Morning Papers - continued

Zoos

Zoo trend: Let the elephants go

http://www.newscloud.com/read/75843

Seauuyeflttle has a problem elephant that it's not releasing: The current thought among experts in the animal world, particularly the members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is that elephants need room to roam. Even with conscientious veterinarians and keepers, they say, quarter-acre habitats like Philadelphia's are not sufficient for the world's largest land mammal.

http://www.newscloud.com/read/75843


Avalon trumpets arrivals
Monday, November 6
DANIEL BREEN

THREE elephants arrived at Avalon Airport yesterday as part of the journey to their new home at Melbourne Zoo.
The trio, which travelled in specially made pens, arrived at Avalon about 1.30pm after boarding a plane from Thailand.
Avalon Airport general manager Tim Anderson said the elephants were later loaded on to Melbourne-bound trucks. The process took about an hour.
Mr Anderson said the elephants ranked among the airport's more bizarre arrivals.
``It's always good to have jumbos at Avalon Airport,'' he said. ``It's the first time in my 10 years at Avalon that we've had something like this, but we were very pleased to participate.''

http://www.geelonginfo.com.au/readarticle.asp?articleid=21286


Come to the Zoo for an elephant-sized birthday
Monday, 6 November 2006, 9:08 amPress Release: Auckland Zoo

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0611/S00040.htm


AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
MEDIA RELEASE
6 November 2006

Come to the Zoo for an elephant-sized birthday party

On Saturday (18 November) Auckland Zoo is putting on one of its biggest ever birthday parties for two very special girls – elephants Burma and Kashin, and all zoo visitors are invited.
Animal Planet Elephants’ Birthday will celebrate Burma and Kashin’s combined birthdays, and to mark the occasion the elephants will be painted up in traditional Thai style. The party, which runs from 11am to 2pm, will start with guests singing Happy Birthday at Animal Planet Elephant Clearing. Burma and Kashin will then lead an elephant parade to the Band Rotunda. Visitors can bring a picnic, play some larger-than-life birthday games and share in a slice of a traditional birthday cake. Along with giveaways, spot prizes, face-painting and entertainment, there will be an elephant-painting auction to raise money for Auckland Zoo’s Conservation Fund.
Burma was born in October 1982 in Myanmar (formerly Burma), and takes her name from her birthplace. She arrived at the zoo in 1990 and quickly settled in with Kashin who has been at the zoo since 1972. Born in December 1968, Kashin is 14 years older than Burma, and their ages aren’t their only differences.


Swan Mistakes Boat for Another Swan
November 5, 2006 - A black swan in the German city of Munster has taken a fancy to a plastic pedalboat that looks like a swan.
The swan, named "Black Peter," has been following the boat, which has a two- metre- (six feet) high, white, glass-fibre superstructure shaped like a swan, since the springtime on Aasee lake in the city.
The owner of the boat agreed to move the boat, together with Black Peter to the nearby Munster zoo for the winter months as the swan refused to fly south.
Jorg Adler, the head of Munster Zoo, was not surprised by Black Peter's penchant for the swan pedalboat.
"It is because the plastic boat looks like a swan. This happens from time to time in the animal world. It isn't that unusual. Let's see if it will last, " he said.


Zoo showcases hunting birds
By Laura Rineerlrineer@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Jeff Simpson’s favorite hunting buddy is very different from the others he knows. She is a female, and she could tear his hand to shreds with her talons if provoked.That’s because this hunting buddy is a 9-year-old red-tailed hawk, which has killed a range of prey from mice to squirrels and muskrats.“She did actually catch a rattlesnake one time in Texas,” said Simpson, a licensed falconer. “And the rattlesnake bit her. Luckily they have an immunity to it (venom).”Simpson was part of a Birds of Prey presentation Sunday afternoon at Miller Park Zoo, where he told stories of his hunting adventures and talked about red-tailed hawks.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/11/05/news/doc454ea2e3cbf9a244417247.txt


Zoo story: Is she or isn't she?

It's sort of like the guessing game that plays out weekly in the celebrity tabloids. Have they just gained a few pounds, or is Britney, Gwyneth or J.Lo sporting a baby bump?But in this case, the possible mom-to-be doesn't have the trim waist of most starlets or much of a Hollywood following. She's close to 700 pounds and has a thick coat of honey-kissed white hair. And her fans are mostly limited to Charm City.
Alaska, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore's only female polar bear, might deliver a pair of cubs in December or January, hopeful zoo officials say. Or she might not.There's no pregnancy test for polar bears. And the gestation period is tricky: A female bear can carry an embryo for months, but with the least bit of stress, she can lose the pregnancy. So now, all zoo officials and her adoring public can do is wait, as Alaska remains holed up in one of the zoo's breeding dens.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.bear06nov06,0,7525167.story?coll=bal-local-headlines



Don't give up control of animals at zoo
The Lehigh County commissioners plan to vote Wednesday on ''selling'' the surviving 92 animals at the Lehigh Valley Zoo for $1 to the organization it leases the zoo to. I consider this a ''reverse lease'' because the county already is giving the zoo operators $1.9 million of taxpayer money and $5 million worth of property. In a little over a year, the zoo got rid of more than 70 animals — either dead or disposed of.The government is ''selling'' the county animals because, it says, it shouldn't be running a zoo. I think it also will make it easier for the private people to dispose of more animals without giving any information to the public.
The zoo lease will be evaluated by November 2007 and the county can terminate it. If it is terminated, what happens to the animals then?

http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-burtonnov06,0,2338997.story?coll=all-newsopinionletters-hed


Veteran built Great Bend zoo
BY BECCY TANNER
The Wichita Eagle
This is one in a series of vignettes celebrating Kansas history. The series' name comes from the state motto, Ad astra per aspera: "To the stars through difficulties."
Brit Spaugh didn't have much money, and neither did Great Bend.
But as World War II drew to a close, the Navy veteran went back to his hometown with an idea: Create a zoo and park that would delight area children.
Within two decades, Spaugh would receive national attention for his zoo. It was a favorite for Kansas baby boomers and their parents.
On Aug. 5, 1965, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service announced that for the first time in more than a century, captive trumpeter swans had produced cygnets.
Only two zoos were successful -- the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens and Great Bend's Brit Spaugh Zoo.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/15938303.htm


Rare albino alligator returns to Arizona zoo
PHOENIX -- One of only 25 pure albino alligators in the country has returned to the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park west of Phoenix. The 5-foot-long female alligator spent the summer in an Ohio zoo. The gator, which comes from an alligator farm in Louisiana, is named Marie Laveau, after the famous New Orleans voodoo priestess.
The reptile is 4 1/2 years old and grows about a foot a year. She'll be about 10 feet long and 400 pounds at maturity.
Wildlife World Zoo is home to several other alligators, but Marie Laveau will be kept away from them. "Alligators tend to fight with each other, so we wouldn't want to risk such a rare animal," said Jack Ewert, the zoo's deputy director.
Because albino alligators have no pigmentation for camouflage, they would not survive in the wild, Ewert said.
"They're a quirk of nature," he said.
Two 7-year-old boys recently stared wide-eyed at the gator during a visit to the zoo.
"It's really, really white. I wish I could take it home," Keegan Jasalsky said.
Elijah Gonzales just thinks she's cool. "But if I found it in my backyard, I'd jump over the fence!"

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5637406


Beluga Baby Is a First in Europe
The aquarium at the Zoo of Valencia, Spain has a new sensation. "Yulka" the Beluga whale has given birth to Europe's first baby whale to be born in captivity.
If you thought nine months was long, try 16 months. That's the gestation period for Beluga whales -- and for one such whale in the Zoo of Valencia, the waiting came to an end on Thursday.
For the first time ever in Europe, a Beluga whale gave birth to a cub in captivity. The eight-year-old mother named Yulka -- the youngest of her kind to give birth in a zoo -- finally brought her baby into the world following eight hours of labor.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,446692,00.html


I have 2 questions about zoo tycoon - complete collection?
My first question is ... how do I get the Dodo? I have already tried naming an exhibit Doflopnok...but nothing happens...am I doing something wrong? And my second question is ... are there any animals that can be put together in the same exhibit except the zebras and gazelles?

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index.php?qid=20061106080332AAYfUpr


Zoo raises $25,000 for new tiger exhibit
Special to the American
Nearly $25,000 was raised to fund the new lion and tiger exhibits at the Hattiesburg Zoo this past weekend.
The Hattiesburg Zoological Society’s White Tiger Encounter featured a special “paws-on” event with a pair of rare 7-week-old white tiger cubs Friday night and a public showing of the cubs Saturday and Sunday, with proceeds funding the zoo’s new multi-million dollar lion and tiger exhibits.
The project received a boost from the city of Hattiesburg as it pledged all admissions, gift shop, concessions and ride revenues collected during the weekend go toward the exhibit, while both ride operators at the park donated their share of their weekend profits.


SC orders zoos to stop breeding of animals
Nandagopal
Saturday, October 14, 2006
(Thiruvananthapuram):
The Supreme Court has directed all zoos in India to stop breeding animals beyond their capacity. The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, one of the oldest in the country, is spread over just 60 acres of land but has nearly 500 animals. The zoo is now facing a severe space crunch with its huge deer population going out of control. With nearly 70 sambar deer and over a 100 spotted deer the zoo has more than it can handle."Deer are prolific breeders. In wild it does not matter as nature takes care of that. Predators and the fighting within keep the population under control," said P N Unnikrishnan, Director, Thiruvananthapuram Zoo.A female deer can have up to two calves a year and the young ones are ready to mate in a year and a half. The population multiplies quickly and releasing them in the wild is not an option.Burgeoning populationDeer bred in captivity can be hunted down easily and they transmit diseases that are absent in wild deer. Moreover, inbreeding has considerably weakened their gene stock. "The main problem is the breeding of two species, sambar deer and the spotted deer. We have them sterilised. Now their population is under control," said Abu S, Superintendent, Thiruvananthapuram Zoo. "In Europe they resort to taking these animals as feed for their natural predators," said said Unnikrishnan.It is animals like the spotted deer, which have created a problem. Their burgeoning population is hard to keep under control. As a result many of them have been sterilised, a fact, which may well have animal activists up in arms. But for now, that seems to be the only way out.

http://www.ndtv.com/environment/wildlife.asp?id=94788&callid=1


Exotic Pets: Disaster Waiting to Happen?
BY AMY ELLIS NUTT c.2006 Newhouse News Service
MOUNT HOPE, Ohio -- The monkey rattled the bars of its cage, then threw pieces of food at the small crowd gathered around its metal crate. Crouching, two children giggled and reached tentatively toward the animal.A tag on the cage identified the occupant for sale: "Java macaque, 6 years old, missing a little hair."What the sign did not say was this: Ninety percent of macaques are carriers of the herpes-B virus -- relatively harmless to monkeys, but so virulent to humans it can liquefy the brainstem and turn the spinal cord to mush.Ninety miles southwest of Cleveland, in the heart of Amish country, buyers and sellers had come on a recent weekend to the Mid-Ohio Exotic Animal Auction to inspect and perhaps buy creatures whose native lands were thousands of miles away. Many were potential carriers of some of the most dangerous diseases known to man.

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/nutt3100606.html


On a mission
SINGAPOREANS these days are likely to link wildlife campaigns to a homegrown group rather than the established west-based environmental organisations.
The locally established Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) is pushing animal issues into the national consciousness of a society often perceived as materialistic. From radio advertisements to billboards, exhibition at public places and talks at schools, Acres is showing Singaporeans their ugly treatment of animals.
Since its establishment in 2001, its teams on wildlife rescue, zoo check, and research and education have rolled out campaigns to make the country an animal-friendly city-state.
Acres, a member of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, aims to end illegal wildlife trade through undercover investigations. It also assists the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) with confiscation of illegally held animals.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/10/3/lifefocus/15402123&sec=lifefocus


Great Plains Zoo Earns AZA Accreditation
Leaders at the Great Plains Zoo announced Monday their facility has been recognized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a top honor in the industry.This, just one year after the Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum was in disrepair. A task force was put together to deal with the structural and financial issues that needed to be addressed. Achieving this accreditation places it among the top 10 percent of zoos and aquariums in the country. But zoo officials say this achievement doesn't mean their work is over. In preparation for the accreditation team's visit over the summer, the Great Plains Zoo staff spent months working to make sure the zoo is putting its best foot forward. “This is a large facility, 45 acres, and we scoured every bit of it,” said Elizabeth Whealy, President of the Great Plains Zoo.

http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=0,51448



Chained together?
Racking horse group hopes it has resolved controversy that depleted its membership
By Paul Huggins DAILY Staff Writer
phuggins@decaturdaily.com · 340-2395

PRICEVILLE — The dingy aluminum chains hanging loosely above some hooves this week have the luster of a gold medal to many racking horse owners and trainers.
For the first time, World Celebration has allowed the controversial devices that help the show horse exaggerate its four-beat gait.
Though the conflict isn't likely to die soon, the fact that show classes featuring chained horses are so popular makes it evident the chains are here to stay.
Through Thursday night, 99 horses had shown in the nine "specialty action" chained classes. Excluding the pleasure division, which features horses that double as the trail riding mounts, the chained classes were the most popular among the strictly show horse division.

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060930/chain.shtml



Sounds of neighing horses used to scare away wild elephants
GUWAHATI: Wildlife authorities in Assam will soon play recorded sounds of horses neighing to scare away hungry wild Asiatic elephants currently locked in deadly turf wars with humans.
"We shall be recording the sound of horses neighing and then play the same over loudspeakers in areas where elephant depredation is very serious in an attempt to scare away the pachyderms," Assam’s chief wildlife warden M Malakar said.
This was among other measures devised at an emergency meeting of experts, officials, elephant owners, and locals that concluded at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam to ease the alarming man-elephant conflict in the region.
"The idea to chase wild elephant herds using horses whinny was given at the meeting by a village elder and we decided to implement his suggestion on an experimental basis," Assam forest and wildlife minister Rockybul Hussain said.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=110379&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22


Fort Worth: He says slaughter is humane; opponents call it cruel
07:59 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 30, 2006
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – With Congress heading for a showdown vote on whether to ban horse slaughter, the head of the Fort Worth Zoo is weighing in on behalf of the slaughterhouse industry, arguing that zoos will find it harder to keep their lions and tigers happy and healthy without access to federally inspected horse meat.
Many zoos use horse meat. Carnivores like it. It's cheaper and more abundant than zebra, giraffe or water buffalo and more nutritious than beef or chicken. But Fort Worth Zoo director Michael Fouraker's stance, in a letter to a slaughterhouse lobbyist released Tuesday, angered animal rights groups, which found it appalling for him to speak out on behalf of an industry they deem cruel.
The horse meat industry says it can't stay in business without the right to export meat for human consumption.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-horseslaughter_30met.ART0.North.Edition1.3e3747a.html



Wide-eyed youngster on view at the zoo
By JACOB BENNETTCourier & Press staff writer 464-7434 or bennettj@courierpress.comSaturday, August 19, 2006

Courtesy Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
On July 25, a baby owl monkey was born at Evansville’s Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. The baby, tucked in the middle, can be seen in the Kley building’s nocturnal exhibit crawling from its mother’s belly to her back, staying on her at all times.
Evansville has a new baby owl monkey, Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden officials announced Friday.
The baby, born July 25, is on display in the Kley building's nocturnal exhibit.
It brings the number of owl monkeys at the zoo to five. There have been 20 successful births since owl monkeys were brought to the zoo in 1969, officials said.
The baby stays on its mother at all times, crawling from her belly to her back.
The mother is almost 4 years old; the father is about 26. The male is the only owl monkey in North America caught in the wild; he came from Colombia, zoo officials said.
Owl monkeys are native to subtropical and tropical forests of South and Central America. There are only 22 owl monkeys in six zoos in North America.
The zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (entry gate closes at 4 p.m.) every day. Adult admission is $7 and children ages 3-12 are $6.Admission is free for children under 3. Vanderburgh County residents receive a $1 discount.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/aug/19/wide-eyed-youngster-on-view-at-the-zoo/



Trust fund use eyed in repairs for Attleboro zoo
BY GEORGE W. RHODES/SUN CHRONICLE STAFFFriday, August 18, 2006 11:40 PM CDT
ATTLEBORO -- Park commission ers are mulling a request from Mayor Kevin Dumas to use special trust fund money for important improve ments to the zoo's rainforest exhibit.Dumas originally aimed to use $51,000 from the city's capital improvement budget to buy a new rainforest furnace and build a room to put it in.
However, the mayor has now decided trust funds created to sup port the tropical display would be a more appropriate source of money and would allow the city to take on other capital projects.
Dumas said he plans to use the city's $51,000 to improve other areas of Capron Park if commissioners approve his plan.

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2006/08/19/city/city4.txt



Baby gorilla dies at Canadian zoo
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A two-week-old gorilla has died at a Canadian zoo after her mother's nursing routine was disrupted by other females and feedings by staff failed to maintain the baby's strength, zoo officials said on Friday.
The gorilla died late Thursday after females in the Calgary Zoo's gorilla troop took her away from her mother three times after she was born, creating stress for both the mother, named Zuri, and the newborn, whose energy was sapped, veterinarian Sandie Black said.
Supplemental feedings by zoo staff helped with nutrition but added to both gorillas' anxiety, Black told reporters.
"What we believe happened late in the afternoon yesterday as we were working toward separating the baby from Zuri for another supplemental feed is that baby ran out of the very small store of energy newborns have," she said.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/19/worldupdates/2006-08-19T010719Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-264119-1&sec=worldupdates



Zoo Tycoon 2 Marine Mania and Georgia Aquarium Contest
We're teaming up with the Georgia Aquarium to sponsor a national essay contest on marine conservation and the importance of preserving aquatic life, to celebrate the launch of “Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania.”
The national essay competition (US only) encourages students in grades six through eight to submit a 250- to 500-word essay focusing on why conservation of marine animals and the ocean is important.
The grand prize winner receives a trip for four to Atlanta and a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Georgia Aquarium, where the winner and his or her family can observe whale sharks and African black-footed penguins in their natural habitats from exclusive views of the exhibits. They can also speak directly with staff biologists to learn more about how to take care of the marine animals. Runners-up receive copies of “Zoo Tycoon 2” and all franchise expansion packs, including “Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania.”

http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2006/11/01/538576.aspx



An Animal Care Supervisor Who Cares
Posted at 1:23 pm November 1, 2006 by Zoo InternQuest Intern
Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.
Gaylene Thomas’ job as an animal care supervisor for the San Diego Zoo is not like an animal keeper’s job. Her job entails more paper work such as setting employees’ schedules and evaluating employees, but she also contributes her expertise to the keepers on animal care decisions. By contrast, an animal keeper prepares diets, cleans the exhibits, and trains the animals daily to build a personal relationship with them.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/general/zoo-internquest/an-animal-care-supervisor-who-cares/

concluding …

Just in case you were wondering why Bush doesn't care about Global Warming

 

While Antarctica experiences 'record heat' Bush seeks faster melting over the Arctic Circle

As ice melts, debate over Northwest Passage heats (click above link)

TORONTO — Melting ice is opening up the Northwest Passage and reviving a dispute between the United States and Canada over who controls the potentially lucrative shipping route.
The United States calls the passage an international strait, open to all. Canada claims control because it considers the passage an internal waterway, like the Mississippi River.

Until recently, the decades-long dispute has been mostly academic; thick sea ice blocks the passage for about 11 months of the year. But as global temperatures rise and polar ice caps melt, the ice-free season may lengthen, making the Northwest Passage a viable shipping route within decades or, the U.S. Navy says, even a few years.

Satellite photos show the ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is shrinking by about 3%-4% each decade, says John Falkingham, chief of ice forecasting for the Canadian Ice Service. The melt has accelerated, he says, to a rate of about 8% per decade since 2000. But because Arctic currents push drifting ice toward the Canadian archipelago, he predicts more ice in the passage for the near term. However, Falkingham says, "at the end of the century, there could be an extended summertime shipping season."

Click on for animation - The heat has to be record setting for this time of year in Antarctica. Holy Smokes.

There is widespread temperate readings (approximately zero degrees C) - click on

This is a hot spring time in Antarctica. There are multiple humidity readings of 90% or higher. Antarctica is in trouble.

Morning Papers - concluded

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Conditions :: Fine

Temperature is freezing, but only marginally. -6.0

Updated Monday 06 Nov 8:15PM


The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Ice Chime) is freezing at least one day out of the year:

19 F / -7 C

Mostly Cloudy Humidity:
39% Dew Point: -2 F / -19 C Wind: 12 mph / 18 km/h from the NNW

Pressure: 29.72 in / 1006 hPa
Windchill: 7 F / -14 C

Visibility: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV: 0 out of 16

Clouds: Mostly Cloudy 5000 ft / 1524 m
(Above Ground Level)

end