed for elephant transport.
Zoo officials hope the elephant, on loan from the circus for three years, will help increase reproduction rates among the female Asian elephants housed there.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/112205dnmetelephant.80d71015.html
Arthritis Case Adds to Debate: Are Zoos Good Home for Elephants?
By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005; Page B04
An ailing elephant at the National Zoo is giving a local focus to a growing debate about whether zoos offer a suitable environment for elephants, particularly if the animals are often confined to small spaces.
Toni, one of four Asian elephants at the animal park, is receiving treatment for arthritis in her legs. The zoo said in September that if the condition worsens, she might have to be euthanized -- a possibility that has prompted two animal rights groups to push to have Toni moved to an elephant sanctuary, where she would have more room to exercise and be on softer ground.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/13/AR2005111301152.html
Reno zoo officials seek donations to feed animals over winter
Nov 21, 2005, 08:51 AM Est
Please feed the animals.
That's what Sierra Safari Zoo officials want the public to do as they try to raise 50-thousand dollars to feed about 200 animals over the winter.
The financially strapped Reno zoo, which is closed over the winter, has issued an appeal for donations.
Among the zoo's occupants are lions, tigers, monkeys and alligators.
It's also one of the few facilities in the country to display a liger, a cross between a lion and tiger.
The zoo, a nonprofit organization, raised about 40-thousand dollars during its last winter fundraiser.
Zoo officials say they rely on donations to get through the winter since they receive no state assistance.
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4147590&nav=8faO
Oregon Zoo Hosts Annual Turkey Trot For Thanksgiving
Portland, Oregon - The Oregon Zoo invites runners and walkers of all ages to the annual Turkey Trot on Thursday, November 24. The Thanksgiving Day event, organized by the Oregon Road Runners Club (ORRC), includes a 4-mile run and fitness walk beginning at 8 a.m. and a 1-kilometer Tot Trot beginning at 9:30 a.m. A portion of the proceeds from the Turkey Trot will go to the Oregon Zoo to fund animal care and conservation programs.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=320539&cp=10997
Feeding the animals coming back to zoos
TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Zoos across the country are warming up to the idea of letting visitors feed the animals as a marketing and educational tool.
At Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla., visitors pay $2 to feed crackers to giraffes, the Dallas Morning News reports.
That's done from platform that puts the visitors at eye level with the giraffes.
Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury said it provides a great experience that gets kids up close to the tall animal, witness the 18-inch tongue and smell its breath.
Chuck Siegel, deputy director of animal management at the Dallas Zoo, would like to make it more educational.
That zoo is contemplating a change from the past where feeding an animal was prohibited.
He wants to incorporate it with a guided tour or class.
Animal feeding was once common in zoos but ended when biologists worried about the affect on animals' health.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051112-124850-7778r
Memphis Zoo looks to renegotiate panda contract
Nov 21, 2005, 05:29 PM EST
After three years, Le Le and YaYa are clearly comfortable in their home away from home at the Memphis Zoo, but keeping the Panda's at the zoo costs a lot of cash.
The Zoo pays the Chinese government $1.1 million a year to keep the pandas in Memphis. The price that does not include the cost of research and upkeep for the animals.
Memphis Zoo Director Chuck Brady told Action News 5 Monday the zoo is a non-profit organization, but they do have a bottom line.
http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=4150223
Zoo owner appeals to Senate for help
Published on Nov 21 , 2005
A zoo owner filed a complaint with the Senate yesterday, saying the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department still had in its possession a number of wild animals confiscated from his zoo two years ago, despite charges against him having been dropped.
The department yesterday countered it did not intend to prolong the case, but that it was still trying to determine the animals' ownership and therefore the legal process was not yet complete. Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo managing director Uthane Youngpraphakorn yesterday submitted an appeal and evidence to Senate tourism committee chair Suradech Yasawasdi in his latest attempt to retrieve the wild animals, including two orang-utans, seized in November 2003, when the zoo was raided and he was charged with illegal possession of wildlife.
http://202.60.196.117/breaking/read.php?lang=en&newsid=96122
Panda-Viewing Tickets Available Today
From Staff Reports
Monday, November 21, 2005; 9:07 AM
The public can begin signing up today for free, timed-entry tickets to see the National Zoo's giant panda cub.
Tai Shan will go on limited public view beginning Dec. 8. The tickets will be available online starting at 9 a.m. today. The Web site, run by Friends of the National Zoo, has detailed instructions on how to reserve and print the tickets. People who don't have access to the Internet can obtain tickets by calling the zoo between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. weekdays at 202-633-4486.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100372.html
Wildlife endangered
By HILARY CHIEW
Ever wondered how rare, endangered and totally protected animals, such as orang utans, tigers, elephants, gibbons, pangolins, slow lorises, cockatoos and macaws end up in theme parks and private zoos?
Well, there is this thing called Special Permit under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It basically grants permission to keep totally protected species and is designed to regulate the collection of both local and foreign species by private individuals, theme parks and zoos.
The Natural Resources and Environment Minister approves or rejects applications for the permits based on the advice of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general. The latter apparently does so through a Special Permit Committee filled up by divisional directors.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/11/22/lifefocus/12573232&sec=lifefocus
Shakeup at Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Board
November 21, 2005 - They've been at the center of a controversy at the Chaffee Zoo. Now, two members of the zoo board say they're resigning, with another saying he's not going anywhere.
The shakeup of Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Corporation board has begun. Two of the three zoo board members under fire announced their resignations on Monday.
Mike Woods and Dave Cowin say they will be leaving their positions on the zoo board after several calls for their resignation, including from Fresno County Supervisors. But, chairman Jay Weed says he's staying on.
Dave Cowin served as treasurer for the Chaffee Zoo Society. He has now resigned that position and will step down from the Zoo Corporation board of directors December 31st.
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3646602
Zoos join effort to keep avian flu under control
Chicago Tribune
Published Monday, November 14, 2005
CHICAGO - As the nation and the city try to gird for the possible invasion of a deadly and all but invisible avian flu, zoos nationwide are volunteering for duty as sentinels.
There are others keeping watch, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which monitors farm animals for the disease, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which looks at wildlife.
But the 210 accredited zoos in the United States are particularly useful because at least one is located near every major population center and they house diverse animal populations that are under close daily observation by keepers alert to abrupt health changes.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Nov/20051114News028.asp
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