Friday, December 17, 2010

Zoo News Digest 12th - 17th December 2010 (Zoo News 711)

Zoo News Digest 12th - 17th December 2010 (Zoo News 711)

Lynx canadensis - New york State Zoo at Thompson Park
Photo by - Deltra Willis





Dear Colleagues,

'New home for six zoo penguins'... This story might not seem like a big deal as zoos are 're-homing' animals, including penguins, all of the time. What is important is "The zoo's colony of 60-plus parent-reared Humboldts". Parent Reared! Now that is important and is what all zoos breeding penguins should be seeking to achieve. I have hand reared umpteen Humboldt penguins. They are fun, rewarding and easy to do. With only a little bit more of an effort we supplementary fed on the nest allowing some birds to rear two chicks. I still go though with parent rearing is best. This includes Pandas, Orangutans, White Tigers or whatever and yet there are some zoos who still fail to grasp this very basic concept.

Very sad to read about the Brookfield Zoo job cuts especially when announced around Christmas time. Nice to know it is not the animal department being affected though. It isn't always the way though is it?

A tourist was bitten and scratched by a lion cub but wishes to remain anonymous. Strange that. I wonder why she bothered to report it at all. So easy to stir up trouble after the event. As it happens I don't believe she should have been handling the cub at all. (A later report contradicts much of what the woman said).

Words fail me on the Doc Antle circus. How is this man and his outfit allowed to get away with the sheer commercial exploitation of animals? He dresses this up in a conservation cloak and hypnotises the gullible. If you did not see the latest photos from this outfit on the ZooNews Digest Facebook page take a look here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ZooNews-Digest/41410063216?ref=nf#!/photo.php?fbid=1454932576207&set=o.101344230317
and here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ZooNews-Digest/41410063216?ref=nf#!/photo.php?fbid=214655802595&set=o.101344230317
Incidentally I have had a couple of people unsubscribe from Zoo News Digest because they disagreed with what I have had to say about the Myrtle Beach Circus. So be it. It has to be said though. I don't expect everyone to agree with me and it is only natural to tread on a few toes. If it makes people think, even if just a little then that can only be for the good. I don't believe I am wrong though ....see Myrtle Beach Circus What do you think?

Edinburgh Zoo's albino squirrel photo competition is a brilliant idea. Ten out of ten for whoever came up with that one.

So the Bucks County Zoo and Conservation Society have aquired a 'rare' white tiger cub. Six weeks old! This is so wrong. Criminal that it was bred in the first place, worse that it was then pulled from its Dam, and wholly irresponsible that it was passed on at six weeks of age. One wonders what part it will play in conservation? So now the poor little thing is going to be used as a photo prop. I don't know this zoo and perhaps their heart is in the right place but I truly hate this sort of thing. They want a name for the little tiger. Can I suggest 'Pretty but Pointless'?



Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort The Orangutans are waiting, the chimpanzees are waiting and the rest of the zoo world are waiting to see what will happen next


PHOTO
Do you have an animal/zoo/wildlife photo that you would like to see included at the start of Zoo News Digest? Sorry I can't afford to pay for it but I will credit you and link back to a website if you wish. Sadly I cannot guarantee when I will get round to including as this will depend on the level of response. If you are interested please email the photo to me. Use 'Photo' as your subject heading. Please give your full name, the name of the species and where the photo was taken. I look forward to hearing from you.


Some of this weeks Blog Posts You May Have Missed:

Quang Ninh illegal bear tourism: Flagrant disregard of the law

New penguin and seal webcams at Bristol Zoo Gardens

Environmental enrichment workshop at Artis Zoo - The Netherlands

Visitor Studies Group AGM 2011 and Conference

11th Annual ABMA Conference



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On with links: 

New home for six zoo penguins
SIX Dudley Zoo penguins have moved north as part of an international conservation programme.
The half dozen Humboldt penguins have transferred to Flamingo Land in Malton, North Yorkshire.
The zoo's colony of 60-plus parent-reared Humboldts is one of the largest in the UK, and Dudley regularly helps found groups at other wildlife collections.
Senior Curator David Grove said: “Our colony started 19 years ago with a few hand-reared penguins, and due to our highly successful breeding programme it is now self-sufficient. The project gained a prestigious BIAZA (British and Irish Association Of Zoos And Aquariums) award for the innovative work we do with this rare species.”
He added: “We are delighted to supply some of our colony
http://www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/8731263.New_home_for_six_zoo_penguins/





Brookfield Zoo cuts 11 jobs, faces $1.3M shortfall
Eleven jobs are being cut at Brookfield Zoo to help close a $1.3 million budget shortfall.
The Chicago Zoological Society announced the staff reductions on Monday, citing budget adjustments and reductions that it says are necessary to ensure financial stability in 2011. The staff cuts bring the society's workforce to a 15-year low. The society says the staff cuts don't include positions that deal with animal welfare or public safety.
The society also announced wage freezes for non-union workers, the elimination of paid internships along with reductions in seasonal labor, operating expenses and leadership salaries. Two animal exhibit yards are to be closed and the animals sent to other accredited institutions.
The society says this is the second time in two years it has had
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-brookfieldzoo-job,0,3987587.story





Tourist bitten by lion cub at wildlife park
A British tourist says she was shocked after being bitten by a lion cub, during a petting session at a Rotorua wildlife park.
Paradise Valley Springs invites visitors to interact with animals. But the woman – who wishes to remain anonymous – told RadioLIVE she was stunned when the waist-high cub bit her.
“There’s a scratch about two inches long where his claw was, and where is teeth were there was only a little bit of blood – but it has bruised very badly,” she says.
“It did hurt. It hurt and it gave me a shock.”
The woman says she was advised to fill out a report and get some medical treatment
http://www.3news.co.nz/Tourist-bitten-by-lion-cub-at-wildlife-park/tabid/423/articleID/190537/Default.aspx





Woman bitten by lion cub stayed patting it, says owner
A British tourist who was nipped by a cub she was patting at Paradise Valley Springs, happily stayed with the animal following the incident, the wildlife park's owner says.
Stuart Hamlett says earlier reports about the incident were inaccurate and he was not given a chance to respond.
The English tourist, who wished to remain anonymous, told RadioLive she was shocked and stunned after being bitten by a cub at the Rotorua tourist park last Friday.
"It hurt and it gave me a shock," she said, stating she had a 2-inch-long claw mark and blood where the animal's teeth bit her, leaving her bruised. She said she was told
http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/local/news/woman-bitten-by-lion-cub-stayed-patting-it-says-ow/3934036/






One more abandoned elephant calf finds home in Vandalur zoo
The Arignar Anna Zoological Park or the Vandalur zoo, some 32km south of Chennai, is becoming a foster home for abandoned animals, especially elephants calves. One more abandoned calf, weighing 70kg, arrived at the zoo around 6pm on Tuesday, taking the number of such calves received this year alone to five.
In January, 18-month-old Narasimhan was brought from Coimbatore forest division after the herd refused to accept it. The same month, 16-month-old Urigam was brought in from Urigam forest range in Hosur after his mother died. In April 2009, two-year-old Sharon was rescued from the Sathyamangalam forests. Subsequently, two more calves were rescued.
On Monday, an elephant abandoned her calf in the forest area of Uvapalayam near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore. Villagers of Uvapalayam alerted forest officials, who in turn, tried to reunite the baby elephant with a herd that was crossing the Mettupalayam forests, but the herd refused to accept the calf. Since forest officials were unable to trace the mother and the calf was weak and needed care, they decided to shift it to Vandalur zoo.
After a long journey by road, the calf was immediately sent to Veterinary clinic inside the zoo for medical examination on Tuesday. At present, apart from these five abandoned
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/One-more-abandoned-elephant-calf-finds-home-in-Vandalur-zoo/articleshow/7101957.cms






Zoos Unite to Save Endangered Apes
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Ape Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) today announced a critical new campaign to sustain a future for one of the planet’s most imperiled group of animals— apes.
For apes—bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons and siamangs—the outlook in the wild is bleak. Given catastrophic population declines, it is estimated that some ape species will be extinct within 20 years. The Ape TAG Conservation Initiative, supported by nearly 40 zoos, will fund 8 field conservation projects, one for each of the great ape species and two for gibbons and siamangs.
“As leaders in wildlife conservation, AZA-accredited zoos are dedicated to the protection of these intelligent and charismatic animals,” said Dr. Tara Stoinski, Ape TAG chair. “The Ape TAG Conservation Initiative will elevate the role of zoos in the international conservation community.”
The Arcus Foundation, a leading great ape conservation philanthropic organization, provided a generous matching grant to the funds contributed by zoos to the Initiative. Participating zoos have committed to a minimum
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1965707/zoos_unite_to_save_endangered_apes/index.html?source=r_science





New species of lemur discovered in Madagascar
A species of fork-marked lemur believed to be new to science has been found in the forests of Madagascar.
The find is revealed on the BBC documentary Decade of Discovery.
Primate expert and president of Conservation International, Russ Mittermeier, first spotted the lemur during an expedition in 1995, but has confirmed its existence whilst filming the documentary this year, when he and his colleagues captured and took blood samples from the small
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9267000/9267996.stm





Runaway bear back behind bars after mountain ramble
A young bear that bolted from a zoo on the outskirts of the South Korean capital Seoul has been captured on a nearby mountain after nine days on the run, zoo officials said.
The six-year-old Malaysian black bear nicknamed "KKoma" (kid) escaped from Seoul Zoo at Gwacheon on December 6 and was sighted on a mountain about six kilometres (four miles) away.
Kkoma was Wednesday found caught in a trap placed at the mountain summit and appeared to be in good shape, a zoo spokesman told Yonhap news agency.
Zoo officials said they plan to move the bear back to its cage after giving it a medical check-up.
Plans to anaesthetise the 30-kilogram (66-pound)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9UGtEFagOASC4tLca7PjgVVFFxg?docId=CNG.a6a63e1c21d8141da33e6d95ce511830.261





Non-native species cost 'British economy £1.7bn'
Invasive non-native species such as the grey squirrel and Japanese knotweed cost the British economy £1.7bn a year, a report has suggested.
Researchers said crops, ecosystems and livelihoods could be damaged when such species took hold.
The study found that the rabbit was the most economically damaging species, followed by Japanese knotweed.
The research was conducted for Defra, the Scottish government and the Welsh Assembly Government.
'Significant impact'
The cost was significantly higher at £1.3bn in England where invasive non-native species have become more established.
The price was put at £251m
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11996801





Ex-Hab Georges Laraque offers Edmonton $100,000 to move zoo elephant
Former hockey pugilist Georges Laraque is offering up $100,000 if the City of Edmonton will move Lucy, a zoo elephant he says is suffering from cold and isolation.
Laraque has written a letter to Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, saying he will put the money toward a new downtown hockey rink or to other projects if the city will move the 35-year-old Asian elephant to a warm-weather elephant sanctuary.
He says Lucy's health problems and signs of mental distress mandate a move, adding that elephant exhibits -- especially in cold climates -- are out of date and being phased out.
Laraque has made Edmonton his home and played for the Oilers for a decade before finishing his career with three teams, the last being the Montreal Canadiens in 2009.
The animal rights groups Zoocheck
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101215/mtl_laraque_101215/20101215/?hub=MontrealHome





Katraj Zoo in Pune voted sixth best in country
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has rated the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, popularly known as Katraj zoo, as the sixth best in the country.
Many developments are coming up in the 165-acre zoo, as per the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s master plan, which was sanctioned by the CZA recently.
Garden superintendent, Naresh Zhurmure, told DNA that the rating was announced at a recent CZA meeting. “We managed to get a higher rating due to our management, maintenance and other activities. The zoo is being upgraded. We have a master plan, sanctioned by the CZA, to guide our activities,”
he added.
The master plan was prepared by Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute for Environment Education & Research (BVIEER). The plan incorporates protection, education and research. The staff will be taught about animals, their characteristics and habitats, so they can inform visitors how the animals live in the wild.
More animals and facilities will be added, as per the master plan. New enclosures are being planned. The authorities are also focusing on making the zoo a centre of education. Two zoo educators have been appointed. Emphasis is on inviting schools and educating children about wildlife.
Workshops are being held for students, officers and the public to inform them about the importance of each animal in the ecosystem and how they live in the jungles. Pupils from over 100 schools have visited the park in the last six months, said veterinary officer of the zoo, NK Nighot.
Under the animal exchange programme, barking deer and porcupines will be brought here from the zoo in Mumbai. A male
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_katraj-zoo-in-pune-voted-sixth-best-in-country_1481817





Colchester: Zoo’s ‘much-loved’ white tiger dies
A WHITE tiger which became one of the most popular attractions at Colchester Zoo has died aged 15.
Much-loved Sasha died in his sleep yesterday (Wednesday) morning after two weeks of illness where he displayed a number of concerning symptoms, including a loss of appetite, general lethargy and a small haemorrhage of the nose.
After becoming ill Sasha was anaesthetised and was given a full physical examination including a series of x-rays to try and determine the cause.
Zoo vet Dr John Lewis performed the examination alongside zoo management, keepers and an assistant veterinary surgeon.
X-rays revealed that Sasha was showing symptoms of spinal arthritis, not uncommon in large cats of his age and he was put onto a treatment and management programme for the condition.
An oral examination also revealed
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/news/colchester_zoo_s_much_loved_white_tiger_dies_1_754457




Can you spot Edinburgh Zoo's albino squirrel
Edinburgh Zoo is home to exotic creatures from all over the world. But the park is also home to a very unusual and elusive resident - an albino squirrel! The resident albino squirrel has been spotted many times by staff and visitors alike, but we don't have any photos of
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/news_139.html





Elephant Dissection Video
http://www.nature-documentaries.com/wildlife-documentaries1/352-inside-natures-giants.html







Bucks County Zoo's newest resident - a rare female white tiger cub - needs a name
The Bucks County Zoo & Conservation Society, the first exotic animal zoo in Bucks County and the first accredited educational facility, is now home to a six-week-old white tiger cub.
The female cub will be on view starting Monday, Dec. 27 as part of the zoo’s extended hours for winter break. Patrons will have the opportunity to help name the latest addition to the Bucks County Zoo family. Voting
http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2010/12/15/entertainment/doc4d08ddb43fd6d688717768.txt





New $42M elephant habitat opens Thursday, despite lawsuit
Tina lumbered over to her girlfriend Jewel, and both gazed up at Billy the bull, whose tusks gleamed before tonight's celebrity party at the Los Angeles Zoo.
As the zoo prepared to open its $42 million Elephants of Asia exhibit Thursday, its newest pachyderms seemed to have already called L.A. home - despite a lawsuit that aims to send them packing.
"It's an elephant paradise," said Jennie Becker, curator of mammals and a 30-year zoo veteran, as the sun set Tuesday onto the carefully manicured pachyderm playland modeled on habitat from their native Cambodia, China, India and Thailand.
"I think this exhibit has really raised the bar on how we manage elephants."
For officials jubilant about the most extravagant feature in zoo history, Elephants of Asia provides a model for elephant care - and the world's most comprehensive exhibit on endangered Asian elephants, of which 35,000 survive in the wild.
What was formerly called the Pachyderm Forest features glistening ponds, towering waterfalls and meandering trails designed to allow up to 11 elephants to eat and exercise as if they were in the heart of Asia.
The new exhibit isn't just about keeping elephants, zoo officials say, but about educating the public on how their counterparts across Asia struggle at the brink of survival.
"We're very happy about
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_16860068?source=most_viewed





Wildlife Alliance Takes Part in Rescue of Dangerous—and Imperiled—Elephant
The first major step was taken today in rescuing an enraged elephant that was threatening and in turn being threatened by a rural community in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province.
Wildlife Alliance Care for Rescued Wildlife manager Nick Marx. working with veterinarian Nhim Thy of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center and mahouts from the ELIE program, have sedated and subdued the bull elephant, ending a tense situation in the rural community. With hundreds of villagers making it a chaotic scene, the operation was carried out with the assistance of the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, a unit of Forestry Administration officials and military police supported by Wildlife Alliance.
Earlier this month the domesticated elephant killed its owner, who apparently was the fourth person that the animal has killed. With his owner dead, the elephant fled to the forest around the village, frequently making raids into paddy fields which are flush with rice ahead of the annual harvest. Terrified of the elephant and fearing the damage it was doing to their crops, villagers had been lashing out at the animal, using catapults and fireworks in an effort to scare it off. Their attempts only further enraged the creature and put the two sides into a dangerous confrontation that was getting uglier by the day.
Jack Highwood of ELIE, which works with domesticated elephants and their mahouts in Eastern Cambodia, came to the village to assess the situation and consulted with Nick Marx of Wildlife Alliance as well as the Forestry Administration as to how best deal with the elephant.
On Wednesday, Nick Marx and veterinarian
http://www.wildlifealliance.org/blog/2010/12/15/wildlife-alliance-takes-part-in-rescue-of-dangerousand-imper.html





Concerns about number of rhinos sold to private owners
The Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs has revealed South African National Parks (SANParks) sold more than 500 white rhinos to private individuals over the past four years.
The details emerged through parliamentary questions and showed that some of the animals were sold to people who were later arrested for mass poaching. They are due to appear in court next year.
In October Eyewitness News revealed that alleged poaching kingpin Dawie Groenewald bought 36 rhinos from SANParks in 2009.
Records provided by the department showed that 568 white rhinos were sold since 2007, generating around R119 million. A total of 252 were sold last year alone, earning SANParks over R50 million.
“It’s important that South African
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=54936





To save tigers we need tough action, not more of this talking
The political will to save the species has been abysmal despite its drastic decline in numbers
In your news report from the International Tiger Forum, the director general of WWF says: "Unless we take drastic action, there will be no tigers left by the next [Chinese] year of the tiger in 2022" (Big beasts join battle to save big cat, 22 November).
This should concern the Chinese community worldwide, as it is their demand for potions made from tiger parts that is hastening the decline of our largest cat species. If the Dalai Lama can tell his people in India and Tibet to disassociate themselves from tiger poaching, trading and consumption, so can the Chinese and Taiwanese governments.
At the first global tiger forum in India 15 years ago, I spoke about the illegal trade in tiger parts. Your article says: "Without a reduction in the demand for tiger products… efforts to protect habitat could come to nothing." This is true. However, much more needs to be done. As you say, we need core areas and cross-boundary protected areas, but also biological corridors, connecting forest routes between protected areas. All of these must be made inviolate.
Without this, and much tougher protection, national parks will be unable to ensure genetic diversity and sufficient habitat for tigers to survive. Anti-poaching should be placed on a "war footing" with legal enforcement to prevent poaching for Chinese palates.
Until now the political will to save the species in most states with tiger ranges has been abysmal. It has even lapsed in India. China is the worst offender, with others not far behind. Development projects and unchecked commercial exploitation threaten irreplaceable wild habitats, wherein a healthy tiger population also signifies a healthy water supply (which can improve agricultural productivity in surrounding areas) and an abundance of other flora and fauna.
The decline of the species is linked to this unchecked development as much as poaching. The two are inextricably linked.
The president of the World Bank – mentioned in your article as being behind the latest tiger forum – could have prevented the loss of many tigers by not implementing ill-conceived development projects in and around irreplaceable and ancient forests in tiger-range states. He and the Russian prime minister have addressed the "97% decline in tigers in the wild over a century" by hosting the forum, but we now need more than talk. Tough action is required.
Since 1987, my organisation has helped
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/16/tiger-conservation-poaching-extinction-chinese-medicine





Wildlife experts cheer gharial's return to Hooghly
It's being termed a miraculous revival that has taken wildlife experts and conservationists by surprise. And raised hopes about the survival of species that is now seriously threatened. The gharial the long-snouted fresh-water crocodile is back in the Hooghly.
They have been spotted in numbers that are larger than had been expected when the reptiles were spotted after a gap of 60 years in downstream Hooghly two years ago. Now, a team of researchers has identified a breeding group at Purbasthali in Burdwan which signals that the gharials are finally multiplying.
A young gharial, about three feet in length, was trapped in a fishing net at Purbasthali on Saturday. About a half-a-dozen more followed it into the net. They were all pulled up, examined and released back into the river. "By last count, the number of gharials had shot up to around 180. Now, it seems the number is actually more than 250 since they are breeding. We have spotted even smaller ones, new-born gharials merely six inches long. This is great news for conservation since the reptile was taken to be extinct in eastern India for six decades," said Tanmoy Ghosh, president of iRebel an NGO that has been researching on gharials with support from the West Bengal Bio-Diversity Board and the Hooghly Zilla Parishad.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCNNR), less than 200 breeding gharials now survive in the wild. They
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Wildlife-experts-cheer-gharials-return-to-Hooghly/articleshow/7007088.cms













Ex-San Francisco zoo director to lead Honolulu zoo
The man who headed the San Francisco Zoo when a tiger attack killed a teenager there in 2007 has been appointed the new director of the Honolulu Zoo.
Manuel Mollinedo resigned from his post leading Northern California's largest zoo six months after the attack. He assumed his new position this week.
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle said Mollinedo's zoo and park managerial experience would benefit the city.
"Our zoo is incredibly important to our community, our children, and our visitor industry, and I'm very confident that we are placing the care of our treasured animals in good hands," Carlisle said in a statement.
The city said Mollinedo was among eight applicants evaluated by an independent selection panel of local business and civic leaders.
Carlisle didn't have a say in the appointment, but the mayor's spokeswoman, Louise Kim McCoy, said Mollinedo
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/12/16/state/n154907S37.DTL&tsp=1



Pembrokeshire ‘panther’ strikes again
A panther-like big cat blamed for the vicious death of a Pembrokeshire sheep two weeks ago has struck again following a string of fresh sightings.
Farm worker Alan Harries (pictured above) spotted the beast while driving near his home in Tir Croes last week.
The following day he took a photograph of what appears to be a huge cat-like paw print next to the carcass of a dead calf which
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/12/12/pembrokeshire-panther-strikes-again-91466-27810028/


Zoo joins effort to save terns
Conservation groups and government entities from the United States and Canada convened at the Detroit Zoo to discuss plans for managing the state-threatened common tern in the Detroit River corridor. A signature species of the river, the migratory bird spends most of the year in South America but travels north for the milder climate and abundant food sources in the summer months.
Among the components of the project discussed at Tuesday’s roundtable is the development of additional common tern nesting habitats on the Detroit River. The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS), Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (DRIWR) and Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) have established a site on DWSD land on Belle Isle to attract terns to a historic nesting location.
“In the 1960s, Belle Isle was a premier nesting and reproduction
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2010/12/16/news/doc4d0a52d0867c5261290182.txt






Training for Devon tortoises
A Devon zoo is home to seven giant tortoises from the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles.
The three males and four females arrived at Paignton Zoo in 1986 after being confiscated from an illegal shipment by Customs & Excise officials.
And now they are being trained by their keepers with the help of strawberries -and a plastic ball on a stick.
BBC Spotlight's Philip Loat has been along to meet reptile keeper Andy Meek to find out how the training is
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_9293000/9293781.stm





Polar bears, sure. But grolar bears?
Most people have seen a polar bear, usually at the local zoo. And most zoo-goers know that wildlife advocates worry about the big white bears’ future as their icy Arctic habitat literally melts away as a result of global climate change. But apparently more than the climate is changing above the Arctic Circle.
The new mammal around the North Pole is the grolar bear, a hybrid created when a polar bear and a grizzly bear mate. Then there’s the narluga, a hybrid of the narwhal and beluga whale. The presence of these two new creatures and others produced by cross-breeding may be caused when melting sea ice allows them to mingle in ways they couldn’t before, according to a comment in the journal Nature.
These hybrids could push some Arctic species to extinction, the three American authors said in their Nature piece. They identified 22 marine mammals at risk of hybridization, including 14 listed or candidates for listing as
http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2010/12/16/polar-bears-sure-but-grolar-bears/





Noah´s Ark off on the Wrong Foot - Again!
The world´s largest religious theme park is to be built on 40 acres in Kentucky and will include a full-sized replica of Noah´s Ark.
Called "Ark Encounter" (http://tinyurl.com/n89ez9) it will feature nine main areas including: a Walled City and Village typical of the Middle East; a full-size Ark; a large petting zoo with animals from around the world; a 100-foot-tall Tower of Babel; a 500-seat 5-D special effects theater; three bird sanctuaries and a butterfly exhibit.
Planned to open in the spring of 2014, it will be built by the private firm ´Ark Encounter´ for $125 million, using a private donation of $24.5 million to build Noah´s Ark itself. At least 25 percent of the project's cost will be written off in tax breaks from the State and donations will be ranked according to needs in building the Ark, ranging from: a wooden peg for a $100, a wooden plank for $1,000 and a wooden beam for $5,000.
Aside from the use of taxpayers´ funds, and the fact that a substantial number of people don´t believe that the Flood or Noah ever happened, one large problem will be the Theme Park´s claim to historical accuracy. Even among those who believe in the Ark and the Flood epic, the details are open to interpretation. Almost anyone who reads the Biblical account in Genesis comes up with a different idea.
Take the Ark.
According to early scholars it was shaped like a pyramid, this was suggested by Origen (circa 200AD). But by the 12th Century artistic imagination had decided that the Ark must have looked like a large wooden container. And the ship
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/204003





Psych – “Dead Bear Walking” – review (something a bit different)
When a polar bear is thought to have killed her trainer, Shawn sets out to prove her innocence before she is euthanized. Meanwhile, Lassiter’s younger sister Lauren (April Bowlby) documents the case for her graduate film thesis.
Seeing no signs of a typical bear attack, Shawn teamed up with an animal activist to hide the bear, first in the Psych office, then in Henry’s backyard. Eventually, with data from the bear’s heart monitor, Shawn was able to prove the bear was sleeping during the trainer’s estimated time of death.
There were several human suspects with motive to kill the trainer: the activist who wanted the zoo shut down, the zoo owner who may have wanted to collect on an insurance policy, even the trainer’s girlfriend who was jealous of the time he spent with the bear.
As usual, Shawn and Lassiter tried to show each other up, and in the process, Lauren became disillusioned with her brother’s methods. She was most embarrased when Lassiter
http://www.bscreview.com/2010/12/psych-dead-bear-walking-review/





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Murder and Suspense As A Christmas Gift


If you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone who reads then you would not go far wrong by buying them a copy of Did Not Survive.

Apart from being an exciting, interesting and unputdownable novel it has that 'extra' for those working within zoos. Written by someone who has worked in zoos it actually gives the 'feel' of the place without the glaring mistakes made by outsiders.

I have read both books by this author and enjoyed both immensely. Being able to empathise with the characters and 'recognise' some people makes the whole adventure a greater experience.

Buy for a friend, a colleague or for yourself.

To order please click
HERE

or go to the
Zoo Professionals Book Store
HERE


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http://www.indianapolisprize.org/




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