DALLAS -- Some animal-rights activists are asking the city council to overturn the Dallas Zoo's decision to move its lone elephant to Mexico.
Jenny has been a fixture at the Dallas Zoo for more than two decades, but the 31-year-old African elephant is scheduled to leave for a wildlife park in Mexico in the fall. Her companion, Keke, died in May....
Zoos
Gator Falls, albino gator exhibit delights at Lowry Park Zoo
June 30 2008
See related video HERE.
By Janel Heflin, Special to The News
TAMPA – Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo officials proudly announced the opening of the much-anticipated Gator Falls flume ride and white “albino” alligator exhibit on June 25.
Gator Falls, a log-type flume ride that offers a bird’s eye view of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, is now officially open.
As of June 25, patrons to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo were able to witness first hand the work that took over six months to complete: Flume rider are able to reach heights of 30 feet while viewing the beauty of the Mason M. and Charles P. Lykes Native Florida Wildlife Center. You can see the boardwalk, and numerous Florida species, among them Key deer, gray-green alligators, manatee, and now, albino alligators.
http://cnewspubs.com/attractions/modules/news/article.php?storyid=642
Zoo lions kill golden eagle
Published: June 30, 2008 6:00 PM
Savage as it may look, lions attacking prey is a way of life in the animal kingdom.
But it isn’t something commonly seen at a zoo, let alone captured in photographs, as it was last Friday at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Professional photographer Pablo Su, who took his young family to the Aldergrove zoo that day, didn’t think he would be snapping shots of a lioness with the zoo’s golden eagle clasped in its jaws.
“We were essentially done for the day, and had seen everything, when we noticed a little bit of commotion at the lion’s cage,” said Su on Monday.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/22739534.html
Giraffes, zebras star attractions at Dhaka zoo
Tue Jul 1, 2008 10:32am BST
DHAKA (Reuters Life!) - Giraffes and zebras are staple attractions at zoos around the world, but many in impoverished Dhaka are getting their first glimpse of these beasts after a rare upgrade of the city's zoo.
The zoo recently received 27 animals from South Africa and the response from visitors has been overwhelming, with families flocking to the park to see what many are calling unusual creatures.
"They have been expected for a while and zoo authorities wanted to see some foreign animals," park director Aminur Rahman told Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSP28457220080701
County Council members tour Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary in advance of bond vote
By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 07/01/2008 03:20:23 PM MDT
Posted: 3:09 PM- Salt Lake County Councilman Marv Hendrickson rode the lion.
Councilwoman Jenny Wilson sailed along upon the back of a big bird.
And Councilman David Wilde jockeyed a baboon.
Yep, this sure wasn't a budget hearing. It was the County Council's tour of Hogle Zoo, which included rides on the new Conservation Carrousel. Council members also visited Tracy Aviary on Tuesday in advance of a July 15 decision on whether to put bond proposals on the November ballot for both animal parks.
Hogle Zoo - which may have picked up a key swing vote in its ballot bid - wants county residents to award $65 million for a new and expansive arctic exhibit that would feature polar bears and seals; an African savanna with lions, giraffes and rhinos; a bigger animal hospital; and more.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9755848
Zoo animals try frozen food (video)
Rome's zoo keepers are finding inventive ways of keeping their animals cool in 40C temperatures.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7482635.stm
San Diego Zoo features 'Nighttime Fiesta'
UNION-TRIBUNE
2:44 p.m. July 1, 2008
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Zoo is now open later each night, and this year's expanded summer nighttime hours have a Latin flair.
“Nighttime Zoo Fiesta!” – a celebration of Latin-American heritage in Southern California – started Friday and runs through Sept. 1.
Zoo gates stay open until 8 p.m., and visitors can stay on the grounds until 9 p.m. Animals including hippos, elephants and gorillas will have nighttime feedings.
The fiesta will kick off each day at 4:15 p.m. with a macaw fly-over at the front entrance. There will be animal encounters near Hunte Amphitheatre at 6 p.m. and Wegeforth Bowl at 7 p.m.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080701-1444-bn01zoo.html
Petting zoo features goats, alpacas, a kangaroo -- and a really old tortoise
July 01, 2008 22:33PM
The pig races at Summer Celebration are most definitely kid-friendly, and so is the petting zoo where you can see plenty of critters.
What you can find in the little corrals are animals not usually found in these parts, like a two-hump camel that most definitely needs some shampoo and a brush.
"There are no pigs at the petting zoo," said Sam Council, 6, of Norton Shores, who'd seen the zoo before heading off to the pig races.
"And you can't touch the tortoise," Sam said. "But he's 129 years old and I didn't want to touch him anyway."
http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle_backstage_pass/2008/07/pig_sidebar.html
S.F. Zoo gets lucky: Baby aye-aye lemur born
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
It's rough being an endangered aye-aye lemur: It takes 2 to 3 hours to copulate, and if you don't have a good teacher, you may never procreate at all.
A pair of the nocturnal creatures from Madagascar got lucky, however. The proof: the baby aye-aye born sometime June 20 or June 21 at the San Francisco Zoo. Like its parents, the baby aye-aye has big ears, wiry fur and, most notably, a long, bony middle finger topped with a razor-sharp claw, which the lemur will eventually use to hunt around trees for grubs.
The birth of the lemur, whose sex is unknown, is significant because it's only the second time an aye-aye has been born in captivity to parents who were also captive-bred, and it's the first time ever that a pair has bred without other aye-ayes around. Until recently, researchers had success breeding only the handful of aye-ayes taken from the wild in 1987 as part of a research program at Duke University.
The parents at the San Francisco Zoo - and their new, unnamed offspring - are part of that research program. The recent birth indicates that captive breeding programs could be successful and boost numbers of the rare primates.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/02/BAC411HJGT.DTL
Rustic cabin in Mendota Heights' Dodge Nature Center is quick urban retreat
A handmade 1930s-era cabin nestled in a restored oak savannah prairie in Mendota Heights offers Twin Citians a quick retreat. Just opened to the public, it's already booked every summer weekend.
By Nick Ferraro
nferraro@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 07/01/2008 10:41:13 PM CDT
http://www.twincities.com/ci_9758281?nclick_check=1
Czechs arrived in Krasnoyarsk for talks with Krasnoyarsk zoo
12/6/2006 2:23:58 PM
Krasnoyarsk, Dec. 6 (Newslab) - Delegates from two Czech zoos are on a visit in Krasnoyarsk zoo "Royev Ruchey".
Directors of Zoo Brno and Zoological Garden Vyskov arrived in Krasnoyarsk to visit "Royev Ruchey" and have talks on exchange of animals between Russia and Czech Republic.
An agreement to deliver a couple of zebras in late summer 2007 has been reached, Krasnoyarsk zoo deputy-director Yuri Makhrov said. "There have never been any zebras in Krasnoyarsk zoo, so this present from the Czechs will be of great importance," Makhrov noted, "Czech zoos have also promised to help our zoo get a giraffe, although it will be very difficult."
Moreover, Krasnoyarsk is expected to receive two Polar wolves from Czech zoos. The Czechs have not chosen any animals they would like to get in exchange from Krasnoyarsk.
http://english.newslab.ru/news/207891
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