Frank Batten Sr. to donate $7 million to Virginia Zoo
By DEBBIE MESSINA, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 3, 2006
NORFOLK — Frank Batten Sr., a media executive and philanthropist, has donated $7 million to the Virginia Zoo, the largest single gift to a municipal
project in the city’s history.
The $7 million grant will be combined with $6.2 million from the city and an additional $1 million in private donations to help finance the first phase of the zoo’s new master plan, which would bring tapirs, lemurs and gibbons to Norfolk.
The Virginia Zoological Society is working to raise $3.8 million more to bring the total to $18 million .
Announcing the gift Thursday , Mayor Paul Fraim said Batten’s donation “clearly validates the zoo’s commitment to excellence” and should spur more donations.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=99013&ran=61791
Punxsutawney Phil over the last 119 years has seen his shadow 96 times and missed it 14 times. There are no records for 9 years.
http://usatoday.feedroom.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=b76f413e9:1092e9cb743:426f&st=1138953721752&mp=FLV&cpf=false&fr=020306_030200_76f413e9x1092e9cb743x4270&rdm=70652.0702766546
Tulsa Zoo Prairie Dogs Agree With Punxsutawney Phil
Thursday was Groundhog Day. The day when we throw scientific weather forecasting out the window and leave the prognostication to a sleeping groundhog in Pennsylvania.
Not to be outdone, Tulsa has is own fury-some forecasters out at the Tulsa Zoo. News on 6 reporter Rick Wells checked in with them and says those guys in the Punxsutawney groundhog club really get stirred up about this.
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=98159
Hogle Zoo Animals Have Their Say of Weather for Groundhog Day
Dina Freedman Reporting
It's Groundhog Day where "rascally rodents" in several US cities search for their shadows to predict whether winter is in its waning days or not. For the 7th straight year, the granddaddy of them all, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow. Winter's with us, he says, till mid-March.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=158331
PETA seeks sanctuary for US National Zoo elephants
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An animal rights group on Thursday appealed to the U.S. National Zoo in Washington to send its three remaining Asian elephants to an animal sanctuary and close its elephant exhibit.
The appeal came a day after the zoo put down an arthritic Asian elephant who was said to have been in worsening pain. The elephant named Toni was 40. Elephants can live to be 60 or older.
"Toni was clearly in bad shape and had been suffering for a long time. If she had been sent to a sanctuary years ago, her quality of life and health would have vastly improved," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said in a letter to the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo.
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-01-27T012404Z_01_N26270849_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-ELEPHANT-PETA.xml
Out and about at the zoo
RYAN HAWK
An elephant at the Woodland Park Zoo paints part of a limited series of paintings using Seahawks colors.
Got any plans for Sunday afternoon? Most of us will be mesmerized, and hopefully thrilled, at home, at a party or a favorite sports pub watching our hometown Seahawks play in their first-ever Super Bowl. Fair-weather fans and newbies are welcome to join in on the fun; just cheer along when everyone else does, and, if football totally mystifies you, the halftime show with the Rolling Stones is bound to be entertaining.
If you can't work up any interest at all in the game, it's a great day to get out and about. Think of all the local museums, malls and movie theaters that will be a lot quieter than usual this Sunday. Choice parking spots, short or nonexistent lines and peace and quiet most likely await you in nearly any place without a TV.
Woodland Park Zoo is a great place to get away from football mania. The zoo provides mostly covered and indoor zoo attractions, but if you think you've found a haven from Super Bowl hoopla, you're in for a surprise. Not only is the zoo sporting a 100-foot tall "12th Man" banner in the North Meadow, some of the Seahawks' biggest fans are zoo residents.
The zoo's elephants have taken paintbrush in trunk to create a limited series of paintings using Seahawks colors to commemorate Super Bowl XL on 11-by-14-inch and 10-by-20-inch canvases. One of the paintings will be presented to the Hawks after the Super Bowl, and the others will be on sale on eBay and at the ZooStore, with proceeds to benefit the zoo's animal care, conservation and education programs. For more information, call 206-684-4800 or see www.zoo.org.
Other activities around town this weekend include the opening celebration of the "Toi Maori" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Tet Festival at Seattle Center, both on Saturday and Sunday.
Personally, I'm with the elephants — go Seahawks!
— Madeline McKenzie, Seattle Times staff
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/traveloutdoors/2002776564_nwwfastbreak02.html
Zoo hails its best January
Feb 2 2006
Daily Post
CHESTER Zoo has had it busiest January ever in records going back 70 years.
More than 30,000 people visited the zoo during what is normally one of the quieter months of the year.
A combination of fine winter weather and competitive prices has helped the Zoo achieve these record figures.
Chester Zoo's Marketing Manager Sharon Leeson said the zoo is a "year-round attraction" and the recently introduced off-peak admission rate had proved popular.
She said: "The winter visit to the zoo is a lovely one and an ideal opportunity to wrap up warm and get lots of fresh air and exercise. It is also a fantastic opportunity to get closer to the animals and go home having learnt something new."
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16656174&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=zoo-hails-its-best-january-name_page.html
Rhinoceros calf born at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park makes debut
By: North County Times wire services
ESCONDIDO -- A critically endangered Indian rhinoceros calf born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in Escondido made her public debut Thursday.
The baby rhino, named Lali, which means "darling girl" in Hindi, was born Dec. 3 to a first-time mother, Gari.
The pair spent eight weeks in private quarters to allow them to bond before keepers introduced the calf to the park's 15 other Indian rhinoceros, the largest population of the species in the nation.
Lali, the 50th Indian rhinoceros born at the Wild Animal Park since 1978, weighs about 180 pounds, but will grow to as much as 5,000 pounds when she is an adult, park officials said.
The cub's sire has fathered a dozen calves at the 1,800-acre park.
Once widespread throughout Southeast Asia, Indian rhinoceroses are endangered and now found only in India and Nepal.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/27/news/sandiego/16_14_281_26_06.txt
Zoo workers watch over pregnant gorilla
By BILL RADFORD THE GAZETTE
Like any expectant mom, Kwisha will need some things when her little bundle of joy arrives.
You know, the usual. Baby wipes and diapers for baby. Dried fruits, unsalted nuts, burlap and sidewalk chalk for mom.
Kwisha, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, is expected to give birth in the next six weeks or so. The zoo is holding a baby shower for her Saturday and is accepting donations, with a list of gift suggestions posted online at www.cmzoo.org.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, one of a few accredited zoos in the nation that operate without local tax support, relies on admissions, membership dues, grants and donations for funding.
The proud papa is Rafiki, 21, who arrived at the zoo last March to breed with the zoo’s female gorillas. The last gorilla birth at the zoo was on New Year’s Eve 1996.
An ultrasound during a checkup last fall revealed Kwisha’s pregnancy, which was confirmed by a pregnancy test. A gorilla’s gestation period is about nine months, the same as a human’s.
Dina Bredahl, area supervisor for primates at the zoo, said Kwisha is normally lean, with nothing like the “gigantic belly” she has now.
“At night, she seems a little bit uncomfortable,” Bredahl said. “She’s tossing and turning a lot.”
Volunteers are maintaining a round-the-clock baby watch, using remote television monitors trained on the most likely spots for Kwisha to have her baby, such as an inside ledge where the female gorillas usually sleep.
Bredahl figures there’s about a 50-50 chance Kwisha will care for her baby on her own. She didn’t have the best role model: Her mom at the Cincinnati Zoo abandoned Kwisha when she was 3 months old. After that, Kwisha was raised by humans and a Barney doll.
If Kwisha abandons her baby, zookeepers will be ready to intervene. The bestcase scenario? “She takes care of the baby, she figures out how to nurse in the first couple of days, and she ends up being a great mom,” Bredahl said.
And what does a gorilla do with burlap and sidewalk chalk? Sean Anglum, the public relations manager for the zoo, said the burlap serves many purposes, including nesting material. As for the chalk, even a busy mother gorilla has a need to express her artistic side.
YOU’RE INVITED . . .
The baby shower for Kwisha the gorilla will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Primate World exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Space is limited; call 633-9925, ext. 111, to register.
Visitors to the zoo also can drop off gifts at the Primate World building from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. any day at the zoo’s admission gate. Or mail to: Gorilla Baby Shower, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80906. Needed items are listed at www.cmzoo.org. Topping the list are Target, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart gift cards, which will be used to buy formula, diapers and other supplies.
Zoo admission is $12 for ages 12 to 64; $10 for seniors; $6, children 3 to 11; and free for children under 3.
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1314072&secid=1
Future of the Zoo
Des Moines, January 26, 2006 - The Des Moines Blank Park Zoo will celebrate it's 40th anniversary this spring and on Thursday night, board members voted to make the current zoo a whole lot bigger. Board members say the zoo's current location doesn't leave room for expansion, but an area just to the East would allow the zoo to grow. This is much more than just a bigger zoo. Imagine an African safari experience on the south side of Des Moines. It's a real possibility, after the Blank Park Zoo board decided to vote big.
http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4417547&nav=2HAB
Elephant rescued from Ghaziabad sent to Delhi Zoo
New Delhi, January 26: AN ELEPHANT ,allegedly being mistreated by its mahout, was rescued by a local NGO in Ghaziabad today.
The police said activists from People For Animals caught the mahout beating the elephant on its head with an iron-spike in Ghaziabad.
PFA activists took the animal to a nearby police station. the mahout was not able to produce any licence for the animal, the police said. keeping an elephant without a licence is a punishable offence. The elephant is a Schedule I animal and only a few are legally allowed to be kept in captivity.
The animal was later handed over to the Forest Department, who took it to the Delhi Zoo. Zoo officials were not available to comment on the condition of the elephant.
A PFA spokesperson, however, said the animal had been found in a malnourished state. ‘‘It was dehydrated, and also had injuries on its feet,” he said.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167259
The Museums, Zoos and Parks Industry is Highly Labor-Intensive with Average Annual Revenue per Employee at about $70,000
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2006--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31761) has announced the addition of Museums, Zoos, and Parks - Industry Profile to their offering.
The Museums, Zoos, and Parks industry includes about 4,000 museums, 500 zoos and 500 nature parks, with combined annual revenue close to $9 billion; national parks and museums are not included. Large institutions with more than $100 million of annual revenue include the San Diego Zoo, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Museums account for about 70 percent of industry revenue, zoos for 20 percent. Most museums, zoos and parks are non-profit institutions. The industry is fragmented, because most institutions operate a single facility.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060127005193&newsLang=en
AZA Elephant Care and Conservation Speak Louder than Extremist Hype
To: National Desk, Environment Reporter
Contact: Jane Ballentine of American Zoo and Aquarium Association, 301-562-0777, ext. 252
SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Citizen Petition filed today with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by an animal rights group is yet another transparent attempt to generate controversy where there is none, said the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
These extremists have targeted elephants as the first, but not the last, species they want to ban from zoos. In fact, they have plainly stated that their goal is to close all zoos.
"Elephant care in AZA-accredited zoos is based upon advanced science and husbandry knowledge, plus an unparalleled commitment to providing the best care for the animals," said Kristin L. Vehrs, AZA's interim executive director. "While animal rights extremists have launched an orchestrated public campaign using distorted information to serve their own agenda, AZA elephant experts have continued to use science, research and their years of direct animal care expertise to continually improve elephant care and conservation, both in zoos and in the wild."
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=60449
Swiss zoo animals live the good life
Pampered zoo animals in the Swiss city of Zurich gobbled up 500 tonnes of fresh food prepared by a dedicated gourmet chef last year, including 21 tonnes of meat, 714 garlic bulbs and 11 135 kiwi fruit.
More traditional dishes were also on offer for the 4 000 animals, including about 155 tonnes of hay, nearly four tonnes of leeks and more than 30 tonnes of apples or carrots, zoo management said in a press release on Monday.
The Zurich menagerie displayed a definite sweet tooth, licking up 145 litres of maple and raspberry sirup, and 250 kilo-pots of honey.
About 6 000 tea bags helped with digestion and 20kg of popcorn filled the gaps.
The chief glutton of 2005 was Maxi the male elephant, who ploughed through 150kg of food a day.
At the other end of the animal kingdom, a small South American frog -- Dendrobates reticulatus est -- snapped up just two or three vinegar flies a day.
However, that serving was not as elaborate as other delicacies conjured up by zoo chef Andre Schatz and his team, which were then strategically placed to give animals the task of finding their meal.
The spectacled bears had to climb a tree to find their raspberry syrup, and Zurich's elephants were obliged to crack open their coconuts with their feet, so they did not lose some of their natural instincts.
The zoo's solitary anteater did not get its ants on a plate, but instead spent several hours a day licking its way to them through a hollow tree trunk.
Zoo authorities said they will ensure that their animals have a balanced cuisine but they will be put on a diet if they overindulge in the gourmet goods. -- AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/other_news/&articleid=262758
Seahawks mania at the zoo
Woodland Park Zoo has jumped into Seahawks mania.
In a salute to the hometown team's berth in the Super Bowl and the "12th Man" madness, the zoo has painted a 100-foot-tall "#12" that spans its North Meadow, at the north end of the zoo, off North 59th Street and Phinney Avenue North.
Some of the zoo's facilities-and-exhibits crew worked in the rain Thursday to complete the full-day painting project.
"We wanted to get into the spirit of celebrating their victory to the Super Bowl and let them know all their fans at the zoo are behind them," said zoo President Deborah Jensen.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002770871_here30m.html
Critically Ill Amur Leopard Condition Worsens At Oregon Zoo, Vets Decide To Euthanize
PORTLAND, Oregon - Recently, Oregon Zoo veterinarians euthanized Andrea, the female Amur leopard, who was suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer. Her vets and zookeepers were by her side when she died. The staff is deeply saddened by her passing.
http://www.whitecitynews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=327287&cp=11038
Hedgehog Day Is Coming To The Oregon Zoo February 2
PORTLAND, Oregon - Pennsylvania's "Punxsutawney Phil" and Canada's "Wiarton Willie" may be better known, but at the Oregon Zoo, it's the hedgehog that predicts a prolonged winter or an early spring.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=327288&cp=10997
Interim zoo director announced
Updated: 1/30/2006 5:09 PM
By: News 10 Now Staff
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo announces a new interim director.
Chuck Doyle will take over for Dr. Anne Baker. Doyle is the Zoo's General Curator and has been with Rosamond for the past 28 years.
Dr. Baker is leaving the zoo to take over as director of the Toledo Zoo.
She starts her new position in April.
The search to find a replacement for Baker is expected to begin in the coming days.
http://news10now.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=58503
Zoo turning into a park of continental proportions
On this weekday morning, crisp and sunny, the sky pure blue, the giraffes, remarkably graceful, meander over to snack from a basket perched high on the fence of their enclosure.
Lemurs break the peace with a screeching argument that reverberates around the neighborhood, from the rhinos slumbering in the mud at the far reaches of the African Rainforest to the orangutans plotting their next bit of mischief in the rocky home that they continually dismantle.
After a couple of tough years of steeply declining attendance, after the massacre of all but one of the flamingo population by stray dogs, after the tree damage from Hurricane Katrina, a hint of spring - of rebirth and hope - suffuses the air.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/COL0202/601290369/1023/FEAT05
Ex-zoo vet's sister named to panel
New watchdog group to review data surrounding upcoming levies
By TAD VEZNER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A newly formed group demanding more details of efforts to fix problems at the Toledo Zoo has appointed the sister of the zoo's former veterinarian as one of its spokesmen.
Debra Reichard Klein, the sister of Dr. Tim Reichard, who was fired in February as the zoo's chief veterinarian, is a spokesman of Citizens for a Responsible Zoo, a group of about 10 local citizens and zoo volunteers formed in December.
Dr. Reichard's firing triggered a controversy that, in turn, sparked the creation of a Lucas County task force to examine zoo operations.
The task force issued a report in July with 123 recommendations for change.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/NEWS38/601270342/-1/NEWS
Oakland Zoo Seeks Giant Pandas
Oakland zoo optimistic about geting panda bear pair from China
Sitting up on round, rotund haunches, and legs straight out in front, looking so cuddly and innocent, Bai Yun and Shi Shi nonchalantly munch on long stalks of bamboo as if nothing else could possibly matter. They do not seem to be aware that perhaps millions of viewers worldwide can only see them by watching them via the Internet on Panda-cam, transmitting from two participating zoos in America. But soon, Bay Area residents may be able to see them in the flesh.
The Oakland City Zoo in California is optimistic about being the place that will receive a pair of giant pandas from China for research and display this year. Although a study developed by the Hausrath Economics Group proves that the gift makes great economic sense concerning zoo attendance, the transaction between the Beijing Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and the Oakland Zoo is not yet a done deal.
The local zoo's Panda Project, with the help of the Oakland China Wildlife Preservation Foundation, has raised a lot of local support from financers and businesses. Time and materials, and even designs for the panda exhibit, are being enthusiastically donated and put into place. Oakland City Councilmember Henry Chang (At-Large) stated in an Inside Bay Area news article that about $1.2 million will be raised for the project.
Willie Yee, Chang's chief of staff, said that, "By the fall of this year, Oakland Zoo in Knowland Park will be all ready for the bears to come." Only four other U.S. zoos have pairs of giant pandas—San Diego, Memphis, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.
Giant pandas are among the rarest mammals in the world. They are endangered animals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Flora and Fauna. The giant panda is considered in danger of extinction throughout a significant portion of its range of habitat. This protection also prohibits giant pandas from being imported into the U.S. except under certain conditions. Since 1987, China has imposed the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a giant panda.
Of the roughly 1,600 remaining pandas in the world, more than 140 pandas live in captivity with 80 percent living in 6 small fragments of forest within a small isolated area in the southwestern province of Sichuan, China. These forests have lost more than half of the natural vegetation and no longer provide suitable habitat for the pandas.
Spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo, Yadira Galindo, explained that all zoos receiving pandas have two stipulations for the gift. "To receive pandas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must first allow the loan from China, and secondly, an ongoing research project agreement between the zoo and China has to be in place before receiving them," she said.
With four pandas, the San Diego Zoo has the largest population of giant pandas outside of Mainland China. In an effort to lessen the decline of wild populations, the Zoo, working with the World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, and the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, contributes more than $1 million each year to China. Part of this money is designated for projects of wild habitat protection.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-1-28/37471.html
Zoo Director Hiring Process Moving Forward
January 28, 2006 - Officials at Fresno's Chaffee Zoo are narrowing down the list of candidates for a new zoo director.
The third of four candidates was at the zoo Friday meeting with staff members and the zoo corporation board.
In addition to finding a new director, the zoo board will also be replacing three former board members. So far, 35 Fresno County residents have applied for the openings.
"I feel very hopeful," said board secretary Cheryl Assemi. "We've got excellent candidates; we have got a lot of community interest in the board. We have a lot of good people to choose from. I'm feeling very good."
A fourth zoo director candidate will be visiting the zoo later this month. A decision on a finalist and the zoo board openings is expected to be made in February.
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3854666
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