Police Unearth Evidence of Illegal Animal Transfers at
‘Zoo of Death’
Police in Surabaya
said on Sunday they had found sufficient evidence to indicate that violations
had occurred during the transfer of animals from Surabaya Zoo, hundreds of
animals have died in unnatural and often harrowing conditions, amid increasing
reports of mistreatment and mismanagement.
“We have found
sufficient evidence to raise the status to a full investigation,” Adj. Sr.
Comr. Farman, the Surabaya Police’s chief of detectives, told the Jakarta Globe
on Sunday.
Farman said it
appeared that the zoo, under the then-management of a caretaker team led by
Tony Sumampau, the director of Taman Safari Indonesia, had violated the 1990
Natural Resources Conservation Law, which prohibits the trade in certain
endangered species.
The law also
stipulates that wildlife can only be traded with wildlife and not with other
items.
Farman said police
had found evidence that some animals from Surabaya Zoo were traded by officials
for motor vehicles.
He said police had
also obtained documents showing some animals had been sold for cash.
Another document
showed Surabaya Zoo had agreed to transfer 34 animals to Pematang Siantar Zoo
in North Sumatra in exchange for 200 stuffed animals.
Tony denied the
allegation that the trades carried out under his management were illegal,
saying they were made in the best interests of the animals, given that one of
the main problems experts had long identified at the zoo was its inability to
properly care for all of its animals.
He added that
transfers out of Surabaya were based on recommendations from an independent
team of experts, set up by the Forestry Ministry, to evaluate the health of the
animals and the management system in place at the zoo.
“The team made many
recommendations, including one that suggested releasing or trading species if
their numbers were too high,” Tony said.
“If anything, I
regret that the recommendation is no longer being carried out by the current
management.”
Surabaya Zoo has in
recent years come under inte
Former Zoo Chief Denies Animal Transfers Were Illegal
An official
previously in charge of the management of Surabaya Zoo has acknowledged that
non-conservation institutions were among those that received animals as part of
a program to ease overcrowding at the facility, but denied that the process
violated wildlife trade rules.
Tony Sumampau, the
director of Taman Safari Indonesia and formerly the head of a caretaker team
overseeing Surabaya Zoo, said on Tuesday that the institutions included a naval
base in Surabaya, the tourism office in the town of Malang, and the East Java Police
headquarters.
Tony said the
transfer of the animals, mostly deer, was legal because it was approved by the
Forestry Ministry, despite the recipient institutions not having any wildlife
conservation function.
“As long as the
[non-conservation institutions] have the proper license to own the animals,
then it’s not a problem,” he said.
During Tony’s stint
overseeing the zoo from August 2010 until July 2013, 397 animals were
transferred to conservation institutions such as Pematang Siantar Zoo in North
Sumatra; the Taman Safari Indonesia II park in Prigen, East Java; Lembah Hijau
Animal Park in Bandarlampung; and a zoo in Banyuwangi, East Java.
“All of those
transfers were conducted to minimize the population at Surabaya Zoo,” Tony
said.
“This policy was
based on evaluations and recommendations from an independent team formed by the
ministry.”
He denied
allegations that the transfers were a way for officials involved in the zoo’s
management to trade the animals for money, cars or other items, and insisted
the transfers were conducted solely for the purpose of keeping the zoo’s animal
population to a manageable size.
Prior to Tony’s team
taking over the management of the zoo, up to 500 animals were dying each year
from 2006 because of overcrowding, lack of proper nutrition, disease and other
problems.
On Sunday, police in
Surabaya said they had found sufficient evidence to indicate that some of the
animal transfers under Tony’s watch violated the 1990 Natural Resources
Conservation Law, which prohibits the trade of certain species.
The law also
stipulates that wildlife can only be traded with wildlife and not with other
items.
“There is a Toyota
Innova that was given by the Lembah Hijau Animal Park,” Tony confirmed.
“They wanted to help
Surabaya Zoo because the z
‘Surabaya Zoo Lion’s Death Not Malicious’
Local police have
decided to end their investigation into the Jan. 7 death of a male lion at the
Surabaya Zoo after concluding that the animal’s death had not been caused by
zoo staff.
“The lion died
because it was strangled by the sling used to close the pen. It was able to
reach out to the sling himself,” said Sr. Comr. Farman, chief of Surabaya
Police’s detective unit.
He added that police
had drawn the conclusion after investigating the location of his death and
taking into account expert opinions.
Farman said the
lion, named Michael, may have learnt to reach the steel cables that secured the
cage as his keepers would usually feed him from above.
Rahmat Suharta, a
veterinarian at the zoo, meanwhile said the lion was still very aggressive,
especially at night — the time of his death — which was why zoo officials had
not placed him in a display cage.
The police’s
conclusion on the matter is similar to an analysis by the Natural Resources
Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
During a hearing
with the Surabaya legislature on Jan. 13, Widodo, head of the East Java BKSDA’s
Area 3, said it was the lion’s aggressive nature that led to its death.
“Michael was still
17 months old, at this age, lions are very aggressive. Additionally, Michael’s
pen is located near that of a female lion,” Widodo said.
Farman said despite
having closed the investigation into the lion’s death, police would continue
investigating other animal deaths at the Surabaya Zoo.
With the young
lion’s death, there are now only four African lions left at the zoo. The lion
had been rescued by the East Java BKSDA before it was sent to
Danish Zoo Kills Giraffe To Prevent Inbreeding
Saying it needed to
prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed a 2-year-old giraffe and fed its
remains to lions as visitors watched, ignoring a petition signed by thousands
and offers from other zoos and a private individual to save the animal.
Marius, a healthy
male, was put down Sunday using a bolt pistol, said zoo spokesman Tobias
Stenbaek Bro. Visitors, including children, were invited to watch while the
giraffe was then skinned and fed to the lions.
Marius' plight
triggered a wave of online protests and renewed debate about the conditions of
zoo animals. Before the giraffe was killed, an online petition to save it had
received more than 20,000 signatures.
But the public
feeding of Marius' remains to the lions was popular at Copenhagen Zoo. Stenbaek
Bro said it allowed parents to decide whether their children should watch what
the zoo regards as an important display of scientific knowledge about animals.
"I'm actually
proud because I think we have given children a huge understanding of the
anatomy of a giraffe that they wouldn't have had from watching a giraffe in a
photo," Stenbaek Bro said in a telephone interview with The Associated
Press.
He said the zoo,
which now has seven giraffes left, followed the recommendation of the European
Association of Zoos and Aquaria to put down Marius by because there already
were a lot of giraffes with similar genes in the organization's breeding
program.
The Amsterdam-based
EAZA has 347 members, including many large zoos in European capitals, and works
to conserve global biodi
DALTON ZOO OWNER DEFENDS DANISH ZOO’S DECISION TO KILL
GIRAFFE
HE owner of South
Lakes Wild Animal Park in Dalton has defended a Danish zoo’s decision to kill a
giraffe in a bid to prevent inbreeding.
The story of Marius
the giraffe shocked the world when, on Sunday, Copenhagan Zoo announced it had
killed the animal despite international outcry.
The male giraffe was
killed using a bolt pistol and there was further outrage when it was revealed
young children and families had witnessed its autopsy and the corpse being fed
to the lions.
The zoo defended its
decision and said the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria had recommended
Marius be put down.
David Gill backed
the Danish zoo through a post on his park’s Facebook page.
Mr Gill wrote:
“Copenhagen Zoo did not have space for the giraffe as it was maturing and would
have suffered from stress when being ejected from the group, its genetics were
very well represented in the population making it an animal that would not be
allowed to breed in the future.
“The decision to
euthanase would have been taken via the zoo’s ethics committee, veterinary
advice and consultation with the animal staff. Whilst it is always a last
resort, euthanasia is a better option than being placed in a horrible zoo with
low life quality and the danger of over represented genetics getting back into
the very healthy and strong managed population for the benefit of species.”
Mr Gill also pointed
out that Marius had been on the EAZA programme for over a year, with other
members invited to take him.
“Despite all the
media stories and
Zoo that’s not afraid to stick its neck out
THERE was much
outrage across the world this week after a Danish zoo shot one of its giraffes
dead.
As a crowd-puller
for the zoo, even I could appreciate, it probably wasn’t going to be a winner.
They went one better
than that at Copenhagen Zoo, however, by then publicly skinning the creature
(after it was dead), chopping up the body parts and feeding them to the lions.
I’m not sure who’s
running the public relations department at Copenhagen Zoo, but they may want to
give themselves a shake. What’s their next big PR idea, a log flume at
Auschwitz?
The giraffe had to
be put down, the zoo tells us, because it had the wrong genes.
Castration was an
option (for the giraffe, not the PR department – though it’s a thought) but was
considered ‘cruel’.
Releasing the animal
into the wild was, they thought, ‘unlikely’ to be successful.
A public
evisceration before being eaten by lions!! That’s a funny idea of success if
you ask me … and I’m sure many giraffes would share my viewpoint.
Our relationship
with animals is a peculiar one.
I’ll wager a warthog
would not have garnered as much sympathy. There aren’t that many doe-eyed
warthogs about.
My wife is forever
threatening to give away the rabbit we keep in a hutch in the back garden (note
– going from doe-eyed warthogs to my wife in two sentences is not the best
idea, given it’s Valentine’s Day, but stay with me).
Our two boys lost
interest in looking after the rabbit about, ooh, two hours after we got him.
When they realised
it couldn’t fetch balls or roll over on command, they moved on.
Yet whenever their
Granddad threaten
Why It Makes Sense to Kill Baby Giraffes (Sorry,
Internet)
A second Danish zoo
has announced that it might kill a male giraffe. The news comes just days after
the internet exploded with outrage when Marius the 18-month old giraffe was
dispatched with a bolt gun and dissected in front of an audience that included
children, before being fed to the lions at the Copenhagen Zoo. In a dark twist,
the next potential euthanasia candidate, at the Jyllands Park zoo, is also
named Marius.
The media circus
began with protestors outside the Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday and a petition
signed by 27,000 people to rehouse Marius in one of several zoos that had
already indicated that their doors were open.
Then came the death
threats to Bengt Holst, the zoo's director of research and conservation. And
the emotional opinion pieces.
As this debate
rages, it's crucial to remember that Marius was not just an exotic attraction:
he was part of a larger conservation program that breeds animals with the
specific goal of maintaining the diversity of each species' gene pool.
Giraffe controversy: To kill or not to kill? Former
S'pore Zoo chief Fanny Lai weighs in
My husband is a
Dane, so every year we will spend our summer near Copenhagen.
One of the
highlights of these trips has always been to visit friends in Copenhagen Zoo,
both the human and non-human kind. It is one of the oldest and most charming
zoos in Europe with 155 years of history, and its S$48 million Elephant House,
designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster, is probably the best
captive elephant display in the world. It radiates a great balance between
research, education, animal welfare and customer service.
Therefore, we were
surprised to read the news on Sunday that the zoo had made a public spectacle
of euthanising an 18-month old male giraffe named Marius in front of visitors
and then feeding the remains to its lions. It provoked an instant global debate
on the ethical practice of zoos and put the spotlight on a practice that is
well hidden from the public’s view by most of the zoos.
It is a fact that
all zoos have to deal with the issues of surplus animals. The “good” zoos have
a prudent Animal Collection Plan taking into consideration space constrain,
genetic composition, inbreeding, animal exchange, contraception and castration
with the purposes of research, conservation and education in mind.
However, most zoos
prefer not to conduct invasive birth control procedure, as mating and breeding
are natural behaviours and an enrichment activity for captive animals.
For giraffes,
contraception and castration both require sedation that is highly risky as they
may injure their necks when they fall af
How to solve a problem like Marius?
Zoos have had a
pretty bad press last week. Copenhagen Zoo's killing of Marius, a healthy baby
giraffe, and feeding him to lions as an educational exercise, was probably not
the best way to advertise how well it was doing at breeding endangered
giraffes.
And now a second
giraffe (also called Marius) may be culled in Denmark next week. If you are a
giraffe in Denmark right now, you might be checking to see if you're called
Marius.
The first Marius
should have been a huge success story for the modern zoo system, where
accredited members agree to follow collective guidelines and husbandry
techniques to promote the breeding of selected rare species. In Europe, this is
co-ordinated by Eaza, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria.
It's an enormous
operation involving thousands of animals across 347 zoos, mostly in Europe. And
because of extremely stringent entry requirements — mere membership of your
national zoo governing body, for instance, does not automatically qualify you
to join — it is safe to say that these are 347 of the best zoos in Europe.
By pooling resources
and expertise, they achieve far more than individual members, or any zoo
outside their membership, can achieve on its own. In terms of the human race
trying to do the right thing by animals, Eaza is one of the best forums on the
planet.
Thirty-eight zoos
co-operate to breed reticulated giraffes, such as Marius I. Producing a surplus
of such rare animals is a huge achievement.
There are 240 left
in the wild, plus 126 in European zoos. The captive population is rising, while
those in the wild decline.
I watched Bengt
Holst, scientific director at Copenhagen Zoo, defend his actions on Channel 4
News, and agreed with him right up to where he said: "And so we decided to
euthanise the giraffe."
Inside the breeding
programme, no space was available. Outside the programme, he felt, he couldn't
guarantee welfare. But if, for instance,
The Death of Marius: A Step By Step Analysis
A lot of internet
outrage has been directed at the Copenhagen Zoo in the past week after they
euthanized a young giraffe because his
genes were too common. From what I’ve seen, there are a lot of misconceptions
about what happened, and a lot of hyperbolic statements are being thrown around
about the event. The different decisions made by the zoo are being mushed
together to tell one nightmarish tale, with adjectives like “barbaric” and “cabalistic” used to describe
the so-called “entertainment.”
But did the zoo
really just hack a baby giraffe to bits to amuse its (clearly deranged)
visitors? Let’s start from the end and work our way back to the beginning of
the story.
The Giraffe Meat Was
Fed To The Lions
Many people are
upset that the remains were fed to the lions. But let’s be clear on one thing:
lions are carnivores. That means that every meal they eat requires the death of
another animal. There are no alternatives (not that are healthy for the lions, anyway).
They cannot thrive on a vegetarian diet. Period. If it wasn’t giraffe meat, it
would have been cow, pig, or sheep meat. So, if a zoo has 250 or so pounds of
healthy, fresh meat—from an animal that lions eat in the wild, no less—what
else should they have done with it? Let it spoil, throw it away? Why not let
the animal’s death be beneficial to other animals at the zoo? It’s important to
note that Marius was more than just food for the lions. As a new food type with
novel sights, smells and textures, he served as enrichment. Though many have
accused the zoo of providing visitors with barbaric entertainment, in reality,
the entertainment was for the lions, enhancing their quality of life in
captivity. Any other use of the meat would have been wasteful and a disservice
to both the giraffe that was sacrificed and the other animals at the zoo.
Marius Was
Necropsied In Front Of Guests
Perhaps the most
venom has been directed at the zoo’s choice to necropsy Marius in front of
paying visitors. Denise Cummins accused the zoo of “butchering an animal for
entertainment” in Psychology Today, calling the event “nothing more than a
canned hunt-blood sport.” In particular, many, like Jane Velez-Mitchell from
HLN, have zeroed in on how the necropsy was performed “in front of an audience
of children.” “That sends a horrible message to kids that violence toward
animals is OK,” she stated.
First off, the
giraffe was not “butchered” in public. The necropsy was performed behind the
scenes, so it was far from a spectacle. Guests were notified of the event, and
invited to witness it if they wished—which many did, from the crowd portrayed
in the photos that have been circling. No one of any age was forced to see the
dead a
So What Do You Think?
Take the Survey
Gove urged to strip 'creationist' zoo of educational
award
TV academic Alice
Roberts and the British Humanist Association have written to Michael Gove
raising concerns that a creationist zoo has been handed an award recognising
the quality of its educational provision.
The Noah’s Ark Zoo
Farm in north Somerset was re-awarded a “quality badge” by charity the Council
for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC), which accredits venues that hold
educational school visits.
But the move has
been heavily criticised by Professor Roberts, president of the Association of
Science Education, and the BHA, both of which have urged the education
secretary to intervene and withdraw the award.
In their letter to
Mr Gove, Professor Roberts and the BHA have panned the awarding of the quality
badge to a “pseudoscientific organisation”, claiming it contravenes Department
for Education guidance.
“Contrary to what
the CLOtC states, it is clearly not the case that this organisation offers good
quality learning outside the classroom; indeed, the zoo’s approach runs
contrary to Government policy on the teaching of creationism,” the letter
states.
“This reply also
fundamentally misses the distinction between awarding a religious organisation
and recognising a pseudoscientific organisation.”
Speaking to TES
before the zoo was accredited, Professor Roberts said she had visited the venue
and felt uncomfortable with schools taking trips there.
“My beef wasn’t that
it was a creationist zoo and should be shut down, they’re allowed to express
their own beliefs. But I don’t think they should be allowed to indoctrinate
children,” she said.
“A lot of Bristol
schools go there on school trips, if it’s parents taking their own children
there then fine, but I don’t agree with school going on trips there.”
As the TES reported
last month, Prof Roberts is calling for private schools to be prevented from
teaching creationism in science, saying that it amounts to “indoctrination”.
According to the
zoo’s website, it believes in “recolonisation theory”, which brings together
both creationism and evolution, where life evolved thanks to a creator and over
a much shorter period of time.
In a statement, the
zoo dismissed the concerns, saying religious education and discussion of
Christian views or creation were “not part of our educational package for
schools unless specifically requested by teachers and parents”.
“There appears to be
some deliberate misrepresentation of Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm by Prof. Alice Roberts
and the BHA, implying the zoo teaches creationism and pseudo-science to school
children as part of their organised visit. This is simply not the case,” the
statem
What 'Blackfish' left on the cutting room floor
There is one
essential truth emphasized by every former killer whale trainer who appeared in
"Blackfish," a film featured on CNN and recently nominated by the
British Academy Film Awards for best documentary:
They all speak
movingly about how they respect and love the animals with which they shared
their days and had a deep, special bond with them -- as do all professionals
who work for zoological parks and aquariums.
But
"Blackfish" ignores the essence of parks and aquariums -- their
dedication to wildlife research, conservation, education and rescue of stranded
marine mammals.
And, most
importantly, it ignores their commitment to the animals' welfare, providing
them with loving, state-of-the art care based on the latest advances in science
and insights of experience.
Marine parks help
wildlife, inspire, educate
Conservation
scientists and wildlife researchers need marine parks and aquariums to learn
how to better save animals in the wild. There's not a single mention of this in
"Blackfish."
Today's pressing
conservation and scientific questions cannot be answered by studying only
marine mammals in the wild. Much research depends on detailed case histories or
the control of experimental variables.
~°v°~
~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~
Hello ZooLex Friend,
We have worked for
your enjoyment!
~°v°~
NEW EXHIBIT
PRESENTATION
Amphibian Ark at
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park holds bio-secure
facilities for
breeding endangered amphibians. It also serves public
education, research
and the training of herpetologists for conservation.
~°v°~
SPANISH TRANSLATION
Thanks to Frank
Gómez (traductor) and Eduardo Díaz (editor) we are able
to offer the Spanish
translation of a previously published presentation:
Ciudad Antigua.
Íbises, Parque zoológico Amersfoort
~°v°~
We keep working on
ZooLex ...
The ZooLex Zoo
Design Organization is a non-profit organization
registered in
Austria (ZVR-Zahl 933849053). ZooLex runs a professional
zoo design website
and distributes this newsletter. More information and
>
Zoo licence now
needed at Normanby Hall - after 39 years!
NORTH Lincolnshire
Council has been forced to seek a zoo licence from itself to continue keeping a
deer herd at Normanby Hall Country Park.
The four-year
licence, to be issued under a 33-year-old law, will cost taxpayers £1,100.
For the past 39
years the deer park, above, has been exempted from having to seek zoo status.
But a review of the size has revealed the exemption should never have been
granted by the former Scunthorpe Borough Council.
A North Lincolnshire
Council spokeswoman said: “We look at zoos and exempt premises on an annual
Pittsburgh zoo settles federal investigation of
mauling death by African painted dogs
The Pittsburgh Zoo
& PPG Aquarium has agreed to pay $4,550 to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture as part of a settlement, ending the agency's review of the death in
2012 of a toddler who was fatally mauled after he fell into a wild dog exhibit,
zoo officials announced Thursday.
The settlement, and
waiver of the zoo's right to a hearing, closes the USDA's investigation of the
death at the African painted dog exhibit. But, the zoo said in a news release,
it is not an admission of liability.
"It is
important that we are able to take this step to move forward in order for
everyone to heal," zoo president and CEO Barbara Baker said in a
statement. "Safety is always a top priority. All of our exhibits meet the
highest USDA and [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] standards and we will
continue to work with both agencies to ensure those standards are met and
exceeded."
Members of the zoo's
board of directors donated their own money for the settlement, according to the
release.
"We want to
demonstrate our full support of the zoo, Dr. Baker, and zoo staff," board
chairman Rick Kalson said in the zoo's statement.
Maddox Derkosh, 2,
of Whitehall was killed Nov. 4, 2012, after he fell over the railing at the
exhibit and was mauled. His mother, Elizabeth Derkosh, had been holding him,
and witnesses said the little boy wriggled out of her arms.
Investigations of
the accident by the Allegheny County district attorney's office and the zoo's
own internal review did not find any wrongdoing by the zoo, Ms. Baker said last
year.
District Attorney
Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said in October 2013 that he would look into information
that the safety committee at the zoo reported co
Observe to Learn: Exploring Animal Behavior
An App that every
ZooKeeper Needs
Polar bear brothers in China zoo want mates
A polar-themed park
in China has issued a global "marriage-seeking" bid for two polar
bears in captivity.
The Harbin Polarland
in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, announced the
bid at a polar animal show on Valentine's Day on Friday.
Due to the lack of
female polar bears in China, both bears remain without mates despite their
relatively advanced ages.
The polar bears,
though not brothers by blood, are named Tangji and Kede. When combined, their
names read as the Chinese translation of "Don Quixote," the gentleman
protagonist of the famous Spanish novel.
Their keeper said
polar bears reach sexual maturity at the age of 5. However, the older bear is
10 years old, and the younger one is 9, making both "elder
bachelors."
The bear brothers
were wild bears imported from Russia in 2006.
There are few
polar-themed parks in China, a
These Birds Are Dying So Rich, Powerful Men Can
Improve Their Sex Lives
According to myth,
though not supported by any scientific studies, the meat of houbara bustards
has aphrodisiac qualities.
ery year beginning
in November, the tawny, mottled birds known as houbara bustards make their
annual migration southwest from their breeding grounds in Kazakhstan, China,
and Mongolia. Most end up in the deserts of Pakistan.
Another migration,
by some of the richest and most powerful men in the world, soon follows them
there, armed with almost every kind of hunting weapon imaginable.
Well, no drones, so
far. But for Pakistani environmentalists, this uncontrolled slaughter by
foreign powers is almost as enraging. The hunters often deploy a trained falcon
to swoop in on a houbara and slam it to the ground, the victim reduced to a
violent flapping of wings and feathers torn loose from its flesh. (They
preserve the memory in videos like this.) They also use shotguns on houbaras
and target Siberian cranes and almost any other living thing foolish enough to
come in range. A 2011 estimate—a guesstimate, really—put Asia’s houbara
population at no more than 55,000 birds and sharply declining.
The houbaras, as
well as the cranes, are nominally protected under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, and the hunters all come from
countries that are signatories to that convention. Worse, many of them are
heads of state or national leaders of those countries—among them the United
Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. This year, UAE
actually sent a large delegation to slaughter bustards in Pakistan while it was
simultaneously signing a treaty to protect them in Kazahkstan. (The apparent ai
The plight of neglected animals at Casablanca’s Ain
Sbaa Zoo
That humans suffer
the worst deplorable situations imaginable on a daily basis is something that
we might have grown accustomed to in Morocco. To see voiceless animals caged
for life, deprived of food, and resigned to their plight, is heartbreaking and
calls for alarm.
The Zoo of Ain
Sebaa, located in Casablanca, the fledgling economic hub of Morocco, was an
institution that was once the pride jewel of every Moroccan. The sad reality is
that the Zoo has fallen on a downward hard times due to neglect and
mismanagement for years, and has become more of a moral pitiful slow death of
the animals living there under some of the most unsanitary despicable
conditions those animals are subjected to everyday.
The zoo was a
curious attraction to countless people from different ages and different parts
of Morocco for decades. Now it is but a dilapidated long forgotten facility
forsaken by time and misery and the misfortune of the resilient animals housed
there.
The animals continue
to make do with the meager rations they receive every now and then from the
keepers. Lodged in cages with leaky roofs and clogged drains, many of these
animals have surrendered to the benevolence of caring banana throwers here and
there, pieces of meat here and there, and regular meals come most irregularly
to them.
No one knows for
sure how this fall from grace came about to afflict Ain Sbaa zoo, but we know
for sure that it needs some urgent attention before animals start dying from
preventable diseases and malnutrition.
Memories of kids
begging their parents for weeks to get them to the zoo on the weekend were now
just memories that haunt the conscience of those who still care. The sounds of
their laughter as they were first introduced to a real monkey still resonate in
my ears and in my hollow heart.
Visits to the Zoo
taught kids to appreciate other forms of life and instill basic values such as
respect for all creatures large and small. Respect for the animals that were
not native to Morocco and were brought in as guests. They end up living in such
unhospitable cages day in and day out.
The Zoo today is
nothing but a stinky repulsive home to the very animals that were uprooted from
their natural habitat only to end up bleeding life because they were uncared
for, neglected, and deprived of the most basic needs. Perhaps the first feeling
that hits you once you set foot on its ground is that of despair for the
animals.
During the last
visits that we made to the Zoo, we couldn’t see one single guard in charge of
making rounds to monitor the tours. Previously, three thieves climbed the walls
of the Zoo in their attempt to steal the Zoo’s only ostrich. Had there been a
Would a better zoo design have saved Marius the
giraffe?
Changing attitudes
toward animals have led zoo architects to rethink their designs. How do Israeli
designers meet the needs of animals and visitors alike?
Many people were
horrified by the news earlier this month that a young giraffe was put to death
at a Denmark zoo to avoid undesirable mating. The giraffe’s killing by his
handlers, and his flesh being fed to lions, aroused a public debate over the
living conditions and treatment of zoo animals. In recent years, zoo planners
have taken into account changing attitudes toward animals and the need to
create comfortable environments for the animals while still maintaining
visibility for human visitors.
“The medium is the
message,” says Dr. Amalia Terkel as she drives carefully down the paths of the
savannah surrounding the zoo at the Ramat Gan Safari. “Here you have a park and
around it a city that’s all concrete. In the savannah the animals are free, and
we’re the ones who are stuck inside a cage of metal and glass.”
An ostrich rapidly
and confidently striding toward us appears to bolster Terkel’s statement when
it begins pecking on the front windshield. “This unmediated access is the high
point of the visit for children – it’s a little fear, a little excitement,” says
Terkel, an experienced zoologist who has been with the Safari since its
inception. The “medium” at the Safari, as at other zoos, is composed of fences,
walls, trees, rocks, pits and pools – and like the message it seeks to convey,
no part of it is genuinely natural, or random.
Around the world,
zoos are a favorite design subject for architects, including the firm of Norman
Foster, designer of the elephant display at the Copenhagen Zoo that is covered
with broad glass domes reminiscent of those at the British Museum, which he also
designed. A famous older structure is the penguin pool at the London Zoo,
designed in the late 1930s by Berthold Lubetkin, a founder of British
modernism.
The idea for the
local safari was first proposed in the late 1960s and was built on the site of
what was once a small petting zoo in the Ramat Gan National Park. The park
director and eventual Safari founder, Zvi Kirmayer, convinced the mayor at the
time, Avraham Krinitzi, to allocate 1,000 dunams of the park to build an open
zoo.
The first shipment
from Africa came in 1968, and within four years, elephants, giraffes,
ostriches, lions, Thompson’s gazelles, Grant’s gazelles and various species of
antelopes were being housed in a cantina in Eilat, before they were brought to
the park, which was inaugurated in 1974. The zoo inside was built a decade
later, when the old zoo in Tel Aviv was slated to be closed down.
The planning ideas
that shaped the Safari derived from the relatively recent trend of viewing zoos
as sites whose purpose is to educate visitors as well as entertain them. This
vi
Celebrating Plants
and the Planet:
I prefer questions
to statements. They can initiate such
interesting conversations. February’s news links at
www.zooplantman.com (NEWS/Botanical News)
ask unexpected questions:
· Were the mighty mammoths hunted to
extinction, or did they follow the disappearance of wildflowers? An odd
question, true, but researchers think it is worth asking.
· Would humans ever have evolved had
grasses not developed to create the savannas?
Maybe the fetish we have for lawns actually makes evolutionary sense.
· Are bromeliads, those epiphyte hosts to
tree frogs, protecting tropical trees from predators?
· Can plants learn tricks? A research
team has taught them one.
· Why does Australia appear to have so
many plants and animals that use deception? Is it something about biodiversity
or something about the Australian naturalists who focus on it?
Have fun exploring
the evolutionary connections between… well, everything
Please share these
stories with associates, staff, docents and – most importantly – visitors!
Follow on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/PlantWorldNews – a new story every day as well as hundreds
of stories from the past few years.
Rob
The February 2014
issue of ZOO’s PRINT Magazine (Vol. 29, No. 2) is online at <
www.zoosprint.org> in a format that
permits you to turn pages like a regular magazine.
ISSN 0973-2543
(online)
February 2014 | Vol.
29 | No. 2 | Date of Publication 21 February 2014
CONTENTS
Feature articles
Chiroptera Research
Techniques and Conservation in Bangladesh - Report
-- Nurul Islam, Pp.
1-6
Professional
Zookeeping, Evolution of Zoos, and Workplace Safety and Emergency: Parts 1-3 of
ZOOKEEPING: An Introduction to the Science and Technology, Mark Irwin, John
Stoner and Aaron M. Cobaugh, Editors & Summary by S. Walker
Pp. 7-9
Conservation
Breeding Specialist Group Divests 70% of Fossil Fuel Exposure, from the CBSG
Office
P. 10
Involving community,
stakeholders and journalists for the conservation of Freshwater Biodiversity of
Western Ghats
-- B.A. Daniel, Pp.
11-16
Can Indian ZOOS
become a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) destination? - A Review
-- Bipul
Chakrabarty, Pp. 17-20
Indonesian Mahout
Workshop - Forum Komunikasi Mahout Sumatera, Indonesia
-- Sri Nazaruddin
and Heidi S. Riddle, Pp. 21-22
Technical articles
Cryptorchidism in a
male Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park
-- Pankaj Kumar and
A.K. Jha, Pp. 23-24
National Seminar on
"Current Trends in Lakes and Coastal Environments" (LACOSTE 2014) -
Organized by Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University 28th and 29th
March 2014
P. 24
Mass congregation
behavior of Milkweed (Danainae) butterflies in Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra
-- Milind D. Patil,
Pp. 25-26
Passiflora alata
Curtis (Passifloraceae), an edible fruit-yielding plant species - A new record
for India
-- V.S.
Ramachandran, C. Udhayavani and P. Lakshminarasimhan, P. 27
Education Reports
ZOO observes Golden
Jubilee of Animal Welfare Fortnightly with Coimbatore schools and their
students
-- R. Marimuthu, Pp.
28-30
Zoo Outreach
Organization and VOC Park Mini Zoo commemorates World Wetlands Day
-- R. Marimuthu and
K. Asokan, Pp. 31-32
Noah's Ark Zoo Farm: Buta the elephant arrives at her
new home
NOAH'S Ark Zoo Farm
in Wraxall welcomed a new arrival at its Elephant Eden site on Thursday. Buta,
a female African elephant, became the first to move into the largest
purpose-built elephant habitat in northern Europe where the zoo hopes to
establish a herd.
Buta was transported
to the new 20-acre area from Knowsley Safari after four months of special
training.
Buta has arrived
first, to be followed shortly by Nissim, a 19-year-old bull from the same herd
at Knowsley Safari, who will join her again at the visitor attraction.
Zoo supporter Ann
Widdecombe, above, is set to officially welcome the new elephant on Friday.
Noah's Ark has been
working with Knowsley Safari, which is based in Merseyside, for nine months to
arrange the move.
Elephants Buta and
Nissim will be joined by others as the Elephant Eden project develops to form a
stable herd.
Buta and Nissim will
remain at Noah's Ark for two years while Knowsley develops a brand new elephant
barn, helping Noah's Ark begin its elephant program.
The 120-acre zoo has
appointed a new team of experienced elephant keepers and support staff to run
the new facility.
The project has been
led by Noah's Ark Zoo Farm's director Anthony Bush at a cost of £2 million,
assisted by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs grant funding.
Mr Bush said:
"Eleph
An Open Letter on Cetaceans in Our Care
We would like to
take this opportunity to provide facts in the light of the continued
circulation of inaccurate messages that have been shared by some who may be
misinformed about our animals and our conservation efforts.
Vancouver Aquarium
is a non-profit society—proceeds directly support our conservation, research
and education programs. Our team of 1,500 staff and volunteers provide
exceptional care to our animals and are deeply committed to ocean conservation.
One of the most impactful ways we do this is by raising awareness and through
public engagement.
We are a leader in
managing our cetacean populations, which includes our belugas and Pacific
white-sided dolphins. On September 16, 1996, Vancouver Aquarium took a
leadership role and became the first (and only) aquarium in the world to make a
commitment to no longer capture cetaceans (whales and dolphins) from the wild
for display and to only care for:
Cetaceans that were
captured before 1996
Cetaceans that were
already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996
Cetaceans that were
born in a zoo or aquarium
Cetaceans that were
rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed non-releasable by the
appropriate government authorities
We do not and will
not capture wild cetaceans for display. The last dolphin collected for the
Aquarium was in 1971 and the last cetacean of any kind was collected in 1990
when our beluga whale, Aurora, joined us. Our responsible breeding program,
managed in partnership with accredited institutions in North America, enables
us to maintain a population of marine mammals at the
China’s panda pair to leave for Belgium
A pair of giant
pandas are leaving for Belgium on Saturday, on lease from a breeding center in
Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Xing Hui, the male
and Hao Hao, the female, are both 4 years old and are bound for Belgium's Pairi
Daiza zoo for the next 15 years, as announced during Belgian Prime Minister
Elio Di Rupo's September visit to China.
China Conservation
and Research Center for Giant Pandas, the world's largest research base for the
species, confirmed on Thursday that the pandas were "in a good condition
and ready for the trip."
"It's the first
time that we have sent animals abroad for so long [15 years], and we hope they
adapt to life in Belgium as soon as possible," Zhang Hemin, head of the
center, said.
The center receives
panda lease applications from around the world. Usually, the lease term is 10
years.
The pair are
expected to arrive in Brussels on Sunday. Two
Lemur conservation crisis
NIU anthropologist
Mitch Irwin is among experts making a case
in journal Science
for ‘world’s most threatened mammal group’
A group of the
world’s top lemur conservationists and researchers, including NIU anthropology
professor Mitch Irwin, has published a “Policy Forum” article in the Feb. 21
issue of Science, urging emergency action to prevent extinctions of these
unique primate species, found naturally only in Madagascar.
The 19 article
authors note that the country’s five endemic lemur families make up “the most
threatened mammal group on Earth.” The situation has worsened following a 2009
political crisis that saw the ouster of the Malagasy president.
Led by Christoph
Schwitzer, head of research at Bristol Zoo Gardens in the U.K., the researchers
advocate for adoption of an emergency conservation action plan, detailed in a
document published Aug. 1, 2013, on the website of the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN). Schwitzer serves as vice-chair for Madagascar of the IUCN SSC
Primate Specialist Group.
Irwin had a hand in
writing both the Policy Forum article and the IUCN document.
“With the Science
publication, we want to draw people’s attention to the urgency of the plan and
its funding goals,” Irwin says. “Since the 2009 political crisi
Cambodia-Laos dam threatens existence of rare dolphin
The last population
of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong could be driven to extinction by a planned
hydropower dam on the Laos-Cambodia border, conservationists said yesterday.
The building work
and the Don Sahong dam itself would change the water quality and could kill off
the population of just 85 of the aquatic mammals remaining in the Mekong, World
Wide Fund for Nature said.
“Plans to construct
the Don Sahong dam in a channel immediately upstream from these dolphins will
likely hasten their disappearance from the Mekong,” said WWF Cambodia’s country
director Chhith Sam Ath. There are an estimated 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins left
in the world, most of them in the river of that name in Bangladesh, but with
pockets of fewer than 100 individuals in the Mekong as well as the Philippines,
Burma and Indonesia, according to WWF. The group called on Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen to request that Laos halt the construction of the 240-megawatt
project.
Laos last year
announced construction would start in 2014, despite objections from wildlife
groups and some of the countries affected, which say the dam will also disrupt
fish mig
Five tiger cubs seized in Thai police wildlife haul
Thai police said
Thursday they have seized five wild tiger cubs along with hundreds of other
animals being smuggled to neighbouring Laos, for apparent onward sale in
Vietnam or China as delicacies.
Highway officers on
Wednesday stopped a pick-up truck in the northeast which was apparently headed
for the Laotian border, a policeman told AFP.
A search revealed
the endangered tiger cubs, all of them around a month old.
There were also
hundreds of other creatures including monitor lizards and turtles, he said,
adding traffickers use Thailand as a transit point to Laos and then to buyers
in lucrative Asian markets.
"The final
destination is either Vietnam or China where they like to eat these
animals," according to Captain Pornchai Sangsila.
"The tigers
will normally be kept in Laos for one year to be raised before being sold
on."
Two Thai men have
been charged with illegal possession of protected animals.
Television showed
footage from Wednesday night of the baby tigers cradled by handlers and being
bottle-fed milk.
Under international
law the trade in tigers and tiger parts is strictly banned, except for
non-commercial reasons such as scientific research.
Thailand is one of
just 13 countries hosting fragile tiger populations -- estimated at fewer than
300 in the wild -- and is a hub of international smuggling.
Worldwide, tiger
numbers are estimated to have fall
Chinese zookeeper dies in elephant enclosure
A zookeeper died in
an elephant enclosure on Wednesday afternoon in southwest China's Yunnan
province, a source at the zoo said.
The man, 46, was
found dead at about 4:30 p.m. He had injuries to his head, according to the zoo
of Kunming, the provincial capital.
It is not yet known
whether
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