All the pictures anyone could want about Flocke (click here)
Donor Give $201,000 to Zoo for Giraffe Feeding Station
The world's tallest animals will soon be eating from North Carolina Zoo visitors' hands thanks to a gift this week to the Zoo Society from loyal donors who asked to remain unnamed.
The $201,000 gift will build a feeding station where visitors will offer healthy treats to giraffes from a raised deck near the Zoo's Forest Edge overlook.
Giraffes, 14-feet-tall on average, will raise their heads over a safety railing to take food held out for them by visitors.
"This generous gift will not only create a fun experience, it will enable one of nature's most fascinating creatures to literally eat out of the hands of visitors of all ages," said Russ Williams, N.C. Zoo Society Executive Director. "These personal encounters will serve as physical reminders that each of us ultimately holds the future of the natural world in our hands."
http://www.thepilot.com/stories/20080423/news/local/20080423giraffe.html
The 6th Annual Bug Zoo at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden
By Sawtooth Botanical Garden
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Sawtooth Botanical Gardens Bug Zoo is a fun, hands on celebration of our many legged friends and provides a chance for children and adults to learn about local and exotic insects. This year’s Bug Zoo kicks off on April 27th with the Annual Bug Zoo Festival from 1 – 5 pm. Come and join in the fun with games, crafts, snacks, a butterfly house, and the Bug Zoo exhibit featuring 35 native and exotic insects from around the world. Admission for children is $5 for members and $7 for non-members, and free for adults accompanied by a child.
http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=5013
Zoo given credit to pay bills, avoid layoffs -- for now
Abell co-signs loan of $1.2 million
By Doug Donovan Sun reporter
April 24, 2008
With help from the Abell Foundation, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has received a $1.2 million bank credit it needs to get through the next two months without firing employees and stiffing vendors, officials said.
Zoo officials do not expect to spend the entire line of credit from PNC Bank because revenues have improved since the March birth of an elephant -- whose name will be unveiled at his public debut Saturday. And officials are optimistic that a baby camel's visit in May will continue to boost attendance.
"[The credit] will allow us to meet our cash flow needs during this time when our expenses are getting ahead of our revenues," said Nancy S. Noppenberger, the zoo's chief financial officer.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.zoo24apr24,0,3162969.story
Austin zoo started with pigs
Sanctuary now home to several species of rescued exotic animals
By Katy Justice
Media Credit: Nancy Rosenthal
3-year-old Miles Rosenberg watches a tortoise, his favorite zoo animal, eat at the Austin zoo on Tuesday. Miles' mother, Monica, said they have been to the zoo at least five times.
Children from Winn Elementary pet goats in the zoo's petting coral.
Monica Rosenberg and her 3-year-old son Miles have visited zoos in Costa Rica and across the United States, but they keep coming back to the Austin Zoo.
"He loves it. We have been here five or six times," Rosenberg said. "He is almost four, so it is the perfect situation, just the right size."
The Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary, located about 15 miles west of campus, is an Austin-based nonprofit organization that receives funds strictly from admission fees and private donations. The zoo rescues animals from individuals who illegally own exotic animals as pets as well as municipal zoos that want to replace older animals with younger counterparts that have more energy.
Rosenberg said Miles' favorite animals in the zoo are the tortoises, which are enclosed by fencing that allows visitors to approach the animals.
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/04/24/TopStories/Austin.Zoo.Started.With.Pigs-3346750.shtml
Rare monkey stolen from zoo in eastern Canada
www.chinaview.cn
2008-04-24 06:45:07
OTTAWA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A rare callimico monkey was stolen from a zoo Wednesday in the city of Saint John in Canada's eastern New Brunswick province, reports reaching here said.
Police said someone jumped a fence at the Cherry Brook Zoo, kicked in a door at the monkey house and made off with a young callimico monkey named April. The monkey is 12-inches tall and weighs less than a pound.
Zoo Director Len Collrin said it appears the thieves knew well of their target as they walked by a Golden Lion tamarind and went into the third enclosure, let the monkeys out and actually locked two back in.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/24/content_8038094.htm
Buffalo Zoo goes before cameras
Business First of Buffalo - by David Bertola Business First
A nationally syndicated TV nature show Monday filmed a piece for an upcoming episode at the Buffalo Zoo and the producer said there are plans to return to the area.
The AquaKids program is hosted by Molly McKinney, a 22-year old senior communication major at Fredonia State College. She has worked on the show since she was 13. Back then, she became a licensed diver. She has since swam with Caribbean reef sharks, whale sharks and other wild aquatic animals.
The segment she filmed while holding a baby alligator, she said, has been her most nerve-wracking experience.
"Baby gators tend to shriek, and the mother's instinct is to come to the baby when they hear it," McKinney said.
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/04/21/daily10.html
Zoo wants elephant moved out
22 Apr 2008, 0425 hrs IST
PUNE: The Rajiv Gandhi zoological park at Katraj on Monday moved an application before judicial magistrate first class SJ Ansari urging her to direct the forest department, Pune, to take custody of an elephant on the grounds that the park is unable to maintain the animal due to paucity of funds.
The forest department had impounded 'Poornima' after it was found begging on June 7, 2007 and prosecuted the mahout, Dineshkumar Satyanarayan Tiwari, after he failed to produce evidence that he owned the animal.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Zoo_wants_elephant_moved_out/articleshow/2969744.cms
Health Concerns Over Zoo's Oldest Giraffe
Richard Sher
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
There are concerns about the health and well-being of Gretchen, the oldest of five giraffes living at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
Gretchen is 22 and having serious problem with arthritis.
"Some days she hurts so bad, she doesn't want to come outside," giraffe area supervisor Tammy Chaney tells Richard Sher. "Gretchen's a very gentle, sweet animal. We give her all the care we can and then just watch to see how she does."
"Gretchen's got a list of medications including glucosamine, which a lot of people take for aching joints," zoo veterinarian Allison Wack said.
The average life expectancy for a giraffe is the mid-20s. Until that time comes, all those who love and care for Gretchen are dedicated to keeping her as comfortable and happy as possible.
http://wjz.com/local/giraffe.gretchen.zoo.2.706037.html
Columbian Park Zoo reopens for season with Conservation Action Day
By BOB SCOTT
bscott@journalandcourier.com
April 24, 2008
Columbian Park Zoo opens Saturday with a special theme -- Conservation Action Day.
Conservation-minded organizations will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to answer questions and give tips about protecting the environment.
Zoo visitors are invited to bring new or gently used household items, including baby toys, basketballs, towels, raisins and peanut butter.
"Through this event, we hope that our visitors will become inspired to make a difference in their own households with their consumer choices and the reuse of many regular household items," said zoo director Claudine Laufman.
Another example of recycling at the zoo is the butterfly exhibit being constructed. Lawn & Shrub Inc. is donating labor and materials, including the frame from a former greenhouse.
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/NEWS/804240313
Zoo gets ready for lion’s share
- Authorities pin hope on Asiatic jungle cat pair for population increase
JAYESH THAKER
White tigers relax in Nandan Kanan (AP)
Jamshedpur, April 22: Step away bulls and bears, when it comes to zoos, jungle cats are the preferred choice.
The Tata Steel Zoological Society (TSZS) will soon be home to robust Asiatic lions. Sources said housing lions has now become a necessity for zoo authorities as they are only left with one pair of the breed — an aged lioness (13) and a young male (4), who was procured from a rescue centre in Bengal.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080423/jsp/jharkhand/story_9175699.jsp
Safari Park Plan Raises Concerns About Possible Conflict With Zoo
Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER
Lex Salisbury, co-owner of Safari Wild, talks about the 12 patas monkeys that escaped from their island habitat in Lakeland.
By BAIRD HELGESON
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 24, 2008
TAMPA - Lex Salisbury's little-known side business gained nationwide attention this week as he spent the last few days chasing a dozen patas monkeys that escaped from his exotic animal park in Polk County.
Salisbury is mostly known for his job as president and CEO of the nonprofit Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, a position that pays more than $271,000 a year, according to the zoo's most recent tax filings.
But about a year ago he and St. Petersburg veterinarian Stephen Wehrmann bought about 260 acres of land north of Lakeland to create Safari Wild. The for-profit venture will feature safari tours on which visitors will see roughly 400 exotic and endangered animals, including animals from the zoo that needed a break from life on display.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/24/na-safari-park-plan-raises-concerns-about-possible/
Minnesota Zoo babies come in twos
The zoo announced the birth of its newest arrival, a baby takin, on the same day it introduced its new week-old baby Bactrian camel.
By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: April 23, 2008 - 11:33 PM
The Chinese rank the takin -- a relative of the musk ox and mountain goat -- as a national treasure. And now there's one more of 'em.
Wednesday, the Minnesota Zoo announced the arrival of a baby takin. The birth occurred at 10:30 a.m., though it's still too early to determine the baby's gender.
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/18041049.html
Increasing number of leopards gives Sakkarbaug Zoo officials a tough time
Rajkot, April 24 Sakkarbuag Zoo in Junagadh is one of the country’s oldest and is the leading breeding centre for the Asiatic Lion. But the population of leopards here is on the rise and, in fact, has even outnumbered these lions.
Increasing man-animal conflict in last couple of years has been landing the big cats into cages in such a large number that it is now becoming difficult for the zoo authorities to handle the situation. At present, nearly 30 leopards are inmates of the Sakkarbaug (SKB) Zoo, while the number of Asiatic lions stands at 21.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Increasing-number-of-leopards-gives-Sakkarbaug-Zoo-officials-a-tough-time/301368/
Marwell Zoo, Conservation Fun
An African-themed Hotel Complements a Hampshire Zoological Park
Ja Woolf
Apr 24, 2008
It’s always best when animals, reptiles and birds can survive and thrive in the wild. But if their natural habitats are endangered, then captive breeding is often the best option.
Marwell Zoo, in England’s Hampshire, combines its role as a family attraction with the even more important task of breeding endangered animals. Occupying over a hundred acres in Colden Common, near Winchester, the zoo cares for about two hundred different species, ranging from tropical frogs to kookaburras, or big cats to red pandas. It's open from 10 a.m. daily, and costs £14.50 for adults, £10.50 for kids.
Vital Conservation Work
Income from the zoo’s visitors helps fund its worldwide conservation schemes, such as work with wild rhinos in Zimbabwe. Details of its captive breeding programmes, and information about the animals and their natural habitats are explained on helpful signs throughout the park. There are always trained volunteers to hand, too, to answer visitors’ questions and encourage them to get more involved with the zoo's work.
http://england-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/marwell_zoo_conservation_fun
Drawing Animals in London Zoo
16 Jul 2008
Inspired by the Tennant Room's J.F. Lewis RA exhibition, Jeanette Barnes leads this practical workshop in drawing animals.
Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
London Zoo; 10.30am–12.30pm OR 2.30–4.30pm; £12/£6* (includes zoo entry)
For information or to book:
Telephone 020 7300 5839
Fax booking form to 020 7300 8013
Post booking form to:
Events and Lectures, Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House, Piccadilly
London W1J 0BD
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/events/workshops/drawing-animals-in-london-zoo,479,EV.html
Panda breeding a challenge for zoo, Yang Yang
By LEON STAFFORD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/23/08
The time was right, and they were both sending signals that love was in the air.
But when Zoo Atlanta's giant panda Yang Yang approached the object of his affection late Sunday, fellow panda Lun Lun rebuffed his attempts.
Actually, she wasn't quite that nice about it, and made it clear that while cuddly-looking, she is indeed a bear.
"She wasn't even letting him get near her," said Dr. Rebecca Snyder, the zoo's curator of carnivores. "She was very aggressive."
Such was the challenge zoo officials faced over the weekend and early this week in getting the pair to mate naturally while Lun Lun was ovulating. In the end, the zoo went with a no-so natural process, artificially inseminating Lun Lun twice with Yang Yang's semen.
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/04/23/pandas_0424.html
Fish outswim extinction at Moody Gardens
By Rhiannon Meyers
The Daily News
Published April 26, 2008
GALVESTON — A species of African fish thought to be extinct in the wild is alive and breeding at Moody Gardens.
The two-stripe white-lip cichlids have been wiped out from their African home in Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake, and now exist only in captivity at Moody Gardens.
Last week, baby cichlids emerged from their eggs at the aquarium. Their hatching creates a whole new generation of harpagochromis, or two-stripe white-lip cichlids, at the island aquarium.
Cichlid hatchings are vital to the aquarium where most of the cichlid population has exceeded breeding age, said animal husbandry manager Greg Whittaker. Many are now dying from old age, he said.
The 20 baby cichlids, or fry, have been placed in their own tank alongside their parents. All are tucked away from public view in small aquarium tanks in the basement of the Rainforest Pyramid.
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=2fa1b50f8cc5f3c8&-session=TheDailyNews:42F946750a67000B7BWxP188E049
Zoo seeks plan ideas
Posted By FIONA ISAACSON
Posted 3 days ago
The Riverview Park and Zoo wants public input for its long-term plan.
Curator Jack Sisson said the plan is reviewed about every five years, but the last survey was conducted in the mid-1990s.
"We felt it was time to put a survey out there and just get a better feeling for what the public thinks of our current operations and where they think we should be going in the future," Sisson said.
The online survey includes questions about conservation programs for species-at-risk and what could be done with the Peterborough Utilities Commission (PUC) lands on the east side of the Otonabee River.
The zoo could be involved in species-at-risk conservation locally or globally, Sisson said.
An advisory committee will make recommendations to the PUC, which funds the zoo, he said.
About seven per cent of water revenue pays for the zoo and park's operations, he said.
Under a provincial bylaw a maximum of nine per cent can be used for zoo operations, he said.
The survey is available for the next month at www.peterboroughutilities.ca/park_and_zoo/survey.htm
Notices about the survey are also included with PUC bills, Sisson said.
fisaacson@peterboroughexaminer.com
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=997603
Edinburgh Zoo To Open World's Largest Chimpanzee Enclosure
23 April 2008 - 10:05am — edg
Edinburgh Zoo will be opening the largest chimpanzee enclosure in the world on Friday 2 May. The £5.65m Budongo Trail is the first part of a major £77.8m master plan at Edinburgh Zoo to create enclosures that simulate the animals' natural environment.
The building has three living ‘pods' of varying humidity, light and temperature as well as the world's largest climbing frame for apes. Closely linked to a research programme in the Budongo Forest in Uganda, the Budongo Trail has been designed to give visitors the integrated story of the chimpanzees' natural habitat and behaviour to science and conservation through interactive exhibits and close-up views of the chimpanzees.
http://www.edinburghguide.com/visitingedinburgh/story/1562
Berenstain bears at LA Zoo
Wednesday, 04.23.2008, 12:02am (GMT-7)
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Zoo will host the Berenstain Bears, stars of television and children's books on Saturday and Sunday, May 17 & 18 from 10 am to 4 pm. The author and illustrator Mike Berenstain will draw for you these animated characters and make sure you get your favorite book signed.
Toyota is hosting the Berenestain Bears at the LA Zoo as part of its Nature Zoo Tour 2008 to celebrate wildlife and encourage its preservation. Partnered with PBS' award-winning Nature series, for which it is a corporate sponsor, Toyota will fund public events at US zoos across the country this spring to support endangered species and increase awareness of their need for protection.
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is located in Griffith Park at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways. This event is free with the Zoo admission. The Zoo is open from 10 am to 5 pm daily.
http://indiapost.com/article/travel/2633/
Zoo teaches 10,500 visitors about the planet
BY BECCY TANNER
The Wichita Eagle
Mike Hutmacher/The Wichita Eagle
Crowds stroll thr grounds during Earth Day activities at the Sedgwick County Zoo.
Consider what Earth Day at the Sedgwick County Zoo is like: At least 10,500 area students and visitors poured into the zoo's entrance Tuesday -- a crowd of humans, there to see the animals.
"I like the animals -- the lions, tigers, pigs and horses," said Madison Hall, 4, who came with her mother, Wendi Hall, on Tuesday morning to the free-admission day.
Sponsored by Boeing Wichita, the day is all about teaching Wichita-area schoolchildren how to become "Good Earth Citizens" by reusing, reducing and recycling, said Chrissie Nixon, community investor for Boeing.
The zoo celebration was one of several events in Wichita for the 38th anniversary of Earth Day, a day traditionally set aside to learn about the planet and what we can do to take better care of it.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/story/381417.html
Franciscana Dolphins Tracking Day #53
The four dolphins are inside the bay. Early this morning it appeared that all four were in the same general area of the bay, but it is unclear if this continued as they moved farther into the bay.
http://czsdolphins.blogspot.com/
National Zoo of Nicaragua
I recently spent an enjoyable day at the National Zoo of Nicaragua, the Parqueo Zoologica Nicaragua.
There is a very impressive butterfly enclosure there. I don't know a lot about butterflies, but I like the names they've been given. Hairstreaks and brushfoots, monarchs and glasswings. The longer I walked among their serene beauty, the more I wanted to learn about them.
Some butterflies actually migrate. Monarch butterflies are capable of making transatlantic crossing. The Glasswing butterfly has see-through wings.
I also learnt that butterflies display lekking behaviour. I know, I had to look that one up myself. Lekking is where a group of males, usually the same ones, get together, usually in the same place, to show off for the purpose of attracting a beautiful mate. Kind of like your local trendy coffee shops. Man imitating nature. I might leave the classical lek and exploding lek behaviour for another post. I'm still trying to stop laughing from this one.
http://mybootsnme.blogspot.com/2008/04/national-zoo-of-nicaragua.html
San Diego Zoo Podcast
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/podcast/chat/zoochat_080417_kmurphy.mp3
24/04/2008
Moscow News
№16 2008
In Brief - Moscow Zoo Puts Butterflies on Display
Moscow Zoo Puts Butterflies on Display
MOSCOW (MN, RIA Novosti) - The Moscow Zoo offers its visitors the chance to see how chrysalises transform into butterflies, the zoo's press service has announced.
"We receive a shipment of butterfly chrysalises every month,"the press service told RIA Novosti. "Then we place them in a special stand. The butterflies, which appear later, fly around and appeal to lot's of our guests. It does not last long. These insects live for just two to three weeks."
The butterfly exhibition is open until 5 p.m. every day except for Mondays and Tuesdays.
http://mnweekly.ru/local/20080424/55325956.html
Polar bears 'at risk' in Canada
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto
Polar bears in Canada are at risk from climate change but not threatened with extinction, a panel of experts has advised the Canadian government.
The government should develop a plan to protect the country's estimated 15,000 polar bears, the panel said.
The plight of the polar bear has long concerned environmentalists.
The animals face loss of habitat on two fronts, the panel said - hunting, and melting ice in the Arctic, which is widely blamed on climate change.
While recognising both problems, the panel found that Canada's polar bear population was not declining enough to place it in the most serious category as an endangered species.
Instead, it has been classified as a species of special concern.
'At risk'
"Based on the best available information at hand, there was insufficient reason to think that the polar bear was at imminent risk of extinction," said Jeff Hutchings, the panel's chairman.
"That's not to say that it's not in trouble. A special concern species is a species at risk in Canada and requires legislative action."
Canada's environment minister, John Baird, is obliged to accept the government-commissioned report's findings and address threats to the animal's survival, including climate change.
But a management plan for Canada's polar bears will not be required until 2014 - by which time some scientists believe the summer sea ice in the Arctic may have completely disappeared.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7368484.stm
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