A two-storey open-mesh atrium will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape … Taronga's rival zoo, which is being built at Darling Harbour.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Asutalia's Indoor Zoo - is the town big enough for two zoos? On a rainy day it is.
A two-storey open-mesh atrium will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape … Taronga's rival zoo, which is being built at Darling Harbour.
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Healthy Kids: It's at the zoo
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Something new is happening at the zoo. It could mean a lot for children, their knowledge of the wild and even their health.
Woodland Park Zoo today opens an exhibit that introduces children to animals and environments in an active way. Zoomazium is pretty amazing.
Children of various ages will be able to walk and climb through a series of realistic mountain, forest and grassland exhibits. They can participate in plays and puppet shows or use interactive exhibits.
For a generation raised on TV, iPod and computer games, this is a healthy move. As Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder," told a P-I reporter during a zoo visit this year, "They really understand that it is very, very important within the zoo to offer a hands-on experience beyond a petting zoo."
As Louv has observed, today's children get relatively few opportunities for any kind of physical activity, especially in nature. (Zoomazium is indoors; the past week's weather notwithstanding, this is still Seattle.) Despite the mania for cramming children full of facts, their mental development is harmed by lopsided experiences.
Other groups are trying to help. Seattle Audubon has a number of efforts to connect kids with nature. The National PTA has launched a campaign to save recess, which is most shortchanged in poorer neighborhoods.
The trends are stacked against active kids. Zoomazium is a promisingly countercultural institution.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/270782_zoomed.html
Zoo director cleared of bylaw charges
Elephant-sized inconvenience for zoo and judicial system, said Justice of the Peace
May 18, 2006
By Jennifer Stone
More from this author
TORONTO -- It's not easy to miss an 8,000 lb. elephant.
But that, argued well-known Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, is exactly what a Toronto bylaw inspector did last October, when he laid charges against Bowmanville Zoo and its director and part owner Michael Hackenberger for having elephants Caesar and Limba in the city.
The work of the inspector, Peter Freeman, left a lot to be desired, said Mr. Ruby.
"I describe his actions as being like the quality of inspection you'd expect of Inspector Clouseau," said Mr. Ruby. "This is a man who managed to overlook an 8,000-pound elephant. This is a man who, when there were five (four-by-six-foot green information) signs, could only see one ... It's hard to lose an elephant of 8,000 pounds."
http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/regions/clarington/story/3502761p-4047447c.html
Rogue elephant escapes in Rwanda
Mutware has been rampaging through farms since the weekend
Rwandan wildlife officials have admitted that the infamous elephant, Mutware, has escaped from Akagera National Park - terrifying villagers.
Conservation officer Fidel Ruzigandekwe said trackers were trying to find him.
The bull elephant's fearsome reputation was further fuelled last year by a US security warning about his temper.
"We can no longer move; we are in fear of Mutware, who has destroyed our gardens," one resident told Rwanda's New Times newspaper.
"He has destroyed crops but so far no-one has reported any damage to infrastructure," Mr Ruzigandekwe, who works for Rwanda's Tourism and National Parks Office, told AFP news agency.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4993574.stm
Six Pack
May 18, 2006
TONIGHT
ZOO PARTY: Zoo Brew
WHEN: 5:30 tonight
WHERE: Blank Park Zoo, 7401 S.W. Ninth St.
Here's something for the real party animal.
Blank Park Zoo's Zoo Brew returns.
Tonight's season inaugural celebrates the zoo's 40th anniversary and will feature beers that were available 40 years ago.
Split Second, a rock/variety band, will perform, appetizers from Baratta's Restaurant will be available and zoo exhibits will be open until 8 p.m.
Zoo Brew occurs every third Thursday of every month during the summer. Each event is themed.
Proceeds benefit Blank Park Zoo operations and other national animal emergency funds.
Admission for the Zoo Brew is $10 or $5 for members, at the door. Zoo Brew is a 21-and-older event.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/ENT/605180357/1046/ENT
Ontario is the WILD WEST in the zoo business
The WSPA calls for zoo standards that address public safety and animal welfare
Attention: City Editor, Media Editor, News Editor, Travel/Tourism Editor
TORONTO, ONTARIO, MEDIA RELEASE--(CCNMatthews - May 18, 2006) - With the long weekend approaching, people will be out exploring Ontario zoos. But what they don't know could hurt them. Ontario is the worst in Canada when it comes to public safety and the welfare of animals. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) wants the government to implement standards to make it safer for the public and ensure proper care of animals.
There are currently no standards in place for zoos. So, it is not surprising there are more roadside zoos in Ontario than any where else in the country. More than 40 zoos are known to exist in Ontario and the majority are substandard, roadside facilities. By implementing standards it will force zoos to improve the conditions for the animals, and to make it safer for people to view these animals.
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=595425
Young monkeys sold in meat market adopted
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 17, 2006
Last week, an Allen's swamp monkey sat in his new home: an enclosure in the Ituri Forest exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, which has a running stream and an adjoining house where he and his friends spend their nights. The animals, about 2 years old, are the size of cats.
Their parents were killed for meat, and the young monkeys seemed destined for a similar fate.
Instead, zoos across the United States, including the San Diego Zoo, united to rescue the “bushmeat orphans.”
Last year, a South African businessman found them crammed into wire cages in the markets of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He bought 34 and arranged to take them back to his country.
He planned to sell them as pets. But what should he charge? The businessman called the San Diego Zoo asking to give him advice. “I refused to do that,” said Karen Killmar, associate curator of mammals at the zoo. She kept the man talking, though.
Now, all but one of the monkeys are living in U.S. zoos. Six zoos rescued them, and in doing so, added genetic diversity to their existing populations.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060517-9999-7m17monkeys.html
Dodge Van Promotion Partners with Cereal Company
In a campaign that begins this weekend, the Chicago-based breakfast cereal company Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe will brand a 2006 Dodge Sprinter - complete with a mobile kitchen - which will tour major zoos, writes Brandweek.
The Cereality campaign is also part of the Sprinter's own "Dodge Zoo Adventure" campaign this summer and Dodge Drive for the Kids events mobile tour coming this fall.
"We wanted to create a cereal-based version of the much-loved neighborhood ice cream truck, where we could take our 'Always Saturday Morning' experience right to our customers where they live, work and play at any time of day or night - showing up at special events, schools, office parks and sporting venues," David Roth, Cereality CEO, said (pdf).
Related topics: Branding, Buying, Creative Issues, Demographics, Media Department, Outdoor, Planning, Promotions...
http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2006/05/17/dodge_van_promotion_partners_wi/index.php
Beastly rain keeping zoos’ animals wet, wild
By Kristin Erekson
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - Updated: 10:07 AM EST
If you think the stench of a damp dog stinks, try sniffing a dozen soggy Mexican wolves and wet wildebeests.
Animals at Dorchester’s Franklin Park Zoo and Stoneham’s Stone Zoo are struggling to stay dry during torrential downpours. “For the most part they are holding up well,” said Fred Beall, Zoo New England’s general curator. “Animals experience rain in the wild, so during prolonged showers they will seek out some sort of shelter,” he said. “They’ll head to trees or some sort of protection from the wind and driving rain.”
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Due to the flooding of walkways and a water-logged barn that houses goats and sheep, the Stone Zoo has closed its doors until water levels recede.
Animals who don’t like to get their coats wet have the option to cover up in shelters temporarily placed on exhibit property.
But the zoos’ Mexican wolves and wildebeests don’t mind the drizzle. “The animals are just hunkering down and bearing it,” said Beall.
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=139455
PETA seeks court ruling on poor state of zoos
Mumbai: An animal rights group has moved the Supreme Court against the substandard state of zoos across the country and the alleged inhumane treatment of the captives.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, said in a statement that after conducting investigations of more than 30 zoos, it found that officials are "almost always not properly trained in the care of animals, veterinary doctors do not have adequate wildlife training and some zoos do not have veterinary doctors".
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=57146
Zoos Rescue Monkeys From Pet Trade
San Diego Zoo Takes In 5 Monkeys
POSTED: 9:00 am EDT May 8, 2006
UPDATED: 9:03 am EDT May 8, 2006
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SAN DIEGO -- Zoos across the country have taken in a group of African monkeys that were rescued from the exotic pet business.
The San Diego Zoo has taken in five of the more than 30 monkeys.
The animals' parents were killed for food in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A South African native had rescued them from the illegal bushmeat market and intended to sell them as pets.
But several United States zoos have rescued the monkeys again in order to preserve the species.
The rest of the monkeys are in zoos in Denver; San Antonio; Houston; Tampa, Fla.; and Arizona.
http://www.nbc6.net/news/9175192/detail.html
Bush-meat monkeys saved by US zoos
May 8, 2006, 18:23 GMT
Los Angeles - Six US zoos have paid some 400,000 dollars to buy 33 monkeys orphaned when their parents were killed by poachers for bush meat in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The monkeys are aged 2 to 5 and come from five different species.
Poachers are believed to have killed their parents for the illicit traffic in bush meat, which is pushing some species towards extinction.
The baby monkeys, who did not have enough meat to be valuable as food, were sold as exotic pets to a South African businessman who contacted the San Diego Zoo about a year ago to see if it would be interested in buying them.
Together with five others US zoos, San Diego decided to pay for the monkeys' purchase, quarantine and transport. Almost all of the primates are now on public display.
http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1162278.php/Bush-meat_monkeys_saved_by_US_zoos
Going wild for wildlife
Jack Hanna supports park benefit
By K.O. Jackson
The Journal Gazette
“Jungle” Jack Hanna, host of the TV program, “Animal Adventures,” is shown here with a baby rhinoceros. Hanna will be in Fort Wayne on Sunday at a fundraiser to benefit the Black Pine Animal Park.
Remove the talk show appearances, international TV shows, wildlife nicknames and khaki clothing and no one can confuse “Jungle” Jack Hanna with crocodile hunter Steve Irwin.
Oh yeah, while you are at it, go ahead and remove Hanna’s Tennessee twang and Irwin’s Australian accent.
True, both men have managed zoos and provided educational information about wildlife conservation; however, don’t expect to see Hanna get his clothing wrinkled by wrestling animals.
“No, I don’t touch the animals that way,” says Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, during a recent phone interview.
“(Irwin) has his own way of doing things and I have mine. He is a very bright guy, but you don’t touch animals in the wild. You observe them.
“I’ve been doing this for 36 years and I am not going to change now. My style is ‘don’t touch.’ Like I said, he’s a very bright guy who knows a lot about reptiles. We just go at it in a different way.”
At 3 p.m. Sunday at the Scottish Rite Center, people can see how Hanna has spent his career handling animals at a fundraiser for the Black Pine Animal Park in Albion.
The event, “Jack Hanna: Going Wild for Wildlife,” is sponsored by WISE-TV, Channel 33 – Hanna’s show is seen every Saturday morning on the station – and WAJI-FM Majic 95.1.
Lori Gagen, a Black Pine spokeswoman, says Hanna’s visit will serve as the park’s official fundraising kickoff for relocating the center this fall.
She said several properties in Albion have been explored for the relocation, but nothing has yet been decided.
“We are very excited to have Jack coming here,” says Gagen, estimating the center needs to raise several hundred thousand dollars to make the transition. “We know Jack is fond of Fort Wayne and it’s good to bring him back here for the community to enjoy.”
Black Pine is a non-profit animal sanctuary housing displaced exotic pets and retired performing animals. Gagen said there are more than 90 animals located on the site and all will need new homes.
As a result, Hanna, who began working with animals at age 11 at a Tennessee veterinarian office, is pleased to be in Fort Wayne to assist the center.
In addition to the Columbus Zoo and hosting his own TV show for the past 20-plus years, Hanna has appeared regularly on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.” He has also written seven books about animals.
“Black Pine is one of the finest, magnificent parks in the country,” says Hanna, who will be accompanied by a cheetah as well as mountain gorilla videos he recently filmed in Rwanda.
“Last year, more than 146 million people visited zoos and aquariums in America. That’s more than baseball and football games. We are looking forward to being in Fort Wayne and helping them out.”
kjackson@jg.net
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/14508310.htm
Claws out: rumble in urban jungle
A two-storey open-mesh atrium will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape … Taronga's rival zoo, which is being built at Darling Harbour.
Photo: Adam MacLean
By Bellinda Kontominas
May 6, 2006
AS THE city's newest animal attraction prepares to open, conservationists say there is no room in this town for two zoos.
Bradley Trevor Grieve, governor of Taronga's fundraising arm, said the zoo at Sydney Aquarium would severely affect Taronga's revenue.
"Suddenly here is this upstart attraction stealing a lot of the audience for an inferior experience," Mr Greive said.
"The core costs of any zoo remains the same - the animals have to be fed and the staff have to be paid. Ultimately it's going to [affect] the number of programs and the number of quality trained staff, [which] are going to end up being cut."
Just a few kilometres separate Taronga Zoo from the controversial Sydney Wildlife World in Darling Harbour, due to open in September.
The $50 million wildlife attraction will exhibit only native animals in an effort to capture the lucrative international tourist market and to distinguish itself from Taronga.
"We're meant to complement each other," said Ravini Perera, marketing director of Sydney Attractions Group, owner of Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Aquarium, Oceanworld Manly and the Sydney Tower Skywalk.
Taronga zoo management opposed the rival attraction in its planning stages on grounds that it did not comply with the Exhibited Animals Protection Act.
Sydney Attractions Group predicts about 1 million people will visit the wildlife park in its first year.
This has prompted criticism by animal conservationists, who argue that large numbers of people on the site - and the surrounding entertainment area, which is the venue for loud music and regular fireworks displays - will expose the animals to inappropriate conditions.
Also under fire is the building's two-storey open-mesh atrium, which will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape.
"This development takes us back 100 years to one of those horrible little exhibition zoos that we still see in the dark corners of Europe and Asia," Mr Greive said.
Entry to Sydney Wildlife World is expected to cost about $27.50.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/claws-out-rumble-in-urban-jungle/2006/05/05/1146335930406.html
Big cats need protection from exploitation
A friend recently brought something to my attention that, if you understand animals, was very emotionally disturbing. She was at a popular local flea market hunting for bargains when she saw a sign that said, "Get your photo taken with a baby tiger!"
"Isn't that illegal?" you may be asking yourself. It is true that the average Michigan citizen cannot own a tiger.
Unless, of course, you have a USDA Class C Exhibitors license, which allows zoos, circuses and self-proclaimed "educators" to exhibit their animals to the public. That's bad enough, but the license also allows whoever has one to breed and sell their offspring, which inevitably will end up in the wrong hands.
In fact, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that only 10 percent of the 15,000 tigers in the United States are in professionally-regulated zoos and sanctuaries.
http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/LIFE/605050347/1111/NEWS18
Bears get home to roam in Kendalia
Web Posted: 05/06/2006 12:00 AM CDT
Scott Huddleston
Express-News Staff Writer
As two American black bears stretched out in their new home north of San Antonio, they felt grass under their paws and sunshine on their furry faces.
After years in cages in a darkened barn, it might have been just a bit overwhelming.
The two female bears are among 16 wild animals — 11 bears, two tigers, two feral hogs and a macaw — seized April 20 in Gonzales County. Besides a tiger sent to a North Texas sanctuary, the bears are the only ones in a permanent home.
Lynn Cuny, executive director of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Kendalia, offered to take one bear. Officials of the Houston SPCA, which helped Gonzales County with the seizure, talked her into two.
"They were in such horrendous living conditions that we couldn't say no," Cuny said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA050606.01B.Bears.3503fd9.html
Pair of Syracuse elephants to head north
SYRACUSE, N.Y. A Syracuse zoo will loan two of its Asian elephants to a privately-owned Canadian wildlife park.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo will send 22-year-old Targa and her 9-year-old daughter Mali to African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario next week. The park currently boasts the continent's most prolific Asian elephant breeding program, with a herd of 13 elephants that includes three newborn calves.
Zoo officials say it will be a wonderful opportunity for Mali to breed, and for the elephants to help their species, in captivity and in the wild. The move comes amid a national debate about whether elephants should be kept in zoos and wildlife parks, particularly in colder northern climates.
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4868307&nav=2aKD
Mountain lion kittens split up - female sent to zoo in Oregon and male released into wild
By Tom Lawrence, Black Hills Pioneer
May 18, 2006
RAPID CITY - The mountain lion siblings that were captured in Rapid City this week have been split up.
The female lion was shipped to a zoo in Portland, Ore., this morning; the male was released back into the wild later in the day.
The eight-month-old lions were orphaned when their mother was tracked, treed and killed Tuesday morning. The 40-pound female kitten was darted and captured Sunday; the 60-pound male kitten was trapped and darted Wednesday morning.
The local lion adventure started Sunday when a local resident spotted the female kitten in a tree. He alerted authorities, who darted and captured the young female cougar.
Game, Fish & Parks big-game biologist John Kanta then spotted a mule deer carcass nearby that was being watched by the mother lion. It ran off when efforts were made to capture or kill it.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16660335&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156925&rfi=6
Replacement Erie Zoo Gorilla Dies En Route
Tumai, the 21 year old lowland gorilla enroute to the Erie Zoo, on Thursday, May 18th, has died. The gorilla was being delivered from a zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, when zoo officials say his heart simply "stopped beating." He was onboard an airplane scheduled to land in Cleveland when he died. This is the second time a gorilla expected to arrive at the Erie Zoo has died. In November 2005, Kuba, a 16 year old gorilla from Topeka, Kansas died of a heart attack, just prior to his arrival. Both Tumai and Kuba were to be mated with Samantha, Erie's female gorilla. Erie Zoo spokesman Scott Mitchell said in a phone conference with Newswatch that the zoo is devistated by the loss, and it's too early to tell what the zoo's next step will be. A necropcy will be performed to determined Tumai's exact cause of death.
News questions, comments? E-mail us!
35WSEE News Room at wseenews@35wsee.com
http://www.35wsee.com/news2a.cfm?more=8748&category=1&news=fullstory
JackHammers team up with Brookfield Zoo
05/18/06 - Northern League (NL) Joliet JackHammers
JOLIET-The Joliet JackHammers have announced a unique partnership with the Brookfield Zoo in conjunction with the Junior JackHammers Pepsi Kids Club. Members of the Junior JackHammers Kids Club will receive two vouchers to the Brookfield Zoo along with their Kids Club membership. The Brookfield Zoo will also hand out free zoo vouchers to kids at JackHammers home games on May 31, July 6, and August 8.
The Junior JackHammers Pepsi Kids Club includes an official Pepsi Kids Club T-Shirt, a monthly newsletter during the JackHammers season, and seven vouchers good for single game general admission tickets, as well as seven vouchers for free regular Pepsis at Silver Cross Field. The children will also take part in a special baseball camp at Silver Cross Field during the summer months. The cost for membership is just 25$.
"The Brookfield Zoo is proud to partner with the Joliet JackHammers on summer fun!" said Amy Walgren, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Brookfield Zoo. "During select dates in June, July and August, Brookfield Zoo guests will enjoy having their photo taken with Jammer, the Joliet JackHammers' mascot and players from the team. This promotion gives Brookfield Zoo and the Joliet JackHammers' an opportunity to share family fun."
Loose Gravel: The 2006 regular season opens up for the JackHammers on May 19 at Winnipeg. As always, you can catch every regular season game on 1340 WJOL.
The JackHammers have full season tickets, mini-plan ticket packages, individual tickets and a variety of group ticket packages available for the 2006 season. The 2006 home season begins May 26 at Silver Cross Field. For additional information, call 815-726-BALL (2255), visit the team's website at www.jackhammerbaseball.com, send an e-mail to info@jackhammerbaseball.com or visit the team offices at Silver Cross Field.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3312693
Birmingham Zoo's new resident sure to become the mane event
Friday, May 19, 2006
NIKI DOYLE
News staff writer
Proud family members gather around their newest addition while flashes snap and footprints are made.
Doctors examine the youngster. Someone brushes his head full of caramel-colored hair.
He's weighed and measured, and the numbers are proudly announced - 230 pounds and 3 feet tall.
Meet Kwanza, the newest member of the Birmingham Zoo family.
Kwanza, an African lion cub, was born in Waco, Texas, on Dec. 24, 2004, and was added to the Birmingham Zoo on Feb. 15. He was quarantined pending a veterinary exam. His name tells the story of his heritage - he was born just days before the start of Kwanzaa, the cultural holiday.
Once he's familiar with his new home, Kwanza will be the only male in the what the zoo hopes to become a lion pride where Kwanza will be used for breeding. Sheba, an 18-year-old lioness, was the only lion in the zoo before Kwanza arrived.
"This is a particularly good-looking animal, and that's part of why we're so pleased to have him," zoo Director Bill Foster said.
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/114803068148470.xml&coll=2
Zoo Bears Test 'Bear-Proof' Trash Cans
Number Of Bears In N.J. Skyrockets
LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- If you want to make sure your trash can is bear-proof, give it to some bears to test.
That's what the Bear Education and Resource Group did recently at a zoo in Lacey Township, N.J.
Four bears went after trash cans the group bear-proofed and filled with snacks.
They bears barely made a dent in the trash cans after 30 minutes.
The number of bears in New Jersey has skyrocketed and the group wants homeowners to keep their property safe.
http://www.wesh.com/news/9239988/detail.html
Photo in the News: Elephant Shuns Jumbo Treadmill
May 19, 2006—You can lead an elephant to a treadmill, but you can't make her walk.
That's the lesson zookeepers are learning in Anchorage, Alaska, where they have been struggling to get the zoo's resident elephant to exercise.
Maggie, a 23-year-old African elephant (pictured here on May 16), is the only pachyderm at the Alaska Zoo, where she is kept indoors much of the time to protect her from the cold.
Critics have charged that Maggie should be moved to a zoo in a warmer climate, where she can enjoy the outdoors and the company of other elephants.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060519_elephant.html
Giraffes added to Zoo's Africa exhibit
And then there were three.
Two male giraffes are the third species to arrive at the Minnesota Zoo's special summer exhibit called Africa: Summer on the Savanna.
Zawadi and Sweta join ostriches and gazelles that are already in the exhibit. Zebras will be added next week.
The two giraffes are on loan to the Minnesota Zoo for the length of the exhibit, after Labor Day they'll go back to their home zoo.
Tony Fisher, Animal Collection Manager for the Zoo, said this exhibit will only be open from May 24 to Labor Day. He said the idea is to create an environment as close to an African Savanna as possible, given the climate differences.
All of the animals will interact as they would in Africa.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=125215
'Hood Tour' sets dates for events at zoo, park
Jazz singer Kathy Wade's "Hood is Bigger Than You Think Tour" will make stops this summer at the Cincinnati Zoo and Eden Park before wrapping up in August with a "Crown Jewels of Jazz" gala featuring Eartha Kitt.
The 12-year-old event will feature a Kids, Cultures and Crafts Festival at the zoo June 23. For the first time in its history the zoo will open its gates for free at noon that day. Among the performers during the day will be Tracy Walker, Robin Lacey & DeZydeco and Grammy-nominated children's artist Zak Morgan.
The Hood music festival, which traditionally brings together a diverse group of artists, is July 22 at the Seasongood Pavilion, Eden Park, featuring R&B artist Midnight Star, blues singer Sheryl Renee, hard rockers Bluf, Boston singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert and the Afro-Rican Ensemble.
The concert will officially kick off what the CincinnatiUSA Regional Tourism Network is billing as Music Fusion Week, which concludes the next weekend with the Cincy Blues Fest and the Macy's Riverfront Stadium R&B festival.
Wade had previously announced Eartha Kitt would be the headliner of this year's gala Aug. 26 at Music Hall Ballroom. The event is the main fund-raiser for Wade's "Learning Through Art" educational programs.
For ticket information: (866) 242-3252; www.learningthroughart.com.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/LIFE/605190363/1005
John Ball Zoo uncovers Stingray Lagoon
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By Troy Reimink
The Grand Rapids Press
Remember how your mother used to say, "look, but don't touch"? If you visit John Ball Zoo this summer, you can forget about that.
The zoo's theme for the coming months is "World of Treasures," and its key exhibit is the Stingray Lagoon, an interactive display containing two species of stingrays that opens today.
"They're gorgeous, really unique, beautiful animals," zoo director Bert Vescolani said. "We're very excited about this."
The Stingray Lagoon -- an outdoor pool alongside the aquarium that houses about two dozen rays -- is the "crown jewel" of a series of attractions and improvements at the zoo this summer. Among them:
An expanded enclosure for the wallabies, the Australian creatures that have proven popular since their debut last summer
A bigger aviary for the budgies, the cheerful birds from last year's Australian exhibit
Improvements to the herpetarium/nocturnal building
An outdoor habitat for Precious, the zoo's Komodo dragon
Six swan paddleboats available for $5-per-hour rentals on the pond in John Ball Park.. But the stingrays are stars of the show, allowing hands-on interaction. Visitors can touch and, at certain times, participate in their feeding. There's no risk of getting stung.
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/1148106110259460.xml&coll=6
Zoo hopes to get $6M in state money
Associated Press
Asheboro Officials with the North Carolina Zoo want $6 million in state money for six projects, including an interactive center for children.
The N.C. Zoological Park Council moved its spring meeting to Raleigh to meet Wednesday with state legislators. The money would be the zoo's first capital funding in 14 years.
The meeting at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences was attended by 22 legislators and 10 members of the zoo council.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS/605190370/-1/State
Philadelphia Zoo's big cats have new grounds to prowl
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By APRIL HELMER
Courier-Post Staff
The Philadelphia Zoo opens a new home for a carnivorous cavalcade Thursday. The $20 million Big Cat Falls will house lions, Amur leopards, jaguars, pumas, snow leopards and tigers.
The zoo hopes the black jaguar from the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama currently in the exhibit soon will be joined by a male spotted jaguar, Frankie, from a zoo in Belize and a female from La Aurora Zoo in Guatemala.
The Philadelphia zoo's much-loved pride of four lions, male Merlin and females Vinkel, Jezebel and Zenda, has returned from the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.
A new male Amur tiger, Dmitri, arrived from the zoo in Little Rock, Ark., and female tiger Kira will return home this fall from Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y.
Krepki, the zoo's male Amur leopard, and Katia, the zoo's female Amur leopard, will split time on exhibit with three playful new snow leopard cubs, who will be arriving in the next few weeks from zoos in Cleveland and Denver.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060520/LIVING/605200322/1004
Go directly to zoo, game voters say
Zoo was top pick among local images for Monopoly-style game.
From staff reports
The voters have spoken, and the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is near and dear to their hearts.
That’s the top vote-getter among more than 1,000 people who made their choices for images for Fort Wayne On Board, a Monopoly-style game that is being created by Leadership Fort Wayne as a fundraiser.
Instead of Park Place and jail, players will see city buildings, statues and scenes, some of them painted by local artist Terry Ratliff for the game.
The leadership development group wants to sell 3,500 games and raise $100,000 after production costs. Fort Wayne businesses paid for squares on the board. Fort Wayne Newspapers, which serves as business agent for The News-Sentinel and The Journal Gazette, is one of the media sponsors of the project.
Here is a list, in alphabetical order, of what voters chose:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/14628495.htm
What a zoo!
May 20, 2006 - An orangutan gets physical therapy
Physical therapy isn't just for humans anymore, the Toledo Zoo has now been successful in rehabilitating one of its orangutans.
MJ, is an orangutan in physical therapy. She is recovering from a shoulder injury she got last October while monkeying around with her half brother.
Primate keeper, Suzanne Husband, says, "He tries not to hurt her but she picks fights with him. He tries to reprimand her to let her know he's not trying to attack her. She dislocated her arm when he got a hold of her wrist as she was pulling away."
Keepers noticed MJ's arm was swelling; they called on vets and orthopedic surgeons and they had to operate.
"When they originally tried to set it, it popped back out, so we ended up just having to put a pin in it and a cast on her arm."
She was in her cast for six weeks, then it was time for physical therapy, orangutan style.
"With the tubes we actually had to get the strength back in her hands because she had a cast on for so long, she'd lost a lot of the muscle. First we just worked with her, pulling on the tubes to get her strength back in the individual fingers."
The staff worked with MJ up to three times a day.
"Luckily their intelligent enough that they understand the concept that we have to work with them. It's something that has to be fixed, so she cooperated quite nicely with us, so we got very lucky with her."
Right now, her injury keeps her in isolation. But don't feel bad for her; she's got plenty to do!
"If people see her by herself now, she's actually extremely content, she's spoiled. When she is by herself, she has a TV and videos that she can watch. She likes to play and she gets a lot of attention inside."
MJ's keepers are pleased with her progress and hope that soon she will be able to join her orang family, as long as she doesn't pick on her half-brother!
"She might not be 100% with that arm, but she can move it enough that she can get along fine!"
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=4189711
Zoo granted power to refuse funds, aid
By James Fisher
Daily Times Staff Writer
SALISBURY -- The City Council strengthened the Salisbury Zoo's ability to decline the offer of volunteer time and fund-raising dollars from anyone whose "past, present and future conduct does not support the goals, purposes and operation of the Salisbury Zoological Park."
The council passed the resolution Monday night after hearing from zoo staffers and directors who supported the change to the Zoo Commission's bylaws. Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman also spoke up in favor of the change.
"There are occasional times when individuals seek to be members of the zoo when they are not, in fact, friends of the zoo," Tilghman said. "The important thing is to get some standards in place so that we don't, in the future, seem arbitrary."
The change is at least in part a reaction to efforts by a former zoo employee, Jennifer Albero, and her husband, Joe Albero, to buy zoo memberships in January, although local government officials did not refer to them. The Alberos, who frequently clash with zoo officials and the Salisbury government, said in an interview Monday that their application had been rejected.
"They're making this personal," Joe Albero said. "This is about animals we're keeping tabs on."
Zoo officials have said that Joe Albero, who often visits the zoo looking for violations of pollution and animal welfare laws, often interferes with zoo employees' work. Complicating the Alberos' ties to the zoo is a sexual harassment lawsuit Jennifer Albero filed against zoo Director Jim Rapp in 2003.
Rapp, in support of the change approved Monday, said it would help zoo employees and volunteers make the attraction, located in Salisbury, a welcoming place for visitors.
City attorney Paul Wilber said the language regarding "future conduct" was intended to allow the city to revoke zoo memberships that had already been granted, if warranted.
Individual zoo memberships cost $25 and provide free admission to some events, gift shop discounts and other benefits.
Reach James Fisher at 410-845-4655 or jfisher@salisbury.gannett.com.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060314/NEWS01/603140318/1002
continued …
Healthy Kids: It's at the zoo
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Something new is happening at the zoo. It could mean a lot for children, their knowledge of the wild and even their health.
Woodland Park Zoo today opens an exhibit that introduces children to animals and environments in an active way. Zoomazium is pretty amazing.
Children of various ages will be able to walk and climb through a series of realistic mountain, forest and grassland exhibits. They can participate in plays and puppet shows or use interactive exhibits.
For a generation raised on TV, iPod and computer games, this is a healthy move. As Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder," told a P-I reporter during a zoo visit this year, "They really understand that it is very, very important within the zoo to offer a hands-on experience beyond a petting zoo."
As Louv has observed, today's children get relatively few opportunities for any kind of physical activity, especially in nature. (Zoomazium is indoors; the past week's weather notwithstanding, this is still Seattle.) Despite the mania for cramming children full of facts, their mental development is harmed by lopsided experiences.
Other groups are trying to help. Seattle Audubon has a number of efforts to connect kids with nature. The National PTA has launched a campaign to save recess, which is most shortchanged in poorer neighborhoods.
The trends are stacked against active kids. Zoomazium is a promisingly countercultural institution.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/270782_zoomed.html
Zoo director cleared of bylaw charges
Elephant-sized inconvenience for zoo and judicial system, said Justice of the Peace
May 18, 2006
By Jennifer Stone
More from this author
TORONTO -- It's not easy to miss an 8,000 lb. elephant.
But that, argued well-known Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, is exactly what a Toronto bylaw inspector did last October, when he laid charges against Bowmanville Zoo and its director and part owner Michael Hackenberger for having elephants Caesar and Limba in the city.
The work of the inspector, Peter Freeman, left a lot to be desired, said Mr. Ruby.
"I describe his actions as being like the quality of inspection you'd expect of Inspector Clouseau," said Mr. Ruby. "This is a man who managed to overlook an 8,000-pound elephant. This is a man who, when there were five (four-by-six-foot green information) signs, could only see one ... It's hard to lose an elephant of 8,000 pounds."
http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/regions/clarington/story/3502761p-4047447c.html
Rogue elephant escapes in Rwanda
Mutware has been rampaging through farms since the weekend
Rwandan wildlife officials have admitted that the infamous elephant, Mutware, has escaped from Akagera National Park - terrifying villagers.
Conservation officer Fidel Ruzigandekwe said trackers were trying to find him.
The bull elephant's fearsome reputation was further fuelled last year by a US security warning about his temper.
"We can no longer move; we are in fear of Mutware, who has destroyed our gardens," one resident told Rwanda's New Times newspaper.
"He has destroyed crops but so far no-one has reported any damage to infrastructure," Mr Ruzigandekwe, who works for Rwanda's Tourism and National Parks Office, told AFP news agency.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4993574.stm
Six Pack
May 18, 2006
TONIGHT
ZOO PARTY: Zoo Brew
WHEN: 5:30 tonight
WHERE: Blank Park Zoo, 7401 S.W. Ninth St.
Here's something for the real party animal.
Blank Park Zoo's Zoo Brew returns.
Tonight's season inaugural celebrates the zoo's 40th anniversary and will feature beers that were available 40 years ago.
Split Second, a rock/variety band, will perform, appetizers from Baratta's Restaurant will be available and zoo exhibits will be open until 8 p.m.
Zoo Brew occurs every third Thursday of every month during the summer. Each event is themed.
Proceeds benefit Blank Park Zoo operations and other national animal emergency funds.
Admission for the Zoo Brew is $10 or $5 for members, at the door. Zoo Brew is a 21-and-older event.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/ENT/605180357/1046/ENT
Ontario is the WILD WEST in the zoo business
The WSPA calls for zoo standards that address public safety and animal welfare
Attention: City Editor, Media Editor, News Editor, Travel/Tourism Editor
TORONTO, ONTARIO, MEDIA RELEASE--(CCNMatthews - May 18, 2006) - With the long weekend approaching, people will be out exploring Ontario zoos. But what they don't know could hurt them. Ontario is the worst in Canada when it comes to public safety and the welfare of animals. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) wants the government to implement standards to make it safer for the public and ensure proper care of animals.
There are currently no standards in place for zoos. So, it is not surprising there are more roadside zoos in Ontario than any where else in the country. More than 40 zoos are known to exist in Ontario and the majority are substandard, roadside facilities. By implementing standards it will force zoos to improve the conditions for the animals, and to make it safer for people to view these animals.
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=595425
Young monkeys sold in meat market adopted
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 17, 2006
Last week, an Allen's swamp monkey sat in his new home: an enclosure in the Ituri Forest exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, which has a running stream and an adjoining house where he and his friends spend their nights. The animals, about 2 years old, are the size of cats.
Their parents were killed for meat, and the young monkeys seemed destined for a similar fate.
Instead, zoos across the United States, including the San Diego Zoo, united to rescue the “bushmeat orphans.”
Last year, a South African businessman found them crammed into wire cages in the markets of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He bought 34 and arranged to take them back to his country.
He planned to sell them as pets. But what should he charge? The businessman called the San Diego Zoo asking to give him advice. “I refused to do that,” said Karen Killmar, associate curator of mammals at the zoo. She kept the man talking, though.
Now, all but one of the monkeys are living in U.S. zoos. Six zoos rescued them, and in doing so, added genetic diversity to their existing populations.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060517-9999-7m17monkeys.html
Dodge Van Promotion Partners with Cereal Company
In a campaign that begins this weekend, the Chicago-based breakfast cereal company Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe will brand a 2006 Dodge Sprinter - complete with a mobile kitchen - which will tour major zoos, writes Brandweek.
The Cereality campaign is also part of the Sprinter's own "Dodge Zoo Adventure" campaign this summer and Dodge Drive for the Kids events mobile tour coming this fall.
"We wanted to create a cereal-based version of the much-loved neighborhood ice cream truck, where we could take our 'Always Saturday Morning' experience right to our customers where they live, work and play at any time of day or night - showing up at special events, schools, office parks and sporting venues," David Roth, Cereality CEO, said (pdf).
Related topics: Branding, Buying, Creative Issues, Demographics, Media Department, Outdoor, Planning, Promotions...
http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2006/05/17/dodge_van_promotion_partners_wi/index.php
Beastly rain keeping zoos’ animals wet, wild
By Kristin Erekson
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - Updated: 10:07 AM EST
If you think the stench of a damp dog stinks, try sniffing a dozen soggy Mexican wolves and wet wildebeests.
Animals at Dorchester’s Franklin Park Zoo and Stoneham’s Stone Zoo are struggling to stay dry during torrential downpours. “For the most part they are holding up well,” said Fred Beall, Zoo New England’s general curator. “Animals experience rain in the wild, so during prolonged showers they will seek out some sort of shelter,” he said. “They’ll head to trees or some sort of protection from the wind and driving rain.”
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Due to the flooding of walkways and a water-logged barn that houses goats and sheep, the Stone Zoo has closed its doors until water levels recede.
Animals who don’t like to get their coats wet have the option to cover up in shelters temporarily placed on exhibit property.
But the zoos’ Mexican wolves and wildebeests don’t mind the drizzle. “The animals are just hunkering down and bearing it,” said Beall.
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=139455
PETA seeks court ruling on poor state of zoos
Mumbai: An animal rights group has moved the Supreme Court against the substandard state of zoos across the country and the alleged inhumane treatment of the captives.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, said in a statement that after conducting investigations of more than 30 zoos, it found that officials are "almost always not properly trained in the care of animals, veterinary doctors do not have adequate wildlife training and some zoos do not have veterinary doctors".
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=57146
Zoos Rescue Monkeys From Pet Trade
San Diego Zoo Takes In 5 Monkeys
POSTED: 9:00 am EDT May 8, 2006
UPDATED: 9:03 am EDT May 8, 2006
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SAN DIEGO -- Zoos across the country have taken in a group of African monkeys that were rescued from the exotic pet business.
The San Diego Zoo has taken in five of the more than 30 monkeys.
The animals' parents were killed for food in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A South African native had rescued them from the illegal bushmeat market and intended to sell them as pets.
But several United States zoos have rescued the monkeys again in order to preserve the species.
The rest of the monkeys are in zoos in Denver; San Antonio; Houston; Tampa, Fla.; and Arizona.
http://www.nbc6.net/news/9175192/detail.html
Bush-meat monkeys saved by US zoos
May 8, 2006, 18:23 GMT
Los Angeles - Six US zoos have paid some 400,000 dollars to buy 33 monkeys orphaned when their parents were killed by poachers for bush meat in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The monkeys are aged 2 to 5 and come from five different species.
Poachers are believed to have killed their parents for the illicit traffic in bush meat, which is pushing some species towards extinction.
The baby monkeys, who did not have enough meat to be valuable as food, were sold as exotic pets to a South African businessman who contacted the San Diego Zoo about a year ago to see if it would be interested in buying them.
Together with five others US zoos, San Diego decided to pay for the monkeys' purchase, quarantine and transport. Almost all of the primates are now on public display.
http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1162278.php/Bush-meat_monkeys_saved_by_US_zoos
Going wild for wildlife
Jack Hanna supports park benefit
By K.O. Jackson
The Journal Gazette
“Jungle” Jack Hanna, host of the TV program, “Animal Adventures,” is shown here with a baby rhinoceros. Hanna will be in Fort Wayne on Sunday at a fundraiser to benefit the Black Pine Animal Park.
Remove the talk show appearances, international TV shows, wildlife nicknames and khaki clothing and no one can confuse “Jungle” Jack Hanna with crocodile hunter Steve Irwin.
Oh yeah, while you are at it, go ahead and remove Hanna’s Tennessee twang and Irwin’s Australian accent.
True, both men have managed zoos and provided educational information about wildlife conservation; however, don’t expect to see Hanna get his clothing wrinkled by wrestling animals.
“No, I don’t touch the animals that way,” says Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, during a recent phone interview.
“(Irwin) has his own way of doing things and I have mine. He is a very bright guy, but you don’t touch animals in the wild. You observe them.
“I’ve been doing this for 36 years and I am not going to change now. My style is ‘don’t touch.’ Like I said, he’s a very bright guy who knows a lot about reptiles. We just go at it in a different way.”
At 3 p.m. Sunday at the Scottish Rite Center, people can see how Hanna has spent his career handling animals at a fundraiser for the Black Pine Animal Park in Albion.
The event, “Jack Hanna: Going Wild for Wildlife,” is sponsored by WISE-TV, Channel 33 – Hanna’s show is seen every Saturday morning on the station – and WAJI-FM Majic 95.1.
Lori Gagen, a Black Pine spokeswoman, says Hanna’s visit will serve as the park’s official fundraising kickoff for relocating the center this fall.
She said several properties in Albion have been explored for the relocation, but nothing has yet been decided.
“We are very excited to have Jack coming here,” says Gagen, estimating the center needs to raise several hundred thousand dollars to make the transition. “We know Jack is fond of Fort Wayne and it’s good to bring him back here for the community to enjoy.”
Black Pine is a non-profit animal sanctuary housing displaced exotic pets and retired performing animals. Gagen said there are more than 90 animals located on the site and all will need new homes.
As a result, Hanna, who began working with animals at age 11 at a Tennessee veterinarian office, is pleased to be in Fort Wayne to assist the center.
In addition to the Columbus Zoo and hosting his own TV show for the past 20-plus years, Hanna has appeared regularly on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.” He has also written seven books about animals.
“Black Pine is one of the finest, magnificent parks in the country,” says Hanna, who will be accompanied by a cheetah as well as mountain gorilla videos he recently filmed in Rwanda.
“Last year, more than 146 million people visited zoos and aquariums in America. That’s more than baseball and football games. We are looking forward to being in Fort Wayne and helping them out.”
kjackson@jg.net
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/14508310.htm
Claws out: rumble in urban jungle
A two-storey open-mesh atrium will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape … Taronga's rival zoo, which is being built at Darling Harbour.
Photo: Adam MacLean
By Bellinda Kontominas
May 6, 2006
AS THE city's newest animal attraction prepares to open, conservationists say there is no room in this town for two zoos.
Bradley Trevor Grieve, governor of Taronga's fundraising arm, said the zoo at Sydney Aquarium would severely affect Taronga's revenue.
"Suddenly here is this upstart attraction stealing a lot of the audience for an inferior experience," Mr Greive said.
"The core costs of any zoo remains the same - the animals have to be fed and the staff have to be paid. Ultimately it's going to [affect] the number of programs and the number of quality trained staff, [which] are going to end up being cut."
Just a few kilometres separate Taronga Zoo from the controversial Sydney Wildlife World in Darling Harbour, due to open in September.
The $50 million wildlife attraction will exhibit only native animals in an effort to capture the lucrative international tourist market and to distinguish itself from Taronga.
"We're meant to complement each other," said Ravini Perera, marketing director of Sydney Attractions Group, owner of Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Aquarium, Oceanworld Manly and the Sydney Tower Skywalk.
Taronga zoo management opposed the rival attraction in its planning stages on grounds that it did not comply with the Exhibited Animals Protection Act.
Sydney Attractions Group predicts about 1 million people will visit the wildlife park in its first year.
This has prompted criticism by animal conservationists, who argue that large numbers of people on the site - and the surrounding entertainment area, which is the venue for loud music and regular fireworks displays - will expose the animals to inappropriate conditions.
Also under fire is the building's two-storey open-mesh atrium, which will bring some animals in closer contact with the harsh cityscape.
"This development takes us back 100 years to one of those horrible little exhibition zoos that we still see in the dark corners of Europe and Asia," Mr Greive said.
Entry to Sydney Wildlife World is expected to cost about $27.50.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/claws-out-rumble-in-urban-jungle/2006/05/05/1146335930406.html
Big cats need protection from exploitation
A friend recently brought something to my attention that, if you understand animals, was very emotionally disturbing. She was at a popular local flea market hunting for bargains when she saw a sign that said, "Get your photo taken with a baby tiger!"
"Isn't that illegal?" you may be asking yourself. It is true that the average Michigan citizen cannot own a tiger.
Unless, of course, you have a USDA Class C Exhibitors license, which allows zoos, circuses and self-proclaimed "educators" to exhibit their animals to the public. That's bad enough, but the license also allows whoever has one to breed and sell their offspring, which inevitably will end up in the wrong hands.
In fact, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that only 10 percent of the 15,000 tigers in the United States are in professionally-regulated zoos and sanctuaries.
http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/LIFE/605050347/1111/NEWS18
Bears get home to roam in Kendalia
Web Posted: 05/06/2006 12:00 AM CDT
Scott Huddleston
Express-News Staff Writer
As two American black bears stretched out in their new home north of San Antonio, they felt grass under their paws and sunshine on their furry faces.
After years in cages in a darkened barn, it might have been just a bit overwhelming.
The two female bears are among 16 wild animals — 11 bears, two tigers, two feral hogs and a macaw — seized April 20 in Gonzales County. Besides a tiger sent to a North Texas sanctuary, the bears are the only ones in a permanent home.
Lynn Cuny, executive director of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Kendalia, offered to take one bear. Officials of the Houston SPCA, which helped Gonzales County with the seizure, talked her into two.
"They were in such horrendous living conditions that we couldn't say no," Cuny said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA050606.01B.Bears.3503fd9.html
Pair of Syracuse elephants to head north
SYRACUSE, N.Y. A Syracuse zoo will loan two of its Asian elephants to a privately-owned Canadian wildlife park.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo will send 22-year-old Targa and her 9-year-old daughter Mali to African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario next week. The park currently boasts the continent's most prolific Asian elephant breeding program, with a herd of 13 elephants that includes three newborn calves.
Zoo officials say it will be a wonderful opportunity for Mali to breed, and for the elephants to help their species, in captivity and in the wild. The move comes amid a national debate about whether elephants should be kept in zoos and wildlife parks, particularly in colder northern climates.
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4868307&nav=2aKD
Mountain lion kittens split up - female sent to zoo in Oregon and male released into wild
By Tom Lawrence, Black Hills Pioneer
May 18, 2006
RAPID CITY - The mountain lion siblings that were captured in Rapid City this week have been split up.
The female lion was shipped to a zoo in Portland, Ore., this morning; the male was released back into the wild later in the day.
The eight-month-old lions were orphaned when their mother was tracked, treed and killed Tuesday morning. The 40-pound female kitten was darted and captured Sunday; the 60-pound male kitten was trapped and darted Wednesday morning.
The local lion adventure started Sunday when a local resident spotted the female kitten in a tree. He alerted authorities, who darted and captured the young female cougar.
Game, Fish & Parks big-game biologist John Kanta then spotted a mule deer carcass nearby that was being watched by the mother lion. It ran off when efforts were made to capture or kill it.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16660335&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156925&rfi=6
Replacement Erie Zoo Gorilla Dies En Route
Tumai, the 21 year old lowland gorilla enroute to the Erie Zoo, on Thursday, May 18th, has died. The gorilla was being delivered from a zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, when zoo officials say his heart simply "stopped beating." He was onboard an airplane scheduled to land in Cleveland when he died. This is the second time a gorilla expected to arrive at the Erie Zoo has died. In November 2005, Kuba, a 16 year old gorilla from Topeka, Kansas died of a heart attack, just prior to his arrival. Both Tumai and Kuba were to be mated with Samantha, Erie's female gorilla. Erie Zoo spokesman Scott Mitchell said in a phone conference with Newswatch that the zoo is devistated by the loss, and it's too early to tell what the zoo's next step will be. A necropcy will be performed to determined Tumai's exact cause of death.
News questions, comments? E-mail us!
35WSEE News Room at wseenews@35wsee.com
http://www.35wsee.com/news2a.cfm?more=8748&category=1&news=fullstory
JackHammers team up with Brookfield Zoo
05/18/06 - Northern League (NL) Joliet JackHammers
JOLIET-The Joliet JackHammers have announced a unique partnership with the Brookfield Zoo in conjunction with the Junior JackHammers Pepsi Kids Club. Members of the Junior JackHammers Kids Club will receive two vouchers to the Brookfield Zoo along with their Kids Club membership. The Brookfield Zoo will also hand out free zoo vouchers to kids at JackHammers home games on May 31, July 6, and August 8.
The Junior JackHammers Pepsi Kids Club includes an official Pepsi Kids Club T-Shirt, a monthly newsletter during the JackHammers season, and seven vouchers good for single game general admission tickets, as well as seven vouchers for free regular Pepsis at Silver Cross Field. The children will also take part in a special baseball camp at Silver Cross Field during the summer months. The cost for membership is just 25$.
"The Brookfield Zoo is proud to partner with the Joliet JackHammers on summer fun!" said Amy Walgren, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Brookfield Zoo. "During select dates in June, July and August, Brookfield Zoo guests will enjoy having their photo taken with Jammer, the Joliet JackHammers' mascot and players from the team. This promotion gives Brookfield Zoo and the Joliet JackHammers' an opportunity to share family fun."
Loose Gravel: The 2006 regular season opens up for the JackHammers on May 19 at Winnipeg. As always, you can catch every regular season game on 1340 WJOL.
The JackHammers have full season tickets, mini-plan ticket packages, individual tickets and a variety of group ticket packages available for the 2006 season. The 2006 home season begins May 26 at Silver Cross Field. For additional information, call 815-726-BALL (2255), visit the team's website at www.jackhammerbaseball.com, send an e-mail to info@jackhammerbaseball.com or visit the team offices at Silver Cross Field.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3312693
Birmingham Zoo's new resident sure to become the mane event
Friday, May 19, 2006
NIKI DOYLE
News staff writer
Proud family members gather around their newest addition while flashes snap and footprints are made.
Doctors examine the youngster. Someone brushes his head full of caramel-colored hair.
He's weighed and measured, and the numbers are proudly announced - 230 pounds and 3 feet tall.
Meet Kwanza, the newest member of the Birmingham Zoo family.
Kwanza, an African lion cub, was born in Waco, Texas, on Dec. 24, 2004, and was added to the Birmingham Zoo on Feb. 15. He was quarantined pending a veterinary exam. His name tells the story of his heritage - he was born just days before the start of Kwanzaa, the cultural holiday.
Once he's familiar with his new home, Kwanza will be the only male in the what the zoo hopes to become a lion pride where Kwanza will be used for breeding. Sheba, an 18-year-old lioness, was the only lion in the zoo before Kwanza arrived.
"This is a particularly good-looking animal, and that's part of why we're so pleased to have him," zoo Director Bill Foster said.
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/114803068148470.xml&coll=2
Zoo Bears Test 'Bear-Proof' Trash Cans
Number Of Bears In N.J. Skyrockets
LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- If you want to make sure your trash can is bear-proof, give it to some bears to test.
That's what the Bear Education and Resource Group did recently at a zoo in Lacey Township, N.J.
Four bears went after trash cans the group bear-proofed and filled with snacks.
They bears barely made a dent in the trash cans after 30 minutes.
The number of bears in New Jersey has skyrocketed and the group wants homeowners to keep their property safe.
http://www.wesh.com/news/9239988/detail.html
Photo in the News: Elephant Shuns Jumbo Treadmill
May 19, 2006—You can lead an elephant to a treadmill, but you can't make her walk.
That's the lesson zookeepers are learning in Anchorage, Alaska, where they have been struggling to get the zoo's resident elephant to exercise.
Maggie, a 23-year-old African elephant (pictured here on May 16), is the only pachyderm at the Alaska Zoo, where she is kept indoors much of the time to protect her from the cold.
Critics have charged that Maggie should be moved to a zoo in a warmer climate, where she can enjoy the outdoors and the company of other elephants.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060519_elephant.html
Giraffes added to Zoo's Africa exhibit
And then there were three.
Two male giraffes are the third species to arrive at the Minnesota Zoo's special summer exhibit called Africa: Summer on the Savanna.
Zawadi and Sweta join ostriches and gazelles that are already in the exhibit. Zebras will be added next week.
The two giraffes are on loan to the Minnesota Zoo for the length of the exhibit, after Labor Day they'll go back to their home zoo.
Tony Fisher, Animal Collection Manager for the Zoo, said this exhibit will only be open from May 24 to Labor Day. He said the idea is to create an environment as close to an African Savanna as possible, given the climate differences.
All of the animals will interact as they would in Africa.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=125215
'Hood Tour' sets dates for events at zoo, park
Jazz singer Kathy Wade's "Hood is Bigger Than You Think Tour" will make stops this summer at the Cincinnati Zoo and Eden Park before wrapping up in August with a "Crown Jewels of Jazz" gala featuring Eartha Kitt.
The 12-year-old event will feature a Kids, Cultures and Crafts Festival at the zoo June 23. For the first time in its history the zoo will open its gates for free at noon that day. Among the performers during the day will be Tracy Walker, Robin Lacey & DeZydeco and Grammy-nominated children's artist Zak Morgan.
The Hood music festival, which traditionally brings together a diverse group of artists, is July 22 at the Seasongood Pavilion, Eden Park, featuring R&B artist Midnight Star, blues singer Sheryl Renee, hard rockers Bluf, Boston singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert and the Afro-Rican Ensemble.
The concert will officially kick off what the CincinnatiUSA Regional Tourism Network is billing as Music Fusion Week, which concludes the next weekend with the Cincy Blues Fest and the Macy's Riverfront Stadium R&B festival.
Wade had previously announced Eartha Kitt would be the headliner of this year's gala Aug. 26 at Music Hall Ballroom. The event is the main fund-raiser for Wade's "Learning Through Art" educational programs.
For ticket information: (866) 242-3252; www.learningthroughart.com.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/LIFE/605190363/1005
John Ball Zoo uncovers Stingray Lagoon
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By Troy Reimink
The Grand Rapids Press
Remember how your mother used to say, "look, but don't touch"? If you visit John Ball Zoo this summer, you can forget about that.
The zoo's theme for the coming months is "World of Treasures," and its key exhibit is the Stingray Lagoon, an interactive display containing two species of stingrays that opens today.
"They're gorgeous, really unique, beautiful animals," zoo director Bert Vescolani said. "We're very excited about this."
The Stingray Lagoon -- an outdoor pool alongside the aquarium that houses about two dozen rays -- is the "crown jewel" of a series of attractions and improvements at the zoo this summer. Among them:
An expanded enclosure for the wallabies, the Australian creatures that have proven popular since their debut last summer
A bigger aviary for the budgies, the cheerful birds from last year's Australian exhibit
Improvements to the herpetarium/nocturnal building
An outdoor habitat for Precious, the zoo's Komodo dragon
Six swan paddleboats available for $5-per-hour rentals on the pond in John Ball Park.. But the stingrays are stars of the show, allowing hands-on interaction. Visitors can touch and, at certain times, participate in their feeding. There's no risk of getting stung.
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/1148106110259460.xml&coll=6
Zoo hopes to get $6M in state money
Associated Press
Asheboro Officials with the North Carolina Zoo want $6 million in state money for six projects, including an interactive center for children.
The N.C. Zoological Park Council moved its spring meeting to Raleigh to meet Wednesday with state legislators. The money would be the zoo's first capital funding in 14 years.
The meeting at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences was attended by 22 legislators and 10 members of the zoo council.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS/605190370/-1/State
Philadelphia Zoo's big cats have new grounds to prowl
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By APRIL HELMER
Courier-Post Staff
The Philadelphia Zoo opens a new home for a carnivorous cavalcade Thursday. The $20 million Big Cat Falls will house lions, Amur leopards, jaguars, pumas, snow leopards and tigers.
The zoo hopes the black jaguar from the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama currently in the exhibit soon will be joined by a male spotted jaguar, Frankie, from a zoo in Belize and a female from La Aurora Zoo in Guatemala.
The Philadelphia zoo's much-loved pride of four lions, male Merlin and females Vinkel, Jezebel and Zenda, has returned from the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.
A new male Amur tiger, Dmitri, arrived from the zoo in Little Rock, Ark., and female tiger Kira will return home this fall from Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y.
Krepki, the zoo's male Amur leopard, and Katia, the zoo's female Amur leopard, will split time on exhibit with three playful new snow leopard cubs, who will be arriving in the next few weeks from zoos in Cleveland and Denver.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060520/LIVING/605200322/1004
Go directly to zoo, game voters say
Zoo was top pick among local images for Monopoly-style game.
From staff reports
The voters have spoken, and the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is near and dear to their hearts.
That’s the top vote-getter among more than 1,000 people who made their choices for images for Fort Wayne On Board, a Monopoly-style game that is being created by Leadership Fort Wayne as a fundraiser.
Instead of Park Place and jail, players will see city buildings, statues and scenes, some of them painted by local artist Terry Ratliff for the game.
The leadership development group wants to sell 3,500 games and raise $100,000 after production costs. Fort Wayne businesses paid for squares on the board. Fort Wayne Newspapers, which serves as business agent for The News-Sentinel and The Journal Gazette, is one of the media sponsors of the project.
Here is a list, in alphabetical order, of what voters chose:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/14628495.htm
What a zoo!
May 20, 2006 - An orangutan gets physical therapy
Physical therapy isn't just for humans anymore, the Toledo Zoo has now been successful in rehabilitating one of its orangutans.
MJ, is an orangutan in physical therapy. She is recovering from a shoulder injury she got last October while monkeying around with her half brother.
Primate keeper, Suzanne Husband, says, "He tries not to hurt her but she picks fights with him. He tries to reprimand her to let her know he's not trying to attack her. She dislocated her arm when he got a hold of her wrist as she was pulling away."
Keepers noticed MJ's arm was swelling; they called on vets and orthopedic surgeons and they had to operate.
"When they originally tried to set it, it popped back out, so we ended up just having to put a pin in it and a cast on her arm."
She was in her cast for six weeks, then it was time for physical therapy, orangutan style.
"With the tubes we actually had to get the strength back in her hands because she had a cast on for so long, she'd lost a lot of the muscle. First we just worked with her, pulling on the tubes to get her strength back in the individual fingers."
The staff worked with MJ up to three times a day.
"Luckily their intelligent enough that they understand the concept that we have to work with them. It's something that has to be fixed, so she cooperated quite nicely with us, so we got very lucky with her."
Right now, her injury keeps her in isolation. But don't feel bad for her; she's got plenty to do!
"If people see her by herself now, she's actually extremely content, she's spoiled. When she is by herself, she has a TV and videos that she can watch. She likes to play and she gets a lot of attention inside."
MJ's keepers are pleased with her progress and hope that soon she will be able to join her orang family, as long as she doesn't pick on her half-brother!
"She might not be 100% with that arm, but she can move it enough that she can get along fine!"
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=4189711
Zoo granted power to refuse funds, aid
By James Fisher
Daily Times Staff Writer
SALISBURY -- The City Council strengthened the Salisbury Zoo's ability to decline the offer of volunteer time and fund-raising dollars from anyone whose "past, present and future conduct does not support the goals, purposes and operation of the Salisbury Zoological Park."
The council passed the resolution Monday night after hearing from zoo staffers and directors who supported the change to the Zoo Commission's bylaws. Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman also spoke up in favor of the change.
"There are occasional times when individuals seek to be members of the zoo when they are not, in fact, friends of the zoo," Tilghman said. "The important thing is to get some standards in place so that we don't, in the future, seem arbitrary."
The change is at least in part a reaction to efforts by a former zoo employee, Jennifer Albero, and her husband, Joe Albero, to buy zoo memberships in January, although local government officials did not refer to them. The Alberos, who frequently clash with zoo officials and the Salisbury government, said in an interview Monday that their application had been rejected.
"They're making this personal," Joe Albero said. "This is about animals we're keeping tabs on."
Zoo officials have said that Joe Albero, who often visits the zoo looking for violations of pollution and animal welfare laws, often interferes with zoo employees' work. Complicating the Alberos' ties to the zoo is a sexual harassment lawsuit Jennifer Albero filed against zoo Director Jim Rapp in 2003.
Rapp, in support of the change approved Monday, said it would help zoo employees and volunteers make the attraction, located in Salisbury, a welcoming place for visitors.
City attorney Paul Wilber said the language regarding "future conduct" was intended to allow the city to revoke zoo memberships that had already been granted, if warranted.
Individual zoo memberships cost $25 and provide free admission to some events, gift shop discounts and other benefits.
Reach James Fisher at 410-845-4655 or jfisher@salisbury.gannett.com.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060314/NEWS01/603140318/1002
continued …
Monday, May 22, 2006
A time to reflect on Three Year Old Thoroughbred Horse Racing, "The Sport of Kings."
May 18, 2006.
Horse racing.
I love horses. From the time I was a young child. I told my father, as a two year old, the morning of December 25, 1957; that having an American Flyer Model Train under the tree was interesting, but, where was my horse? Later that day, my father and grandfather emerged from the basement with a newly carpetered rocking horse. I felt love. I don't know what it is, but, horses have been a source of fascination for me all my life.
When a precious champion race horse has a serious injury and will become a 'sire' to many offspring; it is time to reflect not only on the horse but the industry and the genetics of the modern day thoroughbred. Genetic Medicine may very well have a place in today's breeding program. I guess I miss the 'era' of Man O' War. Sturdy and profoundly sound of heart, lung and legs. That 'line' of thoroughbreds along with Bold Ruler, Princequillo has never let their owners down.
And 'large animal' medicine doesn't get any better than the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Horse Center. I've transported many a fine animal to that veterinary haven. The operating rooms are managed by huge lifts that carry disabled horses into a surgical suite where the best of the best have 'know how' from long studied research. Tilt tables where anesthetized steeds lie helpless and a sleep while their skilled surgeons perform miracles. It's a fascinating place for people that love these great animals which once carried human beings into war.
Derby Winner Barbaro's Surgery Successful (Click on)
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- One day, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was on the road to a Triple Crown. A day later, he was on a long and perilous road to recovery.
The doctor who performed five hours of intricate surgery on the colt was satisfied with the result, but blunt about the future for a horse who had put together an unbeaten record until he broke down in the Preakness Stakes.
''To be brutally honest, there's enough chance for things going bad that he's still a coin toss, even after everything went well,'' Dr. Dean Richardson said Sunday after the surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for Large Animals.
Antarctica Wind Chime during an Antarctica Summer.
Why would Scott Base have such low tempertures this year compared to other winters of recent history?
Morning Papers - concluded
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Clear
-36.0°
Updated Tuesday 23 May 1:00AM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is :
45 °F / 7 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
81%
Dew Point:
39 °F / 4 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.67 in / 1005 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 7500 ft / 2286 m
Overcast 11000 ft / 3352 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
Scott Base
Clear
-36.0°
Updated Tuesday 23 May 1:00AM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is :
45 °F / 7 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
81%
Dew Point:
39 °F / 4 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.67 in / 1005 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 7500 ft / 2286 m
Overcast 11000 ft / 3352 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
May 22, 2006.
0702 gmt.
North Pole Satellite.
What is going on with the polar satellites? Hm. I am not going to get into discussion of the Northern Hemisphere right now, except, to say 'it's a mess.' There are multiple vortices and this is just for anyone who cares to, to get 'used to' looking at the Northern Polar Satellite. "Buoy, oh, buoy, what a mess."
How could human beings be so stupid to allow this to happen to their 'Homeland Planet, Earth?" It's amazing to me. Jerks. HUMAN INDUCED Global Warming. HUMAN. Human INDUCED. Got it yet ?
May 22, 2006.
0702 gmt.
South Pole Satellite.
Not a great satellite picture. It doesn't matter, there is enough resolution to provide 'minor' intermingling of equatorial heat with the Antarctica vortex. However. There is not 'significant' heat transfer to say this winter will be warmer than past winters. The Peninsula for it's warming this week, still is cooler than anything in recent history.
May 22, 2006.
1126 gmt.
Western Hemisphere Global Satellite.
Noted in North Hemisphere, the equatorial heat moving north along the western land border of the North American continent near offshore Panama. That 'type' of heat concentration in the Pacific was noted with the acceleration of every major storm of the Gulf of Mexico last year. With 'storm season' approaching due to the northern migration of solar radiation it will more than likely prove to be an early storm season. The storms of the Atlantic don't ususally occur until the surface waters start to get the 'return' trip south of the sun's rays, but, with lingering heat from last year's events, especially in the Carribean Sea, it is reasonable spectulation there will be storms earlier this year manifesting there and not the shores of Africa.
May 22, 2006.
1211 gmt.
Western Pacific Satellite
The oscillating vortex of the South Pacific came to critical mass offshore South America, after the resolution of Typhoon Chanchu.
Energy is constant. Here again there was a large landfall storm that gave the surface ocean relief from absorbing all the 'heat energy/calories' of the troposphere. The reflection of the higher temperatures noted on the Peninsula of Antarctica (which is just south in latitude to the southern tip of South America and is at the highest latitude of the ice continent, remembering these maps are 'flat' and Earth is not) reflects the 'dip' in the equatorial aire masse while some resolution to normal is noted. The land masses often act as a 'conduit' to 'manage' heat movement to the ice continent as well as the Arctic Circle and Arctic Ocean of the northern hemisphere. Land, as noted last week, holds heat far longer than ocean/sea/rivers/ice fields/ice caps.
I would expect the first signs of Global Warming reversal to appear in the Southern Hemisphere where 'heated' land masses are far less in surface area than water surface area.
Typhoon Chanchu has resolved. The heat concentration of the Indian Ocean is still significant.
May 21, 2006.
1246 gmt.
Indian Ocean Satellite
Nearly 300 Vietnamese fishermen missing in Typhoon Chanchu (click on)
Eighteen Vietnamese fishing ships with a total of 287 people on board have gone missing in Typhoon Chanchu, local newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Monday.
The 18 ships from the four central provinces of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh had been defined by May 21 either sinking or going missing, the newspaper quoted Vietnamese deputy fisheries minister Nguyen Viet Thang as saying.
According to information released at a meeting between the People's Committee of Da Nang and the deputy minister on Sunday morning, Da Nang had seven fishing ships sunk and gone missing in the typhoon. Local authorities estimated that 163 fishermen on the seven ships could have died, and 53 others could have gone missing.
Vietnam has yet to have full statistics of the number of ships and fishermen hit by the typhoon. Local media have recently reported dozens of ships with hundreds of people on board have either sunk or gone missing, causing dozens of deaths.
By 21:30 of May 20, Chinese forces had rescued a total of 21 Vietnamese fishing ships sailing in the Chinese waters hit by the typhoon, the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi said, noting that they had supplied fuel, drinking water and foodstuffs to 15 Vietnamese ships with 330 fishermen on board. Of the people, 21 have died and six have been injured, the embassy noted.
Chanchu, which means "pearl," formed in the Pacific, about 550 km east of Mindanao island in the Philippines on May 9. It hit the central Philippines, then headed to central Vietnam, but suddenly changed its direction to southern China, killing dozens of people and affecting thousands of others from the three countries.
Ocsillation - The South Pacific Vortex seeks relief (click on to animate map)
May 22, 2006.
Antarctica
There is some heat movement toward Antarctica. The highest temperature reported is:
Current Conditions :
3 hr
181 min
50 sec
ago
Observed at:
Base Marambio Centro Met. Antartico, Antarctica
Elevation:
650 ft / 198 m
32 °F / 0 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
84%
Dew Point:
29 °F / -2 °C
Wind:
16 mph / 26 km/h from the West
Wind Gust:
-
Pressure:
29.26 in / 991 hPa (Falling)
Visibility:
19.0 miles / 30.0 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 295 ft / 90 m Mostly Cloudy 7874 ft / 2400 m
(Above Ground Level)
Oscillaion (Click on) - As the number of degrees of freedom becomes indefinitely large, a system approaches continuity, for example, a string or the surface of a body of water. Such systems have an infinite number of normal modes and their oscillations occur in the form of waves that have the characteristic that they can propagate.
May 18, 2006.
Dayton, Ohio.
Photographer states :: A friend of mine sent me this picture to me that a friend of his shot at the Honda plant in Anna, Ohio (60 miles north of Dayton) on May 18th at 5:00pm. The TV Weatherman says it was a cold air funnel that rarely end up touching down. Scary though...
Hail that accompanied the tornado
May 18, 2006.
Dayton, Ohio.
Most notable is the substantial hail that accumulated around the tires of the cars where the hail deflected off the bodies of the cars on to the ground. The empty space where the hail does not present itself was the place where a car was parked.
Recently, while in town and crossing at a traffic light I noted a car waiting for the light to change green. It has pellet marks all over the body. It was completely obvious this car was caught in a hail storm as each 'ding' was completely round with radiating impression around it from impact. The only other explanaiton could be a gang of mischievous eight year olds after a marble tournament.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
The impetus to WW II
There were very few sessions behind closed doors of the signators of the Treaty of Versailles. Most meetings occurred aired to the public and with much free wheeling debate by ethnic groups through Europe as the lines were drawn mapping out the new countries.
It was stated by Woodrow Wilson; who was becoming an icon demanding a lasting peace; that ethnic groups/"Nationalities" had a right to self-determination. That would prove to be ignored in the aftermath of the war as 'promises' made during and after the war had to be kept regardless of how illogical it appeared.
The 'new' map of Europe was coined as being a 'Peace without Victors.' As it worked out, the democratic countries literally handed a treaty spelling out everything to Russia and Germany as they were deathly afraid of communism.
The result of the war would be an unenforceable peace of which the greatest disappointment would be The League of Nations. It was this 'ideal' Woodrow Wilson would focus on as the instrument of peace to settle, through diplomacy, all conflicts that would lead to war. It was this provision of the treaty that allowed President Wilson to make concessions. He felt regardless of any tensions existing following the final treaty that the new League of Nations would destroy the chance war would break out again.
He failed to see a demagoguery within his own country that would defeat the very instrument he placed all his hopes and ideals for sustainable peace. A demagoguery that lasts today in the politics of Neocons and generals who believe the United Nations is a hinderence to the security of the United States. It is this 'theory' about a "national threat through cooperation' that stands as an impetus to decisions of unilateral war which lead to the wrongful invasion of Iraq and destabilization of the entire Middle East with faux 'democratic' elections of terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Brotherhood.
The 'opportunity' today, as the current president would see it, for democracy to reign in the Middle East was simply a fool hearty game of 'keeping ones fingers crossed' that all would be sincere and workable. As a result today, Egypt cautions the USA about secluding Hamas in Palestine while itself has issues of terrorist networks and a rising popularity of extremist political parties.
The current movement by these extremist networks in the Middle East, is a 'hope' that by allowing democracy and it's processes the Jihadist Parties will overcome all opposition to their presence and carry out still further atrocities against humanity. It's an unworkable solution fraught with more pitfalls to any sustainable peace.
But, the issues at hand is the failure of the Treaty of Versailles to secure a lasting solution to conflict.
The Versailles Treaty had no teeth. It was not enforcable and as a result there were five documents that comprised the treaty. France was at greatest risk and although the risk of reinvasion seemed inevitable there existed a blind faith that Germany would remain thwarted to ever have the capacity to war again.
The French wanted to set up the Rhineland as a separate state as a buffer zone, but instead, Germany was made to pay enormous reparations, placing it in huge debt that resulted in the economic demise. In addition, Britain and the USA set up a 'DMZ' for fifteen years patrolled by Allied troops. The DMZ was west of the Rhine and fifty kilometers beyond including the coal mines of Saar. The German nation would no longer have those coal mines to enhance it's economy for the payment of reparations. The coal mines were more or less an incentive for France to shut up and put up with the treaties as they were playing out.
In addition to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between France and Germany, Britain and the USA guaranteed they would intercede in any conflict that might arise while completely banking on Wilson's idealism of The League of Nations. The Congress of the USA would see the treaty differently and secure the country away from that alliance through a cooperative union of countries. The promises by the United States' Wilson would prove empty. France's security was demised right from the beginning although Wilson never had intended same.
Added to the provisions of the DMZ and reassures of Britain and the USA, Germany was to limit it's Army to 100,000 troops on long term service, it's Navy was nothing more than a coastal defense force and it was forbidden to have war planes, submarines, tanks, heavy artillery or poison gas. With that the signators of the treaty felt France was safe. There was no verification noted once the League of Nations was set aside by the legislative body of the USA and hence Germany conducted it's internal affairs unthwarted.
The events leading to WW II were even more significant and mostly unnoticed in their significant by the countries that would come to be at war again.
One of the articles of the treaty called for a "Mandate System" by which 'imperialism' would end. See, WW I was called "The Great War" post conflict. Of course at that time no one planned for another 'Great War' hence coining the wars I and II. It was widely felt the world had learned a lesson it would not repeat. The Mandate System which took a pre-WW I 'map' that included colonialism was to 'mentor' the colonies into independant nations. That never happened and as a result set up tensions between colonies and the "Great Powers." This imperialism by the way now would include all the inhabitated spaces on Earth. There was little left 'off the maps' of the world that didn't have some type of sovereignty to a larger power which had colonized it. So therefore, a lot of folks were unhappy.
The 1920s would see a lot of political experiments, the rise of labor, economic and ethnic pressures throughout a very divided Europe, the Soviet Experiment following the incompetencies of the last czar leading to the rise of "The Red Army" under Trosky leading to the rise of Stalin; the fascist experiment in Italy leading to the rise of Mussolini through intimidation of the Italian King making Mossoulini Prime Minister and the overall 'unrest' ethnically of the entire of Europe would contribute to destabilizing populous bases.
France would begin a search for security through all this mess, literally, and become the leading European nation. This high regard would eventually pit the French leadership against USA generals during WW II. France remains of high prestige in Europe and one of the five permanent nations of the United Nations Security Council. Because of this prestige the current administration in Washington, DC would like to see France eliminated from that role at the Security Council as it practices peace over war and does not contribute to the warring desires of the Neocons. But, that isn't the discussion here, now is it? Or is it?
There was a huge movement toward more socialism than imperialism in most countries during this time. The most dramatic examples took place in Britain where women were now allowed to vote at the age of 30 and the men at age 21. About ten years following women would also be allowed to vote at the age of 21. It was during this time "The Labour Party" (Click on) found it's roots.
I am not going to get into The Great Depression. It was a result of inflated currencies after the war, the high demand for consumer goods and the fact the 'democracies' were 'expecting' to pay their debts with German Reparations. It was all a big mess of which none of the resolve was provided for in the treaties. Oddly, though through all this it would be Russia and the Communists that would find it's best economic 'sea legs' after the war. It would be Russia that would come to be one of Hilter's Germany greatest enemy again with a viable Soviet Economy developed under Lenin and accelerated by "The Party." It was that rapid commitment to economic development that would come to be realized as one of the most striking accomplishments of the 20th century.
See, Russia did not and does not care about the rest of the world in the way of economic dependency. Russia has seen and does see itself as self contained. After WW I, Russia was not about to be a victim. It's leadership set the nation on a path to economic autonomy. That same 'Soviet' determination can still be noted in Russia today under Putin. Communists are very autonomous by nature. They seek not domination of wealth so much as stabilization of political blocks. It's just their way. I am not saying their leaders have been great humanitarians, but, at the same instance the verbiage used by 'The West' and the policies toward Russia are far from cordial. Russia survives. It's leadership insures it. But, that autonomy has made Russia a great ally in most conflicts that matter. Even today, Putin's Russia was in Afghanistan awaiting the USA arrival of troops with the first medical camp after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Needless, to say, I admire the Russians. They have never failed themselves and while some of their 'Space Accomplishments' have been chuckled at by the USA; today Russia has a very viable space program and the USA has only a struggling one.
There was a second treaty between Germany and France called the Locarno Agreements. I'm not going to discuss that except to say both the Versailles Treaty and the subsequent Larcarno were viewed as voluntary by both parties. They were not. Germany had been defeated and while the USA's Wilson was calling the war won without victors that was simply a selling point and nothing else. To prove same, after Mussolini's Great Adventure into Ethiopia, Hitler would move to remilitarize the Rhineland. The feeble security France feared would eventually fail did exactly that. Both Britain and France would register a protest at The League of Nations but the USA having defeated that provision of the treaty in it's legislature would find only silence to it's allies pleadings. Both Britain and France would remain passive following the event. Germany now realized it had freed itself of self imposed restraint and the country simply rearmed. It not only rearmed but it was doggedly determined to overcome any military obstacle. Germany was an economic disaster. The West wanted it that way. It was a HUGE mistake. HUGE. It was Germany against the world and Hitler knew it.
It was stated by Woodrow Wilson; who was becoming an icon demanding a lasting peace; that ethnic groups/"Nationalities" had a right to self-determination. That would prove to be ignored in the aftermath of the war as 'promises' made during and after the war had to be kept regardless of how illogical it appeared.
The 'new' map of Europe was coined as being a 'Peace without Victors.' As it worked out, the democratic countries literally handed a treaty spelling out everything to Russia and Germany as they were deathly afraid of communism.
The result of the war would be an unenforceable peace of which the greatest disappointment would be The League of Nations. It was this 'ideal' Woodrow Wilson would focus on as the instrument of peace to settle, through diplomacy, all conflicts that would lead to war. It was this provision of the treaty that allowed President Wilson to make concessions. He felt regardless of any tensions existing following the final treaty that the new League of Nations would destroy the chance war would break out again.
He failed to see a demagoguery within his own country that would defeat the very instrument he placed all his hopes and ideals for sustainable peace. A demagoguery that lasts today in the politics of Neocons and generals who believe the United Nations is a hinderence to the security of the United States. It is this 'theory' about a "national threat through cooperation' that stands as an impetus to decisions of unilateral war which lead to the wrongful invasion of Iraq and destabilization of the entire Middle East with faux 'democratic' elections of terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Brotherhood.
The 'opportunity' today, as the current president would see it, for democracy to reign in the Middle East was simply a fool hearty game of 'keeping ones fingers crossed' that all would be sincere and workable. As a result today, Egypt cautions the USA about secluding Hamas in Palestine while itself has issues of terrorist networks and a rising popularity of extremist political parties.
The current movement by these extremist networks in the Middle East, is a 'hope' that by allowing democracy and it's processes the Jihadist Parties will overcome all opposition to their presence and carry out still further atrocities against humanity. It's an unworkable solution fraught with more pitfalls to any sustainable peace.
But, the issues at hand is the failure of the Treaty of Versailles to secure a lasting solution to conflict.
The Versailles Treaty had no teeth. It was not enforcable and as a result there were five documents that comprised the treaty. France was at greatest risk and although the risk of reinvasion seemed inevitable there existed a blind faith that Germany would remain thwarted to ever have the capacity to war again.
The French wanted to set up the Rhineland as a separate state as a buffer zone, but instead, Germany was made to pay enormous reparations, placing it in huge debt that resulted in the economic demise. In addition, Britain and the USA set up a 'DMZ' for fifteen years patrolled by Allied troops. The DMZ was west of the Rhine and fifty kilometers beyond including the coal mines of Saar. The German nation would no longer have those coal mines to enhance it's economy for the payment of reparations. The coal mines were more or less an incentive for France to shut up and put up with the treaties as they were playing out.
In addition to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between France and Germany, Britain and the USA guaranteed they would intercede in any conflict that might arise while completely banking on Wilson's idealism of The League of Nations. The Congress of the USA would see the treaty differently and secure the country away from that alliance through a cooperative union of countries. The promises by the United States' Wilson would prove empty. France's security was demised right from the beginning although Wilson never had intended same.
Added to the provisions of the DMZ and reassures of Britain and the USA, Germany was to limit it's Army to 100,000 troops on long term service, it's Navy was nothing more than a coastal defense force and it was forbidden to have war planes, submarines, tanks, heavy artillery or poison gas. With that the signators of the treaty felt France was safe. There was no verification noted once the League of Nations was set aside by the legislative body of the USA and hence Germany conducted it's internal affairs unthwarted.
The events leading to WW II were even more significant and mostly unnoticed in their significant by the countries that would come to be at war again.
One of the articles of the treaty called for a "Mandate System" by which 'imperialism' would end. See, WW I was called "The Great War" post conflict. Of course at that time no one planned for another 'Great War' hence coining the wars I and II. It was widely felt the world had learned a lesson it would not repeat. The Mandate System which took a pre-WW I 'map' that included colonialism was to 'mentor' the colonies into independant nations. That never happened and as a result set up tensions between colonies and the "Great Powers." This imperialism by the way now would include all the inhabitated spaces on Earth. There was little left 'off the maps' of the world that didn't have some type of sovereignty to a larger power which had colonized it. So therefore, a lot of folks were unhappy.
The 1920s would see a lot of political experiments, the rise of labor, economic and ethnic pressures throughout a very divided Europe, the Soviet Experiment following the incompetencies of the last czar leading to the rise of "The Red Army" under Trosky leading to the rise of Stalin; the fascist experiment in Italy leading to the rise of Mussolini through intimidation of the Italian King making Mossoulini Prime Minister and the overall 'unrest' ethnically of the entire of Europe would contribute to destabilizing populous bases.
France would begin a search for security through all this mess, literally, and become the leading European nation. This high regard would eventually pit the French leadership against USA generals during WW II. France remains of high prestige in Europe and one of the five permanent nations of the United Nations Security Council. Because of this prestige the current administration in Washington, DC would like to see France eliminated from that role at the Security Council as it practices peace over war and does not contribute to the warring desires of the Neocons. But, that isn't the discussion here, now is it? Or is it?
There was a huge movement toward more socialism than imperialism in most countries during this time. The most dramatic examples took place in Britain where women were now allowed to vote at the age of 30 and the men at age 21. About ten years following women would also be allowed to vote at the age of 21. It was during this time "The Labour Party" (Click on) found it's roots.
I am not going to get into The Great Depression. It was a result of inflated currencies after the war, the high demand for consumer goods and the fact the 'democracies' were 'expecting' to pay their debts with German Reparations. It was all a big mess of which none of the resolve was provided for in the treaties. Oddly, though through all this it would be Russia and the Communists that would find it's best economic 'sea legs' after the war. It would be Russia that would come to be one of Hilter's Germany greatest enemy again with a viable Soviet Economy developed under Lenin and accelerated by "The Party." It was that rapid commitment to economic development that would come to be realized as one of the most striking accomplishments of the 20th century.
See, Russia did not and does not care about the rest of the world in the way of economic dependency. Russia has seen and does see itself as self contained. After WW I, Russia was not about to be a victim. It's leadership set the nation on a path to economic autonomy. That same 'Soviet' determination can still be noted in Russia today under Putin. Communists are very autonomous by nature. They seek not domination of wealth so much as stabilization of political blocks. It's just their way. I am not saying their leaders have been great humanitarians, but, at the same instance the verbiage used by 'The West' and the policies toward Russia are far from cordial. Russia survives. It's leadership insures it. But, that autonomy has made Russia a great ally in most conflicts that matter. Even today, Putin's Russia was in Afghanistan awaiting the USA arrival of troops with the first medical camp after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Needless, to say, I admire the Russians. They have never failed themselves and while some of their 'Space Accomplishments' have been chuckled at by the USA; today Russia has a very viable space program and the USA has only a struggling one.
But, to the particulars.
Nazi Germany is an entire discussion unto itself. I'm not going there. The Nazis were eventually defeated. It is the impetus to war that is my interest.
The first signs of 'weakness' by the Allied Nations of WW I would come in 1935. A fairly minor 'border' incident would be used by Mussolini to invade Ethiopia. During this time, 'Nationalism' regardless the country was at play. This attack into Ethiopia was more of a 'pride' issue as the Italians saw it, restoring the Glory of Rome, so to speak. It probably served as more of a distraction to Italians and bravery on the part of Mussolini. Lord, knows following such a war everyone needed brave leaders especially with ethnicity in the balance. Yes? Yes. It's a known fact that 'nationalism' is demonstratively present in any form of facsism, hence, Mussolini's 'taunting' of the League of Nations would prove worthwhile. It would eventually lead to the formation of 'The Axis Powers' with Germany. But, that in a moment. The League of Nations had failed and the countries once thought dominated by the Allies began to find 'weakness' in the treaty.There was a second treaty between Germany and France called the Locarno Agreements. I'm not going to discuss that except to say both the Versailles Treaty and the subsequent Larcarno were viewed as voluntary by both parties. They were not. Germany had been defeated and while the USA's Wilson was calling the war won without victors that was simply a selling point and nothing else. To prove same, after Mussolini's Great Adventure into Ethiopia, Hitler would move to remilitarize the Rhineland. The feeble security France feared would eventually fail did exactly that. Both Britain and France would register a protest at The League of Nations but the USA having defeated that provision of the treaty in it's legislature would find only silence to it's allies pleadings. Both Britain and France would remain passive following the event. Germany now realized it had freed itself of self imposed restraint and the country simply rearmed. It not only rearmed but it was doggedly determined to overcome any military obstacle. Germany was an economic disaster. The West wanted it that way. It was a HUGE mistake. HUGE. It was Germany against the world and Hitler knew it.
The 'practice' for WW II would come with the instability in Spain and the opportunity of the Franco regime during the Spanish Civil War. The monarchy in Spain had failed and a civil war lasting three years ensued. It would be the proving grounds for Italy and Germany which was joined eventually by Japan. The Spanish Civil War was actually a 'Mini-WW II.' No armed conflict is started with a match overnight. There always seems to be very obvious manifesting events and tensions that explode within time. The Spanish Civil War was completely ideological. On one side was Italy, Germany and Japan along with General Franco. Russia would materially support the Republic side of the war with volunteer forces from Europe and America. The result of the Spanish Civil war profoundly affected global politics. As a result the Rome-Berlin Axis was founded. The alliance with Japan occurred because it feared the strong Russian economy and military.
Oddly enough, Japan would not carry out it's attacks first against Russia during WW II, but, against the USA at a very distant shore. There are several reasons for that but I don't know that Russia has EVER in it's history been threatened by Japan as China has. That speaks very loudly to me. About both powers. About all three actually. The USA at this time was not viewed as a 'strong' militarized nation. It had defeated it's own treaty to fall into huge gains in capitalism now playing both sides of the war. That brings us to Pearl Harbor and my opinion of the USA regarding it's allegience to itself to that point was registered last week.
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