Zoos
Zoo New England - "Get Close"
http://www.zoonewengland.org/
Clean Water at Risk
Published: June 20, 2006
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision on wetlands yesterday whose main virtue is that it could have been much worse. It sided with two developers who want to build on endangered wetlands, but the court's conservatives could not muster the fifth vote they needed for a very restricted view of the Clean Water Act. Still, the signs are ominous. Right now, Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote in the case, is all that appears to stand in the way of gutting critical environmental protections.
The court ruled on a case arising out of Michigan, where developers filled in wetlands without a permit. The issue is whether these particular wetlands — which are not directly adjacent to navigable waters, but are adjacent to tributaries to those waters — are protected by the Clean Water Act. The Army Corps of Engineers, the administrative body charged by Congress with making these decisions, ruled that they are.
Four justices — including Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, the two newest appointees — wanted to apply a dangerously difficult, and largely invented, test for what constitutes a wetland. The court's four most liberal members voted, rightly, to uphold the Army Corps' decision. Justice Kennedy sided with the conservatives on overturning the corps, but set out his own standard for which waters are covered. His test is a moderate one, and there is every reason to believe the corps will meet it when this case continues on remand.
Congress, though, should clear up any confusion by passing the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act. By doing so, it will reiterate that it wants extremely broad protection for the nation's waterways, and that it, not the judiciary, should decide which ones are protected.
For all the talk of liberal judicial activists, it was Justice Antonin Scalia and his fellow conservatives who voted to substitute their own preferences for a decision made by the executive branch, in the form of the Army Corps, interpreting a statute passed by Congress. It was the liberals who were "judicially modest," to use a favorite phrase of Chief Justice Roberts, deferring to the elected branches.
Justice Kennedy's role is especially notable. He wrote a careful opinion, much in the tradition of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that refused to go along with any large-scale assault on ecologically fragile lands. His opinion suggests that in this sharply divided court, at least in environmental law, the precarious center can hold.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/opinion/20Tues1.html
Dads can get in free at the zoo on Father's Day
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Zoo has a plan for dads on Father's Day.
Dads will get in free on Sunday, June 18, courtesy of Northwest Dodge Dealers.
To receive the free admission coupon for dad, stop by the Dodge gift cart near the zoo's entrance.
As part of the Dodge Zoo Adventure Tour, visitors can use an interactive map to guide them through the zoo to six displays that feature games, prizes, a treasure chest giveaway, and one of six animal-themed Dodge exhibits.
There will be face painting, coloring, a mini slot car track, animal pipe cleaner crafts and eShot photos for the kids.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Helpful Link:
Zoo's Web site
http://www.katu.com/stories/86872.html
Trumpeter swans hatched at zoo
SUAMICO — The NEW Zoo in Suamico has three new trumpeter swans as a part of Iowa's Trumpeter Swan Re-introduction Program.
The cygnets will stay at the zoo until September, when Iowa's Department of Natural Resources officials will come to release the birds back into the wild in Iowa.
The zoo participated in the program over the years with some of the first swans placed back into the wild coming from the NEW Zoo in the 1990s, zoo director Neil Anderson said.
The 4-year-old mother arrived in 2004 from the Akron Zoo in Ohio, and the 3-year-old father arrived in 2003 from Great Plains Zoo in South Dakota. The hatching was the first successful one from this pair.
Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl in North America, weighing in at 35 pounds with an 8-foot wingspan.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/GPG0101/606170490/1207/GPGnews
Stray Dogs Kill Animals at Local Zoo
June 17, 2006 07:58 AM EDT
A pair of stray dogs killed three animals at Lansing's Potter Park Zoo. Zoo officials say the dogs somehow got through a perimeter fence and killed three Patagonian Cavies. Those are large rodent-like animals from South America.
The zoo is working with the Lansing Police Department to track down the dogs. They believe they're some type of pit bulls. If you have any information, please contact the zoo at 517-702-4733.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5043504&nav=0RbQ
Dogs that mauled zoo animals captured
Midday update
By Kevin Grasha
Lansing State Journal
Ingham County Animal Control officials said today they have captured the two dogs that killed three animals at Potter Park Zoo last week.
"The dogs have been captured and are in Animal Control's possession," said Deputy Director Steve Hummel.
Late Thursday night, the dogs attacked and mauled three Patagonian cavies - large rabbit-like rodents native to South America - and injured a fourth. Officials don't know how the dogs entered the zoo.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060619/NEWS01/606190360/1001/news
What a Zoo!
June 17, 2006 - Breakfast at the zoo.
In this weeks what a zoo, Theresa Pollick takes you to Africa for a feast with the friends of the jungle.
Want to enjoy juice and coffee while on safari? Saturday mornings head to breakfast in Africa at the Toledo Zoo.
Marcel Hesseling, executive chef, says, "It's about having a good time and enjoying the animals in Africa. Breakfast consists of pancakes, eggs, potatoes, and cut fruit."
The scenery and sausage are a steal for just seven ninety-five for adults and four ninety-five for kids. Plus, heading to the zoo early guarantees a great parking spot.
"Our entrance at the Anthony Wayne Trail opens at 8:30. Breakfast starts at nine. Get in and park your car through 8:30 and nine or after that of course as well."
Breakfast in Africa comes at the perfect time of day. You can be sure that you'll beat the heat.
"Coming in the morning definitely helps with the heat. Cooling it down with some fresh cut fruits and the great huts we have around here."
Breakfast in Africa happens every Saturday at the Toledo Zoo until August 26.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=4279376
Zoo's Sumatran rhino pregnant
BY DAN SEWELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Emi is pregnant again, and that’s big news for conservationists from Cincinnati to Indonesia, not to mention her entire species.
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden announced today that the Sumatran rhino is 173 days into a 16-month pregnancy.
This pregnancy is going well, solidifying the belief that animal scientists and keepers at the zoo have developed a reliable way to breed Sumatran rhinos and adding hope to efforts to save the species in their native southeast Asian homelands of Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s believed fewer than 300 survive.
“We have a long, long way to go, but we do see some glimmers of hope,” said Terri Roth, who heads the zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife, which has relied on close monitoring of hormone levels, use of ultrasound, and years of patient observation and trial-and-error to learn how to successfully mate the Sumatran rhinos.
Emi is already the only one of the critically endangered mammals to give birth twice in captivity. Her first delivery, in 2001, was the first by a Sumatran rhino bred in captivity since the 19th century.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/NEWS01/306170007/1077
SF Zoo Officials Assure Visitors Birds on Exhibit are Healthy
San Francisco, Calif. (KCBS) -- Hit with the news about a bird disease, San Francisco Zoo officials say there is nothing wrong with their new high profile parakeet exhibit.
The new exhibit allows visitors to the zoo to feed a huge flock of parakeets. Five of the birds were known to have beak and feather disease before the exhibit opened earlier this month. KCBS reporter Bob Melrose says the disease is spread between birds and it can be fatal but it does not affect humans.
Robert Jenkins, the zoo's director of Animal Care and Conservation says he thinks the disease is not that serious and there are no plans to close the exhibit. "We would only do that if we actually saw a problem. There is no problem. We see no active disease at this time. There is no active disease at any time. These birds are also tested for a wide variety of diseases not unlike the issue we had with the penguins last year," he said.
Some bird lovers have expressed concerns the disease could spread but visitors have to wash their hands with a special foam before entering and leaving the exhibit.
http://kcbs.com/pages/47493.php?
Brown’s Zoo gets rare, white Siberian tiger
By LARRY ESKRIDGE/of the Daily Ledger
Published: Saturday, June 17, 2006 2:02 PM CDT
SMITHFIELD -- It is estimated that only 400 white Siberian tigers exist in the wild. It is further estimated that the species will become extinct in the next three years.
So where can a person go to see one?
How about Fulton County?
Recently, Nancy Brown of Brown's Oakridge Zoo heard from a facility closing in Kansas. Would she be interested in a 10 year-old male white Siberian tiger?
The answer, of course, was "Of course."
http://www.cantondailyledger.com/articles/2006/06/17/news/news01.txt
Seattle's Zoo: Free Bamboo
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Seattle has little to be proud of in its recent handling of one of its zoo's signature animals, Bamboo. The elephant deserves better.
So does the city. While Bamboo has suffered, city political leaders, with the singular exception of Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin, have acted largely as if basic decisions about humane treatment are somehow best left to experts. The ugly reality: Leaving it to experts avoids the risk of council members or Mayor Greg Nickels being tarred with some of the stain spread on a former council majority for a malaprop attempt to outlaw circus animal acts.
A lawsuit is not the vehicle we would have chosen to shake the political powers in Seattle from their see-no-suffering-animal denial. But the Northwest Animal Rights Network has filed suit, and it's the one organization willing to make a needed stink about Bamboo's marginalization by Woodland Park Zoo. The city ought to settle what could become an increasingly embarrassing suit by moving Bamboo from the zoo's acre enclosure to a 2,700-acre elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/274249_bambooed.asp?source=mypi
Burned zoo will be rebuilt
6/17/2006 2:45 PM
By: Jennifer Moxley, News 14 Carolina
SALISBURY -- The petting zoo at Dan Nicholas Park was destroyed by fire three months ago, and county leaders say they will be able to rebuild thanks to private donations and insurance money.
The fire, believed to be arson, broke out March 19 and killed more than 40 animals.
“Daily, I witness parents walking their children up to the barn, where the barn was,” said park employee Don Bringle. “Sometimes the child and the adult walk away with tears in their eyes.
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=121981
The Andrew Davidson Interview: Steel tycoon who stands by Britain
Lord Paul likes to mix business with politics while his Caparo industrial group expands. But he never forgets the daughter who brought him here
IF the past is a distant land, then Lord Paul travels back and forth all too frequently. Most weekends he can be found at London Zoo, near the statue of his daughter Ambika, who died of leukaemia at the age of four nearly 40 years ago.
Paul gave a donation of £1m to London Zoo in 1992 in memory of his daughter. It had been her favourite place. Back then, the money saved the zoo from closure.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2230517,00.html
Milwaukee zoo brings in crane to lift 46-year-old `Lucy'
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - Zookeepers are monitoring the health of Lucy the 46-year-old elephant after she went down and was unable to stand back up in her outdoor yard at Milwaukee County Zoo.
Workers called in a crane to lift the 9,000-pound animal Friday, using straps put around her body and legs.
A nearly two-hour effort got Lucy back on her feet, and she was led into her enclosure.
The zoo staff said they would closely monitor the animal before deciding if she can go back out in the yard.
Jennifer Diliberti, a zoo spokeswoman, said Lucy seemed to be doing well back in her enclosure and had been communicating with a younger elephant, Brittany, who had hovered protectively as Lucy was struggling to get up.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14844975.htm
Official: Milwaukee zoo's ailing elephant is improving
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - Lucy, the ailing 46-year-old elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo, is improving, an official said Monday.
The African elephant fell on Friday and had to be lifted back up with a crane.
She appeared well after that, eating a bit and drinking water, but refused food and drink starting Friday night, said Dr. Bruce Beehler, deputy zoo director for animal management and health, and acting curator of the zoo's pachyderm area.
She began eating again Sunday, he said.
"This is a trend in the positive direction but she's not out of the woods yet," he said Monday.
She could have suffered internal injures in the fall so they are closely monitoring her, he said.
She was still sore on her right side, where she fell, and she was having trouble sucking, Beehler said. It could be due to a swollen trunk or rib injuries, he said.
The public had been kept away from Lucy, who had been in her indoor area, since the fall. But that area was reopened Monday, said zoo spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti.
She could be let outside again by the end of the week, Beehler said.
The animal is believed to be the world's fourth-oldest African elephant in captivity.
The other African elephant at the zoo is Brittany, who is in her mid to late 20s, Diliberti said.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/14853898.htm
Fun at zoo marks 1st day of summer
Limbo and hula-hoop contests, sprinklers to play in and free paddleboat rides are part of the fun during the second annual 1st Day of Summer Celebration Wednesday at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden.
Hours will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Guests are encouarged to wear Hawaiian-print shirts and receive $1 off admission.
Hawaiian leis also will be sold in the Lion's Plaza.
At 12:45 p.m. there will be a celebrity paddleboat race, followed at 1:30 p.m. by a tortoise weigh-in.
Admission is $7 for adults and $6 for ages 3-12; Vanderburgh County residents get a $1 discount.
Also coming up at the zoo will be the Family Fun Walk on Saturday. Zoo visitors can stroll the zoo grounds from 9 a.m. to noon.
There will be various activities, healthy eating and lifestyle stations with free fruit and juice, exercise demonstrations by Bob's Gym and children's activities.
The zoo's entry gates close at 4 p.m.
For more information on either event, go to www.meskerparkzoo.com online.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/jun/18/fun-at-zoo-marks-1st-day-of-summer/
Zoo gala awash in a rosy glow
Scene & Heard
By Sloane Brown
Special to the Sun
Originally published June 18, 2006
Everything was in the pink at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore for Zoomerang 2006. Pink, as in this year's theme of pink flamingos. Pink, as in the bow tie on a penguin standing outside the zoo entrance. Pink, as in the suggested attire for the hundreds of human guests, as well. Gala co-chairs Sarah Davison and Joanna Golden set the tone in pink gowns, while co-chair Mark Davison sported a pink bow tie with his tuxedo.
Fenwick Financial president Ann Fenwick floated in on a cloud of blush chiffon.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/custom/modernlife/bal-ml.party18jun18,0,1748005.story?coll=bal-modernlife-headlines
5 zoo parakeets test positive for fatal disease
Associated Press
San Francisco The San Francisco Zoo knowingly imported parakeets with a contagious and often fatal bird disease for an exhibit encouraging human interaction, a zoo official said.
The disease cannot be transmitted to humans, but bird lovers are concerned that the virus - psittacine beak and feather disease - poses a threat to family pets.
At least five parakeets in the Binnowee Landing exhibit, where birds land on visitors in a walk-in aviary, have tested positive for the disease.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/NEWS/606170388/-1/State
Panda cub charms zoo visitors, teaches scientists
By SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Associated Press
In a cramped, dimly lighted room, three women stare at a bank of blinking video monitors. Each of the six screens shows, from a slightly different angle, a black-and-white ball of fluff: Tai Shan, the giant panda cub born last summer at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington.
Every two minutes, at the ring of a bell, the volunteer researchers write down what the cub is doing. Ding! Sleeping. Ding! A yawn. Ding! The right front paw twitches.
For the first two months of Tai Shan's life, Zoo staff and volunteers monitored him 24 hours a day. He is one of the most closely studied pandas in history.
He's also one of the capital's biggest celebrities. Last December, when the cub made his public debut, 13,000 free tickets to see him were snapped up online in two hours. Fans lined up in subfreezing temperatures before the ticket booth opened for a chance at the additional 60 tickets handed out each day.
http://www.theeagle.com/stories/061806/lifestyles_20060618058.php
Zoo appeals for elephant funding
June 19, 2006
SYDNEY'S Taronga Zoo is appealing for public donations to help fund the upkeep of five Asian elephants being imported from Thailand.
The elephants are still in Bangkok, where they have been in quarantine for 18 months, after protesters blocked their move to Australia on June 6.
No date has been confirmed for their flight, with Taronga Zoo spokesman Mark Williams quoted in News Limited newspapers today as saying the delay had cost the zoo money.
Taronga Zoo director Guy Cooper has sent 55,000 letters to friends of the zoo appealing for donations in exchange for photos and the chance to meet the pachyderms and their keepers.
The letters, which contain a brief history of each elephant plus pictures, seek $100 or more.
Those who donate $3,000 or more will get exclusive use of Stilt House, overlooking the $40-million elephant enclosure, for cocktail parties.
Eight elephants will be flown to the Cocos Islands, where they will spend three months in quarantine, before five take up residence in Sydney - four females and a male - and three in Melbourne Zoo.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19514540-1702,00.html
Hilton starts her own Neverland zoo
Socialite Paris Hilton is following in Michael Jackson's footsteps after creating a mini-Neverland menagerie of animals in her back garden.
The hotel heiress-turned-reality TV queen and pop star now has four Chihuahuas, two kittens, three ferrets and two monkeys all housed at her Hollywood home.
She says: "I have, like, huge enclosed cages all around in the backyard everywhere, so everyone has, like, their own space."
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=215080130&p=zy5x8x945&n=215081016&x=
Blind docent helps zoo visitors understand animals
By Alexa Hinton, ahinton@nashvillecitypaper.com
June 19, 2006
After working for the government for a number of years, retired IRS worker John Brown wanted to volunteer his time — stay useful and give back to the community.
But the 57-year-old is blind, and Brown said the search was futile: no one seemed to want him. Then he was accepted into the Nashville Zoo’s nine-week docent training program.
“It isn’t easy to find somebody who will give a person with a disability the chance to prove whether he can do something or not, so I was very thrilled when I found out that the zoo was willing to give me a shot at it,” Brown said.
Now the animal lover takes a day a week to answer questions, give presentations or cheer up a grumpy visitor — whatever it takes to make visitors’ trips to the animal kingdom memorable. And Brown just might have an edge on his seeing counterparts.
“Sometimes I might remember more than some of my coworkers because they have a cheat sheet there in front of them to verify something anytime they need,” Brown said. “I haven’t done that very much because with Braille, if you get hot and your fingers get sweaty outside, it damages the Braille, so I don’t carry much material that I’ve written out.”
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=12&screen=news&news_id=50499
Children take dad to the zoo
By Laura Rineer
lrineer@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON - Christine Wing has learned a lot from her dad over the years. "He's taught me not to worry so much about what other people think," she said. "To always try to do the right thing, and jump in with both feet."
Wing, of Bloomington, was eating a picnic lunch at Miller Park in honor of Father's Day with her parents, Joe and Pat Wing, of Avon, Ohio. The family had found a shady spot not far from the zoo's entrance, where they unpacked their lunch of turkey sandwiches, vegetables and watermelon.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/06/19/news/114872.txt
My visit to the zoo was disappointing
Monday, June 19th 2006
Dear Editor,
Last Saturday was my little daughter's birthday, I told my wife it would be good for us to take the kids to the zoo. For many years I haven't gone to the zoo.
We arrived at the zoo around 3pm.I was happy that the kids would be very excited. I was more than amazed that the cost for an adult to enter the zoo was $200.00 and $100.00 for a child. I find it very expensive for the poor and less fortunate who have a large family in the face of our deplorable economic circumstances.
When we entered the zoo I saw some parrots, a few eagles, some deer, a few snakes, one old lion, some old monkeys, three baboons, turtles, alligators and three little pumas and there was a stench.
Mr. Manzoor Nadir really needs to visit the zoo. We have some of the best wild life in the Caribbean, yet we have the worst zoo when I compare it with other countries. It's about time that our government improves the standard.
I noted with interest that lots of young lovers, also mature adults are kissing, romancing, and caressing in the zoo and the botanical garden.
The zoo is a place where most young children go for fun and it should not be a place where individuals behave like this.
It is my firm belief that the zoo should have security guards.
Yours faithfully,
Rev. Gideon Cecil
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_letters?id=56497625
Endangered monkeys stolen from zoo
(Filed: 19/06/2006)
Five endangered monkeys worth several hundred pounds each have been stolen from a zoo as they slept, possibly in response to an increasing demand for exotic pets.
Thieves smashed through fencing at Drusillas Zoo Park at Alfriston, East Sussex, and stole the marmosets from their nesting boxes, park officials said.
There was concern today that the primates - normally found in the South American rainforests - could have been stolen to order for illegal collectors of rare animals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/19/umonkeys.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/19/ixnews.html
Zoo to host horticulturists
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The Palm Beach Zoo will present an Insider's Look at Zoo Horticulture at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Tropics Café at the zoo, 1301 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach.
John Woodstock of John Woodstock Design will talk about "Landscape Design and the Environment;" Jeremy Green, formerly of Fairchild Tropical Gardens, will cover "Palm Identification;" and Geoff Coolidge of Cool Roses will tackle "Growing Roses in South Florida."
Admission is $12, and reservations are required. For more information, call 533-0887, Ext. 246.
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/briefzoo0618.html
A 'Model" for distributing Bird Flu Vaccine
Meningitis Shot Available At Detroit Zoo
Shot Protects Against Bacterial Meningitis
POSTED: 3:28 pm EDT June 19, 2006
The Detroit Zoo is teaming up with the Visiting Nurse Association, VNA, to offer shots in an effort to protect kids against bacterial meningitis.
The shots are recommended for children ages 11, 12 and 15 years old, as well as college freshman.
The vaccine is available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Detroit Zoo. It costs $105.
For more information about the Detroit Zoo and VNA event Click Here.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/9392938/detail.html
This was a surprise. Not that Kalamazoo is called K'Zoo. That is well known. But to realize an entire state in the USA suffers from worries regarding lead poisoning. Do all the other states share the same issue but don’t' explore the pervasiveness of it.
K'zoo testing kids for lead poisoning
Updated: June 19, 2006 09:45 PM EDT
KALAMAZOO -- Although lead was removed from paint in 1978, lead-based paint remains a health problem throughout the state. Monday afternoon, the health department was testing young children in a high-risk neighborhood.
The area around Florence and Woodbury on Kalamazoo's north side is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Many homes might have lead-based paint. The Kalamazoo County Health Department teamed with Bronson Hospital to check children exposed to lead-based paint. Bronson Hospital's Judy Klein said they will test anyone who is at risk, "and that could be a child as old as six."
Any home built before 1950 poses a higher risk, and in Kalamazoo, that's 40 percent of the homes. In houses last painted before 1978, there is still a danger. Young children living around lead-based paint run a higher risk of inhaling the chemical, which can lead to behavior problems, seizures and more. "It can lower a child's I.Q," said Child Health Coordinator Terry Blair. "It can cause learning disabilities. It can cause problems with speech and fine motor skills."
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5050990&nav=0Rce
Hey, everyone to their own, you know.
Paper maker adds new zoo poo to roo poo
Tuesday, 20/06/2006
After having worldwide success with a paper made from kangaroo poo, a company in north-western Tasmania has signed up with Sydney's Taronga Zoo to make use of its elephant waste.
Creative Paper will make a range of stationary, for sale in the zoo's gift shop.
The company's Joanna Gair says the first elephant dung delivery was in a fine paper-making state by the time it arrived in the post.
"It had been in transit for just over a week so it was fairly ripe by the time that we'd received it," she said.
"But oddly enough the more decomposed the dung is it's actually a little bit easier for paper making, so there's no problem as far as that's concerned and it goes through a very extensive and hygienic process where all the bacteria is boiled away, so what you're left with is a remarkably strong, good quality fibre that's really great to work with."
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1667250.htm
Zoo foundation welcomes new members
6/19/2006
The board of the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation welcomed its two newest board members, Jennefer White and Bruce Osborne, in the beginning of June.
For the past seven years, White has worked at Lost Coast Communications and is national sales manager for local radio stations KHUM-FM, KSLG-FM and KWPT-FM.
“I’m particularly interested in the educational programs the zoo has to offer, as well as using my communication skills to support fundraising and other outreach efforts,” White said.
Osborne is a retired high school history teacher and his wife, Rachel, is a retired English teacher and librarian who also spent a number of years in the software industry.
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation works to promote and stimulate interest in the zoo, support the development and operation of the zoo through fundraising and educate the public to better understand all animal life.
For more information, visit the foundation’s offices at 3414 W St. in Eureka, phone 707-442-6552 or e-mail info@sequoiaparkzoo.net.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=12285
Zoo levy gets spot on ballot
Voters to decide on renewal. County Council awards $6.7 million to Oriana
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
The Akron Zoo officially joined what could be an increasingly crowded November ballot.
Summit County Council agreed Monday to put a 0.8 mill renewal levy before voters that would raise $8 million a year for seven years.
Others expected to have their hands out will be the Summit County Children Services Board and Akron schools. Other levies may surface before the filing deadline in October.
As for the zoo, Vice President Linda Troutman said the continued tax money would be used to upgrade water and sewer systems and for a major expansion similar to the $8.6 million exhibit with leopards, jaguars and more that opened last year.
The new levy would pay for operations and capital projects, although she didn't know in what mix.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/14858923.htm
Save elephants from zoos
Typically, zoo elephants lead stoic lives marked by depression, foot rot, bone disease, obesity, and boredom.
June 19, 2006
These big animals need to range over large areas and interact with other elephants, writes David Hancocks.
Thirty years ago, at my desk one dreary morning, I listened to abuse from a mother demanding to know why I would deny her children the right to see an elephant. As the new director of the zoo in Seattle, Washington, one of my first recommendations had been to send our two elephants to a place with a warmer climate and more space.
In addition to calls from irate mothers, my proposal generated hate mail from schools. Journalists asked how we could be a zoo if we didn't have an elephant. A politician suggested that if I raised the topic again I would be the one leaving town, not the elephants.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/save-elephants-from-zoos/2006/06/18/1150569207616.html
Nagesh & Gauri: Zoo’s pride
HT Correspondent
Kanpur, June 18
KANPUR ZOO has been selected as one of the 10 participating zoos for breeding the Asiatic Lion. The selection was made, as it is one of the best lion-keeping centres. The Kanpur Zoo has the privilege of housing lions of all three breeds -- African, hybrid and Asiatic.
The other nine chosen zoos are Bhuvneshwar, Junagarh, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bhopal, Chennai, Mysore , Kolkata and Chandigarh, Zoo Director R Hemant Kumar said. He further said that the Gujarat Chief Wildlife Warden has been deputed as the Co-ordinator of Breeding of Asiatic Lion in zoos.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1722992,0015002500030000.htm
The shadow of giants
Bong Su, a 31-year-old Asian elephant at Melbourne Zoo. He has suffered from foot soreness, which some say is symptomatic of living in captivity.
Photo: John Woudstra
A plan by Melbourne Zoo to import Asian elephants has upset those who claim big animals don't belong in small spaces.
The hungry will eat a horse long before they tuck into an elephant. Which is probably why the world's largest herbivore is still living rather than keeping company with the woolly mammoth.
But poor African nations will happily sell an elephant to anybody. In Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, officials claim a surplus 60,000 elephants can no longer be sustained in their national parks and are offering them for sale to farmers and private reserves at £1000 ($A2500) a jumbo.
The going rate for hunter-tourists to join the not-quite-official cull is £4000 a pop, according to a report in The Times.
Visitors to "Zoo Admin" - an internet site where exotic animals are valued for their popularity - rate the African elephant second to the giant panda.
Zoo Admin values the African elephant at $US20,000 ($A27,000) against pandas at $US50,000. The Asian elephant earns only $US15,000.
"Although scarce, the Asian elephants don't attract many guests, unlike their African counterparts," the site reports.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/the-shadow-of-giants/2006/06/17/1149964782893.html
Zoo plan would bring visitors closer to animals
William Hermann
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 7, 2006 12:00 AM
Ashley Ritterby and her children, Camdon, 6, and Miaya, 4, stood in the leafy midst of the Phoenix Zoo's new Monkey Village and stared at a little squirrel monkey gazing back at them from a tree limb a mere 2 feet away.
The children laughed, smiled and hugged themselves with pleasure.
"Oooh, he's licking his hand!" Miaya said.
"Look, he's just right here, right with us!" Camdon said, with a little gasp.
That's exactly the reaction zoo officials want when visitors reach every corner of the zoo. And to get it, they plan to tear down the old zoo and build a new one with elaborate exhibits that will engender the same sense of wonder that Monkey Village now is giving to thousands of visitors each week.
The goal is twofold. Not only do officials want to design better, more interactive exhibits, they also want to condense them so they're more accessible, which in turn keeps visitors engaged and coming back. Currently, visitors need to walk 2.5 miles to see the major exhibits. The new zoo will cut that walk to about a mile.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0607zoorenew0607.html
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