Zoos
Attend this Panel Discussion: How Zoos Inspire Careers in Conservation
Join the Buffalo Zoo, UB Green, UB’s Environmental Studies program, and the Environmental Network for a workshop to explore the important role zoos play (particularly, the Buffalo Zoo) in inspiring careers that support conservation efforts locally and internationally.
The Distinguished Panel Includes:
Dr. David Wilcove - Conservation Biologist and Professor at Princeton University
Kevin Murphy - Animal Curator and Herpetologist at the Buffalo Zoo
Dr. Donna Fernandes - the Zoo’s President/CEO
http://advising.buffalo.edu/beadvised/attend-the-panel-discussion-how-zoos-inspire-careers-in-conservation/
Animals at the zoo gain weight from eating processed foods
Martha Edwards
Filed under: Health in the Media
Heavily processed foods have been blamed for the ever-expanding waistlines of the human population, as well as a number of health problems. But humans aren’t the only ones affected by how our food is made. According to this article, animals at the zoo in Seoul, Korea, have become so overweight from their diet of processed foods that they are going on a strict diet.
I think this is very unfortunate — it’s one thing for humans to cause their own health problems by giving into their cravings, but it’s another when harmless animals are being fed junk food when they’re helpless to do anything about it — especially because it probably boils down to the zookeepers being too frugal to purchase real foods for the animals.
http://google-sina.com/2007/11/02/animals-at-the-zoo-gain-weight-from-eating-processed-foods/
Mango captured, may be taken to zoo
Remember the Green-breasted Mango that found its way to Beloit, Wisconsin? It was captured Monday and taken to the Wisconsin Humane Society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee.
Local birdwatchers who kept tabs on the bird decided to rescue it before a cold front moved into the area Monday evening.
Scott Diehl, manager of the rehab center, said the bird is doing well. It's housed in a screened-off area with feeders and perches and is being fed sugar water and a "nutritionally complete nectar" that zoos feed captive hummingbirds.
The mango most likely will be taken to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The zoo has an accredited aviary that Diehl called a "rich environment" for birds.
http://bwfov.typepad.com/birders_world_field_of_vi/2007/11/mango-captured-.html
'Steve & Me' Chronicles Personal Life of Croc Hunter
Talk of the Nation, November 7, 2007 · In 2006, fans mourned the loss of Steve Irwin, the intrepid "Crocodile Hunter," who died when a stingray barb pierced his chest while he was filming off the Great Barrier Reef.
The popular television star and conservationist was 44 years old when he was killed, and friends say that he died doing what he loved.
In a new book, Steve & Me, Irwin's wife, Terri, writes about her husband's legacy and her efforts to keep his work alive.
Terri Irwin met Steve in 1991 when he was working as a zookeeper in a reptile park in Australia.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16082410
Services set for Denver Zoo's longtime president
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 11/08/2007 01:37:05 AM MST
A public memorial service for longtime Denver Zoo president Clayton Freiheit will be next week at the University of Denver.
Freiheit, who ran the zoo for 37 years, died of cancer Oct. 28 at the age of 69. The service will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 at DU's Newman Center for the Performing Arts, at East Iliff Avenue and South University Boulevard.
The zoo will be closed that day in honor of Freiheit. Following the public service, the family will host a private ceremony at the zoo.
The family said Freiheit asked that, in lieu of flowers or other gifts, donors make a contribution to the zoo in support of building Asian Tropics, a planned 10-acre exhibit of Asian animals. Any donations will be matched by zoo improvement bonds, which Denver voters passed in 1999.
The zoo also announced that the half-acre indoor elephant quarters will be renamed the Clayton F. Freiheit Elephant House.
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_7399318
Davidson County: Ape briefly escapes from his zoo habitat
Nashville Zoo's male white-cheeked gibbon, Dixon, jumped the moat surrounding his island home about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
He was safely returned to the habitat about an hour later, officials said.
Dixon made his break for freedom just as the zoo was opening for the day. No guests were near the habitat at the time. Zoo staff were immediately notified and quickly secured the area. As a precaution and in accordance with the Zoo's Animal Escape Protocol, all arriving guests were moved to safe areas.
This is not the first time the gibbon has escaped.
Earlier this year on Sept. 2, Dixon jumped on to the back of a zookeeper, and then jumped off the island. Although safety alterations to the habitat were made since the last incident, officials say Dixon's far-reaching abilities probably will result in a transfer to another zoo.
—NICOLE YOUNG
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NEWS01/711080392/1006/MTCN0301
Minnesota Zoo says you oughta see its otters today
A litter of three Asian small-clawed otters, the first born at the Minnesota Zoo since 1994, are now on exhibit and will go before media cameras this morning for the first time since their birth in late July.
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1536895.html
Zoo grieves for 50-year-old gorilla
http://www.care2.com/news/member/285806679/533670
Audit finds holes in financial practices at zoo
The zoo needs to improve some of its financial practices and do a better job tracking commission revenues from vendors.
By Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune
Last update: November 08, 2007 – 2:06 PM
The Minnesota Zoo overpaid a food service vendor by nearly $30,000, didn't adequately verify that vendors were paying the proper commissions and improperly had the same employee handling receipts and deposits, according to a state audit released today.
The financial review, conducted by Legislative Auditor James Nobles and covering the period from July 2003 through December 2006, found that zoo officials generally used adequate safeguards in their accounting practices.
http://www.startribune.com/south/story/1537624.html
Seven rare deer die in Delhi Zoo
9 Nov 2007, 0025 hrs IST
Tanushree Roy Chowdhury
TNN
NEW DELHI: Seven endangered deer have been killed in one go at the Delhi Zoo because, believe it or not, the vet — who has been with the zoo for about 12 years now — tried to tranquillise them in a hurry. What would have benefited a captive breeding programme ended up as a huge setback and a major embarrassment for the Central Zoo Authority. Its director, DN Singh, has ordered a high-level inquiry.
The incident which happened late on Tuesday comes close on the heels of Delhi zoo losing adult lions, jaguars, a male chimpanzee brought from Germany, Sambar deer which had escaped from their enclosure, and a male rhino brought from San Diego zoo for mating. In a majority of these cases, it is alleged, there was negligence by the zoo’s veterinary doctor, Dr Panneer Selvam.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Seven_rare_deer_die_in_Delhi_Zoo/articleshow/2529741.cms
Happy Hollow zoo welcomes two meerkat pups
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/08/2007 09:25:10 AM PST
Two meerkat babies are the newest buzz at San Jose's Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, where visitors are doing whatever they can to catch a glimpse of the three-week-old "kits."
Born Oct. 13, the two meerkats (think "Timon" in Lion King) are so young that no one's even gotten close enough to check out their gender, said zoo spokeswoman Vanessa Rogier. They'll be named soon, but a veterinarian has to check them out first.
She said the kits have been spending their days nursing from their mother, Kubaza, and snuggled up in a nest, especially since it's been so cold.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7405484?nclick_check=1
Panda Pair Kisses Everyday
November 1st, 2007
It’s unusual, but a male and female red panda at a Tokyo zoo kiss and embrace every day astonishing crowds with their public displays of affection.
http://www.ecoegg.org/shell/2007/11/01/panda-pair-kisses-everyday/
The Safari Next Door
You don't have to jet to Africa for great wildlife photos. Just trek to your local zoo.
By Tom and Pat Leeson
September 2007
Big-name wildlife photographers aren't eager to admit it, but many of their most famous -- and profitable -- images were taken in zoos. Surprised? Don't be. We're pro stock photographers, and we shoot at zoos all the time. They not only educate animal-lovers about wildlife, they also offer the chance to take pictures (especially portraits and close-ups) that would be difficult, if not impossible, in the wild.
And if you do it right, your photos will go far beyond the typical "zoo snapshot" and really show the beauty and majesty of the animals. Here's how:
First, prepare. Before embarking, check the zoo's website to learn the feeding times, see which animals may have young this season, and hunt for other photo possibilities. Good pictures on the website are clues to which species and environments are most photogenic. Schedule zoo visits in early fall and late spring, before and after the school field-trip seasons.
http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/4446/the-safari-next-door
Together again: Haifa Zoo reunites Littermate lionesses
By Zafrir Rinat
tags: Haifa Zoo, Ramat Gan Safari
Not many people saw the moving reunion yesterday in Haifa between sisters Gaia and Gov. Even though they had been living only 100 kilometers apart, the two heavyweights had not seen each other in a year. That's because Gov was living in the lion cage at Haifa Zoo and Gaia at the Ramat Gan safari.
Gaia, a young lioness, was transferred to Haifa from Ramat Gan because her native pack at the safari had rejected her.
To give Gaia a chance to reintegrate into a another pack, the safari and the zoo decided to move her sister up north with her.
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The two lionesses were born in Ramat Gan. When the safari transferred Gov to Ramat Gan a year ago, Gaia was left behind, without her sister.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/921115.html
Long-necked women kidnapped again for Thailand’s human zoos
Published November 7th, 2007
From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok, November 7th
Long-necked women kidnapped for Thailand’s lucrative ‘human zoos
Police in Thailand are investigating new allegations that unscrupulous tour operators have kidnapped Burmese long-necked women for use in lucrative tourist camps known as ‘human zoos’.
Six members of the Padaung Burmese hill tribe have been reported missing from refugee camps in the Northern Thai district of Mae Hong Son, 400 miles north of Bangkok and police have set up an investigation team to try and find them.
Police Major Worapot Phuttawong said: “We believe that the only purpose for their kidnapping is for exhibition in these tourist camps over the peak holiday season which is beginning now and will continue over Christmas.”
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2007/11/07/long-necked-women-kidnapped-again-for-thailands-human-zoos/
A handful of funders for zoos
Jump to Comments
We will constantly update this post with more potential sources of funding for zoos. As potentially zoos and botanic gardens from all around the world may access ( and contribute to…?) this forum, we will try and reference funders with a relevance to different parts of the world.
Obviously “zoo projects” can mean lots of different things ( capital on site projects, educational programmes, in situ conservation projects, etc), and the following funders all fund different kinds of needs. So this is quite a rag-bag of opportunities, and it is up to you to sort through it.
For some of the large international funders, I really think it is also worth considering the virtues of inter-zoo collaborations for many of these sources of finance, as well as looking for highly innovative (even risky?) approaches amenable to eventual replication. The whole idea of changing the zoo paradigm through international co-operation could be very appealing to funders.
http://zoofunding.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/a-handful-of-funders-for-zoos/
Our cub reporter exposes China’s soft underbelly.
by James Fallows
Among the Pandas
Everyone knows that pandas are cute.
Very few people know firsthand how cute pandas are in quantity. Only 12 pandas exist in the United States, rented from the Chinese government for $1 million per year apiece (and some extra fees) and spread out among four zoos. The world’s other zoos outside China hold only two dozen or so more. When glimpsed by visitors, these pandas are usually on their own, making themselves scarce behind tree stumps or chewing resignedly on bamboo. At best we see a mother panda with her cub.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200712/pandas
Zoocheck Slams Two Central Alberta Zoos
Nov, 07 2007 - 12:20 PM
CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Animal advocates are coming down hard on the provincial government for what they say is a lack of action to protect animals and the public.
They want two controversial zoos shut down if they can't meet the province's new regulations.
At the centre of the controversy are two facilities, Guzoo animal farm in Three Hills and Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail.
Zoocheck Canada's Julie Woodyer says they went to provincial enforcement staff with over 150 documented violations and didn't get any assurances action would be taken.
Woodyer says new provincial regulations went into effect last March and yet some of these violations were recorded just this past weekend.
http://www.770chqr.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428327912&rem=78849&red=80132723aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
PETA Calls On Feds to Investigate, Revoke License of Zoo Following Bear Mauling
For Immediate Release:
November 7, 2007
Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382
Coram, Mont. - This morning, PETA sent an urgent letter to Dr. Robert M. Gibbens, Western Regional director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) animal care unit, urging him to immediately launch an investigation into Great Bear Adventure Park, an unaccredited roadside zoo in Coram. PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a grizzly bear mauled a man thought to be a zoo employee on November 2.
PETA points out that the menagerie may have violated the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which addresses safe handling procedures. Because Great Bear Adventure Park has a history of unsafe animal-handling practices--including two incidents in July 2004, in which an employee was attacked by a grizzly bear and a bear smashed a visitor's car window--PETA is asking the USDA to take steps to revoke Great Bear Adventure Park's exhibitor's license if an investigation determines that the recent incident constitutes a violation of the AWA.
http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=10448
Rare bears' mating efforts fail to produce cubs, so science steps in
By PATRICIA YOLLIN
San Francisco Chronicle
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/special:Middle1]
Spike comes from Omaha, and Kaika from Honolulu. Maybe that fact alone is enough to doom their prospects. For whatever reason, they've had sex hundreds of times at the Oakland Zoo but have never produced offspring.
They're not the only ones going through the motions. For the past 10 or 15 years throughout zoos in Europe and North America, captive mainland sun bears like Spike and Kaika have had trouble breeding.
And that is a problem.
"If we keep going this way, there won't be any sun bears left in captivity," said their keeper, Cathy Keyes.
As a result, breeding of sun bears from the mainland of Southeast Asia has been halted at North American zoos, and the focus has shifted to a subspecies of sun bear from the island of Borneo. And the two Oakland bears, both born in captivity, now have a new role to play: They're being studied to figure out how the Borneans, through artificial insemination, can multiply.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/11/07/news/special/3cf9419cf31871458725703c005b2ea6.txt
Stolen exotic animals seized in Flint, Mundy townships (Video)
69 animals recovered, including wallaby, parrots, several foxes
By Matt Franklin
GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) - (11/07/07)--Raids at homes in Flint and Mundy townships have turned up several stolen exotic animals. Investigators say they believe the animals were taken from zoos and pet shops across the state.
In all, investigators say they recovered about 69 animals ranging from a wallaby, parrots and several foxes. Police arrested three people Tuesday in connection to the case.
A tip lead Livonia police to a rental home on Dyewood Road in Flint Township. Inside they found a home full of exotic animals and birds.
Police recovered six toucans worth about $30,000 apiece. There were also tortoises and snakes in the home.
Flint Township police say a search warrant also was executed at a home on Crystal Lake Drive in Mundy Township. They also recovered animals in that home as well.
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5748733
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