Zoo News Digest 14th - 29th March 2014 (ZooNews 891)
The problem with many zoos
Dear Colleagues,
Would you believe
that it rained all day in Dubai on Wednesday? That is ALL day. Most roads
flooded at one time or another and in spite of a lot of crazy drivers I reckon
a huge percentage of people actually left their cars at home (I learned the
following day there had been 704 car accidents in Dubai alone on that single
day) . I say this because the queues for taxis have never been to so large. I
spent the afternoon at the 'Veterinary Outlook Forum' over at the Trade Centre
listening to various talks. What I really went for was to hear 'The Big
Discussion on the Future of MENA's Zoos'.
Only there wasn't one….a discussion that is. There were three short
presentations by Dr. Gerald Dick from WAZA, Dr. Reza Khan from Dubai Zoo and
Mark Craig of Al Ain Zoo. All very interesting but no discussion, no debate, no
questions. So a little bit of a waste of time other than catching up with
people.
I don't suppose
anyone would be surprised to learn that the zoo story of the week was about the
lions being euthanased in Copenhagen Zoo. Every newspaper has covered the
story, some of them a few times over. If anything this has got more attention
than Marius the giraffe. I fully understand and support the decision by
Copenhagen but like I said in the case of the Giraffe….it would have been
better carried out quietly and behind closed doors. Others agree with me. The
problem today is that when something happens of interest the whole world knows
about it in minutes through Twitter and Facebook, and very sadly most of that
world are not prepared to investigate and learn more. The press continue to use
their 'slaughtered/murdered' terminology instead of the quiet clean cull... euthanasia. Their use of words suggests that these animals were tortured,
abused and killed for pleasure. They were not of course. The people who did the
deed were caring kind zookeepers just like you and I. This was a management decision
with the consideration of the species at the fore. So many of the newspapers
question why? And yet very few of them actually investigate the reasons. Of
those that do most tend to ignore the reasons or gloss over them. Some, happily
talk sense. Others are complete idiots. Trying to tie the story in with the proposed Danish ban on shechitah or 'kosher/Halal' killing is ridiculous.....but it makes a point. Why isn't the press jumping up and down and asking their countries to impose a similar ban? Religious ritual slaughter is cruel and unkind and a few thousand years out of date. It NEEDS banning. Zoo euthanasia is caring and kind.
One thing I do note
from this latest incident was that more zookeepers are understanding why it was
done. The death of Marius has had an effect. Some of those who were not
supportive last time have done some reading and research and now
understand….they don't like it….but they understand. None of us have to like
it. I certainly don't. Sadly a few zoo staff along with most of the public who are intimidated by their peers or have
kept their blinkers on and made no effort to understand at all. It is so easy
to become the prey of emotion. The biggest pity is the zoos out there who miss
the point completely or use it as a springboard to promote themselves. I have
friends and colleagues within the zoo world who disagree with me. I respect
their opinions and I would like to believe they respect mine. Presently I have
not come up with a single argument as to why I should change my thoughts on zoo
euthanasia within the greater scheme of things.
It would be far
better if the press and the animal rights were to focus their attention on
events and situations which really matter like Canned Hunting and the cruel
death of the tigers in Zhanjiang. But they don't. One or two papers may take
such stories up now and again but their interest is short. They want to
titillate their readers with stories of torture.
Blackfish is still ticking away in the background. Follow the link below for more sense on the subject.
I don't quite understand how Karachi Zoo will gain recognition from 'the world association of the zoo' by the acquisition of 'a rhinoceros, a giraffe and a hippopotamus'.....I mean they have already been taken in by some trickster selling them White Lions as something special.
Sadly my surgery was
cancelled and it will be a week before I know of a next viable date. I am
anxious to get it all over and done with.
With regards to
LinkedIn. I get several invitations to connect each week. I am prepared to
connect but not if I cannot see any zoo, wildlife conservation interest in your
profile.
So does advertising
on Zoo News Digest Vacancies work? One
advertisement posted last week had over 6,000 views in just two days.
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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Topeka Zoo's patriarch giraffe receiving end-of-life
care
At 23 years old,
Jesse is one of oldest giraffes in captivity
Jesse, a 23-year-old
giraffe at the Topeka Zoo, is experiencing health issues suggesting his long
life may be coming to an end, Topeka city officials said Wednesday.
Jesse, who is one of
the oldest male giraffes currently living among zoo populations, is
experiencing front hoof problems, as well as some muscle atrophy in his neck
and arthritis in his rear legs that makes it hard for him to lie down and get
back up.
Topeka Zoo officials
said in a news release that they have been monitoring problems associated with
Jesse’s advancing age and have discussed with USDA regulators what indicators
the zoo will use to determine when the animal’s health is no longer manageable.
Jesse was born at
the Topeka Zoo on April 15, 1990, and has sired six offspring, making him the
patriarch of the zoo’s giraffe herd.
The zoo’s animal
care experts have consulted with a large-animal radiologist and a farrier — a
specialist in equine hoof care — about a condition known as laminitis, a
disease that affects the feet of hooved animals. After being treated
Do You Want To Buy a Zoo?
Franklin Zoo For Sale
Part of the
beautiful Franklin countryside, minutes from the southern motorway and a very
easy commute from Auckland and the international Airport, this is a rare
opportunity to develop a successful animal facility. The location allows access
to passing tourists and visitors from all over New Zealand.
In the past the Zoo
has been home to many species of animals: elephant, zebra, emu, deer, llama,
primates, birds, lions, bobcats, serval cat, reptiles, native birds, wallaby,
deer who have been cared for by qualified staff, vets and many volunteers. The sanctuary
has been vital for animals that required special housing and/or needs when
there was nowhere else for them to go.
This facility was
open 7 days a week and was well used by visitors, schools and community groups,
providing park like surroundings with many picnic and play areas for families.
It has also been used as a venue for weddings, engagements, tourists, Christmas
and company parties.
Plans are available
for the proposed food preparation and cafe areas which would have allowed the
zoo to offer exceptional facilities for day visitors and to further expand the
c
Playing With Lions is Never a Good Idea
Moscow zoo condemns more killings of animals at
Copenhagen zoo
The Moscow Zoo does
not approve of yet more killings of animals at the Copenhagen Zoo, where, after
Marius the giraffe was killed, four African lions - two old ones and their two
ten-month-old cubs - were put down because of the arrival of a new male.
"While The
Moscow Zoo understands the whole situation, we cannot approve of such a
decision because we believe that in the absence of conditions for keeping all
the animals, new ones should not be acquired, even for the purpose of improving
genetic diversity," Moscow Zoo said on its website.
An animal should not
be killed just because it is old, it said.
"We often
receive complaints about 'old animals' in our enclosures, but that is our
principled decision. Whenever there is a choice, we try to keep the animal
alive no matter what, even if it does not look the way one would want it
to," Moscow Zoo said.
It emerged earlier
that a pair of old African lions and their two ten-month-old cubs were put down
at Copenhagen Zoo.
The Danish zoo
explained this decision by receiving a young African male lion from another zoo
on March 24.
Very soon the lion
will be mated with two lionesses born two years ago at the zoo to make up a new
pride of lions in Copenhagen. Regrettably, the zoo does not have room for
accommodating all its predators, and an unpopular decision was made about the
euthanasia of two old lions and two lion cubs.
In nature, in the
event of changes in the pride (
Opinion Piece: Copenhagen Zoo Could Put Zoos Out of
Business
he Copenhagen Zoo
may not know it yet, but like all other conservation-minded, live collection,
natural history institutions (e.g. zoos, aquariums, marine parks, etc.), the
zoo’s ultimate goal is to put themselves and other zoos out of business.
Zoos often claim,
and rightfully so, that they hope to one day restore a great majority of
imperiled species to the wild and render the need for zoo-administered
conservation breeding programs obsolete.
Unfortunately, one
Danish zoo may do this all by itself and quite prematurely, before the mission
of accredited global zoo communities is accomplished. Knowingly or unknowingly,
it is selfish of them.
In essence, the
accredited communities of zoos endeavor to eventually eliminate the need to
breed or display captive wildlife through honorable intentions of creating
conservation success stories for wildlife on the brink of extinction. The
Copenhagen Zoo, on the other hand, seems unmoved by the notion that it may
become solely responsible for precipitating the “dishonorable” disappearance of
zoos.
Such a “mass
extinction” of zoos could conceivably be triggered and accelerated by their
continued callous decision making to the great appreciation and delight of
ardent anti-captivity animal rights activists around the world. I suspect many activists are rejoicing as we
speak. Yes, sadly, the actions of the Copenhagen Zoo could generate a global
zoo extinction before these conservation centers have the opportunity to
restore threatened and endangered species to the wild, if that is even possible
in the foreseeable future. I hope I’m exaggerating.
My sentiment is all
in reference to their latest animal “casualties.” In the wake of the Copenhagen
Zoo’s decision to cull a healthy bull giraffe last month, the EAZA accredited
zoo announced this week that it also just euthanized four lions, including two
cubs. This news has generated public outrage and spurred perhaps unprecedented
dissension among professional zoo, aquarium, and marine park colleagues.
I suggested in a
social media forum that this was not a brilliant PR move or because the zoo
dispatched another healthy animal or animals, but because the Copenhagen Zoo
seemed to casually dismiss the influence of public sentiment, particularly here
in the United States where we already have some misguided and
Tough decisions in nature conservation
It is easy to
criticize zoos and aquariums when healthy animals are culled, particularly when
they are from endangered species. It's not always easy to understand the logic
behind such a decision, but to get a picture of why good zoos take particular
actions, one has to understand the context and the alternatives.
Wild populations of
animals are collapsing at an alarming rate. Since 1997, for example, the
population of giraffes in Africa has plummeted by more than 50%, with two
subspecies becoming extinct in the wild, and leaving only 240 members of
another subspecies in a single population center. This pattern is replicated
all over the world; it is driven by our increasing need for natural resources
such as palm oil, agricultural land, or living space.
Animal reserves in
the most vulnerable areas are struggling to protect their animals from the
scourge of poachers, while other habitats are destroyed by the effects of
deforestation and increasingly climate change, a problem that all of the
world's governments acting in concert have been unable to check even slightly.
Indeed, governments
have been unable even to uphold their obligations under the Aichi Targets to
assist in the protection of endangered species and to teach their populations
about the value of biological diversity, obligations that have been almost entirely
outsourced to zoos and museums.
Zoos inherited a
legacy of animal keeping from a previous age that did not understand the havoc
we are wreaking on the planet. Since the establishment of national and regional
zoo associations and the dawning of greater scientific understanding of our effect
on nature, zoos have become essentially a last line of defense in the
protection of animals.
Do we wish that
humans would stop destroying the natural habitats of wild animals? Of course;
but this is not happening.
Our choice then is
clear: Do we use the legacy we inherited to protect animals from human
activity, or do we leave them to take their chances, knowing that their chances
of survival are slim and for many species almost impossible?
If we accept that
some action is better than none, then we also have to accept that managing
viable populations of animals over the long term until their habitats are
stabilized requires some difficult decisions, including the culling of healthy
animals that won't help the species stay adaptable and immune to disease.
It's worth
remembering that some of the world's foremost biologists, population
biologists, animal geneticists and other experts have thought deeply and
philosophically about these choices. Faced with the alternatives, it's not hard
to see why they chose as they did.
Say we did stop zoos
from breeding and transformed them into "sanctuaries"; Immediately we
would need to give up the notion that we can save our most endangered species
from extinction -- the infrastructure in the wild just isn't there for some
species and in many EAZA zoos we care for species that are already extinct in
the wild. Next we would need to decide what to do with the animals: Should we
keep them in these new sanctuaries, unable to breed, until they die?
Animal rights
organizations would like to make sure that nobody enjoys seeing such animals
and learning about them from zoo visits, yet these visits are what pay for
everything we do, from education through to conservation. Over 1.5 billion
visits will be made to EAZA zoos during the Decade of Biodiversity, with all of
those visitors learning about nature. Who would be there to offer nature
conservation education if zoos did not exist?
Zoos in reputable
zoo associations worldwide are the fourth largest donors to conservation in the
wild; are animal rights groups going to replace the hundreds of millions of
dollars that zoos currently donate? No, because ultimately they do not care
whether species have a future in the wild.
We cannot possibly
release all of our animals back into a wild that is under siege, and which they
would have to share with wild populations that are as large as their habitats
can currently accommodate.
Who would carry out
the Aichi Target obligations which all European nations have signed up to?
Would taxpayers really be willing to foot larger bills to pay for this
Paddy Power opens bets on which animal is likely to be
killed next at Copenhagen Zoo
Paddy Power has
opened up betting on which animal is likely to be killed next at Copenhagen
Zoo, after four healthy lions were put down this week.
The bookmaker, which
was recently ordered to withdraw an advert that offered a “money back if he
walks” guarantee for betting on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, singled out a
zebra at the zoo as a 5/1 favourite of being killed next, followed by a polar
bear at 8/1.
Odds on an antelope
have been put at 6/1 and 14/1 on a tiger, while a hippopotamus is the
"current outsider" at 40/1.
Paddy Power said
they had tried to negotiate buying any remaining lions, but their offer has
been refused by Ulrich Lindegaard Christensen, the zoo’s sales manager, who
told them “he could not take their offer seriously”.
Copenhagen Zoo faced
international outcry after it euthanised a healthy giraffe because of its
breeding procedures, before then putting down a pair of adult lions and two
cubs.
After shooting
Marius the giraffe in the head, zoo
Opinion: Killing Healthy Zoo Animals Is Wrong—And the
Public Agrees
Scientist calls
lion, giraffe deaths "zoothanasia"—or heartless elimination.
The four lions
killed by the Copenhagen Zoo this week, as well as the healthy young giraffe named Marius put to
death in February, didn't have to die.
A global uproar has
followed the deaths of two African lions and their two ten-month-old cubs.
Their lives ended because the zoo wants to introduce a new male to the
remaining females to bear more lions.
The same outcry was
heard when a healthy young giraffe named Marius, who had the wrong genes for
the facility's breeding program, was killed with a bolt to his head—so as not
to contaminate his body with poisons. The giraffe was publicly dissected and then
fed to the zoo's carnivores, including lions.
None of the deaths
were euthanasia, which is a mercy killing when an animal is suffering or
lingering near death and must be "put down," as zoos always refer to
such situations.
Rather, it was
"zoothanasia," or killing done by zoo workers because an animal is no
longer needed for one reason or another and is deemed to be a disposable object
rather than a sentient being. (Related: "Opinion: Killing of Marius the Giraffe
Exposes Myths About Zoos.")
The "Marius
Effect"
Many people around
the world were outraged by Marius's death. I call this the "Marius
Effect."
Many of them had
never previously voiced their opinion about the common killings of what are
disparagingly called "surplus animals" by zoos, or had spoken out
about other animal issues. (See "National Zoo Deaths: 'Circle of Life' or
Animal Care Concerns?")
While some workers
at the zoo and elsewhere said the giraffe had to be killed because he didn't
fit into the zoo's breeding program, and therefore couldn't be used as a
breeding machine (like dogs at a puppy mill), countless others disagreed. An
online petition asking the zoo to hold off on the killing until another home
was found received tens of thousands of signatures.
Marius was killed
despite the fact that another facility had offered him a home in which he could
live out h
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140327-copenhagen-zoo-giraffes-lions-animals-deaths-science-world/
At the Copenhagen Zoo, Humans Can Be Animals
You’d think killing
a giraffe would be enough. Never mind
that the giraffe was perfectly healthy, or that its killers worked at the
Copenhagen Zoo—which, as a rule, much prefers its giraffes alive than dead—or
that they killed it in front of a group of children, or that the children
watched the giraffe be dismembered and fed to the zoo’s lions (teachable
moment?)—or that when word got out, the zoo received the condemnation of animal
lovers everywhere.
You’d think the
zookeepers would learn their lesson. You
wouldn’t think that, a month later, they’d kill four healthy lions.
Were they the same
lions to whom they had fed the giraffe?
I don’t know. I stopped
reading. But I bet even Dr. Moreau is on
his island somewhere thinking, those Danes are nuts.
Their excuse for the
killing the giraffe was that they were worried about inbreeding. OK, maybe, I guess. Still seems exces
Danish Zoo Killings Denounced by Rabbi as Hypocritical
Amid Slaughter Ban
A Danish zoo’s
slaying of healthy animals proves that animal welfare concerns are a false
justification for Denmark’s recent ban on ritual slaughter, a prominent
European rabbi charged.
Citing the need to
make room for new animals and prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed
four healthy lions earlier this week and a healthy giraffe last month.
The killings, which
prompted an international outcry, make it “more apparent that this [shechitah
ban] is less about animal welfare, and much more about the politics of
immigration and integration,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the
Conference of European Rabbis, said in a statement on Thursday.
Denmark’s
agriculture minister, Dan Jorgensen, issued a new regulation last month making
it illegal to slaughter animals without stunning, posing a problem for Jewish
and Muslim ritual slaughter. He said the ban owed to animal welfare
considerations.
Goldschmidt
suggested that’s false.
“Since there is
little or no religious slaughter in Denmar
Zoo Biology
- Commentary
- You
have free access to this content
Elevating the priority of zoo animal welfare: the chief executive as an agent of reform (pages 1–7)
Terry L. Maple
Article first published online: 16 JAN 2014 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21117
- Research Article
- You
have free access to this content
Factors Associated With Uterine Endometrial Hyperplasia and Pyometra in Wild Canids: Implications for Fertility (pages 8–19)
Cheryl S. Asa, Karen L. Bauman, Sarah Devery, MartÃn Zordan, Gerardo R. Camilo, Sally Boutelle and Anneke Moresco
Article first published online: 1 APR 2013 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21069
- Commentary
- You
have free access to this content
“Use it or lose it”: Characterization, implications, and mitigation of female infertility in captive wildlife (pages 20–28)
Linda M. Penfold, David Powell, Kathy Traylor-Holzer and Cheryl S. Asa
Article first published online: 28 DEC 2013 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21104
- Husbandry Reports
- You
have free access to this content
Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) captive propagation to promote recovery of declining populations (pages 29–35)
Timothy J. Smyser and Robert K. Swihart
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2014 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21114
- Research Articles
- You
have free access to this content
Boldness towards novelty and translocation success in captive-raised, orphaned Tasmanian devils (pages 36–48)
David L. Sinn, Lisa Cawthen, Susan M. Jones, Chrissy Pukk and Menna E. Jones
Article first published online: 28 DEC 2013 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21108
- You
have free access to this content
The influence of ambient noise on maternal behavior in a Bornean sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus) (pages 49–53)
Megan A. Owen, Suzanne Hall, Lisa Bryant and Ronald R. Swaisgood
Article first published online: 17 DEC 2013 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21105
- You
have free access to this content
Implementing unpredictability in feeding enrichment for Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) (pages 54–62)
Marion Schneider, Gunther Nogge and Lydia Kolter
Article first published online: 9 JAN 2014 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21112
- You
have free access to this content
Implementing a low-starch biscuit-free diet in zoo gorillas: The impact on behavior(pages 63–73)
E.H. Less, R. Bergl, R. Ball, P.M. Dennis, C.W. Kuhar, S.R. Lavin, M.A. Raghanti, J. Wensvoort, M.A. Willis and K.E. Lukas
Article first published online: 4 JAN 2014 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21116
- You
have free access to this content
Implementing a low-starch biscuit-free diet in zoo gorillas: The impact on health(pages 74–80)
E.H. Less, K.E. Lukas, R. Bergl, R. Ball, C.W. Kuhar, S.R. Lavin, M.A. Raghanti, J. Wensvoort, M.A. Willis and P.M. Dennis
Article first published online: 13 JAN 2014 | DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21115
City zoo a signature away from being recognised
internationally
Induction of a
rhinoceros, a giraffe and a hippopotamus in the cages of Karachi Zoo can help
win recognition by Karachi Zoo on the world association of the zoo.
It is a
pre-qualification for any of the zoo in the world to have five bigger animals
to get world-class recognition.
In this regard a
summary by the administration of Karachi Zoo is sent to Sindh Chief Minister
Secretariat about two weeks back for the purpose of approval.
The application is a
follow up of Qaim Ali Shah Chief Minister Sindh’s visit to Karachi Zoo where he
was informed by the zoo administration about the lacking of these animals.
Karachi Zoo has
lions and tigers but does not have rhino, giraffe and hippopotamus, said
director Zoo Fahim Khan talking to Daily Times.
The induction of
five big animals including elephant, rhino, lion, giraffe and hippopotamus
would help acknowledge Karachi Zoo on international level. We have sent summary
to Chief Minister Sindh for approval to purchase giraffe, rhino and
hippopotamus and we are waiting for CM Sindh to sign the summary, said Fahim.
Referring to Rs 10
million grant for the development of Zoo announced by CM Sindh, Fahim said so
far the amount has not been received.
On Wednesday, Chief
Secretary Sindh Sajjad Salim Hotiana also visited the Karachi Zoo and directed
officials to bring more ani
How Two Women Brought a Sea Change to Conservation
(Op-Ed)
When renowned Bronx
Zoo naturalist William Beebe added Gloria Hollister and Jocelyn Crane to his
research staff nearly a century ago, his decision to employ two female
scientists was considered novel enough that it required some justification. The
zoo's founding ornithology curator went out of his way to acknowledge that he
didn't care whether they were men or women. What mattered most in a researcher,
said Beebe, is "what is above the ears."
Hollister arrived in
1928 with a master's in zoology and three years' experience in cancer research
at Rockefeller University. Crane, who joined in 1930 after earning her
bachelor's in zoology, had already published in the prestigious Journal of
Mammalogy. Yet despite their qualifications — which paralleled those of their
male colleagues — some media focused more on the women's sex than their scie
Are zoos and aquariums improving public understanding
of biodiversity?
In response to the
UN Strategic Plan for Biodiversity – created by the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) – World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) (a partner of
CBD) launched a campaign (in 2005) to assess current public understanding of biodiversity
and to ensure that this understanding improved as a result of refined science
communication within zoos and aquariums.
WAZA have been
undertaking an assessment of the success to which zoos and aquariums around the
world effectively educate the public about biodiversity and this month the
results were released.
By conducting a
survey of visitor knowledge before and after their exposure to biodiversity
information, WAZA were able to gauge the success of education facilities and
interest levels of the public. Additionally, the backgrounds of visitors were
established which is important to ensure information is communicated at the
correct pitch and style.
Altogether,
information from 6000 visitors at 30 zoos across the world was gathered.
Although, it may be difficult to fully assess biodiversity understanding from
these surveys due to such a small sample (there are 700 million annual visitors
worldwide to zoos and aquariums).
The average zoo and
aquarium visitor is 35 year old (mean age) women (59.3%) who spent 15 years in
formal education and were repeat visitors to the zoo or aquarium (59.9%). A
majority (86.4%)of visitors had watched a nature documentary in the last 12 months
and so had an active interest in nature and wildlife, although only 12.7% were
a member of a nature-orientated or conservation group.
Within the survey –
before and after visitation – participants were asked about their understanding
of biodiversity and understanding of pro-biodiversity actions (large scale and
small scale). Before visitation, 9.9% displayed a strong understanding of biodiversity
and 69.5% had a basic understanding of the concept of biodiversity, meaning
they knew it was a biological concept. On a scale of one to ten, the mean
understanding was 2.99+/-1.2. Younger respondents had a better understanding of
biodiversity which is indicative of an increase in targeted education about
biodiversity and conservation within schools and to school-age individuals.
Additionally, those who watched nature shows had a better understanding of
biodiversity and what it means. This increased knowledge as a result of
education via media may also be partially responsible for an overall increased
public trust in science in recent years. These groups also had a greater
knowledge of actions (large and small) that would promote biodiversity.
On a scale of one to
ten, knowledge of actions that could positively influence biodiversity averaged
at 4.9 and increased to 5.17 after visiting. The percentage of people who could
identify personal actions to take increased from 50.5% to 58.8%. Suggestions of
actions included recycling, responsible consumption of goods and services and
supporting relevant organisations.
Biodiversity
literacy increased to 75.1% post visit, an increase of 5.6% and visitors to
European and Middle-Eastern zoos had a greater understanding of biodiversity
and positive actions than Asian and African zoos. In addition, visitors to
South American, African and Asian zoos showed lowest increase in knowledge. It
is important that this is addressed considering these regions contain areas of
such high biodiversity in urgent need of protection.
Several other
researchers and organisations have undertaken similar assessments including the
Union of Ethical Biotrade who found (during a study that took place from 2009)
that out of 11,000 individuals, 28% had a partial understanding of biodiversity
whilst 39% had a good understanding. Balmford et al. (2007) undertook research
at seven British wildlife attractions and found that informal visits had little
to no impact on conservation knowledge or ability to act positively.
From this, it is
clear that a more standardised approach to assessment needs to be taken so
clearer statistics can be universally established. There also needs to be
further research provided and innovative ideas est
Diary of a Primatologist
Ex-city zoo curator Ingrid Schmidt-Buchanan dies
Ingrid
Schmidt-Buchanan was known as the Madam of the Cat House – that’s “cat,” as in
lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs, said her son, Sean Schmidt.
During her long
career working at zoos in Germany, Omaha and Albuquerque, Schmidt-Buchanan
helped to raise as many as 50 newborn big cats who were ill, injured or
rejected by their mothers.
She was also a
pioneer, becoming one of the first women to work in zoo administration as a
supervisor and collection curator at a time when zoos were operated almost
exclusively by men, and she was among the early zoo officials to push for
keeping animals in larger spaces that more resembled their natural habitats.
Schmidt-Buchanan
helped start the Cheetah Species Survival Plan at the Rio Grande Zoo to breed
cheetahs in captivity, thereby decreasing the need to remove them from the wild
and in many cases introduce zoo-born animals to the wild. The program later served
as a model for animal breeding programs at other zoos throughout the country.
Schmidt-Buchanan
died at her Sierra Vista, Ariz., home on March 17 from complications of lung
cancer. She was 72. At her own request, there was no funeral or graveside
service, her son said.
Schmidt-Buchanan
became one of the public faces of the Rio Grande Zoo, often traveling aboard
the Albuquerque Journal’s corporate jet, piloted by publisher Tom Lang, to pick
up baby gorillas, polar bears, and other animals from zoos and holding
facilities around the U.S. and Canada.
As a thank-you to
Lang, the zoo named a baby polar bear “Lear” after the publisher’s jet, and
named other animals after members of the publisher’s family, said former zoo
director Ray Darnell.
She was born Ingrid
Hartz in Germany and even as a child had an affinity for animals. She rode and
showed horses, and took part in equestrian events, said her s
Extinction v. Captive Conservation: The Fate of the
Three Amigos
Recently, in a legal
ploy designed to undermine the “Three Amigos” provision of the Appropriations
Act of 2014, the Friends of Animals (FoA) filed a federal lawsuit to try and
stop the conservation of three endangered antelope species.
In a legal and
legislative skirmish beginning in 2005, conservationists and animal rights
activists have battled over the fate of three endangered antelope. It began
when US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) added the scimitar-horned oryx, dama
gazelle and addax (a|k|a the Three Amigos) to the Endangered Species list– but
allowed an exemption for legal trade and hunting of captive bred specimens here
in the United States. FoA and other animal rights activists filed a federal
lawsuit hoping to overturn the exemption and block these captive conservation
efforts. Subsequently, in 2009 they got their wish, the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia struck down the FWS exemption, putting the Three
Amigos in jeopardy of extinction once again. Then, in January of this year, the
Appropriations Act of 2014 was passed and signed into law by President Obama
with a “Three Amigos” exemption that once again cleared the way to conserve the
endangered antelope throug
Tigers slaughtered in show of social stature for
Guangdong businessmen
Police seize body of
freshly killed tiger and discover video evidence of electrocution and torture
after raid in Zhanjiang
More than 10 tigers
have been killed as "visual feasts" in China to entertain officials
and rich business people, state media reported.
Police in the port
city of Zhanjiang, in the southern province of Guangdong, seized a freshly
slaughtered tiger and multiple tiger products in a raid this month, said the
Nanfang Daily, the mouthpiece of the provincial Communist Party.
Local officials and
prominent businesspeople gathered to watch the tigers being killed as
"eye-openers" to show off their social stature, it said. Video
footage of a killing two years ago showed the tiger, kept in an iron cage,
having an electrified iron mass prodded into its mouth with a wooden stick and
passing out after being electrocuted for more than 10 seconds, the paper said.
An experienced
cattle or pig slaughterer is normally hired to butcher the carcass, it said,
adding that tiger bones sold for an average of 14,000 yuan (£1,360) a kilo
while the meat fetched 1,000 yuan a kilo.
Police said a
butcher – who jumped to his death while trying to escape arrest in a raid – had
killed more than 10 animals, the report on Wednesday added. "The tigers
were probably anaesthetised for transport. But buyers would check them to make
sure that they were alive before the killing," it quoted an unnamed source
as saying.
Most buyers of the
meat and bones were business owners who would then give them to officials as
gifts, the paper said.
Tiger bones have
long been an ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, for a supposed
capacity to strengthen the human body. While they have been removed from
official in
"Show to kill the tiger", China local paper
in HNWIs (Translated from Japanese)
Canton
(Guangdong) ShoJinKo of AFP = [current events] China Southern (Zhanjiang) city,
was to target the wealthy and local officials as "entertainment pleasure
to the eye", tiger of 10 or more animals are in front of the audience in
that it has been killed, state media reported. China or corpse smuggling
purpose Siberian tiger from car From what local agencies paper of the Chinese
Communist Party, Southern Daily (Nanfang Daily) was communicated to the 26th,
in the raid that local police have made this month, tiger one animal that was
just killed tiger multiple products that were seized with. The
newspaper, reported that a wealthy businessman from officials and local, and
had gathered to watch the event in order to show off the social prestige of
their own. The video was taken two years ago, how pushed the mass of iron in
the mouth with a stick of wood, tiger put in the cage made of iron, faint to
shed electricity for more than 10 seconds there is captured that was. In
addition, it has become customary for to dismantle the corpse of Tiger hired
slaughterhouse worker of cattle, pigs skilled, 14,000 yuan per kilogram average
(about 230,000 yen), tiger bone: 1 meat you are told that it had been buying
and selling 1000 yuan kilometers (about 16,000 yen). According
to the police, a meat processing company that had killed 10 or more animals so
far. This skill in the art, died by jumping from the building to try to evade
arrest when subjected to investigation. As the story of anonymous sources, the newspaper
has reported, "tiger had been anesthetized probably at the time
WHY 'CROCODILE HUNTER' STEVE IRWIN'S FINAL MOMENTS
SHOULD BE TELEVISED
Steve Irwin had one
of the weirdest deaths imaginable: stung multiple times in the heart by a
stingray which had probably mistaken him for a tiger shark. His final words, we
now know from his cameraman, Justin Lyons, were: "I'm dying."
But according to
that same cameraman, it would be wrong, quite wrong for that dramatic last
footage and those now famous last words ever to be shown to the public. Well,
I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree more strongly. It's what Steve would have
wanted, and it's what his public deserves.
I loved watching
Crocodile Hunter, so did my kids, so did an estimated 500 million viewers
around the world. Irwin was huge. And the reason he was huge--besides his manic
energy, infectious enthusiasm, and those ridiculous khaki shorts worn on every
conceivable occasion--was that in almost every episode he diced more closely
with death than any TV wildlife presenter before or since.
"Will he get
eaten by a 20-foot Salty? Or chomped by a Great White? Or stung to death by a
scorpion or a box jellyfish?"
These were the kind
of questions perpetually on viewers' lips as they thrilled to the Crocodile
Hunter's latest insane adventure. And Irwin played up to it because he knew
that was the essence of his appeal. That's why he gave his shows titles like
Ten Deadliest Snakes and (the show he was filming when he died) Ocean's
Deadliest.
Irwin was not an
illusionist. His stunts were for real, and his audiences knew they were for a
real. If Irwin had flinched when, for example, he allowed the world's most
venomous snake--the inland taipan, aka the fierce snake--to nuzzle up to his
bare hand in the middle of the Australian outback, that would have been it.
Curtains. He w
Journal of Threatened Taxa
The International Journal on Conservation & Taxonomy
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
March 2014 | Vol. 6 | No. 3 | Pages 5513-5592
Date of Publication 26 March 2014 (online & print)
DOI: 10.11609/JoTT.26mar14.5513-
Contents
Population genetics implications for the conservation of the Philippine Crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 (Crocodylia: Crocodylidae)
-- Ma. Rheyda P. Hinlo, John A.G. Tabora, Carolyn A. Bailey, Steve Trewick, Glenn Rebong, Merlijn van Weerd, Cayetano C. Pomares, Shannon E. Engberg, Rick A. Brenneman & Edward E. Louis, Jr. Pp. 5513–5533
On the status of Snow Leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) in Annapurna, Nepal
-- Som B. Ale, Bikram Shrestha & Rodney Jackson, Pp. 5534–5543
Morphological and molecular identification of acridid grasshoppers (Acrididae: Orthoptera) from Poonch division, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Pakistan
-- Naila Nazir, Khalid Mehmood, Muhammad Ashfaq & Junaid Rahim, Pp. 5544–5552
New species of genus Hersilia Audouin, 1826 (Araneae: Hersiliidae) from India
-- G.B. Pravalikha, Chelmala Srinivasulu & Bhargavi Srinivasulu, Pp. 5553–5557
A new species of the genus Tylorida Simon, 1894 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from a rocky outcrop in the northern Western Ghats, India
-- Siddharth Kulkarni, Pp. 5558–5561
New records of opisthobranchs from Lakshadweep, India (Mollusca: Heterobranchia)
-- Deepak Apte & Vishal Bhave, Pp. 5562–5568
On the occurrence of the Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus Bennet, 1833 (Carnivora: Felidae) in coastal Kerala, India
-- Ranjini Janardhanan, Shomita Mukherjee, P.V. Karunakaran & Ramana Athreya, Pp. 5569–5573
Coprological prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in carnivores and small mammals at Dhaka zoo, Bangladesh
-- M.M. Rokib ur Raja, Anita Rani Dey, Nurjahan Begum, Uzzal Kumar Kundu & Faishal Al Ashad, Pp. 5574–5579
Rediscovery of Beddome’s Coralsnake Calliophis beddomei Smith, 1943 from the type locality
-- S.R. Ganesh & Eric Ramanujam, Pp. 5580–5582
A sight record of Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta (Primates: Cercopithecidae) in Karnataka, India
-- Raghunath R. Belur & Sugandhi Gadadhar, Pp. 5583–5584
Further additions to the Odonata (Insecta) fauna of Goa, India
-- Parag Rangnekar & Rohan Naik, Pp. 5585–5589
Remarks on ‘A report on Lecanidae (Rotifera: Monogononta) from Andhra Pradesh, India’: misidentifications and status
-- B.K. Sharma & Sumita Sharma, Pp. 5590–5592
www.zoosprint.org, www.zooreach.org, www.threatenedtaxa.org, www.southasiantaxa.org, www.pterocount.org, www.southasianprimatenetwork.
Why torment it in the first place?
Crocodile Attacks Man
The Truth about the Blackfish “Documentary” by Ken May
First of all, what
gives me the right to weigh in on the Sea World vs. Blackfish debate? Unlike
many of the self proclaimed “experts” who are animal rights activists
masquerading as scientists or former Sea World employees who have never gotten
close to a killer whale, I am a former marine mammal trainer who worked with
Killer Whales as well as many other marine mammals for many years. I worked at
Sea World San Diego from August, 1974 through June, 1982. I feel that I have as
much of a right if not more so than most of these people spewing misleading
footage to CNN.
I was surprised and
I am ashamed of CNN for labeling this propaganda a documentary. And that’s what
it is everybody, pure propaganda. And because a Sea World trainer died in
Orlando, Florida and CNN played this pack of dribble over and over on what I
used to consider a professional network, the animal rights activists’ movement
is finally gaining undeserved momentum after so many years of trying.
There have always
been some sort of group gathered outside the main gates at Sea World trying to
influence the masses as to their cause, whether it be animal rights, religion,
politics, or some other platform. I remember one year, a group was handing out
toothpicks with little American flags attached to them for a small donation
outside of the main gate to the park. I don’t remember what their cause was
about but I do remember one of our feeder pool dolphins dying and when they
researched the cause of death, they found a handful of these little American
flag toothpicks inside of him. Where were the animal rights activists then?
Blackfish has two
central premises that are simply wrong: One, that life at Sea World is harmful
for the killer whales and the trainers working with them and two, that Sea
World tried to cover up the facts surrounding the death of trainer Dawn
Brancheau in 2010 and the history of Tilikum, the killer whale involved in the
incident. To make their point, the film conveys falsehoods (downright lies),
manipulates viewers emotionally, and uses questionable filmmaking techniques to
create “facts” as they see them. I’ve always believed that truthful facts were
facts and that facts are not created to serve a need. Printing or televising
something to the general public without double checking and triple checking the
facts is shameful (just ask Dan Rather for those of you old enough to
remember). This type of medium is manipulative, garbage journalism which is
either used to create a sensation, generate publicity, or fill an agenda.
Blackfish blatantly did all three and again, shame on CNN!
Let me respond to
the first premise by saying that nobody, and I mean NOBODY takes care of and
protects the marine mammals better than the animal care and marine mammal
training departments at Sea World. We treated the marine mammals in our care as
if they were our children. I never observed even a hint of abuse by anybody in
the care of these magnificent animals. Everybody was 100% on-board with
ensuring their well-being.
It’s hard to take a
hard line against the statement that working with killer whales can be harmful
to the trainers working with them after the death of an experienced trainer and
various injuries to trainers over the years. Of course there are risks involved.
We knew that going in. But we took precautions to maximize our safety. We never
worked with a killer whale alone without a backup trainer on hand. We kept
detailed records of each training or show session down to critiquing each
behavior. We communicated among ourselves our thoughts and feelings. We were
all seasoned trainers with years of experience to rely on. And the real secret
to effective training is working with each animal at a pace that is quick
enough to keep their interest and slowly enough to avoid aggression. It was my
experience that the animals, whether they be killer whales, sea lions, or
dolphins, seemed to enjoy the mental challenges during the training process,
enjoyed the interactions with the trainers, gained a mutual respect with each
trainer, and really what it boils down to is that like everything else, it is
all about the relationship.
Personally, I feel
that this is where the animal activists and Blackfish really miss the mark.
They can’t seem to understand the deep relationships born out of love and
respect between the marine mammals and the trainers and animal care staff. They
seem to be too concerned with tearing things down as opposed to building
something great.
I didn’t know Dawn
Brancheau personally. I do know that she was a marine mammal trainer for 14
years and held the love and respect of her fellow trainers. She may have made a
mistake by putting herself into a position of vulnerability. She may have gotten
too comfortable around the killer whales, particularly Tilikum who was not
targeted as an animal to get into the water with based on past history. Or, in
the course of doing everything that she has done many times before, it just
happened that Tilikum had an opportunity to grab her and bring her into the
water. I don’t know because I wasn’t there! I have my own ideas, opinions, and
questions based on my experiences working with killer whales but again, I
wasn’t there! And neither were any of the press, animal activists, Sea World
employees, other former trainers, snack bar personnel, well you get the point.
Even the park guests who witnessed the event don’t know for sure exactly what
happened nor could they know.
Dawn lived for her
work with the killer whales according to her family and knew that there were
risks. And according to her family, she would absolutely hate the way that Sea
World is being portrayed and the bad press they have received. And Sea World never
hid anything from the public about Dawn Brancheau’s death. They just didn’t
give opinions and hyperbole based on what may have happened. They refused to
make speculations without knowing the facts. If that upsets people in today’s
world of instant gratification, that’s tough.
The film makes an
impression that Sea World is out of control collecting killer whales. The fact
is Sea World has not collected a killer whale since 1978. I know because I was
waste deep in the breeding and research pool at the Shamu Stadium when three killer
whales arrived San Diego. That’s over 35 years ago folks. Almost every killer
whale at the Sea World parks were born there and the few older killer whales
that weren’t born at the park were transferred to a Sea World park because
their prior home either closed or was not suitable to properly sustain them. In
fact, Tilikum came from a park in Canada and Corky, who is over 50 years old
and resides in San Diego, used to reside at Marineland of the Pacific in Palos
Verdes, California before it closed its doors.
The film depicts how
Sea World cruelly separates calves from their mothers. In one instance, the
film highlights a whale named Takara and intimates that she was a calf when
separated from her mother. Takara was separated from her mother but the real
fact is she was 12 years old when this happened.
Another instance
involved a younger whale named Kalina who was 4 ½ years old at the time. Sea
World made the decision to move Kalina because she became disruptive to not
only her mother but to the other killer whales as well and felt it necessary to
maintain a healthy social structure. A decision like that is not made without a
lot of thought, taking all factors into consideration, but always with the
intention of doing what is in the best interest of all of the killer whales. We
as humans do the same thing because just as killer whales are a social group,
we are as well.
I can go on for
hours but let me start concluding by saying that Sea World is not perfect.
There were some things that irritated me when I worked there and like any
employee, I had opinions and frustrations. Looking back, some of the animal
facilities could have been a little better. But of course, I worked at Sea
World in its infancy (I am now considered a Sea World Pioneer which really
makes me feel old). Those old facilities are gone. Sea World’s facilities today
are the most modern and best maintained in the world. The new Shamu Stadium is
simply fabulous (I worked at the old Shamu Stadium which is now where the
dolphin show is).
Though safety is
paramount, we didn’t have some of the safety features that today’s trainers are
accustomed to. But of course, over the years, everything evolves. Experience
and time (and money) lead to better facilities with better safety features and
procedures and even right now, Sea World is thinking of ways to make it even
safer.
But Ken, what about
those trainers getting injured? Well, I have opinions on what I would do if I
were the director of training but again, I’m no longer th
Giraffe Monitoring Volunteer - Kenya
THE ZOO OUTSIDER
An independent blog
encompassing the best new ideas & topics in the zoo world, striving for a
progressive and integrated approach to both in-situ and ex-situ wild animal
conservation.
Smuggler caught with 22 bears running free in his car
tried to convince customs officials they were dogs
A Chinese smuggler
was caught red-handed with 22 baby bears running free in his car - but when
questioned by police, the man claimed that he thought the animals were dogs.
Wu Meng, 28, told
border patrol guards in south-west China that he was going to sue them when
they took away what he described as rare pedigree Akita puppies.
When a vet confirmed
that all 22 of the furry animals were not dogs and were in fact bears, Meng
Dolphins illegally in the EU? Dolphinarium owners
refusing DNA analyses
The animal protection organization ProWal and
the Whale-and Dolphinprotection-Forum (WDSF) are looking for evidence in the
dolphinarium in Constanta, town in the EU country Rumania, of their illegal
import of dolphins from Taiji/Japan. None of the 30 dolphinariums in the EU
answered when asked about the DNA analysis of the dolphins held in captivity in
zoos and pleasure parks, which would have no doubt given insight into the
origin of the dolphins. The Washington Species Protection Act (CITES) forbids
the import of dolphins for commercial use. Last September ProWal inspected the
dolphinarium in Constanta, Rumania, after the organization was told that
dolphins were held there, which came from the brutal drive-hunts in Taiji.
ProWal found only two of the original three dolphins, which were bought for
Euros 500.000 from a zoo in Peking under the pretense that these were
captivity-bred dolphins. He was told that one dolphin had died. The Rumanian
dolphinarium owner, furthermore, maintained that these dolphins were second
generation. This, however, could time wise not be possible, the
dolphin-protection organization replied, since the only successful breeding of
a dolphin happened as proven in 2003 and this dolphin calf did not survive. The
dolphin protectors, furthermore, pointed out that there was no documentation of
any successful breeding in the second generation ever in Peking. To the
contrary, China, Russia and the Ukraine belong to the group of the largest buyers
of dolphins caught in the wild from Japan. The Rumanian government in Bucarest
also refused to hand over documentation regarding DNA analysis and so did the
dolphinarium owner in Constanta. Juergen Ortmueller, CEO of the WDSF: “We are
missing here transparency from all the dolphinariums in Europe, which are
hiding behind their own creation the EEP, so that nobody from the outside can
find out what is going on.” A financial investor from Suceava in Rumania by the
name of Popescu, contacted ProWal last fall asking for support to construct a
new private dolphin pool, because he stumbled onto our website by searching the
internet and was under the impression the ProWal is an org
Life with Elephants
It’s easy to
recognize Thainess by elephant images marked on an item. Thai people and Thai
(Asian) elephants are most of the time coming as families.
Thai elephants have
been a long time characterized in Thai culture through tales of Thai history
and Buddhism, since the strong bond between elephants and Thai people that it
is found in Thai proverbs, songs and so on, which amazed many Thais who just came
to realize that. Some of minority groups in Thailand also have elephants in
their home as family members, especially mahouts.
A mahout is known as
an elephant caretaker. For most of Thai people, they seem to be only a worker
feeding elephants and cleaning whe
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