Zoos - continued

Another top zoo official resigns
By Katherine Crowell
Staff Writer
SALISBURY — Salisbury Zoo Education Curator Carrie Samis is latest in a chain of resignations at the local tourist attraction.
Zoo Director Jim Rapp’s resignation at the end of May was followed by Public Works Director John Jacobs’ resignation last month. The zoo’s veterinary technician Steve Sarro has also given his notice.
Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman said the Zoo Commission will play a vital role during this interim period while the city finds replacements for the top zoo positions.
“We’ll probably be working more closely for awhile,” said Tilghman of the city and the zoo. “I think this does present an interesting opportunity. There are no reorganization plans at this point. It is a challenge when we have to lose one talented employee let alone several.”

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070719/NEWS03/70719022/1002/NEWS01



Top Salisbury Zoo Instructor Resigns
(Photo: WBOC)
07/19/20072:30 PM ET
SALISBURY, Md. (AP)- The top instructor at the Salisbury Zoo will resign, joining the former director and other top officials in leaving the zoo in recent weeks.
Education Curator Carrie Samis said she is leaving to become education coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program in Worcester County.
Former director Jim Rapp resigned in May, and zoo public works director John Jacobs resigned last month. The zoo's veterinary technician, Steve Sarro, has also quit.
Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman said the Salisbury Zoo Commission will work to replace Rapp first, then the rest of the staff.
"There are no reorganization plans at this point. It is a challenge when we have to lose one talented employee, let alone several," Tilghman said.

http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6813276&nav=Losm




Griffin shines through rainy zoo gig
By Charles R. Cross
Special to The Seattle Times
Wednesday night, Woodland Park Zoo
Patty Griffin's Woodland Park Zoo show had the misfortune to occur on the rainiest Seattle day in more than a month. Griffin, like many summer Northwest visitors, assumed this was typical weather. "Do y'all even notice it anymore?" she teased the crowd.
A little drizzle certainly wasn't going to stop the sold-out ZooTunes audience from enjoying what has become Seattle's most popular outdoor concert series, or from appreciating Griffin, who was playing her third zoo show in five years. In many ways, the cloudy skies were a perfect backdrop to Griffin's noirish ballads, which favor minor chords and melancholy themes. She even dressed the part: Wearing a black patent-leather raincoat, and sporting a mop of frizzled hair, she looked remarkably like the actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus might appear caught on a rainy New York City street.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2003796543_patty20.html



Jackson Zoo to discount tickets for Disneymania event
The Clarion-Ledger
The Jackson Zoo will discount tickets for its Sunday Disneymania Concert for Conservation by $2 to attract the largest possible crowd. But the discounted tickets can be purchased for $10 Saturday and Sunday only at the zoo admissions office.
The Disneymania ticket will allow admission to both the zoo and the concert on Sunday.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070719/NEWS/70719037



Corporation team visits zoo (This is the entire article there are a lot of pop-ups at this site)
Friday July 20 2007 11:45 IST
T’PURAM: The corporation health committee members visited the city zoo on Thursday to review the situation following the FMD outbreak. Corporation health committee chairman G R Anil led the team comprising the corporation veterinary officer, health officers and ward councillors.
The team that analysed the healthcare and sanitation activities inside the zoo expressed concern over the waste disposal mechanism in the zoo. “The issue of garbage disposal inside the zoo needs to be addressed immediately. We will be cooperating with zoo officials to find out better methods of waste disposal,” G R Anil said.
He added that the issue of space constraint in some enclosures, including that of the black bucks, was also raised during the visit.
The zoo officials said that the Zoo and Museum Directorate had moved papers seeking a government recommendation to appoint contractors to remove waste from the zoo.
A review meeting of the technical committee of veterinarians and officials will be held on Friday. The Animal Husbandry Department director will convene the meeting that will decide on the future course of action to be taken. Decision on a possible date to reopen the zoo is also expected to be taken at the meeting.



Visit the Zoo, at their peril
Monday July 23 2007 11:41 IST
T'PURAM: A fortnight after it closed its doors to visitors, following a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, the city zoo will be reopened on Tuesday.
The technical committee headed by Animal Husbandry Department director R Vijayakumar gave the nod for reopening the zoo after re-evaluating the health and sanitary situation in the zoo on Sunday. However, visitor movement along the infected area will remain restricted.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEO20070723012018&Page=O&Title=Thiruvananthapuram&Topic=0



Zoo lets you do its dirty work
by Brian Brus
The Journal Record July 20, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City Zoo Executive Director Bert Castro believes offering the public the opportunity to perform a little sweaty work is an excellent way for people to appreciate what it takes to keep their zoo operating.

http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=80236



KHAO KEAW OPEN ZOO SPECIAL PROMOTION (questionable pop-ups)
Open Zoo Khao Keaw, Sriracha, is giving a special promotion to all tourists and visitors. For any guests who came to visit Day Time open zoo will be able to buy Night Safari open zoo ticket for only 70 Baht instead of 100 Baht. The ticket for children is only 30 Baht, starting from now on.
The Night Safari Open Zoo has been popular among tourists for more than 10 years. The Zoo has maintained the beauty of the sceneries and animals around the Zoo, including the Zoo lecturer who will give the full knowledge about the animals along the 7 kilometers of routing. All the visitors have always been happy and excited with the scene of animals in the night time atmosphere. There are hundreds of animal to be watched such as; Brow-antlered dear, Elephants herd, Giraffes, Zebras, Gaurs, Barking deer, Camels, Bears and many of Tiger species.

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.php?IDNEWS=0000003472



One of world's oldest chimps dies in Australia
The Associated Press
Published: July 19, 2007
SYDNEY, Australia: One of the world's oldest chimps, Fifi, has died in Australia, zoo officials said Friday.
Fifi was the matriarch of the 18 chimpanzees at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, and celebrated her 60th birthday in May with sugar-free cupcakes and coconuts among four generations of her family.
But Fifi, who suffered arthritis and had taken to sipping from a cup of chamomile tea each morning in her later years, stayed in bed Thursday morning, raising suspicions among the keepers that she was unwell, the zoo said in a statement.
Keepers provided her with fresh bedding and her favorite foods, while other chimps in the group visited her throughout the day, the zoo said. She died peacefully in the afternoon.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/20/asia/AS-GEN-Australia-Old-Chimp-Dies.php



Prodigal bird returns to Dallas Zoo
08:23 PM CDT on Friday, July 20, 2007
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
kmenzer@dallasnews.com
A South American hyacinth macaw that spent its day on the lam after escaping its enclosure at the Dallas Zoo Friday morning was captured later in the day thanks to some gentle coaxing and a little corn.
A South American hyacinth macaw
“Yoohoo!” said an excited Chuck Siegel, the zoo’s deputy director for animal management. “I’m very happy. All the zoo staff, we’re all really happy.”
Officials are still unsure how the bird, named Archie, escaped its enclosure in the zoo’s Bird Valley exhibit, but the male macaw spent the day in the tree tops on zoo grounds. His best friend — another macaw that did not escape — called to him from the cage throughout the day. The two birds have been friends for more than 20 years.
“We want him back but we’re not overly concerned because he’s been with his buddy so long, he’s not going anywhere,” Mr. Siegel said earlier in the day before the bird was caught.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/072107dnmetbird.93d0af57.html



New Hamadryas Baboons at Riverbanks Zoo
(Columbia) - Three new hamadryas baboons have joined the existing baboon troop at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
Officials say the baboons were introduced to their new exhibit on July 17, and are busy exploring their new habitat located near the front of the zoo.
"Riverbanks has been anticipating the arrival of these baboons for over a year," said John Davis, curator of mammals. "We expect with the acquisition of the new baboons that the exhibit will become very active. Their youth makes them curious, and they have extensive social experience with other baboons."

http://www.wltx.com/FYI/story.aspx?storyid=51713




Zoo Pictures Contest Winners Announced
POSTED: 10:24 am EDT July 20, 2007
UPDATED: 12:40 pm EDT July 23, 2007
ATLANTA -- The wsbtv.com Zoo Atlanta photo contest brought out the shutterbug in almost 200 viewers.
Entrants sent pictures of Pandas, gorillas, elephants, meerkats and warthogs.
It was tough to pick the winners, but we narrowed it down to four top photos. The winners each received a gift pack of tickets from Zoo Atlanta.
Jan Hoffman of Athens was the winner in the Panda division. She sent a sweet picture of a Panda peering around a tree.
Ron Freeman of Marietta won the gorilla division with a great picture of a baby gorilla playing with a leaf.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13721111/detail.html



Asian geckoes hatched at Belgian zoo
www.chinaview.cn
2007-07-21 08:03:32
BRUSSELS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Two tiny wonder geckoes hatched out at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium on Friday, the first time that a European zoo has succeeded in breeding this genus of reptiles.
Wonder geckoes, or Teratoscincus, are extremely difficult to breed and they have never before hatched outside the Arab Emirates, Belgian public broadcaster VRT reported.
Last year, Antwerp Zoo was given five wonder geckoes by the Emirates Sharjah Breeding Center. The two males and three females were specially selected to take part in a relocation and breeding program.
The tiny animals are on show every day at the reptile nursery of Antwerp zoo.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/21/content_6408720.htm



Baby Penguins at Tautphaus Park Zoo
July 22, 2007 08:47 PM EDT
Six record-breakers put on their formal attire today, to show off at the Tautphaus Park Zoo.
The six new penguin chicks double the record of baby African penguins raised at the zoo set last year.
Four of the six penguins took their first swim in deep water without an animal keeper today. The two younger chicks will join the rest in about a week for their first unattended dip in the pool.
The adorable penguins are a part of the African Penguin Species Survival Plan, and will be sent to other zoos or institutions.

http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=6820221



ROYAL OAK
Stance on Wanda and Winky brought trouble for Kagan
July 21, 2007
BY TINA LAM
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Wanda and Winky didn't just strike a nerve with their adoring public.
The debate in 2004 over where the Detroit Zoo's aging elephants belonged got zoo Director Ron Kagan -- who said elephants shouldn't be kept in cold-weather zoos -- into trouble with a national zoo organization and with a colleague from another zoo who hit him during a professional meeting, according to documents obtained by the Free Press.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/NEWS03/707210334/1118/RSS



Zoo boosting flamingo flock
By Nathan Altadonna
Staff Writer
Forget about over-easy, scrambled or sunny side up. Mary McFarland likes her eggs to talk.
"This is my favorite stage — the talking egg,” the birdkeeper said as she checked on the Oklahoma City Zoo's future flamingo flock.
A faint peeping came from an egg about the size of a baseball, signaling it was time to head to the "hatcher.” McFarland placed the egg in a warm, humid compartment. Within 24 hours after it "pips,” the tiny flamingo should be out of its shell.
"They come out all wet and sticky like a baby,” McFarland said.
The recent hatch at the zoo was the third since zookeepers brought in 20 flamingo eggs from Florida earlier this month. They hope to use the eggs to increase the size and productivity of the zoo's Caribbean flamingo flock, said Darcy Henthorn, curator of birds.
"They do a lot of courtship,” Henthorn said. "If you can get the numbers up — which we are going to do — we're going to have more productivity.”
Henthorn and McFarland traveled to Miami, Fla., to get the eggs as part of a project with the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The eggs are harvested from a semi-wild flock at Hialeah Race Track. Keepers from Miami Metrozoo collect about half the eggs laid by the flock and give them to member zoos. The Oklahoma City Zoo had been on a waiting list since 2003.

http://newsok.com/article/3087985



Seven Mexico zoo kangaroos die in four weeks
Zoo officials believe the animals were distressed by thunderstorms
Updated: 12:39 p.m. ET July 21, 2007
MEXICO CITY - Violent thunderstorms have driven seven distressed kangaroos to death at a Mexican zoo, say veterinarians who are now pampering the remaining three mothers and their babies.
The zoo in the western city of Guadalajara brought the kangaroos from Texas in April and all went smoothly until last month when the rainy season began.
Seven kangaroos died over a period of four weeks, most soon after harsh rain storms.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19887543/



Zoo volunteer enjoys summer in Salina
April Middleton
Laticia White's family has friends in Salina, but she'd never been here before this summer.
And if she wouldn't have been selected to be one of the 28 Zoo Teen volunteers chosen by Rolling Hill Wildlife Refuge, she wouldn't be here now.
In fact, she might never have seen Salina.
"I came just for this," Laticia, 16, Fountain City, Wis., said. "I heard about the summer program here and really wanted to do it."
Working at a zoo was important to Laticia, who will be a junior when school resumes next month. She wants to study zoology or marine biology.
But why not find a zoo closer to home?
"There isn't one real close to where I live," Laticia said. "And the zoos that are there aren't as big and aren't as nice as this."

http://www.saljournal.com/Story/zovolunteer072107



Rare gibbon survives at Perth Zoo
By Graeme Powell
Posted Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:33pm AEST
Updated Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:52pm AEST
Li-Lian was abandoned by its mother and has survived thanks to around-the-clock care by veterinary staff at Perth Zoo. (AAP Image: Tony McDonoough)
A rare baby gibbon born at Perth Zoo seven weeks ago and abandoned by its mother has survived thanks to around-the-clock care by veterinary staff.
The tiny White-cheeked Gibbon, weighing 500 grams at birth, has been named Li-Lian, which is Chinese for clever and free.
Li-Lian is being bottle fed baby milk formula eight times a day and now weights 800 grams.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/18/1981895.htm



Zoo elephant changes nationwide
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/21/2007 10:55:20 AM PDT
A look at some changes zoos around the country have made to their elephant exhibits:
Zoos that have eliminated elephant exhibits since 2000:
Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, Texas
Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
Detroit Zoo, Detroit
San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco
Chehaw Wild Animal Park, Albany, Ga.
Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, Wis.
Zoos eliminating elephant exhibits:
Lion County Safari, Loxahatchee, Fla., and Philadelphia Zoo - Looking for a new home for its two remaining elephants.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6432934?nclick_check=1



Zoo set to expand
By Christian Martell/The Brownsville Herald
July 21, 2007 - 11:19PM
The question of expanding Gladys Porter Zoo was more of a formality than a discussion item at the last City Commissioner meeting.
Mayor Pat Ahumada claimed “we’ll do it” at the July 3 meeting, before even hearing future plans for the land — the building of a new educational facility.
Zoo Director Patrick Burchfield and Assistant City Manager Carlos Ayala showed the area to be an abandoned Southern Pacific railroad track that ran in back of the zoo.
“It’s not a huge amount, but it would be valuable to them,” said City Manager Charlie Cabler.
The zoo asked for authorization to use the land and for the city to close off the E. 6th Street and S. Old Alice ends of the track.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/zoo_78557___article.html/city_land.html



Visitors get view of the wild life
Zoo's weekend activities spark animal instincts
Crowds watch chimpanzees at the Maryland Zoo, which is showcasing activities this weekend that encourage the zoo's animals to exercise their natural instincts.
By Melissa Harris sun reporter
July 22, 2007
When a keeper at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore draped a dead chick on a fallen tree inside the leopard den yesterday, 8-year-old Jahrea Reynolds shuddered and turned away. "Gross," he told his mother.
But a few minutes later - after the keepers planted all of the bait, left the cage and released the leopards Amari and Hobbes - Jahrea stood on the railing to get the best view of the hunt.
"That's the first time I've ever seen a leopard act like that," the boy said. "But I have seen my cat at home act like that."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.zoo22jul22,0,5325661.story



For the city's sake, it's time to clean up the zoo of government
John DiMambro
Nevada Appeal Publisher, jdimambro@nevadaappeal.com
July 22, 2007
Animal Farm revisited. All that's missing is the big barn and the farm animals. George Orwell's setting for his fairytale of political discourse and hierarchical revolt disguising personal gain has found a contemporary home in Carson City Hall - our own version of Manor Farm as depicted by Orwell. In his novel, though, animals acted like people.
I am not picking sides as to who in City Hall is right or wrong in the recent battle of opinion versus fact between Mayor Marv Teixeira and City Manager Linda Ritter. Not yet anyway. When the time is right. And don't kid yourself. There are other players. The game of politics is not fun unless it becomes a party of many. That's why politics are divided by "parties." The party to which I make reference started off as an office party. But the party needed more players, so it campaigned for more participants. Then, the game leaders still weren't satisfied, so even more players were sought - this time outside of the office. In order to be a player, you have to take a side. And to take a side means you must be a believer in the cause. Right? Wrong! Some of the additional players are just screening their rear ends for fear of getting them burned while playing their game in the sun too long.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070722/OPINION/107220103/-1/rss04



Junior Zoo Keepers get hands-on experience
By BRITTONY LUND
The Lufkin Daily News
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Out of hundreds of young animal lovers, only 20 make the cut to become Junior Zoo Keepers at the Ellen Trout Zoo each summer.
For the past 10 years, Charlotte Henley, administrator with the zoo, has headed up the Junior Zoo Keepers program.

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/07/22/jr_zoo_keepers.html

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