Zoos
zoo 78
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11923216@N00/1786967149/>
Steve Irwin Day
http://www.australiazoo.com.au/
Zoo elephant coming to sanctuary
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 28, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE – Maggie, the Alaska Zoo's lone African elephant, is scheduled to fly to her new home in California on a C-17 cargo aircraft Thursday.
The 25-year-old elephant, who has spent 24 years at the zoo, will be calling the Performing Animals Welfare Society's Ark 2000 compound in San Andreas her new home.
She will be flying out of Elmendorf Air Force Base to Travis Air Force Base. The trip from the Anchorage zoo to her arrival at the Sierra foothills sanctuary is expected to take 12 hours.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/458267.html
'Boo' fills the Monominee Park Zoo
By Amanda M. Wimmer
of The Northwestern
The animals at the Menominee Park Zoo had some company Saturday.
Hundreds of children donning Halloween costumes and their parents made their way to the fifth annual Zooloween Boo, a celebration at the zoo that included a costume contest, crafts, games, trick-or-treating and an entertainment tent complete with clowns.
"I'm having fun," said 4-year-old Lydia Hoeper who transformed from little girl to princess Saturday afternoon.
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/OSH0101/710280539/1128/OSHnews
ZooBoo Comes To Maryland Zoo
(WJZ) BALTIMORE Many of Baltimore's party animals are taking part in an early Halloween celebration.
Sharon Gibala reports even though Halloween isn't until Wednesday, animal lovers are heading to the Maryland Zoo for its ZooBoo event.
Sunday is the last day to catch the ZooBoo exhibit.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be pie eating contests, face painting, and many other activities, not to mention some odd creatures to feast your eyes on.
Hay rides will be offered throughout the day.
Organizers say the main valley, which opens only certain times during the year, will be open for guests.
ZooBoo is free with general admission to the zoo.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
http://wjz.com/pets/local_story_301090009.html
Decision Will Save Zoo Animals
Oct 28, 2007 09:55 AM EDT
Their lives were on the line, but the fate of three zoo animals has been decided. An emotional week for Potter Park Zoo after fears of a deadly disease put three popular animals in jeopardy. For kids of all ages, there's nothing quite like a day with the animals. There's something missing at Potter Park Zoo- the popular arctic fox display is empty. The controversy started last week when a 10-year-old boy somehow got over the barrier, reached his arm over the fence and was bitten by one of the zoo's three foxes.
Renee Canady, Ingham County Health Department: "Any time we have a bite with what's considered a wild animal as opposed to a domestic animal, we assume there is a risk of rabies and we have two options, to either vaccinate prophylactically or preventively, or to euthanize the animal."
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=7276258&nav=0RbQ
Last Chance to Boo and Photos from Friday Night
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=65
Hawk at the Zoo
Ok, I'm not even going to try and ID this hawk! I was lucky to find it just a few feet away in the Owls' aviary at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. I took SO many photos of it, though I knew that the light was beginning to fade. Well, I now have a lot of photos to delete, but managed to rescue this one and maybe a second one! Oh, for a camera that is good in low light - sigh!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/1795620568/
Cirque du Soleil showcases talent at Miller Park Zoo
By Bridget Flynn
bflynn@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON — Two men on stilts and a juggler promoted upcoming Cirque du Soleil shows in Central Illinois by entertaining children wearing their own Halloween costumes Sunday at Miller Park Zoo.
A juggler with the stage name “Fresh” impressed crowds by juggling three pins or five balls at a time, sometimes using his head and back to catch balls. Fresh, also known as Doug Sayers of Chicago, was on hand with Christophe “Christophalezxg” Provyn and David “Detdet” Beapre for the Halloween at Miller Park event.
Vicki Rowe of Bloomington brought her daughters, Stephanie, 9, Jennifer, 7, and Rachel, 2, to the event, which also was scheduled to have face painting, creepy animal encounters and — of course — treats. The girls were dressed as Hannah Montana, Princess Bell from “Beauty and the Beast,” and a dalmation.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/10/28/news/doc472530b033c2f898018646.txt
Rare tuatara raised at Wellington Zoo
Monday, 29 October 2007, 5:11 pm
Press Release: Wellington Zoo
Rare tuatara raised at Wellington Zoo to be released into the wild
Fifty Borthers Island tuatara hatched at Victoria University and cared for at Wellington Zoo for the last five years will be dug up from their burrows at the Zoo on Tuesday 30 October in preparation for their release onto Long Island in Cook Strait on 31 October, Zoo Chief Executive Karen Fifield and Victoria University Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Charles Daugherty, announced today.
"We are thrilled to work with Victoria University to help conserve this iconic New Zealand species by establishing a tuatara population on Long Island," says Karen.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0710/S00061.htm
Let’s keep the zoo strong
POSTED: October 29, 2007
Kids love a zoo.
So too does the kid in most adults.
The Oleson Park Zoo has been a favorite of youngsters and the young at heart for a long time. It is regarded by many Fort Dodgers as an exceptionally important community asset. That was made clear in August when a dispute between zoo supporters and the city government raised the possibility the zoo might close.
Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo — a private sector group that provides a variety financial and volunteer help to keep the zoo in operation— has embarked on a campaign to guarantee our zoo’s long-run viability.
The Friends group and city officials are working hard to finalize an agreement that will spell out their respective responsibilities in preserving the zoo as a treasured part of the community.
Determining just how much support Fort Dodgers are prepared to give to keep the zoo running is a major current priority for the Friends organization.
‘‘The Friends of the Zoo would like to do what we can do to get the zoo set up and funded in a way that it can sustain itself,’’ Friends spokesman Jim Kramer said recently. ‘‘It’s really critical that we find out how much volunteer and financial support there is to help us accomplish that.’’
Now is the time for those zoo enthusiasts who have the time to volunteer or the ability to make a financial commitment to step forward.
If you can help, contact Orville or Joyce O’Connell at 955-3258 or write to Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo, P.O. Box 33, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/500577.html
Alaska's only elephant will be moved to warmer California this week
The Associated Press
Published: October 28, 2007
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Alaska's only elephant is being moved from her long-time home at a zoo in this chilly far-northern state to one in warmer California where she can be with other elephants.
Maggie, 25, arrived at The Alaska Zoo as a baby in 1983 after her herd was culled in South Africa. She has been alone ever since the zoo's only other elephant, Annabelle, died in 1997 at age 33 of a chronic foot infection.
On Thursday she will be moved to her new home, at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in San Andreas.
There, Maggie — who now lives in an elephant house with concrete floors and has access to a small outside enclosure — will have 30 acres (12 hectares) where she will live with nine other elephants.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/28/america/NA-GEN-US-Alaskas-Elephant.php
Taipei Zoo throws party celebrating 21 years in Muzha
By Angelica Oung
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Oct 29, 2007, Page 2
The Taipei Zoo celebrated its 21st anniversary in its Muzha (木柵) location yesterday.
Like many sunny Saturdays, the MRT train to the zoo was packed with families on their way to enjoying a day out with the animals.
Although many families were not aware that it has been almost 21 years since the zoo moved from its cramped location in Yuanshan (圓山) to the more spacious environs of Muzha, others turned up specifically because of the anniversary.
Zoo workers estimate that more than 30,000 visitors entered the turnstiles yesterday.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/10/29/2003385252
Zoo worker injured by antelope
Published: Nov. 1, 2007 at 5:16 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A zoo worker in Jacksonville, Fla., was recovering in a hospital Thursday after she was rammed by a horned antelope.
Jacksonville Zoo Director Dennis Pate said Amanda Brown sustained a serious gash in her leg that required surgery after Abe, a 2-year-old, 600-pound antelope, fought back against her while she was trying to force him into a barn Wednesday morning, the Jacksonville Times-Union reported Thursday.
Pate said Abe has displayed aggressive tendencies but isn't normally dangerous. He said the animal won't be punished for the attack because he was following his natural instincts during the confrontation.
"He's a nice animal. It's more a question of what happens to our procedures," he said.
The director said Brown's surgery was successful and her injuries weren't life-threatening. He said Abe doesn't pose any danger to zoo patrons since he is penned in by a double fence, the newspaper account said.
"It's never a good day when your employees are hurt," he told the Times-Union.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/11/01/zoo_worker_injured_by_antelope/6412/
Jacksonville Zoo worker injured after antelope attack
The Associated Press
12:47 pm, November 1, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Jacksonville Zoo worker is recovering from serious injuries she suffered when an antelope rammed her.
Continue to 2nd paragraph
Zoo director Dennis Pate says Amanda Brown required surgery after the antelope's horns gashed her leg.
Brown was trying to get Abe, a 2-year-old East African bongo, into a barn. Pate says the 600-pound antelope is "a nice animal," and it isn't clear what caused Abe to ram Brown.
The horns of East African bongos average about 25 inches long. The antelopes can use their horns to break branches to reach overhead leaves and shoots.
Pate says zoo patrons weren't in any danger, because double fences surround most exhibits.
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20071101/NEWS/71101014/-1/rss&source=RSS
Botanical garden, zoo watch water like hawk
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/02/07
Things with horns and thorns are having to do with less water than ever before at Zoo Atlanta and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Georgia's unprecedented drought has prompted both facilities to cut back on water usage.
The zoo has put into effect a conservation plan it developed following a 2005 audit of its water consumption, meaning less water in some pools where rhinos wallow or elephants wander. At the garden, employees are hand-watering some plants to make sure none is wasted.
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2007/11/01/droughtzoo_1102.html
Detroit Zoo gets new overseer of spooky creatures
November 1, 2007
By BILL LAITNER
DETROIT FREE PRESS
How cool is this? On Halloween Day, the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak announced it had just hired someone to oversee hooded, scaly creatures that come out at night and bare their fangs.
Jeffrey Jundt is the new curator of the zoo’s collection of reptile collection — the Holden Museum of Living Reptiles.
Advertisement
Not scary enough? Jundt arrived straight from a school of sharks. A nationwide search found him in Las Vegas, where he headed the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay Resort. He has also been a zoo keeper in South Dakota, said zoo spokeswoman Patricia Janeway.
Jundt lives in Royal Oak and is said to be — attention, local cops — a drag racer.
The reptile curator’s job had been vacant for eight months. But fear not: Jundt’s predecessor isn’t decomposing in some corner of the gaboon viper cage. That fellow took another zoo job in California, Janeway said Thursday.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NEWS03/71101051/1035/ENT
Condors: Challenges with a New Cohort
Posted at 12:15 pm
November 1, 2007 by Suzanne Hall
Our condor research hit an milestone at the end of July, 2007, when the colorful cohort of four young birds left their birthplace at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park to begin a new adventure in Baja California, Mexico at Sierra San Pedro de Martír National Park. The birds traveled in crates to the facility there, where they were released into a flight pen where they will adapt to life in Baja for several months before their release to the wild sometime next year. It’s hard to believe that the goofy little youngsters we observed last November have grown so much, and that they will soon be soaring in the wild. (See Suzanne’s previous blog, Condors at the Crossroads.)
Research with these animals did not end when they were transferred to Baja. There are behaviorists observing them regularly in their flight pen, using the same ethogram and protocol we used throughout their time in San Diego. Birds that have been released in previous years are regularly followed and observed in the wild, and these newest birds will be similarly monitored once they fly free.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/condors-challenges-with-a-new-cohort/
Zoo details hippo's ill-fated trip
By Manny Gonzales
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 10/31/2007 08:15:06 PM MDT
The Denver Zoo on Wednesday responded to concerns raised by animal rights groups about the death of a 6-year-old hippopatamus that died last week during transport to the Calgary Zoo in Alberta.
The 3,000-pound hippo, Hazina, died during the 29-hour journey by truck.
Denver Zoo animal care staff hired Planned Migration, an "experienced animal transport company that is well-respected within the zoo community and considered an expert in the field," officials said.
"Denver Zoo has worked with Planned Migration since April of 2000 and has transported 108 different animals with this company, including primates, pachyderms, felines, bears and birds, totaling 51 different trips, without incident," according to a prepared statement by zoo officials.
The owner of Planned Migration, Chris Danhauer, said he checked on Hazina frequently during the trip, every every two to three-and-a-half hours and was in contact with Denver Zoo throughout the journey.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7334040
New director leads Zoo
BY LISA NEWELL Gulf Breeze News lisa@gulfbreezenews.com
Danyelle Lantz is bringing her extensive financial experience to help lead the Zoo into its next phase.
What started as a financial audit is turning into a whole new career for Danyelle Lantz.
"They stole my heart," Lantz said, describing the dedicated staff members at the Zoo, who have been struggling to do their regular jobs in addition to raising funds to keep the attraction afloat.
Lantz, 36, is a Mississippi native who came to Pensacola in 1998. She worked as an auditor for O'Sullivan Creel, then rose through the ranks at Network Telephone to become the Chief Financial Officer. After a couple of other jobs, she landed at McMahon- Hadder Insurance, a position she planned to keep until her heartstrings pulled her toward The Zoo of Northwest Florida. She will assume the Executive Director job previously occu- pied by Doug Kemper.
"Doug did an amazing job developing the master plan," Lantz said, and he will remain involved with the Zoo, using his strengths to help the Zoo draw more visitors.
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/1101/Front_Page/002.html
Welcome to Bali Zoo! Selamat datang di Kebun Binatang Bali!
Located on the beautiful island of Bali, our zoo is home to more than 350 creatures, Peel Zoo are sponsors and business partners of Bali zoo. We’d love for you to come and spend a day with us to experience the beauty of our surroundings, learn about our awesome animals, and hopefully create memories that you will cherish for a long time.
As Bali’s most unique zoo, we like to call ourselves “Nature’s Education Centre”. Our friendly staff are eager to show you around, talk to you about our animals, what we are doing to make their lives more comfortable, and what YOU can do if you would like to help us out. We have a “hands on” approach to conservation education, and we’d love to share our ideas with you!
Our daily program includes feeding of the lions, crocodiles and tigers, and if it’s cute and cuddly that you’re after - why not head down to our petting area and snuggle with a baby monkey? All of our inhabitants are fully cared for by our resident veterinarian, and we are also a bird flu free environment.
Once you’ve spent the day roaming the grounds, make a stop at Starbhoga - our newly renovated restaurant. Here, our staff will wine and dine you until you can be wined and dined no more. We can even organise a driver to round off your day and take you back to your hotel!
http://news.balitropicalvilla.com/2007/11/01/news/welcome-to-bali-zoo
Boo at the Zoo (Video)
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1278833727
Zoo Atlanta rolled out a few pumpkins filled with frozen treats Halloween morning for two of its youngest tricksters: Western Lowland gorillas Kazi and Kali. Both were born Oct. 31, 2005, to Kuchi, shown here in the photos taking advantage of her youngsters' treats. Kali, the male, has the darker, shorter hair; sister Kazi is slightly reddish, with a more, well ... stylish 'do. Both love fruit.
MARK DAVIS/AJC
http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/living/1031gorillas/
Boo at the Zoo
Big boo: Children enjoy non-scary event at Zoo
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 4:52 PM CDT
Ashleigh Marshall, 17, brought her one-year-old son, Jordan, to St. John's Mercy Children's Hospital Boo at the Zoo Spooky Saturday to see the array of costumes worn by other children.
Costumes ranged from lions and lobsters for smaller children, to cheerleaders and princesses for girls and Power Rangers and super heroes for boys.Marshall thought the Oct. 27 Zoo event, which included a meet-and-greet with costumed characters and costume parade, was wonderful because it was family-friendly and not frightening.
http://southsidejournal.stltoday.com/life_and_style/sj2tn20071030-1031ssj_hallo.ii1.txt
continued...
Friday, November 02, 2007
Adamello, the Italian Alps range then and now. Where's the snow and glaciers are now lakes? Elevation :: 3554 meters or 11,661 feet
Adamello seen from Orobica bivuoac at Presanella (close-up, October 1st 1989)
November 1, 2007
Fabrezza-Saviore-BS, Italy
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Volume 15, Issue 3 , Pages 243 - 259
Special Issue: The Nature and Dynamics of Mountain Permafrost: Papers from the PACE21 Contribution to the International Permafrost Association, July 2003 . Issue Edited by C. Harris.
Published Online: 2 Sep 2004
Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Research Article
Distribution and behaviour of rock glaciers in the Adamello-Presanella Massif (Italian Alps)
Carlo Baroni 1 *, Alberto Carton 2, Roberto Seppi 2
1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa and CNR, Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Via S. Maria, 53, I-56126 Pisa, Italy2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata, 1, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
email: Carlo Baroni (baroni@dst.unipi.it)
*Correspondence to Carlo Baroni, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, I-56126, Pisa, Italy.
Keywords
rock glacier inventory • GIS • Holocene • Little Ice Age • Central Alps
Abstract
An inventory of rock glaciers in the Adamello-Presanella Group is presented. The distribution, behaviour and morphological characteristics of rock glaciers are described and organized in a GIS. Furthermore, we analyse the relationship between rock glaciers and vegetation and tentatively discuss that between rock glacier distribution and climatic parameters. A total of 216 rock glaciers have been identified: 41% (n = 88) are active/inactive (sensu Barsch) and the rest are relict. There is a difference of about 430 m in elevation between the fronts of active/inactive forms and those of relict forms. In the group of active/inactive rock glaciers, 59 are considered active and some of these are certainly in motion, as confirmed by two topographic surveys. At least 30 rock glaciers have developed since the Little Ice Age. The mean elevation of the fronts of active rock glaciers (2527 m) lies well below the estimated altitude of isotherms -1°C (2740 m) and -2°C (2910 m), suggesting that the reconstructed MAAT of -1/-2°C does not coincide with local MAAT in the entire group or that the studied rock glaciers are in disequilibrium with respect to current climatic conditions in the area. In conclusion, we must be cautious in using the regional MAAT for identifying active forms and in utilizing the position of rock glacier fronts for reconstructing the regional MAAT. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Received: 6 January 2004; Revised: 7 May 2004; Accepted: 29 June 2004
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Morning Papers - continued...
Zoos
Seattle zoo's parking garage plan set back
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- A Seattle hearing examiner says a 700-car parking garage cannot be built at the Woodland Park Zoo.
The decision in the three-year land use dispute is a victory for neighborhood opponents who said the four-level garage was too big for a park.
Zoo officials are deciding whether to appeal, ask for a break from the land use code or change their expansion plans.
The zoo says it needs the $28 million parking structure to accommodate its one million annual visitors.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Zoo_Garage.html
Under The Needle: Savoring a NIMBY victory over the zoo garage plan
Chalk one up for the neighborhood
By MIKE LEWIS
P-I REPORTER
Politics and NIMBY-ism found Diane Duthweiler comfortable and in her brick home high on the corner of 52nd Street and Greenwood Avenue, a long home run from Woodland Park.
She hadn't involved herself in civic issues before, she explained, because her former work as a producer for local television stations prevented social activism.
Phinney Ridge resident Diane Duthweiler will be recycling signs that she and neighbors made to protest the proposed construction of a parking garage at Woodland Park Zoo.
Not anymore. Now a freelancer, she gave in to the temptation when her neighborhood collectively decided that maybe the wrong critters had been caged at Woodland Park Zoo.
"I mean, what were (zoo administrators) thinking?" Duthweiler said, sitting on the couch in her living room. "Does a parking garage in this neighborhood make any sense?"
She didn't wait for an answer. It wasn't that type of question.
"A lot of people thought that we were well-off people who didn't want to disturb our precious neighborhood."
True, some people did.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337583_needle01.html
City official rules garage planned for zoo is illegal
By Bob Young
Seattle Times staff reporter
A controversial 700-car garage proposed for Woodland Park Zoo is illegal, according to Seattle's hearing examiner.
City officials failed to make the case that garages are common or customary in Seattle parks, Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner said in a decision that city and neighborhood leaders received Tuesday.
Tanner serves as the city's administrative-law judge and is charged with reviewing decisions by city agencies.
Dubbed the "garage mahal" by neighborhood critics, the proposal for a four-story, $28 million structure has been hotly debated for three years. Phinney Ridge Community Council President Irene Wall called Tanner's ruling a decisive blow.
"It really means the end of this garage proposal and back to the drawing board," Wall said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984677_zoogarage31m.html
Annual Boo at the Zoo draws thousands
By Leslie Williams-Dennis/The Brownsville Herald
October 31, 2007 - 12:50AM
Ten-year-old Gilbert Saldaña emerged from the Gladys Porter Zoo’s special events building last night with a frightened look on his face.
Wearing a black and white Ghost Rider costume, Saldaña, along with his family and friends, visited various booths and game stations in search of free candy. Others’ spooky costumes left him unfazed, but his journey through the venue’s 5,000 square foot haunted house left him quivering with fear.
“The saw — I thought it wasn’t going to move but it scared me so much,” he said. Saldaña, a student at First Baptist Elementary, was one of the estimated 6,000 guests at the 18th annual Boo at the Zoo celebration.
“It’s big, dark and scary,” added his friend, Jesse Wilson. “The saw, the wolf, that doctor that was fixing the wolf…”
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/_81678___article.html/_.html
PETA calls for U.S. probe into hippo's death at zoo
DAWN WALTON
October 31, 2007
Calgary -- An animal-rights group asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a hippopotamus that was shipped last week to the Calgary Zoo from the Denver Zoo.
Hazina, a six-year-old female hippo, arrived in Calgary on Friday unable to stand after a 30-hour trip from Colorado and died the next day of circulatory complications.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals urged the government to probe whether the Denver Zoo used an appropriately sized crate and why officials opted to send her on the long drive rather than move her by air.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071031.NATS31-1/TPStory/National
Jennifer Garner and Violet Anne at the Bronx Zoo on Monday
By Shannon CBB Senior Contributor
Actress Jennifer Garner, 35, takes daughter, Violet Anne, 23 months tomorrow, to the Bronx Zoo on Monday. The pair enjoyed a private tour -- checking out the monkeys and horses. Upon leaving they hopped in a limo and headed back to their NY apartment.
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/10/jennifer-garn-5.html
Sticking his neck out for his favorite team
By Michael Givens
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - Updated 2d 20h ago
A baby Masai giraffe has been named “Sox” by the Franklin Park Zoo to commemorate Boston’s World Series win.
When he was born Thursday, Sox weighed 154 pounds and stood 6 feet 2 inches tall. He tried on several names including, “Red,” “Fenway,” “Champion,” and “Boston.” But after Sunday’s win, zoo staff members decided on “Sox.”
The Masai or Kilimanjaro giraffe is one of the most rare species of giraffes in North America. When grown, Sox will have jagged spots and a tassel on the tip of his tail.
“Our beloved New England institutions - Franklin Park Zoo and the Red Sox [team stats] - both have a reason to celebrate,” said John Linehan, president and CEO of the Franklin Park Zoo.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1041331
Pygmies and pumpkins at ZSL London Zoo
Tuesday 30 October 2007
The rainforest is an eerie place at the best of times, but at ZSL London Zoo this Halloween, our own rainforest animals were given an extra spooky treat.
Carved pumpkins full of tasty morsels were placed around the biome in our hot and humid Clore Rainforest Lookout exhibit for the animals to investigate.
Pygmy marmosets, titi monkeys, silvery marmosets, sloths and golden headed lion tamarins were all be able to make the most of their natural curiosity finding out what’s inside them.
Having to work to find food forms part of their regular enrichment activities, stimulating their natural behaviours and making them work for their grub.
Looks like the scary pumpkin faces did not frighten away an animal appetite!
http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/news/pygmies-and-pumpkins-at-zsl-london-zoo,406,NS.html
Cape May County Zoo - New Alpacas (Video)
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1278017080
Cameron Park Zoo in Waco gets some new members
2007-10-29 - Waco, United States
The Cameron Park Zoo in Waco has some new residents. The zoo has three new animals, including a brand new baby jaguar. The female cub was recently born at the zoo, and made her first public appearance Monday. Theres also a new elephant, Tanya on-loan from the Abilene Zoo. And zoo keepers are also caring for a 2-month-old East African Kori Bustard, hatched in Waco from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The zoo says new animals are always good for business.
http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=2888
Audubon Zoo: A look at Asia's endangered species
by Chester Moore (Editor)
Posted October 30, 2007
New Orleans---The piercing yellow eyes of an Amur leopard caught the fleeting rays of early morning light. Though obscured by shadows they turned the gaze of the beautiful cat from engaging to downright mesmerizing. For a moment it seemed as I were in the wild, locking eyes with this magnificent animal but in reality it occurred in the Asian domain of the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
Housing a vast collection of animals ranging from African plains game to denizens of southern U.S. Swamps the Audubon Zoo gives visitors a chance at viewing some of the world’s most unique and endangered animals.
http://www.thesop.org/article.php?id=8068
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 10:20 AM EDT
Zoo gets three more elephants
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
The North Carolina Zoo has received three more African elephants, bringing its total to seven.
The three elephants -- Artie, Tonga and Batir -- traveled to Asheboro via truck from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, an elephant facility near Greenbrier, Ark.
The move was part of the zoo's goal to promote long-term preservation of elephants and its elephant breeding program. The three new arrivals are now in a $2.5 million, 12,000-square-foot elephant holding barn within the "Watani Grasslands Reserve." The zoo also expanded its outdoor elephant enclosure to seven acres for the new animals.
The upgrades are part of an $8.5 million renovation and expansion of the zoo's elephant and rhinoceros facilities. Since November 2006, the Watani Grasslands Reserve project has raised $7.5 million in private contributions through the N.C. Zoological Society. The reserve's grand opening is scheduled for April.
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/10/29/daily10.html
Culp Fights Elephant Plans at LA Zoo
2 days ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has ruled that Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward.
Judge Reginald A. Dunn rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.
Culp and Leider accuse zoo authorities of withholding medical care from elephants and keeping the animals cramped in small places.
Their lawsuit seeks to stop the zoo from building a $40 million elephant exhibit, and also says the zoo shouldn't keep any elephants.
Deputy City Attorney John A. Carvalho argued Monday that the pair's complaint was political, not legal, and said the zoo is in compliance with federal and state statutes.
"There is no standard by which you can look to once this case proceeds," Carvalho argued. But Dunn rejected the argument and refused to dismiss the lawsuit.
David Casselman, a lawyer for Leider and Culp, who starred in the "I Spy" TV series, said the ruling makes it "a great day for elephants."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8PuVhiSbWxmJynF5LX6tf4pwrfQD8SJITJ00
Californian fires scorch zoo's edge
Researchers deal with burned habitats and landscapes.
San Diego Zoo's curator of birds sifts through what is left of one of the two condor breeding facilities.Ken Bohn, Zoolog. Soc. San Diego
Most of the wildfires in southern California have now been contained and the weather has turned damp, leaving fire fighters optimistic and turning residents' thoughts to the clean-up operation.
But the blaze has left its mark on the local ecology and some research facilities.
San Diego Zoo’s Conservation and Research for Endangered Species programme, for example, suffered some losses, including damage to a California condor breeding facility (the birds themselves were safe, having been evacuated), and the destruction of a planned habitat for endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs. Ironically, this habitat had been designated after the frogs’ original home was burned in similar Californian wildfires in 2003. The amphibians may now have to be moved to yet another zoo, says spokesperson Yadira Galindo.
One of only two known habitats of the endangered Pacific pocket mouse was also burned by the fire, at Camp Pendleton. It is as yet unknown how these mice fared, Galindo adds.
Researchers with the zoo are now planning to study the effect of the fires on plants, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals in the surrounding park area, where such animals have been monitored for the past decade. Some instrumentation in this area — such as temperature sensors within rattlesnake dens — is also expected to provide insights into fire ecology.
Since 21 October, the fires have caused the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed some 2,000 homes. Similarly devastating fires hit California in 2003 and 1991, with each incident taking more than 3,000 homes.
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071029/full/news.2007.200.html
New policy bans smoking on zoo grounds
Woodland Park Zoo is going smoke-free.
The new policy, which goes into effect Thursday, bans smoking on the Seattle zoo’s grounds. Smoking already was prohibited in zoo buildings and near animal exhibits.
“Providing a quality experience for our visitors is a priority for the zoo, and smoking on grounds has recently been the No. 1 complaint,” said zoo President and CEO Deborah Jensen.
The zoo is open every day except Dec. 25.
http://www.mughaleazam.com/2007/10/30/new-policy-bans-smoking-on-zoo-grounds/
Bearcat well after Melbourne Zoo escape
October 30, 2007 - 7:14AM
Advertisement
Police thought it was a panther, but it was just a naughty bearcat lucky to be alive after his early morning escape from Melbourne Zoo.
The male binturong, also known as a bearcat, was seen scampering across the road by a motorist about 1.45am (AEDT) on Tuesday before taking refuge up a tree on the corner of The Avenue and Walker Street at Parkville, in Melbourne's inner-north, Victoria Police said.
Senior Constable Jenny McDonald from Carlton police station said she and her partner, who were called to investigate the sighting, initially thought they were dealing with a panther.
"They (the motorist) actually rang triple-0 and said something three times bigger than a cat had run across the road in front of them and climbed up a tree," Snr Const McDonald told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Bearcat-well-after-Melbourne-Zoo-escape/2007/10/30/1193618829380.html
Gingrich, ex-Zoo Atlanta CEO write 'green' treatise
Book calls for entrepreneurial solutions to environmental woes
By BO EMERSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/30/07
One problem with the green movement is the lack of green.
Solutions to environmental problems take money. But they can also make money.
Such is a tenet of "A Contract With the Earth" (Johns Hopkins Press, $20), a call for a new environmental movement co-authored by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former CEO of Zoo Atlanta Terry Maple.
The bottom line of the new treatise is that entrepreneurial forces must be engaged if a global crisis is to be averted.
"You have to bring people to the table that have resources, not just good intentions," said Maple during a recent telephone interview from his new post at the Palm Beach Zoo, where he is CEO.
Atlantic Station is a stellar example of environmentalists and businessmen working together, Maple said. The Midtown development, formerly a polluted industrial site, is now a booming live-work community.
Today Atlantic Station will serve as the backdrop for a book signing and panel discussion by Gingrich, Maple and others titled "A Forum on the Environment: Restoring Planetary Balance." It will take place from 2-4 p.m., between East District and West District avenues.
The forum is co-sponsored by the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy. (For information: www.mogulpr.com/earth.html.)
Maple spoke to the AJC on a variety of topics, including public/private cooperation, working with a co-author better known as a firebrand than a consensus-builder, and baby pandas.
• On the difficulty of building a bipartisan movement (given Gingrich's take-no-prisoners political style):
"He has ruffled a lot of feathers. ... It will be a hard sell to a lot of people who were polarized. When I first talked to him about writing this book, I said, this has to be absolutely nonpartisan. ... In his political life he's had to throw stones at the ruling party. Newt is a tough politician, he goes after things that have to be attacked. Our book is outside the realm of that."
• On their working methods:
"Maybe it's fair to say I drew out of him what was in him, but [that] he hadn't expressed in public. ... He was a strong reader and correcter. ... We continued to exchange chapters. ... Everything is based on conversations we had. I tell people when they ask me: I literally mind-melded with him. I read everything he had written that was around these issues, so I could understand better his principles."
• On who did most of the writing:
"I did a lot of the heavy lifting."
• On entrepreneurial solutions to water shortages:
"Countries all around the world are using desalinization. We should be working on that in the state of Georgia. That's one of the ways to supplement or augment water scarcity in time of drought."
• On drawing conservatives into the environmental movement:
"He knows the Republican Party has a lot of work to do in terms of the environment."
• On reducing greenhouse gases (considering that Congress has failed to pass requirements for better automobile fuel efficiency):
"Newt's point of view is, you can say, 'If you don't get up to 30 mpg in so many years, then you can suffer the consequences.' Or you can say 'Here's a tax break if you get up to 50 mpg.' He's in favor of big incentives. He's been saying this for some time. We need prizes."
• On baby pandas (specifically, whether they have one at the Palm Beach Zoo):
"Don't start with me ..."
More on ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/living/stories/2007/10/29/contract_1030.html
Zoo welcomes new rhino; hopes to make a love match
By BRENDAN O’BRIEN
Journal Times
Monday, October 29, 2007 9:44 PM CDT
RACINE — Racine Zoo officials are hoping that Timu digs playful, easygoing, curious and friendly males. That’s exactly how Kianga, who is coming for a long and extended stay, is described.
Kianga, a 3-year-old black eastern rhinoceros, arrived Monday from Brookfield Zoo in suburban Chicago with the sole purpose of mating with Timu, his female eastern black rhino counterpart.
For the next several years, the romantic interludes between Kianga and Timu will be watched with great anticipation.
“It could be easily five years, because he is just a little fellow and the males don’t sexually mature in the wild until about 7 years old,” Jay Christie, president and chief executive officer of the Racine Zoo said of the 2,200-pound rhino that stands 5 feet tall and is 9 feet long. “In captivity, it could be as early as 5 years and that’s because they don’t have the competition of other adult rhinos and the other stresses of the wild.”
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/10/29/local_news/doc47269944f13b1321688816.txt
Kiddie critters run a-mock at zoo
BY ELIZABETH AHLIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The Henry Doorly Zoo is no stranger to curious creatures, but the zoo got curiouser and curiouser Sunday as superheroes, skeletons and vampires overran the grounds.
With big bug eyes on his Spider-Man mask, Josh Rule, 3, took his best shot at looking menacing as he peered through the glass of a tank at a green sea turtle.
Josh was there to celebrate Halloween at the zoo's annual Spooktacular, where costumed children wandered the grounds trick-or-treating for candy, doing craft projects and marveling at the animals.
The green sea turtle barely registered Josh's gaze as it lazily flipped a foot and swished its head through the water. Josh's sister Gabrielle Rule, 6, tried to do a little better by staring down the sharks that swam around in the tank.
Dressed in a dark, velvety-looking vampire costume, Gabrielle thought she had a good shot. While she wouldn't take any chances by swimming in a shark tank, she said, vampires are pretty scary.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10170654&u_rss=1&
El Paso Zoo Hosts Menagerie of Costumes
Posted by Armando Saldivar, KDBC 4 News
The El Paso zoo was filled with more than just exotic creatures on Sunday. The "Boo at the Zoo" event featured a "zoo-rific kids costume contest" which made it a little difficult to tell the children from the animals.
Infants to 12 year olds donned their Halloween costume all in an effort to win top honors. Everyone was a winner at the treat stations where area vendors handed out free goodies during the two-day event.
"El Paso has just turned out for this. We had 2,400 people last year. Yesterday we had 2,300, so we are just seeing so many el pasoans come out. We're just doubling our numbers as people enjoy this great event." said Zoo Spokesperson, Liz Kern.
http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7277771&nav=menu608_2
Lim orders free admission for children to Manila Zoo
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 09:26pm (Mla time) 10/27/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- For five days until October 31, parents may bring their children to the Manila Zoo and Botanical Gardens free of charge.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim on Saturday ordered city parks and recreation bureau chief Deng Manimbo to grant free admission to children until October 31 as part of the activities lined up by the city government in observance of the Children's Month celebration or "Pista ng Batang Pilipino."
Lim added that the free admission would be extended even to children who are not residents of the city.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=97159
continued...
Seattle zoo's parking garage plan set back
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- A Seattle hearing examiner says a 700-car parking garage cannot be built at the Woodland Park Zoo.
The decision in the three-year land use dispute is a victory for neighborhood opponents who said the four-level garage was too big for a park.
Zoo officials are deciding whether to appeal, ask for a break from the land use code or change their expansion plans.
The zoo says it needs the $28 million parking structure to accommodate its one million annual visitors.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Zoo_Garage.html
Under The Needle: Savoring a NIMBY victory over the zoo garage plan
Chalk one up for the neighborhood
By MIKE LEWIS
P-I REPORTER
Politics and NIMBY-ism found Diane Duthweiler comfortable and in her brick home high on the corner of 52nd Street and Greenwood Avenue, a long home run from Woodland Park.
She hadn't involved herself in civic issues before, she explained, because her former work as a producer for local television stations prevented social activism.
Phinney Ridge resident Diane Duthweiler will be recycling signs that she and neighbors made to protest the proposed construction of a parking garage at Woodland Park Zoo.
Not anymore. Now a freelancer, she gave in to the temptation when her neighborhood collectively decided that maybe the wrong critters had been caged at Woodland Park Zoo.
"I mean, what were (zoo administrators) thinking?" Duthweiler said, sitting on the couch in her living room. "Does a parking garage in this neighborhood make any sense?"
She didn't wait for an answer. It wasn't that type of question.
"A lot of people thought that we were well-off people who didn't want to disturb our precious neighborhood."
True, some people did.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337583_needle01.html
City official rules garage planned for zoo is illegal
By Bob Young
Seattle Times staff reporter
A controversial 700-car garage proposed for Woodland Park Zoo is illegal, according to Seattle's hearing examiner.
City officials failed to make the case that garages are common or customary in Seattle parks, Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner said in a decision that city and neighborhood leaders received Tuesday.
Tanner serves as the city's administrative-law judge and is charged with reviewing decisions by city agencies.
Dubbed the "garage mahal" by neighborhood critics, the proposal for a four-story, $28 million structure has been hotly debated for three years. Phinney Ridge Community Council President Irene Wall called Tanner's ruling a decisive blow.
"It really means the end of this garage proposal and back to the drawing board," Wall said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984677_zoogarage31m.html
Annual Boo at the Zoo draws thousands
By Leslie Williams-Dennis/The Brownsville Herald
October 31, 2007 - 12:50AM
Ten-year-old Gilbert Saldaña emerged from the Gladys Porter Zoo’s special events building last night with a frightened look on his face.
Wearing a black and white Ghost Rider costume, Saldaña, along with his family and friends, visited various booths and game stations in search of free candy. Others’ spooky costumes left him unfazed, but his journey through the venue’s 5,000 square foot haunted house left him quivering with fear.
“The saw — I thought it wasn’t going to move but it scared me so much,” he said. Saldaña, a student at First Baptist Elementary, was one of the estimated 6,000 guests at the 18th annual Boo at the Zoo celebration.
“It’s big, dark and scary,” added his friend, Jesse Wilson. “The saw, the wolf, that doctor that was fixing the wolf…”
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/_81678___article.html/_.html
PETA calls for U.S. probe into hippo's death at zoo
DAWN WALTON
October 31, 2007
Calgary -- An animal-rights group asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a hippopotamus that was shipped last week to the Calgary Zoo from the Denver Zoo.
Hazina, a six-year-old female hippo, arrived in Calgary on Friday unable to stand after a 30-hour trip from Colorado and died the next day of circulatory complications.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals urged the government to probe whether the Denver Zoo used an appropriately sized crate and why officials opted to send her on the long drive rather than move her by air.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071031.NATS31-1/TPStory/National
Jennifer Garner and Violet Anne at the Bronx Zoo on Monday
By Shannon CBB Senior Contributor
Actress Jennifer Garner, 35, takes daughter, Violet Anne, 23 months tomorrow, to the Bronx Zoo on Monday. The pair enjoyed a private tour -- checking out the monkeys and horses. Upon leaving they hopped in a limo and headed back to their NY apartment.
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/10/jennifer-garn-5.html
Sticking his neck out for his favorite team
By Michael Givens
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - Updated 2d 20h ago
A baby Masai giraffe has been named “Sox” by the Franklin Park Zoo to commemorate Boston’s World Series win.
When he was born Thursday, Sox weighed 154 pounds and stood 6 feet 2 inches tall. He tried on several names including, “Red,” “Fenway,” “Champion,” and “Boston.” But after Sunday’s win, zoo staff members decided on “Sox.”
The Masai or Kilimanjaro giraffe is one of the most rare species of giraffes in North America. When grown, Sox will have jagged spots and a tassel on the tip of his tail.
“Our beloved New England institutions - Franklin Park Zoo and the Red Sox [team stats] - both have a reason to celebrate,” said John Linehan, president and CEO of the Franklin Park Zoo.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1041331
Pygmies and pumpkins at ZSL London Zoo
Tuesday 30 October 2007
The rainforest is an eerie place at the best of times, but at ZSL London Zoo this Halloween, our own rainforest animals were given an extra spooky treat.
Carved pumpkins full of tasty morsels were placed around the biome in our hot and humid Clore Rainforest Lookout exhibit for the animals to investigate.
Pygmy marmosets, titi monkeys, silvery marmosets, sloths and golden headed lion tamarins were all be able to make the most of their natural curiosity finding out what’s inside them.
Having to work to find food forms part of their regular enrichment activities, stimulating their natural behaviours and making them work for their grub.
Looks like the scary pumpkin faces did not frighten away an animal appetite!
http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/news/pygmies-and-pumpkins-at-zsl-london-zoo,406,NS.html
Cape May County Zoo - New Alpacas (Video)
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1278017080
Cameron Park Zoo in Waco gets some new members
2007-10-29 - Waco, United States
The Cameron Park Zoo in Waco has some new residents. The zoo has three new animals, including a brand new baby jaguar. The female cub was recently born at the zoo, and made her first public appearance Monday. Theres also a new elephant, Tanya on-loan from the Abilene Zoo. And zoo keepers are also caring for a 2-month-old East African Kori Bustard, hatched in Waco from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The zoo says new animals are always good for business.
http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=2888
Audubon Zoo: A look at Asia's endangered species
by Chester Moore (Editor)
Posted October 30, 2007
New Orleans---The piercing yellow eyes of an Amur leopard caught the fleeting rays of early morning light. Though obscured by shadows they turned the gaze of the beautiful cat from engaging to downright mesmerizing. For a moment it seemed as I were in the wild, locking eyes with this magnificent animal but in reality it occurred in the Asian domain of the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
Housing a vast collection of animals ranging from African plains game to denizens of southern U.S. Swamps the Audubon Zoo gives visitors a chance at viewing some of the world’s most unique and endangered animals.
http://www.thesop.org/article.php?id=8068
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 10:20 AM EDT
Zoo gets three more elephants
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
The North Carolina Zoo has received three more African elephants, bringing its total to seven.
The three elephants -- Artie, Tonga and Batir -- traveled to Asheboro via truck from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, an elephant facility near Greenbrier, Ark.
The move was part of the zoo's goal to promote long-term preservation of elephants and its elephant breeding program. The three new arrivals are now in a $2.5 million, 12,000-square-foot elephant holding barn within the "Watani Grasslands Reserve." The zoo also expanded its outdoor elephant enclosure to seven acres for the new animals.
The upgrades are part of an $8.5 million renovation and expansion of the zoo's elephant and rhinoceros facilities. Since November 2006, the Watani Grasslands Reserve project has raised $7.5 million in private contributions through the N.C. Zoological Society. The reserve's grand opening is scheduled for April.
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/10/29/daily10.html
Culp Fights Elephant Plans at LA Zoo
2 days ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has ruled that Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward.
Judge Reginald A. Dunn rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.
Culp and Leider accuse zoo authorities of withholding medical care from elephants and keeping the animals cramped in small places.
Their lawsuit seeks to stop the zoo from building a $40 million elephant exhibit, and also says the zoo shouldn't keep any elephants.
Deputy City Attorney John A. Carvalho argued Monday that the pair's complaint was political, not legal, and said the zoo is in compliance with federal and state statutes.
"There is no standard by which you can look to once this case proceeds," Carvalho argued. But Dunn rejected the argument and refused to dismiss the lawsuit.
David Casselman, a lawyer for Leider and Culp, who starred in the "I Spy" TV series, said the ruling makes it "a great day for elephants."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8PuVhiSbWxmJynF5LX6tf4pwrfQD8SJITJ00
Californian fires scorch zoo's edge
Researchers deal with burned habitats and landscapes.
San Diego Zoo's curator of birds sifts through what is left of one of the two condor breeding facilities.Ken Bohn, Zoolog. Soc. San Diego
Most of the wildfires in southern California have now been contained and the weather has turned damp, leaving fire fighters optimistic and turning residents' thoughts to the clean-up operation.
But the blaze has left its mark on the local ecology and some research facilities.
San Diego Zoo’s Conservation and Research for Endangered Species programme, for example, suffered some losses, including damage to a California condor breeding facility (the birds themselves were safe, having been evacuated), and the destruction of a planned habitat for endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs. Ironically, this habitat had been designated after the frogs’ original home was burned in similar Californian wildfires in 2003. The amphibians may now have to be moved to yet another zoo, says spokesperson Yadira Galindo.
One of only two known habitats of the endangered Pacific pocket mouse was also burned by the fire, at Camp Pendleton. It is as yet unknown how these mice fared, Galindo adds.
Researchers with the zoo are now planning to study the effect of the fires on plants, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals in the surrounding park area, where such animals have been monitored for the past decade. Some instrumentation in this area — such as temperature sensors within rattlesnake dens — is also expected to provide insights into fire ecology.
Since 21 October, the fires have caused the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed some 2,000 homes. Similarly devastating fires hit California in 2003 and 1991, with each incident taking more than 3,000 homes.
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071029/full/news.2007.200.html
New policy bans smoking on zoo grounds
Woodland Park Zoo is going smoke-free.
The new policy, which goes into effect Thursday, bans smoking on the Seattle zoo’s grounds. Smoking already was prohibited in zoo buildings and near animal exhibits.
“Providing a quality experience for our visitors is a priority for the zoo, and smoking on grounds has recently been the No. 1 complaint,” said zoo President and CEO Deborah Jensen.
The zoo is open every day except Dec. 25.
http://www.mughaleazam.com/2007/10/30/new-policy-bans-smoking-on-zoo-grounds/
Bearcat well after Melbourne Zoo escape
October 30, 2007 - 7:14AM
Advertisement
Police thought it was a panther, but it was just a naughty bearcat lucky to be alive after his early morning escape from Melbourne Zoo.
The male binturong, also known as a bearcat, was seen scampering across the road by a motorist about 1.45am (AEDT) on Tuesday before taking refuge up a tree on the corner of The Avenue and Walker Street at Parkville, in Melbourne's inner-north, Victoria Police said.
Senior Constable Jenny McDonald from Carlton police station said she and her partner, who were called to investigate the sighting, initially thought they were dealing with a panther.
"They (the motorist) actually rang triple-0 and said something three times bigger than a cat had run across the road in front of them and climbed up a tree," Snr Const McDonald told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Bearcat-well-after-Melbourne-Zoo-escape/2007/10/30/1193618829380.html
Gingrich, ex-Zoo Atlanta CEO write 'green' treatise
Book calls for entrepreneurial solutions to environmental woes
By BO EMERSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/30/07
One problem with the green movement is the lack of green.
Solutions to environmental problems take money. But they can also make money.
Such is a tenet of "A Contract With the Earth" (Johns Hopkins Press, $20), a call for a new environmental movement co-authored by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former CEO of Zoo Atlanta Terry Maple.
The bottom line of the new treatise is that entrepreneurial forces must be engaged if a global crisis is to be averted.
"You have to bring people to the table that have resources, not just good intentions," said Maple during a recent telephone interview from his new post at the Palm Beach Zoo, where he is CEO.
Atlantic Station is a stellar example of environmentalists and businessmen working together, Maple said. The Midtown development, formerly a polluted industrial site, is now a booming live-work community.
Today Atlantic Station will serve as the backdrop for a book signing and panel discussion by Gingrich, Maple and others titled "A Forum on the Environment: Restoring Planetary Balance." It will take place from 2-4 p.m., between East District and West District avenues.
The forum is co-sponsored by the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy. (For information: www.mogulpr.com/earth.html.)
Maple spoke to the AJC on a variety of topics, including public/private cooperation, working with a co-author better known as a firebrand than a consensus-builder, and baby pandas.
• On the difficulty of building a bipartisan movement (given Gingrich's take-no-prisoners political style):
"He has ruffled a lot of feathers. ... It will be a hard sell to a lot of people who were polarized. When I first talked to him about writing this book, I said, this has to be absolutely nonpartisan. ... In his political life he's had to throw stones at the ruling party. Newt is a tough politician, he goes after things that have to be attacked. Our book is outside the realm of that."
• On their working methods:
"Maybe it's fair to say I drew out of him what was in him, but [that] he hadn't expressed in public. ... He was a strong reader and correcter. ... We continued to exchange chapters. ... Everything is based on conversations we had. I tell people when they ask me: I literally mind-melded with him. I read everything he had written that was around these issues, so I could understand better his principles."
• On who did most of the writing:
"I did a lot of the heavy lifting."
• On entrepreneurial solutions to water shortages:
"Countries all around the world are using desalinization. We should be working on that in the state of Georgia. That's one of the ways to supplement or augment water scarcity in time of drought."
• On drawing conservatives into the environmental movement:
"He knows the Republican Party has a lot of work to do in terms of the environment."
• On reducing greenhouse gases (considering that Congress has failed to pass requirements for better automobile fuel efficiency):
"Newt's point of view is, you can say, 'If you don't get up to 30 mpg in so many years, then you can suffer the consequences.' Or you can say 'Here's a tax break if you get up to 50 mpg.' He's in favor of big incentives. He's been saying this for some time. We need prizes."
• On baby pandas (specifically, whether they have one at the Palm Beach Zoo):
"Don't start with me ..."
More on ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/living/stories/2007/10/29/contract_1030.html
Zoo welcomes new rhino; hopes to make a love match
By BRENDAN O’BRIEN
Journal Times
Monday, October 29, 2007 9:44 PM CDT
RACINE — Racine Zoo officials are hoping that Timu digs playful, easygoing, curious and friendly males. That’s exactly how Kianga, who is coming for a long and extended stay, is described.
Kianga, a 3-year-old black eastern rhinoceros, arrived Monday from Brookfield Zoo in suburban Chicago with the sole purpose of mating with Timu, his female eastern black rhino counterpart.
For the next several years, the romantic interludes between Kianga and Timu will be watched with great anticipation.
“It could be easily five years, because he is just a little fellow and the males don’t sexually mature in the wild until about 7 years old,” Jay Christie, president and chief executive officer of the Racine Zoo said of the 2,200-pound rhino that stands 5 feet tall and is 9 feet long. “In captivity, it could be as early as 5 years and that’s because they don’t have the competition of other adult rhinos and the other stresses of the wild.”
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/10/29/local_news/doc47269944f13b1321688816.txt
Kiddie critters run a-mock at zoo
BY ELIZABETH AHLIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The Henry Doorly Zoo is no stranger to curious creatures, but the zoo got curiouser and curiouser Sunday as superheroes, skeletons and vampires overran the grounds.
With big bug eyes on his Spider-Man mask, Josh Rule, 3, took his best shot at looking menacing as he peered through the glass of a tank at a green sea turtle.
Josh was there to celebrate Halloween at the zoo's annual Spooktacular, where costumed children wandered the grounds trick-or-treating for candy, doing craft projects and marveling at the animals.
The green sea turtle barely registered Josh's gaze as it lazily flipped a foot and swished its head through the water. Josh's sister Gabrielle Rule, 6, tried to do a little better by staring down the sharks that swam around in the tank.
Dressed in a dark, velvety-looking vampire costume, Gabrielle thought she had a good shot. While she wouldn't take any chances by swimming in a shark tank, she said, vampires are pretty scary.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10170654&u_rss=1&
El Paso Zoo Hosts Menagerie of Costumes
Posted by Armando Saldivar, KDBC 4 News
The El Paso zoo was filled with more than just exotic creatures on Sunday. The "Boo at the Zoo" event featured a "zoo-rific kids costume contest" which made it a little difficult to tell the children from the animals.
Infants to 12 year olds donned their Halloween costume all in an effort to win top honors. Everyone was a winner at the treat stations where area vendors handed out free goodies during the two-day event.
"El Paso has just turned out for this. We had 2,400 people last year. Yesterday we had 2,300, so we are just seeing so many el pasoans come out. We're just doubling our numbers as people enjoy this great event." said Zoo Spokesperson, Liz Kern.
http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7277771&nav=menu608_2
Lim orders free admission for children to Manila Zoo
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 09:26pm (Mla time) 10/27/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- For five days until October 31, parents may bring their children to the Manila Zoo and Botanical Gardens free of charge.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim on Saturday ordered city parks and recreation bureau chief Deng Manimbo to grant free admission to children until October 31 as part of the activities lined up by the city government in observance of the Children's Month celebration or "Pista ng Batang Pilipino."
Lim added that the free admission would be extended even to children who are not residents of the city.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=97159
continued...
Morning Papers - continued...
Zoos
It was a boo-tiful time at zoo
Halloween-themed event draws families for fun and treats
By Matt Lakin (Contact)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The birds and beasts outnumbered the monsters Saturday night, but Cayman Lancaster didn't mind.
The 4-year-old from Powell showed up for the 21st annual "Boo! at the Zoo" dressed as a red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. His 8-year-old sister Haylee came dressed as a she-devil.
"This is their first time here," said their father, Billy. "It's pretty cool for them. Instead of going to a stranger's house, they're getting to see the animals and learn."
The Lancasters and a herd of other children and adults spent the night getting an up-close look at the bears and elephants, riding the camels and visiting the 19 treat stations inside the zoo.
This year's event has drawn more than 10,000 visitors since it kicked off last weekend, Knoxville Zoo spokeswoman Janya Marshall said.
"Last week, we saw over 9,000 visitors," she said. "We've already seen about that many this week, and that's not counting tonight and tomorrow."
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/oct/28/it-was-a-boo-tiful-time-at-zoo/
Baby boom at zoo
20 October 2007 16:00
A MINI baby boom has hit Colchester Zoo with four offspring born within a matter of weeks of each other.
The birth of two Red River hog piglets, and two types of primates, a Squirrel Monkey and a Mandrill, is set to boost the zoo's breeding programmes and help protect endangered species.
The zoo's breeding group of Mandrills, the largest in the country, got one bigger this month with the birth of a baby to mother Celine and father Dume in the Edge of Africa zone.
In total there are now 24 mandrills all living together at the zoo.
A spokeswoman for Colchester Zoo said: “This is excellent news for The European Endangered Species Programme that they are a part of, as they are one of the most endangered primates in the world. Their numbers are drastically reducing in the wild because of increasing habitat loss and hunting through the bushmeat trade.”
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=estonline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED19%20Oct%202007%2010%3A34%3A11%3A780
Zoo fans say it’s time for donors, volunteers to step up
In order to keep the animals, supporters may have to feed and clean up after them
By BILL SHEA Messenger staff writer
POSTED: October 21, 2007
People interested in volunteering or contributing to the Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo should contact Orville and Joyce O’Connell at 955-3258.
A flyer with more information on the group’s membership drive will be inserted in The Messenger this week.
The Oleson Park Zoo needs some support.
Everyone who has enjoyed the Fort Dodge site now has a chance to help keep it open for years to come.
The Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo is offering people who love the zoo animals the chance to feed them and, yes, clean up after them. And it’s actively seeking donations. Zoo T-shirts will be given to people who contribute money.
Jim Kramer, a spokesman for the private group, said it needs to find out how much public support it can count on as plans for the zoo’s future are developed.
‘‘The Friends of the Zoo would like to do what we can do to get the zoo set up and funded in a way that it can sustain itself,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s really critical that we find out how much volunteer and financial support is there to help us accomplish that.’’
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/500377.html?nav=5010
Cleveland zoo monitoring captive gorillas for heart disease
Donna J. Miller's Animals in the News
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Donna Miller
Plain Dealer Reporter
Gorillas in our midst in danger
of succumbing to heart disease Here's a metaphor for all the pet-loving higher primates reading this who haven't had much contact with unshaven primates:
Chimpanzees are hooray-you're-home-yippee-yahoo dogs.
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1192955592222120.xml&coll=2
Crumbling exhibit cramps style of zoo’s three sea lions
Animals confined to indoor facility as experts ready report on repair needs
By Stephen T. Watson - News Staff Reporter
Updated: 10/20/07 10:27 AM
Dallas, shown in 2005, checks out the then-new habitat he shared with zoo’s two other sea lions.
Pieces of concrete are falling off part of the Buffalo Zoo’s two-year-old Sea Lion Cove exhibit, and zoo officials have brought in a group of experts to find out what’s wrong.
The problem began just two months after the $5 million exhibit opened in August 2005, said Donna M. Fernandes, zoo president.
Repairs have not solved the problem, which, as yet, does not pose a threat to the zoo’s three sea lions, Fernandes said Friday.
“I think everybody’s trying to get to the root of the problem,” Fernandes said, describing the matter as an aesthetic issue.
Two independent experts and representatives from two Sea Lion Cove contractors examined the exhibit Thursday and Friday, and were expected to issue their findings soon.
Work on permanent repairs might not begin until the spring, Fernandes said. For now, the sea lions are confined to the indoor section of the exhibit.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/188367.html?imw=Y
Wal-Mart employees give facelift, donation to zoo
October 21, 2007
RELATED LINK
Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo: http://www.monroezoo.org/
ADVERTISEMENT
By Robbie Evans
revans@thenewsstar.com
Wal-Mart employees from northeast Louisiana and Mississippi descended on Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo in Monroe on Thursday to give the region's only zoo a face lift.
From fence clearing and landscaping to painting, more than 150 Wal-Mart employees volunteered eight hours of their time to the cleanup at the zoo. As part of the effort, they also donated $11,000 to Louisiana Purchase Zoological Society toward its goal of bringing back the miniature train ride.
"It's amazing," said zoo director Everett Harris. "They're able to accomplish in one day what we've been working on for a year. It's a great benefit to the zoo and a great example of what happens when businesses buy into the community initiatives."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/NEWS01/710210308/1060/NEWS01
Tribute to World Zoo Legend, Molly Badham
Posted on October 20, 2007 by kateandrews
Molly Badham, the inspired animal lover who co-founded Twycross Zoo and turned it into one of Britain’s best-loved attractions, has died.
Molly Badham was a surrogate mum, with a big difference. For over 40 years Molly played mother to baby chimps in Twycross Zoo. 40 years after opening and Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire is still going strong.
http://primeconcern.wordpress.com/2007/10/20/tribute-to-world-zoo-legend-molly-badham/
Molly Badham
Last Updated: 2:55am BST 22/10/2007
Molly Badham, who died on October 19 aged 93, was an expert on primates and co-founder of Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire; she also trained the chimpanzees who appeared in the television commercials for Brooke Bond PG Tips.
Molly Winifred Badham was born on May 18 1914, the daughter of an internationally-known herbalist. From an early age she loved animals, and after leaving Town School, Sutton Coldfield, she bred dogs and ran a boarding kennel. The money she made from breeding enabled her to set up her first business venture, a pet shop at Sutton Coldfield.
The rival pet shop in the town was run by Nathalie Evans, and it was in the window of Nathalie's shop that Molly Badham saw her first monkey in 1949. "From that moment a lifetime love-affair with monkeys and primates began," she later said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/22/db2202.xml
Here are some photos from The London Zoo back in the good old days days!!!!
http://www.linkinn.com/_Here_are_some_photos_from_The_London_Zoo_back_in_the_good_old_days_days
'Boo at the Zoo' offers Halloween fun
By Shannon Petrie
published: October 21 2007 09:16 PM updated:: October 23 2007 11:55 AM
Thousands of people visited the Knoxville Zoo this weekend for the 21st Annual Boo at the Zoo, an event that allows children to trick-or-treat within the safe walls of the zoo.
Boo at the Zoo, Knoxville's largest Halloween event, was held from Oct. 18-21 this week and will take place again from Oct. 25-28. The event lasts from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. each night.
"The purpose of the event is to provide a safe Halloween environment and also to benefit the zoo," said Janya Marshall, media relations manager for the zoo. Many other zoos across the nation hold similar events.
http://tnjn.com/2007/oct/21/boo-at-the-zoo-offers-hallowee/
Perth Zoo's first baby echidna make public appearance
October 22, 2007 12:24pm
A TINY puggle - the first echidna born at Perth Zoo and only the ninth ever bred in Australia - made its first public appearance today.
It is hoped that the short-beaked echidna puggle (baby), named Jilba, will help unravel some of the mysteries of echidna reproduction and provide vital information to help save its endangered cousin, the long-beaked echidna, which is facing extinction in the wild.
Perth Zoo’s curator of Australian Fauna, John Lemon, said it was a very exciting time as echidnas were extremely difficult to breed in captivity. The puggle’s mother, Kiltah, had laid eggs in the past but no young had ever hatched.
Mr Lemon said the mother incubated the single egg for 10 days before it hatched on
August 4 and carried the puggle in her pouch for two months before depositing it in a burrow in early October.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22627393-2761,00.html
Saying goodbye to an old friend at Abilene Zoo
By Scott Kirk
Special to the Reporter-News
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Abilene Zoo Director Bill Baker admitted that Sunday's farewell party for Tanya the elephant was a bittersweet affair.
Bitter in that her departure represents a sad ending to a tragic event from last spring, but sweet in that the Nelson Park Zoo's future as far as elephants are concerned will be cemented in the next two or three years.
Tanya will be leaving Abilene this week for a new home at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. Her days in Abilene were numbered when her companion, Tanzy, passed away suddenly on Aug. 13 at the age of 49.
Baker said it was an ethical decision to move the 29-year-old Tanya somewhere else so she could have the companionship of other elephants.
http://reporternews.com/news/2007/oct/21/saying-goodbye-to-an-old-friend-at-abilene-zoo/
Slimy salamander spawns: Rare breeding is good news at Toledo Zoo
By JENNI LAIDMAN
BLADE SCIENCE WRITER
Mama salamander is ready for a fight.
If any of the other 20 or so salamanders housed with her even dares to sidle over to peek at her 18 eggs, she charges and bites.
And, yes, the six-inch amphibian has the teeth to make her threats a little more pointed.
The egg clutch she protects marks the Toledo Zoo's first instance of slimy salamander reproduction.
"It may be the first captive breeding ever," says Tim Herman, the herpetology keeper who watches over the salamanders. But that's not anything he can say for certain.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/NEWS38/710220337
Sunday Night Boo Video and Photos
The first weekend of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Halloween event Boo at the Zoo recorded three days of sell out crowds and four straight days of unexpectedly warm weather (for October in Northeast Ohio). The crowd on Sunday evening, October 21, was 6138 people strong. Were you there? Check out our video and photo gallery of the night, and thanks to all the little goblins who waved at the camera.
We hope everyone had as much fun as we did on Sunday night at Boo at the Zoo. Were you caught on film by the photo ghouls? Check out our video clips and photos of the festivities. If you missed it, there are still four days left of Boo: Thursday, October 25 through Sunday, October 28. Get your tickets today (Saturday is already sold out) and get ready to smile for the camera.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=62
Kinah’s New Sister
Posted at 10:57 am October 22, 2007 by Nerissa Foland
Kinah has had some real excitement lately in her home here in Ituri Forest at the San Diego Zoo. At 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 20, 2007, Kinah became a big sister! Our late keeper had just brought the Allen’s swamp monkeys inside their night quarters when Kinah’s adoptive mom, Bunzi, went into labor and gave birth to her first baby (see previous blog, Kinah’s Best Friend). Due to Bunzi’s obvious pregnancy belly, we knew it wouldn’t be long before she gave birth. And despite being a first-time mom, Bunzi is doing a fantastic job caring for her baby. The infant looks healthy and alert and has been nursing up a storm: all good signs!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/kinahs-new-sister/
Zoo's founder dies, aged 93
Oct 22 2007
By Steve Evans
MOLLY Badham, the founder of a zoo near Nuneaton which trained the chimps for the PG Tips tea adverts, has died at the age of 93.
Only three years ago she was named Conservation Midlander of the Year in an awards event run by ITV in conjunction with media partners including the Coventry Telegraph.
Two years earlier, in 2002, it was the Telegraph who broke the news to her that she had been awarded the MBE for her services to the conservation of endangered species.
She and her business partner Nathalie Evans founded Twycross Zoo, on the Warwickshire and Leicester-shire border, in 1963.
http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0125nwarksnews/tm_headline=zoo-s-founder-dies-aged-93&method=full&objectid=19989535&siteid=50003-name_page.html
Philadelphia Zoo
Posted: October 22, 2007 Philadelphia, Family
“The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.”
- Jack Handy
http://ericsmithrocks.com/2007/10/22/philadelphia-zoo/
Zoo renewal falters after convenor misses meeting
PlanningResource, 22 October 2007
Edinburgh Zoo's redevelopment plans have faltered after councillors ignored officials' advice and refused to reallocate green belt land for housing.
The zoo's £72 million masterplan envisages selling off part of the site at Corstorphine for 100 new homes. But the city council's planning committee decided by seven votes to six...
http://www.planningresource.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/development-control/login/753678/
Children Hoping to be Adopted Visit Hogle Zoo
October 22nd, 2007 @ 4:48pm
Amanda Butterfield Reporting
A special group of kids went to Hogle Zoo this morning. For some of the kids, it was the first time they saw elephants and alligators in person. It's was also their first time in America.
This is Eevahn's first time to the zoo. Johnette McBride, of Eevahn's host family, says, "He's six years old; just barely turned six years old."
Eevahn, like the rest of these Ukrainian orphans, doesn't know a lot of English. But you don't need words to tell they're all having fun.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2019520
Cherry Brook Zoo Receives Accreditation Certification
Well this is our last day in Vancouver, BC and tomorrow morning we head for home in Saint John, NB. I guess the highlight of our trip to our National Conference was receiving our framed Accreditation Certification at the Awards Banquet in front of our fellow peers from across Canada. The newly revised accreditation process is a rigorous one encompassing Canadian, US and European standards all in one. Being one of the first few zoos in Canada to receive Accreditation under these new standards displays the hard work and constant efforts of Staff, Volunteers and Board Members to the Cherry Brook Zoo. Being a small facility leads some people to think we cannot work in the global environment along side the big facilities but we are here to prove you wrong. Accreditation shows we can and do meet the standards that are required; that we work in global conservation with may international breeding programs; we educate our young people and make a difference in what is happening in our world. The next time you visit us at the Cherry Brook Zoo know that you are in a facility with high standards and that work tirelessly to protect and preserve those species that struggle for survival.
Thank you to the Staff, our Volunteers and our Board of Trustees for this Award is yours to be proud of.
http://cherrybrookzooinc.blogspot.com/2007/10/cherry-brook-zoo-receives-accreditation.html
New ‘Animal Planet’ in the lap of Margallas
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: If the Marghazar Zoo’s conceptual plan actually turns out to be what it looks on paper, it is set to become a truly top class facility that would indeed make the animals feel perfectly at home.
The zoo that sits in the lap of the Margalla Hills is being re-done and consultants hired by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) have prepared an elaborate plan for its development. Messers Unicon who will be working along with South African firm Van Riet & Louw, a prominent name in landscaping and zoo planning, have divided the facility into five distinct areas that will house the animals.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C23%5Cstory_23-10-2007_pg11_10
Welcome the newest member at Chhatbir zoo: A baby hippo
Express news service
Posted online: Tuesday , October 23, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Tuesday , October 23, 2007 at 12:54:25
Chandigarh, October 22 The latest member of the Chhatbir Zoo ‘family’ is a 2-feet long hippo born this morning at the zoo itself. Surita, the mother hippopotamus, gave birth to the 20-25 kilogram baby hippo, bringing the total number of hippos at the zoo to five.
Zoo authorities said Surita gave birth in water and the condition of both the mother and baby was normal. However, the sex of the calf could not be determined as the baby was born in water and has not come out of water till now.
“The mother hippo is normal, while the calf is busy swimming. We have yet to determine the sex as usually the mother brings the calf out of water after 24 hours of birth,” said Dharminder Sharma, Director of Chhatbir Zoo.
“There are 87 hippopotamus in zoos across the country. Earlier there were four hippopotamus in Chhatbir Zoo which has now increased to five with the arrival of new one,” added Sharma.
Hippopotamus are found in the tropical regions of South Africa and they move in a group of 20 to 100.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Welcome-the-newest-member-at-Chhatbir-zoo-A-baby-hippo/231349/
Zoo Improvements
BILLINGS - Visitors to ZooMontana might notice some changes are in the works. The zoo recently finished paving all of its walkways. Many of them used to be covered with wooden chips.
Mihail Kennedy works at ZooMontana. He said they have been working on this project for more than seven years. They recently received some grant money that helped them complete the project.
He said the new walkways will make zoo trips more enjoyable for many.
"Being paved, it makes them much more accessible for wheel chairs, strollers, that kind of thing," he said. "It's also a lot easier on your ankles."
The zoo is also working on constructing a habitat for its grizzly bear exhibit. Kennedy said they hope to complete the exhibit by December or January and introduce Grizzlies by next spring.
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/10725901.html
Boo! at the Zoo
Published 10/22/2007
Rockstars and cats, ninjas and fairies, football players and Lindsay Lohan, all came together for this year's Boo! at the Zoo.
Scarecrow Anya Miller, 2, sits on her dad, Justin's, shoulders to get a better view while waiting in line Saturday for Boo!
Gene Sloan, Satanta, right, has a laugh with Xochitl Ramirez, left, as he gets some candy from the Golden Corral booth Saturday at Lee Richardson Zoo during Boo! at the Zoo.
The weather might have been the biggest treat of the night, with evening temperatures in the 80s.
Unless of course you were couped up in a hot, scarey costume like Bob Prewitt, director of Finney County Emergency Medical Services.
Finney County EMS has been a "treat stop" at Boo! at the Zoo since its beginnings.
Paramedic Theresa Maddox dished out candy and struggled to keep up with the steady stream of open bags.
http://www.gctelegram.com/News/141527
CEO of Joburg zoo resigns
October 22 2007 at 07:04PM
Johannesburg Zoo chief executive officer (CEO) Jenny Gray has resigned after four years at the helm, the Zoo said on Monday.
"We are sad to loose Ms Gray and we wish her well with her new venture.
"We are confident that the management team will ensure that it continues to deliver world-class service to the citizens of Johannesburg" chairman of the board of the Johannesburg Zoo, Ike Ngwena said.
Gray, who joined the Johannesburg Zoo in 2004, will be taking up the position of Director of the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne, Australia.
Dr Stephen van der Spuy has been appointed as acting CEO when Gray leaves at the end of November.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20071022132347842C781757
Decoding calls of the wild
Marquette's 'Dr. Dolittle' uses computers to unlock the meaning behind snorts, rumbles and cheeps
By MARK JOHNSON
markjohnson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 20, 2007
In childhood, Dr. Dolittle never had a pet of his own. The family kept fish, but he did not name or talk to them, feed them or clean their tanks. His enduring memory is that once, when he was 4 or 5, he banged the aquarium with a wooden block until the glass broke, and a catfish spilled out and flopped about on the floor.
"Brainpower" is an occasional series profiling some of our state's groundbreaking thinkers, residents who have changed the way we see the world. Each of the stories will link to an extensive package of entertaining and educational Web features aimed at children, parents and teachers, a kind of online classroom.
NEXT IN SERIES: Robert Enright, professor in the University of Wisconsin's department of educational psychology
ARCHIVE:
The Journal Sentinel is offering a science contest for Wisconsin's middle and high school students. Film a YouTube-style video, design a Web page or produce a PowerPoint presentation on the development of our universe. You can focus on one aspect, such as the Big Bang, or tell the broad story from the universe's earliest moments to the possibilities for its future.
By his own admission, Dr. Dolittle wasn't "a big animal person." In some respects, he still isn't.
He's more of a computer person, one who talks to technology the way others talk to pets, with an occasional flash of tough love -"Better not freeze up on me, or I'll get mad."
His real name is Michael Johnson, and he's a 40-year-old Marquette University engineering professor, founder of the ambitious but little-known Dr. Dolittle Project. In a small lab at the Olin Engineering Center, Johnson puts recordings of whales, birds and elephants through sophisticated computer analysis, leading to important advances in the understanding of animals.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=676954
Nature's mistakes -- or mishaps
By AUSTIN CUNNINGHAM Sunday, October 21, 2007
I've occasionally mentioned that I hope people will say of this column, "What's that SOB going to write about next?' Well, today I'm going to write about weird animals whose very existence is a mystery. What kind of God or Intelligent Design created them? I'll mention Tasmanian Devils, Duckbilled Platypuses, Wombats, Wallabies. Sloths, Koala Bears.
I've lived in a variety of locations, sometimes near zoos, sometimes not. The closer the better. I love to hear lions roaring in the nighttime distance. Or steamboats whistle. Sounds alert us to the fact that God's in his heaven and life is teeming out there. Zoos in Washington, Chicago, New Orleans -- near. In the Bronx, San Diego, Columbia -- far.
I have a theory that zoos have evolved in the last few generations.
http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2007/10/21/opinion/12789851.txt
Don`t just expect antics from animals, conserve them: Expert
Mumbai, Oct 21: The zoo authorities here are planning to realign the abode of animals as platforms for conserving and preserving the wildlife.
In their master plan sent to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi earlier this year, authorities of veer mata Jijabai Prani Udyan Zoo have proposed to give it a facelift by making it a place more for conservation and preservation of rare and endangered animals, rather than they being entertainment spots for common public.
A senior zoo official said, "we do receive about 6,000 to 7,000 visitors per day in zoo. In older concept, zoos were sites of entertainment but according to modern theories as proposed by CZA, zoos should be developed and revamped to conserve animals."
He said working on these lines they have formulated a master plan to makeover the 145 year old zoo, spread over 53 acres, located in heart of Mumbai at Byculla.
"Earlier people had a preconceived notion about animals, that a lion should always roar, a bear should dance and monkey should always make people laugh with its antics," he said.
And when animals do not perform these activities, sometimes people hurl items on them which can cause injury and even affect the psychology of an animal, he added.
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=402620&ssid=26&ssname=Eco%20News&sid=ENV&sname=
HPIM0572 Camel facing left cropped
I was really surprised to find such a wide variety of animals tucked away on the southern Oregon coast just outside of a small town! And the animals were all obviously well-cared for. It's too bad that zoos like this can't recreate more of the environment that the animals would naturally have, and I'm sure the animals don't get the same kind of exercise and socializing they would be getting in the wild, but for a zoo, this was pretty nice. And if it wasn't for a zoo like this, I probably wouldn't ever have a chance to see some of these critters up close enough to get photos of them! So I'm a bit caught on what i think of zoos! Hpim0572.Jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73162473@N00/1667271107/
Zoo welcomes newborn gorilla (Video)
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
P-I REPORTER
A western lowland gorilla was born Saturday morning at Woodland Park Zoo. The female is the 12th gorilla born there and third offspring of the 37-year-old mother and the 28-year-old father.
The infant and mother are under round-the-clock observation and can't be viewed by the public, and staff said future viewing depends on outdoor temperatures. Meanwhile, staff members plan to post images and video on the zoo's Web site, zoo.org, and on YouTube.
"The first 72 hours are the most critical for a newborn gorilla," said the zoo's interim associate veterinarian of animal health, Dr. John Ochsenreiter.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336439_gorilla23.html
Dated
Science group - Wildlife
The RSPCA's wildlife department seeks to improve the welfare provision for wild animals. The aims of the department are achieved through research, the promotion of an awareness of the requirements of animals, and an emphasis on a precautionary and humane approach to human interactions with wild animal species.
Wildlife care and rehabilitation
Through the work of the four wildlife centres, the department continues to support and co-ordinate the rehabilitation work of the Society to maximize the successful integration of wildlife casualties back into the wild.
http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=sciencegroup&marker=1&articleId=996827936873
continued...
It was a boo-tiful time at zoo
Halloween-themed event draws families for fun and treats
By Matt Lakin (Contact)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The birds and beasts outnumbered the monsters Saturday night, but Cayman Lancaster didn't mind.
The 4-year-old from Powell showed up for the 21st annual "Boo! at the Zoo" dressed as a red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. His 8-year-old sister Haylee came dressed as a she-devil.
"This is their first time here," said their father, Billy. "It's pretty cool for them. Instead of going to a stranger's house, they're getting to see the animals and learn."
The Lancasters and a herd of other children and adults spent the night getting an up-close look at the bears and elephants, riding the camels and visiting the 19 treat stations inside the zoo.
This year's event has drawn more than 10,000 visitors since it kicked off last weekend, Knoxville Zoo spokeswoman Janya Marshall said.
"Last week, we saw over 9,000 visitors," she said. "We've already seen about that many this week, and that's not counting tonight and tomorrow."
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/oct/28/it-was-a-boo-tiful-time-at-zoo/
Baby boom at zoo
20 October 2007 16:00
A MINI baby boom has hit Colchester Zoo with four offspring born within a matter of weeks of each other.
The birth of two Red River hog piglets, and two types of primates, a Squirrel Monkey and a Mandrill, is set to boost the zoo's breeding programmes and help protect endangered species.
The zoo's breeding group of Mandrills, the largest in the country, got one bigger this month with the birth of a baby to mother Celine and father Dume in the Edge of Africa zone.
In total there are now 24 mandrills all living together at the zoo.
A spokeswoman for Colchester Zoo said: “This is excellent news for The European Endangered Species Programme that they are a part of, as they are one of the most endangered primates in the world. Their numbers are drastically reducing in the wild because of increasing habitat loss and hunting through the bushmeat trade.”
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=estonline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED19%20Oct%202007%2010%3A34%3A11%3A780
Zoo fans say it’s time for donors, volunteers to step up
In order to keep the animals, supporters may have to feed and clean up after them
By BILL SHEA Messenger staff writer
POSTED: October 21, 2007
People interested in volunteering or contributing to the Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo should contact Orville and Joyce O’Connell at 955-3258.
A flyer with more information on the group’s membership drive will be inserted in The Messenger this week.
The Oleson Park Zoo needs some support.
Everyone who has enjoyed the Fort Dodge site now has a chance to help keep it open for years to come.
The Friends of the Oleson Park Zoo is offering people who love the zoo animals the chance to feed them and, yes, clean up after them. And it’s actively seeking donations. Zoo T-shirts will be given to people who contribute money.
Jim Kramer, a spokesman for the private group, said it needs to find out how much public support it can count on as plans for the zoo’s future are developed.
‘‘The Friends of the Zoo would like to do what we can do to get the zoo set up and funded in a way that it can sustain itself,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s really critical that we find out how much volunteer and financial support is there to help us accomplish that.’’
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/500377.html?nav=5010
Cleveland zoo monitoring captive gorillas for heart disease
Donna J. Miller's Animals in the News
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Donna Miller
Plain Dealer Reporter
Gorillas in our midst in danger
of succumbing to heart disease Here's a metaphor for all the pet-loving higher primates reading this who haven't had much contact with unshaven primates:
Chimpanzees are hooray-you're-home-yippee-yahoo dogs.
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1192955592222120.xml&coll=2
Crumbling exhibit cramps style of zoo’s three sea lions
Animals confined to indoor facility as experts ready report on repair needs
By Stephen T. Watson - News Staff Reporter
Updated: 10/20/07 10:27 AM
Dallas, shown in 2005, checks out the then-new habitat he shared with zoo’s two other sea lions.
Pieces of concrete are falling off part of the Buffalo Zoo’s two-year-old Sea Lion Cove exhibit, and zoo officials have brought in a group of experts to find out what’s wrong.
The problem began just two months after the $5 million exhibit opened in August 2005, said Donna M. Fernandes, zoo president.
Repairs have not solved the problem, which, as yet, does not pose a threat to the zoo’s three sea lions, Fernandes said Friday.
“I think everybody’s trying to get to the root of the problem,” Fernandes said, describing the matter as an aesthetic issue.
Two independent experts and representatives from two Sea Lion Cove contractors examined the exhibit Thursday and Friday, and were expected to issue their findings soon.
Work on permanent repairs might not begin until the spring, Fernandes said. For now, the sea lions are confined to the indoor section of the exhibit.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/188367.html?imw=Y
Wal-Mart employees give facelift, donation to zoo
October 21, 2007
RELATED LINK
Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo: http://www.monroezoo.org/
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By Robbie Evans
revans@thenewsstar.com
Wal-Mart employees from northeast Louisiana and Mississippi descended on Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo in Monroe on Thursday to give the region's only zoo a face lift.
From fence clearing and landscaping to painting, more than 150 Wal-Mart employees volunteered eight hours of their time to the cleanup at the zoo. As part of the effort, they also donated $11,000 to Louisiana Purchase Zoological Society toward its goal of bringing back the miniature train ride.
"It's amazing," said zoo director Everett Harris. "They're able to accomplish in one day what we've been working on for a year. It's a great benefit to the zoo and a great example of what happens when businesses buy into the community initiatives."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/NEWS01/710210308/1060/NEWS01
Tribute to World Zoo Legend, Molly Badham
Posted on October 20, 2007 by kateandrews
Molly Badham, the inspired animal lover who co-founded Twycross Zoo and turned it into one of Britain’s best-loved attractions, has died.
Molly Badham was a surrogate mum, with a big difference. For over 40 years Molly played mother to baby chimps in Twycross Zoo. 40 years after opening and Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire is still going strong.
http://primeconcern.wordpress.com/2007/10/20/tribute-to-world-zoo-legend-molly-badham/
Molly Badham
Last Updated: 2:55am BST 22/10/2007
Molly Badham, who died on October 19 aged 93, was an expert on primates and co-founder of Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire; she also trained the chimpanzees who appeared in the television commercials for Brooke Bond PG Tips.
Molly Winifred Badham was born on May 18 1914, the daughter of an internationally-known herbalist. From an early age she loved animals, and after leaving Town School, Sutton Coldfield, she bred dogs and ran a boarding kennel. The money she made from breeding enabled her to set up her first business venture, a pet shop at Sutton Coldfield.
The rival pet shop in the town was run by Nathalie Evans, and it was in the window of Nathalie's shop that Molly Badham saw her first monkey in 1949. "From that moment a lifetime love-affair with monkeys and primates began," she later said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/22/db2202.xml
Here are some photos from The London Zoo back in the good old days days!!!!
http://www.linkinn.com/_Here_are_some_photos_from_The_London_Zoo_back_in_the_good_old_days_days
'Boo at the Zoo' offers Halloween fun
By Shannon Petrie
published: October 21 2007 09:16 PM updated:: October 23 2007 11:55 AM
Thousands of people visited the Knoxville Zoo this weekend for the 21st Annual Boo at the Zoo, an event that allows children to trick-or-treat within the safe walls of the zoo.
Boo at the Zoo, Knoxville's largest Halloween event, was held from Oct. 18-21 this week and will take place again from Oct. 25-28. The event lasts from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. each night.
"The purpose of the event is to provide a safe Halloween environment and also to benefit the zoo," said Janya Marshall, media relations manager for the zoo. Many other zoos across the nation hold similar events.
http://tnjn.com/2007/oct/21/boo-at-the-zoo-offers-hallowee/
Perth Zoo's first baby echidna make public appearance
October 22, 2007 12:24pm
A TINY puggle - the first echidna born at Perth Zoo and only the ninth ever bred in Australia - made its first public appearance today.
It is hoped that the short-beaked echidna puggle (baby), named Jilba, will help unravel some of the mysteries of echidna reproduction and provide vital information to help save its endangered cousin, the long-beaked echidna, which is facing extinction in the wild.
Perth Zoo’s curator of Australian Fauna, John Lemon, said it was a very exciting time as echidnas were extremely difficult to breed in captivity. The puggle’s mother, Kiltah, had laid eggs in the past but no young had ever hatched.
Mr Lemon said the mother incubated the single egg for 10 days before it hatched on
August 4 and carried the puggle in her pouch for two months before depositing it in a burrow in early October.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22627393-2761,00.html
Saying goodbye to an old friend at Abilene Zoo
By Scott Kirk
Special to the Reporter-News
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Abilene Zoo Director Bill Baker admitted that Sunday's farewell party for Tanya the elephant was a bittersweet affair.
Bitter in that her departure represents a sad ending to a tragic event from last spring, but sweet in that the Nelson Park Zoo's future as far as elephants are concerned will be cemented in the next two or three years.
Tanya will be leaving Abilene this week for a new home at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. Her days in Abilene were numbered when her companion, Tanzy, passed away suddenly on Aug. 13 at the age of 49.
Baker said it was an ethical decision to move the 29-year-old Tanya somewhere else so she could have the companionship of other elephants.
http://reporternews.com/news/2007/oct/21/saying-goodbye-to-an-old-friend-at-abilene-zoo/
Slimy salamander spawns: Rare breeding is good news at Toledo Zoo
By JENNI LAIDMAN
BLADE SCIENCE WRITER
Mama salamander is ready for a fight.
If any of the other 20 or so salamanders housed with her even dares to sidle over to peek at her 18 eggs, she charges and bites.
And, yes, the six-inch amphibian has the teeth to make her threats a little more pointed.
The egg clutch she protects marks the Toledo Zoo's first instance of slimy salamander reproduction.
"It may be the first captive breeding ever," says Tim Herman, the herpetology keeper who watches over the salamanders. But that's not anything he can say for certain.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/NEWS38/710220337
Sunday Night Boo Video and Photos
The first weekend of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Halloween event Boo at the Zoo recorded three days of sell out crowds and four straight days of unexpectedly warm weather (for October in Northeast Ohio). The crowd on Sunday evening, October 21, was 6138 people strong. Were you there? Check out our video and photo gallery of the night, and thanks to all the little goblins who waved at the camera.
We hope everyone had as much fun as we did on Sunday night at Boo at the Zoo. Were you caught on film by the photo ghouls? Check out our video clips and photos of the festivities. If you missed it, there are still four days left of Boo: Thursday, October 25 through Sunday, October 28. Get your tickets today (Saturday is already sold out) and get ready to smile for the camera.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/zblog/default.asp?Display=62
Kinah’s New Sister
Posted at 10:57 am October 22, 2007 by Nerissa Foland
Kinah has had some real excitement lately in her home here in Ituri Forest at the San Diego Zoo. At 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 20, 2007, Kinah became a big sister! Our late keeper had just brought the Allen’s swamp monkeys inside their night quarters when Kinah’s adoptive mom, Bunzi, went into labor and gave birth to her first baby (see previous blog, Kinah’s Best Friend). Due to Bunzi’s obvious pregnancy belly, we knew it wouldn’t be long before she gave birth. And despite being a first-time mom, Bunzi is doing a fantastic job caring for her baby. The infant looks healthy and alert and has been nursing up a storm: all good signs!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/kinahs-new-sister/
Zoo's founder dies, aged 93
Oct 22 2007
By Steve Evans
MOLLY Badham, the founder of a zoo near Nuneaton which trained the chimps for the PG Tips tea adverts, has died at the age of 93.
Only three years ago she was named Conservation Midlander of the Year in an awards event run by ITV in conjunction with media partners including the Coventry Telegraph.
Two years earlier, in 2002, it was the Telegraph who broke the news to her that she had been awarded the MBE for her services to the conservation of endangered species.
She and her business partner Nathalie Evans founded Twycross Zoo, on the Warwickshire and Leicester-shire border, in 1963.
http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0125nwarksnews/tm_headline=zoo-s-founder-dies-aged-93&method=full&objectid=19989535&siteid=50003-name_page.html
Philadelphia Zoo
Posted: October 22, 2007 Philadelphia, Family
“The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.”
- Jack Handy
http://ericsmithrocks.com/2007/10/22/philadelphia-zoo/
Zoo renewal falters after convenor misses meeting
PlanningResource, 22 October 2007
Edinburgh Zoo's redevelopment plans have faltered after councillors ignored officials' advice and refused to reallocate green belt land for housing.
The zoo's £72 million masterplan envisages selling off part of the site at Corstorphine for 100 new homes. But the city council's planning committee decided by seven votes to six...
http://www.planningresource.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/development-control/login/753678/
Children Hoping to be Adopted Visit Hogle Zoo
October 22nd, 2007 @ 4:48pm
Amanda Butterfield Reporting
A special group of kids went to Hogle Zoo this morning. For some of the kids, it was the first time they saw elephants and alligators in person. It's was also their first time in America.
This is Eevahn's first time to the zoo. Johnette McBride, of Eevahn's host family, says, "He's six years old; just barely turned six years old."
Eevahn, like the rest of these Ukrainian orphans, doesn't know a lot of English. But you don't need words to tell they're all having fun.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2019520
Cherry Brook Zoo Receives Accreditation Certification
Well this is our last day in Vancouver, BC and tomorrow morning we head for home in Saint John, NB. I guess the highlight of our trip to our National Conference was receiving our framed Accreditation Certification at the Awards Banquet in front of our fellow peers from across Canada. The newly revised accreditation process is a rigorous one encompassing Canadian, US and European standards all in one. Being one of the first few zoos in Canada to receive Accreditation under these new standards displays the hard work and constant efforts of Staff, Volunteers and Board Members to the Cherry Brook Zoo. Being a small facility leads some people to think we cannot work in the global environment along side the big facilities but we are here to prove you wrong. Accreditation shows we can and do meet the standards that are required; that we work in global conservation with may international breeding programs; we educate our young people and make a difference in what is happening in our world. The next time you visit us at the Cherry Brook Zoo know that you are in a facility with high standards and that work tirelessly to protect and preserve those species that struggle for survival.
Thank you to the Staff, our Volunteers and our Board of Trustees for this Award is yours to be proud of.
http://cherrybrookzooinc.blogspot.com/2007/10/cherry-brook-zoo-receives-accreditation.html
New ‘Animal Planet’ in the lap of Margallas
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: If the Marghazar Zoo’s conceptual plan actually turns out to be what it looks on paper, it is set to become a truly top class facility that would indeed make the animals feel perfectly at home.
The zoo that sits in the lap of the Margalla Hills is being re-done and consultants hired by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) have prepared an elaborate plan for its development. Messers Unicon who will be working along with South African firm Van Riet & Louw, a prominent name in landscaping and zoo planning, have divided the facility into five distinct areas that will house the animals.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C23%5Cstory_23-10-2007_pg11_10
Welcome the newest member at Chhatbir zoo: A baby hippo
Express news service
Posted online: Tuesday , October 23, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Tuesday , October 23, 2007 at 12:54:25
Chandigarh, October 22 The latest member of the Chhatbir Zoo ‘family’ is a 2-feet long hippo born this morning at the zoo itself. Surita, the mother hippopotamus, gave birth to the 20-25 kilogram baby hippo, bringing the total number of hippos at the zoo to five.
Zoo authorities said Surita gave birth in water and the condition of both the mother and baby was normal. However, the sex of the calf could not be determined as the baby was born in water and has not come out of water till now.
“The mother hippo is normal, while the calf is busy swimming. We have yet to determine the sex as usually the mother brings the calf out of water after 24 hours of birth,” said Dharminder Sharma, Director of Chhatbir Zoo.
“There are 87 hippopotamus in zoos across the country. Earlier there were four hippopotamus in Chhatbir Zoo which has now increased to five with the arrival of new one,” added Sharma.
Hippopotamus are found in the tropical regions of South Africa and they move in a group of 20 to 100.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Welcome-the-newest-member-at-Chhatbir-zoo-A-baby-hippo/231349/
Zoo Improvements
BILLINGS - Visitors to ZooMontana might notice some changes are in the works. The zoo recently finished paving all of its walkways. Many of them used to be covered with wooden chips.
Mihail Kennedy works at ZooMontana. He said they have been working on this project for more than seven years. They recently received some grant money that helped them complete the project.
He said the new walkways will make zoo trips more enjoyable for many.
"Being paved, it makes them much more accessible for wheel chairs, strollers, that kind of thing," he said. "It's also a lot easier on your ankles."
The zoo is also working on constructing a habitat for its grizzly bear exhibit. Kennedy said they hope to complete the exhibit by December or January and introduce Grizzlies by next spring.
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/10725901.html
Boo! at the Zoo
Published 10/22/2007
Rockstars and cats, ninjas and fairies, football players and Lindsay Lohan, all came together for this year's Boo! at the Zoo.
Scarecrow Anya Miller, 2, sits on her dad, Justin's, shoulders to get a better view while waiting in line Saturday for Boo!
Gene Sloan, Satanta, right, has a laugh with Xochitl Ramirez, left, as he gets some candy from the Golden Corral booth Saturday at Lee Richardson Zoo during Boo! at the Zoo.
The weather might have been the biggest treat of the night, with evening temperatures in the 80s.
Unless of course you were couped up in a hot, scarey costume like Bob Prewitt, director of Finney County Emergency Medical Services.
Finney County EMS has been a "treat stop" at Boo! at the Zoo since its beginnings.
Paramedic Theresa Maddox dished out candy and struggled to keep up with the steady stream of open bags.
http://www.gctelegram.com/News/141527
CEO of Joburg zoo resigns
October 22 2007 at 07:04PM
Johannesburg Zoo chief executive officer (CEO) Jenny Gray has resigned after four years at the helm, the Zoo said on Monday.
"We are sad to loose Ms Gray and we wish her well with her new venture.
"We are confident that the management team will ensure that it continues to deliver world-class service to the citizens of Johannesburg" chairman of the board of the Johannesburg Zoo, Ike Ngwena said.
Gray, who joined the Johannesburg Zoo in 2004, will be taking up the position of Director of the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne, Australia.
Dr Stephen van der Spuy has been appointed as acting CEO when Gray leaves at the end of November.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20071022132347842C781757
Decoding calls of the wild
Marquette's 'Dr. Dolittle' uses computers to unlock the meaning behind snorts, rumbles and cheeps
By MARK JOHNSON
markjohnson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 20, 2007
In childhood, Dr. Dolittle never had a pet of his own. The family kept fish, but he did not name or talk to them, feed them or clean their tanks. His enduring memory is that once, when he was 4 or 5, he banged the aquarium with a wooden block until the glass broke, and a catfish spilled out and flopped about on the floor.
"Brainpower" is an occasional series profiling some of our state's groundbreaking thinkers, residents who have changed the way we see the world. Each of the stories will link to an extensive package of entertaining and educational Web features aimed at children, parents and teachers, a kind of online classroom.
NEXT IN SERIES: Robert Enright, professor in the University of Wisconsin's department of educational psychology
ARCHIVE:
The Journal Sentinel is offering a science contest for Wisconsin's middle and high school students. Film a YouTube-style video, design a Web page or produce a PowerPoint presentation on the development of our universe. You can focus on one aspect, such as the Big Bang, or tell the broad story from the universe's earliest moments to the possibilities for its future.
By his own admission, Dr. Dolittle wasn't "a big animal person." In some respects, he still isn't.
He's more of a computer person, one who talks to technology the way others talk to pets, with an occasional flash of tough love -"Better not freeze up on me, or I'll get mad."
His real name is Michael Johnson, and he's a 40-year-old Marquette University engineering professor, founder of the ambitious but little-known Dr. Dolittle Project. In a small lab at the Olin Engineering Center, Johnson puts recordings of whales, birds and elephants through sophisticated computer analysis, leading to important advances in the understanding of animals.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=676954
Nature's mistakes -- or mishaps
By AUSTIN CUNNINGHAM Sunday, October 21, 2007
I've occasionally mentioned that I hope people will say of this column, "What's that SOB going to write about next?' Well, today I'm going to write about weird animals whose very existence is a mystery. What kind of God or Intelligent Design created them? I'll mention Tasmanian Devils, Duckbilled Platypuses, Wombats, Wallabies. Sloths, Koala Bears.
I've lived in a variety of locations, sometimes near zoos, sometimes not. The closer the better. I love to hear lions roaring in the nighttime distance. Or steamboats whistle. Sounds alert us to the fact that God's in his heaven and life is teeming out there. Zoos in Washington, Chicago, New Orleans -- near. In the Bronx, San Diego, Columbia -- far.
I have a theory that zoos have evolved in the last few generations.
http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2007/10/21/opinion/12789851.txt
Don`t just expect antics from animals, conserve them: Expert
Mumbai, Oct 21: The zoo authorities here are planning to realign the abode of animals as platforms for conserving and preserving the wildlife.
In their master plan sent to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi earlier this year, authorities of veer mata Jijabai Prani Udyan Zoo have proposed to give it a facelift by making it a place more for conservation and preservation of rare and endangered animals, rather than they being entertainment spots for common public.
A senior zoo official said, "we do receive about 6,000 to 7,000 visitors per day in zoo. In older concept, zoos were sites of entertainment but according to modern theories as proposed by CZA, zoos should be developed and revamped to conserve animals."
He said working on these lines they have formulated a master plan to makeover the 145 year old zoo, spread over 53 acres, located in heart of Mumbai at Byculla.
"Earlier people had a preconceived notion about animals, that a lion should always roar, a bear should dance and monkey should always make people laugh with its antics," he said.
And when animals do not perform these activities, sometimes people hurl items on them which can cause injury and even affect the psychology of an animal, he added.
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=402620&ssid=26&ssname=Eco%20News&sid=ENV&sname=
HPIM0572 Camel facing left cropped
I was really surprised to find such a wide variety of animals tucked away on the southern Oregon coast just outside of a small town! And the animals were all obviously well-cared for. It's too bad that zoos like this can't recreate more of the environment that the animals would naturally have, and I'm sure the animals don't get the same kind of exercise and socializing they would be getting in the wild, but for a zoo, this was pretty nice. And if it wasn't for a zoo like this, I probably wouldn't ever have a chance to see some of these critters up close enough to get photos of them! So I'm a bit caught on what i think of zoos! Hpim0572.Jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73162473@N00/1667271107/
Zoo welcomes newborn gorilla (Video)
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
P-I REPORTER
A western lowland gorilla was born Saturday morning at Woodland Park Zoo. The female is the 12th gorilla born there and third offspring of the 37-year-old mother and the 28-year-old father.
The infant and mother are under round-the-clock observation and can't be viewed by the public, and staff said future viewing depends on outdoor temperatures. Meanwhile, staff members plan to post images and video on the zoo's Web site, zoo.org, and on YouTube.
"The first 72 hours are the most critical for a newborn gorilla," said the zoo's interim associate veterinarian of animal health, Dr. John Ochsenreiter.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336439_gorilla23.html
Dated
Science group - Wildlife
The RSPCA's wildlife department seeks to improve the welfare provision for wild animals. The aims of the department are achieved through research, the promotion of an awareness of the requirements of animals, and an emphasis on a precautionary and humane approach to human interactions with wild animal species.
Wildlife care and rehabilitation
Through the work of the four wildlife centres, the department continues to support and co-ordinate the rehabilitation work of the Society to maximize the successful integration of wildlife casualties back into the wild.
http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=sciencegroup&marker=1&articleId=996827936873
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