Zoos

Baby panther doing well at Florida zoo
A 2-month-old Florida panther being raised at a zoo in Tampa is doing just purr-fectly.
The big cat's name is Calusa. She's named after the American Indian tribe, but the staff at the Lowry Park Zoo calls her Lucy. Right now the staff is feeding her meat with kitten formula poured over it. She gets something to eat every two or three hours and gets taken to a wooded area to play twice a day. Zoo staff says she tries to climb trees and charpens her claws on logs.
The blue-eyed cub was brought to the zoo after her mother was found to have abandoned her. She was also found with a cut on her head, and that is healing well.
Lucy will spend her life at the zoo. A veterinarian says it would be almost impossible to successfully reintroduce her to the wild because of the way she has been raised.
Scientists estimate there are as many as 100 panthers in Florida, that's up from about 30 two decades ago before a panther recovery program.
Copyright 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0461e9d3-4aa1-478f-8dad-b214df7335fd



Zydeco Zoo To Do: Wine & Dine at Dallas Zoo
Want to party in the wild for a good cause? Then the Wilds of Africa Plaza at the Dallas Zoo is where you'll want to be this Saturday evening. The Zoo to Do event is a fundraiser that benefits the Dallas Zoological Society. The evening will include music, dancing, cocktails, a monorail tour, silent auction, and best of all, food from more than 20 of Dallas' top restaurants (Abacus, Trece, Dallas Fish Market and Nana -- just to name a few.) The cost is $250 per person, and proceeds benefit the zoo's education and wildlife conservation programs. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Contact Ann Forsyth-Smith at annf@dalzoo.org or 214-943-2771, ext 322.

http://eats.beloblog.com/archives/2007/09/zydeco_zoo_to_do_wine_dine_at.html


Lehigh Valley Zoo must stand on its own
September 12, 2007
The decision by the Lehigh County commissioners in 2004 to have a nonprofit organization run the Lehigh Valley Zoo made sense. The Lehigh Valley Zoological Society took over the care of the animals at the 29-acre zoo, and the commissioners eventually were able to better focus on the county's core operations -- services for people.But it was more complicated than that, of course, because it takes money to operate and maintain a zoo. At the time, the county entered into a lease with the nonprofit and agreed to provide the zoo with $1.9 million over five years. It was impossible to predict attendance and how much money it would take to run the zoo, but it seemed to be a reasonable agreement at the time. At any rate, the goal was for the zoo to be self-sufficient in five years.This week, however, an advisory committee to Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham recommended that the county provide more financial support to the zoo, which will receive its last payment of $200,000 in 2009. Now, the advisory committee said, the county should do several things, including: Provide an additional $250,000 to $400,000 after 2009, with increased (yet unspecified) payments over the next two years. Offer a line of credit totaling $400,000. Make electrical and plumbing repairs. Also, the committee advised, the zoo should submit six types of reports, plus a five-year master plan by July 2008, in addition to maintaining its accreditation.

http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/all-editorial2.6037952sep12,0,756628.story



When will people see the zoo needs to move?
I am so tired of seeing headlines and big articles about the Mill Mountain Zoo ("The zoo dude," Extra, Sept. 9), when nothing, no fundraiser or other publicity will alter the fact that the zoo's space is limited and always will be. Even the approved $500,000 by Roanoke City Council is not going to alter that.
I find it hard to believe that people would be so narrow-minded as to insist on trying again and again to convince people that the mountaintop zoo is a good thing. Does it really help the animals to now have painted fences? Or that the gift shop is now sufficiently stocked with stuffed animals? The animals are lacking the space they desperately need and deserve and could easily have if the zoo relocated to Explore Park, as has been suggested numerous times.
For years, this zoo has had space problems. It seems that the location is the most important issue, not the animals' welfare, according to statements by Jack Hanna (fundraiser in March) who praised nothing else but the "setting of the zoo." Do the animals enjoy the view?
I just wonder where the educational value of this zoo lies when children see wild animals in cramped cages, behind fences instead of in a more natural setting like Explore Park could offer.
NAN FARISS
ROANOKE

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/letters/wb/131647


Zoo to You comes to elementary school
By Cory Frolik The Daily Times
Article Launched: 09/12/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON — Ferrets are not going to pass dogs or cats anytime soon as the most popular household pet, but a fair number of students at Mesa Verde Elementary School thought they were pretty cool.
Many children found appealing the way the small animals lounge in hammocks. Others liked the furry creature's quiet temperament.
But Wendy Thacker, a second-grade teacher at Mesa Verde, asked students to really think about what it would be like to own such an animal.
"What did they smell like?" she asked her class.

http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_6867140


Canisius Serves As Foster Home To Zoo Animals
Twelve Caiman and an Anaconda snake housed in Health Science Building
BUFFALO, NY – Canisius College is serving as the temporary home for 12 Caiman and an Anaconda snake from The Buffalo Zoo. The animals are being housed on the third floor of the Health Science Building while the Zoo finishes construction on its South American Rainforest building. Their habitats were built by Zoo curators last spring and Canisius students have since been conducting behavioral research on the Caiman, part of the crocodile family, under the direction of Michael Noonan, PhD, professor of psychology/biology. “This is a win, win, win for everyone involved,” Noonan says. “The animals receive a nice stable environment in which to get settled. The students get a solid research project out of it. And the college strengthens its strong relationship with its good friends at the Zoo.” The Caiman and Anaconda are expected to reside on campus until July 2008, when the Zoo’s rainforest exhibit is scheduled for completion. Their habitats are not open to the public although select animals from The Buffalo Zoo will be on exhibit for the Canisius community during the college’s mini-zoo in November.To read more about the Biology major at Canisius, click here.For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations at (716) 888-2790. Canisius College is one of 28 Jesuit colleges in the nation and the premier private college in Western New York. Canisius prepares leaders – intelligent, caring, faithful individuals – able to promote excellence in their professions, their communities and their service to humanity.

Date released: 9/12/2007

http://www.canisius.edu/newsevents/display_story.asp?iNewsID=5055&strBack=default.asp


New 'Zoo' owners hope to tame party image
By: Ashley Latoof
Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: News
Party animals will have to find a new place to mingle after a notorious apartment complex changed ownership.Residents received fliers informing them that Jefferson on Fifth Street, commonly known as "The Zoo," is now Timber Creek Apartments.Pacific Living Properties, a San Diego-based company, bought the 128-unit apartment complex on Aug. 27 with plans to fix it up and give it a new look. "Obviously we want to change the image," said Casey Roseman, property manager. Many think "The Zoo" got its nickname because of the party atmosphere of the residence. But according to The Orion archives, the nickname can be traced back to 1939 when a traveling circus stopped on Fifth and Oak streets for six days.

http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2007/09/12/News/New-zoo.Owners.Hope.To.Tame.Party.Image-2962410.shtml


Detroit Zoo Features Work Of Judy Yaker
Posted under:
A one-woman exhibition of over 170 color and black-and-white photographic images of nature and wildlife taken by Bloomfield Hills, Mich., photographer Judy Yaker will debut at the Detroit Zoo's Ford Education Center Exhibit Gallery September 21, 2007.
Natural Selections: Photographs by Judith G. Yaker features images of mammals, birds and reptiles taken during Yaker's travels around the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, as well as at the Detroit Zoo. Also featured are photos of birds and invertebrates taken in Yaker's neighborhood and at Kensington Metropark.
"I love photographing birds and bugs as well as cats, wild and domestic," said Yaker. "But tigers are my true passion." All of the tiger photos featured in the exhibition were taken at the Detroit Zoo in recent years.

http://www.huliq.com/33969/detroit-zoo-features-work-of-judy-yaker


Putting zoo's animals in the picture
By Staff reporter
ARTIST Rosie Rees will share a slice of paradise with an exhibition of her work at Chester Zoo.
The zoo's diversity of species, from tiny seahorses to giant birds, has been the inspiration behind Rosie's exhibition A Painter in Paradise. Rosie's artwork has captured a taste of the worldwide biodiversity the zoo brings to its visitors through its 7,000 animals and 200- plus species of plants, including a national collection of cacti and locally endangered Black Poplar.Originally from
Shropshire, Rosie, a keen photographer and strong supporter of the zoo, took up the position as the zoo's artist in residence in March this year.

http://www.eveningleader.co.uk/news/Putting-zoos-animals-in-the.3191842.jp


First of a series of gardens open at Jacksonville Zoo
09/12/2007
from staff
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens opened their latest addition to the Zoo, the Gardens at Trout River Plaza with a weekend-long event Sept. 7-9.
The $1.9 million, 1.6 acre Gardens at Trout River Plaza is the first in a series of new gardens and exhibits to open at the Zoo.
“The opening of this artistic garden space completes yet another part of our award-winning Botanical Gardens Master Plan,” said Zoo Executive Director Dennis Pate. “This new garden is now the only one of its kind in Jacksonville and just a preview of what’s to come with planning already underway for our Asian Bamboo Garden and Monsoon Asia exhibit.”

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=48410


Go get ‘em ladies !!

The real haters run the Zoo
Using the label 'feminist' to insult and blame demeans us all, writes Monica Dux.
ZOO magazine, a publication for pubescent boys trapped in the bodies of grown men, is running a competition in which readers are encouraged to send in a picture of their girlfriend's cleavage. The lucky lady who is judged worthiest will win a $10,000 boob job.
As you would expect, there have been protests from women's groups and health professionals, including plastic surgeons, who have argued that the competition is not just in poor taste but is also unethical.
Zoo responded with a new competition, a search for "Australia's Sexiest Feminist 2007", also known as "the hottest girl in sensible shoes".

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-real-haters-run-the-zoo/2007/09/12/1189276805398.html


Paris Hilton employs zoo keeper
Bang! Showbiz Thursday, 13 September 2007
Paris Hilton has so many pets she has to employ a zoo keeper to look after them all.
The socialite has a menagerie of animals, including dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and monkeys, and she allows most of them to roam free around her house.
Due to her busy schedule, Paris has a keeper who cares for her beloved beasts when she is away from them.
She told Elle magazine: "My animals make me really happy. I just love my pets. I have 11 dogs, three ferrets, two rabbits, two monkeys and three cats.
"The monkeys and ferrets are at my ranch, but the dogs and cats and bunnies run around my house. I have this guy, Eric, who's like a zoo keeper, and he's with them all the time. He loves them, and I love them, too. But since I work a lot I'm not always home."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4199534a1860.html


PETA to protest wildlife ‘psychological sufferings’ at zoo
By Jerome AningInquirer
Last updated 06:11pm (Mla time) 09/12/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Members of the animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will picket the Manila Zoo on Thursday to protest congestion in the zoo and alleged “psychological sufferings” of the captive wildlife there.PETA, in a statement, said that unless the animals were freed, they are sure to suffer “a lifetime of loneliness and misery.”“The animals at the Manila Zoo are treated like prisoners, even though they've committed no crime. These animals are bred or captured for a lifetime of loneliness and misery, and the best way to help stop the suffering is to boycott the zoo,” PETA director for Asia-Pacific Jason Baker said.Baker said that in the wild, many animals spend their entire lives with their close-knit families, but in zoos, animals are usually separated from their families when they are babies.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view_article.php?article_id=88212


2 China Pandas Loaned to Australia Zoo
16 hours ago
BEIJING (AP) — China has selected a pair of giant pandas — Wangwang and Funi — to send to the Adelaide Zoo, an official said Wednesday, in a goodwill gesture announced during a recent visit to Australia by President Hu Jintao.
Cao Qingyao, a spokesman for the State Forestry Administration that oversees China's panda breeding program, said the male bear, Wangwang, is 2 years old and the female, Funi, is 1 year old.
They will come from the Wolong-based China Research Center for Protecting Giant Panda in Southwest China's Sichuan province, and can be transported as soon as the facilities at Adelaide Zoo, in South Australia state, are ready for them, Cao said.
"They are very cute and lovely," he said.
Cao did not say how long the pandas would be kept by Australia. A pair of pandas sent to Spain on Saturday were to stay there for 10 years.
The giant panda is unique to China and serves as an unofficial national mascot, imbuing such loans with political overtones. China regularly sends the animals abroad as a sign of warm diplomatic relations or to mark breakthroughs in ties.
China uses payments from zoos that host loaned pandas to fund extensive research and breeding programs. Under such loan agreements, any panda cubs born overseas to lent animals remain China's property.
The panda is one of the world's rarest animals, with about 1,590 living in the wild in China, mostly in the western provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Another 210 have been bred in captivity.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jpKevWjNJ_VnzMW-ym5nkUEyfD0A


China picks panda couple, Wangwang and Funi, for loan to Australian zoo

http://www.daylife.com/story/0g4C1OA9rD2Aj



Drinking Class at the Brew at the Zoo! (Video)
Monkeys, bears and great local brews! Where else would Drinking Class's Pete Munsey? Pete and and the SENCAST crew headed down the the Maryland Zoo last May to check out the event, and talk to some of the local brewers. Be sure to check out the Reggae brew fest at the zoo this weekend!

http://www.senbaltimore.com/clubs/drinking_class/drinking-class-at-the-brew-at-the-zoo.shtml


A new arrival at Chester Zoo
By Staff reporter
He's just a few days old but Tejas, the tiny lion cub, offers a glimmer of hope for his species.
The male Asiatic Lion, who is being hand-reared by Chester Zoo's carnivore team, was born to mum Asha after a three and half month pregnancy.
With between 300-350 Asiatic Lions left in the wild, the little male will make a big difference to the conservation of his species.
Asiatic Lions can now only be found in India's Gir Forest and 17 lions have been killed there in the last five months. With the number of Asiatic Lions plummeting, Chester's new cub will eventually play a major part in a breeding programme for his species, ensuring it continues.

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/wirralnews/display.var.1680950.0.a_new_arrival_at_chester_zoo.php


Pesky zebra mussels in Cheney Reservoir
Associated Press - September 8, 2007 1:54 PM ET
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A state biologist found zebra mussels in Cheney Reservoir this week, which is bad news for swimmers, boaters and the public water system.
The mussels clog intake structures at water and power plants and damage native fish populations. They also can cut feet and hands of those who are wading or swimming.
Cheney Reservoir supplies about 70% of Wichita's water.
Jerry Blain, a water superintendent in Wichita, says the city had already done a study and found that any option for getting rid of the mussels is expensive.
The mussels have also been found in El Dorado Reservoir and Winfield City Lake.
Officials say boaters probably unknowlingly carried the mussels on their boats.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?s=7045243


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