Zoos
Vienna's zoo prepares to showcase newborn panda baby
Posted : Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:09:04 GMT
Vienna - After the birth of a baby giant panda at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo in August, business interest in the star-to-be is skyrocketing. Although the now barely 30-centimetre long cub has not even been presented to the public, several companies have already expressed keen interest in securing contracts. Public interest may outstrip publicity for another ursine icon, polar bear Knut, star of Berlin's zoo, who is quickly outgrowing his cute status.
The management of Vienna's zoo has already held first talks with a PR agency, deputy manager Gerald Kasbauer said. To get marketing off the ground, the cub would need a name first. But that momentous decision remains with China as it lent the proud panda parents Yang Yang and Long Hui to Schoenbrunn Zoo in 2003.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/114627.html
Hundreds of multi-coloured butterflies”
Yesterday we visited Toronto Zoo on a marathon day trip. Marathon because it took 7 hours of solid walking to see everything (plus it was 31 degrees & sunny) - but really worth it. The zoo is fairly expensive so we bought City Passes which entitle us to get into several Toronto attractions, as well as the zoo, saving lots of money and hassle (we hope).
The zoo is split into sections, with areas representing Eurasia, Americas, Africa, Indomalaya, a Native Canada bit and an interactive Dinosaur exhibit. The dinosaurs exhibit is where we headed first - kids can operate the life sized dinos via electronic consoles which the boys throughly enjoyed, I think only I read the paleontologists comments (very informative, thank you) but Archie & Stan still seemed to get loads from it.
http://realtravel.com/toronto-journals-j5642640.html
Help celebrate World Animal Day
Posted on Sep 24, 2007 5:18:00 AM
Scores of animal chaplains around the world will bless thousands of animals on Oct. 4 - World Animal Day. The day, dedicated to honoring, blessing and protecting animals, was founded at an ecologists convention in Italy in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. The date was chosen because it is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Church holiday that is often celebrated with a "blessing of the pets." The Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains refers provides ideas and resources to groups and congregations. In addition to blessing pets, volunteers will work at animals shelters, zoos, rescues and other nonprofit organizations. Dogs will be walks, cats brushed, horses groomed and fish tanks cleaned. Donations will be given to animal welfare agencies. To get involved go to www.WorldAnimalDay.org.uk
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_lifestyle_animal/2007/09/help-celebrate-.html
September 24, 2007
Horsemeat Cake, Anyone?
A new ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may finally put an end to the Cavel horsemeat slaughter saga that has been on our radar for some time. On Friday, the court upheld the Illinois Horse Meat Act, effectively shutting down the DeKalb County-based slaughterhouse.
The ever-prolific Richard Posner penned the 15-page opinion. In his trademark witty style, he writes,
But even if no horses live longer as a result of the new law, a state is permitted, within reason, to express disgust at what people do with the dead, whether dead human beings or dead animals. There would be an uproar if restaurants in Chicago started serving cat and dog steaks, even though millions of stray cats and dogs are euthanized in animal shelters.
You can find the PDF of the ruling here. As we read through it, it became clear the issue was not so much about the horsemeat itself, but more to do with interstate commerce laws, combined with a healthy does of equine love. Also in the report? Apparently horsemeat is all the rage in American zoos, and sometimes the very bored zookeepers feel the need to make horsemeat cakes for their animals. From the PDF of the opinion:
http://chicagoist.com/2007/09/24/horsemeat_cake.php
Escape from devil's island: the plan to save a species
A dying breed: Disease has wiped out half of Tasmania's devils, prompting action to set up a breeding stock in mainland states and overseas.
Photo: Ourism Tasmania
Andrew Darby
September 22, 2007
The plan involves zoos and sanctuaries holding more than 1500 devils for decades, in the hope of eventually restocking Tasmania with healthy animals.
With no sign of a slowdown in the transmissible cancer that is killing the devil, the urgency is rising.
Leading devil biologist Menna Jones said it was "a race against extinction".
Almost a year ago, 48 healthy young devils left Tasmania as the nucleus of an "insurance" population spread around four mainland zoos, including Victoria's Healesville Sanctuary and the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, NSW.
Since then, devil deaths in the island state have continued unabated and the official Save the Tasmanian Devil Steering Committee now predicts the animal will be extinct in its natural habitat within 25 years.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/escape-from-devils-island-the-plan-to-save-a-species/2007/09/21/1189881777611.html
Economy and Politics
Show goes on at 302 derecognized zoos
The PETA petition seeks ban on establishments such as small animal parks, hotels and institutes from housing or exhibiting endangered species
Padmaparna Ghosh
New Delhi: India has more officially derecognized zoos than ones that are approved by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
Some 190 zoological parks of various sizes and hues are recognized by the authority, but a surprisingly high 302 have been demoted to the derecognized status.
CZA, a statutory body under the ministry of environment and forests, regulates and supervises the establishment and management of zoos.
“I don’t think there would be a single zoo in the country which would be following the CZA guidelines completely,” says Jaya Simha, campaign manager, People for Ethical treatment of Animals, or Peta, the world’s largest animal rights activist organization.
Under Indian law, derecognized zoos don’t necessarily have to close operations.
http://www.livemint.com/2007/09/25005714/Show-goes-on-at-302-derecogniz.html
Capital funding for your site: the EU’s LIFE+ Environmental
I attach here with his kind permission an interview with Karl Hansen, Director of the Living Rainforest, Berkshire.
Under the former LIFE programme Karl drew down some €2 million to support development of a new form of tropical glass house exhibit.
The new LIFE+ programme will open in September and close again by the end of November. In addition to the above, funding can be provided for appropriate native species and eco-systems and for environmental communication. Please get in contact for further information on these.
John Regan
http://zoofunding.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/capital-funding-for-your-site-the-eus-life-environmental/
Basketball, Amphibian Ark, and the Need for a Quick Win
I love basketball, but I was never good at it. That’s not Coach Dyer’s fault; he offered encouragement to me back in the seventh grade. I simply didn’t practice enough — didn’t repeat the muscle movements over and over again so that the proper form and motion happened automatically. Muscle memory, they call it.
Now, I have to admit, I really don’t love amphibians. I never had a frog as a pet, never dragged my parents to the amphibian house when we would visit the zoo, and never understood, until recently, that they are the canaries in the coal mine for our planet’s health. But now that I know Kermit’s in big trouble, I can’t walk away from it.
A team of us at my company is helping a new organization, named Amphibian Ark, to rally support — from governments, corporations, foundations, and consumers — so that it can capture and breed hundreds of threatened amphibian species.
http://frogmatters.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/basketballs-frogs-and-the-need-for-a-quick-win/
25th September 2007
JOINT WAZA/IZE CONFERENCE ‘CHANGING CLIMATE – CHANGING ZOOS’
Adelaide, South Australia
19th – 23rd October 2008
The International Zoo Educators Association has formally announced their next conference:
"We are pleased to announce the 63rd Annual Conference of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums held jointly with the 19th Biennial Conference of the International Zoo Educators’ Association. The conference will take place in Adelaide, Australia on 19-23 October 2008.
You and your family are invited to attend five days in South Australia where you will have the opportunity to catch up with your colleagues from around the world, take advantage of the great networking, further the cause of frogs’ survival and explore local pioneering renewable energy solutions.
Take the time to explore the beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna of South Australia and sample the heritage and cultural mixtures that combine to make a wonderful cuisine. South Australia is an ideal location to discuss and strengthen the global zoo communities’ resolve to achieve sustainable biodiversity conservation, environmental education and ever increasing standards of animal welfare; within a clear ethical framework and in partnership with others.
A very exciting social program is currently being planned along with a comprehensive scientific program with something for everyone. Mark these dates in your diary now!!
Approximate cost US$950 (excludes accommodation). To be updated and confirmed soon. "
For more information on this and past IZE and WAZA conferences, please use the web links below.
World Association of Zoos and Aquaria
International Zoo Educators Association
http://www.bgci.org/botanic_gardens/news/0417/
Hungry Zimbabweans try to eat giraffe
By ANGUS SHAW
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Police stopped villagers from slaughtering and eating a giraffe that strayed into the outskirts of the capital amid chronic food shortages caused by an economic crisis, the official media reported Saturday.
The adult giraffe was believed to have wandered from nearby farmland. Wildlife authorities took the giraffe away after police kept a crowd from killing it "for the pot," the state Herald reported.
Zimbabwe is suffering shortages of meat and basic foods in an economic meltdown that has left it with the world's highest official inflation - nearly 7,000 percent.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Zimbabwe_Giraffe.html
SoCal man charged with smuggling iguanas
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- A man accused of stealing three endangered iguanas from a nature preserve in Fiji and smuggling them into the United States in his prosthetic leg has been indicted.
Jereme James, 33, of Long Beach, faces a single count of smuggling, according to a federal indictment returned Friday in Los Angeles. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Prosecutors say James stole the Fiji Island banded iguanas while visiting the South Pacific island in September 2002. He then brought the reptiles to the U.S. by hiding them in a special compartment he had constructed in his prosthetic leg, prosecutors said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Iguana_Smuggling_Charges.html
Law banning horse slaughter upheld
By TARA BURGHART
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CHICAGO -- The nation's last horse slaughtering plant could be forced to permanently close after a federal appeals court Friday upheld an Illinois law prohibiting the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals cited measures banning bullfights and cockfights to help explain why it was upholding the law.
"States have a legitimate interest in prolonging the lives of animals that their population happens to like," the panel wrote. "They can ban bullfights and cockfights and the abuse and neglect of animals."
At Cavel International Inc.'s plant, located in the northern Illinois town of DeKalb, about 40,000 to 60,000 horses are slaughtered each year. Except for a portion sold to U.S. zoos, the meat is shipped to be eaten by diners overseas.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Horse_Slaughter.html
Wyo. city considers rabbit ordinance
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
POWELL, Wyo. -- A proposed city ordinance limiting the number of rabbits per household has some City Council members in this northern Wyoming community hopping.
The council gave initial approval last week to an ordinance that limits rabbits to three breeding pairs a household.
"I know that rabbits are very big in Powell, and it's about time we got something like this on the books," Mayor Scott Mangold said.
Councilman Tim Sapp doesn't agree.
"I've talked with a number of my constituents, and a lot of them aren't 100 percent sure they're for letting rabbits in Powell," Sapp said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_ODD_Bunny_Battle.html
Runaway bull attacks Conn. home and car
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KILLINGLY, Conn. -- An escaped and raging bull attacked a neighbor's home, tearing off siding, ripping down part of a fence and damaging a car.
Wayne Johnson said he found the bull in his yard Friday morning. It had wandered in from a nearby farm.
While he watched, the bull repeatedly charged his house, tore off clapboards, flipped a picnic table, rammed his car and tore down part of the fence around his swimming pool, he said.
"He was crazy," Johnson said. "The thing was ripping my house apart."
Johnson called police, who called the state Department of Agriculture. They suggested finding the farmer who owns the animal.
Eventually, a neighbor was able to lure the bull away with a bag of grain, and led the animal back to its pasture.
Johnson said he's planning to talk to the bull's owner about getting his house repaired. He said he has no idea what caused the bull to become so aggressive.
"My house isn't red," he joked. "It's grayish blue."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_ODD_Raging_Bull.html
Feline found 3 months after Wis. tornado
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- More than three months after disappearing during a tornado, Smoky the cat has been reunited with his owner.
Smoky was last seen June 7, before a tornado destroyed Wanda Ploeger's mobile home in rural Riverview, scattering her belongings.
Ploeger was at work that evening and couldn't find her kitty when she returned.
Ploeger, who has been staying with her ex-husband, said she knew Smoky was out there somewhere. She'd go out late at night to look for Smoky because that's when he liked to go out, she said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_ODD_Weathered_Feline.html
Chaffee Zoo's stingray population down to 11
17 visiting rays have died recently, mostly due to accidents.
By Marc Benjamin and Farin Montañez / The Fresno Bee
09/22/07 00:51:27
An exhibit of visiting stingrays has been a big success at drawing crowds to Fresno Chaffee Zoo, but it hasn't been a smooth experience for the stingrays -- or their keepers.
Seventeen stingrays have died in recent weeks, mostly due to a series of accidents.
The fish began to fall ill after a power failure in June knocked out a device that recirculates and cools the water, zoo officials said. Then, in July, equipment that maintains water quality failed, causing more illnesses.
The stingrays started dying in August.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/145484.html
Zoo is 'in' place for big-animal exhibits
By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 27, 2007
As the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium prepares to welcome a third polar bear today, national zoo experts say Pittsburgh is gaining a reputation as a "charismatic megavertebrate" -- or alluring large animal -- destination.
The zoo appears to have hit the right formula of available exhibit space, breedable animals and veterinary care to make it a go-to zoo for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan, said AZA spokesman Steve Feldman. The plan allots animals to the association's 211 member zoos based on which zoos can best ensure their survival.
"The (Pittsburgh) zoo's been doing a lot of growing and improving," Feldman said. "Having new exhibits, having improvements to the space, and the wonderful International Conservation Center all mean that they can accommodate new animals."
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_529605.html
Jury: Zoo liable, not negligent in Joe case
By Laurel J. Sweet
Thursday, September 27, 2007 - Added 7h agoIn a split decision that one attorney predicted will keep wild-animal handlers on a short leash, a jury yesterday found the managers of Franklin Park Zoo liable for the actions of a gorilla-gone-wild in their care, but not negligent for his still-unexplained escape from their secured Tropical Forest exhibit.
“The jury felt that none of them were negligent, but held them accountable as keepers of a wild animal,” said attorney Donald Gibson, who represented Nia Simone Scott, the Roxbury first-grader mauled by 300-pound Little Joe on the zoo’s grounds Sept. 28, 2003.
Accordingly, jurors awarded the 6-year-old, who was just shy of 3 when she was attacked, $175,000 for her physical and emotional scars. They slammed the cash drawer shut on her widowed mother, Terrasita Duarte-Scott, 46, who sued Zoo New England and five of its executives seeking to be compensated for what she testified was her damaged relationship with her daughter.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1034438
Valley Zoo's Samantha the elephant off to new home (video)
By Sun Media
Samantha the African elephant has left the Valley Zoo.
She shipped out Tuesday for the North Carolina Zoo where she'll join a conservation and breeding program.
Transported in a special climate-controlled truck, the 19-year-old elephant is to arrive in North Carolina on Saturday or Sunday.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/09/26/4528596.html
Elephant from Edmonton zoo headed to North Carolina facility
Canadian Press
EDMONTON - One of the biggest attractions - literally - at Edmonton's Valley Zoo has left town.
Samantha, a 19-year-old, 3,200-kilogram African elephant, was put on a specially designed truck Wednesday headed for an elephant facility in Asheboro, N.C.
Zoo officials said in a news release that the convoy had successfully crossed the American border and would hopefully arrive in North Carolina by the weekend.
The aim of the move is to have Samantha participate in the U.S. zoo's breeding program, which aims to furnish animals for the North American captive population.
Dean Treichel of the Edmonton zoo has said the program is also important for the overall health of the species.
But an animal rights activist disagrees and says it will hurt the zoo's remaining elephant.
In its news release, the zoo said Samantha will join three other elephants in a herd that could grow to eight by the end of the year.
"It's the right decision for Samantha and her species, and is a decision based on conservation," said the news release. "Samantha is a viable reproductive female and should be in a facility where a breeding program exists."
Zoo officials have noted that elephants are extremely social animals and breed better when in a larger group.
Samantha's departure leaves the Edmonton zoo's other elephant, a 31-year-old Asian named Lucy, all alone.
Since Lucy has lived in captivity at the Edmonton facility for 29 years, zoo officials said it would be in her best interests to stay there.
"Lucy is highly habituated and is drawn to humans rather than to elephants," said zoo officials. "To help in any transition Lucy might experience, elephant keepers will be spending additional time with Lucy and ensuring that she is given lots of attention, activity and enrichment. Cameras have been installed so that Lucy can be monitored (around the clock)."
Zoo officials said Lucy is treated daily for arthritis and medical experts are trying to figure out why she developed a chronic respiratory condition that causes her breathing difficulty.
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=71740
Native bats bound for Auckland Zoo
Sep 27, 2007 1:17 PM
Twelve native short-tailed bats from the genetically rare Tararua Forest's Waiohine Valley population are leaving their home on Kapiti Island to take up residence at Auckland Zoo.
The Department of Conservation, Auckland Zoo, and iwi are hopeful that the bats will successfully breed to assist the recovery plan for this genetically unique group.
The Waiohine Valley population, discovered in the late 1990s, is the only known short-tailed bat population living in the southern North Island, and currently numbers just 200.
The 12 bats, which are aed between two and three years, have been part of the most ambitious conservation project ever undertaken anywhere in the world for native bats. During 2005 and 2006, this involved DOC taking pregnant females from Waiohine Valley to the National Wildlife Centre at Pukaha Mount Bruce until they had given birth and weaned their pups. The females were then returned to Waiohine Valley, and the pups taken to Kapiti Island, held in captivity for several months, and then released on the island.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1381852
Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo this weekend
Homeless cats and dogs will be looking for owners.
By Michael P. McConnell
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
ROYAL OAK -- Thousands of people are expected to attend this weekend's pet adoption event at the Detroit Zoo with many of them taking home abandoned cats, dogs, rabbits, kittens and puppies.
http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/092707/loc_animals001.shtml
Vandals attack animals at petting zoo
By Heather Haemker IDS 9/27/2007
While changing the water for her peacocks last week, petting zoo owner Rena Kirk received an unpleasant surprise. She discovered one of her peacock’s legs floating in the poultry waterer.
“Someone would have had to go into my privacy fence, into the peacock cage which is large, taken the lid off to put the leg inside and then put the top back on,” Kirk said.
It was not the first attack on one of Kirk’s animals, but was by far the most severe, she said. For more than a year and a half, acts of vandalism have been going on at Barnyard Friends, her Bloomington petting zoo.
“We didn’t realize what was going on at the time, until it was consistent,” Kirk said.
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=44850
Task force wants smoke out of zoo
By: Zachary McDonald, Times Staff Writer
09/26/2007
Updated 09/26/2007 04:15:35 PM EDT
Henry Doorly Zoo is in the sights of the Sarpy County and Metro Omaha Tobacco coalitions as the next public place where they want smoking banned.
The groups joined together with the Tobacco Free Cass County coalition to form the Smoke-Free Zoo Task Force and push legislators to make Henry Doorly 100 percent smoke-free.
Diana Failla, program director for the Sarpy County Tobacco Coalition and the Smoke-Free Zoo Task Force, said the change has already been made in 81 zoos across the country, including the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and the Philadelphia Zoo, and it's time for Omaha to do the same.
"The Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the top zoos in the country," she said. "It is frequently visited by young children who especially are vulnerable to second-hand smoke."
http://www.lavistasun.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=18857439&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=557008&rfi=6
An animal park director's 'stud books' set up mates for endangered species
By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer
SAN PASQUAL VALLEY -- Call it Match.com for rare and endangered species. When an Indian rhino was born last year at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in the rural San Pasqual Valley east of Escondido, jubilant park officials noted that the calf's birth had increased an endangered species' population by one.
The calf, a male named Surat that will turn 1 on Oct. 1, was the product of a breeding program that sounds very much like the popular Match.com online dating service for humans looking for ideal mates.
Borrowing an approach used by professional matchmakers, park scientists and keepers said in recent interviews that they used an extensive database that lists the characteristics of every Indian rhino housed in a zoo or similar facility in North America to find the perfect mating couple.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/22/news/top_stories/2_53_019_22_07.txt
AZA Approved
Posted by EthicsandAnimals at 9/23/2007 8:16 AM and is filed under Elephants
Posted by: http://www.helpelephants.com
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) claims elephants in zoos are ambassadors for conservation, but AZA standards allow them to be treated more like POW’s than diplomats.
Did you know . . .
AZA standards allow zoos to cram two 7,000-10,000 pound elephants into an outdoor enclosure the size of a tennis court and an indoor space the size of a handball court.
AZA standards do not prohibit the use of chains, bullhooks, and electric shock in the handling of elephants.
AZA standards allow zoos to separate three-year old elephants from their mothers. (In the wild, most three-year old elephants are not yet weaned. Females stay with mothers for life; males don’t leave until their teens.)
AZA accredits facilities like Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (see above photo) that give elephant rides and present circus-style shows.
Elephants are the only species in zoos to be routinely chained (or habituated to chaining) and managed through force, physical punishment, and use of the bullhook.
Over 60 percent of zoo elephants have foot disease and nearly half have arthritis; these painful conditions are the leading cause of euthanasia.
Of the 56 elephants who died in AZA-accredited facilities since 2000, fewer than half reached their 40th birthday; in contrast, an elephant’s natural lifespan is 60-70 years.
It is at least 50 times more expensive to maintain elephants in zoos than to protect equivalent numbers of elephants in the wild.
Zoos will spend in excess of $200 million on elephant exhibit renovations that still will not provide nearly enough space to accommodate the needs of earth’s largest land mammal.
Don’t you think zoos can do better?
www.helpelephants.com
http://ethicsandanimals.com/2007/09/20/american-zoo-and-aquarium-association-aza-approved.aspx
Breaking News: Alaska Zoo Elephant Will Go to a Sanctuary!
We are very pleased to share the exciting news that the Alaska Zoo Board has announced it intends to relocate Maggie, the 27-year-old African elephant who has long been the center of controversy, to the Performing Animal Welfare Society's (PAWS) spacious elephant sanctuary in Northern California.
http://www.helpelephants.com/
AZA grants accreditation to the Topeka Zoo
Story by City of Topeka press release
5:12 p.m. Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) Tuesday announced that the Topeka Zoo was granted accreditation by AZA’s independent Accreditation Commission.
“Only the very best zoos and aquariums can meet tough Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation standards,” said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. “The leadership and staff of the Topeka Zoo are to be congratulated for the hard work and commitment that they put into the accreditation process.”
To be accredited, the Topeka Zoo underwent a thorough investigation to insure it has and will continue to meet ever-rising standards, which include animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education, and safety. AZA requires zoos and aquariums to successfully complete this rigorous accreditation process in order to be members of the association, and are required to resubmit to this process every five years.
http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/sep/19/aza_grants_accreditation_topeka_zoo/
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