Zoo News Digest 9th - 16th July 2011 (Zoo News 768)
Peter Dickinson
Dear Colleague,
Whereas it is nice to go 'off the map' for a few days I always have a ton of catching up to do with email. This week has been no exception. Thank you for the two donations received. They were a big help.
Back in 1968 I had a single male Cheetah amongst my charges. I felt sorry for him on his own and would often sit with him during my lunch hour. I got to know him well and his special hatred of a particular Grey Squirrel who used to taunt him. I knew if he had been irked only minutes before. Money was tight, less than ten quid a week for a basic 48 hours. Usually worked more than that and there was never any overtime pay (A year or two later I was working 100 hours a week for just a little over double the wage). I digress.... money was tight but I bought the Cheetah a football. He loved it. I am no fan or player but it was fun to kick about and have him chase it. One day I was spotted my the director. Wheels turned.
A week later the director turned up with the head keeper, two photographers and a famous football player (who it was escapes me). There was going to be a photography session within the enclosure. The squirrel had only recently passed by. The Cheetah was irked, I advised against it. What did I know? A green keeper, not worth listening too. So we all went into the enclosure.
Wham! Bang! Wallop! Everyone was injured in a trice. It was I who risked life and limb to allow the others to exit. Somehow I had the inside of my mouth lacerated...never figured out how. The others had bites and scratches and torn clothes. I was in a position to say 'I told you so' but I didn't.
No doubt most would agree that the Cheetah is probably the easiest of 'big cats' but it is far from safe. Read the first link today. No big cat is safe. They are always an accident waiting to happen. Using Tigers and Lions is actually stupid.
F*** PETA. If they think that Little Rock Zoo are not concerned about the death of Ellen then they are a lot more stupid and heartless than I have previously thought. It is none of PETA's business. On the other hand their protest about Manila Zoo (Which I too have been critical of) is more useful, or at least could be. Sadly PETA have not the faintest idea about keeping animals in captivity or the remotest inkling of real animal knowledge and as a result most of what they say is utter rubbish. So they can hold their protest and much as I dislike Manila Zoo I would be blocking the entrance to prevent the loony PETA crowd from entering.
Why don't they go and protest outside Skazka Zoo. Two headed snakes along with Tigons, Ligers and White Tigers belong in a freak show and not in any serious zoo.
The Thai police raid on the small new zoo in North Eastern Thailand is a step in the right direction. Here though it is just the little guys getting the trouble. The real criminals are those behind and operating Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, The Tiger Temple and others. Thats where the real investigation needs to be.
"An animal keeper whose bear mauled another man to death was found dead, chained to his waterbed and choked by a sex toy." What a way to go!
The story of the escaped cassowary conjured up a memory. We had a gardener (who knew the cassowaries were dangerous) who decided to go into an enclosure. He was kicked. The birds toenail went straight through his foot. These birds can be very dangerous.
I am fed up with clairvoyant octopuses. Try and be original. Please!
Has the Fish Spa had its day? I note that one place has been closed down (see links). The risk of infection? Who knows? More likely to catch something off the previous person than the fish though the risk of Mycobacterium marinum infection remains a possibility. See in the last Zoo News Digest and the 'Touch Tank' story.
Went with Nok, Nong and Bee to see the final Harry Potter movie last night. Disappointing. The trailer for The Rise of the Planet of the Apes looked very interesting though. See article on apes in entertainment in the links below.
Whereas it is nice to go 'off the map' for a few days I always have a ton of catching up to do with email. This week has been no exception. Thank you for the two donations received. They were a big help.
Back in 1968 I had a single male Cheetah amongst my charges. I felt sorry for him on his own and would often sit with him during my lunch hour. I got to know him well and his special hatred of a particular Grey Squirrel who used to taunt him. I knew if he had been irked only minutes before. Money was tight, less than ten quid a week for a basic 48 hours. Usually worked more than that and there was never any overtime pay (A year or two later I was working 100 hours a week for just a little over double the wage). I digress.... money was tight but I bought the Cheetah a football. He loved it. I am no fan or player but it was fun to kick about and have him chase it. One day I was spotted my the director. Wheels turned.
A week later the director turned up with the head keeper, two photographers and a famous football player (who it was escapes me). There was going to be a photography session within the enclosure. The squirrel had only recently passed by. The Cheetah was irked, I advised against it. What did I know? A green keeper, not worth listening too. So we all went into the enclosure.
Wham! Bang! Wallop! Everyone was injured in a trice. It was I who risked life and limb to allow the others to exit. Somehow I had the inside of my mouth lacerated...never figured out how. The others had bites and scratches and torn clothes. I was in a position to say 'I told you so' but I didn't.
No doubt most would agree that the Cheetah is probably the easiest of 'big cats' but it is far from safe. Read the first link today. No big cat is safe. They are always an accident waiting to happen. Using Tigers and Lions is actually stupid.
F*** PETA. If they think that Little Rock Zoo are not concerned about the death of Ellen then they are a lot more stupid and heartless than I have previously thought. It is none of PETA's business. On the other hand their protest about Manila Zoo (Which I too have been critical of) is more useful, or at least could be. Sadly PETA have not the faintest idea about keeping animals in captivity or the remotest inkling of real animal knowledge and as a result most of what they say is utter rubbish. So they can hold their protest and much as I dislike Manila Zoo I would be blocking the entrance to prevent the loony PETA crowd from entering.
Why don't they go and protest outside Skazka Zoo. Two headed snakes along with Tigons, Ligers and White Tigers belong in a freak show and not in any serious zoo.
The Thai police raid on the small new zoo in North Eastern Thailand is a step in the right direction. Here though it is just the little guys getting the trouble. The real criminals are those behind and operating Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, The Tiger Temple and others. Thats where the real investigation needs to be.
"An animal keeper whose bear mauled another man to death was found dead, chained to his waterbed and choked by a sex toy." What a way to go!
The story of the escaped cassowary conjured up a memory. We had a gardener (who knew the cassowaries were dangerous) who decided to go into an enclosure. He was kicked. The birds toenail went straight through his foot. These birds can be very dangerous.
I am fed up with clairvoyant octopuses. Try and be original. Please!
Has the Fish Spa had its day? I note that one place has been closed down (see links). The risk of infection? Who knows? More likely to catch something off the previous person than the fish though the risk of Mycobacterium marinum infection remains a possibility. See in the last Zoo News Digest and the 'Touch Tank' story.
Went with Nok, Nong and Bee to see the final Harry Potter movie last night. Disappointing. The trailer for The Rise of the Planet of the Apes looked very interesting though. See article on apes in entertainment in the links below.
****
Please take two minutes to make a small annual donation to ensure the continuation of Zoo News Digest. Click HERE or on the donate button at the top of the Blog page. Quick easy and simple to do. In return you will recieve more than 400 important or interesting zoo related postings per year plus notification of vacancies and meetings and symposia.Looking for a job?
Several new vacancies online
Check out
Several new vacancies online
Check out
Got one to advertise? email me
This blog has readers from 153+ countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eire, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lapland, Lao, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, Zambia.
This blog has readers from 153+ countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eire, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lapland, Lao, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, Zambia.
Is your meeting/conference/symposium listed here?http://zoosymposia.blogspot.com/
If not why not? You want people to attend, don't you? ZooNews Digest is read by more zoo people than any other similar publication. I will advertise up till the event.
Please visit the
if you are looking for books for yourself or as gifts.
****************************************************************************
On with links:
Cheetah sprayed with fire extinguisher after mauling keepers during safety demo
A cheetah had to be subdued with a fire extinguisher after mauling keepers at safari park during a filming session to prove the animals were safe for visitors
The big cat - the fastest land animal in the world capable of running at up to 75mph - bit and clawed two members of staff at Eagle Heights Wildlife Park in Eynsford, near Dartford in Kent, on Sunday.
The park has three cheetahs but the youngest Zena took exception to a film crew in her enclosure.
The three cheetahs - Savannah, Boumani and Zena - were being filmed by park workers to "prove" to local council bosses at Sevenoaks District Council that they were 'safe' for visitors to get close to.
But on Sunday, as the cheetahs were being filmed, Zena launched an attack on keeper and trainer Jonny Ames and cameraman Luke Foreman, also a member of staff at the park.
The big cat bit both men several times before swiping its massive paw at Mr Foreman, ripping his shorts off and leaving him with scratches down his leg.
Shocked visitors watched in horror as park staff tried to haul the cheetah off the two men - with staff desperately grabbing the cheetah by the scruff of the neck and sitting on it before another worker blasted it in the face with a fire extinguisher - forcing the animal to release its grip.
Both men were taken to hospital for treatment and given jabs and had their wounds treated, but were back at work on Monday.
Chartered surveyor Michael Cooper, who was with his two sons Jamie, six, and six -month-old Harry, said he watched in horror as the attack took place in front of around 50 visitors.
The 42-year-old told the News Shopper newspaper today (Tue): "The staff were jokingly describing that they were filming the cheetahs to prove to the local authority that they were friendly.
The man sent in to film was looking rather uncomfortable, but we were assured the cheetahs would only go for the fluffy microphone and if it looked like he was going to get eaten, not to worry.
The cheetahs were let loose and without hesitation one of them went for the cameraman.
Not even interested in the fluffy microphone, one decided to bite into the mans leg.
He added: The cheetah had taken quite a few bites and scratches from both the cameraman and the trainer, ripping the shorts off one in one close swipe of the paw.
The two men managed to sit on the cheetahs head while another member of staff ran for a fire extinguisher
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8632241/Cheetah-sprayed-with-fire-extinguisher-after-mauling-keepers-during-safety-demo.html
Read my comments in the intro.
Who let these cats out?
Two villagers have been killed in the last month by hand-raised leopards released in the wild by the Mysore royalty and an NGO. Jay Mazoomdaar writes on a ‘rehabilitation experiment’ gone horribly wrong
IT WAS almost noontime. Inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, five Jenu Kuruba tribals were walking silently within one another’s earshot, scanning the branches overhead for beehives. Traditional honey-gatherers, these tribals collect wildflower honey in the early monsoon. Over generations, Kurubas have learnt that the forest is a safe place, as long as one stays away from rogue elephants and temperamental bears.
But on 1 June, the five men from Lakkipura, a Kuruba village at the edge of the tiger reserve, were in for a cruel shock. It was Rama Kuruba who spotted the leopard. He stood still, waiting for the cat to walk away. Instead, it came pouncing and knocked him down. Kampa Kuruba was the first to rush to Rama’s rescue. The leopard let go of Rama, who by then had given up the struggle, and turned on Kampa.
As a desperate Kampa held the cat at arm’s length by the radio-collar around its neck, it started pawing his face and the head. By then, the other Kurubas were creating a ruckus and hitting the leopard with sticks. But the cat would not let go. Eventually, a powerful blow on the spine made it back away. By then, Rama had stopped breathing. The leopard was still alive, growling in pain at a distance. Unnerved, the Kurubas scampered, carrying a profusely bleeding Kampa, who would spend the next 10 days in hospital.
In Lakkipura, the initial response was of disbelief. Kurubas never considered leopards a threat because the spotted cats avoided them and never attacked except in self-defence. Now, they were faced with a leopard that targeted people to kill and did not back away even from a group of men, challenging a thumb rule of survival in the wild. They did not know that the leopard that tore open Rama’s throat and nearly killed Kampa was not a wild cat.
DEPUTY CONSERVATOR of forests (DCF) KT Hanumanthappa has brought down the humanelephant conflict in Bandipur by 70 percent in just two years, by digging up trenches and laying service roads for maintenance of electric fences. “We are here for conservation work,” he says. “But managing conflict used to take up all our time. Now that headache is gone.”
He got a fresh headache on 5 June 2010, in a letter from his top boss, Karnataka’s chief wildlife warden (CWLW) BK Singh, permitting him “to rehabilitate the leopard cubs in Ojimunti of Bandipur National Park with the assistance of Smt Vishalakshi Devi, Bangalore”.
In fact, it was Vishalakshi Devi who sought permission on 8 May 2010 for “rehabilitation
http://tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ne230711Who.asp
Something very wrong going on here. It needs a thorough investigation. Though not proved....because it was not investigated but I believe exactly the same thing happened with tigers in Indonesia. They jump up and down saying look how clever we are releasing tigers into the wild. Then a few weeks later not so many miles away a villager is killed by a tiger...it does not take much to add two and two together.
Aping the pros: Silverback with artistic temperament uses honey-covered video camera to film himself
This cheeky ape curiously peers into the lens as he turns the tables and takes this high definition video - of himself.
Silverback gorilla Ya Kwanza, 27, is seen playfully filming himself with a camera hidden inside an indestructible box, which is covered in oats and honey.
The primate repeatedly holds the device up to his face and pokes the lens at Durrell Wildlife Park, Jersey.
But when it came to handing back the footage, Ya Kwanza went bananas and cheekily hurled the box out of his enclosure.
Expert Jon Stark, who has been taking care of critically-endangered western lowland gorillas for four years, came up with the idea after wondering what life from a primate's perspective looked like.
He said: ‘The animals here at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2014409/Gorilla-artistic-temperament-uses-honey-covered-video-camera-film-himself.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
![]()
Miracle Saved Mormon Missionary Mauled By Lions at Guatemala Zoo, Father Says
The father of a Mormon missionary mauled by two lions at a zoo in Guatemala credited a higher power Tuesday with saving his son's life.
Alan Oakey spoke to the Deseret News in Utah about Monday's attack on his 20-year-old son Paul, who is now recovering in a hospital in Guatemala City.
Paul Oakey had been serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Guatemala City South Mission for 19 months.
He was attacked on Monday, when he climbed up a concrete wall to have his photograph taken in front of a lion exhibit at a zoo in a rural town about five hours from Guatemala City. He had his back turned when one lion reached through the bars of the cage and grabbed his right leg.
As he fell back a second lion grabbed his left arm. One lion bit a chunk from the missionary's right calf, while the other clamped down on his left bicep. Paul fought back against the lions, his father said, while others in the group went to his aid.
"He was punching one of
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/miracle-saved-mormon-missionary-mauled-by-lions-at-guatemala-zoo-father-says-ncxdc-071311
Hopeful aquarium reopens after quake
Mai Hibino, an animal keeper at an aquarium in Fukushima, used a hose to pour water over Go, an 11-year-old male walrus. "You've been very, very patient," Hibino said softly.
Go galumphed his 720-kilogram body toward Hibino to snuggle up to her, then let out a roar.
A long, hard journey was nearly over for both Hibino and Go when this scene took place July 9.
After being closed for four months due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Fukushima Marine Science Museum aquarium in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, reopened Friday, thanks to the support of aquariums across
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110715005203.htm
San Diego Zoo cleared in panda attack on keeper
A California agency says the San Diego Zoo will not be fined for an incident in which a panda bit and clawed a keeper.
The Los Angeles Times reports Wednesday that a spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety said agency investigators determined that the March 13 attack was not the result of any lapse in safety regulations or training for employees.
Panda Bai Yun pushed open a safety barrier between the keeper area and the animal's habitat. When a keeper tried to herd Bai Yun
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/13/3768392/san-diego-zoo-cleared-in-panda.html
Wildlife park under pressure to hire full-time zookeeper
The New South Wales Government is insisting the Waterways Wildlife Park at Gunnedah hire a full-time zookeeper or risk not having its exhibition licence renewed.
The park was the centre of a controversial RSPCA raid last year, which removed eight koalas over claims of animal cruelty.
The park's owners, Nancy and Colin Small, were never prosecuted.
A lawyer with Slater & Gordon, Peter Long, sa
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-13/wildlife-park-under-pressure-to-hire-full-time/2793554/?site=newengland§ion=news
Endangered dolphins captured for performances
Environmentalists have called for stronger regulations as dolphins near extinction in waters near S.Korea
An analysis by the Hankyoreh has confirmed that all dolphins appearing in South Korean animal shows are endangered species that were captured in the wild and trained. One of the dolphins appearing in Korean dolphin shows is the exceptionally intelligent bottlenose.
According to an analysis conducted Friday by the Hankyoreh from data on dolphin show venues nationwide, a total of 27 bottlenose dolphins are performing or displayed at all four aquariums, including one on Jeju Island. Also, the wild habitats from which the animals were captured are regions that are either facing extinction risks or the subject of controversy over environmental destruction.
Bottlenose dolphins whose accidental capture in illegal nets was discovered by the Korea Coast Guard on Thursday were found to be performing at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, and Pacific Land on Jeju Island, with a total of twelve animals at the two sites. A 52-year-old identified by the surname Heo was booked without detention for violating the Fisheries Act after purchasing http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/487732.html
Reverend’s rhino plan to put town on the map
RHINOS could find new homes all around the ancient capital of Furness next summer.
The Reverend Alan Mitchell is overseeing the possible installation of 20 or so four-foot by three-foot rhino sculptures throughout Dalton in a bid to bring more tourists in to the town.
Mr Mitchell is hoping the sculptures will work as a complementary tourist attraction for visitors to nearby South Lakes Wild Animal Park.
The potential costs of the project are currently being worked out and he said the next stage would be for local businesses and people to purchase or sponsor the finished sculptures in a bid to raise money for local and national charities.
Mr Mitchell said: “I saw the statues in Liverpool, the Superlambanana ones, and thought perhaps we could do that in Dalton.
“I’ve always been concerned that the tourists signs pointing to the zoo feature elephants on them and there aren’t actually any elephants at the zoo. So I thought we could make some fibreglass ones and put them around the town.”
But following a chat with zoo boss David Gill, he then decided to make the most of one the zoo’s star attractions – the rhinos.
Mr Mitchell said: “The
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/reverend-s-rhino-plan-to-put-town-on-the-map-1.857241?referrerPath=news/
THE TARSIUS PROJECT
http://www.tarsiusproject.org/2011/07/are-the-tarsiers-more-than-tourist-attraction-for-us/
Arsonist Torches San Diego Zoo
It's back to the business of eating bamboo for the Giant Pandas. Hours earlier and just steps from the bears fire ripped through the panda gift shop.
Zoo Spokesperson Christina Simmons told San Diego 6, "was a scare for all of us. Anytime there's a major fire we are concerned particularly for the animals in our collection. The animals are doing fine."
Suspicions over a cause we're quickly validated. Fire officials say it was no accident.
San Diego Fire Spokesman Maurice Luque says, "we know it's arson. Investigators spent about 7 hours there." And sources tell San Diego 6 an employee who had access to the park may be to blame.
Luque says, "from disgruntled employees to letters that may have gone into a business threatning them for whatever reason to surveillance cameras the whole gammet of things are looked at."
News that an arsonist would torch the zoo not only angered visitors, it put a monkey wrench in some of their plans.
Janette Baertsch is from San Diego. She brought some family to the zoo Monday. She told San Diego 6, "that was really sad because they had to move some of the shows to somewhere else and all our animals are endangered."
Dan Cerney is visiting San Diego from New York. He was surprised that an arsonist would torch the zoo. He said, "It's absolutely terrible that there's people out there that would start a fire in such an area where there's so many beautiful animals living
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Arsonist-Torches-San-Diego-Zoo/n0zoeTgLYEuZilEL8unG0g.cspx
Dolphin calves died of pneumonia, internal bleeding, National Aquarium says
Although the animals died within days of each other, officials say the deaths were unrelated
Pneumonia killed one dolphin calf at the National Aquarium last month while internal bleeding took the life of another baby days later, according to results of a necropsy released Friday.
The aquarium has yet to resume its popular dolphin shows because the surviving dolphins remain distressed by the deaths.
According to the necropsy, the deaths of the two 2-month-old calves were unrelated, said Brent R. Whitaker, the aquarium's deputy executive director for biological
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-ae-dolphin-calves-necropsy-20110715,0,1220010.story
Vampire frog flies in to Australian museum
Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley was working in Vietnam's jungles in 2010 when she discovered a previously undocumented frog.
She and named it Rhacophorus vampyrus or Vampire Flying Frog.
Frank Howarth, Director of the Australian Museum, explains how this amphibian's baby fangs and adult flying abilities earned
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/07/08/3262364.htm
Endangered species given new life in Shepreth
A SPECIES nearly wiped out in the Vietnam War has been given a boost after a Crow Country birth.
Keepers at Shepreth Wildlife Park were celebrating after a pygmy slow loris was born following a six-month pregnancy.
There are thought to be only 700,000 left in the world after the bitter conflict devastated its habitat.
Since then forests have continued to be cut down, or burnt, and the illegal pet-trade, as well as the use of the creature in traditional Chinese medicine, have kept numbers dangerously low.
A spokesman said: “We are delighted to have positively contributed to this programme.
“Breeding endangered species, and
http://www.royston-crow.co.uk/news/endangered_species_given_new_life_in_shepreth_1_958856
Anger at zoo's 'ghoulish' autopsy show
EDINBURGH Zoo has been heavily criticised over plans to stage a post mortem of an animal in front of a paying live audience.
The visitor attraction announced the move on its website and is selling tickets at £20 per head for the event on August 23.
The post mortem will involve the dissection of a "large mammal", although a spokeswoman for the zoo admitted they were as yet unsure what animal would be used for the event, or where it would come from.
The move has been dubbed a "callous money-spinner" by an Edinburgh animal welfare group, while the UK charity PETA has said the move would not sit well with many members of the public.
However, Hugh Roberts, the new chief executive of the trust that runs the zoo, said the event will be of educational value.
The autopsy will be carried out by a member of the zoo's world renowned veterinary team, and is being organised to help educate members of the public about animal biology.
A spokesman for the city charity OneKind said: "This seems a really staggering thing to do at a point when the zoo doesn't need to court any more controversy. It's sending out the entirely wrong message that these (animals] are exhibits that can be put out on display even when they're dead."
The spokesman said charging £20 for tickets just two months after the zoo published income losses of £2 million would widely be interpreted as a money-making drive.
He added: "The zoo makes great pains to highlight what an educational organisation it is, but this smacks of unwavering commercialism.
"I could understand possibly an educational aspect to host this for the public as a scientific demonstration, if it were free."
A spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said: "Whilst the idea of paying to view the dissection of a cadaver may not sit well, what's truly disturbing is the unnatural and miserable life animals are forced to endure in confined zoo environments."
The zoo previously attracted criticism after it hosted a live cow autopsy as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival last April.
The event, which cost £11, was billed in the festival programme as being a way to find out what makes a cow interesting. However, following a campaign by several animal welfare charities, more than 100 people e-mailed Science Festival director Simon Gage calling for the event to be scrapped.
This latest educational event is being billed as "a fascinating insight into animal biology", giving the audience
http://www.scotsman.com/news/Anger-at-zoo39s-39ghoulish39-autopsy.6800618.jp
PETA again! What a bunch of trouble makers. Of course it will be educational. What's to complain about?
![]()
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians will be hosting their Thirtyfirst Annual Conference September 16-20, 2011 at the Rio Grande Zoo, Albuquerque, NM. If you would like more information please contact Gwen Dragoo via email at gdragoo@cabq.gov or visit http://www.azvt.org/
Orangutan cruelty discovered at Melaka Zoo
Investigators visiting Melaka Zoo were shocked to find eight orangutans confined behind bars like criminals for days at a time, with no access to the sun, rain, fresh air and the company of other orangutans.
Each time investigators visited the zoo the same two orangutans were outside; an obese female and her juvenile offspring.
If Minister Douglas Embas had enacted the new Wildlife Conservation Act on schedule, this government run zoo could and should be prosecuted.
Behind the thick iron bars of the indoor
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/12/orangutan-cruelty-discovered-at-melaka-zoo/
Good Morning Kalimantan Teaser
http://youtu.be/lx-DJwLhCDI
A Point of View: In praise of the zoo
The zoo is not just for children, exotic animals can help grown-ups get some perspective on their lives, says Alain de Botton.
Moose don't loom large in the national imagination. There are only around 100 of them on these islands, but they're a fascinating and noble kind of creature. Ugly from one point of view, rather as camels are, but full of a native kind of dignity and stoicism.
I'm mentioning moose because earlier this summer, rather unreported by the media, a baby moose was born in Whipsnade Zoo. It got called Chocolate by the Zoological Society of London, and - according to an e-mail that was sent out to all members of the zoo - it's doing very well. It's being looked after by its concerned mother Minni and its protective dad Melka.
Both can now be seen in a special exhibit called Wild Wild Whipsnade. If you fancy a trip, as the same e-mail went on to explain, you might want to take in Sapo the pygmy hippo, who's recently taken his first dip in an
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14078657
Qatar’s rare initiative
Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation’s conservation programme for the critically endangered Spix’s Macaw is aiming to release some of the birds to a site in Brazil as early as 2013, according to the co-ordinator of the programme, who said that the two-year target represents a best case scenario for the unique initiative taking place in Qatar.
Al Wabra (AWWP) is a conservation park established by Sheikh Saoud bin Mohamed bin Ali al-Thani to breed certain endangered species in captivity.
The Spix’s Macaw is one of the most endangered bird species on the planet, with no recorded birds in the wild since 2000, and only 76 in captivity. Of those 76, 55 are owned by AWWP, which has been breeding the species here for seven years.
Gulf Times spoke to programme co-ordinator Ryan Watson for an update on the initiative and to discuss the future plans for this highly endangered species.
“We face a lot of challenges with the Spix’s Macaw because of the very tight genetic bottleneck the species is in,” he explained, adding that the birds have a number of problems with embryo viability, infertility and disease.
However, the centre will soon have two populations of Macaws, with the younger group of birds set to be transferred to
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=446421&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Virginia Aquarium educates visitors about aquatic life using RFID
The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center has installed a new interactive exhibit, dubbed “Fish and Chips”, that uses RFID technology to instantly provide visitors with information on the aquatic life as it swims by, according to Breaking News Travel.
Similar to identification technology that is used in household pets, a tiny microchip is injected under the fish’s skin. As the fish swim by an RFID antenna “pings” and instantly provides information on the species, habitat, range and other interesting facts on a computer screen for the visitors to read.
Using RFID also allows aquarium staff to monitor the health and better perform veterinary procedures since the fish are more easily tracked and identified. The Virginia Aquarium had already been using RFID technology, but not until recently did the implementation support for in-water identification.
For more information on the “Fish and Chips” RFID permanent
http://www.rfidnews.org/2011/07/13/virginia-aquarium-educates-visitors-about-aquatic-life-using-rfid
Under the aegis of the newly established SAWEN (South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network), a training programme on “Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement for Wildlife Protection in South Asia” commenced today at the University of Forensic Sciences, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was inaugurated by Shri Balwant Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat and is the first such training to be organized for SAWEN members on wildlife law enforcement.
Senior-level government officials working in the field of wildlife conservation of South Asian countries— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka—are attending the programme which has been organized by TRAFFIC with support from the Global Tiger Forum, the Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Govt. of Gujarat and the Gujarat Forest Department.
Participants will receive a comprehensive understanding of the present scenario of wildlife crime and trade in South Asia and its implications for field conservation and be introduced to the modern tools and techniques used in strengthening wildlife law enforcement.
The programme brings together various national and international experts and agencies working in this field to exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge on curbing illegal wildlife trade. This initiative will help further strengthen regional collaboration amongst various South Asian countries and wildlife law enforcement agencies across the region.
A message by Hon. Chief Minister, Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi read out at the inaugural session said, “I welcome all wildlife experts representing various countries to the State of Gujarat. It is high time that the law enforcement agencies’ focus is diverted towards prevention and detection of crimes. Gujarat State has taken lead in this direction by establishing an important branch called “Wildlife Forensics” at the State Forensic Laboratory. I compliment SAWEN Secretariat for organizing this workshop”.
Shri Balwant Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat said, “I welcome all participants to the State of Gujarat. Illegal wildlife trade is a serious issue and requires concerted and well coordinated action to curb it. The newly formed South Asia Enforcement Network should help in this direction”.
In a message by Hon. Minister of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, Shri Jairam Ramesh said, “The establishment of SAWEN is a very crucial, timely and much needed step forward to institutionalize the collaborative efforts of member nations in controlling wildlife crime in the region. I am especially happy to note that under the SAWEN work plan, the first multi country training programme on Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement for Wildlife Protection in South Asia is being held in Gandhinagar. Gujarat has some very good successes to share in this direction”.
The message also said, “I welcome all participants from across South Asia to India and congratulate the SAWEN Secretariat and TRAFFIC India for taking the lead in organizing this workshop and also commend all partners for their support to this important theme”.
Mr Krishna Prasad Acharya, Chief Enforcement Coordinator of SAWEN & the Director General, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal said, “Illegal wildlife trade is a form of trans-national organized crime that threatens many iconic species across the world. National Governments in South Asia recognise this threat and are committed to work together to counter such threats. The establishment of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) by the eight countries of South Asia in Bhutan in January 2011 is an expression of this commitment. This training programme, the first of its kind under SAWEN, will support our common cause and will surely be the first of many more such collaborative efforts.
Dr J.M. Vyas, Director General, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar said, “We welcome the participants to our University and are happy to host this important training. We are happy to share our experiences in this field. Our state of art laboratories and highly trained staff will help participants in understanding the subject better. Wildlife crime is a serious issue and requires a learned, scientific approach to combat it”.
Mr Samir Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India said, “South Asia, acknowledged globally as a biodiversity rich region, is increasingly being targetted by organised transnational criminal syndicates. Wildlife crime itself continues to change and evolve rapidly in today’s world. In fact, with rapid changes in the way the world communicates, especially with the internet and the easy access to international travel, illegal wildlife trade continues to acquire new dimensions and forms. The fight against organized trans-national wildlife crime requires a multi-disciplinary intelligence-led approach in order to disrupt criminal activities effectively. This training will help wildlife law enforcement agencies across South Asia prepare better to respond to such crime”.
The key resources persons at the training programme include experts from the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Central Bureau of Investigation, Financial Intelligence Unit, Govt. of India, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Wildlife Institute of India, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime- South Asia Regional Office and TRAFFIC.
Sea turtles’ 30-yr journey starts with poachers turned saviors
Did you know that marine turtles, no matter how far they swim around the world, always return to their place of birth after 30 years? This is one of the amazing facts we picked up at the Pawikan Conservation Center in Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan. Volunteers in this fishing village attempt to keep endangered marine turtles from vanishing.
The volunteers fear that the turtles would fall prey to poachers. At night, they patrol the 7 kilometers of shoreline facing the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), scoop up turtles’ nests buried in the sand, and bring these to the center’s hatcheries for incubation.
The night patrollers have saved more than 47,000 turtles since September 1999 when the center was founded, according to the center’s leader, Manolo Ibias.
The total distance walked by them in a year is said to be equal to the distance between Morong and Sao Paolo in Brazil.
Manolo, now 55 and once a poacher himself, plans to rest his leg muscles when he picks up his senior citizenship card. His two sons, both in college
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/22642/sea-turtles’-30-yr-journey-starts-with-poachers-turned-saviors
Struggling beetles released in Ohio
It's time to meet the beetles at the Wilds conservation center in southeast Ohio.
Director of Animal Management Dan Beetem says 160 American burying beetles were released Wednesday at the nearly 10,000-acre facility. It's part of an effort to re-establish the species in Ohio.
The Wilds says the American burying beetle was once found in 35 states but in 1989 became the first insect listed as an endangered species.
Biologists aren't sure why the beetle species
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20110707/NEWS01/107070339
I have seen the advert below posted in several locations. A bit pointless when none of them tell you who to contact.
Bird Trainer - Al Ain Wildlife Park And Resort - UAE
Far better if it were placed in Zoo Jobs.
Three elephants electrocuted in UP's Dudhwa national park
Three wild elephants were on Friday electrocuted after they came in contact with a dangling live high voltage cable in the thick confines of Uttar Pradesh's famous Dudhwa National Wildlife Park
According to the state's Chief Wildlife Conservator, B K Patnaik, "the electrocution was the result of an accident caused by a marching herd of elephants that led to toppling of an electric cable pillar, which brought the live wire down on to the path of the animals".
"While three of the herd of some 15-odd tuskers were electrocuted, the others promptly withdrew from the scene as they sensed trouble," Patnaik said.
He said the mishap occurred near Bodhiya-kalan village situated on the periphery of the core area of the wildlife sanctuary where the elephants had been spotted a couple of times over the past few days.
A team of six veterinary surgeons were arranged to carry out autopsy on the three elephants. "However, no sooner than the surgeons got down to their job, the remaining herd made an attempt to charge at them. The forest guards and other staff, however, somehow managed to thwart their attempt," said Patnaik.
Eventually, the post-mortem was completed on Saturday morning after which the animals were buried in the forest area, he added.
This was stated to be the first incident of its kind in Dudhwa national park. However, a similar tragedy was witnessed at the world famous Corbett Park where as many as 11 elephants were electrocuted in 1980, say official records.
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/-elephants-electrocuted-in-dudhwa-national-park/20110709.htm
Feet-nibbling fish pedicures shut down in B.C. over health risks
A Vancouver Island spa is being forced to shut down a controversial pedicure treatment because the tools used to do the job weren’t being sterilized.
The “tools” in this case are hundreds of tiny Garra rufa fish imported from Turkey, where they are known as doctor fish. During a fish pedicure, patients submerge their feet in an aquarium and the hungry fish, which don’t have teeth, suck off the dead skin cells.
The Purple Orchid spa has been offering the treatment, meant as a temporary relief for psoriasis and eczema, since July 2010. After the spa was featured on a local television program the Vancouver Island Health Authority, with the support of the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services, ordered spa owner Dixie Simpson to stop offering the therapy, citing health risks.
“Vancouver Island Health Authority are now classifying my fish as tools. But these are live animals. I can’t sterilize them. So therefore I have to shut down,” she said in a CBC News report, adding that she was stringent about keeping the water clean and uses a UV filtration system.
“There’s been [health] concerns about tanning beds; they still go on,” said Ms. Simpson, and that she doesn’t have the money to launch a legal challenge against the order. “I guess at the end of the day, where
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/15/feet-nibbling-fish-pedicures-shut-down-in-b-c-over-health-risks/
Is the Fish Spa a Con or a Cure?
Fish Spa Phenomena
PETA wants investigation of Ark. elephant's death
An animal rights group has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the death of a 60-year-old elephant that died at the Little Rock Zoo.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says the request regarding Ellen the Elephant was sent to Dr. Robert Gibbens, the western regional director of the agency's animal care unit. PETA director Delcianna Winders says the group wonders why the zoo was closed after Ellen's death and her body was immediately removed for burial.
The Asian elephant died Tuesday morning. Zoo officials say she likely suffered a heart attack or stroke.
She came to the zoo from New York in
http://www.necn.com/07/09/11/PETA-wants-investigation-of-Ark-elephant/landing_scitech.html?&apID=f3d5cebec3c049d581db4c8984cdad6f
PETA's elephant to lead protest vs Manila Zoo
An elephant will lead the protest of the animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against the Manila Zoo.
Scheduled at 1 p.m. on Friday, the protest will be led by an elephant which will hold a sign reading “Close the Manila Zoo!"
According to its news release, PETA said its members of PETA Asia will hold the protest outside the Manila Zoo on Adriatico Street, Malate.
PETA said the Manila Zoo "has been internationally criticized for housing animals in cramped, barren cages and for providing substandard care. The animals are relegated to a lifetime of boredom and abuse, which often leads to self-mutilation and other abnormal behavior."
"The Manila Zoo is a tiny, decrepit, and outdated facility and has nothing to offer animals except a life of deprivation, misery, and loneliness," said PETA’s Rochelle Regodon.
"We're asking Mayor Lim to close the zoo for good and prevent any more animals from spending their lives in this decrepit and shameful facility," she added.
"As do all zoos, the Manila Zoo presents visitors with a distorted view of wildlife. In the wild, most animals roam territories of hundreds of kilometers, but the entire Manila Zoo measures only 0.055 square kilometers," PETA said.
"Even the largest zoos worry that they cannot provide
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/226360/nation/petas-elephant-to-lead-protest-vs-manila-zoo
MANILA ZOO
Closure of Manila Zoo sought
INSTEAD of raising cash to restore the decrepit Manila Zoo, an animal rights group said the government should padlock the facility owing to its poor conditions.
According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), it is time for the government to recognize that animals should not be kept
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/16/closure-manila-zoo-sought-167142
RI zoo raises $300,000 for conservation, outreach
Rhode Island’s largest zoo has raised nearly $300,000 for education and conservation programs.
Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence announced that the money raised at its “Zoobilee’’ fundraiser in June will fund its 2012 programs designed to enhance environmental education and protect threatened species around the world and in Rhode Island.
The June 25th event attracted nearly 1,400
http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-08/news/29752672_1_zoobilee-conservation-largest-zoo
Phoenix Zoo contributes $64M to state economy, report says
The Phoenix Zoo helps contribute $64 million in economic activity to Arizona, a recent report for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has found.
"The Phoenix Zoo supports the community in more ways than one," Jim Maddy, president and chief executive officer of AZA, said in a statement. "Not only does the Phoenix Zoo have a deep commitment to science education and wildlife conservation, but it also generates valuable economic benefits to the region."
AZA commissioned a state-by-state economic impact analysis of 212 AZA-accredited zoos and aquari
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/07/07/20110707phoenix-zoo-cool-place-visit-help-state-economy.html
Big zoo overhaul
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan)LocalWildlife Conservation Act 2010
Tighter control on zoological parks with new regulations
ALMOST 54 years after the first zoo in the country opened its doors to the public, Malaysia is finally set to have its own set of regulations on how zoological parks nationwide should be managed.
The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) is in the final stages of draft ing the new regulations on ‘Mengawalselia Pengendalian Zoo’ (Supervision of Zoo Operations) to be included in the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, which was enforced last December.
The department is now finalising the necessary by-laws and the new regulations are expected to be in force as early as next year.
Department director-general Datuk Abd Rasid Samsudin told The Malay Mail they comprise, among others:
• Operators would have to apply for speci c permits to run zoos, unlike before
• To prevent overcrowding, the overall size of the zoo will determine how many animals can be kept
• Enclosure size and layouts, as well as cage sizes, will be determined by the animals’ size and habitat
• Quality food and vitamins for the animals to be made compulsory
• All zoos must have its own in-house veterinarians
• All captive wildlife and those meant for export will be tagged with microchips
Abdul Rasid said all 44 zoos in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, including Zoo Negara, currently needed only to apply for temporary permits allowing them to house wild animals.
“Under the provision of Section 10 of the Act, no one can operate a zoo, conduct commercial captive breeding, or have circus or wildlife exhibitions involving protected wildlife unless granted a permit by Perhilitan.”
He said zoos had also been noti ed of the impending addition to the Wildlife Conservation Act.
"Once implemented, there should be no excuses from zoo owners and operators. My officers and that of the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry conducted a road tour of all the zoos in March last year and have informed them of the new regulation and what it entails.
"We hope they would not be caught
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/77897-big-zoo-overhaul
Mutant two-headed snake wows visitors at Ukrainian zoo
A snake with two heads, each able to think and eat separately and even steal food from each other, has become a popular attraction at a Ukrainian zoo.
The small albino California Kingsnake, now on show in the Black Sea resort of Yalta is quite a handful, zoo workers told AFP.
The snake's two heads are fiercely independent, are not always in agreement and like to snatch food from each other, said keepers of the private zoo, called Skazka, or Fairy Tale.
"Sometimes one head wants to crawl in one direction and the other head in another direction," zoo director Oleg Zubkov told AFP.
Zoo worker Ruslan Yakovenko added that he tries
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hUto6yH7fcabXVlw0CqB1t_OGtuA?docId=CNG.dfe97e07f144a2d29eb615412e0c12be.221
It should be kindly euthanased. It is wrong to keep it alive. Pickle it afterwards if that's what turns you on.
Police raid Thai zoo in tiger smuggling probe
Thai wildlife police on Thursday said they had discovered unregistered big cat cubs in a raid on a private zoo, raising suspicions that it was part of a smuggling ring.
Eight animals were discover in the operation earlier this week -- four adult tigers, two tiger cubs and two leopard cubs -- the Thai Nature Crime Police said in updated information, adding that official permits were only found for the older tigers.
Police colonel Kiattipong Khawsamang said DNA tests would be conducted on the tiger cubs, which the owner of the newly-built zoo, in northeastern Chaiyaphum province, said were the offspring of the older tigers.
But the zoo also failed to provide official documentation for the leopards and they were confiscated.
Kiattipong clarified earlier information suggesting the owner was male and said "the real ringleader is a woman".
Earlier the police colonel said the owner "tried to make illegal things legal" by setting up a private zoo and investigations had indicated
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/thai-zoo-raided-tiger-smuggling-probe-095222573.html
Trailer for Rise Of The Planet of the Apes
Man Who Owned Killer Bear Chokes to Death on Sex Toy
An animal keeper whose bear mauled another man to death was found dead, chained to his waterbed and choked by a sex toy.
Sam Mazzola, 49, of a Cleveland, Ohio, suburb, was wearing a mask and had his arms and legs restrained, Dr. Frank P. Miller III, a pathologist at the Lorain County coroner's office, told The Associated Press. He had choked on a sex toy, Miller said.
Mazzola's body was found on Friday at his home in Columbia Township, about 15 miles southwest of Cleveland.
Someone else was present during Mazzola's fatal sexual role playing, but left before he died, Miller told The News-Herald of Willoughby. Sheriff's officials ruled out suicide and homicide but are still investigating the manner of death, the newspaper reported.
Last summer, Brent Kandra, 24, was killed by a bear after opening its cage on Mazzola's property for a feeding. Kandra's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later destroyed.
Mazzola still had exotic animals in his care when he died, according to the paper. They were being cared for by his brother. Mazzola said in a bankruptcy filing
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/weird/NATLMan-Who-Owned-Killer-Bear-Chokes-to-Death-on-Sex-Toy-125560588.html
I have always thought my own passing should be a little bit out of the ordinary but I really think that this is one step too far in the wrong direction.
Die Happy
Could the Cindy Sherman of Monkeys Accidentally Revolutionize Copyright Law for Artists?
By now you've probably heard of the "Cindy Sherman of the Monkey World," as we dubbed her recently. While working in an Indonesian national park, British nature photographer David Slater had his camera purloined by a clever macaque monkey who took several self-portraits, apparently fascinated by her own reflection in the lens. The exceptionally charming images that resulted caught the eye of Britain's Daily Mail and won the cheeky monkey fans around the world, as well as "calling into question notions of personae, monkeyhood, affect, and the history of photography itself," as we put it.
We were being tongue-in-cheek, but as it turns out the images have indeed called the very nature of photography into question. The pics are now at the center of a lively debate about copyright, with implications not just for Slater but for the entire world of animal art (yes, there is a world of animal art).
After hearing about the accidental monkey masterpieces, the Web site Techdirt posted a short essay musing on the fact that several of the images bore a credit line attributing them to the U.K.-based Caters News Agency, for which Slater works. Copyright is generally held by the person who takes the picture, and since the author was in this case the monkey — Slater explicitly stated that he had no hand in creating the image — Techdirt wondered by what basis Caters could have acquired
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38113/could-the-cindy-sherman-of-monkeys-accidentally-revolutionize-copyright-law-for-artists/
What to do with Hong Kong's first orangutan twins?
Hong Kong gains two new zoo members, but an animal rights group wants to put them in the wild
Hong Kong saw the birth of the city's first Bornean orangutans twins at the Zoological and Botanical Gardens last Friday.
A male and a female baby orangutan were born weighing two and 1.4 kilos respectively. Their parents are Vandu, a 16-year-old male from Hungary who was bred under an orangutan conservation program, and Raba, a 15-year-old female born in Hong Kong.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are unhappy about the endangered species residing in the zoo.
"The zoo should find a trustworthy conservation agency to help them transfer [the twins] to the wild community once they grow up and are able to survive on their own," says SPCA spokeswoman Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling to the SCMP
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/visit/first-orangutans-twins-born-hong-kong-092449
I am sure the SPCA mean well but have they seen what is happening in the wild? It would be nice yes but it would mean displacing animals already there. There isn't any room any more.
Wellington Zoo's new occupants requiring military precision
Wellington Zoo's now caring for six hundred weakened seabirds, blown ashore in their thousands by this week's storm.
Feeding time at Wellington Zoo has become a military operation. It takes four and a half hours to feed the 600 prions, which are living in 200 cardboard boxes.
Almost every room in the zoo's animal hospital is filled with boxes of birds.
“We never realised those events would be this major this quickly but if you can do 100 you can do 600 as well,” says zoo operations manager Mauritz Basson.
The birds are fed twice a day, with six litres of salmon slurry having to be made for each
http://www.3news.co.nz/Wellington-Zoos-new-occupants-requiring-military-precision/tabid/1160/articleID/218959/Default.aspx
Gorewada zoo chief post upgraded
The Gorewada zoo project, which has been stalled for nearly six years, appears set to get a fillip. On Thursday, government upgraded the post of divisional forest officer (database) as CCF (planning & wildlife management). G Saiprakash, who was conservator of forests (CF) at Pune, has been promoted as CCF. He will look after Gorewada. Till now, a CF rank officer was in charge of the project.
Principal secretary (forests) Praveen Pardeshi, during his visit to Nagpur on July 7, had dropped enough hints about the plans to expedite Gorewada project by posting a senior official. This means H M Meshram, who was DFO (database) and was also drawing and disbursing officer (DDO), will now be posted elsewhere. Meshram
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Gorewada-zoo-chief-post-upgraded/articleshow/9229558.cms
Johnny, the Elephant from India
real personal tragedy, wrote the following obituary for their departed friend:
“Our elephant Johnny was born in India in 1965. It took thousands of kilometres for this resident of the Indian forests to find his way to Perm. Dutch sailors took him by ship from India. The small passenger was then taken onboard by Baltic sailors and transported to St Petersburg. From there, the small elephant was taken to Moscow on horses. He arrived at the Perm Zoo in summer 1966.
“The Perm Zoo has been celebrating John’s birthday every year since 2000. A birthday cake was prepared for the elephant from 60 kilograms of selected fruits and vegetables. The birthday boy always behaved very sedately, eating carefully and with dignity. John would have numerous guests on those days. The celebration was a success during any kind of weather.
“During the summer heat, the elephant loved to pour water over himself and swim in the pool, particularly on hot days, as well as spray the public with water.
“Johnny developed some habits during his life at the zoo: he was to be fed in the morning, at lunch and in the event. The elephant remembered people who did anything unpleasant to him, always trying to throw something at them or spray them with water. Johnny was able to reproduce the sounds of the human voice and could put together entirely intelligible phrases.
“The Perm elephant also loved to steal equipment such as brooms and hoses. He would scratch his back and belly with the broom and run around his enclosure with the hose, wrapping it around himself. In April 2009, he got a hubcap stuck around his trunk and could not get it off on his own. It had to be by almost all of the zoo employees tugging at it with fire hooks on a rope”.
In late June 2011, the 46-year-old Johnny fell while taking a walk. Zoo employees tried for six hours to get him back on his feet, including with the help of a truck crane, but they had no luck. The elephant died. The cause of death will be announced following an autopsy and examination. He will then be buried in a special biothermal grave.
The zoo employees said in the obituary that they would like to preserve the image in their heads of their favourit
http://indrus.in/articles/2011/07/15/johnny_the_elephant_from_india_12755.html
World's 'Most Dangerous Bird' escapes from exhibit at Denver Zoo
Gates at the Denver Zoo were temporarily closed Friday when a large, potentially dangerous bird called a cassowary escaped from its enclosure, officials said.
According to zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart, a visitor saw ‘Murray,’ a 62-pound 5 ½ foot tall cassowary, burst through its wire fencing at Bird World at about 12:45 p.m.
This prompted officials to essentially place the zoo on ‘lock down,’ closing gates and forcing some visitors to stay indoors as a precaution.
“Birds, naturally, are not necessarily aggressive...so I don’t believe (Murray) would have sought anyone out,” Barnhart said. “However, he is a large bird. He could have become afraid. He could have become defensive.”
‘Murray’ was captured a short time later and returned to his exhibit.
No one was hurt.
The cassowary, which is native to New Guinea, is
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/kdvr-large-bird-escapes-from-exhibit-at-denver-zoo-20110715,0,7223319.story
Chhatbir zoo range officer’s row with contractor ends; lion safari re-opens
Service was halted after dispute over non-renewal of registration certificates of two mini-buses used for safari
The lion safari at Chhatbir zoo, which was closed to visitors on Thursday due to a dispute between the contractor of the safari service and the range officer at the zoo, has now been reopened. While the contractor and the range officer agreed that the service was halted due to their dispute over the non-renewal of the registration certificates (RCs) of the two mini-buses used for the safari service, the field director asserted that it happened due to a routine inspection of the safari.
The contractor said that he had applied for the transfer of the RCs of the
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chhatbir-zoo-range-officers-row-with-contractor-ends;-lion-safari-reopens/818181/
Enrichment facility for animals at M'sian zoo
A NEW centre at Malaysia's Zoo Negara aims to provide a more conducive environment for the animals as well as educate the public on their welfare.
Zoo director Dr Mohamad Ngah said the facility would 'enrich' the lives of the animals by introducing toys and developing creative ways for the animals to get to their food.
'Enrichment efforts have been carried out in the zoo since 2005. However, this is the first time that a centre has been set up to centralise such efforts,' he said during the launch of the facility at the zoo on Friday.
During the event, the media was brought to the centre and shown various enrichment tools designed to improve the welfare of the 5,000 animals in the zoo.
Among them was a piata (a container made out of paper), which was made to look like a beehive and filled with food so that animals like bears would have to break
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_691331.html
Animal Enrichment versus Routine
SEEC Student Environmental Enrichment Courses
http://youtu.be/zEBN1CVUv_U
Wild Parrots Get Names From Parents
Before a green-rumped parrotlet is even able to chirp and squawk, mom and dad teach it a distinct series of sounds used by parrots to recognize a specific individual. In short, they give their nestling a name.
Researchers have observed captive parrots using so-called contact calls to identify mates and family members, but didn’t know how birds were named in the wild. Maybe they didn’t learn from their parents, but had contact calls hard-wired from birth. Or maybe it was an aberration of captivity.
To find out, Cornell University ornithologist Karl Berg and his team swapped eggs between nests in a wild parrotlet population they’d studied since 1987. Half the parrotlet pairs raised foster chicks, who used the contact calls demonstrated by their adoptive parents. Were the calls hard-wired, they’d have used their biological parents’ calls.
Among other animals known to imitate the
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/parrots-named-by-parents/
Badger culling is ineffective, says architect of 10-year trial
Former UK government scientific adviser Lord Krebs says results of the trials prove culls are not an effective way of controlling bovine TB
Badger culling is "ineffective", the expert behind the UK's biggest review of the links between badgers and tuberculosis in cattle, said on Monday.
Professor Lord John Krebs was the government adviser responsible for the scientific review in the 1990s which found that badgers were a "reservoir" of bovine TB and could transmit the disease to cattle. He called for trial culls, which were then carried out. But he said on Monday the results of the trials showed that culling was "not an effective policy" and would be a mistake.
His remarks are expected to reignite the debate over whether to cull badgers, as the government is set to make a controversial announcement this week allowing farmers to carry out their own badger culls around the country.
The issue is highly emotive, with wildlife campaigners preparing to resist any moves to a cull, while farmers are adamant that a well-coordinated cull in TB hotspots would help to reduce the incidence of the disease, which costs the farming industry - and taxpayers - tens of millions of pounds a year and has forced some farmers out of business.
The results of the 10-year "randomised badger culling trials" showed that widespread, highly coordinated culls requiring the destruction of many thousands of badgers resulted in a reduction in new infections in local cattle herds of about 16%. Ministers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/11/badger-culling-ineffective-krebs
New research demonstrates damaging influence of media on public perceptions of chimpanzees
How influential are mass media portrayals of chimpanzees in television, movies, advertisements and greeting cards on public perceptions of this endangered species? That is what researchers based at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo sought to uncover in a new nationwide study published today in in PLoS One, the open-access journal of the Public Library of Sciences. Their findings reveal the significant role that media plays in creating widespread misunderstandings about the conservation status and nature of this great ape.
A majority of study respondents were more likely to believe that chimpanzees are not endangered after seeing them portrayed with humans. They were also more likely to falsely believe that the apes would make an appropriate pet even though in reality their massive strength and aggressive nature makes them highly dangerous. The researchers used composite digital images to experimentally test survey respondents' reactions to chimpanzees in different circumstances. For instance, survey respondents shown a photograph of a young chimpanzee standing next to a person were significantly less likely to think that chimpanzees were endangered in the wild, compared to respondents that viewed the exact same picture with the human digitally removed.
According to lead scientist, Steve Ross, Ph,D, founder of Project ChimpCARE and assistant director of the Lester Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo, "the findings are particularly relevant considering the public popularity of advertisements, movies and television programs featuring chimpanzee actors," he said. "These practices have received broad criticism based on animal welfare concerns."
Ross explained that the active "acting" careers of these animals are typically only a few short years, after which they become too large, strong and unmanageable. "Because chimpanzees can live 50 to 60 years, those deemed no longer useful to the media may end up in suboptimal housing for the next several decades," he explained.
The research findings demonstrate that the negative outcomes of media use of chimpanzees likely extends beyond individual animal welfare issues and potentially undermines important conservation efforts for this endangered species. According the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, wild chimpanzees are severely endangered and could become extinct within 10 – 50 years if current trends continue.
"Displaying chimpanzees with humans isn't the only way in which public viewers were affected. Those seeing images of chimpanzees in human-like settings, such as a typical office space, were also less likely to think that chimpanzees are endangered," said Ross.
Purchasing and owning chimpanzees as pets is legal in most of the United States, but is a practice with considerable animal welfare and public safety risk. In 2009, a pet chimpanzee named Travis in Connecticut attacked and seriously injured a friend of its owner and was subsequently killed by police officers. Project ChimpCARE, an initiative based at Lincoln Park Zoo, estimates that up to 100 privately-owned chimpanzees live across
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/lpz-nrd071211.php
Hunters Paying $150,000 to Kill an Endangered Rhino May Save the Species
In June 1996 a game rancher named John Hume paid about $200,000 for three pairs of endangered black rhinos from the wildlife department of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Among them was a male who would come to be called “Number 65,” and whose death would play a central role in the debate about conservation.
South Africa did not start the auctions because it had a surplus of the animals. Quite the opposite. Although the black rhinos had been reproducing, they were still critically endangered. Only about 1,200 remained within the country’s borders, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Dec. 13 issue.
But black rhinos are massive animals, and with just under 7 percent of the country set aside in protected areas, conservationists and wildlife departments had run out of room to accommodate them.
Hume’s 6,500-hectare ranch, Mauricedale, lies in the hot, scrubby veldt in northeastern South Africa. Hume, 68, made his fortune in taxis, hotels, and time-shares, and Mauricedale was his Xanadu, a retirement project of immense proportions. In the late 1990s he began buying up many of the neighboring farms and ranches, and his triangular estate would soon be boxed in on all sides by roads and sugar cane plantations.
Hume also was rapidly becoming the largest private owner of white rhinos; there are currently 250 split between Mauricedale and another similar property. He also raises cape buffalo, roan and sable antelopes, hippos, giraffes, zebras, and ostriches.
Rhino Number 65
When the black rhino bull arrived, Hume’s farm manager -- a burly Zimbabwean named Geoff York whose typical mode of dress is army boots and a pair of purple shorts -- tranquilized him, clipped two notches in his left ear and two in the right, and gave him a number: 65.
With a horn worn down to 20 inches from rubbing it against rocks, Number 65 was not a beautiful bull. It wouldn’t
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-09/hunters-paying-150-000-to-kill-an-endangered-rhino-may-save-the-species.html
Elephant Eye Exam
http://youtu.be/__iuGhFqgQU
Cheetah sprayed with fire extinguisher after mauling keepers during safety demo
A cheetah had to be subdued with a fire extinguisher after mauling keepers at safari park during a filming session to prove the animals were safe for visitors
The big cat - the fastest land animal in the world capable of running at up to 75mph - bit and clawed two members of staff at Eagle Heights Wildlife Park in Eynsford, near Dartford in Kent, on Sunday.
The park has three cheetahs but the youngest Zena took exception to a film crew in her enclosure.
The three cheetahs - Savannah, Boumani and Zena - were being filmed by park workers to "prove" to local council bosses at Sevenoaks District Council that they were 'safe' for visitors to get close to.
But on Sunday, as the cheetahs were being filmed, Zena launched an attack on keeper and trainer Jonny Ames and cameraman Luke Foreman, also a member of staff at the park.
The big cat bit both men several times before swiping its massive paw at Mr Foreman, ripping his shorts off and leaving him with scratches down his leg.
Shocked visitors watched in horror as park staff tried to haul the cheetah off the two men - with staff desperately grabbing the cheetah by the scruff of the neck and sitting on it before another worker blasted it in the face with a fire extinguisher - forcing the animal to release its grip.
Both men were taken to hospital for treatment and given jabs and had their wounds treated, but were back at work on Monday.
Chartered surveyor Michael Cooper, who was with his two sons Jamie, six, and six -month-old Harry, said he watched in horror as the attack took place in front of around 50 visitors.
The 42-year-old told the News Shopper newspaper today (Tue): "The staff were jokingly describing that they were filming the cheetahs to prove to the local authority that they were friendly.
The man sent in to film was looking rather uncomfortable, but we were assured the cheetahs would only go for the fluffy microphone and if it looked like he was going to get eaten, not to worry.
The cheetahs were let loose and without hesitation one of them went for the cameraman.
Not even interested in the fluffy microphone, one decided to bite into the mans leg.
He added: The cheetah had taken quite a few bites and scratches from both the cameraman and the trainer, ripping the shorts off one in one close swipe of the paw.
The two men managed to sit on the cheetahs head while another member of staff ran for a fire extinguisher
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8632241/Cheetah-sprayed-with-fire-extinguisher-after-mauling-keepers-during-safety-demo.html
Read my comments in the intro.
Who let these cats out?
Two villagers have been killed in the last month by hand-raised leopards released in the wild by the Mysore royalty and an NGO. Jay Mazoomdaar writes on a ‘rehabilitation experiment’ gone horribly wrong
IT WAS almost noontime. Inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, five Jenu Kuruba tribals were walking silently within one another’s earshot, scanning the branches overhead for beehives. Traditional honey-gatherers, these tribals collect wildflower honey in the early monsoon. Over generations, Kurubas have learnt that the forest is a safe place, as long as one stays away from rogue elephants and temperamental bears.
But on 1 June, the five men from Lakkipura, a Kuruba village at the edge of the tiger reserve, were in for a cruel shock. It was Rama Kuruba who spotted the leopard. He stood still, waiting for the cat to walk away. Instead, it came pouncing and knocked him down. Kampa Kuruba was the first to rush to Rama’s rescue. The leopard let go of Rama, who by then had given up the struggle, and turned on Kampa.
As a desperate Kampa held the cat at arm’s length by the radio-collar around its neck, it started pawing his face and the head. By then, the other Kurubas were creating a ruckus and hitting the leopard with sticks. But the cat would not let go. Eventually, a powerful blow on the spine made it back away. By then, Rama had stopped breathing. The leopard was still alive, growling in pain at a distance. Unnerved, the Kurubas scampered, carrying a profusely bleeding Kampa, who would spend the next 10 days in hospital.
In Lakkipura, the initial response was of disbelief. Kurubas never considered leopards a threat because the spotted cats avoided them and never attacked except in self-defence. Now, they were faced with a leopard that targeted people to kill and did not back away even from a group of men, challenging a thumb rule of survival in the wild. They did not know that the leopard that tore open Rama’s throat and nearly killed Kampa was not a wild cat.
DEPUTY CONSERVATOR of forests (DCF) KT Hanumanthappa has brought down the humanelephant conflict in Bandipur by 70 percent in just two years, by digging up trenches and laying service roads for maintenance of electric fences. “We are here for conservation work,” he says. “But managing conflict used to take up all our time. Now that headache is gone.”
He got a fresh headache on 5 June 2010, in a letter from his top boss, Karnataka’s chief wildlife warden (CWLW) BK Singh, permitting him “to rehabilitate the leopard cubs in Ojimunti of Bandipur National Park with the assistance of Smt Vishalakshi Devi, Bangalore”.
In fact, it was Vishalakshi Devi who sought permission on 8 May 2010 for “rehabilitation
http://tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ne230711Who.asp
Something very wrong going on here. It needs a thorough investigation. Though not proved....because it was not investigated but I believe exactly the same thing happened with tigers in Indonesia. They jump up and down saying look how clever we are releasing tigers into the wild. Then a few weeks later not so many miles away a villager is killed by a tiger...it does not take much to add two and two together.
Aping the pros: Silverback with artistic temperament uses honey-covered video camera to film himself
This cheeky ape curiously peers into the lens as he turns the tables and takes this high definition video - of himself.
Silverback gorilla Ya Kwanza, 27, is seen playfully filming himself with a camera hidden inside an indestructible box, which is covered in oats and honey.
The primate repeatedly holds the device up to his face and pokes the lens at Durrell Wildlife Park, Jersey.
But when it came to handing back the footage, Ya Kwanza went bananas and cheekily hurled the box out of his enclosure.
Expert Jon Stark, who has been taking care of critically-endangered western lowland gorillas for four years, came up with the idea after wondering what life from a primate's perspective looked like.
He said: ‘The animals here at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2014409/Gorilla-artistic-temperament-uses-honey-covered-video-camera-film-himself.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
TAKE CARE WHEN YOU DISPOSE OF PLASTIC
Miracle Saved Mormon Missionary Mauled By Lions at Guatemala Zoo, Father Says
The father of a Mormon missionary mauled by two lions at a zoo in Guatemala credited a higher power Tuesday with saving his son's life.
Alan Oakey spoke to the Deseret News in Utah about Monday's attack on his 20-year-old son Paul, who is now recovering in a hospital in Guatemala City.
Paul Oakey had been serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Guatemala City South Mission for 19 months.
He was attacked on Monday, when he climbed up a concrete wall to have his photograph taken in front of a lion exhibit at a zoo in a rural town about five hours from Guatemala City. He had his back turned when one lion reached through the bars of the cage and grabbed his right leg.
As he fell back a second lion grabbed his left arm. One lion bit a chunk from the missionary's right calf, while the other clamped down on his left bicep. Paul fought back against the lions, his father said, while others in the group went to his aid.
"He was punching one of
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/miracle-saved-mormon-missionary-mauled-by-lions-at-guatemala-zoo-father-says-ncxdc-071311
Hopeful aquarium reopens after quake
Mai Hibino, an animal keeper at an aquarium in Fukushima, used a hose to pour water over Go, an 11-year-old male walrus. "You've been very, very patient," Hibino said softly.
Go galumphed his 720-kilogram body toward Hibino to snuggle up to her, then let out a roar.
A long, hard journey was nearly over for both Hibino and Go when this scene took place July 9.
After being closed for four months due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Fukushima Marine Science Museum aquarium in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, reopened Friday, thanks to the support of aquariums across
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110715005203.htm
San Diego Zoo cleared in panda attack on keeper
A California agency says the San Diego Zoo will not be fined for an incident in which a panda bit and clawed a keeper.
The Los Angeles Times reports Wednesday that a spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety said agency investigators determined that the March 13 attack was not the result of any lapse in safety regulations or training for employees.
Panda Bai Yun pushed open a safety barrier between the keeper area and the animal's habitat. When a keeper tried to herd Bai Yun
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/13/3768392/san-diego-zoo-cleared-in-panda.html
Wildlife park under pressure to hire full-time zookeeper
The New South Wales Government is insisting the Waterways Wildlife Park at Gunnedah hire a full-time zookeeper or risk not having its exhibition licence renewed.
The park was the centre of a controversial RSPCA raid last year, which removed eight koalas over claims of animal cruelty.
The park's owners, Nancy and Colin Small, were never prosecuted.
A lawyer with Slater & Gordon, Peter Long, sa
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-13/wildlife-park-under-pressure-to-hire-full-time/2793554/?site=newengland§ion=news
Endangered dolphins captured for performances
Environmentalists have called for stronger regulations as dolphins near extinction in waters near S.Korea
An analysis by the Hankyoreh has confirmed that all dolphins appearing in South Korean animal shows are endangered species that were captured in the wild and trained. One of the dolphins appearing in Korean dolphin shows is the exceptionally intelligent bottlenose.
According to an analysis conducted Friday by the Hankyoreh from data on dolphin show venues nationwide, a total of 27 bottlenose dolphins are performing or displayed at all four aquariums, including one on Jeju Island. Also, the wild habitats from which the animals were captured are regions that are either facing extinction risks or the subject of controversy over environmental destruction.
Bottlenose dolphins whose accidental capture in illegal nets was discovered by the Korea Coast Guard on Thursday were found to be performing at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, and Pacific Land on Jeju Island, with a total of twelve animals at the two sites. A 52-year-old identified by the surname Heo was booked without detention for violating the Fisheries Act after purchasing http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/487732.html
Reverend’s rhino plan to put town on the map
RHINOS could find new homes all around the ancient capital of Furness next summer.
The Reverend Alan Mitchell is overseeing the possible installation of 20 or so four-foot by three-foot rhino sculptures throughout Dalton in a bid to bring more tourists in to the town.
Mr Mitchell is hoping the sculptures will work as a complementary tourist attraction for visitors to nearby South Lakes Wild Animal Park.
The potential costs of the project are currently being worked out and he said the next stage would be for local businesses and people to purchase or sponsor the finished sculptures in a bid to raise money for local and national charities.
Mr Mitchell said: “I saw the statues in Liverpool, the Superlambanana ones, and thought perhaps we could do that in Dalton.
“I’ve always been concerned that the tourists signs pointing to the zoo feature elephants on them and there aren’t actually any elephants at the zoo. So I thought we could make some fibreglass ones and put them around the town.”
But following a chat with zoo boss David Gill, he then decided to make the most of one the zoo’s star attractions – the rhinos.
Mr Mitchell said: “The
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/reverend-s-rhino-plan-to-put-town-on-the-map-1.857241?referrerPath=news/
THE TARSIUS PROJECT
http://www.tarsiusproject.org/2011/07/are-the-tarsiers-more-than-tourist-attraction-for-us/
Arsonist Torches San Diego Zoo
It's back to the business of eating bamboo for the Giant Pandas. Hours earlier and just steps from the bears fire ripped through the panda gift shop.
Zoo Spokesperson Christina Simmons told San Diego 6, "was a scare for all of us. Anytime there's a major fire we are concerned particularly for the animals in our collection. The animals are doing fine."
Suspicions over a cause we're quickly validated. Fire officials say it was no accident.
San Diego Fire Spokesman Maurice Luque says, "we know it's arson. Investigators spent about 7 hours there." And sources tell San Diego 6 an employee who had access to the park may be to blame.
Luque says, "from disgruntled employees to letters that may have gone into a business threatning them for whatever reason to surveillance cameras the whole gammet of things are looked at."
News that an arsonist would torch the zoo not only angered visitors, it put a monkey wrench in some of their plans.
Janette Baertsch is from San Diego. She brought some family to the zoo Monday. She told San Diego 6, "that was really sad because they had to move some of the shows to somewhere else and all our animals are endangered."
Dan Cerney is visiting San Diego from New York. He was surprised that an arsonist would torch the zoo. He said, "It's absolutely terrible that there's people out there that would start a fire in such an area where there's so many beautiful animals living
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Arsonist-Torches-San-Diego-Zoo/n0zoeTgLYEuZilEL8unG0g.cspx
Dolphin calves died of pneumonia, internal bleeding, National Aquarium says
Although the animals died within days of each other, officials say the deaths were unrelated
Pneumonia killed one dolphin calf at the National Aquarium last month while internal bleeding took the life of another baby days later, according to results of a necropsy released Friday.
The aquarium has yet to resume its popular dolphin shows because the surviving dolphins remain distressed by the deaths.
According to the necropsy, the deaths of the two 2-month-old calves were unrelated, said Brent R. Whitaker, the aquarium's deputy executive director for biological
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-ae-dolphin-calves-necropsy-20110715,0,1220010.story
Vampire frog flies in to Australian museum
Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley was working in Vietnam's jungles in 2010 when she discovered a previously undocumented frog.
She and named it Rhacophorus vampyrus or Vampire Flying Frog.
Frank Howarth, Director of the Australian Museum, explains how this amphibian's baby fangs and adult flying abilities earned
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/07/08/3262364.htm
Endangered species given new life in Shepreth
A SPECIES nearly wiped out in the Vietnam War has been given a boost after a Crow Country birth.
Keepers at Shepreth Wildlife Park were celebrating after a pygmy slow loris was born following a six-month pregnancy.
There are thought to be only 700,000 left in the world after the bitter conflict devastated its habitat.
Since then forests have continued to be cut down, or burnt, and the illegal pet-trade, as well as the use of the creature in traditional Chinese medicine, have kept numbers dangerously low.
A spokesman said: “We are delighted to have positively contributed to this programme.
“Breeding endangered species, and
http://www.royston-crow.co.uk/news/endangered_species_given_new_life_in_shepreth_1_958856
Anger at zoo's 'ghoulish' autopsy show
EDINBURGH Zoo has been heavily criticised over plans to stage a post mortem of an animal in front of a paying live audience.
The visitor attraction announced the move on its website and is selling tickets at £20 per head for the event on August 23.
The post mortem will involve the dissection of a "large mammal", although a spokeswoman for the zoo admitted they were as yet unsure what animal would be used for the event, or where it would come from.
The move has been dubbed a "callous money-spinner" by an Edinburgh animal welfare group, while the UK charity PETA has said the move would not sit well with many members of the public.
However, Hugh Roberts, the new chief executive of the trust that runs the zoo, said the event will be of educational value.
The autopsy will be carried out by a member of the zoo's world renowned veterinary team, and is being organised to help educate members of the public about animal biology.
A spokesman for the city charity OneKind said: "This seems a really staggering thing to do at a point when the zoo doesn't need to court any more controversy. It's sending out the entirely wrong message that these (animals] are exhibits that can be put out on display even when they're dead."
The spokesman said charging £20 for tickets just two months after the zoo published income losses of £2 million would widely be interpreted as a money-making drive.
He added: "The zoo makes great pains to highlight what an educational organisation it is, but this smacks of unwavering commercialism.
"I could understand possibly an educational aspect to host this for the public as a scientific demonstration, if it were free."
A spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said: "Whilst the idea of paying to view the dissection of a cadaver may not sit well, what's truly disturbing is the unnatural and miserable life animals are forced to endure in confined zoo environments."
The zoo previously attracted criticism after it hosted a live cow autopsy as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival last April.
The event, which cost £11, was billed in the festival programme as being a way to find out what makes a cow interesting. However, following a campaign by several animal welfare charities, more than 100 people e-mailed Science Festival director Simon Gage calling for the event to be scrapped.
This latest educational event is being billed as "a fascinating insight into animal biology", giving the audience
http://www.scotsman.com/news/Anger-at-zoo39s-39ghoulish39-autopsy.6800618.jp
PETA again! What a bunch of trouble makers. Of course it will be educational. What's to complain about?
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians will be hosting their Thirtyfirst Annual Conference September 16-20, 2011 at the Rio Grande Zoo, Albuquerque, NM. If you would like more information please contact Gwen Dragoo via email at gdragoo@cabq.gov or visit http://www.azvt.org/
Orangutan cruelty discovered at Melaka Zoo
Investigators visiting Melaka Zoo were shocked to find eight orangutans confined behind bars like criminals for days at a time, with no access to the sun, rain, fresh air and the company of other orangutans.
Each time investigators visited the zoo the same two orangutans were outside; an obese female and her juvenile offspring.
If Minister Douglas Embas had enacted the new Wildlife Conservation Act on schedule, this government run zoo could and should be prosecuted.
Behind the thick iron bars of the indoor
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/12/orangutan-cruelty-discovered-at-melaka-zoo/
Good Morning Kalimantan Teaser
http://youtu.be/lx-DJwLhCDI
A Point of View: In praise of the zoo
The zoo is not just for children, exotic animals can help grown-ups get some perspective on their lives, says Alain de Botton.
Moose don't loom large in the national imagination. There are only around 100 of them on these islands, but they're a fascinating and noble kind of creature. Ugly from one point of view, rather as camels are, but full of a native kind of dignity and stoicism.
I'm mentioning moose because earlier this summer, rather unreported by the media, a baby moose was born in Whipsnade Zoo. It got called Chocolate by the Zoological Society of London, and - according to an e-mail that was sent out to all members of the zoo - it's doing very well. It's being looked after by its concerned mother Minni and its protective dad Melka.
Both can now be seen in a special exhibit called Wild Wild Whipsnade. If you fancy a trip, as the same e-mail went on to explain, you might want to take in Sapo the pygmy hippo, who's recently taken his first dip in an
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14078657
Qatar’s rare initiative
Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation’s conservation programme for the critically endangered Spix’s Macaw is aiming to release some of the birds to a site in Brazil as early as 2013, according to the co-ordinator of the programme, who said that the two-year target represents a best case scenario for the unique initiative taking place in Qatar.
Al Wabra (AWWP) is a conservation park established by Sheikh Saoud bin Mohamed bin Ali al-Thani to breed certain endangered species in captivity.
The Spix’s Macaw is one of the most endangered bird species on the planet, with no recorded birds in the wild since 2000, and only 76 in captivity. Of those 76, 55 are owned by AWWP, which has been breeding the species here for seven years.
Gulf Times spoke to programme co-ordinator Ryan Watson for an update on the initiative and to discuss the future plans for this highly endangered species.
“We face a lot of challenges with the Spix’s Macaw because of the very tight genetic bottleneck the species is in,” he explained, adding that the birds have a number of problems with embryo viability, infertility and disease.
However, the centre will soon have two populations of Macaws, with the younger group of birds set to be transferred to
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=446421&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Virginia Aquarium educates visitors about aquatic life using RFID
The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center has installed a new interactive exhibit, dubbed “Fish and Chips”, that uses RFID technology to instantly provide visitors with information on the aquatic life as it swims by, according to Breaking News Travel.
Similar to identification technology that is used in household pets, a tiny microchip is injected under the fish’s skin. As the fish swim by an RFID antenna “pings” and instantly provides information on the species, habitat, range and other interesting facts on a computer screen for the visitors to read.
Using RFID also allows aquarium staff to monitor the health and better perform veterinary procedures since the fish are more easily tracked and identified. The Virginia Aquarium had already been using RFID technology, but not until recently did the implementation support for in-water identification.
For more information on the “Fish and Chips” RFID permanent
http://www.rfidnews.org/2011/07/13/virginia-aquarium-educates-visitors-about-aquatic-life-using-rfid
SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES WORK TOGETHER TO UPSCALE THEIR SKILLS ON WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT
Under the aegis of the newly established SAWEN (South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network), a training programme on “Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement for Wildlife Protection in South Asia” commenced today at the University of Forensic Sciences, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was inaugurated by Shri Balwant Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat and is the first such training to be organized for SAWEN members on wildlife law enforcement.
Senior-level government officials working in the field of wildlife conservation of South Asian countries— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka—are attending the programme which has been organized by TRAFFIC with support from the Global Tiger Forum, the Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Govt. of Gujarat and the Gujarat Forest Department.
Participants will receive a comprehensive understanding of the present scenario of wildlife crime and trade in South Asia and its implications for field conservation and be introduced to the modern tools and techniques used in strengthening wildlife law enforcement.
The programme brings together various national and international experts and agencies working in this field to exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge on curbing illegal wildlife trade. This initiative will help further strengthen regional collaboration amongst various South Asian countries and wildlife law enforcement agencies across the region.
A message by Hon. Chief Minister, Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi read out at the inaugural session said, “I welcome all wildlife experts representing various countries to the State of Gujarat. It is high time that the law enforcement agencies’ focus is diverted towards prevention and detection of crimes. Gujarat State has taken lead in this direction by establishing an important branch called “Wildlife Forensics” at the State Forensic Laboratory. I compliment SAWEN Secretariat for organizing this workshop”.
Shri Balwant Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat said, “I welcome all participants to the State of Gujarat. Illegal wildlife trade is a serious issue and requires concerted and well coordinated action to curb it. The newly formed South Asia Enforcement Network should help in this direction”.
In a message by Hon. Minister of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, Shri Jairam Ramesh said, “The establishment of SAWEN is a very crucial, timely and much needed step forward to institutionalize the collaborative efforts of member nations in controlling wildlife crime in the region. I am especially happy to note that under the SAWEN work plan, the first multi country training programme on Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement for Wildlife Protection in South Asia is being held in Gandhinagar. Gujarat has some very good successes to share in this direction”.
The message also said, “I welcome all participants from across South Asia to India and congratulate the SAWEN Secretariat and TRAFFIC India for taking the lead in organizing this workshop and also commend all partners for their support to this important theme”.
Mr Krishna Prasad Acharya, Chief Enforcement Coordinator of SAWEN & the Director General, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal said, “Illegal wildlife trade is a form of trans-national organized crime that threatens many iconic species across the world. National Governments in South Asia recognise this threat and are committed to work together to counter such threats. The establishment of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) by the eight countries of South Asia in Bhutan in January 2011 is an expression of this commitment. This training programme, the first of its kind under SAWEN, will support our common cause and will surely be the first of many more such collaborative efforts.
Dr J.M. Vyas, Director General, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar said, “We welcome the participants to our University and are happy to host this important training. We are happy to share our experiences in this field. Our state of art laboratories and highly trained staff will help participants in understanding the subject better. Wildlife crime is a serious issue and requires a learned, scientific approach to combat it”.
Mr Samir Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India said, “South Asia, acknowledged globally as a biodiversity rich region, is increasingly being targetted by organised transnational criminal syndicates. Wildlife crime itself continues to change and evolve rapidly in today’s world. In fact, with rapid changes in the way the world communicates, especially with the internet and the easy access to international travel, illegal wildlife trade continues to acquire new dimensions and forms. The fight against organized trans-national wildlife crime requires a multi-disciplinary intelligence-led approach in order to disrupt criminal activities effectively. This training will help wildlife law enforcement agencies across South Asia prepare better to respond to such crime”.
The key resources persons at the training programme include experts from the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Central Bureau of Investigation, Financial Intelligence Unit, Govt. of India, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Wildlife Institute of India, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime- South Asia Regional Office and TRAFFIC.
Sea turtles’ 30-yr journey starts with poachers turned saviors
Did you know that marine turtles, no matter how far they swim around the world, always return to their place of birth after 30 years? This is one of the amazing facts we picked up at the Pawikan Conservation Center in Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan. Volunteers in this fishing village attempt to keep endangered marine turtles from vanishing.
The volunteers fear that the turtles would fall prey to poachers. At night, they patrol the 7 kilometers of shoreline facing the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), scoop up turtles’ nests buried in the sand, and bring these to the center’s hatcheries for incubation.
The night patrollers have saved more than 47,000 turtles since September 1999 when the center was founded, according to the center’s leader, Manolo Ibias.
The total distance walked by them in a year is said to be equal to the distance between Morong and Sao Paolo in Brazil.
Manolo, now 55 and once a poacher himself, plans to rest his leg muscles when he picks up his senior citizenship card. His two sons, both in college
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/22642/sea-turtles’-30-yr-journey-starts-with-poachers-turned-saviors
Struggling beetles released in Ohio
It's time to meet the beetles at the Wilds conservation center in southeast Ohio.
Director of Animal Management Dan Beetem says 160 American burying beetles were released Wednesday at the nearly 10,000-acre facility. It's part of an effort to re-establish the species in Ohio.
The Wilds says the American burying beetle was once found in 35 states but in 1989 became the first insect listed as an endangered species.
Biologists aren't sure why the beetle species
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20110707/NEWS01/107070339
I have seen the advert below posted in several locations. A bit pointless when none of them tell you who to contact.
Bird Trainer - Al Ain Wildlife Park And Resort - UAE
Far better if it were placed in Zoo Jobs.
Three elephants electrocuted in UP's Dudhwa national park
Three wild elephants were on Friday electrocuted after they came in contact with a dangling live high voltage cable in the thick confines of Uttar Pradesh's famous Dudhwa National Wildlife Park
According to the state's Chief Wildlife Conservator, B K Patnaik, "the electrocution was the result of an accident caused by a marching herd of elephants that led to toppling of an electric cable pillar, which brought the live wire down on to the path of the animals".
"While three of the herd of some 15-odd tuskers were electrocuted, the others promptly withdrew from the scene as they sensed trouble," Patnaik said.
He said the mishap occurred near Bodhiya-kalan village situated on the periphery of the core area of the wildlife sanctuary where the elephants had been spotted a couple of times over the past few days.
A team of six veterinary surgeons were arranged to carry out autopsy on the three elephants. "However, no sooner than the surgeons got down to their job, the remaining herd made an attempt to charge at them. The forest guards and other staff, however, somehow managed to thwart their attempt," said Patnaik.
Eventually, the post-mortem was completed on Saturday morning after which the animals were buried in the forest area, he added.
This was stated to be the first incident of its kind in Dudhwa national park. However, a similar tragedy was witnessed at the world famous Corbett Park where as many as 11 elephants were electrocuted in 1980, say official records.
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/-elephants-electrocuted-in-dudhwa-national-park/20110709.htm
Feet-nibbling fish pedicures shut down in B.C. over health risks
A Vancouver Island spa is being forced to shut down a controversial pedicure treatment because the tools used to do the job weren’t being sterilized.
The “tools” in this case are hundreds of tiny Garra rufa fish imported from Turkey, where they are known as doctor fish. During a fish pedicure, patients submerge their feet in an aquarium and the hungry fish, which don’t have teeth, suck off the dead skin cells.
The Purple Orchid spa has been offering the treatment, meant as a temporary relief for psoriasis and eczema, since July 2010. After the spa was featured on a local television program the Vancouver Island Health Authority, with the support of the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services, ordered spa owner Dixie Simpson to stop offering the therapy, citing health risks.
“Vancouver Island Health Authority are now classifying my fish as tools. But these are live animals. I can’t sterilize them. So therefore I have to shut down,” she said in a CBC News report, adding that she was stringent about keeping the water clean and uses a UV filtration system.
“There’s been [health] concerns about tanning beds; they still go on,” said Ms. Simpson, and that she doesn’t have the money to launch a legal challenge against the order. “I guess at the end of the day, where
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/15/feet-nibbling-fish-pedicures-shut-down-in-b-c-over-health-risks/
Is the Fish Spa a Con or a Cure?
Fish Spa Phenomena
PETA wants investigation of Ark. elephant's death
An animal rights group has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the death of a 60-year-old elephant that died at the Little Rock Zoo.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says the request regarding Ellen the Elephant was sent to Dr. Robert Gibbens, the western regional director of the agency's animal care unit. PETA director Delcianna Winders says the group wonders why the zoo was closed after Ellen's death and her body was immediately removed for burial.
The Asian elephant died Tuesday morning. Zoo officials say she likely suffered a heart attack or stroke.
She came to the zoo from New York in
http://www.necn.com/07/09/11/PETA-wants-investigation-of-Ark-elephant/landing_scitech.html?&apID=f3d5cebec3c049d581db4c8984cdad6f
PETA's elephant to lead protest vs Manila Zoo
An elephant will lead the protest of the animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against the Manila Zoo.
Scheduled at 1 p.m. on Friday, the protest will be led by an elephant which will hold a sign reading “Close the Manila Zoo!"
According to its news release, PETA said its members of PETA Asia will hold the protest outside the Manila Zoo on Adriatico Street, Malate.
PETA said the Manila Zoo "has been internationally criticized for housing animals in cramped, barren cages and for providing substandard care. The animals are relegated to a lifetime of boredom and abuse, which often leads to self-mutilation and other abnormal behavior."
"The Manila Zoo is a tiny, decrepit, and outdated facility and has nothing to offer animals except a life of deprivation, misery, and loneliness," said PETA’s Rochelle Regodon.
"We're asking Mayor Lim to close the zoo for good and prevent any more animals from spending their lives in this decrepit and shameful facility," she added.
"As do all zoos, the Manila Zoo presents visitors with a distorted view of wildlife. In the wild, most animals roam territories of hundreds of kilometers, but the entire Manila Zoo measures only 0.055 square kilometers," PETA said.
"Even the largest zoos worry that they cannot provide
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/226360/nation/petas-elephant-to-lead-protest-vs-manila-zoo
MANILA ZOO
Closure of Manila Zoo sought
INSTEAD of raising cash to restore the decrepit Manila Zoo, an animal rights group said the government should padlock the facility owing to its poor conditions.
According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), it is time for the government to recognize that animals should not be kept
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/16/closure-manila-zoo-sought-167142
RI zoo raises $300,000 for conservation, outreach
Rhode Island’s largest zoo has raised nearly $300,000 for education and conservation programs.
Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence announced that the money raised at its “Zoobilee’’ fundraiser in June will fund its 2012 programs designed to enhance environmental education and protect threatened species around the world and in Rhode Island.
The June 25th event attracted nearly 1,400
http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-08/news/29752672_1_zoobilee-conservation-largest-zoo
Phoenix Zoo contributes $64M to state economy, report says
The Phoenix Zoo helps contribute $64 million in economic activity to Arizona, a recent report for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has found.
"The Phoenix Zoo supports the community in more ways than one," Jim Maddy, president and chief executive officer of AZA, said in a statement. "Not only does the Phoenix Zoo have a deep commitment to science education and wildlife conservation, but it also generates valuable economic benefits to the region."
AZA commissioned a state-by-state economic impact analysis of 212 AZA-accredited zoos and aquari
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/07/07/20110707phoenix-zoo-cool-place-visit-help-state-economy.html
Big zoo overhaul
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan)LocalWildlife Conservation Act 2010
Tighter control on zoological parks with new regulations
ALMOST 54 years after the first zoo in the country opened its doors to the public, Malaysia is finally set to have its own set of regulations on how zoological parks nationwide should be managed.
The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) is in the final stages of draft ing the new regulations on ‘Mengawalselia Pengendalian Zoo’ (Supervision of Zoo Operations) to be included in the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, which was enforced last December.
The department is now finalising the necessary by-laws and the new regulations are expected to be in force as early as next year.
Department director-general Datuk Abd Rasid Samsudin told The Malay Mail they comprise, among others:
• Operators would have to apply for speci c permits to run zoos, unlike before
• To prevent overcrowding, the overall size of the zoo will determine how many animals can be kept
• Enclosure size and layouts, as well as cage sizes, will be determined by the animals’ size and habitat
• Quality food and vitamins for the animals to be made compulsory
• All zoos must have its own in-house veterinarians
• All captive wildlife and those meant for export will be tagged with microchips
Abdul Rasid said all 44 zoos in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, including Zoo Negara, currently needed only to apply for temporary permits allowing them to house wild animals.
“Under the provision of Section 10 of the Act, no one can operate a zoo, conduct commercial captive breeding, or have circus or wildlife exhibitions involving protected wildlife unless granted a permit by Perhilitan.”
He said zoos had also been noti ed of the impending addition to the Wildlife Conservation Act.
"Once implemented, there should be no excuses from zoo owners and operators. My officers and that of the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry conducted a road tour of all the zoos in March last year and have informed them of the new regulation and what it entails.
"We hope they would not be caught
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/77897-big-zoo-overhaul
Mutant two-headed snake wows visitors at Ukrainian zoo
A snake with two heads, each able to think and eat separately and even steal food from each other, has become a popular attraction at a Ukrainian zoo.
The small albino California Kingsnake, now on show in the Black Sea resort of Yalta is quite a handful, zoo workers told AFP.
The snake's two heads are fiercely independent, are not always in agreement and like to snatch food from each other, said keepers of the private zoo, called Skazka, or Fairy Tale.
"Sometimes one head wants to crawl in one direction and the other head in another direction," zoo director Oleg Zubkov told AFP.
Zoo worker Ruslan Yakovenko added that he tries
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hUto6yH7fcabXVlw0CqB1t_OGtuA?docId=CNG.dfe97e07f144a2d29eb615412e0c12be.221
It should be kindly euthanased. It is wrong to keep it alive. Pickle it afterwards if that's what turns you on.
Police raid Thai zoo in tiger smuggling probe
Thai wildlife police on Thursday said they had discovered unregistered big cat cubs in a raid on a private zoo, raising suspicions that it was part of a smuggling ring.
Eight animals were discover in the operation earlier this week -- four adult tigers, two tiger cubs and two leopard cubs -- the Thai Nature Crime Police said in updated information, adding that official permits were only found for the older tigers.
Police colonel Kiattipong Khawsamang said DNA tests would be conducted on the tiger cubs, which the owner of the newly-built zoo, in northeastern Chaiyaphum province, said were the offspring of the older tigers.
But the zoo also failed to provide official documentation for the leopards and they were confiscated.
Kiattipong clarified earlier information suggesting the owner was male and said "the real ringleader is a woman".
Earlier the police colonel said the owner "tried to make illegal things legal" by setting up a private zoo and investigations had indicated
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/thai-zoo-raided-tiger-smuggling-probe-095222573.html
Trailer for Rise Of The Planet of the Apes
Man Who Owned Killer Bear Chokes to Death on Sex Toy
An animal keeper whose bear mauled another man to death was found dead, chained to his waterbed and choked by a sex toy.
Sam Mazzola, 49, of a Cleveland, Ohio, suburb, was wearing a mask and had his arms and legs restrained, Dr. Frank P. Miller III, a pathologist at the Lorain County coroner's office, told The Associated Press. He had choked on a sex toy, Miller said.
Mazzola's body was found on Friday at his home in Columbia Township, about 15 miles southwest of Cleveland.
Someone else was present during Mazzola's fatal sexual role playing, but left before he died, Miller told The News-Herald of Willoughby. Sheriff's officials ruled out suicide and homicide but are still investigating the manner of death, the newspaper reported.
Last summer, Brent Kandra, 24, was killed by a bear after opening its cage on Mazzola's property for a feeding. Kandra's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later destroyed.
Mazzola still had exotic animals in his care when he died, according to the paper. They were being cared for by his brother. Mazzola said in a bankruptcy filing
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/weird/NATLMan-Who-Owned-Killer-Bear-Chokes-to-Death-on-Sex-Toy-125560588.html
I have always thought my own passing should be a little bit out of the ordinary but I really think that this is one step too far in the wrong direction.
Die Happy
Could the Cindy Sherman of Monkeys Accidentally Revolutionize Copyright Law for Artists?
By now you've probably heard of the "Cindy Sherman of the Monkey World," as we dubbed her recently. While working in an Indonesian national park, British nature photographer David Slater had his camera purloined by a clever macaque monkey who took several self-portraits, apparently fascinated by her own reflection in the lens. The exceptionally charming images that resulted caught the eye of Britain's Daily Mail and won the cheeky monkey fans around the world, as well as "calling into question notions of personae, monkeyhood, affect, and the history of photography itself," as we put it.
We were being tongue-in-cheek, but as it turns out the images have indeed called the very nature of photography into question. The pics are now at the center of a lively debate about copyright, with implications not just for Slater but for the entire world of animal art (yes, there is a world of animal art).
After hearing about the accidental monkey masterpieces, the Web site Techdirt posted a short essay musing on the fact that several of the images bore a credit line attributing them to the U.K.-based Caters News Agency, for which Slater works. Copyright is generally held by the person who takes the picture, and since the author was in this case the monkey — Slater explicitly stated that he had no hand in creating the image — Techdirt wondered by what basis Caters could have acquired
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38113/could-the-cindy-sherman-of-monkeys-accidentally-revolutionize-copyright-law-for-artists/
What to do with Hong Kong's first orangutan twins?
Hong Kong gains two new zoo members, but an animal rights group wants to put them in the wild
Hong Kong saw the birth of the city's first Bornean orangutans twins at the Zoological and Botanical Gardens last Friday.
A male and a female baby orangutan were born weighing two and 1.4 kilos respectively. Their parents are Vandu, a 16-year-old male from Hungary who was bred under an orangutan conservation program, and Raba, a 15-year-old female born in Hong Kong.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are unhappy about the endangered species residing in the zoo.
"The zoo should find a trustworthy conservation agency to help them transfer [the twins] to the wild community once they grow up and are able to survive on their own," says SPCA spokeswoman Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling to the SCMP
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/visit/first-orangutans-twins-born-hong-kong-092449
I am sure the SPCA mean well but have they seen what is happening in the wild? It would be nice yes but it would mean displacing animals already there. There isn't any room any more.
Wellington Zoo's new occupants requiring military precision
Wellington Zoo's now caring for six hundred weakened seabirds, blown ashore in their thousands by this week's storm.
Feeding time at Wellington Zoo has become a military operation. It takes four and a half hours to feed the 600 prions, which are living in 200 cardboard boxes.
Almost every room in the zoo's animal hospital is filled with boxes of birds.
“We never realised those events would be this major this quickly but if you can do 100 you can do 600 as well,” says zoo operations manager Mauritz Basson.
The birds are fed twice a day, with six litres of salmon slurry having to be made for each
http://www.3news.co.nz/Wellington-Zoos-new-occupants-requiring-military-precision/tabid/1160/articleID/218959/Default.aspx
Gorewada zoo chief post upgraded
The Gorewada zoo project, which has been stalled for nearly six years, appears set to get a fillip. On Thursday, government upgraded the post of divisional forest officer (database) as CCF (planning & wildlife management). G Saiprakash, who was conservator of forests (CF) at Pune, has been promoted as CCF. He will look after Gorewada. Till now, a CF rank officer was in charge of the project.
Principal secretary (forests) Praveen Pardeshi, during his visit to Nagpur on July 7, had dropped enough hints about the plans to expedite Gorewada project by posting a senior official. This means H M Meshram, who was DFO (database) and was also drawing and disbursing officer (DDO), will now be posted elsewhere. Meshram
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Gorewada-zoo-chief-post-upgraded/articleshow/9229558.cms
Johnny, the Elephant from India
real personal tragedy, wrote the following obituary for their departed friend:
“Our elephant Johnny was born in India in 1965. It took thousands of kilometres for this resident of the Indian forests to find his way to Perm. Dutch sailors took him by ship from India. The small passenger was then taken onboard by Baltic sailors and transported to St Petersburg. From there, the small elephant was taken to Moscow on horses. He arrived at the Perm Zoo in summer 1966.
“The Perm Zoo has been celebrating John’s birthday every year since 2000. A birthday cake was prepared for the elephant from 60 kilograms of selected fruits and vegetables. The birthday boy always behaved very sedately, eating carefully and with dignity. John would have numerous guests on those days. The celebration was a success during any kind of weather.
“During the summer heat, the elephant loved to pour water over himself and swim in the pool, particularly on hot days, as well as spray the public with water.
“Johnny developed some habits during his life at the zoo: he was to be fed in the morning, at lunch and in the event. The elephant remembered people who did anything unpleasant to him, always trying to throw something at them or spray them with water. Johnny was able to reproduce the sounds of the human voice and could put together entirely intelligible phrases.
“The Perm elephant also loved to steal equipment such as brooms and hoses. He would scratch his back and belly with the broom and run around his enclosure with the hose, wrapping it around himself. In April 2009, he got a hubcap stuck around his trunk and could not get it off on his own. It had to be by almost all of the zoo employees tugging at it with fire hooks on a rope”.
In late June 2011, the 46-year-old Johnny fell while taking a walk. Zoo employees tried for six hours to get him back on his feet, including with the help of a truck crane, but they had no luck. The elephant died. The cause of death will be announced following an autopsy and examination. He will then be buried in a special biothermal grave.
The zoo employees said in the obituary that they would like to preserve the image in their heads of their favourit
http://indrus.in/articles/2011/07/15/johnny_the_elephant_from_india_12755.html
World's 'Most Dangerous Bird' escapes from exhibit at Denver Zoo
Gates at the Denver Zoo were temporarily closed Friday when a large, potentially dangerous bird called a cassowary escaped from its enclosure, officials said.
According to zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart, a visitor saw ‘Murray,’ a 62-pound 5 ½ foot tall cassowary, burst through its wire fencing at Bird World at about 12:45 p.m.
This prompted officials to essentially place the zoo on ‘lock down,’ closing gates and forcing some visitors to stay indoors as a precaution.
“Birds, naturally, are not necessarily aggressive...so I don’t believe (Murray) would have sought anyone out,” Barnhart said. “However, he is a large bird. He could have become afraid. He could have become defensive.”
‘Murray’ was captured a short time later and returned to his exhibit.
No one was hurt.
The cassowary, which is native to New Guinea, is
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/kdvr-large-bird-escapes-from-exhibit-at-denver-zoo-20110715,0,7223319.story
Chhatbir zoo range officer’s row with contractor ends; lion safari re-opens
Service was halted after dispute over non-renewal of registration certificates of two mini-buses used for safari
The lion safari at Chhatbir zoo, which was closed to visitors on Thursday due to a dispute between the contractor of the safari service and the range officer at the zoo, has now been reopened. While the contractor and the range officer agreed that the service was halted due to their dispute over the non-renewal of the registration certificates (RCs) of the two mini-buses used for the safari service, the field director asserted that it happened due to a routine inspection of the safari.
The contractor said that he had applied for the transfer of the RCs of the
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chhatbir-zoo-range-officers-row-with-contractor-ends;-lion-safari-reopens/818181/
Enrichment facility for animals at M'sian zoo
A NEW centre at Malaysia's Zoo Negara aims to provide a more conducive environment for the animals as well as educate the public on their welfare.
Zoo director Dr Mohamad Ngah said the facility would 'enrich' the lives of the animals by introducing toys and developing creative ways for the animals to get to their food.
'Enrichment efforts have been carried out in the zoo since 2005. However, this is the first time that a centre has been set up to centralise such efforts,' he said during the launch of the facility at the zoo on Friday.
During the event, the media was brought to the centre and shown various enrichment tools designed to improve the welfare of the 5,000 animals in the zoo.
Among them was a piata (a container made out of paper), which was made to look like a beehive and filled with food so that animals like bears would have to break
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_691331.html
Animal Enrichment versus Routine
SEEC Student Environmental Enrichment Courses
http://youtu.be/zEBN1CVUv_U
Wild Parrots Get Names From Parents
Before a green-rumped parrotlet is even able to chirp and squawk, mom and dad teach it a distinct series of sounds used by parrots to recognize a specific individual. In short, they give their nestling a name.
Researchers have observed captive parrots using so-called contact calls to identify mates and family members, but didn’t know how birds were named in the wild. Maybe they didn’t learn from their parents, but had contact calls hard-wired from birth. Or maybe it was an aberration of captivity.
To find out, Cornell University ornithologist Karl Berg and his team swapped eggs between nests in a wild parrotlet population they’d studied since 1987. Half the parrotlet pairs raised foster chicks, who used the contact calls demonstrated by their adoptive parents. Were the calls hard-wired, they’d have used their biological parents’ calls.
Among other animals known to imitate the
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/parrots-named-by-parents/
Badger culling is ineffective, says architect of 10-year trial
Former UK government scientific adviser Lord Krebs says results of the trials prove culls are not an effective way of controlling bovine TB
Badger culling is "ineffective", the expert behind the UK's biggest review of the links between badgers and tuberculosis in cattle, said on Monday.
Professor Lord John Krebs was the government adviser responsible for the scientific review in the 1990s which found that badgers were a "reservoir" of bovine TB and could transmit the disease to cattle. He called for trial culls, which were then carried out. But he said on Monday the results of the trials showed that culling was "not an effective policy" and would be a mistake.
His remarks are expected to reignite the debate over whether to cull badgers, as the government is set to make a controversial announcement this week allowing farmers to carry out their own badger culls around the country.
The issue is highly emotive, with wildlife campaigners preparing to resist any moves to a cull, while farmers are adamant that a well-coordinated cull in TB hotspots would help to reduce the incidence of the disease, which costs the farming industry - and taxpayers - tens of millions of pounds a year and has forced some farmers out of business.
The results of the 10-year "randomised badger culling trials" showed that widespread, highly coordinated culls requiring the destruction of many thousands of badgers resulted in a reduction in new infections in local cattle herds of about 16%. Ministers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/11/badger-culling-ineffective-krebs
New research demonstrates damaging influence of media on public perceptions of chimpanzees
How influential are mass media portrayals of chimpanzees in television, movies, advertisements and greeting cards on public perceptions of this endangered species? That is what researchers based at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo sought to uncover in a new nationwide study published today in in PLoS One, the open-access journal of the Public Library of Sciences. Their findings reveal the significant role that media plays in creating widespread misunderstandings about the conservation status and nature of this great ape.
A majority of study respondents were more likely to believe that chimpanzees are not endangered after seeing them portrayed with humans. They were also more likely to falsely believe that the apes would make an appropriate pet even though in reality their massive strength and aggressive nature makes them highly dangerous. The researchers used composite digital images to experimentally test survey respondents' reactions to chimpanzees in different circumstances. For instance, survey respondents shown a photograph of a young chimpanzee standing next to a person were significantly less likely to think that chimpanzees were endangered in the wild, compared to respondents that viewed the exact same picture with the human digitally removed.
According to lead scientist, Steve Ross, Ph,D, founder of Project ChimpCARE and assistant director of the Lester Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo, "the findings are particularly relevant considering the public popularity of advertisements, movies and television programs featuring chimpanzee actors," he said. "These practices have received broad criticism based on animal welfare concerns."
Ross explained that the active "acting" careers of these animals are typically only a few short years, after which they become too large, strong and unmanageable. "Because chimpanzees can live 50 to 60 years, those deemed no longer useful to the media may end up in suboptimal housing for the next several decades," he explained.
The research findings demonstrate that the negative outcomes of media use of chimpanzees likely extends beyond individual animal welfare issues and potentially undermines important conservation efforts for this endangered species. According the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, wild chimpanzees are severely endangered and could become extinct within 10 – 50 years if current trends continue.
"Displaying chimpanzees with humans isn't the only way in which public viewers were affected. Those seeing images of chimpanzees in human-like settings, such as a typical office space, were also less likely to think that chimpanzees are endangered," said Ross.
Purchasing and owning chimpanzees as pets is legal in most of the United States, but is a practice with considerable animal welfare and public safety risk. In 2009, a pet chimpanzee named Travis in Connecticut attacked and seriously injured a friend of its owner and was subsequently killed by police officers. Project ChimpCARE, an initiative based at Lincoln Park Zoo, estimates that up to 100 privately-owned chimpanzees live across
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/lpz-nrd071211.php
Hunters Paying $150,000 to Kill an Endangered Rhino May Save the Species
In June 1996 a game rancher named John Hume paid about $200,000 for three pairs of endangered black rhinos from the wildlife department of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Among them was a male who would come to be called “Number 65,” and whose death would play a central role in the debate about conservation.
South Africa did not start the auctions because it had a surplus of the animals. Quite the opposite. Although the black rhinos had been reproducing, they were still critically endangered. Only about 1,200 remained within the country’s borders, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Dec. 13 issue.
But black rhinos are massive animals, and with just under 7 percent of the country set aside in protected areas, conservationists and wildlife departments had run out of room to accommodate them.
Hume’s 6,500-hectare ranch, Mauricedale, lies in the hot, scrubby veldt in northeastern South Africa. Hume, 68, made his fortune in taxis, hotels, and time-shares, and Mauricedale was his Xanadu, a retirement project of immense proportions. In the late 1990s he began buying up many of the neighboring farms and ranches, and his triangular estate would soon be boxed in on all sides by roads and sugar cane plantations.
Hume also was rapidly becoming the largest private owner of white rhinos; there are currently 250 split between Mauricedale and another similar property. He also raises cape buffalo, roan and sable antelopes, hippos, giraffes, zebras, and ostriches.
Rhino Number 65
When the black rhino bull arrived, Hume’s farm manager -- a burly Zimbabwean named Geoff York whose typical mode of dress is army boots and a pair of purple shorts -- tranquilized him, clipped two notches in his left ear and two in the right, and gave him a number: 65.
With a horn worn down to 20 inches from rubbing it against rocks, Number 65 was not a beautiful bull. It wouldn’t
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-09/hunters-paying-150-000-to-kill-an-endangered-rhino-may-save-the-species.html
Elephant Eye Exam
http://youtu.be/__iuGhFqgQU
************************************************************************
Zoo Conferences, Meetings, Courses and Symposia
click
*******************************************************************************
ZOO BIOLOGY
The Zoo Biology Group is concerned with all disciplines involved in the running of a Zoological Garden. Captive breeding, husbandry,cage design and construction, diets, enrichment, man management,record keeping, etc etc
**********************************************
Join Zoo News Digest Facebook Page
updated daily
*******************************************************************************
For
Zoo Jobs and Related Vacancies
please visit:
************************************************************************
ZooNews Digest is a private and completely independent publication, not allied or attached to any zoological collection. Many thanks.
Kind Regards,
Wishing you a wonderful week
"These are the best days of my life"
Please Donate to Zoo News Digest in order to keep it going
No comments:
Post a Comment