Zoos
Inuit See Signs In Arctic Thaw
String of Warm Winters Alarms 'Sentries for the Rest of the World'
By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 22, 2006; Page A01
PANGNIRTUNG, Canada -- Thirty miles from the Arctic Circle, hunter Noah Metuq feels the Arctic changing. Its frozen grip is loosening; the people and animals who depend on its icy reign are experiencing a historic reshaping of their world.
Fish and wildlife are following the retreating ice caps northward. Polar bears are losing the floes they need for hunting. Seals, unable to find stable ice, are hauling up on islands to give birth. Robins and barn owls and hornets, previously unknown so far north, are arriving in Arctic villages.
The global warming felt by wildlife and increasingly documented by scientists is hitting first and hardest here, in the Arctic where the Inuit people make their home. The hardy Inuit -- described by one of their leaders as "sentries for the rest of the world" -- say this winter was the worst in a series of warm winters, replete with alarms of the quickening transformation that many scientists expect will spread from the north to the rest of the globe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101722.html
Zoo mourns 255yo tortoise
From correspondents in Kolkata, India
March 23, 2006
A FAMED 255-year-old tortoise brought to the eastern Indian city during the rule of the British East India Company has died, Zoo officials in Kolkata said today.
The giant Aldabra tortoise was one of four brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands as gifts to Robert Clive of the East India Company in 1875. It died after a string of illnesses, Kolkata Zoo director Subir Chowdhury said today.
"Adwaitya (The Only One), who delighted the zoo visitors for 131 years, died on Wednesday morning," Mr Chowdhury said. "His shell will be preserved in the zoo. All zoo employees are saddened by his death."
The three other tortoises given as gifts to Clive died soon after they arrived in Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, he said.
"Adwaitya spent his early days in Robert Clive's garden," the zookeeper said. He was later transferred to the Alipore zoo, located in the city's southern district, after it opened in 1875.
Despite his many years of life, he only became sick eight years ago when an infection was detected in his legs, Mr Chowdhury said. He was successfully treated at that time.
"Our records show the tortoise was born in 1750, but some have claimed he was born in 1705," he said. He added that the zoo will use a scientific method known as carbon-dating to determine his real age.
Adwaitya became ill several months ago after a crack developed around a wound on his chest, Mr Chowdhury said.
The average lifespan of an Aldabra tortoise is well beyond 100 years, according to the website of the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.
Most of the tortoises are found on Aldabra, an atoll of four large coral islands in the Indian Ocean.
The atoll has been protected from human influence and is home to some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world's largest population of the animal, according to the United Nations world heritage body.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18581034%255E1702,00.html
Mexican Land Boom Creates Commotion in Whale Nursery
By JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR. (NYT) 895 words
Published: March 12, 2006
LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO, Mexico, March 7 - This remote lagoon, surrounded by salt flats, mesas and desert, has been a sanctuary for gray whales for centuries.
Every year they return in January to these quiet, protected waters to give birth and nurse their calves through the first few months of life. Then they mate again in a swirl of water and fins, and frolic in the warm waters, breaching and flopping their gargantuan bodies.
Fishermen, who serve as guides during the whales' three-month stay, ferry tourists to the center of the lagoon, and the whales play with the boats. Sometimes, enthusiastic visitors can pet and scratch the leviathans' blubbery, sensitive skin.
But the lagoon has proved a powerful draw for more than just nature lovers. The area's salt and oil deposits have long drawn development interests, pitting environmentalists and local fishing and tourism concerns against big companies and land speculators in battles that have intensified in recent years.
In 2000, for instance, environmentalists won a long-fought victory over the Mitsubishi Corporation, which had sought to build a giant salt-mining complex on the lagoon, which would have devastated fishing and the whale-watching industry.
Another company, Exportadora de Sal, has received a 50-year concession from the government to mine salt, suggesting another looming battle. Environmentalists also say that plans to exploit oil deposits near the lagoon and build a big marina near its entrance threaten the whales.
From ecologists' standpoint, though, perhaps the greatest threat to the lagoon is the land boom that is sweeping the peninsula. All across the Baja California, land speculators are buying out members of ranching and fishing cooperatives, which own vast tracts including beaches on some of the most pristine and rich marine habitats in the world.
But here, environmental groups have reached an unusual agreement with a cooperative that will help protect the lagoon, the last undisturbed gray whale nursery, from industrial development or land speculation.
Under the accord, the cooperative, the Ejido Luis Echeverría, has agreed to protect 120,000 acres around the lagoon from development, in return for a $675,000 trust fund put together by several groups, among them the Natural Resources Defense Council and Wildcoast.
Trust earnings go to the cooperative to be invested in projects to create permanent jobs and give its 43 members a stake in protecting the whales and their habitat.
''This is a long term project, a project for perpetuity,'' said the president of the cooperative, Raúl López. ''We have to be an example for the other cooperatives.''
Still, the Echeverría cooperative is only one of six that own land around the lagoon, and the environmentalists have their work cut out for them persuading the rest to commit themselves to protecting the whales.
Serge Dedina, the executive director of Wildcoast, has tried to convince the cooperative members that they have more to gain in the long run from developing tourism around the whales, as well as sustainable fisheries, than from a one-time windfall of cash for their land.
The gray whales migrate every year from the seas off Alaska to Mexico's waters. They begin arriving in January and stay until early April. The lagoon, along with two other less pristine bays, are vitally important to their survival, since it is here the mothers give birth and here the calves gain enough strength to handle the perils of the open ocean.
The lagoon is also home to 221 bird species. Ospreys, cormorants and pelicans fish the waters, while falcons, gold and bald eagles sweep the skies. Rare species like endangered peninsular pronghorns and green sea turtles can be spotted here, too.
The whales are the big draw, however. Eight camps are scattered along the southeastern shore of the bay and 16 boats have permits to take tourists out.
Mr. López said that the idea of the local cooperative, or ejido, was that the trust fund's support of small projects would bring in jobs and erase the temptation for people to sell out to mining or other development concerns.
But leaders of other cooperatives around the bay are not convinced. To the north, the San Ignacio Ejido is controlled by ranchers and businessmen who have little or no stake in the whale-watching business.
Their president, Rodrigo Martínez Zapien, a grocer, said most of the 81 members were ranchers or small-business men and would support selling their beaches to a salt-mining company or anyone else who would produce jobs. Already, they have been approached by land speculators, he said. ''The truth is there is not much interest in going to exploit this business of the whales,'' he said.
Others say they see the whales as a resource. The whale tours are a lot less work than hauling in fishing nets. And the money from the trust will help small businesses that provide jobs. The only other option, they say, is to sell, move to the city and run through the profit.
''Sure there have been people who have come around wanting to buy, but for us it doesn't interest us to sell the land, because almost all of us work in tourism now,'' said one local fisherman, Alejandro Ramírez, 35, who works at a whale-watching camp. ''If I sell out, sure, I'll have more money, but money in your hands goes quickly, and with this natural area my family has a way to make a living for a long time.''
Photo: A gray whale pops up for air in Baja California, where advocates of tourism and the environment clash with those favoring heavier development. (Photo by Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times)
Map of Mexico highlighting Laguna San Ignacio: For centuries, gray whales have given birth in Laguna San Ignacio.
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB081FF638550C718DDDAA0894DE404482
All zoos have to be closed
2006/3/28
Two giant pandas are not coming to Taipei or anywhere else in Taiwan. China wants to send the pair to Taiwan as a gift, but the Council of Agriculture, the Cabinet agency in charge of authorizing their import, certainly will decide against it, now that President Chen Shui-bian has turned down the Chinese offer. The decision will be announced shortly.
The offer was rejected because President Chen believes the rare animals "will not be happy if they are kept in captivity or given away as presents." He wrote in his latest weekly A-bian e-newsletter he is convinced that giant pandas do not exist for the pleasures of humans, who like to think they could conquer nature, though they "must learn how to peacefully coexist with other species ... so all life on this earth will be preserved." He urged Chinese leaders to allow the pair to remain in their natural habitat instead of sending them to Taiwan.
Well said and done. The fact, however, is that not just giant pandas but all other animals in captivity or in the wild do not exist for the pleasures of the human race. Do you think cattle, swine, poultry, fish and whatnots love to live for our pleasures? Of course, none of the animals kept in a zoo want to continue to live the rest of their lives for the pleasures of those of us who want to watch them. Many of the animals have been captured and sent far away from the wild to the zoo. Not all of them like to live freely and breed willingly in their natural habitat. Some may prefer an easy life in captivity. Small herbivores, for instance, can live free from the constant threat of predators.
Besides, a few endangered species may need better human protection. If left in the wild, some rare animals would die out. The Asian lion is one such species. The giant panda may be another. That's why China has started breeding giant pandas in captivity. Incidentally, the two cubs China has decided to present to Taiwan have been bred in a wildlife park. They were not "born free" in their natural habitat and snatched out of the wild for the pleasures of humans. President Chen seldom means what he says. The only reason he doesn't want the two giant panda cubs to come to Taiwan is that they were presented to Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang, as a token of friendship China is trying to extend. Chen believes that friendship is nothing but a cover for Beijing's united front campaign to prevent a further leaning of Taiwan toward independence. Maybe. But the cubs are innocent. All our children would welcome them.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/detail.asp?onNews=&GRP=i&id=79347
Rahul Khanna makes a trunk call for PETA
By IndiaFM News Bureau, March 25, 2006 - 22:47 IST
For all those who were wondering where has actor Rahul Khanna disappeared, well he is back. He recently offered his services for PETA’s latest ad. Rahul Khanna has a soft spot for elephants. Khanna posed for the press with a baby elephant, pulling it free of its leg chains. Of course, because of PETA's motto that animals are not ours to eat, wear or use for entertainment, the elephant was played by a stand-in made of styrofoam.
"When PETA came to me with the proposal, I thought it was something I would want to be associated with," Khanna said. He added “The mark of a truly evolved civilization is that it treats its animals in a humane way.”
Elephants in Indian zoos live in appalling conditions. Some are chained year-round and many suffer from malnutrition and illness. Rahul Khanna and PETA are out to spread the message that elephants do NOT belong in zoos.
http://www.indiafm.com/news/2006/03/25/6876/
Fears for possums after death
From: AAP
By Jane Bunce
March 27, 2006
ONLY one member of the endangered possum species that is Victoria's state faunal emblem remains in captivity after its mate died in a Melbourne sanctuary.
Leadbeater's Possum, which lives in the mountain ash forests of Victoria's central highlands, was considered extinct until it was rediscovered in 1961 and a successful captive breeding program started.
The death of the second-last Leadbeater's Possum in Healesville Sanctuary this week marks the end of that program, author Peter Preuss said.
Mr Preuss, the biographer of the late amateur naturalist Des Hackett, said Mr Hackett had remarkable results breeding the possums in captivity.
By the 1980s he was able to hand over breeding colonies to zoos throughout Australia, with the hope the offspring could one day be released in the wild, he said.
"Unfortunately, the Leadbeater's Possum is a very politically sensitive animal," he said.
"Because their natural range is almost exclusively within Victoria's timber harvesting areas, Leadbeater's Possums were never released. Instead, colonies were exported to zoos throughout the world."
Mr Preuss, the author of a biography of Mr Hackett's work with the Leadbeater's Possum and Sugar Gliders, Bred To Be Wild, said Australia was ineffective in protecting its native wildlife.
He said when Mr Hackett died in 1997 there were thriving colonies of Leadbeater's Possums in zoos throughout the world and an estimated 5000 Leadbeater's Possum in the wild.
"Today, there are just 1000 left in the wild and only one lonely individual remains in captivity," he said.
"Thanks to Des Hackett, we had the chance to turn the tide of extinction for our state emblem.
"But because of a lack of communication between zoos and wildlife authorities, we may yet see this amazing animal become extinct."
The small nocturnal marsupial is grey with a white underbelly and face, and a black stripe down its back and on each cheek.
The weedy sea dragon, the helmeted honeyeater and pink heath are Victoria's other state emblems.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18625964-29277,00.html
JACKO JUMBO SALE
Skint sells Neverland zoo animal
MICHAEL Jackson is selling off the zoo animals from his Neverland Ranch.
The troubled singer is desperately trying to raise funds by letting his menagerie of exotic beasts go at bargain-basement prices.
Jackson has been frantically phoning round Hollywood trying to offload his collection of elephants, tigers, orangutans and giraffes.
He's so skint that he's willing to sell the expensive creatures for as little as a quarter of their true value.
A source close to the King of Pop said: "Michael's fortune is nothing like it used to be.
"When he refused to pay the staff at Neverland recently, every-one knew he had hit hard times.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16861536&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=jacko-jumbo-sale--name_page.html
Houston Zoo's elephants will benefit from expansion plans
$100 million in projects set to begin this fall
By SALATHEIA BRYANT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo's Asian elephant trio of Methai, Shanti and Thai are about to get more room to roam.
Their expanded space will come with new barns, an additional pool, and several observation areas that will allow more intimate public viewing of their habitat.
The expansion will boost the pachyderm space to slightly more than 3 acres, giving the zoo space to grow its elephant herd to at least six animals.
Expansion of the elephant yard, scheduled to start in late fall, is one project in an extensive $100 million renovation blitz intended to improve the profile of the 84-year-old zoo.
"We're tearing down just about all the old stuff," said Sharon Joseph, director of animal programs. "We have made a commitment to keeping elephants. We're going into an intensive phase of growth and renovation."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3747417.html
Procedures reviewed after lion incident at zoo
By Brent Killackey
RACINE - When it comes to cats - especially large cats like lions - don't expect them to move when you want them to.
It took more than six hours Thursday to lure Elsa, a 1-year-old African lioness, far enough into an outdoor exhibit so that zoo employees could safety close a 4-by-4-foot metal door between the off-exhibit lion's den and the animal care staff's secure work area.
Discovery of that open door - and the potential that Elsa could get into that secure work area - prompted the evacuation of the zoo about 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Zoo employees tried scaring Elsa further into the outdoor exhibit by shooting a fire extinguisher under another door, but apparently she wasn't close enough to care. And she wasn't immediately tempted by food in the outdoor exhibit because she had eaten a big breakfast.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2006/03/25/local/iq_3969175.txt
Local Zoo Targeted in Mayor's Budget Plan
March 25, 2006, 07:24 AM EST
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has completed his plan for next years' city budget. In it he's proposing several significant budget cuts, some of which affect funding for the city's Potter Park Zoo. The zoo is something that many want to see stick around, even if it's at a higher price.
Donna Martin hasn't been to Potter Park Zoo in five years, but Friday was special, it was her grand daughter Marissa's fourth birthday.
Donna Martin, Lansing resident: "This little one has just been squealing at plain old little squirrels, now look at this, it's priceless to me."
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4680696&nav=0RbQ
What a zoo
March 25, 2006 - Getting the zoo grounds ready for spring
Despite the weather we promise spring is here. Many people can't wait to dig into the dirt and begin planting. It's time to see what the zoo's doing to get their grounds ready in this morning's what a zoo!
Getting the zoo grounds ready for spring is a year round task.
Caroll Moorhead is a landscape assistant at the Toledo Zoo and explains what goes on to prepare for all the seasons.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=4023967
Animals arrive for new zoo exhibit
(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 25--While construction continues on the Oklahoma City Zoo's new Oklahoma Trails exhibit, the animals that will occupy the new site have started to arrive.
Animal Management Director Dwight Scott said animals acquired for the new exhibit, scheduled to open in early summer, include a Western diamondback rattlesnake and a roadrunner.
Members of the Oklahoma City Zoological Trust met this week and discussed the animals and progress on the Oklahoma Trails exhibit.
On the wish list for the exhibit are black bears, hog-nosed and spotted skunks, grey and red foxes, woodchucks, a nine-banded armadillo and various native birds and reptiles, Scott said.
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/03/25/1488586.htm
Bird flu scare hits zoo plan
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HYDERABAD: The bird flu scare has stalled exchange programmes at the Nehru Zoological Park in the city.
About a month ago, the zoo was all set to ship six pairs of painted storks to a zoo in Prague. And in exchange, receive blue and yellow macaws and Hahn's macaws from the zoo in the Czech Republic.
The zoo was supposed to receive two male and three female blue and yellow macaws and the same number of Hahn's macaws. Chennai was to be the point of exchange.
"A quarantine officer at Chennai, who is in-charge of checking and certifying the birds being sent and received from abroad, refused permission for the same citing bird flu threat,"said Nehru Zoological Park director V Kishan.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1464463.cms
Donations will help rebuild petting zoo
3/25/2006 4:38 PM
By: News 14 Carolina
SALISBURY, N.C. – Officials at the Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department say they’ve been overwhelmed by people volunteering to donate and help rebuild and repopulate the petting zoo at Dan Nicholas Park.
Investigators said the fire that destroyed the petting zoo, killing more than 40 animals, is suspicious.
Anyone wishing to donate can write a check to the Rowan County Dan Nicholas Park Animal Fund. Send it to the Salisbury Parks and Rec Department, care of Karen Wilkinson, P.O. Box 4053, 28145-4053.
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?ArID=116338&SecID=2
MLB: PHILLIES: Phanatic to make history at the Zoo on Monday
All children who wear red to the Zoo that day to receive a free ticket to the Phils vs. Dodgers game on April 8
/noticias.info/ With the help of a zoologist, MAB Paints and a crane operator from Capital Manufacturing, the Phillie Phanatic will unveil his true Phillies colors during a milestone event on the Impala Lawn at the Philadelphia Zoo on Monday, March 27. The festivities will begin at noon and lead off the Phillies Paint the Town Red week. The event is open to the public with zoo admission.
Highlights also include face painters, Phanstormers and performances by the Whiz Kids Band (which begin at 11:30 a.m.). Following the event, all children are invited to join in on a parade with the Phanatic.
As part of the celebration, all children 14 and under who wear red to the zoo that day will receive a free ticket to Verizon Kids Opening Day on April 8 when the Phils take on the Dodgers -- 3:05 p.m. -- at Citizens Bank Park.
The Philadelphia Zoo is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Click here for a full listing of Paint the Town Red Week events.
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=159279&src=0
The fun of a gateway getaway
St. Louis is more than a stop; it's a destination
By Patrick Foose
COX NEWS SERVICE
ST. LOUIS - So maybe St. Louis isn't the first place you think of for a getaway.
There are no mountains or beaches. But on the plus side, it's only about 51/2 hours from Lexington or a short plane ride.
St. Louis was near where Lewis and Clark started their expedition. It also was where Charles Lindbergh began his flying career and Chuck Berry learned to play guitar. And it was where the people rooted in the 19th century first saw some of what would become common in the 20th century at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, the largest of all world's fairs.
For more than 300 years, people have been passing through St. Louis on their way to becoming something else.
Those who stayed created a town with enough interest to keep a visitor busy for days.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/living/travel/14183660.htm
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