Zoos
Pittsburgh Zoo to celebrate 1 millionth visitor
By The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is planning a big surprise for its 1 millionth visitor of the year.
The 109-year-old zoo expects that person to come in sometime in the next two weeks. It will be the first time that the zoo will have welcomed more than 1 million visitors in a single year.
The lucky visitor will get a lifetime membership to the zoo, a $500 shopping spree at zoo gift shops, a behind-the-scenes zoo tour and other prizes.
Visitors who want to try and win the prizes can increase their chances by checking out the zoo's Web site, where officials are counting the number of visitors.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_538911.html
Panda Super Couple Is Super Fertile
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 23, 2007
Filed at 1:44 p.m. ET
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Giving each other space may not work in every relationship, but it's what keeps the magic alive for the very fertile giant panda pair at the San Diego Zoo.
Since 2003, Bai Yun and her consort, Gao Gao, have produced three cubs, making them one of the most reproductively successful panda couples ever in captivity. Their youngest offspring, a chubby female, will be named Monday when she reaches 100 days old, following Chinese tradition.
For all but two days of the year, Bai Yun (White Cloud) and Gao Gao (Big Big) lead separate lives, gnawing on bamboo and taking long naps in pens far apart, much as wild pandas -- naturally solitary creatures -- would hide from each other in mountain forests.
But when Bai Yun enters her brief fertile periods, zookeepers make sure Gao Gao is there, sniffing her through a perforated gate zookeepers call the ''howdy door'' until her chirps and bleats indicate she's ready to get down to business.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Panda-Super-Couple.html
Indy zoo euthanizes hobbled 20-year-old Kodiak bear
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Staff members at the Indianapolis Zoo have euthanized a 20-year-old bear who could no longer walk due to an irreversible, degenerative joint disease.
Kodiak bear facts
• Species: Kodiak bears are a unique subspecies of the brown or grizzly bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi). They live exclusively on the islands in the Kodiak Archipelago and have been isolated from other bears for about 12,000 years.
• Size: Kodiak bears are the largest bears in the world. A large male can stand over 10' tall when on his hind legs, and 5' when on all four legs. They weigh up to 1,800 pounds. Females are about 20 percent smaller, and 30 percent lighter than males.
• Cubs: Cubs are born in the den during January or February. Weighing less than a pound at birth with little hair and closed eyes, they suckle for several months, emerging from the den in May or June, weighing 15-20 pounds. Most cubs stay with their mothers for three years.
• Diet: Though Kodiak bears are often touted as the world's largest land carnivore (meat eaters), they are really omnivores (eating a variety of foods). They actually spend more time eating grass, plants and berries than meat. Fish are an important part of their diets,
• Lifestyle: Bears are naturally diurnal (active during the day), but when faced with competition for food or space, they adopt a more nocturnal (active at night) life style.
• Mating: Mating season for Kodiak bears is during May and June. They are serially monogamous (having one partner at a time), staying together for a couple days or a couple weeks.
Source: Indianapolis Zoo
Chugach (CHEW'-gosh) was one of two Kodiak bears that have been at the Indianapolis Zoo since 1988. He was born in 1987 at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
Zoo officials say the bear weighed nearly 1,800 pounds and had the disease in both hips and elbows. It worsened quickly for Chugach this month from causing minor problems with one back leg to an inability to use his hindquarters.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/LOCAL18/311200001/-1/LOCAL17
Circus lions 'no worse off' than zoo animals
James Orr and agencies
Tuesday November 20, 2007
A report looking into the possibility of banning the use of lions and tigers as circus entertainment has found "little evidence" in support of outlawing the practice.
The independent paper, prepared for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), examined whether wild animals should be excluded from circus acts in Britain.
The report said there were currently 47 wild animals being used in UK "big top" circuses, of which 11 were big game cats.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/animalrights/story/0,,2214113,00.html
Tigers prowl new zoo wing
By Laurie Au
lau@starbulletin.com
The Honolulu Zoo dedicated yesterday a new wing of a tiger exhibit that zoo officials hope will boost the numbers of endangered Sumatran tigers and help revitalize the zoo.
The nonprofit Honolulu Zoo Society provided most of the funding for the $210,000 wing, which is 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.
Two tigers flown in from an Indiana zoo, a male named Berani and a female called Chrissie, join Djelita, a female tiger who has been in Honolulu for two years.
Zoo keepers hope Berani and Chrissie will mate to increase the population of Sumatran tigers.
"The benefit to the public is that for the first time ever, we may have cute tiger cubs in the zoo," said Ken Redman, the zoo's director. "For us it's about conserving this species."
Sumatran tigers, solitary hunters that are the smallest of all tigers -- with adult males reaching an average of 8 feet in length -- inhabit the Indonesian island of Sumatra. There are an estimated 500 Sumatran tigers left in the world, 200 of which live in zoos, Redman said.
The earliest Chrissie could give birth to cubs is in March, Redman said. The cubs would stay in Honolulu until they are about 3 years old before moving to another zoo to increase conservation efforts.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said the tiger exhibit would serve as another marketing tool for the zoo. A new logo for the zoo was also unveiled as part of its branding campaign.
http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/20/news/story07.html
Samuel L. Leonard, Cornell Zoologist, Dies at 101
By JEREMY PEARCE
Published: November 23, 2007
Samuel L. Leonard, a zoologist at Cornell University whose studies of reproductive hormones in animals helped prepare the foundation for in vitro fertilization in women, died on Nov. 11 in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 101.
His family confirmed his death.
Dr. Leonard was still a graduate student when he began his studies of sex hormones, produced at the base of the brain in the pituitary gland.
In the 1930s, in the infancy of endocrinology, it was known that the anterior pituitary had a general role in stimulating the ovaries and the testes. Dr. Leonard, then a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, working with F. L. Hisaw, his thesis adviser, and H. L. Fevold, determined that the pituitary actually produces two hormones with distinct effects on the sexual organs.
The researchers labeled the first hormone FSH, or follicle-stimulating hormone; the second they called LH, or luteinizing hormone, which is critical in the production of testosterone in men and can help trigger ovulation in women.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/science/23leonard.html?pagewanted=all
Oakland Zoo elephants treated to giant pumpkin
550-pound gourd donated by Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch
By Angela Hill, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 11/20/2007 07:58:15 AM PST
OAKLAND — Finally! A pumpkin worthy of a pachyderm. As jumbo as Dumbo. A gourd to be adored.
Forget those puny, bite-sized, run-of-the-patch pumpkins the elephants usually get for special snacks at the Oakland Zoo. (The meerkats can have those.) The elephants appreciate them, but it's Thanksgiving, for crying out loud, and time for some meatier morsels befitting the biggest of beasts.
Enter 550 pounds of pulp and extravagance — a super-sized quarter-ton pumpkin donated by Jon Goldstein and Robbin Lee, owners of the Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch.
This fine seasonal specimen was gobbled up Monday morning by two 9,000-pound elephants — M'Dunda and Donna — faster than they could say "cornucopia," could they talk, which they couldn't, especially not with a mouthful of squishy pumpkin guts.
"Wow, I've stood on that pumpkin and it never broke," Goldstein said, watching with at least 30 other observers from the rail of the elephant compound as 38-year-old M'Dunda approached the industrial-sized, slightly slouchy pumpkin, running it through with a nimble tusk, dividing it into three big pieces as easily as if it were a huge mound of butter.
"She just split it apart like it was nothing," he said. "Now she's looking at us, like, 'This is what I could do to you.'"
Yikes. Better keep those pumpkins comin'.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_7513915
UN envoy hopes Bali talks to produce positive result
BANGKOK, Nov 23 (TNA) - The United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change said he is optimistic that the upcoming UN-sponsored Climate Change talks in Bali, Indonesia, would at least result in a road map for negotiations among the Kyoto Protocol's signatories.
Dr. Han Seung-Soo, the UN Special Envoy, said he hoped the nations of Asia and the Pacific would
take active roles in Bali with positive and feasible ideas and action programmes, and that a road map for negotiations would be agreed.
"There isn't much time as the agreement must be concluded at government level by the end of 2009,"
the former South Korean deputy prime minister warned.
The Kyoto Protocol was drawn up in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 to implement the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.
Industrialised nations who sign the treaty are legally bound to reduce their contributions to worldwide
emissions of six greenhouse gases, collectively, by an average of 5.2 per cent below their 1990 levels
during the period 2008-2012.
For the protocol to come fully into force, the pact must be ratified by countries which account for at least
55 per cent of 1990 carbon dioxide emissions. The Protocol has been ratified by 172 countries. Of these,
36 countries are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the levels specified in the treaty.
However, some powerful developed countries like the United States and Australia have not yet ratified the protocol.
"Many developing countries were reluctant to accept any reduction emission amid fear that the difficulty of making a projection on their long-term trajectory would limit their economic growth", Dr.Han said.
Despite the current negotiations deadlock between the developed and developing countries in regard to
the Post-2012 Climate regime, the UN special envoy said he believed that "both of them could hopefully
create a win-win synergy between climate action and economic growth through a well-designed market mechanism."
The 13th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the Kyoto Protocol is scheduled from December 3-14, 2007. The crucial meetings are expected to shape the future negotiations for a Post-2012 Kyoto Protocol regime. (TNA)-E110
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=1464
Zoo offers Babies Creation Station
The Norman Transcript
For The Transcript
The Little River Zoo now offering a new and different kind of kid experience with its introduction of the Best Wishes Babies Creation Station.
The station furthers the zoo's mission of fostering and encouraging the awe in young children through animals and nature, but the animals created are of the imaginary species. The unit consists of a mobile toy animal stuffing machine, along with a variety of soft and cuddly animal "skins" to choose from.
"From a business perspective, this unit is intended to diversify our income, especially during the slow season," said Janet Schmid, zoo director. "But as for our mission, this machine definitely helps children be the very best they can be by creating and loving a special animal that they created.
http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_324002311
New fossa exhibit at Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Posted by Pedro Ramirez III
November 20, 2007 8:49AM
A new rare fossa exhibit has come to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, officials announced today.
Children who have seen the movie "Madagascar" will be familiar with the animal.
The Madagascar natives in captivity are rare in the United States, making the Rosamond Gifford Zoo just one of 11 with one of these endangered species exhibits. The zoo's newest member, a male fossa named Koto (Koo-too) comes from the Capital of Texas Zoo near Austin.
"Endangered animals, especially those that are part of a Species Survival Plan, or SSP, are a priority for us," said Chuck Doyle, director of the zoo.
The cat-like fossa, a member of the ancient viverrid family along with meerkats, civets and genets, is a close cousin of the mongoose and the top predator on the island of Madagascar. It is believed that fewer than 2,500 mature fossa exist today.
Fossas are ferocious hunters and will eat any small to medium-sized animal; they are particularly adept at hunting lemurs and remain one of the predominant predators for many lemur species.
The fossa exhibit is in the primate building across from the lemurs.
For more fossa facts: Download file
http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/11/new_fossa_exhibit_at_rosamond.html
Glasgow bids to lure Edinburgh Zoo west
GLASGOW is lining up a bid to lure Edinburgh Zoo to the west coast in the wake of its planning wrangles with the city council.
Officials at Glasgow City Council are investigating how they could help the zoo to make the move.
Glasgow Zoo closed in Calder Park in 2004, but the Zoological Society of Glasgow & West of Scotland, which ran it, still exists.
Council officials have been ordered to carry out a study after the zoo’s development plans ran into opposition from the council.
The zoo wants to sell off part of its land at Corstorphine Hill to housebuilders to help fund a £72 million improvement plan.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1830422007
Cheetah cub escapes briefly from St. Louis Zoo exhibit
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press Writer
St. Louis Zoo officials on Tuesday were trying to figure out how a year-old cheetah managed to get out of its exhibit a day earlier.
The cheetah on Monday scaled a wall at least 10 feet tall and got into a rocky area that separates animals from people at the River's Edge exhibit. The area was quickly evacuated. Twenty-seven minutes later, the cheetah was found, tranquilized and returned unharmed to its exhibit.
"We have no idea how the cat got up there," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collection for the zoo. "We have a million theories. It could have been the cats playing with one another and it made the lucky jump - or unlucky jump."
The cheetah, a female named Zuri, weighs 40 to 45 pounds, Grisham said. She is one of four born on Nov. 10, 2006, at the zoo - the first new litter here since 1992. One of the cheetahs died a month later. Zuri, her sister and brother continue to reside at the River's Edge, a popular 10-acre area of the zoo designed to look like the natural habitat for animals ranging from big cats to elephants and hippos.
http://www.bnd.com/336/story/183366.html
A Deeply Green City Confronts Its Energy Needs and Nuclear Worries
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — This city takes pride in being green, from its official motto, “Where renewal is a way of life,” to its Climate Wise energy program, which helps local businesses reduce the carbon emissions that scientists say can contribute to global warming.
But now two proposed energy projects are exposing the hard place that communities like this across the country are likely to confront in years to come as the tangled nuances of thinking globally come back to bite.
Both projects would do exactly what the city proclaims it wants, helping to produce zero-carbon energy. But one involves crowd-pleasing, feel-good solar power, and the other is a uranium mine, which has a base of support here about as big as a pinkie. Environmentalism and local politics have collided with a broader ethical and moral debate about the good of the planet, and whether some places could or should be called upon to sacrifice for their high-minded goals.
The solar project, called AVA Solar, plans to use a new manufacturing process developed at Colorado State University here to make panels for electricity generation, and will use cadmium — a hazardous metal linked to cancer — as part of the industrial process.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/us/19collins.html?pagewanted=all
Prospect Park Zoo Welcomes Endangered Golden Lion Tamarins
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 11-20-2007
PROSPECT PARK – The vibrant yellows and oranges of autumn have nothing on the newest residents at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo.
Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Zoo proudly welcomes two golden lion tamarin brothers. They may be new to their home, but these tiny monkeys with big hair and even bigger personalities are already turning heads and tails!
Golden lion tamarins are native to Brazil. They weigh in at less than 25 ounces, and from the look of them, one might think most of that weight is hair. The aptly named monkeys have — considering their small size — an enormous golden orange mane similar to that of a lion. But unlike their feline namesake, the tamarins are omnivores and feed primarily on fruits and insects.
The zoo’s new additions are both around 3 years old and hail from the Atlanta Zoo. These golden lion tamarins are the first of their kind at the Prospect Park Zoo, and the zoo plans to start a breeding program by one day introducing a female. But for now, the inquisitive brothers can be found exploring their new home in the zoo’s Animal Lifestyles exhibit.
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=31&id=16828
Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay Water Park Select Cygnus to Power All Ticketing and E-Commerce Operations
ORLANDO, FL -- 11/20/07 -- Cygnus eTransactions Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CYGT), a leader in ticketing and electronic commerce, today announced that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and the new Zoombezi Bay water park have selected the company's complete suite of ticketing solutions to power all ticketing and e-commerce operations. Cygnus will provide ceStation® V3, a complete on property ticketing solution, ceShop(TM) V3 integrated e-commerce and ceOsk® V3 self-self service ticketing.
"Following the debut of our enhanced technology at the IAAPA Attractions Expo last week, we are very pleased to announce being selected by the Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay as their comprehensive ticketing solution," said Steve Brown, president and chief executive officer of Cygnus.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,227748.shtml
Zoo Atlanta Expecting Baby Elephant In 2009
2007-11-20 - Atlanta, United States
Zoo Atlanta may soon hear the stomping of little feet. One of the zoos three elephants, Dottie, is pregnant. If all goes as expected, the zoos first newborn Loxodonata african should arrive in April 2009. The baby could weigh up to 300 pounds and measure 3 feet tall at birth. A team of specialists from Berlin artificially inseminated the 25-year-old Dottie in June after plans to mate her with a male elephant at the North Carolina Zoo fell through.
http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=2907
Tulsa Zoo Introduces Sutton
DAVID JONES for GTR Newspapers
NEW NEST: It may not be what he’s used to but Sutton, the Tulsa Zoo’s new bald eagle, seems to be settling in nicely to his new surroundings.
Sutton is named for his “parents.” Hatched and raised by the Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville, he was one of 275 eagles released to the wild in the 1980s. A number stamped on a leg band shows that he is 21 years old. Zoo personnel say he can live to be 30 to 35 or even more in captivity.
He was found by the banks of the Arkansas River near Muskogee with a badly damaged wing and blind in one eye. He can fly but lacks the ability to make the adjustments necessary in hunting. Since he can no longer survive in the wild, the Tulsa Zoo was given permission to take care of him. Zoo officials believe he once had a mate and they are looking for a female eagle to join him.
http://www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/2327/tulsa-zoo-introduces-sutton
Elephants at Cleveland Metroparks zoo dig in to Thanksgiving treat
Created: 11/20/2007 5:06:58 PM
Updated:11/20/2007 5:15:27 PM
CLEVELAND -- The elephants at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo were given a taste of Thanksgiving on Tuesday.
The elephants feasted on the leftover pumpkins from the Boo at the Zoo event last month.
The elephants will be given another pumpkin treat on Thanksgiving. The chimpanzees will get to collect cranberry sauce with tools, while the bears will forage in a cornstalk maze.
If you're not to overstuffed and can make it off the couch on Thanksgiving, the zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Admission to the zoo and the Rain Forest on the holiday is free. Visitors will also have the chance to watch view animal feedings and ask handlers questions.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=78430&provider=gnews
Zoo welcomes leggy new addition
Wednesday, 21 November 2007, 1:06 pm
Press Release: Auckland Zoo
Zoo welcomes leggy new addition
Auckland Zoo has welcomed its second giraffe calf in less than four months, with a male calf born on Saturday 17 November.
Standing 1.8m and weighing a healthy 55kg, the newcomer shares the same father (Zabulu) as half-sister Ntombi, who was born in late July. The newborn is the second offspring of six-year-old mum Rukiya, whose first calf, born May 2006, did not survive.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0711/S00203.htm
Feeding Giraffes at the Tucson Zoo
I’m hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year, so forgive me if posting is light this week. A Happy Thanksgiving to you all! (both of you).
I do love the Tucson Zoo at Reid Park. Today we took the niece and nephew over to feed the giraffes, which happens every day at 10am, and again at 2pm on weekdays.
The two females lined up perfectly for me this morning - here’s the one headed, two ended giraffe.
http://www.mytucsonblog.com/about-tucson/feeding-giraffes-at-the-tucson-zoo/
Cheetah escape baffles Mo. zoo officials
By JIM SALTER, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 21, 12:36 AM ET
ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Zoo officials on Tuesday were trying to figure out how a year-old cheetah managed to get out of its exhibit a day earlier.
The cheetah on Monday scaled a wall at least 10 feet tall and got into a rocky area that separates animals from people at the River's Edge exhibit. The area was quickly evacuated. Twenty-seven minutes later, the cheetah was found, tranquilized and returned unharmed to its exhibit.
"We have no idea how the cat got up there," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collection for the zoo. "We have a million theories. It could have been the cats playing with one another and it made the lucky jump — or unlucky jump."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071121/ap_on_fe_st/escaped_cheetah_cub
Cheetah Escapes from Zoo, Baffles Officials
November 21, 2007A one-year-old cheetah in the St. Louis Zoo escaped from its exhibit Monday, stumping zoo officials the day after as to how it was able to do so.
According to zoo staff, the cheetah must have managed to go over a wall at least 10 foot in height, before arriving at a rocky area that served as a separator between people and animals at the River's Edge exhibit.
Jack Grisham, vice president of the zoo's animal collection, expressed his confusion as to how the cub managed to scale the wall.
"We have no idea how the cat got up there," the Associated Press quoted Grisham . "We have a million theories. It could have been the cats playing with one another and it made the lucky jump - or unlucky jump."
http://www.wayodd.com/cheetah-escapes-from-zoo-baffles-officials/v/8493/
ASU horse program now at zoo
Construction students at school organized project
Joe Kullman
Nov. 21, 2007 12:00 AM
Editor's note: This article was submitted by Joe Kullman, media relations officer for the ASU Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Submit stories on news on education to lori.baker@arizonarepublic.com.
After almost four years without a home, Arizona State University's Hunkapi Horse Program will soon take up residence at the Phoenix Zoo, thanks in large part to students in the Del E. Webb School of Construction, a part of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
The school's Associated General Contractors student chapter has led a three-and-a-half year building project on a 5-acre site donated to the equine therapy program by the zoo in 2004.
advertisement
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1121ednbyzoo1121.html
Endangered orang-utan born at Perth Zoo
November 21, 2007 - 2:15PM
A baby Sumatran orang-utan, one of the world's most critically endangered animals, has been born at Perth Zoo.
Little Nyaru, who arrived on October 20, is a first baby for 14-year-old Negara.
Perth Zoo's Leif Cocks said Nyaru was doing very well and Negara was a great mum.
There are only 7,300 Sumatran orang-utans left in the wild on the Indonesian island.
"Orang-utans are facing imminent extinction in the wild due to poaching and habitat loss, in particular, land clearing for palm oil plantations," Mr Leif said.
Perth Zoo is part of an Australasian captive breeding program for Sumatran orang-utans.
Wednesday is also the 12th anniversary of the zoo's release of a female orang-utan, Temara, into a protected national park in Indonesia.
The park is protected by specially trained anti-logging and anti-poaching patrols.
Orang-utans are the closest biological relatives to humans, with around 97 per cent human genetic make-up.
They have an intelligence level equal to a five or six-year-old child.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Endangered-orangutan-born-at-Perth-Zoo/2007/11/21/1195321840231.html
They're jumping for joeys at the zoo
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Darin McGregor © The Rocky
Two baby kangaroos are new star attractions at the Denver Zoo, one peeking at the world from her mother's pouch, the other spending most of her time hopping around on her own.
The young red kangaroos can be seen this week, including Thanksgiving Day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The younger joey, about 6 months old, has just begun to peek her head out of mother Rita's pouch. She has not yet been named.
Athena, about 7 months old, spends some of her time in mother Marion's pouch, but usually is exploring her habitat solo.
Kangaroos are marsupials, born underdeveloped, measuring about an inch in length. They immediately crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they nurse and grow until they're ready to spend a little time outside.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/21/theyre-jumping-for-joeys-at-the-zoo/
Global News - November 2007
Hungry tigers in Chinese zoo turn on each other
Wed 21 November 2007 13:30 UK — Asia,Big Cats
Management at the privately-owned Shenyang Glacier Zoo, in north-eastern China, blamed the incident on a shortage of funds.
The zoo's deputy director, Li Wen Zhui, claimed that they had been unable to afford to feed the tigers properly for the past two years.
"An adult tiger eats about 20 pounds of meat a day, but the tigers here can barely get a chicken to quench their hunger every one or two days," she admitted to China View.
"I was shocked, particularly as the five tigers, who were the same age, had been living together for five years. This kind of thing has never happened before," she added.
Shenyang Glacier Zoo has previously been closed down due to a lack of funds and visitors, Reuters reported, while a zoo in the country's Xinjiang region that is also home to a Siberian tiger faced a similar financial crisis last year.
Help IAR care for stray dogs and cats and other animals in distress.
News brought to you by International Animal Rescue, saving animals from suffering around the world.
http://www.iar.org.uk/globalnews/articles/2007/11/hungry_tigers_in_chinese_zoo_turn_on_each_other_901.html
Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum
16th and Kiwanis Ave., Sioux Falls, SD. 605-367-7003. www.gpzoo.org
Adults $6.80, 3-12 $3.80, Seniors 60+ $6.00, 2 and under free. Free parking. Stroller accessible. Restrooms available.
A zoo in the winter in the northern states isn’t always a great idea, but the zoo in Sioux Falls has the benefit of having a museum attached, so even if you can’t brave the cold for long, you can learn something indoors. We visited on a quiet January day and had the place nearly to ourselves.
The Delbridge Museum consists of mounted animals in varying habitats; the kids liked going from the tundra to the desert and seeing the different animals that live in the different continents.
Then we headed outside to the zoo, where there weren’t a lot of animals in view due to the weather. We did make the rounds to see a few animals, but most were not on display because of the cold.
The zoo and museum were a nice stop to get the wiggles out of the kids before a long car ride, but it would have been a lot more fun in the summertime when more animals are there to see.
http://minnemom.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/great-plains-zoo-and-delbridge-museum-of-natural-history/
Last night's TV: Ben's Zoo
Wouldn't it be fun to own a zoo? That's what Ben thought. So he bought one, just like that
November 22, 2007 8:45 AM
'The most maddening part was watching him overrule the decision to put down Spa, the aged, arthritic, suppurating sore-covered tiger' ... Ben's Zoo (BBC2). These are two rather healthier Siberian tigers from Mulhouse Zoo, France. Photograph: Frederick Florian/AFP/Getty Images
Ben's Zoo (BBC2). This is a story about a man, called Ben, who buys a zoo. With no previous experience of animal husbandry. Without checking the licences or paperwork required to keep more than 200 animals of varying ferocity on the edge of Dartmoor. Or arranging the £500,000 loan he needs to do it up and turn it into a viable business. I'm exhausted already, aren't you? So we have to sit and watch while he scrabbles around for funding, knocks down buildings without knowing where the next cheque is coming from, realises with horror that his Dangerous Animals licence expires in about 10 minutes, and nods blankly at his solicitor while she explains to him gently what a total tit he's been for not asking to see a spot of documentation beforehand. It's like Property Ladder with animal suffering.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/2007/11/last_nights_tv_bens_zoo.html
Delhi Zoo gets Trade Fair rush
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
Number of visitors has shot up to around 10,000 per day
Around 25 extra personnel for security and upkeep of the complex brought in
Additional ticket counters opened; security doubled at vulnerable animal enclosures
Photo: V.V. Krishnan
NEW DELHI: The huge crowds at the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan here have also set the cash registers ringing at the nearby Delhi Zoo. The zoo authorities have been forced to deploy more personnel and put in place measures to ensure that its inmates are not disturbed by the unprecedented rush of visitors.
On an average, the zoo gets 2,000 to 3,000 visitors each day.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/22/stories/2007112259360200.htm
Miller Park Zoo loses female red wolf to tumor
By Scott Richardson
srichardson@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON -- Thanksgiving is a bit sad at Miller Park Zoo after the death of the female red wolf named Scarlett.
Zoo director John Tobias said the loss is a setback to the zoo’s attempts to produce red wolf puppies as part of the Captive Breeding Program, which boosts the numbers of the endangered animals.
“This doesn’t make me very happy,” Tobias said Wednesday.
Zookeepers found the 5½-year-old animal dead early Tuesday when they made their routine rounds at the facility at 1020 S. Morris Ave.
Examination at the University of Illinois veterinary school in Champaign-Urbana revealed the red wolf died when a liver tumor ruptured. Zookeepers had not seen any symptoms, and the cancer was previously undiagnosed, Tobias said.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/22/news/doc474486255da44181313326.txt
Snakes are 'funnest ones to hold,' zoo volunteer says
By Cathalena E. Burch
cburch@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona Published: 11.22.2007
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Sahuaro High School junior Danielle Van Vleet used to hate snakes.
They creeped her out.
Last year, though, she got up the nerve to hold one.
"It was a bit scary," the 16-year-old Reid Park Zoo volunteer admits. "I guess I was pretty nervous. I held it very closely. I was possibly holding it too tightly because I was afraid of it. But then I calmed down."
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/85710/212582.php
Giant otters move into Jacksonville Zoo
Jacksonville Business Journal
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has acquired three giant otters from the Philadelphia Zoo.
The otters, named Primero, Dante and Magnus, are brothers who range from 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches. The species, Pteronura brasiliensis, can reach 6 feet long and is listed as a U.S. Endangered Species.
The Jacksonville Zoo said its new acquisitions are among only 11 giant otters in four zoos in the nation.
"The otters are a welcome addition to our Emerald Forest Aviary in the Range of the Jaguar," the zoo's executive director, Dennis Pate, said in a press release. "They are very vocal and even more active than the smaller river otters and are entertaining to watch."
The zoo will feed the animals and give them toys for entertainment during its Animal Enrichment Day Nov. 24.
The zoo has more than 1,400 animal species and 1,000 plant species. It ranked third in the Jacksonville Business Journal's 2007 list of area tourist attractions, with 2006 attendance of 710,000.
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2007/11/19/daily20.html
Bear in Fayette County zoo bites visitor, causes minor injury
- The Associated Press
FARMINGTON, Pa. — A bear at the Fayette County zoo bit a visitor who was participating in a program for budding zookeepers.
Sonny Herring, owner of the Woodland Zoo and More, said two people were hurt in the incident last weekend. The person who was bitten required eight stitches, while another suffered minor scratches when he tried to help. Both were home within hours, Herring said.
"There's dog bites more serious than this every day and the only reason this is drawing attention is because it is a bear," Herring said.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/breaking_news/story/269454.html
Berlin's famed polar bear Knut may soon have 3 siblings to play with
BERLIN: Knut, the Berlin Zoo's famous polar bear, may soon have as many as three little siblings to play with, the zoo's veterinarian said Friday.
Knut's mother, Tosca, and the zoo's two other female polar bears, Katjuscha and Nancy, may all be pregnant after mating earlier this year with Knut's father, Lars, veterinarian Andre Schuele said.
They could give birth before Christmas, he said.
But polar bear pregnancies are hard to detect and to track. Urine pregnancy tests like those humans use do not work, and polar bear embryos are so small the mothers do not grow big tummies.
"One can't say for sure if they are really pregnant or not," Schuele said.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/23/europe/EU-GEN-Germany-More-Knuts.php
Zoo hosts anti-bullying event
23rd November 2007 12:45
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The Young Anti-Bullying Alliance (Young ABA) is hosting a special event at London Zoo today to mark Blue Friday, the day when all children and young people are encouraged to dress in blue for the day in support of the anti-bullying message.
Young ABA (YABA) is a recently established advisory board of nine Diana Anti-Bullying Award holders – one from each government region.
This week is Anti-Bullying Week 2007, run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), who this year are focusing on 'bullying in the community.'
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6139.html
Giambra plan for zoo called flawed
Comptroller says county lacks cash
By Matthew Spina NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 11/23/07 7:42 AM
Joel A. Giambra says he has a plan to get millions in county aid to the Buffalo Zoo for its rainforest exhibit, even if the Legislature and Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz continue their im- passe with the state-appointed control board.
Poloncarz, however, says the county executive’s idea won’t work. So the situation is not changing, for the zoo and for other institutions expecting county money. The zoo faces interest costs of $28,000 a month on the line of credit it secured so it could pay its rainforest contractors.
The county’s decision-makers are haggling over who will borrow money for the zoo project and for other major items.
The control board wants to supplant Poloncarz in his traditional role as the government’s borrowing agent, at least for the next loan. The Legislature has not allowed the control board to step in, because lawmakers don’t see a need for the board to exist for the decades it will take to repay the debt.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/213012.html
Lights go on at the zoo
ME's Zoo in Parker City will begin its annual House of Lights event starting tonight and continuing through Christmas Eve.
The display includes 208,000 white lights, as well as three fireplaces, visits with Santa, a petting zoo, coffee, cider and hot chocolate, as well as carriage rides on select nights.
Visitors can drive by to see the lights for free, or pay admission to go into the zoo.
When: 5:30-10:30 p.m. Nov. 22-25, Nov. 30-Dec. 1 and Dec. 7-9; Dec. 14-24, the zoo will be open every night.
Where: 12441 W. 300 S., Parker City.
Directions from Richmond (U.S. 35): -Take U.S. 35 to Hwy 36, But do not turn there, cross over Highway 36.
Continue to first cross road (County Road 1200 West)--Zoo Sign--turn right. Go approximately 7 miles to 300 South -- Turn left. Zoo is on the left.
Or take Highway 1 north through and past Modoc about 6 miles.
Go to County Road 300 South--Turn Left (zoo sign). Zoo is approximately 4 miles.
Approximate travel time is 50 minutes.
Info: (765) 468-8559 and www.meszoo.com.
http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071122/ENTERTAINMENT/711220337/1031
Zoo deserves backing to bring it up to date
EWAN AITKEN
EDINBURGH Zoo and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) have a proud history and have been part of the fabric of the city since 1909, when the society was formed, with the zoo itself opening some four years later.
The then Edinburgh Council had an important role top play in the creation of the zoo, purchasing the land on behalf of the society.
Today, I'd like to think that close relationship remains and the zoo is one of the city's top visitor attractions. It plays a key role in Edinburgh's tourist industry and remains one of the foremost zoological centres in Europe, and indeed the world.
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1841702007
San Diego Zoo cares for rare apes
Posted on Nov 23, 2007 5:28:00 AM
Two of the world’s most critically endangered great apes, called bonobos, which are rarely seen in the wild or in zoos, are being care for at the San Diego Zoo.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_lifestyle_animal/2007/11/san-diego-zoo-c.html
Thanksgiving at the Jackson Zoo
Many people celebrate Thanksgiving with some special annual traditions. And for some Mississippians, one Thanksgiving tradition is visiting the Jackson Zoo.
Many families took advantage of the day's free admission and cooler temperatures and took a few hours to enjoy the animal exhibits. The Jackson Zoo says the free Thanksgiving admission is a thank-you to the community for its year-round support.
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=7398056&nav=2CSf
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