Response to fuel spill under Bay Bridge called 'unusually slow' (Video)

Waterfowl fouled: birds glided across the rainbow-hued surface of the bay Thursday as wildlife workers attempted to rescue as many oil-soaked birds as possible while emergency crews blocked off beaches and attempted to contain the growing fuel oil leak from the Cosco Busan. Duration: 1:05. File size: 9.2 MB. Camera and editing: Frederic Larson, Chronicle Staff

Jonathan Curiel, Kevin Fagan, Peter Fimrite,Pat Yollin, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, November 9, 2007

(11-08) 22:14 PST San Francisco --
Emergency officials were pressured Thursday to explain why it took them hours to announce that 58,000 gallons of oil had leaked from a container ship that rammed the Bay Bridge on Wednesday - creating a slick that has contaminated beaches and injured hundreds of birds from Hunters Point to the Marin Headlands and out to the Farallon Islands.
San Francisco officials, frustrated that they weren't told immediately about the severity of the spill, threatened legal action against the company or agency responsible for the disaster. Sen. Barbara Boxer has called for scrutiny of the Coast Guard's response. Residents and environmental groups have become increasingly alarmed at the sprawling contamination - and what they called an anemic cleanup response taking place as late as Thursday night.
"Why did it take them so long to respond?" complained Mike Herz, founder of the San Francisco Baykeeper organization and chairman of U.S. Friends of the Earth. "Every oil spill I've ever seen has screwups of one kind or another.
"But it looks like they've been unusually slow in responding in this one."...

Canisius students’ zoo leads way to Amazon rain forest in Buffalo

Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
Kelly Fischbach, a Canisius College biology student, visits a bird in the classroom mini-zoo.

Before the semester closes on Michael Noonan’s zoo biology class at Canisius College, his students are tasked with creating their own mini-zoo.
So the 18 students transformed Room 316 of the Health Science Building, at the corner of Jefferson and East Delavan avenues, into a South American rain forest exhibit, right down to the canopy of leaves on the ceiling and the trail of bark leading to the douroucouli night monkey.
The public is invited to check out “Tropical Trek: From Dusk ’til Dawn in the Amazon,” from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until Nov. 16.
For the first part of the semester, Noonan’s students studied the principles of exhibitry and husbandry, and then visited several zoos as far away as Detroit and Chicago to scope out exhibits and best practices.
“It’s very much like the real world,” said Noonan, professor of psychology and biology, and director of Canisius’ animal behavior program. “It’s a simulation of what real zoos have to go through.” The students decided to cre-
ate a South American rain forest exhibit, borrowing 10 species from the Buffalo Zoo, thanks to Noonan’s long working relationship with the cultural institution.
In less than three weeks, the students turned an ordinary classroom into an elaborate natural habitat, even hauling in and erecting fallen trees, and keeping the room temperature at a humid 82 degrees.
The exhibits include a sixbanded armadillo, a prehensiletailed porcupine, a dwarf caiman, a douroucouli night monkey, and green and black poison dart frogs.
The zoo is glad to be part of the project, said Kevin Murphy, animal curator at the zoo and a Canisius graduate.
“The best way to educate the public is having good exhibits,” Murphy said. “It’s amazing [the students] do this in the time frame they do.”
It was a lot of work, said Alicia DuBrava, a senior in the class.
“It was so much planning for the species’ needs. There was a lot to think about,” she said, “But it was worth it. I loved it.”
Noonan gives the students high marks.
“These are the most wonderful students I’ve ever worked with,” Noonan said. “These exhibits are as good as I’ve seen anywhere.”
jrey@buffnews.com

Zoos

Attend this Panel Discussion: How Zoos Inspire Careers in Conservation
Join the Buffalo Zoo, UB Green, UB’s Environmental Studies program, and the Environmental Network for a workshop to explore the important role zoos play (particularly, the Buffalo Zoo) in inspiring careers that support conservation efforts locally and internationally.
The Distinguished Panel Includes:
Dr. David Wilcove - Conservation Biologist and Professor at Princeton University
Kevin Murphy - Animal Curator and Herpetologist at the Buffalo Zoo
Dr. Donna Fernandes - the Zoo’s President/CEO

http://advising.buffalo.edu/beadvised/attend-the-panel-discussion-how-zoos-inspire-careers-in-conservation/



Animals at the zoo gain weight from eating processed foods
Martha Edwards
Filed under: Health in the Media
Heavily processed foods have been blamed for the ever-expanding waistlines of the human population, as well as a number of health problems. But humans aren’t the only ones affected by how our food is made. According to this article, animals at the zoo in Seoul, Korea, have become so overweight from their diet of processed foods that they are going on a strict diet.
I think this is very unfortunate — it’s one thing for humans to cause their own health problems by giving into their cravings, but it’s another when harmless animals are being fed junk food when they’re helpless to do anything about it — especially because it probably boils down to the zookeepers being too frugal to purchase real foods for the animals.

http://google-sina.com/2007/11/02/animals-at-the-zoo-gain-weight-from-eating-processed-foods/



Mango captured, may be taken to zoo
Remember the Green-breasted Mango that found its way to Beloit, Wisconsin? It was captured Monday and taken to the Wisconsin Humane Society's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee.
Local birdwatchers who kept tabs on the bird decided to rescue it before a cold front moved into the area Monday evening.
Scott Diehl, manager of the rehab center, said the bird is doing well. It's housed in a screened-off area with feeders and perches and is being fed sugar water and a "nutritionally complete nectar" that zoos feed captive hummingbirds.
The mango most likely will be taken to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The zoo has an accredited aviary that Diehl called a "rich environment" for birds.

http://bwfov.typepad.com/birders_world_field_of_vi/2007/11/mango-captured-.html




'Steve & Me' Chronicles Personal Life of Croc Hunter
Talk of the Nation, November 7, 2007 · In 2006, fans mourned the loss of Steve Irwin, the intrepid "Crocodile Hunter," who died when a stingray barb pierced his chest while he was filming off the Great Barrier Reef.
The popular television star and conservationist was 44 years old when he was killed, and friends say that he died doing what he loved.
In a new book, Steve & Me, Irwin's wife, Terri, writes about her husband's legacy and her efforts to keep his work alive.
Terri Irwin met Steve in 1991 when he was working as a zookeeper in a reptile park in Australia.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16082410



Services set for Denver Zoo's longtime president
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 11/08/2007 01:37:05 AM MST
A public memorial service for longtime Denver Zoo president Clayton Freiheit will be next week at the University of Denver.
Freiheit, who ran the zoo for 37 years, died of cancer Oct. 28 at the age of 69. The service will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 at DU's Newman Center for the Performing Arts, at East Iliff Avenue and South University Boulevard.
The zoo will be closed that day in honor of Freiheit. Following the public service, the family will host a private ceremony at the zoo.
The family said Freiheit asked that, in lieu of flowers or other gifts, donors make a contribution to the zoo in support of building Asian Tropics, a planned 10-acre exhibit of Asian animals. Any donations will be matched by zoo improvement bonds, which Denver voters passed in 1999.
The zoo also announced that the half-acre indoor elephant quarters will be renamed the Clayton F. Freiheit Elephant House.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_7399318



Davidson County: Ape briefly escapes from his zoo habitat
Nashville Zoo's male white-cheeked gibbon, Dixon, jumped the moat surrounding his island home about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
He was safely returned to the habitat about an hour later, officials said.
Dixon made his break for freedom just as the zoo was opening for the day. No guests were near the habitat at the time. Zoo staff were immediately notified and quickly secured the area. As a precaution and in accordance with the Zoo's Animal Escape Protocol, all arriving guests were moved to safe areas.
This is not the first time the gibbon has escaped.
Earlier this year on Sept. 2, Dixon jumped on to the back of a zookeeper, and then jumped off the island. Although safety alterations to the habitat were made since the last incident, officials say Dixon's far-reaching abilities probably will result in a transfer to another zoo.
—NICOLE YOUNG

http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NEWS01/711080392/1006/MTCN0301



Minnesota Zoo says you oughta see its otters today
A litter of three Asian small-clawed otters, the first born at the Minnesota Zoo since 1994, are now on exhibit and will go before media cameras this morning for the first time since their birth in late July.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1536895.html



Zoo grieves for 50-year-old gorilla

http://www.care2.com/news/member/285806679/533670



Audit finds holes in financial practices at zoo
The zoo needs to improve some of its financial practices and do a better job tracking commission revenues from vendors.
By Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune
Last update: November 08, 2007 – 2:06 PM
The Minnesota Zoo overpaid a food service vendor by nearly $30,000, didn't adequately verify that vendors were paying the proper commissions and improperly had the same employee handling receipts and deposits, according to a state audit released today.
The financial review, conducted by Legislative Auditor James Nobles and covering the period from July 2003 through December 2006, found that zoo officials generally used adequate safeguards in their accounting practices.

http://www.startribune.com/south/story/1537624.html



Seven rare deer die in Delhi Zoo
9 Nov 2007, 0025 hrs IST
Tanushree Roy Chowdhury
TNN
NEW DELHI: Seven endangered deer have been killed in one go at the Delhi Zoo because, believe it or not, the vet — who has been with the zoo for about 12 years now — tried to tranquillise them in a hurry. What would have benefited a captive breeding programme ended up as a huge setback and a major embarrassment for the Central Zoo Authority. Its director, DN Singh, has ordered a high-level inquiry.
The incident which happened late on Tuesday comes close on the heels of Delhi zoo losing adult lions, jaguars, a male chimpanzee brought from Germany, Sambar deer which had escaped from their enclosure, and a male rhino brought from San Diego zoo for mating. In a majority of these cases, it is alleged, there was negligence by the zoo’s veterinary doctor, Dr Panneer Selvam.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Seven_rare_deer_die_in_Delhi_Zoo/articleshow/2529741.cms



Happy Hollow zoo welcomes two meerkat pups
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/08/2007 09:25:10 AM PST
Two meerkat babies are the newest buzz at San Jose's Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, where visitors are doing whatever they can to catch a glimpse of the three-week-old "kits."
Born Oct. 13, the two meerkats (think "Timon" in Lion King) are so young that no one's even gotten close enough to check out their gender, said zoo spokeswoman Vanessa Rogier. They'll be named soon, but a veterinarian has to check them out first.
She said the kits have been spending their days nursing from their mother, Kubaza, and snuggled up in a nest, especially since it's been so cold.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7405484?nclick_check=1



Panda Pair Kisses Everyday
November 1st, 2007
It’s unusual, but a male and female red panda at a Tokyo zoo kiss and embrace every day astonishing crowds with their public displays of affection.

http://www.ecoegg.org/shell/2007/11/01/panda-pair-kisses-everyday/



The Safari Next Door
You don't have to jet to Africa for great wildlife photos. Just trek to your local zoo.
By Tom and Pat Leeson
September 2007
Big-name wildlife photographers aren't eager to admit it, but many of their most famous -- and profitable -- images were taken in zoos. Surprised? Don't be. We're pro stock photographers, and we shoot at zoos all the time. They not only educate animal-lovers about wildlife, they also offer the chance to take pictures (especially portraits and close-ups) that would be difficult, if not impossible, in the wild.
And if you do it right, your photos will go far beyond the typical "zoo snapshot" and really show the beauty and majesty of the animals. Here's how:
First, prepare. Before embarking, check the zoo's website to learn the feeding times, see which animals may have young this season, and hunt for other photo possibilities. Good pictures on the website are clues to which species and environments are most photogenic. Schedule zoo visits in early fall and late spring, before and after the school field-trip seasons.

http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/4446/the-safari-next-door



Together again: Haifa Zoo reunites Littermate lionesses
By Zafrir Rinat
tags: Haifa Zoo, Ramat Gan Safari
Not many people saw the moving reunion yesterday in Haifa between sisters Gaia and Gov. Even though they had been living only 100 kilometers apart, the two heavyweights had not seen each other in a year. That's because Gov was living in the lion cage at Haifa Zoo and Gaia at the Ramat Gan safari.
Gaia, a young lioness, was transferred to Haifa from Ramat Gan because her native pack at the safari had rejected her.
To give Gaia a chance to reintegrate into a another pack, the safari and the zoo decided to move her sister up north with her.
Advertisement
The two lionesses were born in Ramat Gan. When the safari transferred Gov to Ramat Gan a year ago, Gaia was left behind, without her sister.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/921115.html




Long-necked women kidnapped again for Thailand’s human zoos
Published November 7th, 2007
From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok, November 7th
Long-necked women kidnapped for Thailand’s lucrative ‘human zoos
Police in Thailand are investigating new allegations that unscrupulous tour operators have kidnapped Burmese long-necked women for use in lucrative tourist camps known as ‘human zoos’.
Six members of the Padaung Burmese hill tribe have been reported missing from refugee camps in the Northern Thai district of Mae Hong Son, 400 miles north of Bangkok and police have set up an investigation team to try and find them.
Police Major Worapot Phuttawong said: “We believe that the only purpose for their kidnapping is for exhibition in these tourist camps over the peak holiday season which is beginning now and will continue over Christmas.”

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2007/11/07/long-necked-women-kidnapped-again-for-thailands-human-zoos/




A handful of funders for zoos
Jump to Comments
We will constantly update this post with more potential sources of funding for zoos. As potentially zoos and botanic gardens from all around the world may access ( and contribute to…?) this forum, we will try and reference funders with a relevance to different parts of the world.
Obviously “zoo projects” can mean lots of different things ( capital on site projects, educational programmes, in situ conservation projects, etc), and the following funders all fund different kinds of needs. So this is quite a rag-bag of opportunities, and it is up to you to sort through it.
For some of the large international funders, I really think it is also worth considering the virtues of inter-zoo collaborations for many of these sources of finance, as well as looking for highly innovative (even risky?) approaches amenable to eventual replication. The whole idea of changing the zoo paradigm through international co-operation could be very appealing to funders.

http://zoofunding.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/a-handful-of-funders-for-zoos/




Our cub reporter exposes China’s soft underbelly.
by James Fallows
Among the Pandas
Everyone knows that pandas are cute.
Very few people know firsthand how cute pandas are in quantity. Only 12 pandas exist in the United States, rented from the Chinese government for $1 million per year apiece (and some extra fees) and spread out among four zoos. The world’s other zoos outside China hold only two dozen or so more. When glimpsed by visitors, these pandas are usually on their own, making themselves scarce behind tree stumps or chewing resignedly on bamboo. At best we see a mother panda with her cub.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200712/pandas




Zoocheck Slams Two Central Alberta Zoos
Nov, 07 2007 - 12:20 PM
CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Animal advocates are coming down hard on the provincial government for what they say is a lack of action to protect animals and the public.
They want two controversial zoos shut down if they can't meet the province's new regulations.
At the centre of the controversy are two facilities, Guzoo animal farm in Three Hills and Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail.
Zoocheck Canada's Julie Woodyer says they went to provincial enforcement staff with over 150 documented violations and didn't get any assurances action would be taken.
Woodyer says new provincial regulations went into effect last March and yet some of these violations were recorded just this past weekend.

http://www.770chqr.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428327912&rem=78849&red=80132723aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm




PETA Calls On Feds to Investigate, Revoke License of Zoo Following Bear Mauling
For Immediate Release:
November 7, 2007
Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382
Coram, Mont. - This morning, PETA sent an urgent letter to Dr. Robert M. Gibbens, Western Regional director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) animal care unit, urging him to immediately launch an investigation into Great Bear Adventure Park, an unaccredited roadside zoo in Coram. PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a grizzly bear mauled a man thought to be a zoo employee on November 2.
PETA points out that the menagerie may have violated the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which addresses safe handling procedures. Because Great Bear Adventure Park has a history of unsafe animal-handling practices--including two incidents in July 2004, in which an employee was attacked by a grizzly bear and a bear smashed a visitor's car window--PETA is asking the USDA to take steps to revoke Great Bear Adventure Park's exhibitor's license if an investigation determines that the recent incident constitutes a violation of the AWA.

http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=10448




Rare bears' mating efforts fail to produce cubs, so science steps in
By PATRICIA YOLLIN
San Francisco Chronicle
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/special:Middle1]
Spike comes from Omaha, and Kaika from Honolulu. Maybe that fact alone is enough to doom their prospects. For whatever reason, they've had sex hundreds of times at the Oakland Zoo but have never produced offspring.
They're not the only ones going through the motions. For the past 10 or 15 years throughout zoos in Europe and North America, captive mainland sun bears like Spike and Kaika have had trouble breeding.
And that is a problem.
"If we keep going this way, there won't be any sun bears left in captivity," said their keeper, Cathy Keyes.
As a result, breeding of sun bears from the mainland of Southeast Asia has been halted at North American zoos, and the focus has shifted to a subspecies of sun bear from the island of Borneo. And the two Oakland bears, both born in captivity, now have a new role to play: They're being studied to figure out how the Borneans, through artificial insemination, can multiply.

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/11/07/news/special/3cf9419cf31871458725703c005b2ea6.txt



Stolen exotic animals seized in Flint, Mundy townships (Video)
69 animals recovered, including wallaby, parrots, several foxes
By Matt Franklin
GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) - (11/07/07)--Raids at homes in Flint and Mundy townships have turned up several stolen exotic animals. Investigators say they believe the animals were taken from zoos and pet shops across the state.
In all, investigators say they recovered about 69 animals ranging from a wallaby, parrots and several foxes. Police arrested three people Tuesday in connection to the case.
A tip lead Livonia police to a rental home on Dyewood Road in Flint Township. Inside they found a home full of exotic animals and birds.
Police recovered six toucans worth about $30,000 apiece. There were also tortoises and snakes in the home.
Flint Township police say a search warrant also was executed at a home on Crystal Lake Drive in Mundy Township. They also recovered animals in that home as well.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5748733

continued...

The life spans of aquarium dolphins are similar to that of wild dolphins

Cobie, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin at the Texas State Aquarium, died recently from a complication of pneumonia and genetic disease. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

It was inevitable. Recently we experienced the loss of Cobie, one of our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Cobie had developed pneumonia over the summer, which was aggravated by a disease that caused excessive and improper storage of iron throughout the body, a disease his mother also had. Had Cobie lived in the wild, he likely would have had a far shorter life.
In any event, our staff and many in this community were saddened by the loss.
The inevitable part of this story was the opinion piece in Wednesday's Caller-Times with a provocative and patently false headline.
The column by John Crisp attempts to make a case against mammals in aquariums and marine parks. It is very telling that these types of individuals only make themselves known when an unfortunate incident such as Cobie's death makes the news....

Zoos

Together again: Haifa Zoo reunites Littermate lionesses
By Zafrir Rinat
tags: Haifa Zoo, Ramat Gan Safari
Not many people saw the moving reunion yesterday in Haifa between sisters Gaia and Gov. Even though they had been living only 100 kilometers apart, the two heavyweights had not seen each other in a year. That's because Gov was living in the lion cage at Haifa Zoo and Gaia at the Ramat Gan safari.
Gaia, a young lioness, was transferred to Haifa from Ramat Gan because her native pack at the safari had rejected her.
To give Gaia a chance to reintegrate into a another pack, the safari and the zoo decided to move her sister up north with her.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/921115.html



A handful of funders for zoos
Jump to Comments
We will constantly update this post with more potential sources of funding for zoos. As potentially zoos and botanic gardens from all around the world may access ( and contribute to…?) this forum, we will try and reference funders with a relevance to different parts of the world.
Obviously “zoo projects” can mean lots of different things ( capital on site projects, educational programmes, in situ conservation projects, etc), and the following funders all fund different kinds of needs. So this is quite a rag-bag of opportunities, and it is up to you to sort through it.
For some of the large international funders, I really think it is also worth considering the virtues of inter-zoo collaborations for many of these sources of finance, as well as looking for highly innovative (even risky?) approaches amenable to eventual replication. The whole idea of changing the zoo paradigm through international co-operation could be very appealing to funders.

http://zoofunding.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/a-handful-of-funders-for-zoos/



Rare bears' mating efforts fail to produce cubs, so science steps in
By PATRICIA YOLLIN
San Francisco Chronicle
Spike comes from Omaha, and Kaika from Honolulu. Maybe that fact alone is enough to doom their prospects. For whatever reason, they've had sex hundreds of times at the Oakland Zoo but have never produced offspring.
They're not the only ones going through the motions. For the past 10 or 15 years throughout zoos in Europe and North America, captive mainland sun bears like Spike and Kaika have had trouble breeding.
And that is a problem.
"If we keep going this way, there won't be any sun bears left in captivity," said their keeper, Cathy Keyes.
As a result, breeding of sun bears from the mainland of Southeast Asia has been halted at North American zoos, and the focus has shifted to a subspecies of sun bear from the island of Borneo. And the two Oakland bears, both born in captivity, now have a new role to play: They're being studied to figure out how the Borneans, through artificial insemination, can multiply.

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/11/07/news/special/3cf9419cf31871458725703c005b2ea6.txt



Stolen exotic animals seized in Flint, Mundy townships
69 animals recovered, including wallaby, parrots, several foxes
By Matt Franklin
GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) - (11/07/07)--Raids at homes in Flint and Mundy townships have turned up several stolen exotic animals. Investigators say they believe the animals were taken from zoos and pet shops across the state.
In all, investigators say they recovered about 69 animals ranging from a wallaby, parrots and several foxes. Police arrested three people Tuesday in connection to the case.
A tip lead Livonia police to a rental home on Dyewood Road in Flint Township. Inside they found a home full of exotic animals and birds.
Police recovered six toucans worth about $30,000 apiece. There were also tortoises and snakes in the home.
Flint Township police say a search warrant also was executed at a home on Crystal Lake Drive in Mundy Township. They also recovered animals in that home as well.
Investigators suspect the suspects stole the animals from pet shops and zoos around the state, including in Mid-Michigan.
An official with Wilderness Trails Animal Park in Birch Run says their fennec foxes were returned Tuesday.
Investigators arrested three people -- a couple from Flint Township and a Mundy Township man. All are believed to be in their 20s.
The three suspects are in jail in Livonia. They are expected to be charged later this week.
Investigators say they believe the three sold some of the animals and planned to use the animals in an educational show for children.
Copyright 2007 ABC12 and ABC

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5748733



Dine with Jack Hanna on Friday
Brevard Zoo hosts fundraising dinner with conservationist
BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY
World traveler. Jack Hanna, director emeritus of Columbus Zoo, spends a great deal of time in Rwanda. Rick Prebegg, World Class Images
Jack Hanna
What: Conservation fundraising dinner featuring food from Florida, Latin America and Africa
Where: Brevard Zoo on Wickham Road east of I-95
When: 5:30 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $250, must be reserved by today
Call: 254-9453, ext. 234
Jack Hanna talks a mile a minute, and he leads his life at least that fast.
The director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, known nationally for his TV show "Into the Wild" and appearances on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Good Morning America," will be the guest of honor at a dinner Friday at the Brevard Zoo. The $250 tickets will raise money for conservation projects.
Hanna's favorite conservation cause of late has taken him far from home, and to a new home -- he's built a second home in Rwanda, where he's worked to help its people and wildlife recover from the genocide of 1994.
"Rwanda is now considered the safest, most democratic, cleanest country in Africa," he said in a phone interview, crediting President Paul Kagame's anti-corruption policies.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/LIFE/711080310/1005



Animal Welfare Groups Denounce Roadside Zoos
Nov, 08 2007 - 6:20 AM
ALBERTA - Animal welfare groups are crying foul at more than 150 instances of filthy conditions and safety hazards they claim they found at two roadside zoos in Alberta.

They are demanding the province clean the facilities up or shut them down. But provincial officials says both zoos have passed recent inspections.
Officials with Zoocheck Canada and the World Society for the Protection of Animals held a news conference Wednesday.

They said they found 126 health and safety violations this summer at the Guzoo Animal Farm in Three Hills, 130 km northeast of Calgary, and 50 at the Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail, 120 km north of Calgary, more than a year after the province implemented new zoo standards.

Guzoo owner Lynn Gustafson and Discovery Wildlife Park owner Doug Bos both denied the violations outlined in the reports.
(JMA)
- Canadian Press

http://www.630ched.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428327912&rem=78919&red=80132723aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm



A compelling (and touching) argument for the existence of zoos
November 8, 2007
By Dr. Cheryl Cullion DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
Animals are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prison­ers of the splendor. HENRY BESTON, The Outer Most House
As a member of the zoo com­munity and a veterinarian, I sometimes question the justifi­cations for maintain­ing exotic animals in captivity. I am cer­tainly familiar with the often extolled reasons for Zoo’s existences. Certainly educating the public to become better stewards of the world or serving as a modern day Noah’s ark are lofty and wor­thy goals, but for me these reasons can sometimes seem intan­gible or unrealistic.
However, on May 5 of this spring I discov­ered a different and more powerful reason for keeping many of these magnificent ani­mals in close prox­imity to us “human kind.” It is a reason that is indeed greater then both human and animal kind. Some­thing that reminds us that as Henry Beston says, not only are we “fellow prisoners of the splendor,” but of life’s difficul­ties and challenges. I, along with hundreds of other people at Roger Williams Park Zoo, witnessed a miracle.
...And finally the most powerful and unex­pected testimony for the exis­tence of zoos came not from the animals but the human spectators themselves. This small drama provided an op­portunity to express our most human of qualities, our human­ity. And I believe that it is this quality that will be indispensa­ble in saving not just the gi­raffes, or wildlife but ourselves, “the fellow prisoners of life’s splendor.”

http://rwpzoo.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/a-compelling-and-touching-argument-for-the-existence-of-zoos/



Group Calls for Transfer, Permanent Closing of Exhibit After Elephant's Death
For Immediate Release:
November 8, 2007
Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382
San Antonio - Holding signs that read, "Lucky Deserves Sanctuary" and "Elephants Need Room to Roam," PETA members will gather outside the San Antonio Zoo to call on the facility to retire its only remaining elephant--47-year-old Lucky--to a sanctuary where she can spend the rest of her life in an environment that more closely resembles life in the wild. The push comes after the November 2 death of Alport, Lucky's elephant companion. Other PETA members will hand out leaflets explaining why zoos are unfit and too small to properly house and care for elephants. Elephants are very social and crave the company of their own kind.

http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=10451



Rainbow Beach - Noosa - Australia Zoo
Well our next stretch of the East Coast was to take us to Noosa via Rainbow Beach and then on for a day of 'Crikeys' at the late Mr Irwins Australia Zoo.
The brief stop and walk along Rainbow beach was well worth the little detour due to the beautiful beach and the multi coloured cliffs that give the beach its name. It also has a huge sand dune called Carlos Sandblow overlooking the beach which is quite a sight.
After this it was on down to Noosa for a nightly stopover. Noosa is a very attractive little place that is built around the many waterways leading out into the sea. It has become a bit of a playground for Australias wealthy and has been touted as the Australian 'Nice'. The beach was very pretty but not the best we have seen and it had more people than we have been used to seeing on it!!

http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-216232.html



Dallas Zoo Looks at Waste-To-Energy Plan
Nov 1, 2007
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Zoo officials are moving forward with a plan to turn animal droppings, cardboard and tree limbs into power for several buildings and irrigation for the zoo's landscaping.
The waste, including Jenny and Keke's elephant poop, will go into a biogas generator. The gas that is created will help with heating, water and electric power.
"When you're in the zoo business, poo and pee is our bread and butter," Chuck Siegel, the zoo's deputy director for animal management, said in Thursday's online edition of The Dallas Morning News.
"It's really exciting that rather than taking this waste material and just adding to a landfill or throwing it out, we're able to use it for something positive. The zoo first and foremost sees itself as not only as a fun place for families, but as a conservation organization."
Talks with BDS Technologies about the first phase of the project began more than a year ago. Zoo officials hope that the design phase is complete next year.
The project could cost up to $1 million. But Doug Dykman, the zoo's deputy director of operations, said it should pay for itself within 10 years with the savings on trips to the landfill and in-house power.
The biogas generator would add oxygen to the waste and heat it to very high temperatures to create the gas.
"Gasification from waste products is not new. We're talking about taking that technology and using it on a small scale," Dykman said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNpUo6bWhL8JInaMVsch1_q8H3SAD8SL9I881




Hippo Driver Denies Any Wrongdoing in Zoo Transfer
By BILL KAUFMANN, SUN MEDIA
CALGARY -- The professional animal mover who transported Hazina the hippo on her ill-fated trip from Denver to Calgary says he did nothing wrong.
And the Calgary Zoo yesterday announced it was conducting an independent review of what led up to the animal's death last Saturday, headed by a Montreal-based veterinarian.
Chris Danhauer said he checked regularly on the six-year-old female hippo during the drive that saw the animal spend about 29 hours in a five-metre-long, nearly two-metre-wide shipping crate.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/11/02/4624790-sun.html



Phila. lawyer opposes elephants’ move
By VICKI ROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007 12:00 AM EDT
A member of the Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants is opposed to those elephants being moved to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium’s International Conservation Center near Fairhope.
The first three African elephants to be brought to Somerset County will be the three females from the Philadelphia Zoo — Pedal, 53, and Kallie and Bette, both 24. The Philadelphia Zoo is closing its elephant exhibit. The zoo’s Asian elephant, Dulary, was sent to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Marianne Bessey, a lawyer who lives in Philadelphia, said Pedal, Kallie and Bette could be sent to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in California.
“The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California has offered to take Kallie, Bette and Petal free of charge,” she said. “This sanctuary would give the elephants free access to more than 75 acres, and does not use an ankus (bullhook) to dominate the elephants. In addition, the elephants would not be subject to breeding attempts, which in many cases in captivity has resulted in harm or even death to the mother, particularly for elephants bred for the first time at age 25 or over — like Kallie and Bette. And the largest U.S. zoo elephant exhibit is less than eight acres, woefully inadequate for the world’s largest land mammal, who roam up to 30 miles a day in their native habitat.”

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2007/11/01/news/news109.txt



Eco news in brief
Budding scientists and explorers aged 18 to 23 are urged to join an expedition to the Arctic by the British Schools Exploring society.
The three-month trip in spring next year will focus on looking at evidence of climate change. Outdoors experience is not crucial as training is provided. Enthusiasm and determination is more important.
For more information, or to apply, visit bses.org.uk or email info@bses.org.uk
Electronics store Comet has launched a competition encouraging children to build a model of an eco-friendly gadget for the future.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/green/greenguardian2007/display.var.1804515.0.eco_news_in_brief.php



Zoos, wildlife parks serve great purpose
Saturday, November 3, 2007
I continually read negative opinions from organizations and individuals condemning zoos and wildlife parks.
Some consider the idea of elephants in West Texas ridiculous and cruel. Fossils found in this area indicate otherwise. West Texas and South Africa are extremely similar in climate and vegetation. Both have wide open spaces. However, there is no war going on in Texas, no culling operations, no poaching for ivory, no black markets selling animal artifacts for drugs/money, no severe draught conditions (thank God) crippling the wildlife populations, no disease epidemics, no massive starvation and no hunting safaris for wealthy tourists.
Whether some people find it entertaining, or some people find it educational, or some people have an appreciation for wildlife because of the childhood experience of watching animals in a zoo, there is a side-effect that can not be denied or ignored: species are being rescued from extinction.
Zoos are constantly improving to preserve the integrity, health and future of the animals. If anyone does not like the conditions in a zoo, they should help that zoo improve those conditions. Self-righteous condemnation of zoos and wildlife parks also has a side-effect that can not be denied or ignored: wildlife extinction.
Patty Stowbridge-Gough
Abilene

http://reporternews.com/news/2007/nov/03/zoos-wildlife-parks-serve-great-purpose/



Compatriots excite new giraffes
LAHORE: A large crowd that had gathered at the zoo to look at three giraffes that arrived late on Friday night from South Africa was amused to see them break into the zebras’ enclosure. Zebras share habitats with giraffes in Africa.
Although quite young, the giraffes were too tall for the fence to stop them. Several zookeepers, visibly nervous, repaired the fence after
guiding the newcomers back to their enclosure.
“It is a routine matter. The giraffes are all right,” said Lahore Zoo director Yousaf Pal, “We will invite schoolchildren to install the nameplate on the revamped enclosure.” He said the zoo would announce a “cake cutting ceremony” on November 10.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums fact book says giraffes can be kept in mixed exhibits with various species of antelopes, zebras, ostriches, birds, and even white rhinos.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C11%5C04%5Cstory_4-11-2007_pg13_9

continued...

Among the Pandas

Everyone knows that pandas are cute.
Very few people know firsthand how cute pandas are in quantity. Only 12 pandas exist in the United States, rented from the Chinese government for $1 million per year apiece (and some extra fees) and spread out among four zoos. The world’s other zoos outside China hold only two dozen or so more. When glimpsed by visitors, these pandas are usually on their own, making themselves scarce behind tree stumps or chewing resignedly on bamboo. At best we see a mother panda with her cub.

Shuttle astronauts greeted in Houston

Shuttle Discovery returned to Earth braking out of orbit for the glide back to Earth after a two-week station assembly mission. Landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurred at 1:01 p.m. EST. Nov 7, 2007. Photo by ©Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews©

The most dramatic and challenging moments of the mission came on Saturday (click here), when the shuttle crew and the three astronauts aboard the space station teamed up to repair a damaged solar wing.
Using wire cutters, pliers and homemade tools, Scott Parazynski made the repairs in a single unplanned spacewalk. His seven-hour excursion - one of the most dangerous repairs ever attempted in orbit - also marked the farthest anyone had ventured from the space station.
Melroy described herself as a bit of a "terrified mom" when she sent Parazynski out to repair the array. "Maybe you heard me squeak: 'Be careful,'" she joked....

Let's get this straight. Musharraf is a coup leader. He always has been and always will be, otherwise he couldn't hold power.

Pakistani lawyers shouting anti-Musharraf slogans during a demonstration in Islamabad. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has announced that elections will be held before Feb. 15 and confirmed his pledge to quit as army chief, state media said. [Xinhua] (click here)


Afghan men cover grave of one of the lawmakers killed in Tuesday's suicide bombing during the funeral in Kabul, Afghanistan ,Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. Security was tight in Kabul on Thursday as thousands of people attended the funeral for lawmakers killed in Afghanistan's deadliest-ever suicide attack.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)


Afghans Bury MPs After Suicide Attack (click here)
By AMIR SHAH – 12 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Hundreds of weeping relatives rushed toward the grave of Afghanistan's leading opposition spokesman, who was buried Thursday along with four other legislators killed in the country's deadliest suicide attack since the Taliban's ouster.
Thousands gathered to bury Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, the other lawmakers and their bodyguards, who were among the 73 people, most of them children, slain in Tuesday's bombing.
Clerics recited prayers and local and international dignitaries stood by in silence as the flag-draped coffins of the legislators and their bodyguards were lowered into the ground near Darulaman Palace, the bombed-out seat of former Afghan kings on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul.
A sixth was to be buried in the southern province of Helmand....


Where there are two there are many.


The U.S-led Coalition forces identify Taliban explosive handlers (click here)
www.chinaview.cn 2007-11-08 13:39:47
KABUL, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces identified two Taliban members detained during the Oct. 23 operation in central Afghan province of Wardak, said a coalition statement released on Thursday.
Jawed, aka Latif Allah, and Mohammadullah were detained by the Coalition forces in the Nerkh District during the operation to disrupt Suicide Improvised Explosive Device (IED) facilitator, the statement said.
During detention, Jawed admitted to being a Taliban explosive handler and providing a landmine to an unnamed Taliban commander, it said.
Both Jawed and Mohammadullah's fingerprints were discovered ona cache of IED construction materials which included several fuses, electrical cords and detonation cords, it said.
According to intelligence reports, both detainees are associates of a known Taliban commander responsible for training suicide IED bombers as well as having foreign fighter facilitator ties, it said.
"Coalition forces will continue to aggressively pursue SIED cells and their purveyors to ensure the safety and security of the people of Afghanistan." Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman said.
Some 55,000 foreign troops are being deployed in the country keeping security and fighting against the insurgents.
Militancy and conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 5,600 people including over 1,200 civilians so far this year in the war-torn Afghanistan.


Pak Taliban captures third town in Swat (click here)
Peshawar, Nov 7: Pakistani Taliban have captured a third town in the Swat region of Waziristan Province.
Police said that militants seized the town of Madyan and hoisted flags over buildings.
“They seized Madyan town, they have overrun Matta and Khwazakhela towns in their earlier push,” the Dawn quoted police official, as saying.
According to sources, police gave up their weapons, vehicles and control of local police stations. The militants are continuing their advance, the sources added.
A Swat police official said that helicopter gunships are on their way to target militant positions in the area.
Meanwhile, Taliban leader Maulvi Fazalullah is moving around half of the Swat area like a ruler with full protocol. He has appointed his own ‘governors’ in Tehsil Kabal, Matta and Khawazkhela. (ANI)


Pak losing territory to pro-Taliban rebels (click here)
8 Nov 2007, 0058 hrs
IST,TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan is fast losing chunks of its territory to pro-Taliban rebels. On Wednesday, it lost yet another town in the picturesque valley of Swat to the rebels with which, say officials privately, as much as 70% of the valley’s 94-km stretch is under the control of Mullah Fazlullah’s band of automatic-toting militants. Reports said that the militants have taken control of key towns like Matta, Khazakhela, Madyan and Charbagh. According to one agency report, the town of Kalam, too, has fallen to the militants after dozens of paramilitary troops and policemen surrendered their weapons. Before capturing Kalam, the militants captured Bahrain, a strategic town poised over the raging Swat river. At a number of government offices in these towns, the Pakistani flag was brought down and replaced by black-and-white flags, reminiscent of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. By Wednesday evening, Fazlullah’s private FM radio station (because of which the cleric is known as "Mullah Radio") was proclaiming the territorial gains....




The area around Benazir Bhutto’s residence in Islamabad was sealed off by the police. (click here)
A new bench of Supreme Court judges loyal to the president was sworn in this week. In his statement on Thursday, made after a meeting of his national security council, General Musharraf seemed to indicate that he would be sworn in as a civilian president after the Supreme Court deemed his re-election valid.
But he gave no precise indication when the court would meet or when he expected to start his new presidential term.
Ms. Bhutto, who survived a bomb attack on her return to Pakistan last month, returned to Pakistan on the understanding that she would participate in elections after living abroad for years to avoid corruption charges.
Until now, the brunt of the resistance has been led almost single-handedly by lawyers in urban areas who have been rounded up and held in jails by the hundreds....


She was out of the country. I don't recall a mention of her return, but, I could have missed it and is this a symbolic confinement?

Bhutto placed under house arrest (click here)
From the Associated Press
9:43 PM PST, November 8, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani police backed by armored vehicles surrounded the Islamabad home of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday, and a security official said she had been placed under house arrest ahead of a major protest.
The move against Bhutto came amid a broader crackdown on her supporters, who were planning to rally near Islamabad against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule. Bhutto's party said some 5,000 of its supporters have been rounded up in the last three days, and riot police were out in force in nearby Rawalpindi, the city where Friday's rally was to take place.
A security official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said Bhutto had been place under house arrest. He did not elaborate.
Amid the growing unrest, Musharraf's said Thursday that parliamentary elections will he held by mid-February, a month later than planned. Musharraf's announcement came a day after President Bush urged him to hold the vote on time.
Bhutto denounced Musharraf's pledge as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief within a week....

Musharraf knows Bhutto is in control and he's fighting it, that is why he hasn't relinquished status and won't in attempt to stop the effect of her presence. She knows. She knows what she is doing but there is always an element of uncertainty. There is too much success in the field of militias from the tribal areas and in Kashmir. India has their hands full. To call the circumstances anything but uncertain if foolish.




These were the 2002 elections in Pakistan. There are oppressive rules to Pakistan's elections. And those rules are probably in the progress of being changed if Musharraf is thinking about eletions next year (click on).


Too much going on. A lot of unrest. A lot of opportunity for overthrow and who knows what will happen to the military instillations. I don't take anything Perez states as fact. He cannot guarnatee his government, it's authority or stability. Too many power shifts and desperation. He is attempting to use THE SAME strategies of the past to 'hold onto' his authority. I don't think it's working at all. Bhutto is applying a lot of pressure and the Pakistani people want it. Anything is possible.


Analysts on Emergency Rule in Pakistan (click here for audio)
...The ousted chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is urging those lawyers who have taken to the streets in Pakistan’s major cities to continue defying de facto martial law. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party who recently returned home after 8 years of self-imposed exile, accuses General Musharraf of having removed “all pretense of a transition to democracy” by conducting an extra-constitutional “coup.” Although General Musharraf said Thursday that general elections will take place before February 15 – a month later than originally scheduled – Ms. Bhutto has pledged to move ahead with plans to hold a rally on Friday, November 9, 2007 in Rawalpindi against his declaration of emergency rule. And on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - opponents of emergency rule would begin a “long march” across the Punjab from Lahore to Islamabad....


The balance of peace with Musharraf leading both the military and government is outrageously tenuous and should have never been a priority of the USA. Bush could be impeached for playing footsie with a coup leader. The USA has laws against such dealings. The Middle East is in chronic disruption of stability. There better be a plan to take out Pakistan nukes in place by every major nuclear power on the globe including France, if Perez so much as opens his silos. There better be and it needs to be in place now ! There is a very disquieting rumble to Musharraf's tenacity and Pakistan is quickly sinking into disruption of it's status among nations. He was buoyed for years now, but, with increasing aggression by the tribal areas against his government and the return of Bhutto to attempt to stabilize it, and now house arrest of her, there is an underlying 'frenzy' of his power 'shifts' that dictate overbearing concern for immediate resolve to stability. His is more than nervous. There needs to be international resonance on the instability and the nuclear threat. His nukes are known to be reliable. India needs back up. What is Kashmir doing?


Gunbattle enters third day in Indian Kashmir, leaving 3 soldiers, 2 rebels dead, army says (click here)


SRINAGAR, India: A fierce gunbattle between government troops and suspected Islamic rebels raged for a third day in Indian-controlled Kashmir Thursday, police and army officials said.
Three soldiers and two suspected Islamic rebels have been killed in the fighting as government forces battle militants in Pattan, a town 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, said Col. Majinder Singh, an Indian army spokesman.
The firefight started late Tuesday when suspected rebels hurled grenades and opened fire on an army patrol in Pattan, Singh said.
One soldier was killed Tuesday and two others on Wednesday.
The fierce battle continued to rage Thursday afternoon and troops recovered the body of a suspected rebel from a gutted house, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media. Another rebel body had been found Wednesday.
Today in Asia - Pacific
including an army officer have been wounded so far....


The USA military needs to 'statically' redesign their deployments in the region. This is more of an emergency than preceived, in my estimation. A while back when Hillary called for 'contingency plans' it was estimated it would take 3 months to move soldiers from Iraq. I suggest those measures start to be deployed to make a statement to Perez and now. Things have been going badly in the entire region of Afghanistan and the 'idea' that any foothold of authority of those two nations are in the balance is not an unreasonable thought.


Another Militant Killed Crossing Kashmir Border (click here)
By Fayaz Wani
Srinagar, Nov 8: The Indian army today said they foiled yet another attempt by militants to cross into Kashmir from a Pakistani controlled area, killing a militant.
An army spokesman in Srinagar said that army personnel deployed along the frontier with Pakistan noticed militants trying to infiltrate into this side of Kashmir from Keran sector in the border district of Kupwara, some 136 kms from the summer capital Srinagar.
He said the security personnel rushed towards the spot and challenged the militants to surrender. "The militants opened fire on the soldiers. The fire was returned by the troops and in the ensuing gunfight, which lasted for four hours, a militant was killed", the Indian army spokesman said.
He, said however, that combing operations were continuing in the area to flush out the militants, who might have escaped during the course of the gunfight....