Zoo News Digest 18th - 24th August 2013 (ZooNews 872)
Dear Colleagues,
Pandas are the main
zoo item right now, the news is full of it. Important as it is it doesn't get
as much of a spread as a Chinese Zoo substituting a dog for a lion (see last week).
Talking of Lions I
note that the Dysfunctional Zoobic Safari has just bred White Lions and like
all the rest who have not got a clue starts talking about conservation. I am
seriously thinking of compiling a list of all those Dysfunctional Collections
which breed White Tigers, White Lions, Hybrid Big Cats and do any sort of
handling session with Big Cats. It will, no doubt lose me friends and make me
some new enemies but at least I would not be lying to myself.
Just what is the
Portland Aquarium up to? Something very wrong here.
Give some thought to
the story about "Zoo worker injured;
association cries foul over treatment". I don't doubt that the poor
guy is one of the so called "daily wage" staff who in much of Asia
are looked upon as less important. The treatment is criminal. I hope he gets
justice and respect. It takes guts to complain. He is one of us, a ZooKeeper after all is said and done.
Gorillas from Uganda
to Chiang Mai? I wonder just what is going to happen there. As a zoo Chiang Mai
is not too bad and has some nice exhibits. That China trusts them with their
Pandas is a good indication. But Gorillas? Have Uganda got animals to spare. It
sounds just a bit like the Taiping 4 all over again.
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Posts You May Have Missed
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ZOO GENETICS
Panda Gives Birth to Her 3rd Cub at National Zoo
A giant panda gave
birth at Washington's National Zoo on Friday, causing a buzz among fans as they
flocked to a panda cam's live feed to hear the cub squeal and watch the mother
immediately start caring for it.
The zoo said Mei
Xiang (may-SHONG) gave birth at 5:32 p.m. Friday, two hours after her water
broke. Zoo officials said the panda team heard the cub vocalize and that the
mother picked it up immediately and began cradling and caring for it.
"WE HAVE A
CUB!! Born at 5:32 p.m. this evening," the zoo tweeted.
"I'm glued to
the new panda cams and thrilled to hear the squeals, which appear healthy, of
our newborn cub," said Dennis Kelly, director of the Smithsonian's
National Zoo.
Fans of the
15-year-old panda who had been tracking her suspected pregnancy on a Giant
Panda Cam flocked to the live feed.
With the zoo
heralding the cub's birth on Twitter, the pandas' excited fans responded in
kind. Congratulations poured in under the hashtag "cubwatch,"
including hopes that this year's cub would survive. "Last year was so
heartbreaking," as one person tweeted, while another said, "Good
luck, little Butterstick 2 !!!"
Mei Xiang had
previously given birth to two cubs. Tai Shan was born in 2005 and a week-old
cub died last September.
Panda cubs are
especially delicate and vulnerable to infection and other illness. They are
about the size of a stick of butter at birth. The first weeks of life are
critical for the cubs as mothers have to make sure they stay warm and get
enough to eat.
Zookeepers said at a
news conference on Friday night that giant pandas give birth to twins 50
percent of the time, so they will continue to keep an eye on Mei Xiang for 24
hours.
Brandie Smith,
curator of mammals at the zoo, sai
Costa Rica zoo closures likely to face legal battle
Costa Rica’s
decision to close its last two state zoos has been hailed as a breakthrough for
animal rights, but in the short term it could mean a legal battle as well as a
major readjustment for the sloths, tapirs, jaguars and other creatures that
have found refuge there.
Furthering its
reputation as a conservation pioneer, Costa Rica announced last month that it
will no longer use public funds to keep animals in cages. This means the Simon
Bolivar zoo in San Jose and the Santa Ana conservation centre will close when
existing operating contracts run out next year.
The animal residents
- 300 individuals from 60 species in the case of the Simon Bolivar zoo - will
be released into the wild or found new homes in private shelters. The land will
be used as a botanical garden.
The Environment
Minister, Rene Castro, said the end of state-financed captivity would be a
turning point: “With this move, we are sending a message that the state wishes
to show biodiversity in its natural state, under a modern and holistic
integration of space, society and natural resources.”
In an interview with
La Nacion newspaper, Castro said the “no-cage rule” was influenced by the
escape of his grandmother’s pet parrot: “It made a big impression on me because
I thought we had taken good care of her. We fed her with food and affection - all
the things that we as humans thought she liked. Yet when she had the chance,
she left.”
Officials say they
have “declared peace with nature” through a series of biodiversity initiatives
that have won international awards, including extensive preservation and
reforestation programmes funded by fuel taxes, car stamp duties and energy
fees.
But while its latest
step is widely hailed as progressive in principle, the details are likely to
prove contentious.
The small Simon
Bolivar inner-city zoo attracts more than 130,000 visitors a year, runs
education programmes and has its own policy of releasing animals back into the
wild whenever possible.
Fundazoo, the
foundation that runs the zoos, is ch
Zoo modernisation still a far cry
Four decades into
its establishment, the Dhaka Zoo is yet to be coming along let alone
modernising its outward appearance.
No genuine attempts
had been taken over the period of time to develop the zoological park.
The incumbent
government earlier undertook a five-year project between the year of 2013 and
2017 involving around Tk3.48bn to endow the two zoos in Dhaka and Rangpur with
modern facilities. But the plan which was supposed to take effect this year is
now stuck in bureaucratic tangle.
Prior to undertaking
the project, the Department of Livestock conducted a digital survey with the
help of Buet specialists and finally prepared a report based on its findings,
according to a source.
A number of factors
including the area of the facilities, the number of animals, shades, streets,
lakes, shops and trees inside the zoological garden were considered while
preparing the report.
The report was
finally submitted to the livestock department last year.
The Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology team of specialists sought 2% of the
total project fund in return for preparation of the structural design and
master plan of the project. But they were refused, and the job was handed over
to the government’s architecture department as it offered to do the work free
of cost.
However, the
government architects are yet to kick off the project work though seven months
have since elapsed.
Dhaka Zoo, set up on
an extensive land of 186 acres is ranked fourth among all the zoological parks
across the world, in terms of the area it covers.
But unlike other
zoos, Dhaka’s one does not have much to offer, other than showcasing the
encaged animals there.
Each day, thousands
of crowds from all walks of life throng the zoo and walk miles after miles on
foot to enjoy the tricks of monkeys and other animals.
The visitors have to
buy food at an exorbitant price as the food stalls inside the facility sell
foods at higher rate th
Panda sex exposé: Why does the male struggle to
perform his duty in captivity
For most us, the
idea of having a panda looking on as we try to procreate is unlikely to be a
turn-on. But for the male giant panda, this could be what they need.
Potentially earth-shaking research suggests that male pandas, famous for their
struggles in "shaping up", are much more attentive to females when
exposed to the smell of a rival.
Giant pandas are an
endangered species, with fewer than 2,000 left in the wild. Attempts to breed
more in zoos have had limited success: only a quarter of adult males have mated
naturally in captivity, and natural mating accounts for only about 40 per cent
of successful breeding. No baby panda has been born in a British zoo, though
there are hopes that Tian Tian, in Edinburgh Zoo, may be pregnant, thanks to
artificial insemination.
Now, a study of 11
genetically unrelated adult males aged six to 17 years has found that male
pandas may be more inclined to get going if they think there's a rival in the
vicinity: "Our results suggest that exposing males to the odour of other
males may be a useful technique to enhance captive breeding," say
researchers from the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant
Panda. "Exposure to male odours in the presence of oestrus females
elicited
ty?
Killer whales, grandmas and what men want:
Evolutionary biologists consider menopause
Menopause seems like
a cruel prank that Mother Nature plays on women. First come the hot flashes,
night sweats, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, irritability and weight gain.
Then menstruation stops and fertility ends. Why, many women ask, must they suffer
through this? Evolutionary biologists, it turns out, ask themselves more or
less the same question. How on Earth could such a seemingly maladaptive trait
ever evolve?
From a Darwinian
point of view, menopause is just weird. In the game of evolution, winning means
securing your genetic legacy by having as many children as possible. So it
seems counterintuitive that evolution would produce women whose fertility
disappears decades before they die.
That’s why it’s not
surprising that some researchers think women’s postmenopausal lives are just an
artifact of modern society. Now that we’re healthier and living longer, they
suggest, women are outlasting the fixed supply of eggs they have from birth.
Yet there’s evidence
that menopause goes all the way back to the Stone Age, Daniel Levitis of the
University of Southern Denmark and colleagues conclude in the March/April
Evolutionary Anthropology.
The support comes
from contemporary hunter-gatherers who lead traditional lifestyles that,
presumably, resemble those of our Stone Age ancestors. Among the Hadza and
!Kung of sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women enjoy lengthy lives after
fertility ends. In fact, women in these populations spend nearly half
Portland Aquarium logs 200 marine animal deaths;
Humane Society investigates
More than 200 marine
animals died this spring at the Portland Aquarium from starvation, infection,
high temperatures, animal-on-animal attacks and unknown causes, according to a
death-log obtained by The Oregonian. Among the casualties were bamboo sharks,
sea horses, garden eels, sea stars, crabs and dozens of fish.
Barbara Baugnon, a
spokeswoman with the Oregon Humane Society, which helps enforce state
animal-cruelty laws, said her agency is investigating the nine-month-old
aquarium. She declined to provide specifics.
During the period
covered by the death log, Feb. 18 to May 16, aquarium owners acknowledge that
the facility has gone without regular veterinary services. The aquarium's
former veterinarian said that even when he was under contract the facility
failed to properly quarantine new arrivals and routinely delayed emergency
treatment to save mo
Zoo worker injured;
association cries foul over treatment
A minor injury
sustained by an animal keeper at Mysore Zoo has taken a turn with the
association, representing workers employed on contract basis, accusing the zoo
administration of negligence, which is denied by the zoo officials.
According to Sri
Jayachamarajendra Zoo Temporary and Contract Employees' Association, the zoo
administration has failed in getting proper medical care to the injured keeper
Shivashankar. It has also sought a probe into the matter.
An elephant attacked
Shivashankar while he was working at the enclosure of pachyderms August 13. He
was later taken to a private hospital in Nazarbad. According to Association
president A M Nagaraju, the injured worker was discharged the same evening, "because
the zoo officials insisted the doctors to send him home".
However,
Shivashankar was again admitted to the hospital in the night as he complained
of chest pain. He had collapsed when the elephant had pushed him from its trunk
and hit him on the left side of his chest. "But the doctors discharged him
without hours of his admission. When we asked them, they said that they were
pressurized to do so by the zoo officials," Nagaraju told TOI. "They
didn't extend him medical care," he claimed, and sought the zoo to extend
compensation.
A senior official
attached to the zoo said that Shivashankar was taken to the hospital and
discharged following medical advice. He later complained of pain, which is also
attended to at the hospital. "Zoo executive director B P Ravi had visited
the injured," he said, and denied negligence on their part. "In fact,
Shivashankar is back to work," he added.
However, Nagaraju
said that the animal keeper resumed duty immediately as the zoo officials had
cut one month's salary when he was admitted to the hospital following a snake
bite earlier. "Shivashankar had suffered and doesn't want to forgo his e
National Zoo getting 3 new Asian elephants from
Canada; philanthropist paying for move
A $2 million gift
from businessman David Rubenstein will allow the Smithsonian's National Zoo to
nearly double the size of its Asian elephant herd.
The zoo announced
Tuesday that it will receive three female elephants in an open-ended loan from
the Calgary Zoo in Canada, which is relocating its elephants to more suitable
habitats.
The move will be
funded entirely by Rubenstein, a co-founder of the Washington-based private
equity firm The Carlyle Group. In 2011, Rubenstein gave $4.5 million to the
zoo's giant panda program. He has sat on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents
since 2009.
The new elephants
will arrive sometime in spring 2014, the zoo announced. They will spend at
least 30 days in quarantine before joining the zoo's existing herd of four
Asian elephants.
The zoo's elephant
habitat reopened in March after a seven-year, $56 million overhaul that nearly
tripled the elephants' living space. It can house up to 10 adult elephants and
their young and includes a walking trail, sand and rubber floors and a shower
the elephants can operate themselves.
Two of the new
elephants, Kamala and Swarna, were born in the wild and are nearly 40 years
old. They were brought to the Calgary Zoo from an elephant orphanage in Sri
Lanka in 1976. The third elephant, Maharani, is Kamala's female offspring and
was born in captivity in 1990.
Asian elephants are
endangere
Ibis reintroduction program sees fledging success
Kei Osada, 41, is
the man behind the recent success of a government effort to reintroduce the
crested ibis as part of a captive breeding program for the species that once
became extinct in the wild in Japan.
In the three years
since he took charge of the reintroduction scheme at the Sado Japanese Crested
Ibis Conservation Center in Niigata Prefecture in June 2010, 12 chicks hatched
in the wild have fledged.
Of the 12, the eight
hatched last year were the first wild crested ibises to leave their nests in 38
years in Japan.
Osada, an official
of the Environment Ministry, which oversees the program, said, “We can’t really
foresee what action would help the birds reproduce, but that is what is
interesting about this job.”
Following the
successful fledging of the birds, Osada returned to the ministry’s Tokyo
headquarters in July.
Japanese-born
crested ibises became extinct in 2003, after their number plunged rapidly since
the Meiji Era (1868-1912) due to rampant hunting for their meat and feathers
and the extensive use of pesticides.
In a bid to
reintroduce the species, the government in 1999 started an artificial breeding
program with a pair of crested ibises on loan from China, and the first birds
bred at the center were released into the wild in 2008.
Osada was dispatched
to the center to tighten management after nine birds that were ready to be
released into the wild were attacked and killed in their enclosure by a marten
in March 2010.
To stimulate public
interest in the center’s activity and raise awareness of the importance of
conservation work, Osada arranged to broadcast live the center’s breeding
activities on the
VN’s endangered
endemic turtles back home from Europe
The Turtle
Conservation Centre (TCC) in Cuc Phuong National Park in central Ninh Binh
Province on Monday received 71 endemic Vietnamese turtles that had been sent
back after being bred for five years in two European countries.
The turtles, which
were returned from the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands and the Munster Zoo in
Germany, are the first to be bred overseas and returned to Vietnam, said Truong
Quang Bich, director of the Park.
They are Vietnamese
pond turtles (Mauremys anamnesis), one of three endemic freshwater turtle
species in Vietnam, found only in lowland wetlands, rivers, lakes, and ponds in
some central provinces.
These 71 turtles
will join the more than 200 others already being rescued at the TCC. Most of
them have been handed to the center by concerned agencies that seized them from
illegal traders of wildlife, and by locals who voluntarily offered their
turtles to the center. A small part of them have been born in the center, Bich
said.
As part of the
Mauremys Annamensis Project (MAP) managed by the Asian Turtle Programme (ATP),
all the turtles will be released into their best habitat in central Quang Ngai
province in the future, when their ability of adaptation to outside living
environment is improved, said the TCC’s director, Bui Dang Phong.
The population of
this turtle species in Vietnam is rapidly declining due to poaching, illegal
trade, and lost habitats. Therefore, more efforts are therefore needed to
protect th
Nod to night safari at Greater Noida
The UP cabinet sanctioned the setting up of a
night safari in Greater Noida. In May 2012, the chief minister had given in
principle approval for the project on 102-hectares of land near Gautam Budh
Nagar University in Greater Noida. Originally proposed by Mulayam Singh during
his chief ministerial regime in 2005, the project was put on hold following a
regime change in 2007, even though it allegedly had all clearances from the
Supreme Court and the Central Zoo Authority.
On Tuesday, the
cabinet okayed the proposal to build the safari on public-private partnership
model. The first-of-its-kind safari park in India is expected to be built in
consultation with Singapore-based Bernard Harrison & Friends, which had
earlier prepared a master plan for it. In 2012, the consultants and the state
government had decided to begin the bidding process to identify a developer.
The process, however, is likely to begin now, aft
Endangered Giant Ibis found in new Cambodia habitat
Jubilant
conservationists expressed hope Tuesday for the survival of the
critically-endangered Giant Ibis after a nest of the bird species was
discovered in a previously unknown habitat in northeastern Cambodia.
Habitat loss and
poaching has pushed the Giant Ibis to the edge of extinction, with around only
345 of the reclusive creatures -- distinctive for their bald heads and long
beaks -- left anywhere in the world, 90 percent of them in Cambodia.
A farmer in
Cambodia's Stung Treng province discovered the nesting site a few kilometers
inland in the biodiverse Mekong Flooded Forest area last month, the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a statement.
An inspection team
from the WWF later saw an adult bird sitting on the nest with two eggs.
"The discovery
of the Giant Ibis nest on the Mekong is extremely significant because it
provides hope for the species' survival," said Sok Ko, Forestry
Administration official and Bird Nest Project officer with WWF.
The Giant Ibis — or
Thaumatibis gigantea — was listed on the Red list of the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1994 as critically endangered, the group
said, with its habitat limited to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
"For Giant Ibis
to survive ... it is key to secure breeding groups in more places. This one
nest is part of securing the future for the species," Gerry Ryan, WWF's
Research Technical Advisor, told AFP.
The group warned
that threats remain as the
Ugandan gorillas set for life in Chiang Mai Zoo
Lin Ping has long
been regarded as China's panda ambassador and now Chiang Mai Zoo will soon be
home to some new foreign ambassadors - two gorillas from Uganda.
The gorillas, a male
and female and aged between three and five years olds, are gifts from the
Ugandan government and will arrive at Chiang Mai Zoo before the end of this
year, said Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s
director general Manopat Huamuangkaew.
"We are now
preparing to build a new home for these two gorillas," he said on
Wednesday.
The gorillas have
been given to the zoo following an agreement reached between the Thai and
Ugandan governments during Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's official visit
to the country last month.
Thailand has just
one gorilla, which is resident at the private Pata zoo in Bangkok.
Manopat said he is
concerned about the living conditions for the incoming apes, explaining that
gorillas are social animals.
" We need to
study how to improve the environment so that it is more friendly for these two
gorillas," he added.
Manopat also
expressed his concerns at the living conditions of the gorilla at the private
zoo.
His concerns are
apparently not without foundation, as actress
Strayed bearded vulture returns from Prague Zoo to
Swiss Alps
Bernd, a female
bearded vulture, that strayed from the Swiss Alps to the Czech Republic, is
returning to the wild after the Prague Zoo was taking care of her and feeding
her for seven weeks, zoo spokesman Michal Stastny has told CTK.
Bernd has been the
first bearded vulture spotted on Czech territory.
Ornithologists found
the exhausted bird in the Krkonose (Giant) Mountains, east Bohemia, at the end
of May when it was placed in the zoo in Liberec, north Bohemia.
"We admitted
the female bearded vulture Bernd in early July. She was exhausted and weighed a
mere 4500 grams, but she has recovered strength in the Prague zoo. Weighing
5650 grams, she is ready to return to nature in the Swiss Alps," birds
curator Antonin Vaidl said.
Bernd was regularly
weighed because if the increase in her weight were big, she could not fly. She
was mainly fed on brown rats and rabbits while she will live mainly on bones in
the mountains.
Bernd is a part of a
programme th
As part of a federal drill, Lincoln Park Zoo simulates
bird flu disaster
Officials rehearse
how a bird flu outbreak would put them to the test 'If there's a public
crisis,' curator says, '... but we don't want to be forgotten.'
As a zoo CEO drives
to work, a radio news report announces that dead birds were found in a park
near the zoo.
In this hypothetical
scenario involving the Lincoln Park Zoo, the CEO arrives at the office to find
a flurry of voice mails from reporters. But before there is a chance to
respond, the phone rings: The H5N1 virus has been confirmed as the cause of
death. It is not yet known if the bird flu strain can spread to humans.
But there's no
panic. The zoo's general curator, Dave Bernier, knows exactly whom to call and
what to tell them. His confidence was reflected in the hypothetical disaster
scenario that accredited zoos used to practice reacting to an imagined avian
flu outbreak.
From Tuesday through
Thursday, eight zoos and aquariums in Illinois are participating in the Zoo
Animal Health Network exercise on communication during emergencies, along with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state and other agencies.
Emergency responders
use a standardized protocol that zoos need to be fluent in, in order to
communicate their needs, because the last thing anyone wants is for rare and
endangered species to be needlessly put down, said Yvonne Nadler, a zoo
employee and lead facilitator of the exercise.
"It's like
going to France and insisting they speak English," said Nadler, who calls
herself the "head cat-herder." "We don't need to be masters (of
the protocol), but if we know the basics and can say things like 'please' and
'thank you' in their language, it can go a long way when you're dealing with
all these ag
Leadership of Kyiv zoo avoids signing of agreement to
build oceanarium, reports Nemo chain
The head of the
board of founders of the Nemo dolphinarium chain and the chairman of the
supervisory board at Breath of Nature Ltd., Andriy Kyslovsky, has complained
that the leadership of Kyiv zoo won't sign an agreement to transform an
unfinished primates pavilion located on its territory into an oceanarium.
"Knowing the
prospects in this issue, that this [primates pavilion] would never be finished,
we proposed to redesign this facility into a dolphinarium-oceanarium... On July
12, 2012 Kyiv Council took a relative decision to convert the unfinished pavilion
of anthropoid apes into the Kyiv oceanarium. We're an investor in this
project," Kyslovsky said at the press conference hosted by
Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
Moreover, he said
that the agreement on joint activities to implement the investment project,
which Kyiv city council ordered zoo leadership to sign over a year ago, has not
been signed yet.
"It hasn't been
signed for unclear reasons... In private talks we receive positive reports and
hear about the desire to cooperate and sign the agree
Saudi Arabian Bat May Be Source Of MERS: Scientists
Establish 100% Genetic Match In Tomb Bat Specimen
Saudi Arabian bats
could be the animal origin of the mystery infection Middle East respiratory
syndrome (MERS), researchers conclude after establishing a 100 percent genetic
match. The discovery was made by scientists conducting the first investigation
into infectious animal reservoirs in Saudi Arabia, where the majority of human
cases have been reported. The genetic match represents a significant step
toward containing the disease that has so far killed 47 of the 100 people it
has infected worldwide.
"There have
been several reports of finding MERS-like viruses in animals. None were a
genetic match. In this case we have a virus in an animal that is identical in
sequence to the virus found in the first human case. Importantly, it's coming
from the vicinity of that first case," said W. Ian Lipkin, M.D., speakin
How Tiny Bats Can
Help Us Extend Human Life
Advances in genomics
might help us live longer, healthier lives, but not necessarily in the ways you
are thinking. The secret to increasing human longevity could lie in the genome
of our flying mammal frenemy, the bat.
That's right. Bats.
They might seem
small and delicate, but they are actually pretty tough. They live long lives
for their size, and seem to withstand the diseases and other effects of aging
that bring other animals down. Because of that, scientists have been studying
them for clues to their hardiness by analyzing their genomes.
Last year, a group
led by "Bat Man" Lin-Fa Wang, of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in
Singapore, sequenced the entire genome of two distantly-related bat species:
the flying black fox and David's Myotis.
An analysis of these
genomes found one key to bats' tough immune systems: their ability to fly.
Flying and health
Flying is an
energy-expensive activity, and it releases a lot of toxins into the body from
processes in the muscles — which
Twycross Zoo disappointed over CPS taking no action on
elephant abuse
TWYCROSS Zoo says it
is “disappointed” with the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to
prosecute three keepers for alleged elephant abuse.
The trio were sacked
by the zoo for the abuse of the two elephants.
Leicestershire
Police had prepared a file for the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the
accusations that the staff members had mistreated the animals last year.
But the CPS say
there is insufficient evidence to take the case to court.
A spokesman for the
zoo said: “Twycross Zoo is disappointed that the Crown Prosecution Service has
decided not to prosecute three ex-members of staff in relation to the Animal
Welfare Act. The individuals had been previously dismissed for not upholding their
duty of care to the animals in their care.
“On discovery of the
issue, the zoo acted immediately by reporting the issue to the Leicestershire
Police. The relevant zoo authorities were also informed.
“Twycross Zoo has a
zero tolerance towards behaviour that does not meet the highest animal welfare
standards.”
A spokesman from the
CPS said: “CPS East Midlands has examined evidence presented to us by
Leicestershire Police in relation to allegations of mistreatment of elephants
at Twycross Zoo.
“This has been
examined in detail and we have informed Leicestershire Police that there is
insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, in that the
conduct s
Loaning our rhino in order to save it
The State Cabinet
has finally lifted the export ban of Sabah's Sumatran rhino - genetic material
wise and animal wise - and authorised the State Wildlife Department to exhaust
all options available to breed the animal to avert its extinction in Sabah.
That means
Cincinnatti Zoo, engaging top natural breeding experts like Dr Terri Roth, IZW
Germany, Way Kembas National Park Indonesia, artificial insemination and
eventually an attempt at even test tube babies, etc, are now on the table as
Sabah pursues "all options" to leave no stones unturned.
State Culture,
Tourism and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun told a conference,
Tuesday: "We are creating a global concern rather than just a Sabah
concern and I know Cicinnatti Zoo, IZW and the Indonesians are more than happy
to offer their technical knowledge and advice.
"If we don't
want export, we don't want to loan, we just leave in hope some miracles will
happen whether they can mulptiply, of course the risk is that rhinos in Sabah
may go extinct altogether even in our life time," Masidi said, in
explaining the new State policy.
"Having done
all that is reasonable to ensure they multiply on our own soil, I think we have
to make a very difficult choice but for us we think is the right choice - to
send one sperm to be inseminated in healthy nine year old female Suci in Cincinnatti
Zoo.
And if that fails,
probably we want to send Tam (reproductive male at Tain Wildlife Reserve) to
the Cinccinatti zoo on a one year loan," Masidi said.
Globally, it is
believed there are only about 100 such animals left with 10 in Sabah.
In the meantime, Tam
will be kept in Sabah and e
The Secret To Animal Training: Behavior Science, It’s
Real
It’s funny how there
are so many misconceptions, and concerns that stem from those misconceptions,
regarding the use of positive reinforcement and other minimally intrusive
methods in animal training. While
numerous self-proclaimed practitioners and authoritative figures are still at
large in the unregulated animal training industry, the misinformation that they
spread to consumers is easily discredited by over 100 years of scientific
research on the principles of behavior.
Sticky ideas may
sell, however applied behavior analysts and credentialed behavior technologist
in the field of animal behavior change uniformly agree how to best apply the
principles of behavior and utilize the technology of behavior change. After
all, behavior science is a hard science just like biology, chemistry, and
physics, and the laws of behavior are just as true as the law of gravity.
The very serious
thing about this issue, is that acting on misinformation, using aversive
behavior change practices, and implementing training methods inappropriately
directly impacts the behavioral health and welfare of animals, and the ongoing
culture wars in the current state of the industry impacts the wellbeing of the
credentialed professionals who are trying to protect them.
Navy releases 982 turtles for HM the Queen’s birthday
Sattahip’s Sea
Turtle Conservation Center released 982 turtles into the wild in celebration of
HM the Queen for her 81st birthday.
Adm. Thaweewuth
Pongphipat presided over the Aug. 13 event at the Sattahip Naval Base facility
attended by more than 1,000 government workers, celebrities, television actors,
teachers and students.
Air and Coastal
Defense Command Rear Adm. Noppadol Suphakorn, said the Royal Thai Navy wanted
to celebrate Her Majesty, who recently recovered from illness and is beginnin
World-leading penguin experts come to Bristol
Penguin lovers will
be treated to a unique insight into the charismatic birds’ lives as
world-leading experts come to Bristol for the 8th International Penguin
Conference.
It’s the first time
the conference has been held in Europe, with 200 delegates from 30 countries
sharing their latest research and knowledge between 2 and 6 September.
Members of the
public are invited to get involved thanks to two unique events organised by the
conference hosts - the University of Bristol and Bristol Zoo Gardens.
Bristol University
graduate Elizabeth White, one of the directors of the popular Frozen Planet
series, will be part of a free panel discussion entitled ‘Penguins on Film’
being held in the Wills Memorial Building on Wednesday, 4 September.
Footage from the BBC
Natural History Unit, captured by a crew who spent four months with a penguin
colony in the Antarctica, will show how Adelie penguins steal stones from its
neighbours’ nests to elevate and protect their eggs from run-off when the Antarctic
ice melts.
Captivating slow
motion footage will illustrate that penguins can ‘fly’, showing how Emperor
penguins – the largest of all penguins, reaching up to 120cm tall – manage to
get airborne by swimming at speed towards the surface of the water and landing
back on the ice.
For further details
about the ‘Penguins on Film’ event, please see here. It’s free but booking is
required.
There will also be
an opportunity to learn more about the African penguin at Bristol Zoo Gardens
on Saturday, 7 September, with activities for all the family and the chance to
meet scientists and conservationists who work with African penguins in South Africa
and Namibia.
With five penguin
species listed as endangered and a further six as vulnerable, work to ensure
the survival of penguins in the wild has never been more important.
Over 60
presentations at the International Penguin Conference (IPC) will help to share
new research, new conservation techniques and improved husbandry methods to try
and prevent these species from becoming extinct.
Professor Peter
Barham, Professor of Physics at Bristol University who has helped dev
August 2013 issue of ZOO’s PRINT Magazine (Vol. 28,
No. 8)
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>
ZPM Logo
ISSN 0973-2543
(online)
August 2013 | Vol.
28 | No. 8 | Date of Publication 21 August 2013
CONTENTS
Feature articles
Report on National
Zoo Association Trip, 2013
-- Caroline Lees,
Pp. 1-5
A National Zoo
Association for Pakistan
-- S. Walker and U.
Khan, Pp. 6-7
Jamshid Noori,
Veterinarian, Kabul Zoo visits Arignar Anna Zoo, Vandalur for a month of
advanced veterinary study
-- Editor, Pp. 8-11
Elephant care tools
for Mahouts
-- April Yoder,
Heidi S. Riddle, Pp. 12-13
Zoo Outreach
Organisation blitzing Tamil Nadu with Wildlife Conservation Education
Programmes for Kids ! R. Marimuthu Programme Director
-- Sally Walker and
R. Marimuthu, Pp. 14-15
Saving species by
translocation – new IUCN Guidelines
--Pp. 16-17
Technical articles
Observations on
Particolored Flying Squirrel Hylopetes alboniger (Hodgson 1836) in Northeast
India
-- Murali Krishna,
C, Parimal C Ray, Kuladip Sarma and Awadhesh Kumar, Pp. 18-20
Pure Albinism in a
Common Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos): A Case Study
-- Md.M.M.Chowdhury,
M.S.I. Khan, M.S.H. Suvo, M.R. Begum, P. 21
A Reporting on Wire
Tailed Swallows (Hirundo smithii) winter visit to Durgapur Barrage, West
Bengal, India
-- Santanu Gupta,
Aparajita Mukherjee, Debnath Palit, Paromit Chatterjee and Indrani Biswas, Pp.
22-24
Threat to wildlife
from carnivorous pets: A case of cat attacking Indian Pipistrelle Pipistrellus
coromandra (Gray, 1838)
-- Preeti S. Virkar
and Shivam Shrotriya, Pp. 25-27
Traumatic injury and
stress related death of non-human primates in Assam State Zoo
-- Bichitra Gopal
Nath and Apurba Chakraborty, Pp. 28-29
Education Reports
-- Pp. 30-32
Obituary - Dr. B. H.
Patel
-- B.M. Parasharya
& Raju V. Vyas, Pp. 33-36
POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO ZOO DEATH IN CUMBRIA
CONCLUDES
THE police
investigation into the death of a woman at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in
Cumbria has concluded.
Police carried out
the investigation into the death of Sarah McClay on May 24 when Padang, a
Sumatran tiger, grabbed her and dragged her 100 yards into the enclosure
mauling her to death.
The investigation
now concluded and has been passed to the coroner.
Barrow Borough
Council as the licensing authority is carrying out an investigation into events
at the zoo.
A statement from
Barrow Borough Council released yesterday said: “Barrow Borough Council is
currently carrying out an investigation to determine if there have been any
breaches of health and safety legislation in connection with the dea
SeaWorld’s benefits to conservation, research ignored
Shortly after 1:30
p.m. on Feb. 24, 2010, a SeaWorld Orlando trainer lost her life in a tragic
accident involving one of the park’s killer whales. The death of Dawn Brancheau
was an occasion of almost unbearable sadness for those closest to Dawn — her family,
friends and colleagues at SeaWorld. I was honored to know Dawn and count myself
among those SeaWorld team members deeply affected by her loss.
Dawn’s death has
been the subject of thousands of articles, broadcast news stories, blogs,
books, and now a feature film called Blackfish. Many of these accounts trade in
the details of Dawn’s death in graphic detail. They do so not to inform but,
rather, regrettably, because of the desire to sensationalize. The three years
since Dawn’s death have seen the emergence of individuals who have chosen not
to honor her memory, but rather to use the events of Feb. 24, 2010 to advance
their own interests. Some seek commercial gain. Others seek to forward a
political or philosophical agenda. Still others appear to be engaged in
self-promotion.
But anyone
approaching this subject in good faith must recognize a simple fact: Our staff
has interacted with killer whales — for veterinary care, training, shows,
educational presentations, husbandry, exercise, play and enrichment — hundreds
of times a day for nearly 50 years. The tragedy of Dawn’s death cannot and has
not been ignored, but neither should the literally millions of safe
interactions we have had with killer whales over that span of time. Blackfish
focuses on a handful of incidents over our long history at the exclusion of
everything else. Not a single interview with a guest who was inspired and
enriched by their experience with killer whales at SeaWorld. Not one visitor
who left SeaWorld more aware of the need to preserve the world around them. Not
one word about the thousands of ill, orphaned and injured animals rescued by
SeaWorld or the millions of dollars we dedicate to supporting conservation and
research. There is no acknowledgment anywhere in the film of the great things
SeaWorld does every day or the simple fact that our animals a
Monarto Zoo primate keeper loses Federal Court bid to
return to work
A SENIOR Monarto Zoo
zookeeper has failed in her Federal Court bid to return to her job with the
primates following a "high risk" pregnancy.
Cassandra Rowe began
working for the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia in 2009 and was the
Senior Keeper of Primates.
She went on
maternity leave between early 2010 and May 2011.
In her Federal Court
action Ms Rowe claimed that, when she returned to work, she experienced an
increased workload and an unsupportive manager who told her on several
occasions that he was "not a fan of part-time employees".
Ms Rowe claimed she
sent an email to the Human Resources Manager outlining her concerns about the
workplace issues, advised her there were safety concerns and informed the
manager that she was being discriminated against due to her new pregnancy and
part-time status.
She claimed the
Human Resources Manager subsequently told her there were concerns regarding her
"high risk" pregnancy and that she was being sent home immediately
with pay.
Ms Rowe said in
October 2012 she met with a zoo representative who advised her that she would
not be permitted to return to her pre-maternity position as Senior Keeper of
Primates.
She claimed she was
not provided with reasons for the decision and was only told "the other
staff members do not want to work with you or see you".
Ms Rowe told the
court she was advised to attend mediation with all employees in the primate
section and during the sessions she developed "adverse psychological
symptoms".
She claimed she was
t
Hearing Scheduled for Jakarta’s Ragunan Zoo
The Jakarta
administration is preparing to hold a public hearing in October to discuss the
future of Ragunan Zoo with the hope of improving maintenance efforts and to
raise its presence internationally.
The zoo, according
to Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, is the world’s third largest
zoo to be located in a city and is approximately four to five times bigger than
Singapore Zoo.
But poor maintenance
and development efforts over the years have seen the facility deteriorate in
quality.
“As such, on October
3, we will be holding something like a public hearing. We want to know the
direction in which Ragunan’s future development is headed, whether it will be
developed more as a park or whether it should get more animals,” Basuki said at
City Hall on Friday.
“The governor
himself wants Jakarta to have a world-class zoo.”
Basuki said he would
like to see Ragunan either host more wild animals or have no animals at all,
making it similar to the Bogor Botanical Garden.
“But others may not
agree,” he said.
“Not everyone will
have the same idea. That’s why this public hearing is needed, to synchronize
the desires of the private sector and public officials.”
The government is
also considering changing the current zoo entrance fee, which is Rp 4,000 (37
US cents) per person, as it takes into account the varying zoo ticket prices in
other cities.
The Smithsonian
National Zoo in Washington, D.C., charges no entrance fee, allowing visitors to
enjoy the park for free. In Surabaya, however, the entrance fee is Rp 20,000
per person.
Meanwhile, in terms
of financing, the government plans to involve private companies as sponsors as
well as use the annual city budget.
“The governor said
it’s OK to use the annual city budget. Just imagine, if Jakarta’s annual budget
reaches Rp 70 trillion next year, then we do have p
2 white lion cubs born at Subic zoo
With an estimated
total population of only 300 all over the world, two female born white lion cubs was added to
this little number here in our country last May 18. The cubs were from the pair
of white lions that were donated to Zoobic Safari by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai.
White lions are
extremely rare and have not been seen in the wild in more than 15 years. They
are not albino; their white coloration is the result of a recessive gene known
as a color inhibitor specific to their native region.
In line with Zoobic
Safari’s conservation and animal care program, the two white lions will be
exhibited at the zoo to educate further its guests regarding the importance of
conservation as a key to survival of the many species.
Zoobic Safari is a
25 hectare land that showcases different kinds of animals such as reptiles,
birds, and mammals. Located inside Subic Freeport Zone, Zoobic Safari is just
one of the many exciting theme parks of Zoomanity Group which includes:
Zoocobia Fun Zoo in Clark Pampanga, Residence Inn Tagaytay, Paradizoo in
Mendez, Cavite, Z-planet inside Star City, and Zoocolate T
Zoo butterflies released into wild
The Oregon Zoo has
released the last of the 850 of their endangered butterflies along the coast.
Oregon Silverspot
Butterflies have been let go throughout the summer at Bray Point or Rock Creek
to help stabilize declining populations of the threatened species.
The silverspots were
transported to the coast as cocoons to grassy headlands and salt-spray meadows
where they can compl
Welsh Mountain Zoo
staff win £1m on EuroMillions
A syndicate of 16
zoo workers has gone wild after a £1m win on the EuroMillions millionaire
raffle.
The syndicate at the
Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay in Conwy county will receive £62,500 each.
Animal collection
manager Peter Litherland said he hoped to go to Australia to see animals in the
wild that he usually saw in the zoo.
Others in the
syndicate, made up of zoo keepers, office staff and gardeners, plan to buy new
homes and cars.
The group only
realised they had won last Friday's raffle when the syndicate leader went to
buy the following week's tickets online.
Some of the
syndicate members even ran around to my house in their slippers they were so
excited”
Mr Litherland, 50,
said they were all still "absolutely stunned".
"We cannot
believe that something like this could happen to us," he said.
"I just hadn't
even bothered to check the ticket as we never believed we would win. It was
only when I went to buy our next tickets online that I realised we had won.
"I turned my
laptop to my girlfriend who was sat next to me because I just could not believe
it.
"I kept saying
'is this right, is this right?'. As the news started to sink in I called around
the other syndicate mem
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