Zoo News Digest 12th - 31st January 2014 (ZooNews 887)
Image: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/przewalskis-horse/
Dear Colleagues,
Happy New Year to all. It is the year of the horse. I like horses, I always have done. In fact the earliest image of me outside of a cradle is perched on a horse. The house I spent my first couple of years in was in a field full of horses. Big dumpy clumpy things who used to pull Grievson's rag and bone carts. The horses would at times squeeze into the kitchen to steal the odd morsel. Then along came my women, all the early ones, including my ex wife, were horse mad. (Now most of my women are interested in buffalo...which I like too). I have owned horses but I have never been interested in riding them. I have done of course, but it really does nothing for me. My life since has been virtually all zoos and every one of them has had horses, wild or domestic. For a brief time before I hit the road to go travelling I worked with my son as his assistant farrier. It was a wonderful life of wide open spaces, hoof smoke, sweet tea and a huge range of temperamental equines (plus crazy dogs and cats of course). A great life and if I had to choose a career outside of zoos it would have been as a farrier. Not that I regret zoos. They and the animals within remain my first love. The horses though taught me a lot. I was totally unaware till I started working with them that I had a way with them. Difficult animals were easy for me. I would never claim to be a horse whisperer or any such thing...because I don't believe there is any such thing. What comes with years of working with animals is the ability to 'read' animals. This is why zoos need experienced staff. All the book learning in the world will not help you there. There has to that hands on practical experience. You cannot jump in from college and be an expert (another term I hate). It takes time. Give it time. Ending this on a practical note I have also killed a lot of horses. Death is part of life in the zoo world. Every budding zoo keeper must realise this from the start. We sometimes have to do things we don't like. It doesn't mean we don't care, it means just the opposite. I freely admit to shedding tears all along the way. I still do, because I care.
So one and all. Wishing you all the best during the year of the horse.
Paul the Octopus has
a lot to answer for. The news this week has been inundated with stories about various
creatures predicting the winners of the Super Bowl. The fact that these stories
ever get into print give a very good idea of what newspapers consider 'news' these
days. This is where Zoo News Digest comes in. My mission has always been to
pick through the press and pick out those stories which will be of genuine
interest to those working in the zoo profession and to filter out the rubbish.
These are the news items which will be discussed in zoo staffrooms and offices
by people who know the industry. I am indebted to those few kind souls who
donate a little each year so that Zoo News Digest can continue. Thank You.
The article
"Saving the last white tiger cub: Delhi Zoo goes all-out to protect
newborn cub after all five of his siblings die" really pissed me off. You
really have to read between the lines. The failure of the cubs survival rests
solely on the zoos head. If they didn't have a security camera set up then
there is no way they should or could have
known how many cubs there were. It isn't important to know, it really
doesn't matter at all. What IS important is a quiet, secure, comfortable
cubbing den away from human interference. The mother did NOT neglect or reject,
the zoo neglected to provide for her needs. The fact that anyone can state they
were rejected on birth proves my point. To go on further and state that she was
not lactating….how on earth would they know? Did they try milking her? They
compound the whole incompetent scenario by blaming the 'rejection' on the
mothers 'angry temperament'. Then there is the dismissal when pointed out that
"research that has proved the deleterious effects of repeated inbreeding -
namely, immune deficiency, mental impairment and strabismus, a condition that
causes the white tigers to be cross-eyed - Khan repeated his contention that
the practice was a necessary evil." A NECESSARY EVIL? Come on…as I
said….it really pissed me off. Lets gets some professionalism on board here.
It saddens me to see photos of people posing with baby animals posted on facebook. Such photos, especially with endangered primates only encourages people with cash to go out and buy their own 'babies' (mothers slaughtered to obtain them). You may argue that they are protected and could therefore not be transported without the necessary paperwork....well get real. It is happening every day. Stroking tigers and posting pictures is no better. These photos should be private. There are people out there who want to imitate...to have the experience. So then the tiger farms proliferate. Cubs pulled from their mothers from hand rearing in places like the Tiger Temple, Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, Tiger Kingdom ....I could go on. Stop it. Keep your cutey photos to yourselves. They don't show how clever or knowledgeable you are. Quite the opposite. Show you care. People are quick enough to complain when some pop or movie star does it and then go on and do the same stupid thing themselves. And it is stupid if you think about it.
My surface mail mail box is just not working out. Mail is going astray. Even lost my last but one passport for a while. So for now please send all paper mail, books for review etc to :
Peter Dickinson
10 Cheshire View
Appleyards Lane
Handbridge
Chester
UK
CH4 7DD
Bear in mind it is NOT where I live. My mail will be forwarded to me to wherever I am from there. My contact phone number remains the same:
00971 (0)50 4787 122
00971 (0)50 4787 122
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Article: The Wild Horse, Yesterday and Today
Modern horses are
part of the family Equidae. The fossil history of Equidae is well documented,
but new evidence about its evolutionary history—and new interpretations of
it—continue to accumulate.
The earliest known
genus of the Equidae family is Hyracotherium, which included several
terrier-sized species that lived 55 to 45 million years ago, during the Eocene
epoch. Since then, multiple lineages of horses have evolved, with much
diversification occurring during the Miocene, about 25 to 8 million years ago.
Over time, the
number of digits on the limbs tended to decrease in number: While Hyracotherium
had four toes on the forefoot and three on the hindfoot, in the lineage that
led to modern horses these were reduced to a single digit on each limb. By
about one million years ago, members of the one-toed genus Equus (Latin for
“horse”) were found across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, in enormous
migrating herds.
All surviving
species of the family Equidae are members of this single genus, Equus. These
species are:
Equus caballus, the
common horse. All horse breeds, from Shetland ponies to Shire horses, belong to
this species.
Equus przewalskii,
the wild Przewalski's horse, or takhi, as it is known in its native Mongolia.
Some systematists and conservation biologists consider this to be a distinct
species, whereas others believe it is a wild subspecies of Equus caballus.
Equus asinus, the
North African wild ass, domestic ass, burro, or donkey. The specie
The Art and Science of Hand-Rearing
AZVT Focus Group: The Art and Science of Hand-Rearing * Registration Update*
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians(AZVT; RACE Provider #639) is proud to partner with Safari West WildlifeFoundation in presenting:The Inaugural AZVT Focus Group: The Art andScience of Hand-Rearing,
which is being held March 10-13, 2014 at SafariWest Nature Preserve , in Santa Rosa, California.
American Association of Veterinary StateBoards (AAVSB) Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) CE will beavailable for both Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians:
Maximum CE available for Veterinarians: 13.25hours
Maximum CE available for Veterinary Technicians: 16.75 hours
For workshop details and link to registration; please visit the Safari West Wildlife Foundation website.
Registration with 3 overnights in luxury safari tent lodging and meals (double occupancy) closes February 1, 2014. (PST)
Limited 2.5 day registration begins February 1 to March 1, 2014
All details and program description available on the website.
This program was reviewed and approved by the AAVSB RACE program for 13.25 hours of continuing education for Veterinarians and 16.75 hours of continuing education for Veterinary Technicians. Participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education. Please contact the AAVSB RACE program if you have any comments/concerns regarding this program's validity or relevancy to the veterinary profession.
City Cancelled Disbursing Fund to Ragunan Zoo
Jakarta Provincial
Government’s plan to disburse fund to Ragunan Zoo (TMR) this year is cancelled.
This is because the master plan of the zoo’s development is not yet finished.
Thus, the fund is not budgeted in the 2014 City Budget (APBD). It is planned that
the fund will be disbursed next year.
Jakarta Governor
Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the fund to be disbursed is around Rp 400-500
billion. But now, he is still waiting for the Ragunan Zoo revitalization master
plan finished. “It seems that the fund to be disbursed next year in 2015. Not
this year, because we’re still waiting for the pictures, the master plan
finished,” he stated, Friday (1/31).
At this time, Jokowi
admitted that he is still watching the direction and concept of upcoming
Ragunan Zoo revitalization. Thus, he will not rush, so the concept would be
more mature. “The direction and concept of Ragunan Zoo revitalization must be
clear. If the master plan or blueprint was not ready, so be it. If it is ready,
then go ahead use it,” he told.
According to Jokowi,
the fund is disbursed to make Ragunan Zoo better, so the place can be looked up
by international world. This is because aside that
Act like a king, hunt a houbara
The government has
issued 33 special permits for houbara hunting to Arab sheikhs, allowing them to
hunt the internationally protected bird. To escape the harsh winters of Central
Asia, Russia and China, the houbara migrates to the temperate regions of our
country, only to be relentlessly hunted by Arab royals. Included in the list of
endangered species, its hunting by any means, including falconry, is
prohibited. But why do the royals go after the houbara with so much relish?
They contend that falconry is their traditional sport and houbara is an ideal
prey for it. By one estimate, 6,000 to 7,000 live houbaras are shipped to the
UAE every year. These birds are trapped through illegal netting and poaching. A
typical hunting camp consists of about 300 men and incurs an expense of about
$1 million.
Mary Anne Weaver
covering houbara hunting for The New Yorker wrote: “As we waited on the tarmac,
the arriving planes lit up the night sky. Flying in formation, observing
protocol-apparently-an executive Learjet was followed by two customised Boeings
and a fleet of reconfigured C-130s, which flew two abreast. They had all been
designated ‘special VVIP flights’ by the Pakistani government. The lead planes
touched down and a red carpet was hastily unrolled. As we approached the
entourage, an Arab diplomat said with exhaustion in his voice ‘this is the
sixth flight in one week’.” Weaver went on: “A local chieftain later told me,
‘You know, madam, these Arabs consider h
Angel's sad story from the killing waters of Taiji,
Japan
For this baby albino
dolphin, still nursing yet ripped from her mother in the killing coves of
Taiji, Japan, there can be no happy ending.
It may be Angel’s
sad story that ultimately moves the mountain.
For this baby albino
dolphin, still nursing yet ripped from her mother in the killing coves of
Taiji, Japan, there can be no happy ending.
She’s like scores of
other calves sacrificed in an annual Japanese dolphin hunt off the east coast
of a nation that slaughters an estimated 20,000 of these marine mammals every
year and spares a few, like Angel, to live in captivity in aquariums and amusement
parks around the world. If she manages to beat the odds and survives at all.
Whatever the species
— bottlenose, striped, Risso’s, small pilot whales — it doesn’t matter.
This year, there’s a
difference. Angel’s story has prompted people with power — Caroline Kennedy,
the U.S. ambassador to Japan; Yoko Ono; several other diplomats in Japan — to
take a public stand.
Moreover, her story
hit the headlines in late January in the leadup to the Sochi Winter Games, with
all eyes on Russia and everything connected to the Black Sea site.
Marine mammal
scientists believe dolphins from Taiji — made famous by the 2009 Oscar-winning
documentary,The Cove — will be on display at Sochi.
The Olympics, which
open next week, have been a financial boon to the captive whale and dolphin
trade, including facilities in and around Sochi, according to Erich Hoyt,
research fellow with the group Whale and Dolphin Conservation. President
Vladimir Putin’s government has its eye on big tourist dollars after the games.
Three days before
the Olympics begins, a dolphin will take part in the torch relay. It will pull
a trainer, one hand grasping the dolphin’s fin and the other the Olympic torch,
across a pool.
“They say the
performing dolphin is from the Black Sea, which may or may not be true and is
inappropriate at best” because Black Sea dolphins are threatened and considered
an endangered species, wrote Hoyt in an email form his home in Dorset, England.
He mocks industry claims they are “saving” the Japanese dolphins because
“really they are complicit in and help perpetuate Taiji slaughter.
“Why would the
Olympic Committee in Russia or internationally allow its name to be tarnished?”
The Russian embassy
in Ottawa declined
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/01/31/angels_sad_story_from_the_killing_waters_of_taiji.html
2nd International Animal Training Conference 5-8th October 2014
Update
‘A World of Wings’ Avian training professional Mike Simmons, will be showing us a free flight bird behaviour display with Ground Hornbills, parrots and storks (Weather depending!)
Mike will also be giving a talk at the conference about “A World of Wings” and how it was created with the aim of sharing the world of birds with a wide mix of audiences. The company primarily focuses on free flight birds shows to non-professionals but given the success of the bird training the company has branched out to training people in the care of birds.
A little bit about Mike Simmons and ‘A World of Wings’
Mike is an internationally recognised and award winning bird trainer. He started his career at Colchester Zoo when he was just 16 but has been obsessed with animals all his life. He has travelled the length of the country displaying his birds at venues such as Leeds Castle, Colchester Zoo and The Pet Show. He also gives lectures at college and universities and is an assessor for the LANTRA falconry qualification. Mike received an award from the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators in 2012 for the training achievements with Ground Hornbills, followed by an award in 2013 for his work with training a Bald Eagle.
The aim of A World of Wings is to promote birds and share them with people of all ages, in many different capacities from free-flight bird shows to specially designed interaction programmes and encounters. Instead of birds being trained to perform tricks, it is them who teach us to understand how to build a relationship built on trust, allowing us into their world. With this amazing partnership the birds have demonstrated amazing feats of intelligence and soar, glide and climb their way into the eyes and hearts of their audience.
For further information about this exciting conference then please visit our webpage: http://www.twycrosszoo.org/
This conference is just over half full and places are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Oakland Zoo's push to save Puerto Rican crested toad
The East Bay's
newest celebrities are mottled, wart-covered bug eaters with bulging yellow
eyes.
At the Oakland Zoo,
it was love at first sight.
The zoo is among the
few in North America selected to breed the critically endangered Puerto Rican
crested toad. Nineteen of the rare amphibians arrived a few weeks ago for
unlimited crickets, rest and mating - a process biologists hope will result in
thousands of tadpoles being shipped to Puerto Rico by this fall.
"These toads
aren't just ambassadors. Their offspring are going back to the wild to
repopulate the species," said the zoo's zoological manager, Margaret
Rousser. "It's a huge weight on our shoulders. It keeps me up at night.
... But wh
Dear
Colleagues,
The January
2014 issue of ZOO’s PRINT Magazine (Vol. 29, No. 1) 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>
ISSN
0973-2543 (online)
January 2014 | Vol. 29 | No. 1 | Date of Publication 21 January 2014
CONTENTS
Technical articles
New book! Zookeeping: An Introduction to the Science
and Technology, Review by Sally Walker
-- Mark
D. Irwin, John B. Stoner and Aaron M. Cobaugh, Pp. 1-10
Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop
PHVA for "Red Panda (Ailurus
fulgens): a Species Conservation
Strategic Plan"
--
Alankar Jha, Sanjay Molur, Kristin Leus and Angela
Glatston, Pp. 11-15
Zoos through the lens of the IUCN Red List: a global
metapopulation approach to support conservation breeding programs
-- Dalia
A. Conde, Fernando Colchero, Markus Gusset, Paul Pearce-Kelly, Onnie Byers,
Nate Flesness, Robert K. Browne & Owen R. Jones, Pp. 16-24
Length-weight relationship, condition factor and
relative growth patterns of Channa punctata (Bloch)
from Himachal Pradesh, India
-- Arun
Koundal, Rani Dhanze and Indu Sharma, Pp. 25-29
Announcement: PRESS RELEASE: UN General Assembly proclaims 3
March as World Wildlife Day
P. 29
Length-weight relationship of five minor carp's from
Western Himalaya, (H.P), India
-- Arun
Koundal, Rani Dhanze and Indu Sharma, Pp. 30-31
Stray dog Canis familiaris preying
on Threatened Birds in Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
--
Jayakumar Samidurai, Babu Santhanakrishnan and Mahendiran
Mayilsamy, P. 32
Bare-bellied or Madras Hedgehog, Paraechinus nudiventris, (Horsfield 1851) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
-- R.
Marimuthu and K. Asokan, Pp. 33-34
Announcement: University School of Environment Management,
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi - JRF Position in DST-SERB
Funded Project
P. 34
Education Reports
Pp. 35-36
Thanking
you
Sally
Walker
Editor,
ZOO’s PRINT
Zoo Outreach Organization
96,
Kumudham Nagar, Vilankurichi Road, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 035, India
Ph: +91
422 2665298, 2665450, Fx: +91 422 2665472
www.zoosprint.org, www.zooreach.org, www.threatenedtaxa.org, www.southasiantaxa.org, www.pterocount.org, www.southasianprimatenetwork.org
Cheetahs' Iranian revival cheers conservationists
Wildlife experts
hail success of UN-backed initiative to protect Asiatic cheetahs from
extinction despite sanctions
Asiatic cheetahs, a
subspecies of the fastest animal on earth, are extinct everywhere except in
Iran, where they are considered to be critically endangered. But marking a rare
success, conservationists at the Persian wildlife heritage foundation (PWHF) have
spotted a group of five Asiatic cheetahs (also known as Iranian cheetahs) – a
mother with four cubs.
Four wildlife
experts from the PWHF saw the family group at the weekend as they were
returning from a field trip in Iran's Turan national park, home to some of the
largest populations of Asiatic cheetahs in the world.
"They could not
believe what they were seeing ," Delaram Ashayeri, project manager at
PWHF, told the Guardian. "They took out their camera and filmed it."
The picture showing the five cheetahs, with four of them are looking directly into
the camera, has since been shared repeatedly by Iran's huge online community.
The discovery comes
after a decade-long campaign in Iran to protect the cheetahs from extinction
and raise awarness, especially among indigenous people living close to their
natural habitat.
"In the past
year or so that we closely monitored Turan, we never spotted a family,
especially female cheetahs with cubs," Ashayeri said. "It shows
Asiatic cheetahs are surviving, breeding cubs are managing to continue life.
It's good news against a barrage of bad news about these animals."
The conservation of
Asiatic cheetah project (CACP), an initiative between Iran's department of
environment and UN development programme, has led to at least 14 reserve areas
being set up, mainly in central Iran, in Yazd, Sem
Rare Species Breeding Success At Sparsholt College
The mammal team at
Sparsholt College’s Animal Management Centre have successfully bred highland
streaked tenrecs (Hemcentetes nigriceps), a hedgehog type creature from the
central mountains of Madgascar. According to the ISIS* global database (which
represents more than 800 member zoos, aquariums and related organisations in
almost 80 countries, containing information on 2.6 million animals – 10,000
species), there are only 13 captive highland streaked tenrec, four in a zoo in
the Czech Republic and the remainder at Sparsholt College.
Chris Mitchell,
Sparsholt’s Animal Management Centre Manager said: “The tenrecs came to the
College from a private collection of animals from Madagascar based in Bath that
was being rehomed due to the owner emigrating overseas. We had been warned that
the animals had exacting husbandry requirements and a specialised diet that
made them very tricky indeed to maintain in captivity. We were further warned
that many institutions had tried to keep these animals in the past without
success.“
After much
deliberation, the College’s Mammal Team decided that the potential benefits to
students outweighed the risk of failure and decided to try and rise to the
challenge. The first of which was to establish the group of seven and settle
them into their new accommodation and get them eating properly. Initially their
diet was exclusively lobworms, sourced from a specialist supplier but their
prodigious appetites proved rather expensive and so were i
Dear colleagues,
We would like to share with you the information of a seminar hosted by the Zoo Atlanta in the USA:
Cognition, Enrichment and Collaboration
The dates are March 10th - 12th 2014.
This seminar will explore animal cognition and enrichment techniques. Special sessions include the value of research as enrichment and the importance of collaboration between researchers and animal caretakers. The seminar includes lectures and research demonstrations.
For more information please visit http://www.animalconcepts.eu/styled-4/styled-12/styled/index.html
Thank you.
Best regards,
Sabrina Brando
AnimalConcepts
www.animalconcepts.eu
+31633008373
GOLDEN LANGURS OF UMANANDA
The flight to
Guwahati on 17th December, 2007, was late. As usual. I woke up late the next
morning. As usual. Breakfast consisted of cheese sandwich and coffee. As usual.
My friends came late to meet me. As usual.
And then we set off to Umananda, an island
situated in the Brahmaputra river just off the coast of Guwahati. The ferry
ride took only five minutes and we embarked on the island that has a renowned
Shiva Temple. However, we went there to see the free living Golden Langurs that
call Umananda their home.
Many years ago, an
animal trader namedto a priest on the island. The animals grew up as tame
individuals and, after a period, reproduced. They were not caged but were free
to roam the island. The Golden Langur being one of the rarest primates in the
world (the animal was only discovered in the 1950s when it was christened with
a scientific name) found principally in Manas National Park situated in Assam
and Bhutan, the population on Umananda evoked significant interest amongst
nature lovers. Possibly a unique case where wildlife trade has been benign,
even beneficial, since the animals are so endangered and the translocated
individuals on Umananda are a breeding group. And thus I was keen on observing
and
Adelaide Zoo Celebrates Life of Iconic Flamingo
Adelaide Zoo is
celebrating the life of its most iconic and oldest resident, the Greater
Flamingo, after the difficult decision was made to humanely put the flamingo to
sleep this morning as its quality of life had significantly deteriorated due to
complications associated with old age.
The 83-year old
flamingo affectionately known as 'Greater' was a favourite amongst zoo goers
for generations arriving at Adelaide Zoo in the 1930s. Greater is best known
for being the world's oldest flamingo and the last Greater Flamingo to have
resided in
~°v°~
~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~
Hello ZooLex
Friend,
We have worked for
your enjoyment!
~°v°~
NEW EXHIBIT
PRESENTATION
The South America
Aviary at Zoo Heidelberg is a mixed species walk-through exhibit that immerses
visitors into a richly planted space with a tropical atmosphere where animals
can be comfortably observed using a diversity of microclimatic niches and enrichment
opportunities.
We would like to
thank our intern Hannah Gaengler for translating this presentation.
Here is the German
original text:
We would like to
thank Sandra Reichler and Sabrina Linn from Zoo Heidelberg for presenting this
exhibit.
~°v°~
SPANISCHE
ÜBERSETZUNG
Thanks to Eduardo
Diaz Garcia we are able to offer the Spanish translation of a previously
presented exhibit at the Zoo GaiaPark de Kerkrade in the Netherlands:
Amazonia - Las Islas
de los Monos
~°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
contact: http://www.zoolex.org/about.html
Pagasa: Philippine Eagle bred in captivity turns 22
TWENTY-TWO years ago
on January 15, the wildlife conservation community worldwide was astir, for in
a quiet conservation center in faraway Davao City, the first ever captive-bred
raptor was successfully hatched.
Twenty-two years
hence, the Philippine Eagle center in Malagos, Calinan, scheduled a whole day
of interaction with students to drive in the importance of nature conservation.
Twenty-two years
hence, Philippine eagle Pagasa, the first Philippine eagle hatched in captivity
remains in captivity.
“Perhaps only that
22 years after Pagasa’s birth, we continue to struggle with the key threats to
our national bird’s survival,” Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) executive
director Dennis Joseph I. Salvador said when asked what his reflections are
with regards Pagasa’s birthday.
As it is, the
conservation efforts of the PEF have come a long way as it was already ale to
hatch 25 captive bred eagles.
It’s in the
wilderness, now dominated by man, where the main challenge is being fought.
“Shooting and
habitat loss persist despite broad public awareness,” Salvador said. “Adding to
these are the Damocles sword of chance events such as calamities and diseases
like H5N1 now H7N9.”
Pagasa, having been
in captivity since he hatched, can live up to 40 years old. Those in the wild
have very little chance of living an adult life free from hazards.
Many are being shot.
The latest, rescued
eagle Minalwang who was released back to the wild on Mt. Balatukan in Gingoog
City, Misamis Oriental was found dead no October 11, 2013, just barely two
months after its release in August 2013.
The bird was not the
first that died soon when released back to the wild after rescue and
rehabilition at the center.
The legs of eagle
Kagsabua released on Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park in Sumilao, Bukidnon, was found
buried beside a river in Impasug-ong, Bukidnon four months later in 2008.
Hagpa released in
June 2010 was shot dead four months later.
Also believed killed
is Hineleban, who was released in Mt. Kitanglad in October 2009, after a male
eagle carcass was found in Barangay Lupiagan in Bukidnon, Bukidnon on January
15, 2010.
Hope
Pagasa, or Hope
because his hatching gave hope to the conservation movement, is the offspring
of Diola, a female from Calinan, Davao City, and Junior, a male from Agusan.
His surrogate mate partner at the center is Eddie Juntilla.
He has sired his
first chick, which hatched on February 9 last year.
The chick Mabuhay
was bred through cooperation insemination of female eagle Kalinawan (Peace), a
29-year-old eagle rescued from Zamboanga del Sur, and Pagasa.
Party
Pagasa’s hatchday
cam complete with a hatchday cake.
Students, parents,
teachers, and other guests joined the celebration that started with a 9 a.m.
mass last Wednesday.
The day’s activities
included an educational presentation abo
Changing climate is killing penguin chicks in
Argentina
Extreme weather
along the Argentine coast is killing chicks of Magellanic penguins that roost
there. A 28-year study of the birds has found very hot years and very wet ones
claiming as many as 50 percent of new chicks in the worst of times.
“Penguin [chicks]
don’t do well when they get wet,” said Dee Boersma, a researcher at University
of Washington who’s been tracking the birds at the Punta Tombo peninsula, the
largest colony of Magellanic penguins, since 1983.
New chicks that
encounter a rainstorm before they grow out a waterproof coat get drenched and
die of hypothermia, she reports in a study published Wednesday in the journal
PLOS ONE. "If you've ever had a down sleeping bag, and got it wet, all the
insulating properties are lost," Boersma explained.
Not every one of the
extreme weather events was deadly — only 16 of the 233 storms the team observed
killed chicks. But climate researchers predict storms hitting the Argentine
coast are just going to get worse.
"We're going to
see years where almost no chicks survive if climate change makes storms bigger
and more frequent during vulnerable times of the breeding season as
climatologists predict," Ginger Rebstock, Boersma’s co-author on the
study, said in a release.
"This year
we’re not going to have any chicks that will die from rain," Boersma said.
"But we’ve had a lot of chicks that die this year from heat, because it’s
been hot."
Weather isn’t the
only thing threatening the Magellanic penguins; they’re starving as well. In a
2008 study, Boersma showed that decreasing sea ice meant the birds needed to
swim up to 40 miles farther to reach their food, she told the New York Times
then.
About 1,000 miles
south of the Magellanic penguin
Patiala zoo in state of neglect
Time and again the
mini zoo authorities here have been making tall claims of upgrading and
renovating it. However, with no sign of concrete plan in line the upgradation
of the zoo seems like a distant dream.
According to the
information available, the mini zoo, is officially a deer park. The conversion
of this deer park to mini zoo was put on hold, because as per the norms of the
Zoo Authority of India, a deer park can be converted into a mini zoo only after
the inclusion of three carnivorous animals.
Save the Dates!
April 28-29 2014
IMATA Northeast Regional Workshop
Hosted by
New England Aquarium
Boston, MA
Join us
for 2 days of exciting presentations, panel discussions, behind the scene
tours, and animal training sessions.
Possible
presentation and discussion topics include:
· Disaster planning (a follow up to last year’s
discussion)
· Evaluating enrichment programs
· Species breeding programs
· Interaction training and programs
· Animal introductions
· Aggression
Presentations: If you are interested in giving a presentation please
prepare an abstract and submit it to Candy Paparo at chpaparo@amwny.com.
Abstracts must be received by April 1st.
Cost: $15/day for IMATA members, Zoo or
Aquarium staff and volunteers. Please bring employee/volunteer ID or
proof of IMATA membership.
$20/day if you do not fit in an above category. All are
welcome!
Accommodations: More information to
come.
For more information please contact Kim Cummings at kcummings@neaq.org or
Candy Paparo at chpaparo@amwny.com.
Turkey's Antalya home to longest tunnel aquarium
Not content with
being one of Turkey’s top tourism spots, the country's coastal Antalya province
has now gone one better - it hosts the world's longest tunnel aquarium.
The tank containing
the 131-meter long, 3-meter wide tunnel hosts more than 10,000 species of fish
and sea creatures from all around the globe.
Visitors watch as
fish swim around life-sized replicas of an Italian warplane that crashed into
the Mediterranean during World War II, a ship and submarine wrecks.
The complex housing
the main tank contains over 40 theme tanks, with titles such as “World Oceans,”
“Turkish Seas” and “Three Islands,” and was built on a 30,000 square-meter
area.
It also includes
“Snow World,” a special snow-covered 200-meter square section featuring igloos,
a “Santa Clause” house and cafes.
Kemal Kumkumoglu,
the aquarium's chief-executi
Pakistan’s Controversial Dolphin Show
An outcry over an
upcoming event draws attention to animal rights in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s
first-ever “Dolphin Show” opens to the public on the January 15. To be held at
the Maritime Museum in Karachi, the organizers were due to host the event last
year, but the plan had to be called off due to security concerns.
Featuring Stephen
the beluga whale, Boris the dolphin and Memo the sea lion, the show is slated
to run over two months, as reported by The Express Tribune. However, the
event’s duration may be extended, depending on public response and ticket
sales.
With foreign
trainers flown in from Russia and Egypt to train the mammals to jump, sing,
paint and perform a host of tricks to a local audience, the show is fast
attracting media attention, public hype, and some outcry.
“Shows like this are
very cruel,” Maheen Zia, the Co-Founder of PAWS (Pakistan Animal Welfare
Society) (an NGO based in Karachi), told The Diplomat. “It gives the wrong
message; to use such sensitive, intelligent animals, by pulling them out of
their natural habitat and exploiting them like this for entertainment
purposes.”
Given the country’s
poorly maintained zoos and general lack of care and respect for animals in
general, the much-touted Dolphin Show stands as a feather in Pakistan’s cap of
gross animal abuse and neglect. The Lahore Zoo, for instance, is in an
appalling state, with animals such as tigers and lions crammed into small
cages. The animals are listless, rotting away in enclosed spaces. Little wonder
then, the significant number of tigers that have perished over the years.
“Unfortunately the
mindset in Pakistan is that if a human life is worth nothing in this country
why should there be a hue and cry about animal rights here? Such regression and
ignorance is rampant amongst so many educated people I know,” Zainab Chughtai,
a Lahore-based lawyer, said to The Diplomat, adding, “There is no doubt that
this show will be nothing but a display of savagery and torture on these
creatures, passed on to mindless masses as entertainment.”
“We feel strongly
that the planned dolphin show will neither be beneficial to the animals nor the
general public. There are sufficient opportunities for public to see w
The secrets in the hearts of China’s
brave moon bears
The hearts beating inside stoic moon bears, previously caged by
China’s bear bile industry, have been put under scrutiny by veterinary
cardiologists from the University of Liverpool.
Hannah Stephenson and Chris Linney both travelled from Merseyside to
Animals Asia’s China Bear Rescue Centre near Chengdu, to work with sanctuary
vets charged with treating the bears that the organisation rescued from the
bear bile industry.
They both spent ten days on site performing echocardiograms, ECGs
and overall cardiac evaluations. During their visit, the team was able to
examine 29 moon bears and take an in-depth look at the heart problems they
face.
Animals Asia China’s Bear and Vet Team Director Nic Field said:
“We currently have a growing number of bears rescued from bile farms
with radiographic evidence of abnormal heart size or shape, suspected aortic
aneurysms as well as bears with clinical signs consistent with hypertension.
“One of the primary aims of this visit was for cardiology
specialists to assist in confirming suspected diagnoses, determining causes of
the development of disease, reviewing our current management of these cases and
advising on additional appropriate treatment to improve their long-term health,
welfare and quality of life.”
The bears at Animas Asia’s sanctuary had previously spent up to 30
years constrained in tiny cages while suffering daily bile extractions. As a
result, following their rescue, Animals Asia vets assist in rehabilitating each
bear by providing ongoing treatment and medication to ensure they maintain a
good quality of life.
Resident Veterinarian Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa added:
“We have been tremendously fortunate to recently obtain a new, high
quality ultrasound unit with a cardiac probe that allows us to better visualise
the heart and valves, assess chamber size, valve integrity, and assess cardiac
function. The visiting cardiologists were able to thoroughly evaluate bears of
concern and train our on-site veterinary surgeons on how to obtain high quality
images, accurate measurements and assess cardiac function with the use of
echocardiography. “This will also allow us to compile a database of
normal images and measurement ranges to compare cardiac cases for future
reference, and also to more appropriately manage current and future cardiac
cases.”
Chris and Hannah were also able to offer advice to the team on
appropriate management and medication for cardiac cases. The collaboration with
Chris and Hannah will continue, as there is more work to be done to analyse
data and determine the reasons behind the heart issues.
The pair were also able to share their knowledge and provide
training to local vets who have worked with Animals Asia in the past.
Chris said:
“We
were extremely fortunate to visit and work with Animals Asia's rescue centre
providing full assessment of some of the resident moon bears for heart disease.
Our assessments identified a number of heart abnormalities for which there are
treatments which we hope will give them a better quality of life to enjoy
during their years at the sanctuary. A large number of the bears we assessed
had significant heart disease including dilated hearts, dilated great vessels
and high blood pressure, and we have worked hard with the resident vets to
provide the necessary care and medications to help treat these serious
conditions.
“We
were overwhelmed with the high level of care given to the bears by the vets and
bear workers at the sanctuary and were honoured to join the team. The moon
bears have been through a difficult time and it was evident that they were so
relaxed and at peace in the sanctuary. There still remains a lot of work to be
done regarding their heart disease and we hope to continue our collaboration
and team work with Animals Asia to help more moon bears.”
Animals
Asia would like to extend its special thanks and gratitude to Chis and Hannah
for taking the time to share their experience and knowledge with our team.
Their contribution has been invaluable and we are much looking forward to
future collaborations. We would also like to thank former resident vet, Joanna
Reynard for initiating this visit.
Crested ibises destroying own eggs
Crested ibises at
the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center in Sado, Niigata Prefecture,
and other facilities are destroying their own eggs, apparently as a result of
stress from being kept in cages.
The Sado facility’s
Reintroduction Center is hurrying to address this problem with the birds, which
are designated special natural treasures.
Since July 2011, the
Environment Ministry has in principle allowed crested ibis eggs to hatch
naturally in the parent birds’ nests, to promote captive birds’ eventual return
to the wild. However, a conspicuous number of birds have been attacking their
eggs in recent years.
In spring last year,
26 out of 89 fertilized eggs were destroyed at breeding facilities including
the Sado center, the Izumo Japanese Crested Ibis Breeding Center in Shimane
Prefecture and Ishikawa Zoo in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Staff have confirmed
such behavior as parent birds poking the shells of eggs to destroy them as
chicks begin to peck their way out and killing the chicks, as well as male
crested ibises dropping just-laid eggs out of nests.
The Sado center
believes that stress builds up as a result of the birds being kept in cramped
cages, leading to excessive reactions to the eggs.
To address the
problem, the Sado center is considering playing recordings of chicks’ voices
just before eggs hatch. In the past, many breeding pairs have succeeded in
hatching their eg
Celebrating Plants
and the Planet:
The plants around us
tell stories that stretch back tens of thousands of
years; stories about
us. January's news links at
<http://www.zooplantman.com/> www.zooplantman.com (NEWS/Botanical News)
look
back and then
forward:
. Have you ever
wondered about the fruit of the calabash or the Osage
Orange? They are
ecological anachronisms made anachronistic, in large part,
through human
activity. Who else once roamed these forests of ours?
. In Western
Australia there are rock paintings like no others.
Nearby are baobab
trees like no others in Australia. Perhaps one can explain
the other.
. While in
Madagascar, baobabs whose seed dispersers were hunted to
extinction now
struggle to survive. Who were those animals and can they be
brought back?
. Nearer to home
(wherever that is for you) human activity is
changing landscapes,
ecosystems and climate. Seed evolution is changing, too
and perhaps not in a
good way.
. On a global scale,
terrestrial ecosystems tie up excess carbon,
slowing global
warming. A new understanding of human activity affecting the
balance of
deforestation and reforestation may help us avoid cooking
ourselves.
Science aside, it's
Saturday. Time to dance with the peacock spider
Please share these
stories with associates, staff, docents and - most
importantly -
visitors! Follow on Twitter:
new story every day
as well as hundreds of stories from the past few years.
Rob
Zoo Horticulture
Consulting &
Design
Greening design
teams since 1987
Over 1,000 Madagascar reptiles stranded in S.African
transit
Over 1,000 tree
frogs, chameleons and lizards from Madagascar are stranded in South Africa
after storms in the United States forced their connecting flight there to be
cancelled, Johannesburg zoo said on Friday.
About 400 of the
1,685 reptiles flown in from the Indian Ocean island nation on Wednesday have
already died from the stress of air travel and shock of being removed from
their natural habitat, a zoo official said.
The surviving
reptiles have found a temporary home in the Johannesburg zoo, where they will
be quarantined for 30 days.
"They are not
fit for travel, they cannot leave, there is nowhere to go at the moment,"
the zoo's chief veterinarian Katja Koeppel said as another staff member took a
dozen buckets of live crickets from her office to feed the newcomers to the zoo.
"So they gave
them to us," she said. "My problem is trying to keep them
alive."
The zoo has yet to
identify all the species received but Koeppel said it had already established
th
Africa’s only polar bear mourns death of partner
Wang, the only polar
bear in Africa, has taken the death of his life-long partner very hard, tearing
up toys and grass in the enclosure they shared. Two weeks after his loss, he is
still grieving.
Geebee, 30, was
found dead in the pool of her Johannesburg Zoo enclosure after a heart attack.
The two had been partners since they arrived at the South African zoo in 1985.
“When we found her
dead he wouldn’t let us to her,” the zoo’s chief vet Katja Koeppel said. “He
refused to go back into the night room. He stayed out in the sun.”
If not pacing about,
Wang stood by Geebee’s body and barely ate his rations, she said. After 24
hours, Ms Koeppel had to sedate Wang to retrieve Geebee’s remains.
For days afterwards,
he was inconsolable, cutting up his toys and even bending the steel door of his
pen, she said.
Geebee arrived
nearly three decades ago from Canada, while Wang came from a zoo in Japan.
Despite
Florida's Rat-Saving Labors Aren't Paying Off
Apparently rats
raised at Disney aren't prepared for the real world.
A new study warns
that Florida's efforts to breed endangered Key Largo woodrats in captivity are
doomed. Critters brought up at a Tampa zoo and at Orlando's Disney World don't
have as many babies as they do in the wild, and when released back into their natural
habitat, the rats are more vulnerable to predators like hawks and feral cats.
"When we kept
looking at the data, what we found was that you really couldn't breed enough
woodrats to make it a viable strategy for population recovery," Robert
McCleery, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Florida, said in a
statement.
Save the rats
It might be hard to
imagine conservationists rallying around rats, often considered
disease-spreading invaders that have no problem keeping their population
numbers high. But the Key Largo woodrat, a nest-building nocturnal rodent, is
in danger of going extinct in its native habitat in Key Largo, the largest of
the Florida Keys. [In Photos: A Stunning View of Rat Island]
Current population
estimates of the species vary; a 2012 study in the journal Methods in Ecology
and Evolution suggest between 78 and 693 indi
Will orcas be put on display at Sochi?
How do you hide
something that weighs as much as six tons, is 20 feet long and requires
hundreds of pounds of food every day?
That's the mystery
researchers and conservationists are trying to solve, the location of eight
orca whales they believe have been captured in Russian waters.
Rumors surfaced that
two of the whales were going to be put on display at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
And that ignited a firestorm.
An online petition,
widely circulating on Twitter, demaned that the Russian company White Sphere
not put the orcas in a dolphinarium in Sochi. At last count, the online
petition had 400,000 signatures.
There were numerous
reports that the Russian company had captured the orcas in the Sea of Okhotsk
and that at least some of the whales were in holding pens near Vladivostok. The
Russian Fisheries Agency wouldn't respond to questions regarding quotas for orca
captured in Russian waters.
"We have
information from within Russia that two of them were shipped to China,"
said Erich Hoyt, a Research Fellow with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
"We have confirmation that two of them have gone to Moscow — however none
of these four [other] orcas are anywhere on display."
But there's not any
proof that White Sphere has the whales — or has any plans to display them at
Sochi. A spokesperson said the company doesn't "deal with the capture of
wild animals or the transport of them." The spokesperson said the company was
aware of the online petition and expressed concern about the uproar.
It's believed the
two Russian orcas that went to China will be displayed at a new Chinese theme
park called Ocean Kingdom. Ocean Kingdom features the world's biggest aquarium
and advertises a massive collection of sea life including beluga whales and whale
sharks. But it doesn't advertise having orcas on display. Ocean Kingdom
wouldn't comment on whether it planned to display orcas.
There has been a
strong backlash to marine parks keeping orcas in captivity. It may be in part
due to the impact of the 2013 documentary film "Blackfish," which
examines the 2010 death of an orca trainer at SeaWorld. It also highlights the
methods used to capture wild orcas.
"Definitely you
can see that marine parks around the world are being much more covert about
what they're doing with dolphins and orcas," said Tim Zimmermann,
associate producer and co-writer of "Blackfish." "Ten years ago,
I think you would have had [marine parks] advertising and proudly saying they
would be displaying killer whales. But these days it see
Saving the last white tiger cub: Delhi Zoo goes
all-out to protect newborn cub after all five of his siblings die
It was through a
tiny room reeking of raw meat - bloody water pooled outside its door - that we
were taken to meet Kalpana in her enclosure at the National Zoological Park
(NZP), or Delhi Zoo as it is colloquially known.
Lying in a corner of
the cage, the seven-year-old tigress was alarmed by the arrival of strangers in
an area otherwise restricted to them, and began pacing her boundaries.
As she looked up,
Kalpana's glacial blue eyes were unflinching in their stare. One of NZP's five
white tigers - one male and four female - she has been the subject of headlines
globally as the mother whose neglect killed five of her cubs, even as the sixth
fights for his life at a vet facility in the zoo.
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