Zoos
Critter Cam
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/10/26/VI2007102600925.html?hpid=artslot
Zoo
Kris Larson October 29th, 2007
For about a week now I’ve been impatiently waiting for the developers of Zoo to get things fixed up so I could check it out. I have a big thing about zoos; I just love them. Even though part of my soul dies whenever I see an elephant in a pen or a jungle cat in a cage, I still love zoos. I don’t know what to tell you.
So I was delighted to see an application called Zoo. Maybe this virtual zoo will satisfy my zoo craving, I thought! And today it is up and running again, so I’ve been checking it out.
http://www.facebookobserver.com/facebook-applications/zoo/
Case against Marine Mammals in Captivity
http://youtube.com/profile?user=CaracalKittyWild
Animal-Encounter Travel
by: Carrie Katz
Dolphins by Veenendaal’s Journey
Are you an animal lover? This week is for you! Anybody who likes to incorporate wildlife encounters into their travel knows how much it can enhance a person’s globetrotting adventures, whether it’s the awe that comes from seeing lions and tigers up close, the quiet joy of feeding an elephant, the giddiness of watching monkeys swing from trees, or the serenity of swimming with dolphins. From bird watching in the Amazonian Jungle to waddling up to penguins in the Antartica snow, these rare and special opportunities to observe nature are well worth seeking out. This week we will discuss trip planning for wildlife encounters, including safaris, the Galapagos Islands, whale watching trips, unique places like the monkey temples in Southeast Asia, animal encounters in Africa, and more!
http://blog.realtravel.com/2007/10/29/animal-encounter-travel/
Week 4/5: Teff Conservation of Ecologial communities continued
Here is another blog post for the remaining questions; 3 and 4. I will continue to write about the journal project soon.
Week 4/5 questions continued:
3) Try a new type of food-maybe a grain other than wheat, rice or corn. Did you like it? How does eating different grains maintain biodiversity?
I have always been curious about trying different foods, but I have been skeptical in the past, since I'm not really sure whether I will like them. Just very recently, I have been 'going against the grain,' to say- I am trying Teff, which is a grain from Etheopia. The size is miniscule, one would wonder how a minute grain could be 'food?'
http://envscyg.blogspot.com/2007/10/week-45-teff-conservation-of-ecologial.html
Zoo animals lose a friend
Clayton Freiheit, who took over Denver Zoo when he was 32, dies at age 69 after work that increased attendance and prestige
By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News
October 29, 2007
When a 5-year-old boy amuses himself by making drawings of zoos, take it as a sign he might grow up to build one of his own.
That was childhood for Clayton Freiheit, the animal-loving kid from Buffalo, N.Y., who kept a minor zoo in the family basement and then, in 1960, became curator of Buffalo Zoological Gardens.
He had not yet graduated from college, and, at age 22, reportedly was the youngest person to ever head a zoological park.
Ten years later, in October 1970, at all of 32, he took the reins of the Denver Zoo and, during his tenure, planned and designed attractions that boosted its attendance and prestige.
At the same time, he earned numerous awards and built a reputation for his expertise in zoology and conservation.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5734070,00.html
The good, the bad, and the blurry: Wildlife Photography
Category: Photography
Posted on: October 29, 2007 10:32 AM, by Brian Switek
Female Snow Leopard twins born last year at the Bronx Zoo.
When I initially started posting pictures on my blog, I didn't know if anyone would have anything to say about my pictures. I frequent zoos, museums, and aquariums, usually shooting between 200 and 600 shots per trip, the handful of good shots making their way onto the internet. I've been certainly pleasantly surprised, therefore, to see all the positive remarks made about my pictures, especially since I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. Still, many of you have asked how I have been able to get the kind of shots I've posted up here, and so I've written this little overview of how I take photographs. This isn't a "How-To" guide, but rather a summary of my own style, as highly amateur as it may be.
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2007/10/the_good_the_bad_and_the_blurr.php
Branding the Anti-Zoo: The National Tiger Sanctuary
Author:
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Do you know what a happy tiger sounds like?
I heard it. Without exaggerating, it was the most amazing sound. It was a sort of rough “purr” sound. More like a snort, actually. The sound, I presume, a house cat would make if it weighed 500 pounds. And they made the sound whenever co-founder (and “mother”) Judy McGee gave them attention through the metal fences that separated us from them at the National Tiger Sanctuary in Bloomsdale, Missouri.
http://www.ecracreative.com/blog/?p=101
U.S., Canadian zoo officials left wondering after hippo dies in transit
CALGARY - Zoo officials on both sides of the border are trying to understand how a female hippo's death could have been prevented in a 28-hour transfer between zoos.
James Stevenson, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Six-year-old Hazina was loaded onto a transport truck Thursday morning in Denver and arrived at the Calgary Zoo on Friday afternoon. She was dead less than a day later from circulatory complications.
Her Calgary zookeepers discovered she had been lying in one position too long in her crate, had lost the feeling in her legs and was unable to stand. The hippopotamus was moved to a pool, where she appeared for a brief time to be recovering, but died early Saturday
Lynn Kramer, vice-president of biological programs at the Denver Zoo, called the situation "very, very unusual."
http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Flying+proves+fatal+for+popular+hippo+being+transferred+between+zoos/National/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=21408015&feedname=CP-NATIONAL&show=True&number=5&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&sym=rss
Hippo Dies at Calgary Zoo
Mon, October 29, 2007
Hippo dies at Calgary Zoo
Spent about 30 hours in crate being driven from the Colorado city
By BILL KAUFMANN, SUN MEDIA
The Calgary Zoo is coming under fire from animal rights activists after a female hippo being transported from Denver died soon after arriving in the city.
Six-year-old hippo Hazina spent about 30 hours in a truck crate being driven from the Colorado city for breeding purposes in Calgary — at least 11 of those hours lying too long in one position, said Calgary Zoo veterinarian Dr. Doug Whiteside.
Hazina developed a circulatory condition stemming from its hind legs and despite efforts to rehabilitate her in Calgary, died Saturday from toxic complications, he said.
"It s a very sad case — there’s nothing any of us could have done to predict this...it’s an isolated incident," said Whiteside.
But Zoocheck Canada director Rob Laidlaw said the latest fatality, when added to the deaths of an elephant and four gorillas since 2000, raise red flags about the zoo’s operations.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/10/29/4615063.html
Newt Gingrich, Environmentalist, Launches His New JHU Press Book
By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette
A political giant stands poised to become the talk of the environmental movement, and his name might raise some eyebrows.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and longtime friend and conservationist Terry L. Maple have co-authored A Contract With the Earth, a new Johns Hopkins University Press book that attempts to refocus the environmental debate on the principle of common commitment.
The School of Advanced International Studies and the JHU Press will co-host the book's launch today in Washington at an event to be held at 5:30 p.m. in SAIS' Kenney Auditorium. Free and open to the public, it will feature a talk by Gingrich, who will answer questions from the audience afterward. Gingrich will be introduced by Scott Barrett, director of the school's International Policy Program.
The book, released today, spells out the need for ushering in an era of "bipartisan environmentalism." While acknowledging that liberals and conservatives do not see eye to eye on many issues, Gingrich and Maple argue that environmental stewardship is a mainstream value that transcends partisan politics. The authors believe that most people are weary of the legal and political conflicts that only serve, in their estimation, as roadblocks to effective environmental conservation.
http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2007/29oct07/29gingrich.html
Hippo dies after transfer to Calgary Zoo
Six-year-old animal had been lying down too long in truck and succumbed to circulatory complications
DAWN WALTON
October 30, 2007
CALGARY -- When staff at the Calgary Zoo tried to coax their new hippopotamus out of the crate that had held the 1,500-kilogram animal for the 30-hour journey from Colorado on Friday, they were startled to find the six-year-old couldn't stand.
Less than 24 hours later, Hazina - born and raised at the Denver Zoo and transferred to Calgary as part of an international breeding program - was dead. The hippo had been lying down for too long in the crate and succumbed to circulatory complications.
"Animals are moved all the time across North America and you do have the odd case where something goes wrong and this is, unfortunately, one of those cases," Doug Whiteside, a veterinarian at the Calgary Zoo, said yesterday, after news of the death was made public. "Once she got here, we did everything possible to save her life."
The Calgary Zoo has been plagued by bad news and bad luck in recent years.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071030.HIPPO30/TPStory/National
US Zoos & Aquariums Pocket Directory Pocket PC Database 1.0
Fast facts about US zoos & aquariums. Quick reference for travelers and vacationers.
http://www.soft32.com/download_161077.html
Couple now charged with cruelty to animals
Deputies raided property last week
The Gazette Staff
A Deerfield Township couple has now been charged with cruelty to animals, just days after deputies took a large group of animals from their property.
Jim McCabe and Tammy Dailey, of 10080 Ohio 207, are now charged with 14 counts of cruelty to animals, all second-degree misdemeanors, after they were served a summons Monday.
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/UPDATES01/71030003/1002/
Rattling the cages
Posted October 30, 2007 05:17 PM (EST)
Zoos began as places of entertainment, where people curious about wild animals from foreign lands could look at them comfortably and safely while feeling a frisson of excitement at being so close to large carnivores, or shudder with revulsion at species felt to be ugly. The animals were on display for the pleasure of the populace, and were housed in small cages where they could be seen at will, unable to escape the gaze of the curious. The concept was very little different in philosophy (though it was in practice) to that of a museum on the one hand, or to the long history of animal exploitation in circuses, the use of animals in fights in the Roman Coliseum, or the horrors of bear baiting and cock fighting or dog fighting. These extreme cases of animal exploitation (and usually maiming and death) continue today in some parts of the world, but in western countries such activities have generally been banned (a notable exception being the indefensible and barbaric bull fights). Circuses using animals are also increasingly unwelcome in many places and we have been left with the more benign form of exploitation of the zoo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-horton/rattling-the-cages_b_70467.html
Elephants Suffer in Zoos
The Birmingham Zoo's plan to create a new, $15 million exhibit to house six to eight male elephants ignores the elephant in the room: the fact that landlocked urban zoos cannot provide Earth's largest land mammals with the space and natural conditions
http://www.care2.com/news/member/525884267/526073
Not fair to elephants
Here we go again in the national elephant shuffle (10/26, Local, “Elephant 'penthouse' gets a tenant”).
Move Zoe from a small pen at Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, Texas) to the Kansas City Zoo to live with elephants she doesn¹t even know. Send Tanya, Abilene Zoo’s lone elephant, to a small pen in Waco to live with Tembo, an elephant she has never met.
Kansas City wants to breed Zoe, but if they can’t find a bull elephant, forced breeding through artificial insemination will be just fine.
Elephants are very intelligent, highly social animals that stay with their herds for life in the wild. To shuffle them around like trading cards is an insult to their very being and a reflection of how little regard zoos have for the needs of this species.
http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2007/10/not-fair-to-ele.html
Dead hippo spent way too long in travel crate, says expert
Deborah Tetley, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
CALGARY -- Twenty-nine hours is too long for most animals to be transported in a crate, said an expert after a young hippo died following a road trip from Denver, Colo., to the Calgary Zoo.
Michael Foley, owner of California-based Global Animal Transport, said he has moved several dozen large animals for zoos, including elephants, tigers and rhinos.
But Hazina -- a six-year-old hippopotamus who suffered a fatal heart attack from circulation complications developed during the trip -- spent nearly 30 hours in the crate, and that was far too long, Foley said.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=fce94c59-77c6-408c-aa9b-384308376b77
DENVER ZOO RELEASES INFORMATION ON HIPPO TRANSPORT
Written by Tiffany Barnhart
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Denver, CO (Oct. 31, 2007) – As the zoo continues to investigate the death of hippo Hazina, who died October 27, a day after being transported to Calgary Zoo, Denver Zoo is releasing information known at this time about the incident. The zoo, while mourning the loss of their beloved Director of 37 years, Clayton Freiheit, is working diligently to determine what could have been done differently to prevent the loss of Hazina.
Denver Zoo animal care staff hired Planned Migration, an experienced animal transport company that is well-respected within the zoo community and considered an expert in the field. Denver Zoo has worked with Planned Migration since April of 2000, and has transported 108 different animals with this company, including primates, pachyderms, felines, bears and birds, totaling 51 different trips, without incident.
“I checked on Hazina every two to three and a half hours and remained in contact with Denver Zoo throughout the trip. Hazina showed no outward signs of physical distress at any time during the drive. We had no idea that she was not doing well until we got to Calgary Zoo,” said Chris Danhauer, the owner and operator of Planned Migration that lead the transfer.
Danhauer is licensed by the USDA as an animal transporter and has nearly nine years experience transporting animals, in addition to 13 years of experience as a zookeeper. Danhauer has worked during his career at Denver Zoo with pachyderms, and served as the lead on numerous animal transfers for Denver Zoo. Denver Zoo felt and continues to feel extremely confident with his abilities to safely transport animals.
http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/content/view/1960/2/
U.S., Canadian zoo officials left wondering after hippo dies in transit
(National News) Monday, 29 October 2007, 16:00 PST
James Stevenson, THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY - Zoo officials on both sides of the border are trying to understand how a female hippo's death could have been prevented in a 28-hour transfer between zoos.
Six-year-old Hazina was loaded onto a transport truck Thursday morning in Denver and arrived at the Calgary Zoo on Friday afternoon. She was dead less than a day later from circulatory complications.
Her Calgary zookeepers discovered she had been lying in one position too long in her crate, had lost the feeling in her legs and was unable to stand. The hippopotamus was moved to a pool, where she appeared for a brief time to be recovering, but died early Saturday
Lynn Kramer, vice-president of biological programs at the Denver Zoo, called the situation "very, very unusual."
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=101799&Itemid=266
Environment News (10/31/07): Amid Wildfires, Zoo Animal Rescues.
environment to all says:
As firefighters at last gain control of what may be one of the worst series of fires in U.S. history, more information is coming to light about wildlife that was lost or impacted by this week's Southern California tragedy.
While many animals housed at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park were saved, two perished as a result of the blazes. Post-mortem analysis has yet to reveal the precise causes of death, but keepers believe they were due to evacuation-related stress.
The first victim was a rare clapper rail bird that was only one of two breeding females at the park. Destruction of coastal marshland habitat has drastically reduced numbers of this bird, so researchers were hopeful this female could help in repopulation efforts. Last year, her chicks were successfully released into the wild.
The second loss at the park was a Kiang, a wild member of the horse family. This male was also of breeding age. Among the least studied animals in the world, the Kiang is also rare.
"Very few zoos have this species in their collections," San Diego Zoo spokesperson Yadira Galindo told Discovery News. "The deaths of both of these animals represent a tremendous loss for us."
http://www.flickr.com/groups/349459@N25/discuss/72157602818491493/
Zoos, aquariums use holiday to scare up money, visitors
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/11/07
If ever a holiday existed to benefit a zoo or aquarium, says Dennis Kelly, Oct. 31 is it.
"Face it," Kelly, Zoo Atlanta's CEO, said. "We own Halloween."
Kelly is right. Goose bumps are good business. As Zoo Atlanta prepares to unveil Boo At The Zoo Saturday evening, other zoos and aquariums around the country also are opening their gates to give folks the creeps.
At the Atlanta zoo, this year's scare-'em marks the first time the zoo has stayed open at night to attract families. In previous years — the first "Boo" bowed in 2002 — the zoo observed regular hours during October. Zoo Atlanta will remain open until 8:30 p.m. each Friday and Saturday this month. Also for the first time, this year's Boo at the Zoo has a theme — "Boo Town."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/stories/2007/10/11/halloweenzoo_1012.html
Endangered Costa Rican frog focus of study
MANCHESTER, England, Oct. 29 British biologists are studying a Costa Rican leaf frog, Cruziohyla calcarifer, to save it from extinction and learn how to care for it in zoos and aquariums.
Scientists from The University of Manchester and the Chester Zoo -- Britain's largest zoo -- said the brightly colored frog, a native of the Costa Rican rainforest, is being threatened by a combination of environmental change and disease.
"This research aims to contribute to our understanding of the basic factors that influence the development and survival of these frogs," said Richard Preziosi, the project's lead investigator. "For instance, with the exception of certain mammals, we know surprisingly little about what animals should be eating. And yet the diet of splendid leaf frogs affects their coloration which, in turn, determines their mating behavior.
"The global decline in amphibian populations means research such as this, carried out ex situ, is therefore critical for both conservation projects in the wild and for maintaining and successfully breeding the frogs in zoos and aquariums," he added.
The research is being complemented by field studies in Costa Rica that include examining the effect that ultraviolet rays have on the fitness and viability of captive-bred frogs.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/132596.html
Couple facing animal cruelty charges
The Gazette staff
A Deerfield Township couple has been charged with cruelty to animals just days after deputies took a large group of animals from their property.
Jim McCabe and Tammy Dailey, of 10080 Ohio 207, are charged with 14 counts of cruelty to animals, all second-degree misdemeanors, after they were served a summons Monday.
Deputies took all the animals from the property, including goats, horses, chickens and other livestock Thursday afternoon, saying they had received several complaints from neighbors.
McCabe and Daily say they keep the animals to be used in area petting zoos, and Daily said she was targeted after she filed a $7.5 million lawsuit against Sheriff Ron Nichols, which she subsequently dropped.
Both will appear in Chillicothe Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9 for arraignment.
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS01/710310306/1002
Gorillas in our midst
In the North Georgia mountains, Jane and Steuart Dewar built a one-of-a-kind haven for gorillas in need
BY SCOTT FREEMAN
ALL PHOTOS BY JOEFF DAVIS
Published 10.31.07
SILVERBACK IN WAIT: Oliver is 19 years old, a gorilla's prime. The Dewars hope he can be matched with a female and start his own family.
Oliver steps out of his pen and looks warily at the stranger who peers through a window on the outer wall that surrounds him. He waits patiently for the stranger to leave and when he doesn't, Oliver takes off across the grass in a fast gallop. His face is angry and threatening. As he nears the window, Oliver reaches down and -- without breaking stride -- grabs a stick and tosses it at the window as he dashes by. He runs another 40 feet before he stops and looks back.
The stranger is still there.
Oliver had every expectation that the stranger would be gone. And why not? If you're a 376-pound gorilla and you decide to scare a human by charging him, you expect that human to be scared. And to take the opportunity to flee.
Oliver stands on all fours and ignores the stranger. Instead, he gazes across the field at the nearby mountains. Then, suddenly, Oliver springs into another full gallop. He bounces as much as he runs, propelling himself with his long and gangly arms, moving almost sideways. As he races past the window, he leans in and violently raps the glass with his huge knuckles. It doesn't break, but the crack is loud enough that it sounds like it should.
Once Oliver is again by his pen, he peers over his shoulder and looks back in what appears to be exasperation, as if he's thinking: You're still here?
Jane Dewar, who has watched the scene with delight, laughs. "He's checking you out," she says. "Come on, I'll introduce you." She walks behind the 15-foot-high concrete wall until she reaches a steel door. It leads into a little anteroom separated from Oliver's pen only by steel mesh. She's met there by Kelly Maneyapanda, one of Oliver's keepers. Dewar asks if she can give the gorilla some frozen blueberries. Maneyapanda nods her approval. "Don't be offended if he stays on the other side of the pen," Dewar says. "He can be shy around people he doesn't know."
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A330123
Breeding elephants doesn't protect them
Zoos like those in Pittsburgh should help preserve the animals' native habitat instead
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
By Marianne Bessey
During this month's ground-breaking ceremony at the Pittsburgh zoo's proposed elephant breeding facility in Somerset Country, lots of lip service was paid to "conservation." It is without question that elephants, endangered in Asia and threatened in Africa, desperately need help. But will spending millions of dollars on breeding a handful of elephants actually help elephants -- or just the zoo's bottom line?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07304/829727-35.stm
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