Zoos
The transmigration of Temara the orangutan
A claimed world first in species survival programs is about to be tested in Indonesia. Contributor Duncan Graham reports from Perth, Australia:
"Temara has always been something of a bad seed. Moody and temperamental, she is prone to fits of jealousy ...That's according to Leif Cocks, an Australian who's known the testy teenager all her life.
Others, like her close friend Kylie Bullo offer a more generous assessment: "Temara is feisty and intelligent. She's going through puberty and pushing the boundaries. A bit stubborn and wary of people."
Sounds like someone you know? If so, they're not qualities that endear or augur well for a loving relationship.
But in this case they're the characteristics which may well keep Temara alive when she moves from Australia to Indonesia, probably within the next two months.
Temara is set to become the first zoo-born Sumatran orangutan to be released into the wild in a bid to refresh the gene pool. The species - one of our closest biological relatives - is teetering on the edge of extinction.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20060829.V01&irec=0
Endangered animals arrive at zoo
A zoo in Pembrokeshire has become home to a pair of Madagascan fossa - said to be a "critically endangered" species.
Fossa, carnivores which resemble a cross between a dog and a cat, are found in rainforests on the island of Madagascar off east Africa.
There are believed to be only about 2,000 fossa left in the wild due to loss of their habitat.
The pair, named Aya and Orana - "Rain" and "Forest" in Malagasy - are being housed in a purpose-built enclosure.
Fossa are a member of the civet family, and are closely related to mongoose.
They have cat-like heads with large eyes, short muzzles and large rounded ears, and lithe bodies with long tails.
Their coat is short and reddish-brown all over. They have retractile claws, for climbing and grabbing their prey, and webbed feet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/5292752.stm
Cows 'moo with an accent'
7.20am Thursday August 24, 2006
Members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group has noted accent shifts in Somerset cows, the Midlands, Essex, Norfolk and Lancashire.
John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London, said: "This phenomena is well attested in birds. You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the country."
Dr Jeanine Treffers-Daller, reader in linguistics at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said the accent may be learned from relatives.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10397769
Promiscuous possums embrace the married life
Wednesday August 23, 2006
By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - Something strange is happening in Australia's gum forests.
Where once they lived a life of unashamed promiscuity, a community of mountain brushtail possums has now settled to strictly monogamous married life.
It is as though marsupial Calvinists have come calling.
Yet down the road the old life continues, with males rampantly mating with as many females as possible and no thoughts - on either side - of ever settling down.
Melbourne University zoologist Dr Jenny Martin found the moral divide by chance during PhD studies in northeast Victoria, comparing one site that had been selectively logged with another nearby that had never felt axe or chainsaw.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10397714
Chicago's wild foie gras chase
Mayor Daley calls the ban the `silliest' law. Restaurants across town serve up the delicacy in defiance. Now the question is whether city officials will actually try to enforce the new law.
By Josh Noel, Brendan McCarthy and James Janega, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Michael Higgins, Gerry Doyle and Mickey Ciokajlo contributed to this report
Published August 23, 2006
Foie gras appeared on pizza on Archer Avenue Tuesday, complemented cornbread and catfish at a South Side soul food place, and was stacked on sausages like pats of butter at a gourmet hot dog joint on the North Side.
Chicago's immediate reaction to a city ordinance banning foie gras--the French dish made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese--was to embrace the gray goo like never before, in flights of culinary imagination.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0608230150aug23,1,4673467.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Fish that lifted hopes of cancer kids dies
By William Mullen
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 24, 2006
Bubba, a huge, personable fish who three years ago became a hero to cancer patients after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to get rid of a malignant tumor, died Tuesday at Shedd Aquarium.
The 154-pound Queensland grouper, estimated to be about 24 years old, had an odd and extraordinary life that many--including children suffering from cancer--have found inspiring.
Bubba showed up at the Shedd in 1987 as an abandoned pet that someone left in a bucket on the aquarium's doorstep. At the time, Bubba was female. Groupers and some other fish may change gender as they mature based on social influences and other factors, and in the mid-1990s, as Bubba grew to become one of the biggest fish at the Shedd, he made the transition from female to male.
"He was a good guy," an obviously disheartened George Parsons said Wednesday of Bubba's death. Now the director of the Shedd's fish department, Parsons, 44, was a volunteer at the aquarium when Bubba arrived.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0608240175aug24,1,277963.story?coll=chi-news-hed&?track=sto-topstory
Thumbs up for surviving monkey
August 25, 2006 - 3:22PM
Rare newborn albino pygmy marmoset monkeys perch on a zookeeper's fingers at Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden.
Photo: HO
One of them made it, but the other sadly didn't.
A very rare pair of tiny twin pygmy marmosets were born this week at the Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden.
They are the world's smallest monkey, growing to just 35cm and weighing in at aroud 100 grams.
"We were so sorry when the twin died," zoo owner Ake Netterstrom was reported as saying in London's Daily Mail. "We put in all available resources to save him but that did not help.
"It was very sad but it is likely he had a lower immune defence because he was albino.
"We don't have time to mourn him as we have to focus on saving the other one."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/thumbs-up-for-tiny-twin/2006/08/25/1156012726424.html
Sleek? Well, No. Complex? Yes, Indeed.
By ERICA GOODE
It is a good thing the manatee has thick skin.
To the dolphins, the whales, the sea otters go the admiring oohs and ahs, the cries of, “How sleek!” “How beautiful!”
The manatee, sluggish, squinty-eyed and bewhiskered, is more likely to have its rotund bulk compared to “a sweet potato,” its homely, almost fetal looks deemed “prehistoric” — terms applied by startled New Yorkers this month to a Florida manatee that made an unexpected appearance in the Hudson River.
Cleverness is unhesitatingly ascribed to the dolphin. But the manatee is not seen leaping through hoops or performing somersaults on command, and even scientists have suspected it may not be the smartest mammal in the sea. Writing in 1902, a British anatomist, Grafton Elliot Smith, groused that manatee brains — tiny in proportion to the animals’ bodies and smooth as a baby’s cheek — resembled “the brains of idiots.”
Yet the conception of the simple sea cow is being turned on its head by the recent work of Roger L. Reep, a neuroscientist at the University of Florida at Gainesville, and a small group of other manatee researchers, including Gordon B. Bauer, a professor of psychology at New College of Florida, and David Mann, a biologist at the University of South Florida.
In studies over the last decade, they have shown that the endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is as unusual in its physiology, sensory capabilities and brain organization as in its external appearance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/science/29mana.html?ex=1157428800&en=7f1cec963a6ab354&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Kentucky crash hits horse industry
By Charles Sheehan
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 28, 2006, 10:18 PM CDT
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- When Comair Flight 5191 smashed into a hilltop, nearly everyone in this town of horse trainers, breeders and owners asked themselves, "which one of my friends was on that plane."
They did not have to wait for official news in the Horse Capital of the World. The word spread quickly over the broad fields hemmed in by dark fences.
"Lexington is the absolute epicenter of the thoroughbred industry, not just in the United States, but globally," said D.G. Van Clief Jr., chairman emeritus of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders Cup Limited, both based in Lexington. "Everybody in this industry has been on that 6 a.m. flight, and if you didn't know someone on that flight, you know someone who did."
George Brunacini, owner of Bona Terra Farm just outside Lexington; Dan Mallory, a local thoroughbred breeder and consignor; and Jeff Williams of Lexington, who other horsemen said "never met a horse too tough to ride," died Sunday morning.
A steady stream of fellow horsemen arrived Monday at Bona Terra Farm, where Brunacini raised and trained about 50 thoroughbred horses on 200 acres of rolling hills.
The horses "are our babies, and it hurt George when he had to leave and it hurt us both when we sent our horses elsewhere," said Emilie Fojan, Brunacini's partner who met him at a horse auction and fell in love. "This is our heaven."
The thoroughbread racing community of Lexington features fierce competitors who share an intense bond in the love of the sport and close to 200 years of tradition in Kentucky.
"It's a fascinating dynamic because it is a global industry and it doesn't get much more competitive anywhere, but it also doesn't get much more close-knit," said Van Clief. "At one time or another, anyone who races comes to Lexington, and these people were known in other circuits as well. Everyone I've spoken with knew one of those guys."
Jeff Williams, the sure-handed trainer who was raised among horses, followed the racing circuit from Kentucky to Ohio, to Florida and back.
Childhood friend Larry Denny said there was never a doubt that Williams was born a horseman.
"People say he could ride anything with hair on it," said Denny, a Dayton, Ohio, attorney and horse owner who hired his friend occasionally as a trainer. "You'd give him a tough horse and he'd stick on it, but he was never abusive. He was kind and he was talented."
Van Clief knew Dan Mallory, who often brought his horses to auction at the Keeneland Race Course, several hundred yards from the crash site.
"We all knew Dan through the marketplace, and that is how it is with horse racing," Van Clief said. "This is going to have an impact and it's left a huge hole."
But the Lexington area, with about 260,000 people, is small enough that whether you are one of the estimated 50,000 people in the industry or not, there was a good chance there was a connection to someone who perished on Flight 5191.
Keith Chamblin, senior vice president for the NTRA and Breeder's Cup, said the parents of his neighbors were aboard the plane.
Police officer Bryan Jared, who reached into the burning wreckage to pull out the flight's only survivor, would not say if he knew anyone on the plane.
He said he is still wrestling with what he saw and knows most of the people aboard were from Lexington.
"We see the worst of the worst in people and we see the best of the best in people," Jared said Sunday. "There is nothing that can prepare you for this."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-060828victims,1,3233066.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Pretoria Zoo to adopt breeding plan
Stuart Graham
August 21 2006 at 09:35AM
Creatures from as far away as Sri Lanka and the Amazon jungle have been bred by the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, but the Pretoria Zoo, as it is popularly known, is set to phase out its exotic animals project as it embarks on an affirmative action breeding campaign.
The executive director of the zoo, Willie Labuschagne, says the aim is to have 80 percent of the animals at the zoo African and 20 percent exotic.
"Most of the exotic animals will gradually be grandfathered in favour of African creatures," he says.
Many of the zoo's 126 species of mammals, 158 bird species, 283 fish, 21 invertebrates, 90 reptiles and four amphibians are exotic.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=143&art_id=vn20060820233050502C739863
The zoo plane
Dogs, cats, snakes, even vultures travel by air. (But they can't take a carrion)
Monday, August 21, 2006
BY KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Star-Ledger Staff
IN answer to your question:
No, venomous snakes are not allowed on airplanes.
Everything else -- from lemurs to lizards to lion cubs -- may be traveling in the belly of your next flight.
What, you thought they drove?
While the Burmese python with all that screen time in the new film "Snakes on a Plane" would get turned back at the gate, non-venomous snakes can and do travel by air. In fact, as cold-blooded animals who readily adapt to temperature shifts, they make great passengers.
Critters in cargo have become more commonplace as airlines, in response to new government rules, have made animal travel safer and more predictable. Joining the traditional shippers -- zoos, breeders, and researchers -- are regular folks who simply want to take their pets along.
"It's an evolution of our society, with pets becoming part of the family. People hate to leave them behind," said Lisa Schoppa, manager of QUICKPAK product development for Continental Airlines, one of the busiest shippers of animals.
A seeing-eye miniature horse once flew first class with its owner on their way to an appearance on "Oprah," said American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner. Just recently, a penguin flew from the Fort Worth Zoo to the Little Rock Zoo. "The penguin actually marched on board," he said.
Calling him "my four-legged baby, " Maria Torres greeted Simba, the family pug, after he arrived in Newark from Tampa earlier this month. The Torres family, from Brooklyn, had spent six months in Florida and couldn't bear to be separated from him.
Pets can even earn frequent-flyer miles, as some airlines go out of their way to cater to their owners.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1156135918234680.xml&coll=1
Train offers visitors new way to see zoo
Electric vehicle can hold a dozen people and costs $2 to ride
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
SUAMICO — Enhancing a summer of additions at Brown County's NEW Zoo is a new kiddie train.
The train, which can seat more than a dozen children and parents in a tight squeeze, is electric and not on a track. It provides a new way for kids to see the zoo.
"My boy Kaden is a big fan of trains," said Nicole Warrichaiet of Oconto, who rode the train with her twins Friday. "He was really excited to see this."
The train makes a colorful trip around the zoo about four or five times each hour. The cost is $2 per person, but children under 2 can ride for free.
The train was purchased with a $100,000 donation from the KC Stock Foundation, a charitable group organized by Cruisers Yachts owner K.C. Stock.
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060821/APC0101/608210552/1979
Baby elephant debuts to adoring Zoo crowd (Great Slide Show)
By Joe Holleman
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/25/2006
For the thousands of people who queued up today outside of the St. Louis Zoo’s River’s Edge to see the new baby elephant, difficult choices had to be made.
The new baby girl, born on Aug. 2, was:
A) cute
B) adorable
C) beautiful
"Adorable" nudged "cute" by a nose.
Today was the first day the general public could view the baby Asian elephant, daughter of Raja, born at the Zoo 13 years ago, and Ellie, the protective mother whose undercarriage is the baby’s favorite spot. Zoo officials said about 4,400 people had shown up by late this afternoon.
"She’s so adorable, she’s cute and she’s beautiful, said Diane Pierce of Fayetteville, Ill., covering all the adjectives.
"I was here at 7:25 to be the first in line, but, hey, I’m an elephant nut. I was here 13 years ago when Raja was born, and I wouldn’t miss this for the world."
Mary L’Hommedieu, a seven-year-old from Chesterfield, has been following the baby’s progress in the newspaper and coaxed her grandmother, Charleen L’Hommedieu, to bring her and her five-year-old brother to the Zoo.
MORE
AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Zoo Debut for Baby Elephant
"She has all these little baby hairs on her head, and it’s so cute," Mary said.
Rochelle Murano of Ladue brought her 20-month old daughter, Isabella, for the viewing.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/411BD9C704C20D63862571D500537C87?OpenDocument
Rare Japanese calves are zoo's new stars, the deer wee things
JOANNA VALLELY ( jvallely@edinburghnews.com)
TWO rare Japanese deer calves at Edinburgh Zoo have become the first born in captivity in the UK.
Willow and Wisp, who are just a few weeks old, have been thrilling young visitors to the zoo. Their parents were only brought over to the Capital last year from Berlin and Vienna, and are the only Japanese serow deer in the UK.
Willow is the calf of Shikoku, and Wisp was born to Kyushu, but they share one father in Honshu.
All three adult deer were named after Japanese islands.
The zookeepers gave Willow her name because she is white, fluffy and willowy, and then christened her cousin Wisp, in memory the children's TV series, Willo the Wisp.
Wisp is dark grey and smaller - just eight inches tall.
Hoofstock keeper Sue Gaffing, who looks after the calves, said: "We were so pleased when we found out that both of our females were expecting young.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1247272006
Feathers fly over zoo's dove decision
Web-posted Aug 24, 2006
By BOB GROSS
Of The Oakland Press
ROYAL OAK - A pro-hunting group based in Ohio has the Detroit Zoo in its crosshairs.
But zoo officials say the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance has picked the wrong target.
The group is encouraging sportsmen to call and fax state legislators, the city of Detroit, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit City Council members and the zoo condemning a planned Sept. 16 event at the zoo's Wildlife Interpretive Gallery. The event will raise funds for a group campaigning for a ballot referendum to restore a nearly 100-year-old ban on shooting mourning doves in Michigan.
"We're not sponsoring or hosting this," said Patricia Mills, director of communications for the Detroit Zoological Society. "The Michigan Humane Society has rented one of our facilities for this event."
Julie Baker, of the Committee to Restore the Dove Hunting Ban in Lansing, said the Gala for Our Doves is not a zoo event.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/082406/loc_2006082446.shtml
Abilene Zoo offers chill pill for stressed-out pachyderm
ABILENE, Texas Confronting a complicated world can make each day an ordeal -- especially during a searing Texas summer.
So the Abilene Zoo is providing at least one of its elephants a "mother's little helper" to ease the stress.
About 18 months ago, zookeepers noticed Tanzy, a 48-year-old African elephant, was grumpy and subdued. She refused to leave her barn to play and was sometimes mean to her 26-year-old elephant barnmate, Tanya. She also was aggressive to her keepers.
So Tanzy's keepers started mixing 25 milligrams of Xanax (ZA'-naks) twice a day into her chow. She also gets ibuprofen too ease her arthritis-related discomfort.
Zoo director Jeff Bullock says Tanzy's a much happier camper now -- alert, active and much more easy-going with Tanya and their keepers. She even spends every other night outside.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5320674
A Day at the Zoo
Alternative to high-tech gadgets
Even with all the high-tech entertainments available to children today, there still is nothing more exciting than a trip to the zoo. At the zoo, children experience the wonder of being up close to exotic animals - from friendly lorikeets to powerful polar bears.
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is located in Avondale, at 3400 Vine St., at Erkenbrecher Avenue. The zoo has many features to boast about - from its tigers to its Children's Zoo and preservation of endangered species. Child Magazine has named it one of "The 10 Best Zoos for Kids."
Right now, there is a contest going on to name the zoo's newborn baby gorilla - a male western lowland gorilla born on Aug. 13. The healthy baby weighed 4 pounds. You may enter a name for the baby gorilla by going online to www.cincinnati.com and going to keyword: babygorilla. The contest ends Sept. 15.
The other big news at the zoo is that it is going "smokeless." Starting on Friday, there will be no smoking allowed on zoo grounds.
The zoo's popular "Adventure Down Under" exhibit of animals from Australia has been extended through October.
More info: www.cincyzoo.org.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/LIFE/608280381/1005
Cincinnati Zoo Goes "Smoke-Free"
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is saying no to smoking for the health and safety of guests and zoo animals.
Beginning September 1, 2006, guests will not be permitted to smoke throughout the park.
The Cincinnati Zoo introduced the smoke-free policy in order to "promote a healthy, family-friendly environment."
The YMCA Discover Health mobile classroom will be parked at the zoo's entrance from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on September 1 to inform visitors about the effects of secondhand smoke.
"We know it is critical for adults to model a healthy lifestyle for the thousands of young people who visit the Zoo," said Tim Stitzer, Chief Operating Officer, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/08/24/zoo.html
Zoo's new baby gorilla is itching for a name
THE ENQUIRER
Do you have the perfect name for a newly born male gorilla?
Cincinnati.Com and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden are teaming up in a contest to name the youngster born to the zoo's Muke, a western lowland gorilla, on Aug. 13.
Here's a hint before you enter: Do a little research into Swahili, the language of the gorilla's native home, western Africa.
Judges (the zoo's primate staff) will be looking for names with meaning, as zoo staffers did in the 2004 contest to name the Sumatran rhino baby born to Emi.
"Suci," an Indonesian word meaning "sacred," was the winning name, because, as the entry form said, "The birth of this baby is a sacred event that should be cherished."
The winning entry gets a Gold Level Family Membership to the zoo (valued at $159) and a prize package from zoo gift shops. Five finalists will get a one-year membership ($79); 25 runners up, drawn at random, will get a four-pack of tickets ($51.80).
Visit our "Name the Baby Gorilla" contest page to enter. Entries must be in by Sept. 15; winners will be announced Sept. 21.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/LIFE/608250334/-1/CINCI
Young entrepreneur plans kids' zoo trip
Geri Koeppel
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
Raising money for charity usually involves asking other people for donations of money or items for a raffle or auction.
Taylor Berey, on the other hand, is taking matters into his own hands - literally.
The seventh-grader at Altadeña Middle School in Ahwatukee Foothills has been baking and selling organic dog treats to raise money to send homeless children to the zoo. He's also been pet-sitting.
Taylor needed to complete a charity project for his bar mitzvah next March. Other kids might volunteer at a shelter or collect shoes for underprivileged children, said his mother, Lori Berey.
But Taylor was more ambitious.
"I love animals, and I wanted to do something to help kids, so I thought I'd take them to the zoo," he said.
He learned it would cost $3,900 for admission for Thomas J. Pappas School students to the Wildlife World Zoo and lunch, but that was last spring, when the three schools in Phoenix and Tempe enrolled about 600 children. Now, the number is about 800, so he will need about $5,200 if all the students go.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/0825ar-zoo0825Z14.html
Zoo extends popular attraction putting you in touch with nature
Friday, August 25, 2006
Julie E. Washington
Plain Dealer Reporter
What does it feel like when a stingray nibbles out of your hand? You have a few extra days to find out.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's "Touch! Amazing Rays and Sharks" exhibit has been extended to Sunday, Sept. 10. It had been scheduled to close on Labor Day, said marketing and public-relations manager Sue Allen.
"Touch!" allows visitors to touch stingrays and sharks as they swim in a specially constructed saltwater enclosure. Visitors can put their hands under the water to feel a shark and feed them by hand. The animals are harmless; the rays have had their stingers removed, and the sharks are actually shy.
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/115649536372630.xml&coll=2
Prehistori for Blackpool Zoo
DIG for victory!
These budding Indiana Jones wannabes were at Blackpool Zoo before this weekend's Prehistoric Party and took part in a special excavation.
The East Park Drive attraction has
borrowed an educational Dino Dig from Edinburgh Zoo which teaches youngsters the tools of the trade used by real archaeologists.
The Dig comprises of various trays of sand containing dinosaur "bones" which the children uncover with a little brush and their fingers just like at a genuine
archaeological dig. They then learn how to identify the different items they have found.
Zoo spokeswoman Jude Rothwell said: "The children who have had a go up to now have been fascinated."
The zoo's Dinosaur Safari attraction opened in July last year and staff have reported it to have been a roaring success over the last 12 months.
http://www.blackpooltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=62&ArticleID=1721998
Large Rodent Escapes From Fitchburg Petting Zoo
(CBS4) FITCHBURG A capybara, classified as the largest rodent in the world, has escaped from a petting zoo in Fitchburg. The large, beaver-like creature isn't shy. It popped up in one homeowner's backyard this week.
"My dog started going crazy we looked outside it was right over there,” said Frank McDonald, an eyewitness. “"It was about this high off the ground, it sort of looked like a juiced up gerbil, a really big rodent from around here."
Folks at the Marshall Farm noticed the rodent was missing on Sunday. It apparently disappeared while work was being done on its pen.
The capybara showed up in the backyard of the McDonald's residence on Northfield Road in Lunenberg on Tuesday night.
A trap was set up on the McDonald's property.
The capybara are native to South America. They eat plants, bark and can swim. In some cases the rodents can grow to three feet in length and weight up to 140 pounds.
Lunenberg Animal Control Officer Kathy Comeau tells the Worcester Telgram & Gazette the rodent is not dangerous at all.
Anyone who sees the capybara should not try to trap it. Instead they should call Comeau at (978) 345-4957 or the police at (978) 582-4150.
http://cbs4boston.com/watercooler/local_story_237103436.html
After London zoo theft, both monkey and alleged abductor behind bars
After spending a day at a London zoo, one man and a group of his friends stuck around for some monkey business, according to police.
Marlon Brown, 22, was arrested on Aug. 23 and charged with stealing a rare Bolivian squirrel monkey named SpongeBob.
On July 17, police say, Brown and his friends spent the day at Chessington World of Adventures, an open-air zoo and theme park. Around 6:30 p.m., they broke into the monkey cages.
"They didn't break in. They went in as paying customers," said Det. Constable David Burton. "At the end of the day, when people leave, these people decided to stay behind and gain entry into the cages."
http://www.courttv.com/people/2006/0825/spongebob_monkey_ctv.html
Ellen Trout Zoo Makes an International Donation
The Ellen Trout Zoo recently made a generous donation to a fellow zoo far away from Lufkin. Zookeepers sent two spectacled owls to a zoo in Belize. The Belize zoo contacted Ellen Trout about displaying the animals.
Zookeeper Wendi Plowman said, "Their zoo just houses their local animals that are in Belize to do conservation education for the people of Belize. They were looking for a pair and through another zoo, we got contacted, and we had a pair that we could send down there for them."
The spectacled owl is from Central America. It's not the first animal Lufkin zookeepers have given to Belize. They also sent a jaguar to the zoo.
http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=5327426&nav=2FH5
PETA Urges Zoo Whistleblowers to Report Abuse
For Immediate Release:
August 25, 2006
Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382
Tampa, Fla. - Today, PETA sent an urgent letter to Kevin Adams, chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), urging him to revoke the Lowry Park Zoo’s captive-bred wildlife license. The plea follows reports that a 14-year-old female Sumatran tiger, Enshala, escaped from her enclosure at the zoo and was ultimately shot and killed by zoo president Lex Salisbury. PETA points out that if the reports are accurate, the zoo’s insufficient training and oversight of staff, inadequate animal-management protocol, and faulty recapture plan are directly responsible for Enshala’s death. PETA also points out that these problems constitute an illegal take of an endangered species as defined in the Endangered Species Act.
http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=8873
Zoo pins hopes on sea otter's star power
The Minnesota Zoo hopes the crowd-pleasing sea otter will prove to be the "blockbuster" itseeks.
David Peterson, Star Tribune
Last update: August 25, 2006 – 11:07 PM
CHICAGO - In a few weeks, Capers, the baby sea otter rescued earlier this year from the Arctic Ocean, will head to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. But right now, he twists and rolls under a Shedd Aquarium attendant's brisk towel rub, looking like a cuddly toy sprung to life.
As zoo animals go, sea otters are about as high-maintenance as they come, requiring constant monitoring and an expensive diet. "They cost 10 times as much to feed, pound for pound, as a dolphin," said Ken Ramirez, vice president for animal collections and training at the Shedd Aquarium. "And they are destructive. Give them something hard and they'll destroy their own exhibit."
Still, sea otters are cute and their high-energy antics both draw and please crowds of zoo visitors. That's why Minnesota Zoo officials are making Capers the star attraction of what may be the most important addition ever at the zoo.
The exhibit, named "Russia's Grizzly Coast," will open in 2008. Capers will be the first animal that visitors will see in the $30 million exhibit, now under construction.
If the exhibit is successful, Minnesota Zoo officials hope it could generate momentum for a vast makeover that would include a permanent African exhibit, something that was called for when the zoo was built in the 1970s.
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/636937.html
Glen Oak Zoo lands four tigers
Siberian cubs will inhabit vacant exhibit
Saturday, August 26, 2006
BY NICOLE BEARD
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
PEORIA - After 10 long years of waiting, Glen Oak Zoo is finally getting tigers. Four Siberian tiger cubs, the largest breed of all big cats, soon will be on display.
Since earlier this year, when its beloved lions Boomer and Leah died, the zoo has had the problem of a large, vacant exhibit.
Now, zoo officials say, that problem is solved. Four Siberian tigers, recognized by their long, pale orange coats and dark brown stripes, are making their way to Peoria to be housed in the empty exhibit and become part of the Glen Oak Zoo family.
The only male tiger, Danya meaning Gift of God, will be arriving first in early September, followed by three females, Nika, Kyra and Anya, sometime in October.
"We are really excited," zoo manager Yvonne Strode said. "These are great animals for people to get to see face to face."
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/082606/TRI_BAPDEU53.030.shtml
Sleepy python causes panic at zoo
Ankara - A six-metre python, which went missing from the Ankara Zoo two months ago, triggering a frantic search, has finally been found napping near its cage, Turkish newspapers reported on Saturday.
The python had disappeared on June 10 after a security guard opened the hole used to feed the snake because the animal seemed to be in discomfort and walked away without shutting it.
The incident had forced the closure of parts of the zoo and led to a criminal investigation into whether it had been stolen.
An extensive search of the zoo grounds, with thermal cameras, turned up nothing and a cabinet minister suggested at the time that the snake might have ended up through a kebab merchant's meat grinder and advised against eating shish kebab.
On Thursday, zoo officials finally located the animal sleeping in the ventilation shaft of its cage when they noticed discarded snake skin outside the shaft, reports said.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=qw1156587484697B236
Zoo has bioplastic cups for concerts
August 27, 2006
The Oregon Zoo now has environmentally safe bioplastic beer and wine cups during its summer concerts.
The zoo's new 100 percent compostable picnicware, available during outdoor events and concerts, features biodegradable cups and flatware.
The new "plastic" cups and flatware are made from corn and potato starch and are comparable to conventional plastic cups in both price and quality. They are supplied by Cereplast of San Francisco.
-- Beth Casper
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/NEWS/608270320/1001
It’s all happening at the zoo
By David Riley/ Daily News Staff
Monday, August 28, 2006 - Updated: 01:57 AM EST
MENDON -- Betsey Brewer once came home from school to find a chimp sitting on the family’s pool table, throwing billiard balls around after stealing and eating a 5-pound bag of sugar and several tomatoes.
"She was raised in my house," said Brewer, director of education at Southwick’s Zoo, where she recently watched that same chimp, Jingles, almost 30 years after the pool table incident. "My mother had her in diapers."
There’s a tale behind most residents at Southwick’s, and Brewer tells many like old family stories, from the zebra that stole a baby water buffalo to the zoo’s famous orphaned leopard.
Brewer’s grandparents, Justin Southwick and Clarice Daniels Southwick, founded Southwick’s Wild Animal Farm in 1963.
Today her mother, Justine Brewer, is the zoo’s president; her brothers and sister also are directors at the zoo.
The Brewer kids grew up close to the zoo’s tenants, some of which were even cared for as babies in their home -- long before studies found better ways to raise wild animals, Betsey Brewer stressed.
Work with anybody long enough and you get to know the quirks of their personality.
http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=98164
Bobcat dies after walking into cougar cage
August 28, 2006
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. -- A bobcat died after wandering into a cougar cage accidentally left open at the Irvine Park Zoo in Chippewa Falls.
William Faherty, the Chippewa Falls director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, said a zookeeper forgot to lock a door between the cages after cleaning the outside of the cages on Friday.
''Somebody called and said the cougars were fighting,'' Faherty said.
One of the two bobcats went into the cougar cage and was then killed by a cougar.
Faherty said the other animals were not injured.
The dead bobcat was a female, about 8 years old. The bobcat will be replaced at no charge to the city, he said.
The zookeeper feels terrible about the mistake, he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bob28.html
Tiger handler fired at Tampa zoo
TAMPA, Fla. A Florida zoo worker fired over the escape and subsequent killing of a tiger could face a criminal charge.
Authorities say the rare Sumatran tiger was able to flee its cage Tuesday because the worker did not secure the latch. The animal was shot as it tried to scale a seven-foot wall.
The 200-pound tiger was 14 years old and was born at the zoo.
Authorities say this is the first time an animal at the facility has been killed because it posed a threat.
Before the shooting, the tiger roamed an exhibit as zoo officials moved visitors into restaurants and other secure buildings.
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5330944&nav=2aKD
Summer event used to reach families for fun and education.
By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee
Fresno Chaffee Zoo took on a Latin flavor Sunday.
The summer Hispanic Day program teamed the zoo with Spanish-language television network Univision, health-care providers, Hispanic entertainment and special bilingual zoo programs.
Zoo officials said they expected 10,000 to attend, which would make it the largest event of its kind since Hispanic Day programs began seven years ago. Final attendance figures won't be available for a few weeks.
Sunday's event was an opportunity to reach people who might not otherwise attend by bringing the zoo together with other forms of entertainment and health service programs.
"It is the busiest day the zoo sees," said Shelley Morrison, the zoo's director director of administration and finance.
Inside the zoo, families watched sea lions being fed and were given a close-up look at the zoo's reptiles and Galapagos tortoises.
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/12645135p-13347851c.html
Last Chance To See 'Winged Wonders" At Oregon Zoo
PORTLAND, Oregon - Oregon Zoo visitors have a little more time to see the beautiful tropical butterflies at Winged Wonders, as they flutter by. This temporary summer exhibit, presented by HomeStreet Bank, runs through Labor Day, with more than 450 Central and South American butterflies, including royal blues, Aglaura olivewings, Costa Rica clearwings, false malachites and others.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=332281&cp=10997
Free day helps Niabi Zoo to bounce back
By John David
Niabi Zoo in trying to get back to normal in Coal Valley. That's after an escaped female gray wolf, Onya, was shot and killed early Saturday by a sheriff's deputy about a mile from the zoo.
The zoo's two wolves went missing on Thursday. The male, Nanook, was captured Friday morning.
On Sunday, kids of all ages were back to enjoy the animals and activities. The free admission day sponsored by Deere and Company always attracts a big crowd.
But while families find plenty to see and do, it's been a tough few days for zoo staffers. They say it's good to see the guests back but hard to deal with the situation.
"It's in the back of our minds what's going on," said Tom Stalf, zoo director. "Our investigation is still continuing on what we're going to do with the wolf exhibit as well as making sure that it doesn't happen again."
Stalf said he will work to find a new home for the male wolf.
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=5331853&nav=1sW7
Zoo Fun Run record smashed
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Organisers of Sunday's Rotary Zoo Fun Run and Walk will sit down during the next week to make plans for increased numbers that keep turning up year after year. More than 1300 runners and walkers were at Western Plains Zoo on Sunday for the 8km run and 5.5km walk, the biggest turnout since the event moved to the zoo from the streets in Dubbo. Don Stephens was part of the organising team that comprised Dubbo South and Dubbo West Rotarians and like most was surprised by the big numbers. "Last year we had just over 900 people so for us to get an extra 400 was beyond our expectations," Stephens said. "We thank Western Plains Zoo for allowing us to use their great facility and to keep the family cost of entering to just $20 - this is a huge saving on the regular admission prices and undoubtedly one of the reasons why we believe that people show a big interest in being part of the day. "The weather also was very good and with people permitted to stay at the zoo for the rest of the day, our event was great value." Stephens said a big day of this nature was not without its problems, all of which will be addressed at a meeting. "We've taken on board suggestions and of course some concerns from the good people who were at the event and we will look at all those issues," he said. "The type of music we had before presentations didn't go off all that well and we apologise for that. "There were also a few minor hiccups with the compiling of our results which in turn meant we had to make some amendments to our results in a couple of categories. Again, the people concerned were very understanding and we thank them for their patience. "The main priority for our Rotary clubs was that we provide a community day that everyone had the opportunity to be involved in, at a minimum cost - we are confident that we did that. "We also thank our major sponsors, the Daily Liberal and MBF, and the other sponsors - and particularly the various media organisations for the promotion of the day - this again was another reason why so much people turned out on Sunday."
http://dubbo.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=sport&subclass=other&story_id=505490&category=Other&m=8&y=2006
Zoo seeks more county involvement
Monday, Aug 28, 2006
UTICA —Utica Zoo officials Wednesday will ask the Oneida County Board of Legislators to increase its annual funding to the zoo or consider taking it on as a county-run facility, said Beth Irons, the zoo’s executive director.
“We’re not just a collection of animals parked on the hill,” Irons said. “We’re an active part of the Mohawk valley and there are needs that are not going to be met if we’re not here anymore. To ensure that doesn’t happen, we need help.”
This isn’t the first time the zoo has reached out for help. It closed for one month in February 2005 and temporarily laid off six employees to put the facility on more stable financial footing. The closure saved the zoo about $10,000.
In June of that year, zoo officials asked the county Board of Legislators for a $50,000 funding advance to help pay for general operating costs.
Oneida County has worked with the zoo in the past to try and meet some of the financial needs, including having financial advisors look at where the zoo could cut costs operationally, Oneida County Executive Joseph Griffo said. The county may consider giving the zoo additional funding in the 2007 budget, he added.
“As far as anything as a take-over, I think it would be something that would have to be studied,” Griffo said, noting that he cannot speak for the legislature.
http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/NEWS/60828010
Rare tiger cub saved from poachers to arrive at Moscow zoo
VLADIVOSTOK, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - An Amur tiger cub will be transferred to a Moscow zoo Thursday from Russia's Far East in what could become a permanent move, the head of agency taking care of the animal said.
Environmentalists are concerned about the fate of the Amur tiger - there are only about 450 living in the wild in the Primorye and neighboring Khabarovsk territories - so a new home in captivity is likely to be found for eight-month-old Prima.
Sergei Zubtsov, head of the Tiger agency, said the cub, named in honor of the region where she was found, would undergo further medical tests in Moscow after she had been rescued from poachers in March.
"Prima is going to Moscow zoo for a re-examination," Zubtsov said. "Then she will either stay there or go to another Russian or overseas zoo."
Timber workers found Prima and another cub in a state of extreme exhaustion. One died later at a veterinary clinic from injuries sustained from poachers, who can sell skin and body parts for huge sums in Asia.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48593056.html
Moscow Zoo
History of the Zoo
Moscow Zoo has come a long way from its beginnings as a small zoological garden to the large scientific, educational and conservation institution that it is today.
The zoo was founded in 1864 on the original 17th century territory of the village of Voskresenkoye near the Presnya River. The nearby Presnya ponds were famous for their pure water, and in the 18th century a large fish farm was set up here.
In 1864 the All-Russian Imperial Society for the Acclimatization of Plants and Animals founded a zoological garden around the ponds and opened it to visitors on 13th February 1864. Anatoly P. Bogdanov, a Professor at Moscow State University, was one of the organizational forces behind the founding of the zoo and called it a "a living museum outdoors", all the more extraordinary for the difficulties they encountered due to Moscow's severe northern climate.
http://www.moscow-taxi.com/4children/moscow-zoo.html
Project spurs participation
Comparing an Australian supermarket aisle displaying pet food with a similar shop in Indonesia shows how much our southern neighbors dote on animals.
Aussie stores allocate hectares of shelf space to doggy biscuits, cat meat, bird seed and fish flakes; the Indonesian equivalent may have only a few tins of undersized sardines packed for pussies.
Never kick a dog Down Under (or an underdog). People who mistreat pets are often jailed and fined, and suffer the curses of a pitiless public.
There are associations to save seals, conserve whales, rescue bears, rehabilitate wounded wildlife and protect anything and everything endangered, whether feathered, finned or furred, almost anywhere on the planet, including orang-utans in Indonesia.
Although the Australian Orangutan Project (AOP) only started assisting the Bukit Tigapuluh Park two years ago it will have donated A$181,000 (Rp 1.25 billion) by the end of next June.
Most of the money has come from concerned individuals, the zoo and the Australian government.
Perth Zoo CEO Susan Hunt said she was negotiating an agreement with the Indonesian government for the zoo to make a long-term commitment to conservation at Bukit Tigapuluh. She hoped this would be in place next year.
"Gone are the days of zoos taking from the wild," she said. "It's time to actively participate in animals' survival and, if necessary, their reintroduction into the wild."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20060829.V03&irec=3
Local zookeeper wings to Panama to help save frog species
Misty Edgecomb
Staff writer
(August 28, 2006) — John Adamski spent his summer vacation walking through the thick underbrush along Panamanian streams and snatching dozens of tiny gem-colored frogs from the air as they leapt away from his footfalls. He put in hours of hard labor installing fish tanks in the tropical heat, spent his nights in a hotel suite bathing hundreds of frogs in an antifungal solution — and he can't wait to go back.
Adamski, a reptile and amphibian expert at Seneca Park Zoo, recently returned from western Panama where he joined an international effort to save the tiny Panamanian golden frog and its colorful brethren. Hundreds of different types of tree frogs thrive in Panama's forests, but scientists predict that these tiny blue and green and orange frogs could soon disappear from the face of the earth.
An infection known as the chytrid fungus is sweeping through Central America, decimating frog populations that are already struggling against development and pollution. Some estimate that as many as a third of all known amphibian species are at risk of extinction. The chytrid fungus attacks an amphibian's skin, impeding the frog's ability to breathe. Anti-fungal baths can save individual animals in captivity, but there's no treatment for frogs in the wild.
"The situation is really grim," Adamski said.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/NEWS01/608280338/1002/NEWS
Fort Wayne tiger pair to breed in Honolulu
From staff reports
Two big cats from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, born in 1999, will be the first Sumatran tigers to give birth at the Honolulu Zoo.
Berani, a 235-pound male Sumatran tiger, and his 187-pound mate, Chrissie, have been approved to have two more litters. They live with another female tiger, Djelita.
The cubs will stay with Chrissie for two years, the same time as in the wild, before being sent to other zoos. A tiger can expect two to six cubs in a litter. Chrissie had three cubs in her first litter.
Breeding the tigers will advance worldwide conservation efforts, as there are only 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. There are 200 Sumatran tigers in captivity, and 60 in U.S. zoos.
Before the two tigers can breed, however, major changes need to be made to their exhibit space. This creates a problem because female territories don’t overlap. Chrissie and Djelita can never be put together, so they alternate between the exhibit and sleeping stalls.
Each female will have her own space in the new exhibit, while Berani will move between the territories.
After Chrissie gives birth, Berani will be paired with Djelita because males do not participate in rearing cubs.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/15381126.htm
The real Crocodile Dundee
By Michael Cheang
AS A herpetologist who also makes wildlife documentaries, Dr Brady Barr has certainly had his share of dangerous encounters. One particular incident in Africa last January stood out, however; one which he tells people, “I should have died on that one.”
He had crawled into an aardvark (an ant-eating mammal native to Africa) burrow in search of whatever animals that seek shelter in the underground lair when he suddenly confronted a venomous cobra.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” said Barr. “Instead of just hooding up like they usually do, this one struck at me immediately. I instinctively grabbed it and threw it but as soon as it hits the ground, it struck again.
“So there I was, dodging the strikes, grabbing and throwing it over and over again, with my life flashing before my eyes. After a few more strikes, it finally stops and hoods up.
“At that point, I didn’t know what to do. If I turn around or pick it up, it would bite me. So we just stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Eventually, I decided to catch it, and got out of there alive.
“My wife and mother cried when they saw the film because they could tell from the tone of my voice how scared I really was,” recalled Barr, 43.
The host for National Geographic’s Dangerous Encounters (the documentary follows Barr on his quest to study and promote the conservation of endangered reptiles) was in Kuala Lumpur recently to share his croc-catching experiences with over 500 school children, part of an education and conservation project jointly organised by National Geographic Channel, Astro and Zoo Negara.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/8/29/lifefocus/15161141&sec=lifefocus
continued ...
