New Zealand Herald
Gore takes global warming crusade to Capitol Hill
10:50AM Thursday March 22, 2007
WASHINGTON - Al Gore, star of an Oscar-winning movie, former US vice president and the object of 2008 presidential speculation, today took his crusade against global warming to Capitol Hill.
Glad-handing like the lifelong politician he was until losing the 2000 presidential race to George W. Bush, Gore called his return to Congress "an emotional occasion."
But he did not mince words on what he termed the current climate crisis: "Our world faces a true planetary emergency."
Before a joint House panel dealing with energy, air quality and the environment and the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, Gore stressed the need for quick action.
Under often contentious but consistently civil questioning at both hearings, Gore discussed the risks of sea level rise, stronger storms, more wildfires and other ills associated with global climate change, and urged an immediate freeze on US carbon dioxide emissions.
After that, he said, the United States should begin a programme of sharp reductions in carbon emissions "to reach at least 90 per cent reductions by 2050." He also proposed a tax on carbon emissions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10430182
Melting sea ice at 'tipping point'
5:00AM Monday March 19, 2007
A catastrophic collapse of the Arctic Sea ice could lead to radical changes to the Northern Hemisphere climate, say scientists who warn that the rapid melting has reached a critical threshold.
The scientists believe the shrinking sea ice is now so serious it may have reached a "tipping point" beyond which it may not recover.
They attribute the loss of 98,400 square miles of sea ice - an area the size of Alaska - to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as to natural variability in Arctic ice.
Since satellite measurements of the Arctic Sea ice began in 1979, the surface area covered by summer sea ice has retreated from the long-term average.
This has increased the rate of coastal erosion from Alaska to Siberia and caused problems for the polar bear, which relies on sea ice for hunting seals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10429448
Nasa scientist accuses White House of global warming cover-up
7:40AM Tuesday March 20, 2007
By Steve Connor
James Hansen, the Nasa scientist who first warned the US Government about global warming, yesterday delivered a withering critique of the way the White House has interfered with climate scientists working for the space agency.
Dr Hansen, the director of Nasa's Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York, said that the space agency's budget for studying the Earth's climate has been slashed and that its scientists have been systematically gagged about speaking of their concerns.
In detailed written testimony delivered yesterday to the US House of Representatives, Dr Hansen said that there has been creeping politicisation of climate change with the effect that the American public has been left confused about the science of global warming.
"During my career I have noticed an increasing politicisation of public affairs at headquarters level, with a notable effect on communication from scientists to the public," Dr Hansen writes in his testimony.
"Interference with communication of science to the public has been greater during the current Administration than at any time in my career," he says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10429750
Maori forest owners take on Government over land-use penalties, carbon credits
5:00AM Thursday March 22, 2007
By Brian Fallow
The Federation of Maori Authorities is preparing a Waitangi Tribunal challenge to two key planks of the Government's controversial forestry policy.
It says the plan to impose a cost on landowners who switch land from forestry to another use breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, as does the Government's refusal to pass on to forest owners any of the value of the "sink credits" generated under the Kyoto climate change treaty by forests established since 1990 on land not previously forested.
Article Two of the Treaty gives Maori undisturbed possession of fisheries, forests and other land.
"Undisturbed possession means the ownership of all the rights pertaining to the forests and the right to economically develop the forestry estate and other land," federation chief executive Paul Morgan said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10430119
Public could create carbon neutral future
5:00AM Thursday March 22, 2007
By Brian Fallow
The initial reaction to Meridian Energy announcing it is "certified carbon zero" may have been subdued but chief executive Keith Turner believes consumer preference for buying electricity from a carbon-neutral supplier will build over time.
Meridian is not charging any more for its power as a result - unlike an earlier TrustPower scheme - but then, it doesn't cost the company much either.
"We have been able to do this more easily than others could," Turner said.
Meridian only generates from renewable sources - hydro and wind. In a normal year it generates about 23 per cent more than it needs to meet its contractual obligations to its customers. It is a net seller into the wholesale market.
Even in the driest year to date, it has been able to generate more than it needs as a retailer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10430099
BUSH DOES EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to insult the troposphere to increase the levels of carbon dioxide and this is still another insult. Those that 'justify' this measure as prudent to international relations and economic trends state they recognize this as a further 'dumping' of carbon dioxide to the troposphere, however, airplane emissions are such a small component to that it doesn't matter.
Huh? How do reasonably intelligent people one might even have as friends make such stupid observations. The planet is melting down with Polar Bears dying and the profits of airlines are being put first.
I don't think so. Get over it. This is a hugely bad decision in the year 2007 and should be reserved to future generations when and if the time ever comes to allow such ventures. All involved should be sufficiently ashamed of themselves. The EU especially knows better.
We are looking at droughts that are stifling agriculture and killing people. Tony Blair is screaming about the plight of Africa with Human Induced Global Warming dominating their outcomes and THIS is a good idea?
Get over it already! That is just amazing. Greed is supposed to be a bad thing, not a rewardable one.
EU supports landmark US air pact
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
European Union transport ministers unanimously backed a landmark agreement with the United States yesterday to throw open transatlantic air travel to more competition and drive down fares.
But the 27 ministers, at Britain's request, sought a five-month delay in implementing the deal so it would take effect in March 2008 instead of this October.
The "open skies" agreement will allow EU airlines to fly from any city in the 27-nation bloc to any city in the United States and vice versa.
"The deal is of great political and economic importance. The fact that everyone in the council (of transport ministers) has been able to welcome the outcome is to be commended," Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430529
Drought declared in all of Victoria
5:30AM Saturday March 24, 2007
Victoria's entire agricultural land mass is drought declared for the first time in the state's history.
The federal Government yesterday extended interim Exceptional Circumstances assistance to the southern and western areas of Gippsland - the last of the state's arable regions which were not drought declared.
- AAP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10430565
Lahar larger but lacked the force of '53
5:00AM Friday March 23, 2007
By Simon O'Rourke
Left: The 5.2m high flood gauge in Whangaehu valley upstream of Tangiwai and right: 25 minutes later
Scientists say the Mt Ruapehu lahar was larger than the 1953 debris flow that caused the Tangiwai disaster.
But last Sunday's lahar lacked the violent force of the December 24, 1953, surge that wiped out the rail bridge at Tangiwai and led to the train plunge that cost 151 lives.
That was because of the comparative lack of debris it picked up on its way down the Whangaehu Valley last Sunday, said Dr Vern Manville of GNS Science.
"Our initial interpretation is that the 95-96 eruption did a good job of scouring out loose material from the gorge, whereas prior to the 1953 event there had been 30 years of no lahars and there was a much bigger accumulation of debris in the channel."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10430341
Editorial: Next lahar may not be so obliging
12:00AM Thursday March 22, 2007
Environmentalists are inordinately fond of an idea they call the precautionary principle. Under this principle they argue for all sorts of costly measures against remote or dubious risks to the planet, insisting it is always better to be safe than sorry. It is not always better in fact. If the economic cost of precautions is out of proportion to the possible harm, people are better off living with the risk. But, oddly, our environmental conservators did not invoke the precautionary principle against Mt Ruapehu's lahar.
The lahar has happened exactly as predicted. On Sunday, when the mountain's Crater Lake breached the dam created by the debris of its latest eruption, the lahar flowed down the slopes and along the stream beds as expected. Conservation Minister Chris Carter says he is delighted. Mightily relieved is probably a more accurate description. Certainly that will be the Prime Minister's state of mind.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10430105
After the big lahar, a swarm of earthquakes
5:00AM Tuesday March 20, 2007
By Errol Kiong
Sensors at the summit of Mt Ruapehu have recorded a series of small earthquakes since Sunday's spectacular lahar.
"The rapid removal of water from above a hydrothermal system can destabilise that system, resulting in small-scale eruptions," said Brad Scott, volcano surveillance co-ordinator at GNS Science, which maintains the sensor system.
The quakes measured up to magnitude 1.
Lowered lake levels could lead to increased heating and steam-driven eruptions, Mr Scott said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10429739
Schoolgirls' study nabs food giant
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By David Eames
Testing by Anna Devathasan (left) and Jenny Suo revealed Ribena's vitamin C levels. Photo / Martin Sykes
A high school science experiment by two 14-year-old girls has embarrassed the world's second-largest food and pharmaceutical company.
GlaxoSmithKline will appear in Auckland District Court on Tuesday to face charges alleging 15 breaches of the Fair Trading Act.
The charges, brought by the Commerce Commission, arose from an investigation by Pakuranga College students Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo into the vitamin C levels of the popular Ribena drink, which has sales of about $8 million a year.
The company faces a maximum fine of $200,000 on each charge.
GSK has a worldwide turnover of more than $61 billion, second only to drug giant Pfizer.
The students - now 17 - decided in mid-2004 to test the vitamin C levels of their favourite juices, including Ribena, Just Juice and Arano, for a school project.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10430610
A 07/07/07 wedding? It could be your lucky day
7:15PM Thursday March 22, 2007
NEW YORK - Thousands of US couples planning to tie the knot this year aren't leaving their chances of marital success to love alone, with a rush to marry on what some see as the luckiest day of the year - 07/07/07.
The number seven is considered by many to be lucky, with seven a perfect number in the Bible, Buddha walking seven steps at his birth, and seven lucky gods in Japanese mythology. In the game bingo, the call is "Lucky Seven, God's in Heaven."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10430299
Media scrum as Knut the polar bear goes public
9:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Madeline Chambers
Knut during its first presentation in Berlin Zoo. Photo / Reuters
BERLIN - Germany's youngest celebrity, Knut the polar bear cub, made his much-anticipated public debut at Berlin Zoo today and appeared unfazed by the media scrum surrounding his first excursion.
The three-and-a-half-month old white cub padded gingerly round his new enclosure to the gasps and sighs of onlookers.
Fortified by a breakfast of porridge, the puppy-sized cub sniffed the grass and rolled in the dust before delighting the crowds by splashing in a pond.
"I want to take him home," said Daniel Wolff, five, whose mother had bought him a specially made "Knut" cuddly polar bear toy on sale on a stand outside the enclosure.
Knut stole the heart of Berliners after he was born in December but rejected by his mother Tosca. A bearded zookeeper moved into the enclosure to look after him round the clock.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430625
Big bears have brighter future
7:15AM Saturday March 24, 2007
Grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park no longer need Endangered Species Act protection.
There were an estimated 136 to 312 in 1975 but now there are more than 500.
Opponents of the delisting question whether the bear population can yet withstand pressures such as global warming and food scarcity.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430549
Dalai Lama to visit New Zealand in June
11:00AM Wednesday March 21, 2007
The Dalai Lama will visit Auckland and Wellington in June.
He will speak on "Compassion and Kindness" on June 17 and will teach on "The Four Noble Truths" on June 18, both at the Vector Arena in Auckland
In Wellington on June 19 he will speak on "A Human Approach to World Peace" at the TSB Bank Arena.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and Ticketek.
- NZPA
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10429970
Kiwi gets up Nasa's nose
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Martin Johnston
Moon dust can be bad for astronauts' health. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
A New Zealand scientist has discovered a hazardous new obstacle to the US space programme's plan to return to the moon in 2020 - moon dust is bad for astronauts' lungs.
Moon dust can penetrate deep into the lungs, posing potentially great risks to astronauts with the planned resumption of lunar landings, says the scientist, who has studied astronauts' airways.
Dr Kim Prisk, a graduate of Canterbury and Otago universities, said yesterday that on the relatively short lunar visits of the 1960s and 1970s, moon dust was not a problem.
But now the US planned to return to the moon by 2020, eventually leaving astronauts there for up to six months at a time, it was proving to be a challenge.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10430608
Ex-astronaut pleads not guilty to attempted kidnap
1:25PM Friday March 23, 2007
Lisa Nowak is accused of trying to kidnap a woman she believed to be a love rival. Photo / Reuters
MIAMI - A former US astronaut who drove 950 miles to confront the girlfriend of her ex-lover pleaded not guilty today to attempted kidnap and battery charges.
Lisa Nowak, 43, is accused of trying to kidnap the woman, whom she viewed as a rival for the affections of Navy commander and astronaut William Oefelein, after driving from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers to avoid a bathroom stop.
Nowak, a Navy captain who became an astronaut in 1996 and flew a space shuttle mission last July, did not appear in person for her arraignment at Orange County courthouse in Orlando, Florida.
Her formal not guilty pleas were given in writing as Judge Marc Lubet set the trial date for July 30, court spokeswoman Karen Levey said in a statement.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430455
Step-dad jailed for sex 'lessons'
10:43AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Cherie Taylor
A man has been jailed after he gave sex "lessons" to his 16-year-old step- daughter.
The man also posed as the girl's mother, and sent the girl emails saying the lessons she was receiving were okay. The emails included pictures of the man and the girl's mother engaged in sexual acts.
The Central North Island man, aged in his 30s, was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court and jailed for nine months yesterday, with leave to apply for home detention.
He had admitted attempted sexual connection with a dependent family member, four charges of sexual connection with a dependant family member and five charges of performing an indecent act on a dependent family member. The offending ended, after three months, in January this year.
It had started after the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, decided to give the girl sex lessons after she told him she was in a relationship. During the lessons the man touched his step-daughter sexually.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10430639
Iraq Deputy PM wounded in assassination bid
9:30AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Waleed Ibrahim
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie was hit by shrapnel in the abdomen and shoulder. Photo / Reuters
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie has undergone surgery after being wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a hall where he was attending prayers today.
Officials said at least six members of Zobaie's entourage were killed in the second assassination bid on a senior member of the US-backed government in a month.
One of Zobaie's aides named the suicide bomber as Wahab Saadi, one of the deputy prime minister's own guards.
"He's wounded but it's not serious," an official in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office told Reuters after Maliki visited Zobaie at the US military hospital in Baghdad's international Green Zone.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430630
US House approves 2008 troop withdrawal from Iraq
8:55AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Richard Cowan
US President George W. Bush. Photo / Reuters
WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives today voted to impose a September 1, 2008, deadline for withdrawing all American combat troops from Iraq, prompting a quick veto promise from US President George W. Bush.
In a mostly partisan 218-212 vote, House Democrats succeeded in attaching the deadline to legislation authorising more than US$124 billion in emergency funds, mostly for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.
The narrow margin of the vote was far short of what Democrats would need to override any presidential veto.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430626
Australia: Broadening the broadband debate
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Nick Lucchinelli
Telstra last year ditched plans for a A$4 billion fibre-optic network.
The hoopla surrounding Labor's proposed raid on the Future Fund to "socially democratise" Australia's broadband infrastructure has shone the spotlight on another source of tension: the operating structure of market behemoth Telstra.
Opposition leader Kevin Rudd said this week that a future Labor government would reach deep into the public purse to spend A$4.7 billion ($5.4 billion) - about half of which would come from the Future Fund - on a fibre-to-the-node high-speed broadband network.
The private sector would be expected to kick in several extra billion, with the total public-private deal costing about A$8 billion.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10430570
Search on in Manukau Harbour for missing fisherman
New 11:41AM Saturday March 24, 2007
A search was begun today for a fisherman missing in rough conditions in Auckland's Manukau Harbour.
The man was apparently swept of rocks at Paratutae Island at the north head of the harbour entrance, Coastguard northern region duty officer Chris Fransham said.
Conditions were described as "quite choppy".
"There's breaking water even inside the bar, so it's quite rough," he said.
"Survival times out there wouldn't be that good."
Police alerted the Coastguard about 9.50am after numerous reports from witnesses in the nearby Whatipu area of people being in the water.
Mr Fransham said one person who had gone to the aid of the missing man was rescued by a member of the public in a boat and taken to shore.
He said the search involved three Coastguard vessels and its air patrol, the Westpac rescue helicopter, an Auckland Airport hovercraft, and police and Fire Service personnel.
- NZPA
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10430642
Hiccup or two on the way to fast-track cancer treatment
5:00AM Friday March 23, 2007
By Errol Kiong
Despite waiting three months for radiotherapy - and then having to fly to Australia for the treatment - breast cancer patient Phiona Wilson speaks highly of her care.
The Whangarei employment coach was one of 30 cancer patients sent to Sydney before Christmas for treatment the Auckland District Health Board could not provide in time.
By the end of this month, the board will have sent 89 patients to Australia for treatment in a bid to reduce waiting lists which, at 12 weeks, are now three times what is recommended.
The move has drawn criticism - including from some of the women sent over - that it was unnecessarily traumatic to be getting treatment in another country.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10430336
Drivers tell of Melbourne tunnel inferno
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
Hundreds of motorists were ordered to abandon their cars and flee the tunnel. Photo / Getty Images
AUSTRALIA - Police investigating a fiery multi-vehicle crash in Melbourne's Burnley tunnel are seeking surveillance camera footage of the incident, which claimed at least three lives.
Police Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby told reporters the death toll could yet rise in the wake of the crash and the fire and explosions which followed in the busy city tunnel yesterday morning. "We're still at this stage trying to scope if there is even greater loss of life," he said.
"It's catastrophic down the tunnel ... it's a major, major incident that has occurred so it will take us some time before we can actually talk about the specifics [of what happened] and ultimately we may have to leave the specifics to the coroner."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430530
Oil: Rises after Iran captures UK navy personnel
New 9:09AM Saturday March 24, 2007
NEW YORK - Oil rose above US$62 to a three-month high today after Iran seized 15 British navy personnel, raising concerns about renewed tension between the oil producer and the West.
US crude settled up 59 cents at US$62.28 a barrel, adding to gains of more than US$2 yesterday. US oil has risen 26 per cent, since crude oil futures dropped to US$49.90 on Jan. 18, with today's session high of US$62.65 the strongest level since Dec. 26 last year.
London Brent crude rose 67 cents to US$63.18.
Iran captured 15 British Royal Navy personnel during a "routine boarding operation" in Iraqi waters, Britain's Ministry of Defence said.
The Foreign Office said Iran's ambassador in London had been summoned and Britain was demanding their immediate safe release.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10430628
Iraq: A country in ruins, a people in despair
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Peter Beaumont
Iraqis try to negotiate their way through lives under constant threat of violence. Photo / Reuters
The arm-wrestling competition is instigated over breakfast at the Hamra Hotel by the shaven-headed waiter. He plonks a beefy elbow on the cash desk and presents a hand. "You. Zarqawi," he says to one of the reporters living in the hotel, a slight New Yorker. He is referring to the dead Sunni leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. "Me. Moqtada," he adds, naming Moqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shiite preacher who leads the Mahdi Army, infamous for its sectarian death squads.
The waiter giggles. Then "Moqtada" twists "Zarqawi's" arm in a deft, powerful movement and pins it down. Contest over. Iraq's sectarian question is bloodlessly resolved. But only on this March morning, for a brief second, on the neutral ground of the Hamra Hotel, in what was once one of the more pleasant neighbourhoods of Baghdad.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430522
Washington's use of statistics in Iraq war condemned
2:15PM Tuesday March 20, 2007
Imprecise and sometimes fluctuating figures released by the US government on the Iraq war have made the impact of the four-year conflict hard to gauge, the Washington Post reported today.
In an article headed "Iraq War's Statistics Prove Fleeting" the paper damned the Bush administration's handling of statistics, saying the war had been "characterised from the start by confusion and misuse of key data".
The Post said some statistics - such as weekly tallies of oil production - had been "meticulous" but others had been elusive due to changing measures and categories.
Some "convenient guesses" had been offered as fact, while other numbers had varied depending on what they were being used to support, it said.
"Detainee numbers have oscillated, depending on whether the objective was to tout achievements or conceal secret prisoners," reporter Karen DeYoung wrote.
The Post quoted a US military spokesman last week telling reporters: "In February, Iraqi and coalition forces conducted just over 200 operations against al-Qaeda objectives, having killed over 100 terrorists and capturing over 400 terrorists."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=359&objectid=10429822
Iran seizes British marines at gunpoint
9:30AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Aref Mohammed
BASRA, Iraq - Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen today in the mouth of the waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis at a time of heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Britain said two boatloads of sailors and marines had searched a cargo ship in Iraqi waters on a UN approved mission when Iranian gunboats encircled and captured them. No shots were fired and the British servicemen were unharmed, officials said.
Iran accused the British of illegally entering its waters.
The incident came as UN Security Council members were putting the final touches to a resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work. A vote on the resolution could take place as early as tomorrow.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430632
Iranian blogger beaten for reporting violence
5:00AM Friday March 16, 2007
By Angus McDowall
"The broken windows cut my side as I was pulled out. I was knocked unconscious."
He spent the next three months in Evin, where he had been sent several times before. He was questioned, blindfolded and slapped by the interrogator, whose queries took a new and sinister turn.
"The worst thing was they wanted to connect me to US politicians, especially to [neoconservative] Richard Perle," he said. "They wanted me to write about US money being allocated to the democracy movement. Where does it go? Who gets it?"
As tensions between Iran and Western countries have escalated over the nuclear crisis and the wars in Iraq and Lebanon, the authorities have come to regard democracy activists as a potential fifth column. Separatist attacks in border provinces have been blamed on the US and Britain. When Condoleezza Rice promised cash for Iranian democracy movements last year, activists and non-governmental organisations started to feel the heat.
"Such measures always have the reverse effect on the country to those intended," said Elaheh Koolaee, a former member of Parliament and official for a major reformist party.
Koolaee's party supported a demonstration last week for international women's day that was violently dispersed by the police.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10429034
Azerbaijan tries reporters for defaming Islam
9:50AM Tuesday March 20, 2007
BAKU - Azerbaijan has begun the trial of two journalists accused of insulting Muslims by printing articles critical of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.
The defendants say the case -- which echoes the row across the Muslim world over cartoons of the Prophet printed in a Danish newspaper -- is an attack on their right to free speech.
Rafik Tagi, a journalist with the weekly Senet newspaper, and his editor Samir Sadagatoglu are charged with inciting racial hatred over the publication last year. If found guilty they could be jailed for up to five years.
Last year an Iranian cleric offered his house as a reward to anyone who killed the author of the article, saying he had insulted the Prophet.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10429769
US military denies Hicks was forcibly sedated
3:00PM Tuesday March 20, 2007
By Peter Mitchell
LOS ANGELES - The US military has described as blatantly false a claim that Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks was forcibly sedated.
Guantanamo officials took the extraordinary step today of listing the ingredients in a medication cocktail they said Hicks was given for a stomach ailment.
The medication consisted of a mixture of a liquid antacid similar to Mylanta and a mild anaesthetic, while Hicks also was given Benadryl, an antihistamine, they said.
"He made no mention of any adverse side effects," Commander Robert Durand, director of public affairs at Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said.
Hicks' US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, went public on the weekend with allegations Hicks was sedated against his will.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=359&objectid=10429833
English schools get right to ban Muslim veils
5:00AM Wednesday March 21, 2007
Some Muslim groups accuse the government of creating an atmosphere of Islamophobia. Photo / Reuters
LONDON - Students in England could be banned from wearing full-face Muslim veils for security or educational reasons under government guidelines to be published on Tuesday, officials said.
The guidance paper from the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) would leave it up to individual school headteachers to decide what pupils should and should not be allowed to wear in class, a DFES spokesman said.
"If they feel any garment imposes on a child's ability to learn or is a safety or security issue they could be banned," the spokesman said.
The new school guidelines come after a British girl lost a legal battle a year ago to be allowed to wear full Islamic dress in school. Shabina Begum's case was likened to a row in France triggered by a ban on Muslim headscarves in state schools.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10429930
President fuse for UN blast
8:15AM Saturday March 24, 2007
The showdown between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme is set to erupt with ferocity inside the chamber of the UN Security Council when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses members just before they vote on extending sanctions because of Iran's continued uranium enrichment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430552
Home drugs cash heads for $300m
6:15AM Saturday March 24, 2007
The world's largest drug cash seizure just got bigger.
The Mexican Attorney General's office said a new count of the cash seized at a luxury home in Mexico City made a difference of NZ$2.13 million, bringing the total to $295 million.
Police say that the main suspect, Mexican citizen Zhenli Ye Gon, runs one of the world's largest methamphetamine networks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430547
Australia braced for new era of organised crime
5:00AM Saturday March 24, 2007
By Greg Ansley
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne heaved an almost palpable sigh of relief when baby-faced thug Carl Williams confessed to killing four gangland rivals several weeks ago. His conviction brought to a halt a war that has left as many as 27 men dead, some of them executed in the most public of places.
The heads of two major gangs dealing in a drug trade with a turnover in the tens of millions of dollars were now dead or about to spend the rest of their lives in jail. Many of their senior henchmen, hit-men and corrupt cops had gone down with them.
But amid the ruins of Melbourne's underworld turf war, police surveyed the damage and saw harbingers of more evil to come.
"This is entrenched crime we're dealing with," Victorian Police Deputy Commissioner Simon Overton said. "We know that it never goes away."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10430542
Friday, March 23, 2007
Dog Food Recall - Rat Poison - Aminopterin Link In Menu Foods
There doesn't need to be a lot of victims to feed 'The Culture of Fear' this Republican Administration CLEARLY thrives on. No, I do not believe ALL OF A SUDDEN China's wheat shipments have rat poison in them. How long has China sold wheat to these USA pet food manufacturers? Sorry, it just doesn't seem realistic. You aren't going to tell me Eukanuba doesn't have high quality standards for their line of pet food.
China?
Rat poison?
Give me a break. China is going to risk a outbreak of dead animals in the USA? How convenient. I don't think so.
As a matter of fact, every crisis allows the Republicans of Bush to 'rise to greatness' in rescue of the victimized and patriotic American.
It's not unusual for the military to keep stores of all kinds of products now banned for public consumption. It's there 'in case' there is a scenario that proves to require such products.
Example: There have been calls for DDT in response to the malaria/AIDS connection.
I am not crazy. It's all there. Desperate people do desperate things. They lied to invade Iraq killing 100s of thousands of people, didn't they? What's a few pets?
The food scares are always connected with Blue States when they start and that is what people remember.
When the issue with spinach broke out, there were patients admitted to hospitals in North Carolina stating they had eaten the affected spinach yet not one case was reported because the medical society in that state never gave it any credence. Agricultural products in North Carolina are above reproach where tobacco is king.
I'm just sick of the gross mismanagement of the public's well being for whatever the excuse. Call it budget cuts to save face if you like. There needs to be a complete investigation down to the point where China received the 'ingredient wheat's poison component and why/whom recommended same.' This should never happen again. Let Paulson make good use of his time for once.
Cornell scientists, state lab discover rat poison in cat food samples
Veterinarians sometimes wrap a pet's leg to keep an intraveinous device in place.
This was an assault on the American public. I don't buy it that this was an accident. This is no different than the anthrax scare. It's government.
... discovered traces of a banned rat poison in cat food ...
Some of this pet foods have high end producers. No way. There is something very "W"rong here.
I believe there has been a continued undermining of the American confidence in their food supply for a long time now and this is another assault.
Regardless, the protections by the federal government on all venues is grossly lacking.
These are companion animals. Their loss is no different than a loss of a family member. There needs to be an investigation until the culprits are found followed with prison. This is more than just a simple accident.
Mold in grains used, I can understand, but outlawed rat poison. No way.
Morning Papers - continued
Zoos
Baltimore won't be new home for Philly's elephants
Associated Press
Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 8:30 am
PHILADELPHIA — The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will not be able to accept three African elephants from the Philadelphia Zoo this spring as the two zoos had planned.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is helping to locate another home for the elephants, Philadelphia Zoo officials said.
The Philadelphia Zoo dropped plans last year for a $22 million expansion of its elephant exhibit, citing rising costs and fundraising difficulties. The zoo announced Oct. 5 it would close its elephant exhibit and transfer three animals to Baltimore and one to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn.
The Maryland Zoo announced Tuesday that due to financial problems it has delayed a planned $16 million expansion of its own elephant habitat, however, and will not be able to accept the Philadelphia elephants. Baltimore keepers had been making visits to get acquainted with Petal, Kallie and Bette.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWS/70321012
Why would anyone want to kill a baby Polar Bear??
Mar 21, 2007 at 12:38 PM
BERLIN, March 20, 2007 — An adorable polar bear cub who has won the hearts of Berliners has just about escaped the death sentence that animal rights activists had imposed on him
Knut is the first baby polar bear to survive in the Berlin zoo in 30 years. His mother, Tosca, a grumpy 20-year-old former circus bear, abandoned him and his brother to die on a rock in the bear pit after they were born on Dec. 5, 2006.
Keepers scooped the cubs out of the compound with fishing net and placed both bear babies in an incubator.
Only Knut survived, and he was brought up as a pampered baby, fed with human milk and cod-liver oil every half hour. Now that he's almost 4 months old, he is fed chicken puree, sleeps with a teddy bear, plays with a football and his keeper strums Elvis Presley songs to improve his mood.
That treatment, however, has brought complaints from animal rights campaigners. They claimed it is inappropriate to raise a polar bear baby by a human hand. One group even considered it a blatant violation of animal welfare laws and threatened to take the zoo to court.
http://kathrynstakelin.vox.com/library/post/why-would-anyone-want-to-kill-a-baby-polar-bear.html
I ACTUALLY believe this reaction from activist organizations reflects the 'Noah's Arch' issue that has manifested under Republican Leadership in DC.
In other words there has been a 'Push by Bush' to count animals in zoos and any domestic setting when considering endangered and threatened species.
It is vital when placing a species into the category of endangered that the habitat is considered, otherwise there is no sense to attempt to save the species as the Chinese have with the Panda and California is with the Condor if there is no viable habitat to return them to.
Those organizations see the folly in backing zoos as a conservation effort for education of the public while, allowing safe enjoyment of animals any society would not normally have access, also see the 'intent' by DC to victimize the very species we love to keep near us.
I believe there is some validity to that arguement but needs to be conducted differently. Certainly any society will not be euthanizing animals in captivity any time soon. We have learned that domesticated animals no matter how wild they are in that captivity are not easily returned to the wild. It was tried with a killer whale that did not end well.
Zoos are important institutions for societies as well as a place to take the family on days when nothing else seems to be of interest. Children absolutely love watching animals. It expands their imaginations and allows them to realize not all forms of life on Earth look like them, hence, the characteristic 'benevolence' starts at a very early age.
If these organizations truly intend to make changes in regard to the treatment of zoo animals and circus animals they are more than welcome, however, to attack the institutions we all love out of fear of a greater issue is the wrong approach. Simply put, species protection laws have to be bolstered. The Polar Bear and it's threatened/endangered status is a prime example. We need to classify the Polar Bear and get on with the business of protecting it's habitat by being the country we should and stop the polluting of carbon dioxide emissions. Barring animals from zoos or euthanizing 'the ambassadors of the wild' where they stand is not the best message to the issue.
...And the little bastard contributes to global warming
You know all those polar bears that are supposedly in peril because of global warming? Thank goodness they weren't raised by humans, because if they were, these animal rights activists would be in the Arctic melting the ice by hand.
http://jiblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-little-bastard-contributes-to.html
The California Condor–Snatched From the Brink
The California condor is critically endangered. By 1982 only 20 remained in the wild, and efforts were made to establish a captive breeding flock in zoos. However, excessive mortality from lead poisoning and shooting continued to reduce the wild population, and in 1987 the last free-flying survivor was trapped and taken into protective captivity. The first successful captive breeding occurred in 1988, and numerous captive progeny were released to the wild beginning in 1992. These conservation efforts enabled the total California condor population to surpass 280, including more than 130 birds reintroduced to the wild. Wild California condors live in Arizona, California, and Baja California, and captive birds in Idaho, California, and Oregon. In 2002 the first eggs to be laid in the wild by captive-raised condors hatched.
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/03/the-california-condor-snatched-from-the-brink-of-extinction/
Shed No Tears For The Crocodile
TAMPA - About 30 years ago, the American crocodile teetered on the edge of extinction with just 200 to 300 of the reptiles left hiding in South Florida swamps.
Since then, the species has rebounded. Now there are an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 crocodiles in Florida, not including hatchlings. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the crocodile's recovery Tuesday by removing it from the federal endangered species list.
"Today we can celebrate their comeback as a result of the recovery efforts by numerous dedicated professionals who are helping sustain a vital part of Florida's natural and cultural history," said Sam Hamilton, Fish and Wildlife's Southeast regional director, in a news release. The crocodile will still be protected as a threatened species.
As with other endangered species in Florida, the crocodile's natural habitat was squeezed by development and agricultural conversion. Sport shooting, accidental killing by fishermen and capture for private and public zoos also took a toll.
After the crocodile was placed on the endangered species list in 1975, government agencies began purchasing what was left of its habitat. About 95 percent of the crocodiles' remaining habitat in South Florida is now preserved, according to Fish and Wildlife.
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB0W6J7JZE.html
Zoo with a twist
The Amazing Ten Animal Kingdom houses some pretty neat creatures that you probably won’t find in other zoos in the country. SHANTI GUNARATNAM is thrilled.
THEY are definitely the laziest creature in the animal kingdom. These nocturnal animals can take a whole day to just eat an apple. They are sloths, after which one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Roman Catholic Church was named. (The other six are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger and greed). Sloths are so lazy they can’t be bothered to look after their offsprings. This often results in the death of babies. A sloth baby clings to the mother as she hangs upside down from a tree. But if one should fall off, the mother is reluctant to retrieve it, preferring to continue to sleep instead. It would also rather have a shut eye instead of getting cosy with a male or female partner to mate. In the sloth’s world, sleeping rules and it has turned doing nothing into an art. The slow-moving sloth spends all its life hanging upside down from trees and a meal of leaves can take up to one month to digest as its metabolism rate is slow, just like the animal itself. To learn more about the two-toed sloth, visit the Amazing Ten Animal Kingdom in Gohtong Jaya which is the only zoo in the country that has this animal (from America) in its collection.
http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20070320105330/Article/
Wildlife Parks in North America - Starting a Thread
After an amazing trip to Northwest Trek last weekend, I went online to find out if there are other similar parks in my area. Alas, there doesn't seem to be any kind of comprehensive list. There are plenty of lists for "zoos" and stuff like that, but nothing that lists the best places for wildlife photography.
Near Seattle - Eatonville WA - about 1.5 hours from Seattle
1) Northwest Trek Wildlife Park: This park has a free-roaming area where you can see grazing animals (bison, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, etc.) all running free. You visit via a tram and stick your camera out the window. This lessens the impact humans have on these animals but it also means you can see them roaming around in their natural environment. Animals have mostly been rescued and you can get very cageless shots of even the predators (which are, unfortunately, in enclosures).
For Photographers: There is a photographer's tour every month or so. It costs $40 and you pretty much get the bus for three hours, a seat for yourself and your tripod and the guide will stop as long as the group wants to take pictures.
http://www.nwtrek.org/
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=509887#post509887
The 2007 Spring Frag Swap & NanoConference
Sunday April 15th 2007
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/view.php?pg=frag_swap_rsvp
Berlin Zoo readies for polar bear cub's public debut
By Melissa Eddy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:18 a.m. March 21, 2007
BERLIN – He's only 15 weeks old, but the Berlin Zoo's impossibly cute polar bear cub Knut already has become a sought-after media star in his home city with his own TV show and video podcast, a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz and a long-awaited public debut scheduled in the coming days.
Zoo officials were meeting Wednesday to discuss when the button-eyed cub, who has endeared himself by snuggling up to his own teddy bear and wrestling with a toilet brush, will be put on public view after building a following through the zoo's Internet site and daily pictures in newspapers.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070321-0418-germany-polarbear.html
Homeless Stuffed Animals Find Shelter in 'The Zoo' -- An Innovative New Product
"The Zoo" is an innovative new product for storing stuffed animals.
(PRWeb) March 21, 2007 -- Another influx of bunnies and other cuddly toys will take place again this Easter. For parents this presents a storage and organizational challenge as each animal acquires a name and maybe a unique association with an event or person and are consequently almost impossible to dispose of. It is not unusual for kids to accumulate over a hundred cuddly toys in their first few years.
Until the creation of "The Zoo," the only practical solution was to sneak the animals into plastic bags and store them in the basement or have them strewn from one end of the house to the other. Nets or hammocks are a partial cure but kids are unable to reach their
toys and many parents not good enough at basket ball to get them up there in the first place.
"The Zoo" is a wooden cage with flexible bars that stands 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide and stands out 11 inches from the wall to which it is designed to attach to prevent tipping. Parents can now store about ninety stuffed animals in a floor area of less than two square feet.
Apart from corralling the animals into this small space, "The Zoo" allows kids to play with their toys which are easily popped in and out between the flexible bars. Clearing up is a breeze too.
The Zoo was invented by John Chisholm of Beaver Works who manufactures the zoo in Michigan, selling to parents all over the country and overseas via the Internet. The web-site also includes an on-line gallery of "Zoo Keepers" featuring pictures of kids with their "Zoo" collection and testimonials from relieved parents.
Contact:
John Chisholm
Beaver Works
214 Gladwin Ave.
Clawson, MI
Tel: 248-588-0844
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/3/emw512641.htm
Monkey business: Zoo gets $200K donation for macaque house
Press-Gazette
SUAMICO — A $200,000 donation will help the NEW Zoo begin construction of a new habitat for its 11 Japanese snow macaques.
“We are simply elated at the prospect of being able to move forward with construction of this much-needed exhbit,” zoo director Neil Anderson said in a press release.
The zoo’s existing monkey habitat is more than 20 years old and in need of replacement, according to the press release. The new habitat will have a waterfall and a pond outside and improved housing and veterinary facilities inside. It also will reflect Japanese design.
“Renovations have been made over the years to care for and accommodate the snow macaques but the new exhibit will give the zoo an opportunity to upgrade its macaque facility to industry and zoo standards” Anderson said in the press release.
The zoo's 11 snow macaques range in age from 2 to 24. Found in the wild only on Japanese islands and considered a threatened species, their numbers are carefully managed, with 146 snow macaques at 12 institutions.
Rhonda Jenquine of Green Bay made the donation from the estate of her parents, the late Marvin and Elsie Jenquine. The family also has supported Bay Beach Park in Green Bay, donating $65,000 for a new train depot in 1995.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/GPG0101/70321023/1207/GPGnews
Emporia's Zoo Cashes In with Coin Collection
There have been 1 comments posted about this story
11:06 AM Mar 21, 2007
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) _ The David Traylor Zoo in Emporia is thousands of dollars richer, thanks to a collection of rare coins and currency brought in by an anonymous donor.
Zoo officials of said a man delivered the cash to the zoo in a Rubbermaid container and left without giving his name. Auctions are planned for April 21st and June 9th at the zoo's education center.
The value of the collection is not known, but it's estimated to be worth up to $15,000. Among the coins in the collection is a 1937 three-legged buffalo nickel, which is worth $200 to $12,000 if uncirculated.
The zoo says the collection is made up of more than 700 items.
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/6614017.html
MEMBER EXCHANGE: Zoo exec makes time for family after kidnapping
MATT TULLIS
The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Perched on a shelf in Manny Gonzalez's office at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a framed crayon drawing. A brown head bobs in a sea of orange and green scribbles. A bright yellow sun punctuates a blue sky.
The drawing was a gift nine years ago from his then-3-year-old daughter, Natalia. The drawing, along with two family portraits, reminds Gonzalez of what's really important.
Six years ago, he had no personal effects in his Six Flags office in Mexico City. Back then, work was his true love for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He rarely saw his wife, Yolanda, Natalia or his younger daughter, Paula. He never ate dinner at home.
"I even missed my little one's baptism," he said.
Then, on May 17, 2001, Yolanda, Natalia and Paula were kidnapped. It would change Manny Gonzalez's life and ultimately bring him to the Columbus Zoo, where he is helping to lead a period of unprecedented growth as its chief operating officer.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16947287.htm
Denver Zoo Moves Animals Outside For Spring
(CBS4) DENVER The Denver Zoo said several zoo residents were moving into the new season on the first day of Spring by moving outdoors Wednesday. Lemurs and bat-eared foxes have just recently moved from their indoor winter habitats outside for the season.
Zookeepers recently filled the water moat around Lemur Island so the seven ring-tailed lemurs and one white-collared brown lemur can be out on the island during daytime hours.
Zoo officials said the primates have been enjoying being outdoors and can be seen climbing through the trees and sunning themselves.
Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar and are threatened by habitat destruction.
The zoo's two resident bat-eared foxes, male Vinning and female Hasstig, can now be seen in their outdoor exhibit on the east side of the zoo near the camels.
Visitors can see these foxes, as well as the lemurs, outside daily, weather permitting.
Spring also means the zoo's hours will be changing soon. Starting April 1, zoo hours will be extended to 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., opening an hour earlier and staying open an hour later.
http://cbs4denver.com/pets/local_story_080141040.html
Asian Heritage Festiavil to bring Dragon Boat to the Zoo
Posted by kmarszal March 21, 2007 14:34PM
Categories: Festivals, Off the beaten path, Outdoor
The Asian/Pacific American Society will feature a new addition to this year's festival with the arrival of a real Dragon Boat all the way from Lafayette, LA!
This 41-foot long wooden boat is painted in bright colors-from the majestic dragon head to its fiery tail. Dragon boat racing has been a tradition in Asia for hundreds of years, and now this dynamic festivity has made its way from far away exotic lands to the city of New Orleans, where APAS will hold an inaugural race in 2008!
The Asian Pacific American Society of New Orleans (APAS) is proud to announce the 2007 Asian Heritage Festival in "Celebrating Decades of Pride, Partnership and Progress". This year's festivities will be held at the Audubon Zoo on Saturday April 21, 2007 starting at 10:30am
http://blog.nola.com/entertainment/2007/03/asian_heritage_festiavil_to_br.html
Probation for former North zoo keeper
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 3:01 PM EDT
ATTLEBORO - The former zoo keeper at North Attleboro's World War I Memorial Park Wednesday was placed on probation and ordered to pay back the $1,700 in zoo proceeds and fundraising money she admitted stealing.
Debra Hamilton, 36, who resigned in February, was also ordered to pay $590 in court fees after admitting in Attleboro District Court that police had enough evidence to find her guilty of skimming park proceeds.
See tomorrow's Sun Chronicle for the complete story.
- David Linton, Sun Chronicle Staff
The Pachyderm’s death, a combination of cruelty and incompetence.
Gaya, the Elephant, mangled by dogs
Mihnea–Petru Parvu
20 March 2007
Former and present employees of Bucharest Zoo say that Gaya was chased and bitten by Police dogs (German shepherds) that were trying to force her to enter the winter shelter (paddock). Trying to escape, Gaya slipped and broke her leg. The administrators were not able to lift her up even with the crane’s help. She died suffering horribly the day after the accident. Using a chainsaw, they cut Gaya in chunks of 100 kilos, they wrapped her in plastic bags and they incinerated the 48 years old elephant, weighing four tones. Her head stays up until now in a water barrel.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/03/21/18380606.php
Auckland Zoo seeks local cat owners' cooperation
Thursday, 22 March 2007, 3:22 pm
Press Release: Auckland City Council
22 March 2007
Auckland Zoo seeks local cat owners' cooperation
Auckland Zoo is asking local cat owners for their assistance in helping prevent the spread of toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a parasite commonly found in domestic and wild cats that can be fatal in other animals.
The zoo has had four healthy wallabies die in the past three weeks, directly as a result of toxoplasmosis, which is spread through the faeces of kittens and cats. The faeces can contain thousands of microscopic eggs which can then disperse over the ground, so even a small amount of faeces can quickly spread the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. Last November, three wallabies at the zoo also died from toxoplasmosis. The zoo's remaining 19 marsupials are all fine, but
being monitored closely.
Auckland Zoo has distributed a flyer asking cat owners in neighbouring streets to ensure their cats have collars, or to collect one for free from the zoo, and to also phone the zoo on 360 3800 with a description of their cat and provide contact details.
The zoo wants to safeguard people's pets, as well as keep its own animals safe. It is also requesting people do not feed wild cats in the area, and spay or neuter pet cats that are not owned for breeding purposes.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0703/S00262.htm
Catoctin Zoo to double in size
by Jeremy Hauck | Staff Writer
In preparation for today’s opening, zookeepers at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo, located just south of Thurmont, have been sprucing up displays and moving animals from ‘‘winter housing” into ‘‘summer housing.”
The zoo relocates some animals, such as alligators that will appear in the ‘‘bayou” portion of the park, to summer environments only when temperatures are consistently warm, said Whitney Hahn, media liaison.
‘‘It’s a difficult transition time for us, from the winter housing to the summer housing,” Hahn said. ‘‘You can’t ever count on nighttime temperatures being what they were the night or two nights before.”
http://www.gazette.net/stories/032207/middnew210810_32325.shtml
Giant tortoises return to N.C. Zoo
ASHEBORO -- A pair of Galapagos tortoises that were the first animals acquired by the N.C. Zoo in 1973 will be back for a six-month stay starting March 27.
Tort and Retort will be on temporary display through September in the zoo’s new "kidZone" exhibit (formerly the Australia Walkabout).
The tortoises became the first critters to occupy the "Interim Zoo" that contained the zoo’s only exhibits from 1974 until the first African habitats opened in 1979. Their names are legal terms and were suggested by the late Wes Moser, an Asheboro attorney who played a key role in convincing the state to build the zoo in Randolph County.
Both tortoises were hatched in Panama, with female "Retort" born in 1953 and male "Tort" in 1958. They arrived at the N.C. Zoo in May 1973 and were among the main attractions in a small animal collection during the park’s early days.
The pair remained at the zoo until October 1983 when the Interim Zoo was officially closed to the public. Without an appropriate exhibit for them in Asheboro, the tortoises were sent to Disney World in Florida. When the tortoise exhibit there closed in 1999, they were transferred to Florida’s St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park. While Tort has remained there since, Retort was moved again in May 2005 to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWSREC0101/70321044
Animals will be living free at new Jijabai Bhosale zoo
Smita Deshmukh
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 22:46 IST
Open natural habitat sans cages, protected viewing areas for visitors and animals brought in from other areas in the state and the world are some of the highlights of the proposed modernisation of the 53-acre Jijabai Bhosale Udyan popularly known as the Byculla Zoo.
The Thailand-based HKS Designers and Consultant International Company along its partner — the Portico Group — made a presentation of its master plan for the zoo to the municipal commissioner Johny Joseph on Wednesday for the administration's views and suggestions. On Thursday, a similar presentation would be made to the Group leaders of all political parties in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their nod. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has made it mandatory to the BMC to prepare a master plan by March 2007 in exchange of one year's recognition.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1086346
Ahmedabad Zoo takes emergency steps to contain bird flu
Malaysia Sun
Thursday 22nd March, 2007
(ANI)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Mar 22 : Ahmedabad zoo authorities have taken precautions to avoid the spread of bird flu, following the death of four peacocks and a goose due to the H5N1 strain in Pakistan last month.
"In view of the news that there are cases of bird flu in Pakistan, we have also started taking precautionary measures. We have increased vitamin supplements to the birds. We have taken more cleanliness measures and have sprayed medicine inside and outside the cages. We are routinely conducting checkups monthly more carefully and have conducted disinfection programmes. We had also sent a few cases for investigation, but till now there is no incident of any such case," said N.K. Savdhuriya, the warden of the zoo.
It was the fourth case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu detected in Pakistan this year. The strain was first found in poultry last year, and led to the culling of about 40,000 birds.
http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/303b19022816233b/id/236030/cs/1/
Love is strange
Heartbreak and hope spring eternal at the zoo
IT'S officially spring, a time when even hardened columnists such as myself feel moved to relate heart-breaking stories of unrequited love.
Click here for video
So grab a few boxes of Kleenex because, fortunately for you, I have just such a heart-rending tale at my fingertips.
It's the story of Quentin, a lonely young fellow from Minnesota who moved to Winnipeg this summer and, as young males will do, immediately began searching for "a little action".
But despite his Fabio-style golden locks and rippling muscles, Quentin just couldn't find that special someone to share his new life in Winnipeg.
Forlorn, he spent his days just kind of grazing and hanging around in the park. His friends and co-workers grew increasingly worried.
And then, as so often happens in stories such as this, it just happened -- romance literally rolled into Quentin's life.
He awoke one recent morning and discovered he was deeply, madly, hopelessly in love -- with a beautiful 45-gallon blue plastic water barrel.
Which is a little bit unusual, even when you consider that Quentin is a 650-pound Sichuan takin (an endangered species of golden-fleeced cattle native to western China) who makes his home at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
I came across Quentin the Takin (pronounced Talk-inn) and his inanimate love interest Wednesday during a special spring tour of the zoo with its amiable curator Dr. Bob Wrigley.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/3919643p-4530992c.html
Tulsa Zoo: Name the baby: You can help christen chimp
By JEFF BILLINGTON World Staff Writer
4:07 AM
Jodi and Alvin are searching for a name for their newborn, and they need a bit of help.
At question is the name for the newest critter at the Tulsa Zoo, a female chimpanzee, born Feb. 17.
Beginning Thursday, people can vote on five names selected by the zoo's primate keepers by going online to http://chimps.tulsazoo.org.
Voters are eligible to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Chimpanzee Connection habitat and a free annual Tulsa Zoo Friends membership.
Voting ends April 4, and a decision will be made April 6.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070322_238_A9_spanc34435
Toledo Zoo's Polar Bear Cubs Continue to Thrive
TOLEDO, OH -- It's always great news when an animal is born at The Toledo Zoo, so you can imagine the excitement that has been generated by the three polar bear cubs born at the Zoo in late November.
The Zoo is very pleased to report that all three cubs and their mothers, Crystal and Nan, are thriving in their dens and are expected to be on exhibit later this spring. Because the bears have been under the close care of their mothers in off-exhibit dens within the Arctic Encounter® exhibit, the sex of the cubs has not yet been determined and they have not yet been given names.
The Toledo Zoo is home to three of only four newborn polar bear cubs in North American Zoos. The Toledo Zoo's Curator of Mammals, Randi Meyerson is the coordinator of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' (AZA) polar bear Species Survival Plan (SSP). According to her, "Everyone is doing well-Crystal and Nan are eating every day, which polar bears stop doing once they enter their dens to give birth. The cubs are now starting to nibble on solid foods, although they'll continue to nurse for over a year."
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=6265694
Glacier Run at the Louisville Zoo
A 3-D tour of a planned arctic exhibit at the zoo.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/VIDEO01/61121057
Zoo's Glacier Run gets $1 million gifts
Glacier Run will offer zoo visitors a chance to see animals, talk to the keepers about conservation and become immersed in life on the Arctic tundra. The exhibit will re-create the natural habitat for some of the zoo’s most popular residents, including polar bears, seals and sea lions.
Animals in the exhibit that will be new to the zoo will include sea otters and bird species like the Steller’s sea eagles and magpies. The Arctic Rim town featured in the exhibit will have a school house, climatology lab, general store and amphitheater.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/NEWS01/70322022
Buttonwood Zoo to get new carved bear
By Lauren Daley
Standard-Times staff writer
March 23, 2007 6:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — The Buttonwood Park Zoo soon will have a new bear. It will be about 3 feet tall, it eats nothing, sleeps less and — it's made of wood.
Yesterday, zoo officials officially accepted chain saw artist Ross MacVicar's offer to create a new zoo mascot to replace one that was defaced and stolen earlier this month.
"We have reviewed his artwork, have given it thought and decided it was the logical thing to do to have it replaced. We have to keep tradition going," zoo director Lou Garibaldi said.
Mr. MacVicar, 55, of Plymouth is a former construction worker who now has a private business that specializes in carving animals from wood.
He said a bear like the one he is offering would cost $250 to $450.
"I'll carve it in a week or two. I'll probably bring it down there on May 19, which is Bear Awareness Day, Mr. Garibaldi told me," Mr. MacVicar said. "When I bring it down there, I'll also do a demonstration and do a few carvings. I'll also be selling a few things and half the profits will go to the zoo."
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS/703230339/1011/TOWN10
PETA Calls For Probe Of Royal, NE Zoo
The director of "Zoo Nebraska" in Royal is speaking out after a national animal rights group asked local county supervisors to inspect the zoo due they're worried about animal welfare.
The request comes after PETA officials reviewed the records of the zoo that, among other things, included cruelty to animals information regarding the shootings of three chimps at the zoo back in September of 2005. Ken "Junior" Schlueter says Zoo Nebraska has nothing to hide and if the county supervisors, PETA or anyone else wants to come and inspect his facility, they are welcome do so at any time. "Yeah, I mean, anybody's welcome to come up and go through," said Ken Schlueter, Zoo Nebraska Director. "I mean, I wish they would."
http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=11303
L.A. Zoo's Newest Arrival is Now on Display
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 22, 2007 (KABC-TV) - The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens presents its newest addition, a young nestling. It is the 15th bird successfully hatched at the L.A. Zoo's managed breeding colony.
The Cape griffon, an old world vulture, is only found today in southern Africa. Like all vultures, the Cape griffon does not kill other animals, but rather is a scavenger that feeds on carcasses of dead animals.
The Cape griffon vulture has cream-colored plumage, straw yellow-colored eyes and a bare head and neck. The lack of feathers on the head and neck help to keep them clean when eating. Known for their powerful beaks, the vultures are able to rapidly consume up to three pounds of meat within minutes.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5137451
Dated
Zoo celebrates birth of wolf cubs
AFTER a barren 20 years, the patter of 20 pairs of little paws can be heard in the wolf enclosure at Colchester Zoo.
Tallulah and Wilfy, a pair of timber wolves, are the proud parents of five cute little cubs, which are the first to be born for 20 years at Colchester Zoo.
Zookeepers think the baby wolves were born on either May 13 or May 14, but they did not venture out of their den until June 3.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=zNews&itemid=IPED16%20Jun%202006%2017%3A59%3A06%3A447
The big bear twins are heading to Pittsburgh Zoo from Denver
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
DENVER -- It is mid-week, mid-morning, and Koda and Nuka, twin 500-pound polar bears, are playfully bobbing around in a pond at the Denver Zoo's Northern Shores exhibit area, making the pond look small and attracting a large, cute-cooing crowd of preschoolers, parents and grandparents.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06158/696103-113.stm
Zoo revamp gives birds room to spread wings
The birds on the island in the middle of Johannesburg's Zoo Lake have been feeling the squeeze, but they now have their own jungle gym to play on.
A R40 000 rehabilitation programme was completed in time for World Environment Day, celebrated this week.
The logs for the gym, or roosting towers, as they are called, as well as a large number of trees, were pulled across the lake by boat.
Lucy Taylor, founder of the Zoo Lake Users' Committee, said that for 40 years the island had been one of the most important nesting and roosting sites for herons, egrets, ibises, cormorants and darters in the greater Johannesburg area because of the safety the barrier of water provided them.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_id=vn20060607002848826C756304
Zoo plans risky surgery to remove fetus from pregnant elephant
SYRACUSE, N.Y. A special team will assemble today to perform tricky surgery on a pregnant elephant in hopes of helping her deliver her 300-pound calf.
A spokeswoman at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse says there's still a small chance that the baby is alive. The 29-year-old Asian elephant has been stalled in labor for four days. The main priority is saving the mother at this point.
Last night the elephant, named Romani, still had normal vital signs and was receiving antibiotics and extra fluid. She has remained under 24-hour watch since veterinarians tried to induce labor with shots of drugs Sunday and Monday nights.
Romani had successful births in 1991, 1995 and 2002.
Doctors today will perform an episiotomy to widen the birth canal. The team will be led by Asian elephant reproduction specialist Doctor Dennis Schmitt of Missouri State.
Rosamond Gifford is one of the world's premier breeders of Asian elephants, an endangered species. About 500 Asian elephants live at zoos in North America, but they're dying off faster than they can reproduce.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5001906&nav=4QcS
Zoo Atlanta Celebrates Animals from Down Under
During the summer months, Zoo Atlanta takes the opportunity to highlight particular zoogeographic areas, to give our visitors an in-depth experience of the unique animals and fascinating cultural traditions unique to these regions. The first of these evening series focuses on the world Down Under, in our Australian Sunset Safari, Saturday June 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
When you think of a zoo, the first animals that come to mind are usually African or Asian species — lions, tigers, giraffe, and elephants. But the southern continent has an equally amazing variety of unique and specialized animals, with fascinating adaptations, habits, vocalizations, and temperaments. Because Australia has been isolated from the rest of the world’s land masses for millennia, its animal life has developed with little inter-species competition. Unique circumstances make for unique animals, and Australian animals are nothing if not unique!
http://www.the-stories.com/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A6775
Vets Get First Close-Up Look At Zoo's Tiger Cubs
Veterinarians and animal-care staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo got their first look at the newest litter of Sumatran tigers Thursday. The two females and one male are the sixth litter of Sumatran tiger cubs born at the National Zoo in its 117-year history, and the third litter for mother, Soyano.
Zoo staff checked the cubs’ sex, weight and general health. National Zoo veterinarians say all the cubs are doing well and report that the male cub is the biggest, weighing 6.8 pounds; the two females weigh 5.8 and 4.8 pounds.
The three cubs, born on May 24, are now two weeks old. National Zoo veterinarians will examine the cubs again in four weeks to give them vaccinations. The cubs have not been named; the public will be asked to vote on the names later this summer.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=50025
Dakota Zoo alligator dies
By Zachary Franz/Bismarck Tribune
One of Dakota Zoo’s newest residents has died. “Sherman,” a 50-year-old American alligator, died on Tuesday, said assistant zoo director Rod Fried.
Preliminary results from a necropsy performed by veterinarians Amy Reece and Jim Wheeler indicate the alligator’s death was probably age related. Further tests are pending. Alligators’ lifespans are similar to those of humans, and vary widely, Fried said.
Sherman moved to Dakota Zoo on April 13 from Reptile Gardens in South Dakota. Dakota Zoo has one other alligator, a 20-year-old female named Sandra. Based on the nature of the relationships between alligators, zoo personel do not expect Sandra to have psychological problems stemming from the death.
The zoo will likely get another alligator in the near future, as they like all animals to have a companion, Fried said.
'We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo . . .'
Friday, 9 June 2006, 3:09 pm
Press Release: National Library Of New Zealand
Friday 9 June 2006
'We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo . . .'
Memories and experiences of Wellington zookeepers, and others who have had strong connections with the Wellington Zoo, will be handed over to the Turnbull Library's Oral History Centre next week.
The Wellington Zoo Centenary Oral History Project was commissioned by the Wellington Zoo Trust, and funded by the Lottery Grants Board, in recognition of the Zoo's centenary, that is being celebrated this year.
The project, consisting of 15 interviews and including stories that reach back as far as the 1930s, was carried out by oral historian Susan Fowke.
'The interviews cover a wide range of experience, from elephant-keeping to breeding kiwi, to watching chimpanzees' tea parties, but the common denominator is always a love of animals,' Ms Fowke said.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0606/S00077.htm
Zoo sticks its neck out for new herd
16 June 2006 07:00
A Norfolk zoo is hoping to get the go-ahead for a £500,000 project which would see giraffes roaming the county's countryside.
Banham Zoo, near Attleborough, has submitted plans to Breckland Council to build a giraffe house as part of a major scheme that would also see the construction of a new house for its existing zebra herd.
Its sister site, Africa Alive at Kessingland, near Lowestoft, has kept giraffes for a number of years and zoo director Martin Goymour said the idea to introduce them at Banham had been three years in the planning.
“This is something we've have been considering for some length of time and giraffes are a particular favourite of mine. We keep them at our sister park and have kept them very successfully for 12 years.
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED15%20Jun%202006%2018%3A01%3A02%3A720
Baltimore won't be new home for Philly's elephants
Associated Press
Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 8:30 am
PHILADELPHIA — The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will not be able to accept three African elephants from the Philadelphia Zoo this spring as the two zoos had planned.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is helping to locate another home for the elephants, Philadelphia Zoo officials said.
The Philadelphia Zoo dropped plans last year for a $22 million expansion of its elephant exhibit, citing rising costs and fundraising difficulties. The zoo announced Oct. 5 it would close its elephant exhibit and transfer three animals to Baltimore and one to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn.
The Maryland Zoo announced Tuesday that due to financial problems it has delayed a planned $16 million expansion of its own elephant habitat, however, and will not be able to accept the Philadelphia elephants. Baltimore keepers had been making visits to get acquainted with Petal, Kallie and Bette.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWS/70321012
Why would anyone want to kill a baby Polar Bear??
Mar 21, 2007 at 12:38 PM
BERLIN, March 20, 2007 — An adorable polar bear cub who has won the hearts of Berliners has just about escaped the death sentence that animal rights activists had imposed on him
Knut is the first baby polar bear to survive in the Berlin zoo in 30 years. His mother, Tosca, a grumpy 20-year-old former circus bear, abandoned him and his brother to die on a rock in the bear pit after they were born on Dec. 5, 2006.
Keepers scooped the cubs out of the compound with fishing net and placed both bear babies in an incubator.
Only Knut survived, and he was brought up as a pampered baby, fed with human milk and cod-liver oil every half hour. Now that he's almost 4 months old, he is fed chicken puree, sleeps with a teddy bear, plays with a football and his keeper strums Elvis Presley songs to improve his mood.
That treatment, however, has brought complaints from animal rights campaigners. They claimed it is inappropriate to raise a polar bear baby by a human hand. One group even considered it a blatant violation of animal welfare laws and threatened to take the zoo to court.
http://kathrynstakelin.vox.com/library/post/why-would-anyone-want-to-kill-a-baby-polar-bear.html
I ACTUALLY believe this reaction from activist organizations reflects the 'Noah's Arch' issue that has manifested under Republican Leadership in DC.
In other words there has been a 'Push by Bush' to count animals in zoos and any domestic setting when considering endangered and threatened species.
It is vital when placing a species into the category of endangered that the habitat is considered, otherwise there is no sense to attempt to save the species as the Chinese have with the Panda and California is with the Condor if there is no viable habitat to return them to.
Those organizations see the folly in backing zoos as a conservation effort for education of the public while, allowing safe enjoyment of animals any society would not normally have access, also see the 'intent' by DC to victimize the very species we love to keep near us.
I believe there is some validity to that arguement but needs to be conducted differently. Certainly any society will not be euthanizing animals in captivity any time soon. We have learned that domesticated animals no matter how wild they are in that captivity are not easily returned to the wild. It was tried with a killer whale that did not end well.
Zoos are important institutions for societies as well as a place to take the family on days when nothing else seems to be of interest. Children absolutely love watching animals. It expands their imaginations and allows them to realize not all forms of life on Earth look like them, hence, the characteristic 'benevolence' starts at a very early age.
If these organizations truly intend to make changes in regard to the treatment of zoo animals and circus animals they are more than welcome, however, to attack the institutions we all love out of fear of a greater issue is the wrong approach. Simply put, species protection laws have to be bolstered. The Polar Bear and it's threatened/endangered status is a prime example. We need to classify the Polar Bear and get on with the business of protecting it's habitat by being the country we should and stop the polluting of carbon dioxide emissions. Barring animals from zoos or euthanizing 'the ambassadors of the wild' where they stand is not the best message to the issue.
...And the little bastard contributes to global warming
You know all those polar bears that are supposedly in peril because of global warming? Thank goodness they weren't raised by humans, because if they were, these animal rights activists would be in the Arctic melting the ice by hand.
http://jiblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-little-bastard-contributes-to.html
The California Condor–Snatched From the Brink
The California condor is critically endangered. By 1982 only 20 remained in the wild, and efforts were made to establish a captive breeding flock in zoos. However, excessive mortality from lead poisoning and shooting continued to reduce the wild population, and in 1987 the last free-flying survivor was trapped and taken into protective captivity. The first successful captive breeding occurred in 1988, and numerous captive progeny were released to the wild beginning in 1992. These conservation efforts enabled the total California condor population to surpass 280, including more than 130 birds reintroduced to the wild. Wild California condors live in Arizona, California, and Baja California, and captive birds in Idaho, California, and Oregon. In 2002 the first eggs to be laid in the wild by captive-raised condors hatched.
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/03/the-california-condor-snatched-from-the-brink-of-extinction/
Shed No Tears For The Crocodile
TAMPA - About 30 years ago, the American crocodile teetered on the edge of extinction with just 200 to 300 of the reptiles left hiding in South Florida swamps.
Since then, the species has rebounded. Now there are an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 crocodiles in Florida, not including hatchlings. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the crocodile's recovery Tuesday by removing it from the federal endangered species list.
"Today we can celebrate their comeback as a result of the recovery efforts by numerous dedicated professionals who are helping sustain a vital part of Florida's natural and cultural history," said Sam Hamilton, Fish and Wildlife's Southeast regional director, in a news release. The crocodile will still be protected as a threatened species.
As with other endangered species in Florida, the crocodile's natural habitat was squeezed by development and agricultural conversion. Sport shooting, accidental killing by fishermen and capture for private and public zoos also took a toll.
After the crocodile was placed on the endangered species list in 1975, government agencies began purchasing what was left of its habitat. About 95 percent of the crocodiles' remaining habitat in South Florida is now preserved, according to Fish and Wildlife.
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB0W6J7JZE.html
Zoo with a twist
The Amazing Ten Animal Kingdom houses some pretty neat creatures that you probably won’t find in other zoos in the country. SHANTI GUNARATNAM is thrilled.
THEY are definitely the laziest creature in the animal kingdom. These nocturnal animals can take a whole day to just eat an apple. They are sloths, after which one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Roman Catholic Church was named. (The other six are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger and greed). Sloths are so lazy they can’t be bothered to look after their offsprings. This often results in the death of babies. A sloth baby clings to the mother as she hangs upside down from a tree. But if one should fall off, the mother is reluctant to retrieve it, preferring to continue to sleep instead. It would also rather have a shut eye instead of getting cosy with a male or female partner to mate. In the sloth’s world, sleeping rules and it has turned doing nothing into an art. The slow-moving sloth spends all its life hanging upside down from trees and a meal of leaves can take up to one month to digest as its metabolism rate is slow, just like the animal itself. To learn more about the two-toed sloth, visit the Amazing Ten Animal Kingdom in Gohtong Jaya which is the only zoo in the country that has this animal (from America) in its collection.
http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20070320105330/Article/
Wildlife Parks in North America - Starting a Thread
After an amazing trip to Northwest Trek last weekend, I went online to find out if there are other similar parks in my area. Alas, there doesn't seem to be any kind of comprehensive list. There are plenty of lists for "zoos" and stuff like that, but nothing that lists the best places for wildlife photography.
Near Seattle - Eatonville WA - about 1.5 hours from Seattle
1) Northwest Trek Wildlife Park: This park has a free-roaming area where you can see grazing animals (bison, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, etc.) all running free. You visit via a tram and stick your camera out the window. This lessens the impact humans have on these animals but it also means you can see them roaming around in their natural environment. Animals have mostly been rescued and you can get very cageless shots of even the predators (which are, unfortunately, in enclosures).
For Photographers: There is a photographer's tour every month or so. It costs $40 and you pretty much get the bus for three hours, a seat for yourself and your tripod and the guide will stop as long as the group wants to take pictures.
http://www.nwtrek.org/
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=509887#post509887
The 2007 Spring Frag Swap & NanoConference
Sunday April 15th 2007
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/view.php?pg=frag_swap_rsvp
Berlin Zoo readies for polar bear cub's public debut
By Melissa Eddy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:18 a.m. March 21, 2007
BERLIN – He's only 15 weeks old, but the Berlin Zoo's impossibly cute polar bear cub Knut already has become a sought-after media star in his home city with his own TV show and video podcast, a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz and a long-awaited public debut scheduled in the coming days.
Zoo officials were meeting Wednesday to discuss when the button-eyed cub, who has endeared himself by snuggling up to his own teddy bear and wrestling with a toilet brush, will be put on public view after building a following through the zoo's Internet site and daily pictures in newspapers.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070321-0418-germany-polarbear.html
Homeless Stuffed Animals Find Shelter in 'The Zoo' -- An Innovative New Product
"The Zoo" is an innovative new product for storing stuffed animals.
(PRWeb) March 21, 2007 -- Another influx of bunnies and other cuddly toys will take place again this Easter. For parents this presents a storage and organizational challenge as each animal acquires a name and maybe a unique association with an event or person and are consequently almost impossible to dispose of. It is not unusual for kids to accumulate over a hundred cuddly toys in their first few years.
Until the creation of "The Zoo," the only practical solution was to sneak the animals into plastic bags and store them in the basement or have them strewn from one end of the house to the other. Nets or hammocks are a partial cure but kids are unable to reach their
toys and many parents not good enough at basket ball to get them up there in the first place.
"The Zoo" is a wooden cage with flexible bars that stands 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide and stands out 11 inches from the wall to which it is designed to attach to prevent tipping. Parents can now store about ninety stuffed animals in a floor area of less than two square feet.
Apart from corralling the animals into this small space, "The Zoo" allows kids to play with their toys which are easily popped in and out between the flexible bars. Clearing up is a breeze too.
The Zoo was invented by John Chisholm of Beaver Works who manufactures the zoo in Michigan, selling to parents all over the country and overseas via the Internet. The web-site also includes an on-line gallery of "Zoo Keepers" featuring pictures of kids with their "Zoo" collection and testimonials from relieved parents.
Contact:
John Chisholm
Beaver Works
214 Gladwin Ave.
Clawson, MI
Tel: 248-588-0844
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/3/emw512641.htm
Monkey business: Zoo gets $200K donation for macaque house
Press-Gazette
SUAMICO — A $200,000 donation will help the NEW Zoo begin construction of a new habitat for its 11 Japanese snow macaques.
“We are simply elated at the prospect of being able to move forward with construction of this much-needed exhbit,” zoo director Neil Anderson said in a press release.
The zoo’s existing monkey habitat is more than 20 years old and in need of replacement, according to the press release. The new habitat will have a waterfall and a pond outside and improved housing and veterinary facilities inside. It also will reflect Japanese design.
“Renovations have been made over the years to care for and accommodate the snow macaques but the new exhibit will give the zoo an opportunity to upgrade its macaque facility to industry and zoo standards” Anderson said in the press release.
The zoo's 11 snow macaques range in age from 2 to 24. Found in the wild only on Japanese islands and considered a threatened species, their numbers are carefully managed, with 146 snow macaques at 12 institutions.
Rhonda Jenquine of Green Bay made the donation from the estate of her parents, the late Marvin and Elsie Jenquine. The family also has supported Bay Beach Park in Green Bay, donating $65,000 for a new train depot in 1995.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/GPG0101/70321023/1207/GPGnews
Emporia's Zoo Cashes In with Coin Collection
There have been 1 comments posted about this story
11:06 AM Mar 21, 2007
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) _ The David Traylor Zoo in Emporia is thousands of dollars richer, thanks to a collection of rare coins and currency brought in by an anonymous donor.
Zoo officials of said a man delivered the cash to the zoo in a Rubbermaid container and left without giving his name. Auctions are planned for April 21st and June 9th at the zoo's education center.
The value of the collection is not known, but it's estimated to be worth up to $15,000. Among the coins in the collection is a 1937 three-legged buffalo nickel, which is worth $200 to $12,000 if uncirculated.
The zoo says the collection is made up of more than 700 items.
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/6614017.html
MEMBER EXCHANGE: Zoo exec makes time for family after kidnapping
MATT TULLIS
The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Perched on a shelf in Manny Gonzalez's office at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a framed crayon drawing. A brown head bobs in a sea of orange and green scribbles. A bright yellow sun punctuates a blue sky.
The drawing was a gift nine years ago from his then-3-year-old daughter, Natalia. The drawing, along with two family portraits, reminds Gonzalez of what's really important.
Six years ago, he had no personal effects in his Six Flags office in Mexico City. Back then, work was his true love for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He rarely saw his wife, Yolanda, Natalia or his younger daughter, Paula. He never ate dinner at home.
"I even missed my little one's baptism," he said.
Then, on May 17, 2001, Yolanda, Natalia and Paula were kidnapped. It would change Manny Gonzalez's life and ultimately bring him to the Columbus Zoo, where he is helping to lead a period of unprecedented growth as its chief operating officer.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16947287.htm
Denver Zoo Moves Animals Outside For Spring
(CBS4) DENVER The Denver Zoo said several zoo residents were moving into the new season on the first day of Spring by moving outdoors Wednesday. Lemurs and bat-eared foxes have just recently moved from their indoor winter habitats outside for the season.
Zookeepers recently filled the water moat around Lemur Island so the seven ring-tailed lemurs and one white-collared brown lemur can be out on the island during daytime hours.
Zoo officials said the primates have been enjoying being outdoors and can be seen climbing through the trees and sunning themselves.
Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar and are threatened by habitat destruction.
The zoo's two resident bat-eared foxes, male Vinning and female Hasstig, can now be seen in their outdoor exhibit on the east side of the zoo near the camels.
Visitors can see these foxes, as well as the lemurs, outside daily, weather permitting.
Spring also means the zoo's hours will be changing soon. Starting April 1, zoo hours will be extended to 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., opening an hour earlier and staying open an hour later.
http://cbs4denver.com/pets/local_story_080141040.html
Asian Heritage Festiavil to bring Dragon Boat to the Zoo
Posted by kmarszal March 21, 2007 14:34PM
Categories: Festivals, Off the beaten path, Outdoor
The Asian/Pacific American Society will feature a new addition to this year's festival with the arrival of a real Dragon Boat all the way from Lafayette, LA!
This 41-foot long wooden boat is painted in bright colors-from the majestic dragon head to its fiery tail. Dragon boat racing has been a tradition in Asia for hundreds of years, and now this dynamic festivity has made its way from far away exotic lands to the city of New Orleans, where APAS will hold an inaugural race in 2008!
The Asian Pacific American Society of New Orleans (APAS) is proud to announce the 2007 Asian Heritage Festival in "Celebrating Decades of Pride, Partnership and Progress". This year's festivities will be held at the Audubon Zoo on Saturday April 21, 2007 starting at 10:30am
http://blog.nola.com/entertainment/2007/03/asian_heritage_festiavil_to_br.html
Probation for former North zoo keeper
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 3:01 PM EDT
ATTLEBORO - The former zoo keeper at North Attleboro's World War I Memorial Park Wednesday was placed on probation and ordered to pay back the $1,700 in zoo proceeds and fundraising money she admitted stealing.
Debra Hamilton, 36, who resigned in February, was also ordered to pay $590 in court fees after admitting in Attleboro District Court that police had enough evidence to find her guilty of skimming park proceeds.
See tomorrow's Sun Chronicle for the complete story.
- David Linton, Sun Chronicle Staff
The Pachyderm’s death, a combination of cruelty and incompetence.
Gaya, the Elephant, mangled by dogs
Mihnea–Petru Parvu
20 March 2007
Former and present employees of Bucharest Zoo say that Gaya was chased and bitten by Police dogs (German shepherds) that were trying to force her to enter the winter shelter (paddock). Trying to escape, Gaya slipped and broke her leg. The administrators were not able to lift her up even with the crane’s help. She died suffering horribly the day after the accident. Using a chainsaw, they cut Gaya in chunks of 100 kilos, they wrapped her in plastic bags and they incinerated the 48 years old elephant, weighing four tones. Her head stays up until now in a water barrel.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/03/21/18380606.php
Auckland Zoo seeks local cat owners' cooperation
Thursday, 22 March 2007, 3:22 pm
Press Release: Auckland City Council
22 March 2007
Auckland Zoo seeks local cat owners' cooperation
Auckland Zoo is asking local cat owners for their assistance in helping prevent the spread of toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a parasite commonly found in domestic and wild cats that can be fatal in other animals.
The zoo has had four healthy wallabies die in the past three weeks, directly as a result of toxoplasmosis, which is spread through the faeces of kittens and cats. The faeces can contain thousands of microscopic eggs which can then disperse over the ground, so even a small amount of faeces can quickly spread the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. Last November, three wallabies at the zoo also died from toxoplasmosis. The zoo's remaining 19 marsupials are all fine, but
being monitored closely.
Auckland Zoo has distributed a flyer asking cat owners in neighbouring streets to ensure their cats have collars, or to collect one for free from the zoo, and to also phone the zoo on 360 3800 with a description of their cat and provide contact details.
The zoo wants to safeguard people's pets, as well as keep its own animals safe. It is also requesting people do not feed wild cats in the area, and spay or neuter pet cats that are not owned for breeding purposes.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0703/S00262.htm
Catoctin Zoo to double in size
by Jeremy Hauck | Staff Writer
In preparation for today’s opening, zookeepers at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo, located just south of Thurmont, have been sprucing up displays and moving animals from ‘‘winter housing” into ‘‘summer housing.”
The zoo relocates some animals, such as alligators that will appear in the ‘‘bayou” portion of the park, to summer environments only when temperatures are consistently warm, said Whitney Hahn, media liaison.
‘‘It’s a difficult transition time for us, from the winter housing to the summer housing,” Hahn said. ‘‘You can’t ever count on nighttime temperatures being what they were the night or two nights before.”
http://www.gazette.net/stories/032207/middnew210810_32325.shtml
Giant tortoises return to N.C. Zoo
ASHEBORO -- A pair of Galapagos tortoises that were the first animals acquired by the N.C. Zoo in 1973 will be back for a six-month stay starting March 27.
Tort and Retort will be on temporary display through September in the zoo’s new "kidZone" exhibit (formerly the Australia Walkabout).
The tortoises became the first critters to occupy the "Interim Zoo" that contained the zoo’s only exhibits from 1974 until the first African habitats opened in 1979. Their names are legal terms and were suggested by the late Wes Moser, an Asheboro attorney who played a key role in convincing the state to build the zoo in Randolph County.
Both tortoises were hatched in Panama, with female "Retort" born in 1953 and male "Tort" in 1958. They arrived at the N.C. Zoo in May 1973 and were among the main attractions in a small animal collection during the park’s early days.
The pair remained at the zoo until October 1983 when the Interim Zoo was officially closed to the public. Without an appropriate exhibit for them in Asheboro, the tortoises were sent to Disney World in Florida. When the tortoise exhibit there closed in 1999, they were transferred to Florida’s St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park. While Tort has remained there since, Retort was moved again in May 2005 to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWSREC0101/70321044
Animals will be living free at new Jijabai Bhosale zoo
Smita Deshmukh
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 22:46 IST
Open natural habitat sans cages, protected viewing areas for visitors and animals brought in from other areas in the state and the world are some of the highlights of the proposed modernisation of the 53-acre Jijabai Bhosale Udyan popularly known as the Byculla Zoo.
The Thailand-based HKS Designers and Consultant International Company along its partner — the Portico Group — made a presentation of its master plan for the zoo to the municipal commissioner Johny Joseph on Wednesday for the administration's views and suggestions. On Thursday, a similar presentation would be made to the Group leaders of all political parties in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their nod. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has made it mandatory to the BMC to prepare a master plan by March 2007 in exchange of one year's recognition.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1086346
Ahmedabad Zoo takes emergency steps to contain bird flu
Malaysia Sun
Thursday 22nd March, 2007
(ANI)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Mar 22 : Ahmedabad zoo authorities have taken precautions to avoid the spread of bird flu, following the death of four peacocks and a goose due to the H5N1 strain in Pakistan last month.
"In view of the news that there are cases of bird flu in Pakistan, we have also started taking precautionary measures. We have increased vitamin supplements to the birds. We have taken more cleanliness measures and have sprayed medicine inside and outside the cages. We are routinely conducting checkups monthly more carefully and have conducted disinfection programmes. We had also sent a few cases for investigation, but till now there is no incident of any such case," said N.K. Savdhuriya, the warden of the zoo.
It was the fourth case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu detected in Pakistan this year. The strain was first found in poultry last year, and led to the culling of about 40,000 birds.
http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/303b19022816233b/id/236030/cs/1/
Love is strange
Heartbreak and hope spring eternal at the zoo
IT'S officially spring, a time when even hardened columnists such as myself feel moved to relate heart-breaking stories of unrequited love.
Click here for video
So grab a few boxes of Kleenex because, fortunately for you, I have just such a heart-rending tale at my fingertips.
It's the story of Quentin, a lonely young fellow from Minnesota who moved to Winnipeg this summer and, as young males will do, immediately began searching for "a little action".
But despite his Fabio-style golden locks and rippling muscles, Quentin just couldn't find that special someone to share his new life in Winnipeg.
Forlorn, he spent his days just kind of grazing and hanging around in the park. His friends and co-workers grew increasingly worried.
And then, as so often happens in stories such as this, it just happened -- romance literally rolled into Quentin's life.
He awoke one recent morning and discovered he was deeply, madly, hopelessly in love -- with a beautiful 45-gallon blue plastic water barrel.
Which is a little bit unusual, even when you consider that Quentin is a 650-pound Sichuan takin (an endangered species of golden-fleeced cattle native to western China) who makes his home at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
I came across Quentin the Takin (pronounced Talk-inn) and his inanimate love interest Wednesday during a special spring tour of the zoo with its amiable curator Dr. Bob Wrigley.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/3919643p-4530992c.html
Tulsa Zoo: Name the baby: You can help christen chimp
By JEFF BILLINGTON World Staff Writer
4:07 AM
Jodi and Alvin are searching for a name for their newborn, and they need a bit of help.
At question is the name for the newest critter at the Tulsa Zoo, a female chimpanzee, born Feb. 17.
Beginning Thursday, people can vote on five names selected by the zoo's primate keepers by going online to http://chimps.tulsazoo.org.
Voters are eligible to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Chimpanzee Connection habitat and a free annual Tulsa Zoo Friends membership.
Voting ends April 4, and a decision will be made April 6.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070322_238_A9_spanc34435
Toledo Zoo's Polar Bear Cubs Continue to Thrive
TOLEDO, OH -- It's always great news when an animal is born at The Toledo Zoo, so you can imagine the excitement that has been generated by the three polar bear cubs born at the Zoo in late November.
The Zoo is very pleased to report that all three cubs and their mothers, Crystal and Nan, are thriving in their dens and are expected to be on exhibit later this spring. Because the bears have been under the close care of their mothers in off-exhibit dens within the Arctic Encounter® exhibit, the sex of the cubs has not yet been determined and they have not yet been given names.
The Toledo Zoo is home to three of only four newborn polar bear cubs in North American Zoos. The Toledo Zoo's Curator of Mammals, Randi Meyerson is the coordinator of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' (AZA) polar bear Species Survival Plan (SSP). According to her, "Everyone is doing well-Crystal and Nan are eating every day, which polar bears stop doing once they enter their dens to give birth. The cubs are now starting to nibble on solid foods, although they'll continue to nurse for over a year."
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=6265694
Glacier Run at the Louisville Zoo
A 3-D tour of a planned arctic exhibit at the zoo.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/VIDEO01/61121057
Zoo's Glacier Run gets $1 million gifts
Glacier Run will offer zoo visitors a chance to see animals, talk to the keepers about conservation and become immersed in life on the Arctic tundra. The exhibit will re-create the natural habitat for some of the zoo’s most popular residents, including polar bears, seals and sea lions.
Animals in the exhibit that will be new to the zoo will include sea otters and bird species like the Steller’s sea eagles and magpies. The Arctic Rim town featured in the exhibit will have a school house, climatology lab, general store and amphitheater.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/NEWS01/70322022
Buttonwood Zoo to get new carved bear
By Lauren Daley
Standard-Times staff writer
March 23, 2007 6:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — The Buttonwood Park Zoo soon will have a new bear. It will be about 3 feet tall, it eats nothing, sleeps less and — it's made of wood.
Yesterday, zoo officials officially accepted chain saw artist Ross MacVicar's offer to create a new zoo mascot to replace one that was defaced and stolen earlier this month.
"We have reviewed his artwork, have given it thought and decided it was the logical thing to do to have it replaced. We have to keep tradition going," zoo director Lou Garibaldi said.
Mr. MacVicar, 55, of Plymouth is a former construction worker who now has a private business that specializes in carving animals from wood.
He said a bear like the one he is offering would cost $250 to $450.
"I'll carve it in a week or two. I'll probably bring it down there on May 19, which is Bear Awareness Day, Mr. Garibaldi told me," Mr. MacVicar said. "When I bring it down there, I'll also do a demonstration and do a few carvings. I'll also be selling a few things and half the profits will go to the zoo."
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS/703230339/1011/TOWN10
PETA Calls For Probe Of Royal, NE Zoo
The director of "Zoo Nebraska" in Royal is speaking out after a national animal rights group asked local county supervisors to inspect the zoo due they're worried about animal welfare.
The request comes after PETA officials reviewed the records of the zoo that, among other things, included cruelty to animals information regarding the shootings of three chimps at the zoo back in September of 2005. Ken "Junior" Schlueter says Zoo Nebraska has nothing to hide and if the county supervisors, PETA or anyone else wants to come and inspect his facility, they are welcome do so at any time. "Yeah, I mean, anybody's welcome to come up and go through," said Ken Schlueter, Zoo Nebraska Director. "I mean, I wish they would."
http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=11303
L.A. Zoo's Newest Arrival is Now on Display
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 22, 2007 (KABC-TV) - The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens presents its newest addition, a young nestling. It is the 15th bird successfully hatched at the L.A. Zoo's managed breeding colony.
The Cape griffon, an old world vulture, is only found today in southern Africa. Like all vultures, the Cape griffon does not kill other animals, but rather is a scavenger that feeds on carcasses of dead animals.
The Cape griffon vulture has cream-colored plumage, straw yellow-colored eyes and a bare head and neck. The lack of feathers on the head and neck help to keep them clean when eating. Known for their powerful beaks, the vultures are able to rapidly consume up to three pounds of meat within minutes.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5137451
Dated
Zoo celebrates birth of wolf cubs
AFTER a barren 20 years, the patter of 20 pairs of little paws can be heard in the wolf enclosure at Colchester Zoo.
Tallulah and Wilfy, a pair of timber wolves, are the proud parents of five cute little cubs, which are the first to be born for 20 years at Colchester Zoo.
Zookeepers think the baby wolves were born on either May 13 or May 14, but they did not venture out of their den until June 3.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=zNews&itemid=IPED16%20Jun%202006%2017%3A59%3A06%3A447
The big bear twins are heading to Pittsburgh Zoo from Denver
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
DENVER -- It is mid-week, mid-morning, and Koda and Nuka, twin 500-pound polar bears, are playfully bobbing around in a pond at the Denver Zoo's Northern Shores exhibit area, making the pond look small and attracting a large, cute-cooing crowd of preschoolers, parents and grandparents.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06158/696103-113.stm
Zoo revamp gives birds room to spread wings
The birds on the island in the middle of Johannesburg's Zoo Lake have been feeling the squeeze, but they now have their own jungle gym to play on.
A R40 000 rehabilitation programme was completed in time for World Environment Day, celebrated this week.
The logs for the gym, or roosting towers, as they are called, as well as a large number of trees, were pulled across the lake by boat.
Lucy Taylor, founder of the Zoo Lake Users' Committee, said that for 40 years the island had been one of the most important nesting and roosting sites for herons, egrets, ibises, cormorants and darters in the greater Johannesburg area because of the safety the barrier of water provided them.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_id=vn20060607002848826C756304
Zoo plans risky surgery to remove fetus from pregnant elephant
SYRACUSE, N.Y. A special team will assemble today to perform tricky surgery on a pregnant elephant in hopes of helping her deliver her 300-pound calf.
A spokeswoman at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse says there's still a small chance that the baby is alive. The 29-year-old Asian elephant has been stalled in labor for four days. The main priority is saving the mother at this point.
Last night the elephant, named Romani, still had normal vital signs and was receiving antibiotics and extra fluid. She has remained under 24-hour watch since veterinarians tried to induce labor with shots of drugs Sunday and Monday nights.
Romani had successful births in 1991, 1995 and 2002.
Doctors today will perform an episiotomy to widen the birth canal. The team will be led by Asian elephant reproduction specialist Doctor Dennis Schmitt of Missouri State.
Rosamond Gifford is one of the world's premier breeders of Asian elephants, an endangered species. About 500 Asian elephants live at zoos in North America, but they're dying off faster than they can reproduce.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5001906&nav=4QcS
Zoo Atlanta Celebrates Animals from Down Under
During the summer months, Zoo Atlanta takes the opportunity to highlight particular zoogeographic areas, to give our visitors an in-depth experience of the unique animals and fascinating cultural traditions unique to these regions. The first of these evening series focuses on the world Down Under, in our Australian Sunset Safari, Saturday June 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
When you think of a zoo, the first animals that come to mind are usually African or Asian species — lions, tigers, giraffe, and elephants. But the southern continent has an equally amazing variety of unique and specialized animals, with fascinating adaptations, habits, vocalizations, and temperaments. Because Australia has been isolated from the rest of the world’s land masses for millennia, its animal life has developed with little inter-species competition. Unique circumstances make for unique animals, and Australian animals are nothing if not unique!
http://www.the-stories.com/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A6775
Vets Get First Close-Up Look At Zoo's Tiger Cubs
Veterinarians and animal-care staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo got their first look at the newest litter of Sumatran tigers Thursday. The two females and one male are the sixth litter of Sumatran tiger cubs born at the National Zoo in its 117-year history, and the third litter for mother, Soyano.
Zoo staff checked the cubs’ sex, weight and general health. National Zoo veterinarians say all the cubs are doing well and report that the male cub is the biggest, weighing 6.8 pounds; the two females weigh 5.8 and 4.8 pounds.
The three cubs, born on May 24, are now two weeks old. National Zoo veterinarians will examine the cubs again in four weeks to give them vaccinations. The cubs have not been named; the public will be asked to vote on the names later this summer.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=50025
Dakota Zoo alligator dies
By Zachary Franz/Bismarck Tribune
One of Dakota Zoo’s newest residents has died. “Sherman,” a 50-year-old American alligator, died on Tuesday, said assistant zoo director Rod Fried.
Preliminary results from a necropsy performed by veterinarians Amy Reece and Jim Wheeler indicate the alligator’s death was probably age related. Further tests are pending. Alligators’ lifespans are similar to those of humans, and vary widely, Fried said.
Sherman moved to Dakota Zoo on April 13 from Reptile Gardens in South Dakota. Dakota Zoo has one other alligator, a 20-year-old female named Sandra. Based on the nature of the relationships between alligators, zoo personel do not expect Sandra to have psychological problems stemming from the death.
The zoo will likely get another alligator in the near future, as they like all animals to have a companion, Fried said.
'We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo . . .'
Friday, 9 June 2006, 3:09 pm
Press Release: National Library Of New Zealand
Friday 9 June 2006
'We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo . . .'
Memories and experiences of Wellington zookeepers, and others who have had strong connections with the Wellington Zoo, will be handed over to the Turnbull Library's Oral History Centre next week.
The Wellington Zoo Centenary Oral History Project was commissioned by the Wellington Zoo Trust, and funded by the Lottery Grants Board, in recognition of the Zoo's centenary, that is being celebrated this year.
The project, consisting of 15 interviews and including stories that reach back as far as the 1930s, was carried out by oral historian Susan Fowke.
'The interviews cover a wide range of experience, from elephant-keeping to breeding kiwi, to watching chimpanzees' tea parties, but the common denominator is always a love of animals,' Ms Fowke said.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0606/S00077.htm
Zoo sticks its neck out for new herd
16 June 2006 07:00
A Norfolk zoo is hoping to get the go-ahead for a £500,000 project which would see giraffes roaming the county's countryside.
Banham Zoo, near Attleborough, has submitted plans to Breckland Council to build a giraffe house as part of a major scheme that would also see the construction of a new house for its existing zebra herd.
Its sister site, Africa Alive at Kessingland, near Lowestoft, has kept giraffes for a number of years and zoo director Martin Goymour said the idea to introduce them at Banham had been three years in the planning.
“This is something we've have been considering for some length of time and giraffes are a particular favourite of mine. We keep them at our sister park and have kept them very successfully for 12 years.
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED15%20Jun%202006%2018%3A01%3A02%3A720
The journey is always worth it.
There is an old North Carolina saying.
"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."
See you in the White House, Elizabeth.
No nobler a woman succeeded to achieve
Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison (click on)
Illness repeatedly kept her away from Washington's winter social season during her husband's term in the Senate, 1881-1887, and she welcomed their return to private life; but she moved with poise to the White House in 1889 to continue the gracious way of life she had always created in her own home.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA has, on occassion, been graced with the talent of women afflicted with illness.
Some might criticize the choice of First Lady Harrison as an analogy as she was a pundit to the DAR (click on). But, Mrs. Harrison was a very smart lady. Very resourceful. She harnessed every aspect of the American Landscape where an inkling of success had been found by women and expanded on it.
Mrs. Harrison was the first First Lady to advocate admission of women to Harvard University. She also help found Columbia University. She believed women should be well educated in the USA in every aspect of our society.
The slate of candidates for the Democratic nomination has been impressive. Every one has a unique and qualified perspective including the former Senator, John Edwards. It is heartenting to have him still a part of the field of many. It keeps the perspective on what is best for the nation very tightly focused and moving forward to nomination. Every candidate is important and Elizabeth just adds a uniqueness to the achievement of the nomination that speaks to the beauty of the American Democratic Woman. She is an inspiration and the world today would not be the same without her in it. I welcome her continued influence with hopes of seeing her as First Lady on Inauguration Day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)