The Blue Rose.
Developed by Suntroy of Japan from pansy genes.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Dolphin dies at the zoo
Rio, the Minnesota Zoo's eldest female dolphin died Monday night at approximately 9:30 p.m.
A necropsy performed last night at the University of Minnesota could not immediately determine the 35-year-old dolphin's cause of death.
Rio is an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She came to the zoo in 1980 from the New York Aquarium. During the 26 years at the zoo, she gave birth to four calves. Her last male calf, Harley, died this past January after jumping out of his pool and fracturing his head on the concrete deck. He was 7 months old.
Two of her calves live at different zoos and one still resides at the Minnesota Zoo.
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have been known to live up to 50 years in captivity and in the wild.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14039371.htm
Zoo Dolphin matriarch dies
Rio, the matriarch of the Minnesota Zoo dolphin pod, has died.
The Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin was estimated to be about 35 years old. A dolphin's normal life span is about 50 years.
Her handlers noticed on Monday, that she had stopped eating. About nine o'clock Monday evening, she started showing signs of distress, but according to zoo veterinarian Jim Rasmussen, obeyed signals to swim into a smaller observation pool, where her condition continued to worsen until she died about 9:30.
"It was a very quick, acute death," said Dr. Rasmussen.
Rio's body was taken to the University of Minnesota where a necropsy was performed.
"The necropsy (animal autopsy) was inconclusive as far as the cause of death at this point," the veterinarian said.
However doctors collected samples during the necropsy, and are conducting tests which they hope will yield the cause of Rio's death.
Rio was the oldest of five Atlantic bottlenose dolphins at the Minnesota Zoo.
"She was a very quick learner," said Sue Gergen, Communications Manager for the Minnesota Zoo.
"She's been a favorite in the dolphin shows because of that. She learned behaviors very quickly and likeed to be challenged and she's really been a solid dolphin in the pod."
Rio had lived at the Minnesota Zoo since 1980. She gave birth four times over the years, the most recent calf died in a freak accident.
"Harley (a male born in June of 2005) was an unusually good jumper," said veterinarian Rasmussen.
"He was jumping at a younger age than most dolphin calves, and he could jump high and far."
Harley jumped out of the pool January 21, 2006 and hit his head on the concrete deck that surrounds the pool. He died of a skull fracture.
Communications Manager Gergen said the dolphin handlers are watching the zoo's other four dolphins to verify their good health.
She said the zoo will encourage its dolphins to resume their daily shows on Wednesday, March 8.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=120196
Microsoft Announce Zoo Tycoon Expansions
Two full expansion packs and a further downloadable pack confirmed; released from June 2006...
Posted: 18:21 on 07 Mar 2006
By: Jon Wilcox
Microsoft Game Studios has today confirmed the development of two new expansion packs for Zoo Tycoon 2 (Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure and Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania), together with a downloadable pack, Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack.
Adding an extra 20 African animals such as the Meerkat, Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure will also include a Jeep Liberty vehicle to explore the ever expanding zoo territories such as the new Desert theme pack. Both the Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania expansion pack and Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack are also set to expand the experience further with, amongst other things, more scenarios and themes.
"With more than 5 million franchise units sold since the launch of 'Zoo Tycoon' in 2001, we are looking forward to shaking up the animal simulation space with these exciting new additions," said Neil Thompson, Director of UK Home & Entertainment Division. "These expansion packs provide a fun and enlightening opportunity for families to game together, while also providing fresh and innovative content for current 'Zoo Tycoon 2' enthusiasts."
Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure is set for a release in June 2006, with both Marine Mania and the Dino Danger Pack both expected later on in the year.
All three packs are currently in development at the home of Zoo Tycoon, Blue Fang; we'll have more on Zoo Tycoon 2's expansions in the future...
http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Microsoft_Announce_Zoo_Tycoon_Expansions_9455_5583_0.htm
White Bengal Tiger Cubs Come To The U.P.
The DeYoung Zoo in Menominee County has a couple of new stars. They're two white Bengal tiger cubs who were just donated by a park in Orlando. The cubs are now living in a heated cage to help them adapt to the colder temperatures. Last weekend was their first time in the snow.
"They're both doing very well," says Bud DeYoung, the zoo's owner. "They've got fabulous appetites, they're both still on the bottle, but they've started on meat and they're full of mischief."
The cubs will soon grow to 300 to 500 pounds.
Officials say the cubs have been staying in their dens during their first days in the U.P., but as the weather warms up this spring, they'll become more active. In the summer heat, they'll slow down again.
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?S=4592540&nav=81AX
Combating the radical gay penguin agenda.
A children’s book “about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin” has been removed from the kid’s section of two public libraries after complaints it had “homosexual undertones.” The book is “based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City’s Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/07/radical-gay-penguin-agenda/
The radical gay penguin agenda must be stopped
Posted 12:23 pm
As a rule, I find conservative activists embrace a rather silly agenda, but they're particularly entertaining when they go after harmless children's books. In the latest example, children in Savannah, Missouri, need to be shielded from allegedly-gay penguins.
A children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones.
The illustrated book, And Tango Makes Three, is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.
The book, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children's section at two Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri. Two parents had expressed concerns about the book last month.
Apparently, experts said these kinds of adoptions are fairly common in the penguin world, and the events in the book actually took place in real life. But the library director agreed to move the book so it would decrease the chance that the story would "blindside" readers.
Who could argue with such sensible thinking? Children might learn more about penguins' social structures, which might lead them to believe unattended baby penguins would be better off with two adoptive parents than not. It's clearly a plot by the radical homosexual penguin community to poison the minds of America's youth.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6792.html
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff care for new baby gorilla
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo recently welcomed its first baby born to one of its own gorilla in ten years. However, the mother is not holding the newborn. Forcing animal keepers to play parent.
The baby was born in February. His mother, Kwisha, does not know how to care for him. In the past, many gorilla's in captivity were taken from their mothers for show purposes, according to some animal keepers. That was the case with Kwisha. Zoo staff is attempting to show her, and the other gorillas, how to care for the baby. Mandy Hollingsworth said, "Kwisha just doesn't know what to do she vocalizes to the baby she smells him, she likes him, she just has no idea she's supposed to pick him and carry him, so that's why we're having to do it."
17 people, including staff and volunteers, are needed to hold the baby gorilla, 24 hours a day. Slowly, they are attempting to reintroduce him to his mother and the other gorillas. When he is stronger, they will attempt to give him to Kwisha, or possibly a surrogate parent. Whoever seems to be the most interested.
http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=4690
SA cheetahs relocated to Indonesian zoo
March 08, 2006, 07:15
A pair of cheetah (Acinonyx jabutus) have departed for their new home at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia aboard a Cathay Pacific flight bound for Indonesia via Hong Kong. The animals are expected to arrive in Indonesia approximately at noon tomorrow.
The two cheetah were sent as part of the co-operation agreement and exchange of animals between the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa and the Surabaya Zoo. On January 31, 2006, the National Zoo received a pair of Komodo dragons from this Indonesian zoo.
Mr Willie Labuschagne, the executive director of the national zoo, says it he is proud that such an iconic animal of South Africa will now be on display in one of Asia's zoos. "Africa has some unique animal species and the cheetah is undoubtedly one of these. We trust that the Surabaya Zoo's visitors will get as much pleasure from viewing these big cats as we have presenting them to the people of Indonesia".
The male is presently five-years-old and the female is four-years-old. Both animals were bred at the Hoedspruit Research and Breeding Centre for Endangered Species.
As part of the exchange agreement, one of the National Zoo's veterinarians, Dr Anza Kharibe, will be accompanying the animals to the Surabaya Zoo where he will assist the staff with the task of allowing the animals to acclimatise correctly to their new environment. He will also participate in training the staff there in proper cheetah care.
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,123389,00.html
More U.S. Zoos Closing Elephant Exhibits
Maryann Mott
March 2, 2006
After more than a century of displaying elephants, the Bronx Zoo in New York announced plans last month to shut down its elephant exhibit after the animals die.
The announcement comes at a time when some U.S. zoos are debating whether to continue keeping elephants in captivity.
Officials decided to close the Bronx exhibit for the benefit of Maxine, Patty, and Happy—all in their mid-30s and residents at the zoo for some three decades.
"Committing to elephants into the future would require us to build up a new herd, and there is no guarantee that our three girls would accept new elephants," said Bronx Zoo spokesperson Alison Power.
Given their age, the Asian elephants could remain on display for another 5, 10, or 20 years.
Growing Trend
A handful of U.S. zoos, including ones in San Francisco and Chicago, have recently closed their elephant exhibits.
Central Park and Prospect Park zoos, both in New York, stopped displaying elephants in the 1980s.
Last year, the Detroit Zoo in Michigan sent its aging and arthritic elephants—Winky, 52, and Wanda, 46—to a California sanctuary to live out their remaining years.
"Just as polar bears don't thrive in a hot climate, Asian elephants shouldn't live in small groups without many acres to roam," Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan said at the time.
"They clearly shouldn't have to suffer the winters of the North."
What's more, animal activists are pushing hard to get zoos—most recently those in Los Angeles, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.—to close their elephant exhibits, arguing that captive environments do not meet the animals' physical or behavioral needs.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0302_060302_elephants.html
US to review treatment of zoo elephants
By Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to look into possible changes in laws protecting zoo elephants after an animal welfare group complained that many were kept in cramped conditions that caused arthritis and foot disease and could be deadly.
The Agriculture Department said on Friday it would seek public comment on a petition filed last month by the group, In Defense of Animals, accusing U.S. zoos of violating the Animal Welfare Act by keeping elephants in small, unnatural pens.
The decision came amid a growing debate in the United States over whether it is humane for zoos to keep elephants, which in the wild walk miles (km) a day.
The animal welfare group, which has targeted such places as the U.S. National Zoo in Washington, estimated that half of all captive elephants suffered from arthritis and foot infections, ailments it said were the leading cause of euthanasia.
The group said it hoped USDA, which is responsible for inspecting American zoos, would take action to stop abuse of elephants. It urged zoos where elephants were suffering ailments to give them more space or move them to sanctuaries.
"The USDA is acknowledging the gravity of concern over the poor conditions for elephants in our nation's zoos," said Elliot Katz, president of In Defense of Animals.
USDA said it would publish a notice in the Federal Register on the petition giving members of the public 60 days to make their opinions known. "There are a lot of people interested in this," USDA spokesman Darby Holladay said. "We'll review those comments and see if there needs to be any changes in the Animal Welfare Act."
USDA conducts annual and unannounced reviews of zoos and other animal exhibits, with those deemed in "noncompliance" receiving additional inspections, Holladay said.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, urged the National Zoo in January to send its three remaining Asian elephants to an animal sanctuary and close its exhibit.
The appeal came after the zoo put down an arthritic Asian elephant said to have been in worsening pain. The elephant named Toni was 40. Elephants can live to be 60 or older. The zoo said the enclosure had not been the cause of Toni's death.
PETA said zoo elephants were dying decades short of their expected life span from illnesses directly related to the large animals' lack of space.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-03-04T012447Z_01_N03239696_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-LIFE-ELEPHANTS-DC.XML
Zoo elephant not happy about drop-in visitor
By Monica Ortiz Uribe Tribune-Herald staff writer
Friday, March 03, 2006
A 25-year-old woman was injured by an elephant Thursday afternoon when she climbed past barriers and entered its exhibit at Cameron Park Zoo.
"A witness said the girl wanted to play with the elephant," zoo director Jim Fleshman said.
Witnesses said the woman was struck by the elephant's trunk and then managed to crawl out of the exhibit through some bushes. City officials would not release her name.
The woman allegedly climbed over a wood and wire fence more than three feet high, then scaled an artificial rock structure between seven and 10 feet high before jumping down into the elephant exhibit. There is also an electric wire that she would have stepped over, zoo officials said.
Also, a moat extends around most of the exhibit.
Waco Fire Department and emergency crews arrived at the zoo at about 1:30 p.m. and took the woman to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center with minor injuries.
"She was laying out on a park bench," Waco Fire Capt. Greg Kistler said. "She had a really bad scrape on her right side and her arm was scraped up."
Kistler said the woman was visiting the zoo with a small child and another woman.
"Any animal in the zoo has a potential to be dangerous whether it looks like a fluffy little animal or something obviously as big as an elephant," Fleshman said.
The elephant's response to the woman is hardly abnormal, he said.
"That's how an elephant reacts to something they would perceive as a threat," he said, adding that even zoo staffers exercise care with the animals.
"We use cues and commands to get them to do things and reward them with treats," he said.
The exhibit contains two full-grown African elephants that have been at the zoo at least nine years.
Fleshman said the zoo will work with city safety teams to consider how incidents such as Thursday's can be prevented, though this is the first case of its kind during his six years at the zoo.
Different barriers separate visitors and zoo animals while allowing everyone a good view, Fleshman said.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/03/03/20060303wacelephantinjury.html
Kilpatrick says he's trying for zoo deal
February 28, 2006
BY MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Fresh from his weeklong trip to Africa, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick weighed in publicly for the first time on the mess over the future of the Detroit Zoo, saying he was disappointed that the City Council rejected the original proposal to save the more than 75-year-old venerable institution.
But he assured zoo lovers Monday that he and his administration were working to get a deal approved by the council that would allow the Detroit Zoological Society to run the zoo's daily operations.
Kilpatrick's administration has said because of the city's mounting budget crisis -- which the council's fiscal expert says could reach a $200-million shortfall -- the city can no longer pay the average $5 million a year to run the zoo. Since the council voted down the mayor's plan, 7-2, last week, some changes have been made in the proposal's language.
"We're much further along today than we were last week," Kilpatrick said. "I understand they'll be voting on it Wednesday, and we'll all be working very aggressively for that day."
Kilpatrick said voting on the zoo was one of the easier decisions the council would have to make this year. He said there will be hard choices ahead over city services.
Earlier Monday, the council agreed to hold a public hearing Wednesday on the zoo issue. The 10 a.m. hearing is to be in the 13th-floor auditorium of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS01/602280399/1003
Racist E-Mails Cast Cloud Over Detroit's Debate on Zoo Funding
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The future of the Detroit Zoo has become the latest racial flashpoint between officials of the majority-black city and its white suburbanites.
The zoo, located just outside the city in Royal Oak, is owned by Detroit, run by the Detroit Zoological Society and funded by park admissions and about $5 million in annual contributions from the City of Detroit that the mayor says he can no longer afford.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick won city council approval March 1 to help close the city's $139 million budget deficit by giving full control and funding responsibility to the society. Before that vote, the city council had blocked an initial contract, sparking e-mails and phone calls with racial references from residents of mostly white suburbs. The mayor and eight of the nine councilors are black.
Worried that the initial council action might have forced the zoo to close, suburbanites, who make up two-thirds of zoo members, had sought assurances it would stay open.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=alzgaHXJ_MTU&refer=us
City Council approves zoo deal
March 1, 2006
By MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
After weeks of political wrangling, negotiations and shouting matches between elected officials and metro area residents, the Detroit City Council agreed this afternoon to transfer daily operations of the Detroit Zoo to the non-profit Detroit Zoological Society.
The council approved the transfer by a 6-3 vote. Under the transfer agreement, the city will retain ownership of the zoo and all its assets. The zoological society will essentially be the zoo management.
Councilmembers Barbara-Rose Collins, Brenda Jones and JoAnn Watson voted no on the transfer. But members Sheila Cockrel, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, Martha Reeves, Kwame Kenyatta, President Kenneth Cockrel and President Pro Tem Monica Conyers voted in favor of the deal. Only Kenneth Cockrel Jr. and Sheila Cockrel had voted to support the original agreement presented to council nearly two weeks ago.
But while the council got it done, it wasn't easy.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/NEWS99/60301006
Detroit Zoo Will Stay Open
ClickonDetroit.com
9:53 a.m. EST March 2, 2006
After hours of debate, the Detroit City Council voted 6-3 Wednesday to keep the Detroit Zoo open. Under the agreement, the Detroit Zoo will be transferred over to the Detroit Zoological Society, and council members say Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's appearance may have made a difference.
"I suggested the mayor to come up and sell this issue, and I think that definitely helped," said City Council President Ken Cockrell Jr.
Under the terms of the agreements, the city is mandated to turn over $5 million within 15 days to the Zoological Society, Local 4 reported.
"I know this is critically important to the people of the city of Detroit," said Kilpatrick.
The next course of action is trying to retain the loss of $4 million in state aid. The City Council gave up the aid by rejecting the original proposal, Local 4 reported.
At this point, residents will not see any changes at the zoo, the station reported.
The zoo was expected to close May 1 under a shut down plan.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11627874/
Zoo euthanizes zebra with arthritis
Seattle
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra, Rosie, was euthanized Tuesday because arthritis in her legs caused stiffness and discomfort.
Rosie arrived at the zoo in 1977 and produced 14 foals. Her son, a 10-year-old zebra, and a 30-year-old female remain at the zoo.
Zebras may live up to 40 years in zoos.
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra euthanized
By Seattle Times staff
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra, Rosie, was euthanized Tuesday because arthritis in her legs caused stiffness and discomfort.
Rosie arrived at the zoo in 1977 and produced 14 foals. Her son, a 10-year-old zebra, and a 30-year-old female remain at the zoo.
Zebras may live up to 40 years in zoos.
"This condition was progressive over the last few years and treatment consisted of corrective hoof trimming at regular intervals and anti-inflammatory medications to help control the discomfort and the pain," said Darin Collins, zoo director of animal health.
"Once she stood, the discomfort and pain in her legs was quite apparent. The most humane decision was to euthanize her."
The zebras at the zoo represent the plains, or Damara species. Zebras live throughout eastern and southern Africa and inhabit open, grassy plains or well-grassed woodlands.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002837301_webzebra01.html
Tiger alert after break-in at zoo
Edinburgh Zoo was put on escape alert after teenagers tried to break into a tiger enclosure.
The three youths were chased out of the zoo by security staff who had become aware of a disturbance.
However, a zoo spokesman said they discovered the lock on a door into the enclosure holding Amur tigers had been tampered with.
The animal escape alert was instigated as a precaution but the tigers were found to be still inside the pen.
The break-in happened at about 1830 GMT on Sunday.
Iain Valentine, head of animals, education and conservation at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "It is extremely unlikely that anyone could get inside as there are several doors to penetrate, all with individual locks and padlocks."
The tigers were found safe and well, inside their indoor den, wondering what all the fuss was about
He added that the animal escape procedure was activated as a precaution and that no staff were at risk at any time.
"The tigers were found safe and well, inside their indoor den, wondering what all the fuss was about," he added.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police urged anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact them.
Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest cats in the world.
Four years ago, a man was discovered in Edinburgh Zoo's penguin enclosure in the early hours of the morning, while in 2000 two panther chameleons were stolen in an overnight break-in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4763138.stm
Chimps swing new £5.5m enclosure
A £58m plan to develop the zoo in the Scottish capital has been unveiled.
Edinburgh Zoo is starting the improvements by building a new £5.5m state-of-the-art chimpanzee enclosure.
The 20-year-redevelopment includes a new polar bear unit, which activists say reneges on a promise by the zoo not to replace Britain's last polar bear.
The zoo will be organised into four zones themed on different habitats - grasslands, woodlands, tropical rainforests and oceans/wetlands.
World-class attraction
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4742668.stm
Zoo celebrates deer new arrival
One of the world's smallest species of deer has been born at Edinburgh Zoo as part of a conservation drive.
The pudu, who has been named Jon by zoo keepers, is the first of his species to be delivered at the zoo since 2000.
Head keeper Darren McGarry said everyone was delighted with the tiny new arrival.
Edinburgh Zoo has been participating in a European Endangered Species Programme for pudu since 1985.
Jon, who is only 15cm long, was born on 6 February and is the first infant to parents Amber and Henry.
Mr McGarry said: "We are so happy to have a baby pudu again, as it has been a few years since the last one.
"Hopefully, this is the start of a new period of success with this endangered species at Edinburgh Zoo."
The moves are coordinated by the European studbrook keeper for the species who is based at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany.
The southern pudu live in lowland temperate rainforests in Chile and south-west Argentina.
Wild populations are most at risk through the destruction of their lowland forest habitat and natural predators such as pumas and foxes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3497963.stm
Baby hippo 'a ray of sunshine'
Lizzie was born at the zoo last week
Edinburgh Zoo has unveiled its latest addition - a baby pygmy hippopotamus.
Lizzie took centre stage at a photocall just over a week after she was born at the zoo.
She is the third infant to be produced by her mother Leah, aged eight, and her father Fred, 26.
Lizzie weighed seven kilos at birth and has been gaining a steady two kilos every day since then.
"She certainly helps to brighten up a cold, dark winter's morning"
Both mother and baby were said to be doing well.
Head keeper Darren McGarry said he had found the infant when he went to check on her mother.
"All the keepers were very excited," he admitted.
"She certainly helps to brighten up a cold, dark winter's morning - she's a real ray of sunshine."
Edinburgh Zoo is part of a European conservation breeding programme for pygmy hippos.
The species is an endangered species in its native Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2571219.stm
Key-hole surgery saves giraffe
Pioneering key-hole surgery has saved the life of a female giraffe at Edinburgh Zoo.
Sapphire the giraffe made "a rapid and good recovery" after the operation, said a vet who works at the zoo.
The animal stopped eating last October and an x-ray revealed a fracture in her lower jaw bone.
Veterinary surgeon Paddy Dixon, from the University of Edinburgh's Royal School of Veterinary Studies, performed the operation.
He used a key-hole surgery procedure developed for horses but never before tried on a giraffe.
Before Mr Dixon was consulted, vets briefly considered putting Sapphire down because the severity of the break made it impossible for her to eat.
She started eating the day after the surgery in November and in January a second operation took place to remove the wiring that had been placed in her mouth.
The zoo's leading vet Anna Meredith said: "We are very grateful to Professor Dixon and his expert assistance with the surgery on Sapphire, and absolutely delighted that she made such a rapid and good recovery."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3490809.stm
Zoo's lioness dies of cancer
One of Edinburgh Zoo's more famous animals, Jody the African lioness, has died after being diagnosed with cancer.
Officials say that after a post mortem examination her body will be offered to a museum for display or teaching purposes.
Jody was 11 and had been in Edinburgh for six years.
She is not going to be replaced by another African Lion because the zoo is to take part in a conservation breeding programme for Asiatic lions, whose population in the wild is described as "critically endangered".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2481531.stm
Mongooses Go on Display at National Zoo
Mar 1st - 8:49am
WASHINGTON -- They're frisky. They groom each other. And they climb through the holes of their concrete termite dens.
What are they? Banded mongooses. Three of them are on exhibit at the National Zoo.
It has been nearly 30 years since the National Zoo exhibited these small, catlike carnivores.
The National Zoo adds to its collection with three mongooses. (Photo courtesy of National Zoo)
If they seem familiar to you, it's because you may know them from Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book."
The National Zoo is one of two animal parks in North America to exhibit the social animals, according to a news release from the zoo.
There are more than 30 species of mongooses living in Africa, Asia and southern Europe, as well as some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands. The zoo's Web site says they were introduced in the Caribbean and Hawaiian islands to control rats and snakes but ended up causing several species of birds to go extinct.
You'll find the mongoose exhibit right across from the naked mole-rat exhibit.
Authorities probe theft of money from NEW Zoo
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
SUAMICO — The Brown County Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations an undisclosed amount of money is missing from the NEW Zoo.
The county's legal department asked the sheriff's department to investigate Monday after an internal audit. A zoo employee was placed on administrative leave, but county officials did not confirm the person's name or position.
Chief Deputy John Gossage of the sheriff's department said he could not confirm or deny that money was even missing, but that is the nature of the allegations.
Tax dollars are not used at the NEW Zoo. The 2006 budget is $1.38 million, all of which came from donations, admissions, concessions, grants or other fees.
More than 215,000 people visited last year. A popular new giraffe exhibit opened in December at a cost of over $500,000 raised by the zoo's NEW Zoological Society, a nonprofit fundraising group.
The society's donations are spent on capital projects and animal acquisitions for the zoo and are not mixed with the zoo's budget, said Patty Voight, executive director.
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/APC0101/603010704/1003/APC01
Animal lovers sharpen claws over plans for zoo expansion
ANIMAL groups have hit out at Edinburgh Zoo's plans to add elephants, orangutans and manatees to its collection of animals.
Dr Robert Atkinson, head of Wildlife at the RSPCA, said: "Research shows that elephants in European zoos suffer from poor welfare. The RSPCA is shocked that Edinburgh Zoo may foolishly reverse the enlightened decision it previously made to stop keeping these majestic animals."
Under a 20-year masterplan for the Corstorphine attraction, zoo bosses are also understood to be considering bringing in a new polar bear to replace Mercedes, currently the only one in the UK.
Advocates for Animals
director Ross Minett said: "It is simply unbelievable that Edinburgh Zoo is even considering adding animals such as elephants, orangutans, manatees and more chimpanzees to its collection - this on top of its disgraceful plans to continue keeping polar bears."
David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, has said more polar bears may be brought to Edinburgh, but only if sustained depletion of the polar ice caps meant there was a strong conservation reason to do so.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=307642006
Taronga Zoo's condor learns to fly
Lesley the Andean Condor is learning to fly - all nine kilos of her.
The South American bird, the world's largest bird of prey, spread its three-metre wing span over the northern Sydney suburb of Mosman, as Taronga Zoo bird trainers prepared her for the zoo's daily free flight bird show.
Two-year-old Lesley showed no stage fright in front of her first crowd, leaving her trainer to fly over a Mosman park and land on a bench in the same park.
Zoo trainers have started Lesley on an intensive 15-week training program to teach her to fly on command, rewarding her with mince balls and mice.
"At the moment they (the trainers) are working on her take-off technique," Taronga Zoo spokeswoman Danielle McGill said.
"Condors are the heaviest birds in the world so just getting them up in the air is a big challenge."
Trainers believe the youngster has the right temperament to be the star of the zoo's free flight show.
Lesley and her parents Bruce and Connie, who also live at the zoo, are among just six Andean Condors living in captivity in Australia.
The bird has been listed as an endangered species by the US Fish and Wildlife service since 1973.
Zoo upgrade to create more room for animals
By Li Dapeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-28 05:44
FUZHOU: Animals in Fuzhou Zoo in the capital city of East China's Fujian Province will soon have a more spacious home.
The zoo will be relocated to a much bigger site in the city, which covers about 53 hectares, more than 10 times larger than the current one.
With an area of only 4 hectares, the zoo is regarded as the smallest in the nation's capital cities, said Chen Guichun, director with the zoo's administration section.
Having been living in small and humid cages for a long time, many animals have become emotionally disturbed and often behave abnormally.
"The poor conditions affect the normal living environment of the animals and their reproductive capacity," Chen said.
"Some of the animals, such as wolves, swans and mandarin ducks, have not even bred after coming here."
Founded in 1956, the zoo now has more than 900 animals including some nationally protected species such as South China tigers, Asian elephants, leopards and red-crowned cranes.
Due to the limited size, the sanitation conditions are not good enough, although workers have made great efforts, Chen said.
"The zoo should be great fun for children to come and visit, but now fewer and fewer kids come to visit here."
Situated in the downtown area of the city, the zoo has also caused problems for nearby residents.
"It's terrible that every day we have to suffer the odour from the zoo," said a woman surnamed Lin, who lives close to the site.
"The roars of lions and tigers are so scary at night for my child," she added.
At present, the environment evaluation of the new site and bidding for the new design are expected to finish in March.
The construction will begin next year, which is predicted to cost at least 50 million yuan (US$6.22 million), according to Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Parks.
The new site, located north of the central area of the city, with rich plant resources, will be developed into an important tourist spot, said sources with the bureau.
"The new zoo will not only offer a better living environment for animals, but also a more advanced condition for scientific research in wildlife protection," said Chen
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/28/content_524661.htm
Birdflu detected in Ukrainian zoo - officials
27 Feb 2006 18:10:29 GMT
Source: Reuters
KIEV, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Parrots and pheasants have died of bird flu at a zoo in southern Ukraine, prompting officials to slap a quarantine on the facility's bird enclosures, officials said on Monday.
But Ukrainian media quoted veterinary officials as saying the strain of flu detected was the H5 type -- and not the particularly dangerous H5N1 strain. Cases of H5N1 have already been detected in Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.
"We have recorded deaths of birds -- three or four pheasants and several parrots in two of the enclosures at Odessa zoo," a spokesman for the zoo in the Black Sea port said by telephone.
"A quarantine has been set up in all enclosures. The zoo has been declared a zone of heightened risk."
The official said the deaths were recorded on Saturday, but there had been no contact with humans as the zoo had been closed for the past week due to cold weather.
"The main thing is that there is no confirmation from laboratories in Kiev that this is the pathogenic form dangerous to humans," he said. "It is standard bird flu."
He said a plastic screen had been drawn around the aviaries to guard against any spread of the virus. Experts said the zoo birds may have been infected by coming into proximity with sparrows and other wild birds.
The H5N1 virus has been detected in about two dozen villages in Crimea since the outbreak was discovered late last year.
Sanitary workers, dispatched to the region immediately after the outbreak, have already destroyed well over 200,000 birds in Ukraine -- both privately held and at industrial plants.
The country's top veterinarian last week said Ukraine had begun testing several types of vaccine for H5N1, but would take no decision on mass vaccination of poultry pending the results.
Officials predict more outbreaks once migratory birds return to Ukraine in spring on their northward flight paths.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27563078.htm
Zoo's Red Panda Finds Mate Online
UPDATED: 10:46 am PST February 27, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There is living proof that you can find love online. At least that is the case for a red panda named Fagan at the Kansas City Zoo, television station KMBC reported.
The zoo went online to find Fagan a companion. The Minnesota Zoo responded that its Betsy might make a good mate.
"So we were just hoping the two would click and they have," zoo supervisor Cinnamon Williams said.
Betsy is now living in Fagan's pen.
"We did see them breeding. We won't know for sure for at least a couple of months," Williams said.
KMBC reported that red pandas are the size of raccoons. They only breed between January and March.
http://www.theksbwchannel.com/family/7506664/detail.html
Zoo Wants China To Lower Panda Rental Fee
POSTED: 9:56 am PST March 6, 2006
UPDATED: 10:23 am PST March 6, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Zoo wants to pay less to lease giant pandas from China.
Zoo officials say paying $1 million a year for the animals is too much.
Giant pandas are on exhibit in San Diego, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Memphis. Officials at Zoo Atlanta and The National Zoo in Washington have said that they may be forced to close their panda exhibits if China doesn't lower the fee.
The Chinese government said it is open to discussions about the lease payments.
The zoos have proposed cutting the yearly least amount in half to $500,000.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/7746587/detail.html
Chicago Considers Banning Mistreated Elephants
by Kari Lydersen
After all three of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s elephants met untimely deaths, wildlife experts urged the Chicago City Council to embargo captive elephants in the interest of sparing them physical and psychological misery.
Chicago; Mar. 6 – Winifred Kiiru cried the first time she saw an elephant in a zoo.
In her native Kenya, she says, children rarely saw elephants but grew up revering them. When Kiiru visited zoos in the United States as part of her work as a wildlife ecologist, she was shocked to see the huge animals confined to small areas and suffering physical and psychological problems.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=2893
San Diego, 3 other zoos want to pay China less for renting the animals
By Jeanette Steele
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
The San Diego Zoo may have the hottest panda program in the United States, but it says it cannot continue to pay $1 million a year to rent the black-and-white fur balls from China.
The zoo is among four nationwide that have told China they want to renegotiate the fee when their contracts are up, starting in 2008.
“There have been serious discussions by representatives of the four zoos to ask if there are ways that the price of keeping pandas can be negotiated downward,” said Don Lindburg, head of San Diego's Giant Panda Conservation Division.
Zoos in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., say they will close their panda exhibits if a more affordable deal can't be reached.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060305-9999-1m5pandas.html
ANTIQUES: Jean McClelland: Chewing gum company's tin Chiclet Zoos coveted by collectors
Gum chewing, popping and bubbling has been a favored habit for more than 100 years in the United States. Chewing gum as we know it began when a New York inventor got together with a Mexican exile in 1869.
The Mexican national, Rudolph Napegy, just happened to have once served as an undersecretary to General Santa Anna of Alamo fame. Napegy was looking for someone to help him find a use for a rubbery fluid harvested from trees in Southern Mexico. The inventor Thomas Adams was able to do just that with a recipe for chewing gum. It was a popular treat from the get-go.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/LIFE/603050338/1004
Save the Detroit Zoo
By Bianca Jacobs Contributing Writer
When I was a kid, my mother would take my younger brother and me to the Detroit Zoo. Since it was the summertime and we were on vacation, we hated to go. We wanted to enjoy our break, but my mother had other plans. She wanted to fill our lives with culture and broaden our surroundings by exposing us to things outside of television and video games.
We would go to the museums, the library and the different parks in the area, but the zoo was different. It wasn’t just about looking at the animals. It was about watching life.
On Feb. 18, the Detroit City Council turned down a proposal that would keep the Detroit Zoo open. In a seven-to-two vote, the council denied a plan to turn over daily operations of the zoo to the nonprofit Detroit Zoological Society. So, for now, there are plans for Detroit Zoo to close its doors. Since the Kilpatrick administration is trying to come up with another proposal that might please them, the council has decided to go back and vote once more on the fate of the zoo. Hopefully, the council will have a change of heart, but the fate of the zoo is still unknown.
http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2260
Visitor hurt while trying to play with zoo elephant
WACO, Texas -- A 25-year-old woman climbed past barriers and into an elephant's zoo exhibit, then crawled out with minor injuries after the 6,000-pound animal smacked her with its trunk.
"That's how an elephant reacts to something they would perceive as a threat," said Cameron Park Zoo director Jim Fleshman.
After saying she wanted to play with the elephant, the woman climbed over a 3-feet-high wood-and-wire fence, scaled an 8-foot-tall artificial rock structure and bypassed an electric wire before jumping into the exhibit Thursday afternoon, Fleshman said. A moat extends around most of the exhibit.
After the woman got out, fire and emergency crews took her to a hospital with minor injuries, including scrapes on her side and arm.
The woman's name was not released.
The exhibit contains two female African elephants. Only one of the elephants struck the woman.
Both animals were stressed after the incident and were moved to a private area, and one did not want to return to the exhibit even later in the day. But both were back for visitors to see Friday, Fleshman said.
"They're not used to somebody being in their space," he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-el06.html
N.C. Zoo wants $6 million from state to pay for improvements
ASHEBORO, N.C. State zoo officials have asked the General Assembly to pay nearly six (M) million dollars for improvements, including a children's center, an ampitheater renovation and new barns.
The state hasn't given the North Carolina Zoo money for capital projects in 14 years. The zoo has relied since then on private money and state repair money to add buildings.
The zoo is using at least six (M) million dollars in private donations to help pay for an eight (M) million dollar expansion of the elephant and rhino herds and exhibits scheduled to open next year.
http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4593101&nav=menu70_2
KOA petting zoo to close after 30 years in Missoula
MISSOULA Missoula's only petting zoo has closed.
The city has been encroaching on the once rural landscape of North Reserve Street, but the four-legged creatures of the K-O-A Campground zoo have been safely tucked behind the wall of box stores.
But in coming weeks, a new street will go through the area. It will border the campground zoo, and will connect the shopping district with a new subdivision being built behind Home Depot.
K-O-A officals are concerned the new street will become a busy thoroughfare, and that new housing will go up along the campground fencing.
They decided that would be too stressful for the animals. So K-O-A's miniature horses, goats and other barnyard animals have been farmed out to loving new homes.
It's the end of an era. The petting zoo had been in operation about 30 years at the Missoula K-O-A Campground.
http://www.kbzk.com/Global/story.asp?S=4591926
Zoo begins process of winding down
Larger animals will be moved this spring
TRAVERSE CITY - The zoo will reopen this spring, but its menagerie could be meager.
Clinch Park Zoo is slated to close by Labor Day 2007, and the city commission pledged $58,000 and the Grand Traverse Zoological Society $75,000 to move the animals to new homes.
The animal exodus will begin this spring, when wolves, cougars, bobcats, fox and coyotes are scheduled to leave for the Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota. City manager Richard Lewis said the zoo will open for the season but without an admission fee and with an unknown number of animals.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/06zoo.htm
Zoo Wants China To Lower Panda Rental Fee
POSTED: 9:56 am PST March 6, 2006
UPDATED: 10:23 am PST March 6, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Zoo wants to pay less to lease giant pandas from China.
Zoo officials say paying $1 million a year for the animals is too much.
Giant pandas are on exhibit in San Diego, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Memphis. Officials at Zoo Atlanta and The National Zoo in Washington have said that they may be forced to close their panda exhibits if China doesn't lower the fee.
The Chinese government said it is open to discussions about the lease payments.
The zoos have proposed cutting the yearly least amount in half to $500,000.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/7746587/detail.html
Wishing a happy birthday to zoo
Baltimore animal park marks its 130th year with treats and free weekend admission
By Rona Marech
Sun reporter
Originally published March 5, 2006
The polar bears did champion backstrokes, then lazily lumbered ashore. A leopard curled up in the sun. The penguins waddled in unison. The new baby chimpanzees, all tiny sweetness, had the cuteness market cornered.
And thousands of human creatures gawked, pointed and squealed yesterday at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
The zoo, which turns 130 this year, threw itself a birthday bash yesterday, celebrating with free admission, scores of zoo-themed cakes, music, party hats, icy treats for the polar bears and a pat on the back from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Despite the wind and cold, people began lining up almost two hours before gates opened, and by the end of the day, zoo staff counted more than 10,000 visitors.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.zoo05mar05,0,2442068.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Gladys Porter Zoo researcher tracks wild lemurs in Africa
BY KEVIN GARCIA
The Brownsville Herald
March 5, 2006 - For more than two weeks, Jennifer Chatfield was stranded in the Madagascar rainforest off the coast of Africa.
While many Brownsville residents might be put off by the idea of sleeping under a canopy of frogs, chameleons, snakes and other creatures, Chatfield said the experience reminded her of growing up in Texas.
“Instead of my chores being ‘take out the garbage and clean your room,’ they were ‘take out the garbage, clean your room, feed the lemurs and clean the cages,’” she said. “It was pretty normal.”
Before her African adventure, Chatfield, senior veterinarian at the Gladys Porter Zoo, grew up in the 4-J Conservation Center outside San Marcos, a home for rare and endangered species and, more specifically, a haven for furry little primates called lemurs.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/features_more.php?id=69607_0_7_0_C
Why zoo's survival is a bear necessity
JAMES DOUGLAS-HAMILTON
THE recent announcement by Edinburgh Zoo of a £58 million expansion plan has re-ignited some of the ethical arguments for and against keeping wild animals in captivity.
Going back to the beginning, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, whose flagship project is Edinburgh Zoo, was founded in 1909 by Thomas Gillespie, one of Edinburgh's leading lawyers. He gathered together sufficient support to enable the society to purchase the 85 acres on Corstorphine Hill with assistance from the council's city fathers.
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=331392006
Wolf's missing leg puzzles zoo
March 4, 2006
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter
Brookfield Zoo officials Friday were unable to determine how a wolf lost one of its legs, nor could they find the missing limb.
In the meantime, two wolves have been removed from the part of the exhibit where the wolf was mysteriously injured.
On Wednesday, keepers discovered a male wolf bleeding, his right front leg severed beneath his elbow. Officials don't believe the incident was the result of a fight.
The zoo separated its Mexican gray wolves into two groups in December after a pack attacked a younger wolf. Three younger wolves, including the one currently recuperating from the injury to its limb, were placed into a different part of the exhibit.
Zoo spokeswoman Sondra Katzen said keepers have emptied the area where the younger ones lived because "we want to make sure the exhibit is safe."
'Hilton' search turns up nothing
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-zoo04.html
Zoo fundraiser puts animal lovers behind the scene
By AMELIA NIELSON-STOWELL
Deseret Morning News
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/regional:Middle1]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- While gently petting a giraffe's muzzle, Lyn Hargis reached her arm to the creature's mouth, holding a carrot in her palm for a lunchtime treat.
"Wow, your tongue's nice and soft," she said as giraffe Daphne licked her hand for the snack.
Hargis watched Hogle Zoo's five giraffes as they observed their new friendly guest. "They all have different personalities," she said.
It was an experience usually reserved for trained zookeepers, but now the Salt Lake zoo is letting the public get a behind-the-scenes look at the beautiful -- and often dirty -- work of zookeepers.
As part of a fundraiser for the zoo's conservation efforts and the Utah chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers, a member of the public can pay $225 to participate in the Keeper for a Day program. The guest spends the day side-by-side with a zookeeper, participating in enrichment activities, cleaning cages, preparing diets and even getting up close to some of the zoo's friendliest beasts.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/03/04/news/regional/f5ce239a486dd5b08725712600628f85.txt
Elephant Exhibits Endangered?
(CBS) Elephant exhibits are always among the most popular at zoos across the country. But animal rights activists and zoo managers are facing a growing debate over whether these giant creatures belong in the confines of a zoo at all.
The Early Show resident veterinarian Debbye Turner examined the issue and found there are no easy answers.
Most people would never have the opportunity to see an elephant up close, other than at a zoo. But these animals have complex needs, and not every zoo has the space or resources to meet those needs.
Turner visited the Oregon Zoo, where Bob Lee watches over seven elephants, a routine that includes a nearly daily dose of exercise for each of them. Not only do the animals need the activity, they need the stimulation of the sights and sounds of other animals, what Lee calls elephant enrichment.
"The enrichment part is all the things she gets to see," Lee said during his daily walk with an elephant named Chendra. "Let her see other animals, let her get excited by people and events. That's the thing that really makes a difference to her."
But even all these routines can't mask the fact that zoo elephants have limited space.
"Elephants simply do not do well in captivity. They're very social animals and they're used to living in herds," said Michael McGraw of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "No matter how big zoos make their enclosures, no matter how much money they spend trying to improve the elephants' quality of life, it will never compare to how these animals are able to live their lives in the wild."
Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo, concedes that elephants don't belong in every zoo. "What they need to do is take a look at their program, take a look at their staff, take a look at their resources, take a look at their community support, and decide, is this a species we can help best? And, if not, then they shouldn't have elephants."
Turner says animal rights activists are alarmed by a number of recent elephant deaths in places such as Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington. Last year, after two of their elephants died, the San Francisco Zoo closed the elephant exhibit.
Bob Jenkins is the director of animal care at the San Francisco Zoo and said, "The decision here was made solely on what we could provide the animals." In their case, Jenkins says space was not the problem, money was.
"It's a money issue, plain and simple. A good elephant exhibit is very expensive. You're talking $12-15 million dollars or more," he said. "So the decision was made to move the animals out."
Instead of sending their elephants to another zoo, San Francisco shipped theirs to an elephant sanctuary in northern California, where the animals have hundreds of acres to roam. The sanctuary also has elephants from the Detroit zoo, which recently closed its exhibit. To some activists, that's a rallying cry.
"PETA is calling on all zoos to follow the lead of the Detroit Zoo and the San Francisco Zoo and retire their elephants to sanctuaries and permanently close their elephant exhibits," said McGraw.
Turner points out that at zoos across the country, elephants remain among the most popular attraction. And Bob Jenkins agrees that it's a sad loss for the community. "The zoos themselves would be fine if they don't have elephants. I think it's the people and the community who will really lose out," he said.
While not everyone agrees with PETA on this issue, animal rights activists are getting credit for improving awareness and helping to spur an effort to give elephants more space and improve their conditions. Many zoos are either spending money to enlarge their elephant habitats or, as the Bronx Zoo recently announced, are phasing out their elephant exhibits altogether.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main1347443.shtml
concluding ....
Dolphin dies at the zoo
Rio, the Minnesota Zoo's eldest female dolphin died Monday night at approximately 9:30 p.m.
A necropsy performed last night at the University of Minnesota could not immediately determine the 35-year-old dolphin's cause of death.
Rio is an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. She came to the zoo in 1980 from the New York Aquarium. During the 26 years at the zoo, she gave birth to four calves. Her last male calf, Harley, died this past January after jumping out of his pool and fracturing his head on the concrete deck. He was 7 months old.
Two of her calves live at different zoos and one still resides at the Minnesota Zoo.
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have been known to live up to 50 years in captivity and in the wild.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14039371.htm
Zoo Dolphin matriarch dies
Rio, the matriarch of the Minnesota Zoo dolphin pod, has died.
The Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin was estimated to be about 35 years old. A dolphin's normal life span is about 50 years.
Her handlers noticed on Monday, that she had stopped eating. About nine o'clock Monday evening, she started showing signs of distress, but according to zoo veterinarian Jim Rasmussen, obeyed signals to swim into a smaller observation pool, where her condition continued to worsen until she died about 9:30.
"It was a very quick, acute death," said Dr. Rasmussen.
Rio's body was taken to the University of Minnesota where a necropsy was performed.
"The necropsy (animal autopsy) was inconclusive as far as the cause of death at this point," the veterinarian said.
However doctors collected samples during the necropsy, and are conducting tests which they hope will yield the cause of Rio's death.
Rio was the oldest of five Atlantic bottlenose dolphins at the Minnesota Zoo.
"She was a very quick learner," said Sue Gergen, Communications Manager for the Minnesota Zoo.
"She's been a favorite in the dolphin shows because of that. She learned behaviors very quickly and likeed to be challenged and she's really been a solid dolphin in the pod."
Rio had lived at the Minnesota Zoo since 1980. She gave birth four times over the years, the most recent calf died in a freak accident.
"Harley (a male born in June of 2005) was an unusually good jumper," said veterinarian Rasmussen.
"He was jumping at a younger age than most dolphin calves, and he could jump high and far."
Harley jumped out of the pool January 21, 2006 and hit his head on the concrete deck that surrounds the pool. He died of a skull fracture.
Communications Manager Gergen said the dolphin handlers are watching the zoo's other four dolphins to verify their good health.
She said the zoo will encourage its dolphins to resume their daily shows on Wednesday, March 8.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=120196
Microsoft Announce Zoo Tycoon Expansions
Two full expansion packs and a further downloadable pack confirmed; released from June 2006...
Posted: 18:21 on 07 Mar 2006
By: Jon Wilcox
Microsoft Game Studios has today confirmed the development of two new expansion packs for Zoo Tycoon 2 (Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure and Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania), together with a downloadable pack, Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack.
Adding an extra 20 African animals such as the Meerkat, Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure will also include a Jeep Liberty vehicle to explore the ever expanding zoo territories such as the new Desert theme pack. Both the Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania expansion pack and Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack are also set to expand the experience further with, amongst other things, more scenarios and themes.
"With more than 5 million franchise units sold since the launch of 'Zoo Tycoon' in 2001, we are looking forward to shaking up the animal simulation space with these exciting new additions," said Neil Thompson, Director of UK Home & Entertainment Division. "These expansion packs provide a fun and enlightening opportunity for families to game together, while also providing fresh and innovative content for current 'Zoo Tycoon 2' enthusiasts."
Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure is set for a release in June 2006, with both Marine Mania and the Dino Danger Pack both expected later on in the year.
All three packs are currently in development at the home of Zoo Tycoon, Blue Fang; we'll have more on Zoo Tycoon 2's expansions in the future...
http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Microsoft_Announce_Zoo_Tycoon_Expansions_9455_5583_0.htm
White Bengal Tiger Cubs Come To The U.P.
The DeYoung Zoo in Menominee County has a couple of new stars. They're two white Bengal tiger cubs who were just donated by a park in Orlando. The cubs are now living in a heated cage to help them adapt to the colder temperatures. Last weekend was their first time in the snow.
"They're both doing very well," says Bud DeYoung, the zoo's owner. "They've got fabulous appetites, they're both still on the bottle, but they've started on meat and they're full of mischief."
The cubs will soon grow to 300 to 500 pounds.
Officials say the cubs have been staying in their dens during their first days in the U.P., but as the weather warms up this spring, they'll become more active. In the summer heat, they'll slow down again.
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?S=4592540&nav=81AX
Combating the radical gay penguin agenda.
A children’s book “about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin” has been removed from the kid’s section of two public libraries after complaints it had “homosexual undertones.” The book is “based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City’s Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/07/radical-gay-penguin-agenda/
The radical gay penguin agenda must be stopped
Posted 12:23 pm
As a rule, I find conservative activists embrace a rather silly agenda, but they're particularly entertaining when they go after harmless children's books. In the latest example, children in Savannah, Missouri, need to be shielded from allegedly-gay penguins.
A children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones.
The illustrated book, And Tango Makes Three, is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.
The book, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children's section at two Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri. Two parents had expressed concerns about the book last month.
Apparently, experts said these kinds of adoptions are fairly common in the penguin world, and the events in the book actually took place in real life. But the library director agreed to move the book so it would decrease the chance that the story would "blindside" readers.
Who could argue with such sensible thinking? Children might learn more about penguins' social structures, which might lead them to believe unattended baby penguins would be better off with two adoptive parents than not. It's clearly a plot by the radical homosexual penguin community to poison the minds of America's youth.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6792.html
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff care for new baby gorilla
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo recently welcomed its first baby born to one of its own gorilla in ten years. However, the mother is not holding the newborn. Forcing animal keepers to play parent.
The baby was born in February. His mother, Kwisha, does not know how to care for him. In the past, many gorilla's in captivity were taken from their mothers for show purposes, according to some animal keepers. That was the case with Kwisha. Zoo staff is attempting to show her, and the other gorillas, how to care for the baby. Mandy Hollingsworth said, "Kwisha just doesn't know what to do she vocalizes to the baby she smells him, she likes him, she just has no idea she's supposed to pick him and carry him, so that's why we're having to do it."
17 people, including staff and volunteers, are needed to hold the baby gorilla, 24 hours a day. Slowly, they are attempting to reintroduce him to his mother and the other gorillas. When he is stronger, they will attempt to give him to Kwisha, or possibly a surrogate parent. Whoever seems to be the most interested.
http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=4690
SA cheetahs relocated to Indonesian zoo
March 08, 2006, 07:15
A pair of cheetah (Acinonyx jabutus) have departed for their new home at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia aboard a Cathay Pacific flight bound for Indonesia via Hong Kong. The animals are expected to arrive in Indonesia approximately at noon tomorrow.
The two cheetah were sent as part of the co-operation agreement and exchange of animals between the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa and the Surabaya Zoo. On January 31, 2006, the National Zoo received a pair of Komodo dragons from this Indonesian zoo.
Mr Willie Labuschagne, the executive director of the national zoo, says it he is proud that such an iconic animal of South Africa will now be on display in one of Asia's zoos. "Africa has some unique animal species and the cheetah is undoubtedly one of these. We trust that the Surabaya Zoo's visitors will get as much pleasure from viewing these big cats as we have presenting them to the people of Indonesia".
The male is presently five-years-old and the female is four-years-old. Both animals were bred at the Hoedspruit Research and Breeding Centre for Endangered Species.
As part of the exchange agreement, one of the National Zoo's veterinarians, Dr Anza Kharibe, will be accompanying the animals to the Surabaya Zoo where he will assist the staff with the task of allowing the animals to acclimatise correctly to their new environment. He will also participate in training the staff there in proper cheetah care.
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,123389,00.html
More U.S. Zoos Closing Elephant Exhibits
Maryann Mott
March 2, 2006
After more than a century of displaying elephants, the Bronx Zoo in New York announced plans last month to shut down its elephant exhibit after the animals die.
The announcement comes at a time when some U.S. zoos are debating whether to continue keeping elephants in captivity.
Officials decided to close the Bronx exhibit for the benefit of Maxine, Patty, and Happy—all in their mid-30s and residents at the zoo for some three decades.
"Committing to elephants into the future would require us to build up a new herd, and there is no guarantee that our three girls would accept new elephants," said Bronx Zoo spokesperson Alison Power.
Given their age, the Asian elephants could remain on display for another 5, 10, or 20 years.
Growing Trend
A handful of U.S. zoos, including ones in San Francisco and Chicago, have recently closed their elephant exhibits.
Central Park and Prospect Park zoos, both in New York, stopped displaying elephants in the 1980s.
Last year, the Detroit Zoo in Michigan sent its aging and arthritic elephants—Winky, 52, and Wanda, 46—to a California sanctuary to live out their remaining years.
"Just as polar bears don't thrive in a hot climate, Asian elephants shouldn't live in small groups without many acres to roam," Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan said at the time.
"They clearly shouldn't have to suffer the winters of the North."
What's more, animal activists are pushing hard to get zoos—most recently those in Los Angeles, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.—to close their elephant exhibits, arguing that captive environments do not meet the animals' physical or behavioral needs.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0302_060302_elephants.html
US to review treatment of zoo elephants
By Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to look into possible changes in laws protecting zoo elephants after an animal welfare group complained that many were kept in cramped conditions that caused arthritis and foot disease and could be deadly.
The Agriculture Department said on Friday it would seek public comment on a petition filed last month by the group, In Defense of Animals, accusing U.S. zoos of violating the Animal Welfare Act by keeping elephants in small, unnatural pens.
The decision came amid a growing debate in the United States over whether it is humane for zoos to keep elephants, which in the wild walk miles (km) a day.
The animal welfare group, which has targeted such places as the U.S. National Zoo in Washington, estimated that half of all captive elephants suffered from arthritis and foot infections, ailments it said were the leading cause of euthanasia.
The group said it hoped USDA, which is responsible for inspecting American zoos, would take action to stop abuse of elephants. It urged zoos where elephants were suffering ailments to give them more space or move them to sanctuaries.
"The USDA is acknowledging the gravity of concern over the poor conditions for elephants in our nation's zoos," said Elliot Katz, president of In Defense of Animals.
USDA said it would publish a notice in the Federal Register on the petition giving members of the public 60 days to make their opinions known. "There are a lot of people interested in this," USDA spokesman Darby Holladay said. "We'll review those comments and see if there needs to be any changes in the Animal Welfare Act."
USDA conducts annual and unannounced reviews of zoos and other animal exhibits, with those deemed in "noncompliance" receiving additional inspections, Holladay said.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, urged the National Zoo in January to send its three remaining Asian elephants to an animal sanctuary and close its exhibit.
The appeal came after the zoo put down an arthritic Asian elephant said to have been in worsening pain. The elephant named Toni was 40. Elephants can live to be 60 or older. The zoo said the enclosure had not been the cause of Toni's death.
PETA said zoo elephants were dying decades short of their expected life span from illnesses directly related to the large animals' lack of space.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-03-04T012447Z_01_N03239696_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-LIFE-ELEPHANTS-DC.XML
Zoo elephant not happy about drop-in visitor
By Monica Ortiz Uribe Tribune-Herald staff writer
Friday, March 03, 2006
A 25-year-old woman was injured by an elephant Thursday afternoon when she climbed past barriers and entered its exhibit at Cameron Park Zoo.
"A witness said the girl wanted to play with the elephant," zoo director Jim Fleshman said.
Witnesses said the woman was struck by the elephant's trunk and then managed to crawl out of the exhibit through some bushes. City officials would not release her name.
The woman allegedly climbed over a wood and wire fence more than three feet high, then scaled an artificial rock structure between seven and 10 feet high before jumping down into the elephant exhibit. There is also an electric wire that she would have stepped over, zoo officials said.
Also, a moat extends around most of the exhibit.
Waco Fire Department and emergency crews arrived at the zoo at about 1:30 p.m. and took the woman to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center with minor injuries.
"She was laying out on a park bench," Waco Fire Capt. Greg Kistler said. "She had a really bad scrape on her right side and her arm was scraped up."
Kistler said the woman was visiting the zoo with a small child and another woman.
"Any animal in the zoo has a potential to be dangerous whether it looks like a fluffy little animal or something obviously as big as an elephant," Fleshman said.
The elephant's response to the woman is hardly abnormal, he said.
"That's how an elephant reacts to something they would perceive as a threat," he said, adding that even zoo staffers exercise care with the animals.
"We use cues and commands to get them to do things and reward them with treats," he said.
The exhibit contains two full-grown African elephants that have been at the zoo at least nine years.
Fleshman said the zoo will work with city safety teams to consider how incidents such as Thursday's can be prevented, though this is the first case of its kind during his six years at the zoo.
Different barriers separate visitors and zoo animals while allowing everyone a good view, Fleshman said.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/03/03/20060303wacelephantinjury.html
Kilpatrick says he's trying for zoo deal
February 28, 2006
BY MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Fresh from his weeklong trip to Africa, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick weighed in publicly for the first time on the mess over the future of the Detroit Zoo, saying he was disappointed that the City Council rejected the original proposal to save the more than 75-year-old venerable institution.
But he assured zoo lovers Monday that he and his administration were working to get a deal approved by the council that would allow the Detroit Zoological Society to run the zoo's daily operations.
Kilpatrick's administration has said because of the city's mounting budget crisis -- which the council's fiscal expert says could reach a $200-million shortfall -- the city can no longer pay the average $5 million a year to run the zoo. Since the council voted down the mayor's plan, 7-2, last week, some changes have been made in the proposal's language.
"We're much further along today than we were last week," Kilpatrick said. "I understand they'll be voting on it Wednesday, and we'll all be working very aggressively for that day."
Kilpatrick said voting on the zoo was one of the easier decisions the council would have to make this year. He said there will be hard choices ahead over city services.
Earlier Monday, the council agreed to hold a public hearing Wednesday on the zoo issue. The 10 a.m. hearing is to be in the 13th-floor auditorium of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS01/602280399/1003
Racist E-Mails Cast Cloud Over Detroit's Debate on Zoo Funding
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The future of the Detroit Zoo has become the latest racial flashpoint between officials of the majority-black city and its white suburbanites.
The zoo, located just outside the city in Royal Oak, is owned by Detroit, run by the Detroit Zoological Society and funded by park admissions and about $5 million in annual contributions from the City of Detroit that the mayor says he can no longer afford.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick won city council approval March 1 to help close the city's $139 million budget deficit by giving full control and funding responsibility to the society. Before that vote, the city council had blocked an initial contract, sparking e-mails and phone calls with racial references from residents of mostly white suburbs. The mayor and eight of the nine councilors are black.
Worried that the initial council action might have forced the zoo to close, suburbanites, who make up two-thirds of zoo members, had sought assurances it would stay open.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=alzgaHXJ_MTU&refer=us
City Council approves zoo deal
March 1, 2006
By MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
After weeks of political wrangling, negotiations and shouting matches between elected officials and metro area residents, the Detroit City Council agreed this afternoon to transfer daily operations of the Detroit Zoo to the non-profit Detroit Zoological Society.
The council approved the transfer by a 6-3 vote. Under the transfer agreement, the city will retain ownership of the zoo and all its assets. The zoological society will essentially be the zoo management.
Councilmembers Barbara-Rose Collins, Brenda Jones and JoAnn Watson voted no on the transfer. But members Sheila Cockrel, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, Martha Reeves, Kwame Kenyatta, President Kenneth Cockrel and President Pro Tem Monica Conyers voted in favor of the deal. Only Kenneth Cockrel Jr. and Sheila Cockrel had voted to support the original agreement presented to council nearly two weeks ago.
But while the council got it done, it wasn't easy.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/NEWS99/60301006
Detroit Zoo Will Stay Open
ClickonDetroit.com
9:53 a.m. EST March 2, 2006
After hours of debate, the Detroit City Council voted 6-3 Wednesday to keep the Detroit Zoo open. Under the agreement, the Detroit Zoo will be transferred over to the Detroit Zoological Society, and council members say Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's appearance may have made a difference.
"I suggested the mayor to come up and sell this issue, and I think that definitely helped," said City Council President Ken Cockrell Jr.
Under the terms of the agreements, the city is mandated to turn over $5 million within 15 days to the Zoological Society, Local 4 reported.
"I know this is critically important to the people of the city of Detroit," said Kilpatrick.
The next course of action is trying to retain the loss of $4 million in state aid. The City Council gave up the aid by rejecting the original proposal, Local 4 reported.
At this point, residents will not see any changes at the zoo, the station reported.
The zoo was expected to close May 1 under a shut down plan.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11627874/
Zoo euthanizes zebra with arthritis
Seattle
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra, Rosie, was euthanized Tuesday because arthritis in her legs caused stiffness and discomfort.
Rosie arrived at the zoo in 1977 and produced 14 foals. Her son, a 10-year-old zebra, and a 30-year-old female remain at the zoo.
Zebras may live up to 40 years in zoos.
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra euthanized
By Seattle Times staff
Woodland Park Zoo's 32-year-old zebra, Rosie, was euthanized Tuesday because arthritis in her legs caused stiffness and discomfort.
Rosie arrived at the zoo in 1977 and produced 14 foals. Her son, a 10-year-old zebra, and a 30-year-old female remain at the zoo.
Zebras may live up to 40 years in zoos.
"This condition was progressive over the last few years and treatment consisted of corrective hoof trimming at regular intervals and anti-inflammatory medications to help control the discomfort and the pain," said Darin Collins, zoo director of animal health.
"Once she stood, the discomfort and pain in her legs was quite apparent. The most humane decision was to euthanize her."
The zebras at the zoo represent the plains, or Damara species. Zebras live throughout eastern and southern Africa and inhabit open, grassy plains or well-grassed woodlands.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002837301_webzebra01.html
Tiger alert after break-in at zoo
Edinburgh Zoo was put on escape alert after teenagers tried to break into a tiger enclosure.
The three youths were chased out of the zoo by security staff who had become aware of a disturbance.
However, a zoo spokesman said they discovered the lock on a door into the enclosure holding Amur tigers had been tampered with.
The animal escape alert was instigated as a precaution but the tigers were found to be still inside the pen.
The break-in happened at about 1830 GMT on Sunday.
Iain Valentine, head of animals, education and conservation at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "It is extremely unlikely that anyone could get inside as there are several doors to penetrate, all with individual locks and padlocks."
The tigers were found safe and well, inside their indoor den, wondering what all the fuss was about
He added that the animal escape procedure was activated as a precaution and that no staff were at risk at any time.
"The tigers were found safe and well, inside their indoor den, wondering what all the fuss was about," he added.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police urged anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact them.
Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest cats in the world.
Four years ago, a man was discovered in Edinburgh Zoo's penguin enclosure in the early hours of the morning, while in 2000 two panther chameleons were stolen in an overnight break-in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4763138.stm
Chimps swing new £5.5m enclosure
A £58m plan to develop the zoo in the Scottish capital has been unveiled.
Edinburgh Zoo is starting the improvements by building a new £5.5m state-of-the-art chimpanzee enclosure.
The 20-year-redevelopment includes a new polar bear unit, which activists say reneges on a promise by the zoo not to replace Britain's last polar bear.
The zoo will be organised into four zones themed on different habitats - grasslands, woodlands, tropical rainforests and oceans/wetlands.
World-class attraction
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4742668.stm
Zoo celebrates deer new arrival
One of the world's smallest species of deer has been born at Edinburgh Zoo as part of a conservation drive.
The pudu, who has been named Jon by zoo keepers, is the first of his species to be delivered at the zoo since 2000.
Head keeper Darren McGarry said everyone was delighted with the tiny new arrival.
Edinburgh Zoo has been participating in a European Endangered Species Programme for pudu since 1985.
Jon, who is only 15cm long, was born on 6 February and is the first infant to parents Amber and Henry.
Mr McGarry said: "We are so happy to have a baby pudu again, as it has been a few years since the last one.
"Hopefully, this is the start of a new period of success with this endangered species at Edinburgh Zoo."
The moves are coordinated by the European studbrook keeper for the species who is based at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany.
The southern pudu live in lowland temperate rainforests in Chile and south-west Argentina.
Wild populations are most at risk through the destruction of their lowland forest habitat and natural predators such as pumas and foxes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3497963.stm
Baby hippo 'a ray of sunshine'
Lizzie was born at the zoo last week
Edinburgh Zoo has unveiled its latest addition - a baby pygmy hippopotamus.
Lizzie took centre stage at a photocall just over a week after she was born at the zoo.
She is the third infant to be produced by her mother Leah, aged eight, and her father Fred, 26.
Lizzie weighed seven kilos at birth and has been gaining a steady two kilos every day since then.
"She certainly helps to brighten up a cold, dark winter's morning"
Both mother and baby were said to be doing well.
Head keeper Darren McGarry said he had found the infant when he went to check on her mother.
"All the keepers were very excited," he admitted.
"She certainly helps to brighten up a cold, dark winter's morning - she's a real ray of sunshine."
Edinburgh Zoo is part of a European conservation breeding programme for pygmy hippos.
The species is an endangered species in its native Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2571219.stm
Key-hole surgery saves giraffe
Pioneering key-hole surgery has saved the life of a female giraffe at Edinburgh Zoo.
Sapphire the giraffe made "a rapid and good recovery" after the operation, said a vet who works at the zoo.
The animal stopped eating last October and an x-ray revealed a fracture in her lower jaw bone.
Veterinary surgeon Paddy Dixon, from the University of Edinburgh's Royal School of Veterinary Studies, performed the operation.
He used a key-hole surgery procedure developed for horses but never before tried on a giraffe.
Before Mr Dixon was consulted, vets briefly considered putting Sapphire down because the severity of the break made it impossible for her to eat.
She started eating the day after the surgery in November and in January a second operation took place to remove the wiring that had been placed in her mouth.
The zoo's leading vet Anna Meredith said: "We are very grateful to Professor Dixon and his expert assistance with the surgery on Sapphire, and absolutely delighted that she made such a rapid and good recovery."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3490809.stm
Zoo's lioness dies of cancer
One of Edinburgh Zoo's more famous animals, Jody the African lioness, has died after being diagnosed with cancer.
Officials say that after a post mortem examination her body will be offered to a museum for display or teaching purposes.
Jody was 11 and had been in Edinburgh for six years.
She is not going to be replaced by another African Lion because the zoo is to take part in a conservation breeding programme for Asiatic lions, whose population in the wild is described as "critically endangered".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2481531.stm
Mongooses Go on Display at National Zoo
Mar 1st - 8:49am
WASHINGTON -- They're frisky. They groom each other. And they climb through the holes of their concrete termite dens.
What are they? Banded mongooses. Three of them are on exhibit at the National Zoo.
It has been nearly 30 years since the National Zoo exhibited these small, catlike carnivores.
The National Zoo adds to its collection with three mongooses. (Photo courtesy of National Zoo)
If they seem familiar to you, it's because you may know them from Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book."
The National Zoo is one of two animal parks in North America to exhibit the social animals, according to a news release from the zoo.
There are more than 30 species of mongooses living in Africa, Asia and southern Europe, as well as some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands. The zoo's Web site says they were introduced in the Caribbean and Hawaiian islands to control rats and snakes but ended up causing several species of birds to go extinct.
You'll find the mongoose exhibit right across from the naked mole-rat exhibit.
Authorities probe theft of money from NEW Zoo
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
SUAMICO — The Brown County Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations an undisclosed amount of money is missing from the NEW Zoo.
The county's legal department asked the sheriff's department to investigate Monday after an internal audit. A zoo employee was placed on administrative leave, but county officials did not confirm the person's name or position.
Chief Deputy John Gossage of the sheriff's department said he could not confirm or deny that money was even missing, but that is the nature of the allegations.
Tax dollars are not used at the NEW Zoo. The 2006 budget is $1.38 million, all of which came from donations, admissions, concessions, grants or other fees.
More than 215,000 people visited last year. A popular new giraffe exhibit opened in December at a cost of over $500,000 raised by the zoo's NEW Zoological Society, a nonprofit fundraising group.
The society's donations are spent on capital projects and animal acquisitions for the zoo and are not mixed with the zoo's budget, said Patty Voight, executive director.
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/APC0101/603010704/1003/APC01
Animal lovers sharpen claws over plans for zoo expansion
ANIMAL groups have hit out at Edinburgh Zoo's plans to add elephants, orangutans and manatees to its collection of animals.
Dr Robert Atkinson, head of Wildlife at the RSPCA, said: "Research shows that elephants in European zoos suffer from poor welfare. The RSPCA is shocked that Edinburgh Zoo may foolishly reverse the enlightened decision it previously made to stop keeping these majestic animals."
Under a 20-year masterplan for the Corstorphine attraction, zoo bosses are also understood to be considering bringing in a new polar bear to replace Mercedes, currently the only one in the UK.
Advocates for Animals
director Ross Minett said: "It is simply unbelievable that Edinburgh Zoo is even considering adding animals such as elephants, orangutans, manatees and more chimpanzees to its collection - this on top of its disgraceful plans to continue keeping polar bears."
David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, has said more polar bears may be brought to Edinburgh, but only if sustained depletion of the polar ice caps meant there was a strong conservation reason to do so.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=307642006
Taronga Zoo's condor learns to fly
Lesley the Andean Condor is learning to fly - all nine kilos of her.
The South American bird, the world's largest bird of prey, spread its three-metre wing span over the northern Sydney suburb of Mosman, as Taronga Zoo bird trainers prepared her for the zoo's daily free flight bird show.
Two-year-old Lesley showed no stage fright in front of her first crowd, leaving her trainer to fly over a Mosman park and land on a bench in the same park.
Zoo trainers have started Lesley on an intensive 15-week training program to teach her to fly on command, rewarding her with mince balls and mice.
"At the moment they (the trainers) are working on her take-off technique," Taronga Zoo spokeswoman Danielle McGill said.
"Condors are the heaviest birds in the world so just getting them up in the air is a big challenge."
Trainers believe the youngster has the right temperament to be the star of the zoo's free flight show.
Lesley and her parents Bruce and Connie, who also live at the zoo, are among just six Andean Condors living in captivity in Australia.
The bird has been listed as an endangered species by the US Fish and Wildlife service since 1973.
Zoo upgrade to create more room for animals
By Li Dapeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-28 05:44
FUZHOU: Animals in Fuzhou Zoo in the capital city of East China's Fujian Province will soon have a more spacious home.
The zoo will be relocated to a much bigger site in the city, which covers about 53 hectares, more than 10 times larger than the current one.
With an area of only 4 hectares, the zoo is regarded as the smallest in the nation's capital cities, said Chen Guichun, director with the zoo's administration section.
Having been living in small and humid cages for a long time, many animals have become emotionally disturbed and often behave abnormally.
"The poor conditions affect the normal living environment of the animals and their reproductive capacity," Chen said.
"Some of the animals, such as wolves, swans and mandarin ducks, have not even bred after coming here."
Founded in 1956, the zoo now has more than 900 animals including some nationally protected species such as South China tigers, Asian elephants, leopards and red-crowned cranes.
Due to the limited size, the sanitation conditions are not good enough, although workers have made great efforts, Chen said.
"The zoo should be great fun for children to come and visit, but now fewer and fewer kids come to visit here."
Situated in the downtown area of the city, the zoo has also caused problems for nearby residents.
"It's terrible that every day we have to suffer the odour from the zoo," said a woman surnamed Lin, who lives close to the site.
"The roars of lions and tigers are so scary at night for my child," she added.
At present, the environment evaluation of the new site and bidding for the new design are expected to finish in March.
The construction will begin next year, which is predicted to cost at least 50 million yuan (US$6.22 million), according to Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Parks.
The new site, located north of the central area of the city, with rich plant resources, will be developed into an important tourist spot, said sources with the bureau.
"The new zoo will not only offer a better living environment for animals, but also a more advanced condition for scientific research in wildlife protection," said Chen
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/28/content_524661.htm
Birdflu detected in Ukrainian zoo - officials
27 Feb 2006 18:10:29 GMT
Source: Reuters
KIEV, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Parrots and pheasants have died of bird flu at a zoo in southern Ukraine, prompting officials to slap a quarantine on the facility's bird enclosures, officials said on Monday.
But Ukrainian media quoted veterinary officials as saying the strain of flu detected was the H5 type -- and not the particularly dangerous H5N1 strain. Cases of H5N1 have already been detected in Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.
"We have recorded deaths of birds -- three or four pheasants and several parrots in two of the enclosures at Odessa zoo," a spokesman for the zoo in the Black Sea port said by telephone.
"A quarantine has been set up in all enclosures. The zoo has been declared a zone of heightened risk."
The official said the deaths were recorded on Saturday, but there had been no contact with humans as the zoo had been closed for the past week due to cold weather.
"The main thing is that there is no confirmation from laboratories in Kiev that this is the pathogenic form dangerous to humans," he said. "It is standard bird flu."
He said a plastic screen had been drawn around the aviaries to guard against any spread of the virus. Experts said the zoo birds may have been infected by coming into proximity with sparrows and other wild birds.
The H5N1 virus has been detected in about two dozen villages in Crimea since the outbreak was discovered late last year.
Sanitary workers, dispatched to the region immediately after the outbreak, have already destroyed well over 200,000 birds in Ukraine -- both privately held and at industrial plants.
The country's top veterinarian last week said Ukraine had begun testing several types of vaccine for H5N1, but would take no decision on mass vaccination of poultry pending the results.
Officials predict more outbreaks once migratory birds return to Ukraine in spring on their northward flight paths.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27563078.htm
Zoo's Red Panda Finds Mate Online
UPDATED: 10:46 am PST February 27, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There is living proof that you can find love online. At least that is the case for a red panda named Fagan at the Kansas City Zoo, television station KMBC reported.
The zoo went online to find Fagan a companion. The Minnesota Zoo responded that its Betsy might make a good mate.
"So we were just hoping the two would click and they have," zoo supervisor Cinnamon Williams said.
Betsy is now living in Fagan's pen.
"We did see them breeding. We won't know for sure for at least a couple of months," Williams said.
KMBC reported that red pandas are the size of raccoons. They only breed between January and March.
http://www.theksbwchannel.com/family/7506664/detail.html
Zoo Wants China To Lower Panda Rental Fee
POSTED: 9:56 am PST March 6, 2006
UPDATED: 10:23 am PST March 6, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Zoo wants to pay less to lease giant pandas from China.
Zoo officials say paying $1 million a year for the animals is too much.
Giant pandas are on exhibit in San Diego, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Memphis. Officials at Zoo Atlanta and The National Zoo in Washington have said that they may be forced to close their panda exhibits if China doesn't lower the fee.
The Chinese government said it is open to discussions about the lease payments.
The zoos have proposed cutting the yearly least amount in half to $500,000.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/7746587/detail.html
Chicago Considers Banning Mistreated Elephants
by Kari Lydersen
After all three of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s elephants met untimely deaths, wildlife experts urged the Chicago City Council to embargo captive elephants in the interest of sparing them physical and psychological misery.
Chicago; Mar. 6 – Winifred Kiiru cried the first time she saw an elephant in a zoo.
In her native Kenya, she says, children rarely saw elephants but grew up revering them. When Kiiru visited zoos in the United States as part of her work as a wildlife ecologist, she was shocked to see the huge animals confined to small areas and suffering physical and psychological problems.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=2893
San Diego, 3 other zoos want to pay China less for renting the animals
By Jeanette Steele
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
The San Diego Zoo may have the hottest panda program in the United States, but it says it cannot continue to pay $1 million a year to rent the black-and-white fur balls from China.
The zoo is among four nationwide that have told China they want to renegotiate the fee when their contracts are up, starting in 2008.
“There have been serious discussions by representatives of the four zoos to ask if there are ways that the price of keeping pandas can be negotiated downward,” said Don Lindburg, head of San Diego's Giant Panda Conservation Division.
Zoos in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., say they will close their panda exhibits if a more affordable deal can't be reached.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060305-9999-1m5pandas.html
ANTIQUES: Jean McClelland: Chewing gum company's tin Chiclet Zoos coveted by collectors
Gum chewing, popping and bubbling has been a favored habit for more than 100 years in the United States. Chewing gum as we know it began when a New York inventor got together with a Mexican exile in 1869.
The Mexican national, Rudolph Napegy, just happened to have once served as an undersecretary to General Santa Anna of Alamo fame. Napegy was looking for someone to help him find a use for a rubbery fluid harvested from trees in Southern Mexico. The inventor Thomas Adams was able to do just that with a recipe for chewing gum. It was a popular treat from the get-go.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/LIFE/603050338/1004
Save the Detroit Zoo
By Bianca Jacobs Contributing Writer
When I was a kid, my mother would take my younger brother and me to the Detroit Zoo. Since it was the summertime and we were on vacation, we hated to go. We wanted to enjoy our break, but my mother had other plans. She wanted to fill our lives with culture and broaden our surroundings by exposing us to things outside of television and video games.
We would go to the museums, the library and the different parks in the area, but the zoo was different. It wasn’t just about looking at the animals. It was about watching life.
On Feb. 18, the Detroit City Council turned down a proposal that would keep the Detroit Zoo open. In a seven-to-two vote, the council denied a plan to turn over daily operations of the zoo to the nonprofit Detroit Zoological Society. So, for now, there are plans for Detroit Zoo to close its doors. Since the Kilpatrick administration is trying to come up with another proposal that might please them, the council has decided to go back and vote once more on the fate of the zoo. Hopefully, the council will have a change of heart, but the fate of the zoo is still unknown.
http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2260
Visitor hurt while trying to play with zoo elephant
WACO, Texas -- A 25-year-old woman climbed past barriers and into an elephant's zoo exhibit, then crawled out with minor injuries after the 6,000-pound animal smacked her with its trunk.
"That's how an elephant reacts to something they would perceive as a threat," said Cameron Park Zoo director Jim Fleshman.
After saying she wanted to play with the elephant, the woman climbed over a 3-feet-high wood-and-wire fence, scaled an 8-foot-tall artificial rock structure and bypassed an electric wire before jumping into the exhibit Thursday afternoon, Fleshman said. A moat extends around most of the exhibit.
After the woman got out, fire and emergency crews took her to a hospital with minor injuries, including scrapes on her side and arm.
The woman's name was not released.
The exhibit contains two female African elephants. Only one of the elephants struck the woman.
Both animals were stressed after the incident and were moved to a private area, and one did not want to return to the exhibit even later in the day. But both were back for visitors to see Friday, Fleshman said.
"They're not used to somebody being in their space," he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-el06.html
N.C. Zoo wants $6 million from state to pay for improvements
ASHEBORO, N.C. State zoo officials have asked the General Assembly to pay nearly six (M) million dollars for improvements, including a children's center, an ampitheater renovation and new barns.
The state hasn't given the North Carolina Zoo money for capital projects in 14 years. The zoo has relied since then on private money and state repair money to add buildings.
The zoo is using at least six (M) million dollars in private donations to help pay for an eight (M) million dollar expansion of the elephant and rhino herds and exhibits scheduled to open next year.
http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4593101&nav=menu70_2
KOA petting zoo to close after 30 years in Missoula
MISSOULA Missoula's only petting zoo has closed.
The city has been encroaching on the once rural landscape of North Reserve Street, but the four-legged creatures of the K-O-A Campground zoo have been safely tucked behind the wall of box stores.
But in coming weeks, a new street will go through the area. It will border the campground zoo, and will connect the shopping district with a new subdivision being built behind Home Depot.
K-O-A officals are concerned the new street will become a busy thoroughfare, and that new housing will go up along the campground fencing.
They decided that would be too stressful for the animals. So K-O-A's miniature horses, goats and other barnyard animals have been farmed out to loving new homes.
It's the end of an era. The petting zoo had been in operation about 30 years at the Missoula K-O-A Campground.
http://www.kbzk.com/Global/story.asp?S=4591926
Zoo begins process of winding down
Larger animals will be moved this spring
TRAVERSE CITY - The zoo will reopen this spring, but its menagerie could be meager.
Clinch Park Zoo is slated to close by Labor Day 2007, and the city commission pledged $58,000 and the Grand Traverse Zoological Society $75,000 to move the animals to new homes.
The animal exodus will begin this spring, when wolves, cougars, bobcats, fox and coyotes are scheduled to leave for the Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota. City manager Richard Lewis said the zoo will open for the season but without an admission fee and with an unknown number of animals.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/06zoo.htm
Zoo Wants China To Lower Panda Rental Fee
POSTED: 9:56 am PST March 6, 2006
UPDATED: 10:23 am PST March 6, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Zoo wants to pay less to lease giant pandas from China.
Zoo officials say paying $1 million a year for the animals is too much.
Giant pandas are on exhibit in San Diego, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Memphis. Officials at Zoo Atlanta and The National Zoo in Washington have said that they may be forced to close their panda exhibits if China doesn't lower the fee.
The Chinese government said it is open to discussions about the lease payments.
The zoos have proposed cutting the yearly least amount in half to $500,000.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/7746587/detail.html
Wishing a happy birthday to zoo
Baltimore animal park marks its 130th year with treats and free weekend admission
By Rona Marech
Sun reporter
Originally published March 5, 2006
The polar bears did champion backstrokes, then lazily lumbered ashore. A leopard curled up in the sun. The penguins waddled in unison. The new baby chimpanzees, all tiny sweetness, had the cuteness market cornered.
And thousands of human creatures gawked, pointed and squealed yesterday at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
The zoo, which turns 130 this year, threw itself a birthday bash yesterday, celebrating with free admission, scores of zoo-themed cakes, music, party hats, icy treats for the polar bears and a pat on the back from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Despite the wind and cold, people began lining up almost two hours before gates opened, and by the end of the day, zoo staff counted more than 10,000 visitors.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.zoo05mar05,0,2442068.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Gladys Porter Zoo researcher tracks wild lemurs in Africa
BY KEVIN GARCIA
The Brownsville Herald
March 5, 2006 - For more than two weeks, Jennifer Chatfield was stranded in the Madagascar rainforest off the coast of Africa.
While many Brownsville residents might be put off by the idea of sleeping under a canopy of frogs, chameleons, snakes and other creatures, Chatfield said the experience reminded her of growing up in Texas.
“Instead of my chores being ‘take out the garbage and clean your room,’ they were ‘take out the garbage, clean your room, feed the lemurs and clean the cages,’” she said. “It was pretty normal.”
Before her African adventure, Chatfield, senior veterinarian at the Gladys Porter Zoo, grew up in the 4-J Conservation Center outside San Marcos, a home for rare and endangered species and, more specifically, a haven for furry little primates called lemurs.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/features_more.php?id=69607_0_7_0_C
Why zoo's survival is a bear necessity
JAMES DOUGLAS-HAMILTON
THE recent announcement by Edinburgh Zoo of a £58 million expansion plan has re-ignited some of the ethical arguments for and against keeping wild animals in captivity.
Going back to the beginning, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, whose flagship project is Edinburgh Zoo, was founded in 1909 by Thomas Gillespie, one of Edinburgh's leading lawyers. He gathered together sufficient support to enable the society to purchase the 85 acres on Corstorphine Hill with assistance from the council's city fathers.
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=331392006
Wolf's missing leg puzzles zoo
March 4, 2006
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter
Brookfield Zoo officials Friday were unable to determine how a wolf lost one of its legs, nor could they find the missing limb.
In the meantime, two wolves have been removed from the part of the exhibit where the wolf was mysteriously injured.
On Wednesday, keepers discovered a male wolf bleeding, his right front leg severed beneath his elbow. Officials don't believe the incident was the result of a fight.
The zoo separated its Mexican gray wolves into two groups in December after a pack attacked a younger wolf. Three younger wolves, including the one currently recuperating from the injury to its limb, were placed into a different part of the exhibit.
Zoo spokeswoman Sondra Katzen said keepers have emptied the area where the younger ones lived because "we want to make sure the exhibit is safe."
'Hilton' search turns up nothing
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-zoo04.html
Zoo fundraiser puts animal lovers behind the scene
By AMELIA NIELSON-STOWELL
Deseret Morning News
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/regional:Middle1]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- While gently petting a giraffe's muzzle, Lyn Hargis reached her arm to the creature's mouth, holding a carrot in her palm for a lunchtime treat.
"Wow, your tongue's nice and soft," she said as giraffe Daphne licked her hand for the snack.
Hargis watched Hogle Zoo's five giraffes as they observed their new friendly guest. "They all have different personalities," she said.
It was an experience usually reserved for trained zookeepers, but now the Salt Lake zoo is letting the public get a behind-the-scenes look at the beautiful -- and often dirty -- work of zookeepers.
As part of a fundraiser for the zoo's conservation efforts and the Utah chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers, a member of the public can pay $225 to participate in the Keeper for a Day program. The guest spends the day side-by-side with a zookeeper, participating in enrichment activities, cleaning cages, preparing diets and even getting up close to some of the zoo's friendliest beasts.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/03/04/news/regional/f5ce239a486dd5b08725712600628f85.txt
Elephant Exhibits Endangered?
(CBS) Elephant exhibits are always among the most popular at zoos across the country. But animal rights activists and zoo managers are facing a growing debate over whether these giant creatures belong in the confines of a zoo at all.
The Early Show resident veterinarian Debbye Turner examined the issue and found there are no easy answers.
Most people would never have the opportunity to see an elephant up close, other than at a zoo. But these animals have complex needs, and not every zoo has the space or resources to meet those needs.
Turner visited the Oregon Zoo, where Bob Lee watches over seven elephants, a routine that includes a nearly daily dose of exercise for each of them. Not only do the animals need the activity, they need the stimulation of the sights and sounds of other animals, what Lee calls elephant enrichment.
"The enrichment part is all the things she gets to see," Lee said during his daily walk with an elephant named Chendra. "Let her see other animals, let her get excited by people and events. That's the thing that really makes a difference to her."
But even all these routines can't mask the fact that zoo elephants have limited space.
"Elephants simply do not do well in captivity. They're very social animals and they're used to living in herds," said Michael McGraw of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "No matter how big zoos make their enclosures, no matter how much money they spend trying to improve the elephants' quality of life, it will never compare to how these animals are able to live their lives in the wild."
Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo, concedes that elephants don't belong in every zoo. "What they need to do is take a look at their program, take a look at their staff, take a look at their resources, take a look at their community support, and decide, is this a species we can help best? And, if not, then they shouldn't have elephants."
Turner says animal rights activists are alarmed by a number of recent elephant deaths in places such as Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington. Last year, after two of their elephants died, the San Francisco Zoo closed the elephant exhibit.
Bob Jenkins is the director of animal care at the San Francisco Zoo and said, "The decision here was made solely on what we could provide the animals." In their case, Jenkins says space was not the problem, money was.
"It's a money issue, plain and simple. A good elephant exhibit is very expensive. You're talking $12-15 million dollars or more," he said. "So the decision was made to move the animals out."
Instead of sending their elephants to another zoo, San Francisco shipped theirs to an elephant sanctuary in northern California, where the animals have hundreds of acres to roam. The sanctuary also has elephants from the Detroit zoo, which recently closed its exhibit. To some activists, that's a rallying cry.
"PETA is calling on all zoos to follow the lead of the Detroit Zoo and the San Francisco Zoo and retire their elephants to sanctuaries and permanently close their elephant exhibits," said McGraw.
Turner points out that at zoos across the country, elephants remain among the most popular attraction. And Bob Jenkins agrees that it's a sad loss for the community. "The zoos themselves would be fine if they don't have elephants. I think it's the people and the community who will really lose out," he said.
While not everyone agrees with PETA on this issue, animal rights activists are getting credit for improving awareness and helping to spur an effort to give elephants more space and improve their conditions. Many zoos are either spending money to enlarge their elephant habitats or, as the Bronx Zoo recently announced, are phasing out their elephant exhibits altogether.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main1347443.shtml
concluding ....
Monday, March 06, 2006
Warm, Warmer, Warmest
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
One of the hottest environmental battles has been over oil drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the sad reality is that much of the Arctic plain will probably be lost anyway in this century to rising sea levels.
That should be our paramount struggle: to stop global warming. It threatens not only the Arctic plain, but also low-lying areas around the world with 100 million inhabitants. And it could be accelerating because of the three scariest words in climate science: positive feedback loops.
Bear with me now: a positive feedback loop occurs when a small change leads to an even larger change of the same type. For example, a modest amount of warming melts ice in northern climates. But the bare ground absorbs three times as much heat as ground covered by snow or ice, so the change amplifies the original warming. Even more ice melts, more heat is absorbed, and the spiral grows.
That feedback loop is well understood and part of climate models, but others aren't.
For example, perhaps the biggest single source of uncertainty about whether Lower Manhattan will be underwater in 2100 has to do with the glaciers of Greenland. If Greenland's ice sheet melted completely, that alone — over centuries — would raise the oceans by 23 feet. And those glaciers are dumping much more water into the oceans than they did a decade ago, according to two satellite surveys just published, but the studies disagree on the amounts.
Positive feedback seems to be at work. As a glacier melts a little, the water trickles down to the rock and lubricates the glacier's slide toward the sea. So, because of this and other effects, some of Greenland's glaciers are now, in glacial terms, rocketing toward the sea at 7.5 miles a year.
Here's another positive loop. The Arctic permafrost may hold 14 percent of the world's carbon, but as it melts, some of its carbon dioxide and methane are released, adding to the amount of greenhouse gases. So more permafrost melts.
Likewise, millions of years ago, warming oceans with vast amounts of methane in their depths had great episodes of methane belching, which added to the greenhouse effect then. I don't expect the oceans to burp in the same massive way tomorrow, but if they did, no one would know how to fit those unmannerly oceans into a climate model.
Part of the challenge in modeling climate is that we're already off the charts with greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane. "We've driven them out of the range that has existed for the last one million years," noted James Hansen, NASA's top climate expert. "And the climate has not fully responded to changes that have already occurred."
In fairness, there are also negative feedback loops, which could dampen change. For example, warmer temperatures could mean more snow over Antarctica, implying an initial buildup of the Antarctic ice sheet. The added ice could slow global warming and rising sea levels. But a new study just published in Science Express says that the Antarctic ice sheet is already thinning significantly — raising more alarms and casting doubt on that negative feedback.
In any case, it's clear that negative feedback loops in climatology are much less common than positive loops, which amplify change and leave our climate both unstable and vulnerable to human folly.
Still with me?
Look, I know that climate science can be — here's a shock — boring! But it's better for us to slog through it now than for coming generations to slog through the rising waters of, say, Manhattan. It may be more exciting to thump the table about Iraq or torture — or even the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — and those are all hugely important. But global warming may ultimately be the greatest test we face as stewards of our planet. And so far we're failing catastrophically.
"Historians of science will be brutal on us," said Jerry Mahlman, a climate expert at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "We are right now in a state of deep denial about how severe the problem is. Political people are saying, 'Well, it's not on my watch.' They're ducking for cover, because who's going to tell the American people?"
We know what to do: energy conservation, gas taxes and carbon taxes, more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, and new (and safe) nuclear power plants. But our political system is paralyzed in the face of what may be the single biggest challenge to our planet.
"Are we an intelligent species or not?" Dr. Mahlman asked. "Right now, the evidence is against it."
One of the hottest environmental battles has been over oil drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the sad reality is that much of the Arctic plain will probably be lost anyway in this century to rising sea levels.
That should be our paramount struggle: to stop global warming. It threatens not only the Arctic plain, but also low-lying areas around the world with 100 million inhabitants. And it could be accelerating because of the three scariest words in climate science: positive feedback loops.
Bear with me now: a positive feedback loop occurs when a small change leads to an even larger change of the same type. For example, a modest amount of warming melts ice in northern climates. But the bare ground absorbs three times as much heat as ground covered by snow or ice, so the change amplifies the original warming. Even more ice melts, more heat is absorbed, and the spiral grows.
That feedback loop is well understood and part of climate models, but others aren't.
For example, perhaps the biggest single source of uncertainty about whether Lower Manhattan will be underwater in 2100 has to do with the glaciers of Greenland. If Greenland's ice sheet melted completely, that alone — over centuries — would raise the oceans by 23 feet. And those glaciers are dumping much more water into the oceans than they did a decade ago, according to two satellite surveys just published, but the studies disagree on the amounts.
Positive feedback seems to be at work. As a glacier melts a little, the water trickles down to the rock and lubricates the glacier's slide toward the sea. So, because of this and other effects, some of Greenland's glaciers are now, in glacial terms, rocketing toward the sea at 7.5 miles a year.
Here's another positive loop. The Arctic permafrost may hold 14 percent of the world's carbon, but as it melts, some of its carbon dioxide and methane are released, adding to the amount of greenhouse gases. So more permafrost melts.
Likewise, millions of years ago, warming oceans with vast amounts of methane in their depths had great episodes of methane belching, which added to the greenhouse effect then. I don't expect the oceans to burp in the same massive way tomorrow, but if they did, no one would know how to fit those unmannerly oceans into a climate model.
Part of the challenge in modeling climate is that we're already off the charts with greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane. "We've driven them out of the range that has existed for the last one million years," noted James Hansen, NASA's top climate expert. "And the climate has not fully responded to changes that have already occurred."
In fairness, there are also negative feedback loops, which could dampen change. For example, warmer temperatures could mean more snow over Antarctica, implying an initial buildup of the Antarctic ice sheet. The added ice could slow global warming and rising sea levels. But a new study just published in Science Express says that the Antarctic ice sheet is already thinning significantly — raising more alarms and casting doubt on that negative feedback.
In any case, it's clear that negative feedback loops in climatology are much less common than positive loops, which amplify change and leave our climate both unstable and vulnerable to human folly.
Still with me?
Look, I know that climate science can be — here's a shock — boring! But it's better for us to slog through it now than for coming generations to slog through the rising waters of, say, Manhattan. It may be more exciting to thump the table about Iraq or torture — or even the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — and those are all hugely important. But global warming may ultimately be the greatest test we face as stewards of our planet. And so far we're failing catastrophically.
"Historians of science will be brutal on us," said Jerry Mahlman, a climate expert at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "We are right now in a state of deep denial about how severe the problem is. Political people are saying, 'Well, it's not on my watch.' They're ducking for cover, because who's going to tell the American people?"
We know what to do: energy conservation, gas taxes and carbon taxes, more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, and new (and safe) nuclear power plants. But our political system is paralyzed in the face of what may be the single biggest challenge to our planet.
"Are we an intelligent species or not?" Dr. Mahlman asked. "Right now, the evidence is against it."
The heating of Antarctica (Click on to animate)
March 6, 2006.
Antarctica.
The changes when animated can be noted according to the time of day, residual heat and direct sunlight.
The weather at Scott Base, Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Clear
-9.0°
Updated Monday 06 Mar 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Elevation
33 ft / 10 m above sea level
30 °F / -1 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
86%
Dew Point:
27 °F / -3 °C
Wind:
Calm North
Pressure:
29.63 in / 1003 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 4500 ft / 1371 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
Clear
-9.0°
Updated Monday 06 Mar 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Elevation
33 ft / 10 m above sea level
30 °F / -1 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
86%
Dew Point:
27 °F / -3 °C
Wind:
Calm North
Pressure:
29.63 in / 1003 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 4500 ft / 1371 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
March 4, 2006.
Cobb, California.
Photographer states :: So much cold wet weather! The ground is fully saturated around here, so little waterfalls abound. This is on Bottle Rock Road, across from the Beaver Creek Campgrounds. There was still some remnant clumps of snow on the side of the road--snow goblins sculpted by the rain.
The photo above and this one is about soil erosion caused with severe flooding.
March 4, 2006.
Cobb, California.
Photographer states :: Glenbrook Road... The ground is fully saturated around here. This is off Bottle Rock Road, near the Beaver Creek Campgrounds.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Seeking a resolve without war
The truth can take on many definitions when cultural differences exist. This is more than likely the case between 'The West' and Islam. For all too long the leaders of Arabia were willing to deal with countries outside Islam for the sake of economics. In doing so they are seen to have tainted 'the truth' of the faith. It is the reason for the strength of Osama bin Laden and ever growing terrorists groups.
The differences between The Middle East and the West goes beyond simply 'the way they dress.' There are huge divides between what they consider truth and lies. Politics is not based in 'reality' in most Islamic cultures. It is established based on the foundation of Mohammad and the faith they practice. I don't consider that reality. The rest of the world is not Islamic. For them that is an issue. It is why political leaders are in danger in areas of the world torn by strife and chronic violent clashes, including Indonesia.
Politics in The West is known to be deceitful. Politicians, rather than truth tellers, are people whom seek common ground with the electorate to 'handle' the business of the country. They seek political office, ideally, to conduct the people's business. Unfortunately within that role they can stray from the best interest of the people and hence the rest of the world stands in judgment.
The United States has for most of it's existence been a beacon of hope for the world and a role model for many until this administration. The Bush White House has shown the International Community the very worst of American Politics. I am not sure Tony Blair hasn't either. Tony Blair, however, has sought a different role in his responsibilities for liberty. Right from the inauguration of Bush he has placed himself directly in the path of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney as a buffer to their intent for war and worse. For the indiscretions of Mr. Blair I am a bit grateful at times, but, I prefer Jack Straw's view of the world.
Seeking the people of this world that can make a difference is a difficult task. One would naturally turn to a Muslim that was recognized for his or her accomplishments especially in the scope of literature, a common place for bonding with difference. Literature is a fluid environment where words are mostly 'strict' in their meaning while used in constructively different ways to be plastically attractive to the minds reading them. In seeking such connection between the Islamic traditions and that of The West I ran across an astounding discovery. That discovery revealed to me the fact a poet/essayist can have different messages for different audiences.
That was disturbing and what began as an enlightened venture into bonding of cultures resulted in a devastating truth all of itself. Those we seek in The West to adorn with our affections for their attempts to bring understanding are simply seeking recognition for the sake of it and not for the resolve of any cultural divide. It placed directly in my path the reality there are major inequities of Western Politics that are sincerely and profoundly a point of hatred of Muslim nations while their own monarchs are the focus of the same hatred for the power they hold.
We would like to see terrorist leaders as dysfunctional and criminal as they are defined in our laws and understanding of life, but, they are seen as truth tellers and vindicators in many corners of Islam. The White House in this country has become a threat to national security and it to that end we need to continue to purge ourselves of corruption, lies and those that seek office for monetary gain rather than carrying out the will of the people and providing venues of peace for the world and for our Homeland.
Recently, the United Nations has directed it's attentions to the new Secretary General. One candidate, a newly appointed Deputy I believe, openly criticized the United States for the atrocity that is Gitmo. He stated it needs to be dismantled immediately. That is the view of the International Community of the USA. The American people should be ashamed of it and direct it's political energies in the direction of humanity once again. I am concerned if we don't we will continue to be a blight on Earth and seen as a threat not only to the balance of power, which includes generosity and environmental stewardship, but also to the degree we continue to lack clout in Islamic traditions. That is unfortunate. But through that, we need the sophistication of the electorate to bring us away from the power brokers who endanger our shorelines, lives and international peace.
When a lie becomes the truth...
Blair Scolded for Evoking God in Iraq War Decision
Keys, who lost a son to the Iraq war, accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure."
LONDON, March 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair drew fire on Saturday, March 4, from families of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition for evoking God in his decision to go to war.
"God and religion have nothing to do with this war," said Reg Keys, the father of Lance Corporal Tom who was one of six Royal Military policemen killed in June 2003, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure and I find it abhorrent."
Blair said God and history would judge his action in joining the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq in March 2003. Some 103 British soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq since then.
"That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with, and in the end there is a judgment that -- well, I think if you have faith about these things then you realize that judgment is made by other people," he said in the interview to be aired Saturday night.
"If you believe in God, it's made by God as well," added Blair, a devout Christian.
...............................................................
The Peace And Justice Foundation, Inc.
El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan is a Washington, DC-based human rights advocate; author, lecturer and poet. His work has taken him across America into Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. He is a founder of the Coalition Against Political Imprisonment (CAPI); a founder and spokesperson for the National Association for Police Accountability (NAPA); and is the founder and director of The Peace and Justice Foundation. He is the author of four books: The Teacher, a work of Islamically-based poetry and commentary on a myriad of social and political issues; Sacrilege In the Haramain, an eyewitness account of the tragedy that occurred in Mecca, Arabia (on 6th Zul-Hijjah 1407/July 31, 1987); Why Our Children Are Killing Themselves, an examination of the root causes behind the crises facing children, youth and families in America; Criminal Justice in America, an examination of the U.S. Criminal Justice System and its impact on the African American community. He is a critically-acclaimed poet, was selected as “An Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1986. In 1995 he was the recipient of the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award,” from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and a “Maryland State Senate Resolution,” (for his human rights work in and outside the State of Maryland). In 1999 Saalakhan served as a consultant for Amnesty International's year long focus on human rights abuses in the United States of America. Presently he heads the National Public Information/Education Campaign (initiated by The Peace And Justice Foundation) to repeal the US government's unconstitutional use of "secret evidence," and to mobilize support for Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
................................................................
THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
8604 SECOND AVENUE, PMB 173 SILVER SPRING, MD 20910
WHEN A LIE BECOMES 'THE TRUTH'
Sheik Umar Abdur Rahman and the World Trade Center Bombing
In 1986, in the aftermath of America's criminal violation of international law with the bombing of Libya, the Reagan Administration got itself briefly into hot water when it was discovered that the pretext upon which it had ordered the bombing of a sovereign state was in fact based upon a lie. In the wake of the fallout, an administration official by the name of Bernard Kalb resigned from his position with the following words: "I am dissenting from the reported disinformation program. I am concerned about the impact of such a program on the credibility of the US...."
.... Time and space limitations will not permit me to explore this issue in any more detail at this time; let it suffice to say, the US Department of Justice moved forward with a baseless multi-count criminal indictment against the blind hafiz al-Quran, with the most serious charge being "seditious conspiracy" against the United States. This is what Sheikh Umar Abdur Rahman and eleven other brothers were convicted of - as the late William "Bill" Kunstler put it, "the [alleged] conspiracy to blow up everybody and everything" - and not the "World Trade Center bombing." We must never for get this!
To be continued (insha'Allah),
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director20 Jumada Awwal 1422 (August 10, 2001)
Keys, who lost a son to the Iraq war, accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure."
LONDON, March 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair drew fire on Saturday, March 4, from families of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition for evoking God in his decision to go to war.
"God and religion have nothing to do with this war," said Reg Keys, the father of Lance Corporal Tom who was one of six Royal Military policemen killed in June 2003, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He accused Blair of "using God as a get-out for total strategic failure and I find it abhorrent."
Blair said God and history would judge his action in joining the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq in March 2003. Some 103 British soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq since then.
"That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with, and in the end there is a judgment that -- well, I think if you have faith about these things then you realize that judgment is made by other people," he said in the interview to be aired Saturday night.
"If you believe in God, it's made by God as well," added Blair, a devout Christian.
...............................................................
The Peace And Justice Foundation, Inc.
El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan is a Washington, DC-based human rights advocate; author, lecturer and poet. His work has taken him across America into Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. He is a founder of the Coalition Against Political Imprisonment (CAPI); a founder and spokesperson for the National Association for Police Accountability (NAPA); and is the founder and director of The Peace and Justice Foundation. He is the author of four books: The Teacher, a work of Islamically-based poetry and commentary on a myriad of social and political issues; Sacrilege In the Haramain, an eyewitness account of the tragedy that occurred in Mecca, Arabia (on 6th Zul-Hijjah 1407/July 31, 1987); Why Our Children Are Killing Themselves, an examination of the root causes behind the crises facing children, youth and families in America; Criminal Justice in America, an examination of the U.S. Criminal Justice System and its impact on the African American community. He is a critically-acclaimed poet, was selected as “An Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1986. In 1995 he was the recipient of the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award,” from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and a “Maryland State Senate Resolution,” (for his human rights work in and outside the State of Maryland). In 1999 Saalakhan served as a consultant for Amnesty International's year long focus on human rights abuses in the United States of America. Presently he heads the National Public Information/Education Campaign (initiated by The Peace And Justice Foundation) to repeal the US government's unconstitutional use of "secret evidence," and to mobilize support for Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
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THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
8604 SECOND AVENUE, PMB 173 SILVER SPRING, MD 20910
WHEN A LIE BECOMES 'THE TRUTH'
Sheik Umar Abdur Rahman and the World Trade Center Bombing
In 1986, in the aftermath of America's criminal violation of international law with the bombing of Libya, the Reagan Administration got itself briefly into hot water when it was discovered that the pretext upon which it had ordered the bombing of a sovereign state was in fact based upon a lie. In the wake of the fallout, an administration official by the name of Bernard Kalb resigned from his position with the following words: "I am dissenting from the reported disinformation program. I am concerned about the impact of such a program on the credibility of the US...."
.... Time and space limitations will not permit me to explore this issue in any more detail at this time; let it suffice to say, the US Department of Justice moved forward with a baseless multi-count criminal indictment against the blind hafiz al-Quran, with the most serious charge being "seditious conspiracy" against the United States. This is what Sheikh Umar Abdur Rahman and eleven other brothers were convicted of - as the late William "Bill" Kunstler put it, "the [alleged] conspiracy to blow up everybody and everything" - and not the "World Trade Center bombing." We must never for get this!
To be continued (insha'Allah),
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director20 Jumada Awwal 1422 (August 10, 2001)
"Nature of the Beast" by Spandau Ballet
It is the key to all the doors,
it is the crashing on the shores.
it lives in your steering wheel.
it hides in the wind and rain,
with voices as cold as steel
it's calling your name
it is the smile upon his face
it is the winning of the race.
it lives in the red-alert.
it lives in the power game
it's easy to take to heart
but harder to tame
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast
it is the glowing in his eyes
it is the reason for his lies
how many know you're there
how many play your game
he's always the man to dare
you're always to blame
it is the need to understand
it is the trigger in his hand
it lives in the uniform
it grows from the need to gain
with faces so old and torn
it's calling your name
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast.
it is the crashing on the shores.
it lives in your steering wheel.
it hides in the wind and rain,
with voices as cold as steel
it's calling your name
it is the smile upon his face
it is the winning of the race.
it lives in the red-alert.
it lives in the power game
it's easy to take to heart
but harder to tame
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast
it is the glowing in his eyes
it is the reason for his lies
how many know you're there
how many play your game
he's always the man to dare
you're always to blame
it is the need to understand
it is the trigger in his hand
it lives in the uniform
it grows from the need to gain
with faces so old and torn
it's calling your name
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
this is the nature of the beast
(this is the nature)
without all this heat
they'll be dancing west to east
this is the nature of the beast.
Friday, March 03, 2006
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