Sunday, September 23, 2012

Zoo News Digest 19th - 23rd September 2012 (Zoo News 830)


Zoo News Digest 19th - 23rd September 2012 (Zoo News 830)



 


Dear Colleagues,

Yet another unfortunate person decided to commune with a big cat. I feel sorry for the guy. This has got to be the actions of someone with a disturbed mind. It really does not matter what sort of actions a zoo takes because if someone is determined enough they can get themselves killed and eaten. The papers loved the story of course....a bit of blood and gore and they will publish. It surprises me though that they should state the obvious as a header "Tiger that mauled man 'did nothing wrong'"....of course it didn't! The tiger acted and behaved quite naturally. 'did nothing wrong' is rather like stating 'coal is black' or 'the sky is blue'. Fot the zoo to say the tiger did nothing wrong is a statement of fact but for the papers to use this as a header is just plain daft. Well done Bronx Zoo for the prompt action taken. I do think that the New York Daily News may have come up with a new word however with 'Zoo-icide'...It fits the bill exactly (actually already in the urban dictionary). Such incidents are far from rare. I don't mean accidental deaths here resulting from doors left ajar or unforeseen behaviours but people going to the zoo to deliberately to get themselves killed by animals. Something all zoo staff need to be aware of and on the lookout for.

Seaworlds 'Empire of the Penguin' which is scheduled to open in Spring 2013 certainly looks something special. That said and with just perhaps a hint of bias but today the most special and unique 'Penguin Encounter' in the world today is that in Ski Dubai. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Here visitors can meet penguins and see them doing things that they will see nowhere else whilst being subtley taught a conservation and global warming message. If you pass through Dubai you must put it on your Dubai Bucket List.

Still not a whisper about the baby Orangutan and Gibbon from Abu Dhabi (see past Digests). As the recognised world organisations that the collection belonged to knew that they had these you would think they would be just a little concerned as to where they went. It doesn't smell right to me.

I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos, not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.

****

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Empire of the Penguin
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/Antarctica



Elephants Killed For Christ http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2012/09/elephants-killed-for-christ.html




The International Aquatic Plants Layout Competition 2012
Some truly amazing contributions. Check out the photos here:http://design.style4.info/2012/09/the-international-aquatic-plants-layout-contest-2012/






The August 2012 issue of ZOO’s PRINT Magazine (Vol. XXVII, No. 8) is online at <www.zoosprint.org> in a format that permits you to turn pages like a regular magazine.


If you wish to download the full magazine or certain articles click on <www.zoosprint.org/showMagazine.asp>
August 2012 | Vol. XXVII | No. 8 | Date of Publication 21 August 2012



CONTENTS



Feature articles

You’ve come a Long Way, Vultures!

Pp. 1-7



Snake survey and awareness programmes at Sonadih and Arasmeta Cement Plants, Chhattisgarh, India

-- S. Sivakumar & Shivbhadrasinh Jadeja, Pp. 8-9



Zoo Keeper’s training Programme at V.J.B Udyan Zoo, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Pp. 10-11



ZOO Lex - Zoo Heidelberg Elephant Exhibit

Pp. 12-14



Technical articles
Langur - chital association in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats

-- Tharmalingam Ramesh, Riddhika Kalle, Kalyanasundaram Sankar & Qamar Qureshi, Pp. 15-17



Announcements: UGC Sponsored National Seminar- Conservation of Faunal Diversity of Western Ghats: Problems and Perspectives, 30th - 31st August 2012

P. 17



Sighting frequency and group composition of the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) in the National Chambal Sanctuary, India

-- Hari Singh & R.J. Rao, Pp. 18-23



NEWS: Tokay Geckos released to the wild

P. 23



A new record of Hoogly Halfbeak, Zenarchopterus striga (Blyth, 1858) (Beloniformes, Hemiramphidae) from Kerala, India

-- K.V. Zeena & K.S. Jameela Beevi, Pp. 24-26



An instance of inter species interaction between Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) and Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)

-- Ashish Nerlekar, Pp. 27-28




Noah's Ark Zoo Farm elephant 'sanctuary' work begins
Building work is under way on a 20-acre 'elephant sanctuary' which is to be one of the largest exhibits in Europe.
Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, in North Somerset, is spending £1m on the enclosure which it plans to open next year.
A number of animal welfare groups have expressed concern over elephants being kept in captivity since planning permission was granted in 2010.
Up to ten elephants could one day live in the enclosure, which the zoo claims will offer them "welfare improvements".
Zoo owner Anthony Bush said it was a "significant step forward" in the care of elephants in captivity.
He said: "Elephants are the largest land mammals, and we want to create a destination of paradise for these important creatures."
The RSPCA said it was "extremely concerned" about the plans and had urged the zoo to drop them.
'Highly irresponsible'
Andrew Kelly, head of wildlife, said: "It is clear elephants do not fare well in zoos and we believe it would be highly irresponsible to introduce yet more of the animals to such a damaging environment."
"Studies have even shown that the levels of lameness suffered by elephants in captivity are on a par to those seen in intensively farmed dairy cattle or broiler chickens."
The Born Free Foundation, the Captive Animal Protection Society and Animal Defenders International have also previously expressed their concern.
The zoo has said the enclosure is designed "to offer welfare-improvements to elephants already living in captivity".
It could possibly attract elephants with behavioural issues and rescue animals.
Plans include a 1,120 square metre heated elephant house as well as woodland, mud wallows, crops for strip-grazing and a deep bathing pool.
North Somerset Council, which licenses
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-19570447




LOOKING AT PEOPLE LOOKING AT ANIMALS
AN INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY ON VISITOR EXPERIENCE STUDIES AND EXHIBIT EVALUATION
IN ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS
http://www.eaza.net/activities/education/Documents/2011-02-10 Visitor Studies Bibliography  V0.3.pdf




KC Zoo completes fundraising, breaks ground for penguin exhibit
The fundraising has gone well, director says, and now construction work begins.
The Kansas City Zoo has met its fundraising goal for a penguin exhibit, and construction crews will begin demolishing buildings this week to make room for it.
“This is something we’ve dreamt about for a long, long time,” said zoo director Randy Wisthoff at a groundbreaking Wednesday. He had mentioned penguins when he arrived here in 2003 from the Omaha, Neb., zoo.
The Friends of the Zoo here announced Wednesday that the group had raised $4.1 million for the project, exceeding the goal of funding 25 percent of the construction costs for major projects with private donations. The rest will come from revenues from a sales tax approved last year by voters in Jackson and Clay counties.
The contract with the J.E. Dunn Construction Co. for the 17,600-square-foot exhibit is $12 million, and the total project cost is about $15 million.
The Kansas City Zoo has never had penguins. But by the end of next year it will boast one of the best exhibits of its kind in the country. It will have a 100,000-gallon pool of chilled water for cold-climate penguin species. Their indoor space will include a snow-making machine.
A separate, 25,000-gallon pool will have both indoor and outdoor
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/19/3823644/zoo-completes-fundraising-for.html








Oregon Zoo makes a medical breakthrough with polar bears
It took years of training and some creative caging design and construction, but Oregon Zoo staffers who work with polar bears believe they may be the first in the world to successfully draw blood from the dangerous beasts without first anesthetizing them.
The blood draws, first performed late last year with Tasul, a female, were extended this month to her brother, Conrad.
The work, said curator Amy Cutting, could lead to improved veterinary care for captive polar bears, and could advance research done in the field with wild polar bears.
Cutting will share news about techniques developed in Portland when she travels next week to a meeting of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria; her colleague, Kelli Harvison, a veterinary technician, will offer a similar poster presentation at next week's national meeting of the Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians.
So how do they get the 1,000-plus-pound polar bears to sit
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/09/oregon_zoo_makes_a_medical_bre.html







Man jumps off Bronx Zoo monorail, mauled by tiger
A man was mauled by a 400-pound tiger at the Bronx Zoo on Friday after he leaped from a moving monorail train and plummeted over a protective fence.
The man was alone with the tiger for about 10 minutes before he was rescued by zoo officials, who used a fire extinguisher to chase it away. He suffered bites and punctures on his arms, legs, shoulders and back and broke an arm and a leg.
Zoo director Jim Breheny said the man was lucky to escape the tiger's clutches.
"If not for the quick response by our staff and their ability to perform well in emergency situations, the outcome would have been very different," Breheny said.
The tiger mauling happened at around 3 p.m. in the Wild Asia exhibit, where a train with open sides takes visitors over the Bronx River and through a forest, where they glide along the top edge of a fence past elephants, deer and a tiger enclosure.
Passengers aren't strapped in on the ride, and the man apparently jumped out of his train car with a leap powerful enough to clear the 16-foot-high perimeter fence.
The man was mauled by an 11-year-old male Siberian tiger named Bashuta, which has
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Man-jumps-off-Bronx-Zoo-monorail-mauled-by-tiger-3884339.php




The September 2012 issue of ZOO’s PRINT Magazine (Vol. XXVII, No. 9) is online at <www.zoosprint.org> in a format that permits you to turn pages like a regular magazine.

If you wish to download the full magazine or certain articles click on <www.zoosprint.org/showMagazine.asp>

September 2012 | Vol. XXVII | No. 9 | Date of Publication 21 September 2012

CONTENTS

Feature articles
Reports on the International Vulture Awareness Day Celebration in South Asia
Pp. 1-17

Education Report
P. 18

Technical articles
An avifaunal survey of the Jhalawar range of Jhalawar district, Rajasthan, India
-- Anant Pande, Pp. 19-22

Sighting of Black Stork Ciconia nigra (Linnaeus, 1758) in Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary: An addition to the birds of Odisha
-- Devi P. Sahu and Himashu S. Palei, P. 23

New plants records from Marudhamalai hills of Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu State, (India)
-- Vijay A. Paithane and A.S. Bhuktar, Pp. 24-26

The Indian Alliance for Zero Extinction
P. 26

ZooLex -- Ranthambore National Park : Tigers at Ranthambore
-- Akanksha Chowdhary, Monica Fiby and Brij Kishor Gupta, Pp. 27-32

Announcement
Kerala State Veterinary University Offers a New MS Programme in Wildlife Studies
Back Cover



Protests Continue Over Zoo World Giraffe
Protestors say the Panama City Beach attraction wasn't big enough to house the giraffe it had, much less two more giraffes.
The group gathered at the intersection of Highway 77 and East 23rd Street near Panama City Mall to call attention to their cause.
ZooWorld officials are trying to replace Sydney the giraffe who died this summer. They're trying to raise $50,000 to buy two baby giraffes.
They also say their current giraffe enclosure
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Protests-Continue-Over-ZooWorld-Giraffe-170856891.html




Solon supports transfer of Manila Zoo elephant to Thailand
A congressman on Friday said that he supports moves by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) to transfer a captive elephant from Manila Zoo to Thailand.
"Elephants are intelligent animals with complex social lives which, if denied everything that is natural and important, suffer socially and psychologically and often lead to abnormal, neurotic and even self-destructive behavior," Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla said.
Padilla, author of House Resolution 2632, was referring to Mali, a female Asian elephant which has been living alone in captivity at the Manila Zoo for almost 35 years.
PETA, an animal rights organization, is offering to pay for the transfer of Mali to a sanctuary in Thailand where she can have adequate care from elephant handlers and experts.
Padilla said Mali's current environment deprives the animal of socialization and endures internal confinement, loneliness, boredom and isolation in an area a fraction of her natural habitat.
Citing a finding of Dr. Henry Richardson, a world-renowned elephant veterinarian, Padilla said the chronic pressure sores on Mali's feet, cracked nails and overgrown cuticles can result in severe infection, which could cause her death.
Padilla said several countries have already closed their
http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=851314

 
 
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