Zoo News Digest 13th - 31st December 2015
(ZooNews 918)
(ZooNews 918)
Peter Dickinson
elvinhow@gmail.com
Dear Colleague,
Wishing everybody
all the very best for 2016. Last year appears to have just flashed past me.
Scarcely knew it happened.
Right now we are in
the silly season. Over the next few weeks just about every zoo will be carrying
out their annual census….and all local papers and some Nationals will be
reporting on it as they do every year. The census today is now more a tradition
than a necessity. Most zoos today have some sort of computerised record system
which if updated regularly should give management the state of play during any
week of the year. I am not including any stories about stock takes unless they
are novel. Blackpool zoos little video however did make me laugh. You will have
to go to their Facebook page to see that.
The Goat and the
Tiger are still in the news. There is WebCam and there is talk of a movie. Did
you know they now plan a children's book on it? It would seem that there are
people out there that believe the unnecessary barbaric act of feeding a live
goat to a tiger is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. It isn't…and if we start
telling children that it is, well there really isn't a very nice future waiting
for some poor creatures. Don't get me wrong. I would, could and have
slaughtered many a goat for feeding. Horses, camels…well you name it and I have
probably killed it at one time or another. But, and it is a big but… I hate
animal cruelty in all its forms, and this is cruel and bloody stupid. Live
feeding is wrong. This explanation… "The park’s specialists explain this
(live feeding) has to be done from time to time to ensure the tiger retains
hunting habits" is absolute crap!
You will note that
the South Lakes Wild Animal Park is getting a lot of press lately. I have
posted several links. It has been stated they will close on the 9th of January
and more recently on the 11th. We will see. Personally I am sick of it. I don't
want to see anyone losing their jobs but I just wish they would cut the crap
and close the place and stop playing silly games.
Dear Colleague,
Wishing everybody
all the very best for 2016. Last year appears to have just flashed past me.
Scarcely knew it happened.
Right now we are in
the silly season. Over the next few weeks just about every zoo will be carrying
out their annual census….and all local papers and some Nationals will be
reporting on it as they do every year. The census today is now more a tradition
than a necessity. Most zoos today have some sort of computerised record system
which if updated regularly should give management the state of play during any
week of the year. I am not including any stories about stock takes unless they
are novel. Blackpool zoos little video however did make me laugh. You will have
to go to their Facebook page to see that.
The Goat and the
Tiger are still in the news. There is WebCam and there is talk of a movie. Did
you know they now plan a children's book on it? It would seem that there are
people out there that believe the unnecessary barbaric act of feeding a live
goat to a tiger is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. It isn't…and if we start
telling children that it is, well there really isn't a very nice future waiting
for some poor creatures. Don't get me wrong. I would, could and have
slaughtered many a goat for feeding. Horses, camels…well you name it and I have
probably killed it at one time or another. But, and it is a big but… I hate
animal cruelty in all its forms, and this is cruel and bloody stupid. Live
feeding is wrong. This explanation… "The park’s specialists explain this
(live feeding) has to be done from time to time to ensure the tiger retains
hunting habits" is absolute crap!
You will note that
the South Lakes Wild Animal Park is getting a lot of press lately. I have
posted several links. It has been stated they will close on the 9th of January
and more recently on the 11th. We will see. Personally I am sick of it. I don't
want to see anyone losing their jobs but I just wish they would cut the crap
and close the place and stop playing silly games.
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.
********
*****
***
**
*
Interesting Links
Vol. XXX | No. 12 | December 2015
ISSN 0971-6378 (Print)
0973-2543 (Online)
Date of publication 21 December 2015
A Report on Midwinter Bird Diversity from Mangalajodi Wetland, Odisha
-- Suvamoy Changder, Sagar Adhurya, Utpal Singha Roy and Moitreyee Banerjee, Pp. 1-5
Announcement: World Fish Migration Day, May 21 2016
P. 5
Abundance of Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818) (Carnivora: Herpestidae) in the Bengaluru region
-- S. Rajashekara and M.G. Venkatesha, Pp. 6-12
Tragia praetervisa Chakrab. & N.P. Balakr.(Euphorbiaceae) – an addition to the Flora of Odisha from Nayagarh
-- Dhole P.A., P.K. Baske, A.C. Halder and K.A. Sujana, Pp. 13-14
Announcement: 13th International Otter Congress: Otters & People, 03-08 July 2016, Singapore
P. 14
Management of Impaction in Greater One-horned Rhino
-- R.K. Singh, U.C. Srivastava and Mohd Nasir, Pp. 15-17
A first record of albinism in Jungle Palm Squirrels Funambulus tristriatus (Rodentia: Sciuridea) from India
-- Amit Sayyed, Anil Mahabal and Abhijit Nale, Pp. 18-19
Husbandry and Care of Terrestrial Invertebrates (Chapter 36, ZOOKEEPING)
-- Tom Mason and Aaron M. Cobaugh, Pp. 20-30
ZOOLEX: Otter Centre, Stoat Heath
Pp. 31-35
Education Reports
Pp. 36-39
Announcement: 5th Biodiversity Conference, March 10-12 March 2016, Madrid, Spain
P. 40
Announcement: IUCN World Conservation Congress, 1-10 September 2016, Hawai’I
Back Cover page
*****
Tiger-Goat Duo rockets to stardom in Russian cyber
space on New Year’s Eve
In the last weeks of
the outgoing year - the Year of the Goat in the Chinese Zodiac - a black goat
nicknamed Timur and Far Eastern (also called Siberian) tiger called Amur met in
a safari park in Russia's Primorye Territory to instantly rocket to stardom in
the national cyber space. At the end of November the goat was brought to tiger
Amur’s vast enclosure the size of a football pitch approximating wildlife
environment as live prey. The park’s specialists explain this has to be done
from time to time to ensure the tiger retains hunting habits. It is easy to
imagine how surprised the park’s attendants were when the goat boldly
confronted the huge cat head on showing no intention to step back an inch. The
tiger had to retreat. Then, at a certain point the beast of prey for some
reason displayed remarkable benevolence towards the unexpected guest. First,
the tiger let the goat use his shelter to hide from rain and snow during the
night. Then, in several days’ time the wild beast and the domesticated goat
apparently developed what began to look pretty much like real friendship. They
were repeatedly seen take long strides together, play tag and even have their
Swiss architects go wild over zoo design
Designing spaces for
wild animals is not what most architects have in mind when entering the
profession. But the creative Swiss are embracing the challenge to make lions,
elephants and sea creatures feel at home.
Markus Schietsch
clearly remembers his first encounter with a wild bull elephant. He was in the
back of an open pickup truck when the elephant repeatedly mock charged the
vehicle in the Kaeng Krachan national park in Thailand. The adrenalin-packed
experience was courtesy of a study trip organised by the Zurich zoo, as the
Zurich based-architect had just won a CHF57 million ($56.7 million) contract to
build their new Kaeng Krachan elephant house.
“The visit was to
help me understand more about the role of zoos today,” the boyish-looking
40-year-old told swissinfo.ch. “You can still be critical about zoos but they
are very important to generate an awareness about conservation problems outside
Europe.”
He was thrilled to
win the elephant house commission, the biggest project his firm had ever been
entrusted with. Competition was fierce, with around 65 entries from countries
including the United States, France, Italy, Germany and Austria.
But his 6,800 square
metre free-standing wooden roof – designed to give the impression of being
under a giant tree – bowled the jury over.
“We delved into the
world of the elephant and came across these beautiful tree canopies where they
lived,” says Schietsch. “We then tried to translate this structure into the
elephant house design.”
Another Swiss
architect who bagged a multimillion-franc zoo contract is Roger Boltshauser,
who is also based in Zurich. His firm beat internationally-renowned architects
like Zaha Hadid and David Chippe
Emmen zoo closes its doors after 80 years
Emmen zoo closes its doors at 16.30 on Thursday,
80 years after it first opened. The zoo will reopen at a new, bigger location
outside the town in March. ‘We had to do something,’ said spokeswoman Hanneke
Wijshake. ‘We were squashed in between the houses and could not expand.’ The
decision to move to a new location was taken several years ago. The new zoo
will be renamed Wildlands Adventure Zoo and will have bigger enclosures for the
animals. The first of them, such as the tigers and panthers, have already been
moved to their new home. ‘They will have to get used to their new situation,
which is why we are taking three months to reopen,’ Wijshake said
What happened to the missing sun bears?
Two years ago, I
visited the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok, Sabah, for a
documentary project. The centre is established and managed by an amazing
individual known simply as Mr Wong. And through Mr Wong, I became acquainted to
the main character of our documentary – Damai, a Malayan sun bear.
Damai is an adorable
sun bear who was just eight months old when I met her. Unlike most sun bears
who are dependent on their mothers until at least two years of age, Damai
spends most of her time alone. This is because she is an orphan.
Apparently, when
Damai was still a baby, she and her mother got lost in a palm oil estate. The
workers who found them killed her mother and sold Damai as a pet. Damai then
grew up with her adoptive human family, treated like a puppy, caged and given
human food.
However, when she
was four months old, Damai managed to escape from her cage and was found
walking aimlessly around the neighbourhood when a concerned citizen informed
the Wildlife Department – that was how she ended up at the sun bear
conservation centre.
When I met Damai,
she was already four months living in the centre under the care of Mr Wong. She
totally depended on Mr Wong to help her regain her strength and teach her the
skills she needed to survive in the forest one day. But it wasn’t an easy task
to re-acquaint Damai to the forest.
The fact is, sun
bears are supposed to be experts at climbing trees besides having a natural
curiosity to explore the woods. Sadly, having been cage
Zoo breeds very rare jellyfish
Schönbrunn Zoo,
which is the world's oldest zoo and is based in the Austrian capital of Vienna,
notched up the success and revealed they have managed to breed the rare animal,
which is now on show in the aquarium.
Rhizostoma luteum is
so rare that despite claims of its existence based on sightings from hundreds
of years ago, there was significant doubt that any were still left alive.
Zoo director Dagmar
Schratter said: "The giant jellyfish was discovered in 1827 in the Western
Mediterranean. But it is so rarely seen nowadays that some scientists had
doubted its continued existence.
"The fact that
specimens are still alive was only confirmed a few years ago when a few of the
animals were stranded on beaches in Morocco and Spain."
This jellyfish
currently measures just 4 centi
Tiger put down after escaping from KZN zoo
A tiger that escaped
from the Natal Zoological Gardens and Lion Park in Pietermaritzburg has been
put down.
Owner Brian Boswell,
who also owns the controversial Brian Boswell's Circus, says that the animal
escaped on Tuesday.
"We were
notified yesterday [Wednesday]. It has since been killed," he said.
"We had a vet
with us and we had to put it down because it wasn't safe enough to dart
[tranquilize]."
He said nobody was
attacked by the tiger.
Boswell did not
comment on how the animal escaped.
"The police
will look into that."
Nicholas May, who
lives in the Mpushini Valley area, where the tiger made its way to, said the
animal was spotted by a neighbour in her farm yesterday.
He says the owners
were called, and locals assumed the animal would be tranquilized.
"They brought a
shotgun and blasted the hell out of it... The animal has been in a cage, it was
almost tame," May said.
He said the animal
appeared to have survived that and walked off into the nearby bushes.
Boswell however
confirmed that the animal was dead.
The circus has been
heavily criticised recently, and calls were made for it to be boycotted after
allegations emerged that it was mistreating
Were five more tigers killed on Boswell’s Lion Park
property?
The controversy over
the recent shooting of a Bengal tiger that escaped from zoo and circus owner
Brian Boswell’s property was further fuelled on Tuesday by allegations that it
was one of six tigers in fact killed in the wake of a mass escape.
The allegations
emerged during a protest by animal rights activists outside Boswell’s Natal
Zoological Gardens and Lion Park on Tuesday.
In a brief
telephonic conversation with The Witness, Boswell later, however, denied that
more than one tiger was killed “that day”.
“One tiger escaped
and one tiger was shot in a separate incident,” he said.
In reply to the
allegation that it was rumoured that five other tigers were also shot, Boswell
said, “We have put down tigers before, but this was separate. On this occasion
there was one tiger that was shot.”
Ezemvelo KZN
Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said the organisation was aware of only one
tiger being shot at Boswell’s behest after it escaped onto a neighbouring farm.
“I have received
other phone calls from people also asking the same question you are … Our guys
are busy trying to find out if it is true or not,” said Mntambo.
He said later
Boswell had denied there were additional tiger shootings.
According to his
information, however, it appeared that legislation does not require a permit to
shoot a tiger provided it is shot on the owner’s property.
The allegation of a
mass escape and killing of tigers on Boswell’s property emanated from a local
resident.
The man told the
protesters on Tuesday that according to his information six tigers had been
shot, not only the one reported in the media.
He said later that
he had heard about this from Boswell’s employees.
“I live in the Lion
Park area and the people who work there are friends.
“What I heard was
that six tigers escaped — five were shot and one escaped from that shooting and
was shot later. In all there were six shot dead,” he said.
He said that
prominent monkey expert and animal activist Steve Smit, who was at the protest,
phoned Boswell in his presence and confronted him with the information. “He
[Boswell] confirmed it,” he said.
Smit said that when
he called Boswell he did not ask him if it was true that six tigers were shot.
“I just said that I
was calling about the six tigers that escaped and were shot, and Boswell
confirmed it,” he said.
Smit said he asked
Boswell if the tigers were all shot on the same day and he had replied “no” and
said they were shot “over a couple of days”.
“Five were shot on
his property and one went onto a neighbouring property and was shot there. I
asked Boswell why the tigers were not darted, and he said it was because the
bush was too thick,” said Smit.
A video recording of
Smit talking to Bo
Large permanent reserves required for effective
conservation of old fish
100 years needed to
fully recover slow growing fish
Permanent marine
protected areas and wilderness--places where fish can grow old--are critical to
the effective conservation of marine ecosystems according to a new study
conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society, James Cook University, and
Lancaster University.
Unlike previous
research focused primarily on the weight or biomass of fish as a measure of
reef recovery, this study evaluated the life histories of fish communities. In
doing so, the researchers found much slower change--well beyond the 20 years
that it took for biomass to recover--and some factors like growth rate were
expected to change for more than 100 years. The findings underscore the
importance of permanent marine protected areas and wilderness in the effective
protection of marine fishes.
The study titled
"Marine reserve recovery rates towards a baseline are slower for reef fish
community life histories than biomass" appears in th
Stem Cells May Save Northern White Rhinos
With only three
northern white rhinoceroses left on Earth, conservationists are giving up on
traditional breeding efforts and turning to cutting-edge science to save this
subspecies.
At a meeting in
Vienna from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, researchers developed a plan to use stem cells to
create fertilized rhino embryos, which will be carried by surrogate southern
white rhino females.
This past year has
been a sad one for northern white rhinos, a rapidly disappearing subspecies
destroyed by habitat loss and poaching. There were six northern whites on the
pl
Oldest of zoo gorillas turns 59 at Columbus Zoo
A gorilla that
officials say is the oldest known gorilla living in a zoo is celebrating her
59th birthday with a party.
The Columbus Zoo
says the female western lowland gorilla, named Colo, is celebrating with toys
and an ice cake containing treats such as clementines and tomatoes frozen
inside. Online viewers can see Colo’s habitat drap
Bowmanville Zoo owner denies wrongdoing after PETA
releases video of whipping
A Bowmanville zoo
director is defending his actions after an animal activist group released a
video showing the man whipping a tiger and saying that if PETA had seen his
actions, they would burn the place to the ground.
PETA – People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals – posted a 1:37 video of Michael Hackenberger
training the Siberian tiger. Hackenberger is heard swearing angrily after the
animal ignored his cue and jumped on a ledge instead of continuing with his practice
routine.
“Fu**ing piece of
fu**cking sh**,” he says as he
Statement from Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums
The following is a
statement from CAZA Executive Director, Massimo Bergamini, following the
release of a video alleging animal abuse at the Bowmanville Zoo.
"The welfare of
the animals in the care of our accredited member institutions is our paramount
concern.
CAZA's values,
policies and standards are clear: animals must be treated with respect and
dignity and in a manner that does not jeopardize their welfare.
After viewing the
edited video, we have decided to bring the matter before our Ethics Committee
for investigation.
The Committee is
being empaneled today and we expect that it will convene quickly to consider
the matter.
The issues raised by
the video are serious and requi
Siegfried and Roy Shouldn't Be Surprised By Their
Tiger Cubs' Tragic Death
Just three months
after Siegfried and Roy unveiled two white tigers who they had bred in
captivity for people's entertainment, the Las Vegas performers announced, with
great sadness, that the little cubs had died. The only problem is, the fact
that these young animals lives' ended so early is their fault.
Hollywild Animal Park hires new curator
S. Nigel Platt will
lead Hollywild's animal department and be the animal curator for the nonprofit
animal park that has been home to the Upstate for more than 40 years.
The press release
describes Platt in the following:
"For the last
eight years, Platt has served as executive director at Safe Haven and
Educational Adventures in Easley, SC, non-profit organization providing
permanent refuge for rescued exotic wildlife. A native of England, Platt first
came to the United States as Herpetologist for the Toledo Zoo in 1993. He then
came to the Upstate as General Curator of the Greenville Zoo where he worked
for six years providing professional leadership, strategic planning, oversight
and supervision for the animal collection, facilities and personnel before
being tapped by Reaseheath College in England to establish the school’s
teaching zoo program and animal collection. Upon completion of the project,
Platt returned to the SC Upstate and co-founded Safe Haven with Kim Chiswell,
an animal care specialist and educator. Platt will remain a consultan
Vet's battle for chimp stranded in empty zoo
Marthe Arends had
just arrived in Burkina Faso and was walking through the city of Bobo-Dioulasso
when she heard a noise over her shoulder.
“I suddenly heard an
’uuhm, uuhm’ behind me,” the 31-year-old from Berlin said. On turning around
she saw a pathetic looking Chimpanzee sitting on a wall with a chain around it.
“Lolita clearly
wanted to get our attention,” said Arends. That was in 2012. But it became the
start of a deep friendship for which the German vet even gave up her job.
Arends’ father -
himself a doctor in parasiteology and veterinary medicine at the Free
University in Berlin - had cautioned her before she left for Africa that she
should
Council responds to Dalton zoo 'harassment' comments
SOUTH Lakes Safari
Zoo in Dalton is to close on January 9, bosses of the tourist attraction have
announced.
A statement was
issued after Barrow Borough Council ruled all wooden public walkways must be
shut with immediate effect due to concerns about safety.
The decision was
made at a meeting of the Licensing Regulatory Committee - prompting zoo
spokesman Karen Brewer to say the attraction would be 'effectively closed'.
She said: "In
effect if you close the walkways you are closing the zoo.
"We would be
closing the only access areas to the natural park. You have been round to see
the area and in effect you would be closing us."
Council responds to Dalton zoo 'harassment' comments
A statement was
issued after Barrow Borough Council ruled all wooden public walkways must be
shut with immediate effect due to concerns about safety.
The decision was
made at a meeting of the Licensing Regulatory Committee - prompting zoo
spokesman Karen Brewer to say the attraction would be 'effectively closed'.
She said: "In
effect if you close the walkways you are closing the zoo.
"We would be
closing the only access areas to the natural park. You h
Row over Dalton zoo safety intensifies
- Zoo criticises
council's handling of licensing issues
- Council defends
decision
- Evening Mail calls
for both parties to hold clear the air talks
- MP hopes solution
can be found
- Petition launched
to stop zoo closure
Barrow Borough
Council released a statement on Friday in response to South Lakes Safari Zoo
accusing the authority of harassing the zoo for the past two years.
RELATED
ARTICLES: Muck heap baboon escape fears
raised at zoo
Timeline: The storied past of Dalton zoo and David
Gill
November 1997: Mr
Gill is found guilty of endangering the public after a white rhino escaped from
its enclosure. During the incident in May, the animal fell down a ravine and
had to be shot.
July 2001: A
tribunal awards former animal park employee Lara Kitson £30,000 in compensation
after she claimed she was sacked for being pregnant. Mr Gill denied the
allegations.
April 2004: Mareeba
Wild Animal Park, Gill’s venture in Queensland, Australia, closes after 15
weeks. He was later fined $10,000AUS after a cheetah escaped from the zoo.
August 2007: Mr Gill
is attacked in his own home by the estranged husband of his then-partner.
Richard Creary is later jailed for five years for stabbing Mr Gill in the neck.
July 2008: Mr Gill
quits as chairman of the Barrow and Furness Conservative Association after just
three months. He ran unsuccessfully for the Dalton South ward of Barrow Borough
Council in the May 2008 elections, and again in May this year.
December 2008: A
fire in one of the park’s enc
Dalton zoo bosses to meet Barrow council chief
The attraction made
a shock announcement earlier this month that it would close in January,
following a decision by Barrow Borough Council to close the zoo’s public
walkways due to health and safety reasons.
The council has
explained that their licensing regulatory committee ruled that all wooden
public walkways at the Dalton attraction must be shut with immediate effect due
to concerns over safety.
The zoo was given 28
days to comply.
In response, the
animal park issued a statement last week saying they would shut on January 9.
South Lakes Safari Zoo to issue 'formal complaint'
against Barrow Borough Council, according to statement
THE South Lakes
Safari Zoo has announced that they will be making 'a formal complaint' to
Barrow Borough Council after the animal park was ordered to close its wooden
walkways on safety grounds.
In a statement
issued on their Facebook page, the zoo claims that the council has used a
'heavy-handed approach'.
Dalton Zoo facing order to prevent baboons escaping
Barrow Borough
Council's licensing regulatory committee is being recommended to issue
direction orders against South Lakes Safari Zoo at a meeting due to health and
safety concerns.
The authority has
identified three conditions to the Dalton zoo's licence which it states are not
being met.
A muck pile in the
African enclosure, which houses rhinos, giraffes and baboons, could pose a
route for the monkeys to climb fencing and escape, a report to the council has
found.
The zoo was told to
move the pile away from the boundary by December 31, however the attraction
states it cannot do so until the completion of a new rhino facility which has
been delayed by several months.
"Moving the
muck heap away from the moat and enclosure fence will reduce the escape risk
and is deemed to be an easy task," the report reads.
The direction order,
if imposed, would give the attraction a deadline of 14 days to carry out the
work.
A letter to the
council from the zoo in response reads: "At this time it is absolutely
necessary for the muck store to remain within the boundary of the rhino field
albeit a safe distance from the boundary to prevent escape of baboons.
"Any suggestion
that the pile was to be in the middle of the field is simply unsafe and not
good practice. It would create very dangerous wet patches in the ground for rh
Researchers find that Australian and New Zealand
little penguins are distinct species
A team of
researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago and the University of
Tasmania has discovered that Australian and New Zealand little penguins
represent two distinct species, rather than one.
Scientists had
previously wondered about the relationships between populations of the penguin
(popularly known as little blue penguins or fairy penguins) found on either
side of the Tasman. The trans-Tasman team used genetic techniques to compare
populations from both countries, and surprisingly found that they are not the
same species.
"We found a
very strong pattern, where New Zealand has its own distinctive genetic group
that is clearly very differe
Perth Zoo in echidna breeding world first
Perth Zoo has
produced the world's first puggle from two captive-born echidnas.
Perth's newest
puggle hatched in August, weighing less than a gram, before spending two months
in its mother's pouch to eventually be deposited in a burrow when it got too
prickly for its mum.
A Perth Zoo
spokeswoman said short-beaked echidnas were notoriously difficult to breed, but
changes to animal management and their exhibit design, inspired by Philadelphia
Zoo, led to a successful result.
'The puggles will
remain in their burrows off display until they're about six months old,' she
said.
'By then they will
have a fully protective covering of spines and look just like a small adult
echidna.'
It is hoped the
successful breeding p
Russian specialists ready to assist North Korea count
Amur tigers
Russian scientists
are ready to assist North Korea assess the potential presence of Amur tigers in
the country, director of the Amur Tiger Center's Primorye branch Sergei
Aramilev said.
“The Russian Natural
Resources and Ecology Ministry and North Korean representatives are holding
negotiations for the assistance of Russian specialists in the assessment of the
tiger population in North Korea,” Aramilev told reporters on Dec. 14. “If ther
Chester Zoo and Cheshire Oaks sign up to become Autism
Champions
Chester Zoo and
Cheshire Oaks have signed up to become more autism-friendly.
Both of the
attractions have pledged to become Autism Champions under a Department of
Health-backed scheme.
They have committed
to put their staff through training as well as help spread awareness and
understanding.
The Connect to
Austism project is being run in the north west by Wirral-based charity Autism
Together.
Autism Together CEO
Robin Bush said: “People with autism want to lead normal lives, they want to go
to the cinema or visit the shops or go on holiday.
“It’s actually
easier than you may think to make an organisation autism-friendly by training
staff and making small adjustments to venues.
“For example, people
with autism can take several seconds to process what you have said, so we train
staff to wait patiently for an answer.
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-zoo-cheshire-oaks-sign-10593157
Why Elephant Rides in India May Soon Be Banned
For decades,
elephants have been used to ferry tourists to popular destinations in
India—walking to the Amber Fort, an opulent palace high on a hill some seven
miles outside Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital city, with up to four people on their
back. It wasn't until this week that the government decided to speak out on
their behalf. Members of the Indian Supreme Court have expressed concern about
elephant working conditions and requested a response from the government in
four weeks. Once they've reviewed the response, they will decide whether or not
to ban the practice, which could be potentially be in violation of Indian law.
The original
petition, filed by an advocate for the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
Centre, stated that only 50 of 130 elephants used for tourism in the Indian
states of Goa and Rajasthan are housed in the state-sponsored supported
Elephant Village, where the animals are given food, cleaned, and taken out for
walks. The remaining 80 are housed in private sheds and “subjected to intense
and relentless physical and mental cruelty” that affects both their mental and
physical well-being—records exist of elephants suffering from back swelling,
chain wounds on their legs, severe foot infections, and even exhibiting signs
of depression.
Sadly, the
mistreatment of elephants in India is an incident not limited to the
subcontinent. In Vietnam, a number of elephants used for work in the touris
A Question To Ponder
The other day, the
senior trainer on our team asked me a question as we filled out our records
after the final session.
"If you could
have a drink with one of the animals here, who would it be?" she
asked.
What a fantastic
question, right? Don't you ever wonder
that about the animals you know? What
would they say if you were granted Doolittle amnesty and you could just chillax
with a frosty beverage and wax poetic with another species of animal?
"Take your
time," the senior trainer added.
She knew how serious of a question this was.
So I walked around
our main dolphin habitat, checking the area for the night to make sure
everything looked good. As I peered into
the underwater viewing windows, I saw the dolphins playing*. I heard their seemingly endless wh
The Disturbing Truth About Where Zoo Animals Come From
Sissy's life in the
zoo system began in 1969. That year, at the tender age of 1, she was ripped
away from her family in Thailand and shipped to the Six Flags Over Texas
Amusement Park petting zoo in Arlington, Texas.
Not long after her
arrival to Six Flags, she was sold to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas.
Tiny Booroolong frog focus of $1 million project with
implications for human survival
The waters of the
trickling streams in the mountains around Oberon in central-west New South
Wales are pretty chilly, even in December, but that goes with the territory for
a group of dedicated frog researchers.
These scientists
spend nights wading the waterways, listening for the croak of frogs, hand
examining and recording each one to see if it is the Booroolong frog.
The species, found
in pockets of streams along the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales and
north-eastern Vi
Beef row: Bhilai zoo animals will now get fish
After having
withdrawn a tender to procure beef for zoo animals following a controversy,
public sector Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) will now feed fresh fish to animals at
its famous Maitri Baag Zoo in Chhattisgarh.
Six New African Clawed Frog Species Discovered
McMaster University
researchers have discovered and described six new African clawed frog species
(Xenopus sp.) that reside in west and sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers
determined the frogs were new species using a variety of analyses, including
DNA, voice recordings, CT scanning of internal anatomy, and chromosome
analysis.
Lions devour zebra in front of zoo visitors
Visitors to the lion
enclosure at Duisburg Zoo were shocked on Thursday afternoon to see the big
cats feasting on the remains of a zebra.
Zoo science director
Jochen Reiter explained to Bild that at 24, the zebra had reached extreme old
age and that it had been put down humanely according to animal rights rules.
Rather than
disposing of the cadaver, the zoo keepers decided to reintroduce it to the
circle of life by giving the l
INDONESIA: ZOO KEEPER ACCUSED OF IMPREGNATING FEMALE
ORANGUTAN
A zoo keeper at Indonesia’s Surabaya zoo has
been arrested and charged with sexual assault on a number of animals and even,
strangely enough, of impregnating a female orangutan, reports the Kalimantan
Press this morning.
The 38-year-old zoo
keeper was filmed in full action by a series of hidden cameras put in place by
the zoo’s security officials after doubts emerged about the man’s devious
actions towards the zoo animals.
“Some animals seemed
sexually aroused when it was time to feed them” explains Akhiroel Yahya,
employee of the zoo f
Report of orang utan sexually assaulted by zoo
employee a hoax
A report claiming that an employee of the
Surabaya Zoo sexually assaulted an orang utan, resulting in the alleged
victim's pregnancy, is a hoax, the zoo’s chief has confirmed.
Zoo chief Heri
Purwanto debunked the report by the World News Daily Network on Saturday,
saying that the zoo was not housing an orang utan named Marilyn and that the
named officials were not employees of the zoo.
"Everything in
the news report is false. We don’t have an orang utan named Marilyn or a
director named Abd
Cheetah on the loose might be 'Annie Rose,' known to
stalk children
The cheetah on the
loose in B.C.'s Kootenay region looks like an adult female named "Annie
Rose" that is likely to stalk children, says the owner of an Alberta zoo.
A cheetah was
spotted wandering along the side of a snowy B.C. highway north of Creston, B.C.
Thursday afternoon, triggering a public warning from the RCMP and a search by
three conservation officers.
Doug Bos of
Discovery Wildlife Park says the markings, collar and other details of the
unidentified animal match Annie, a female cheetah that was at his facility in
2014.
Tasmanian devil monitoring program given $500,000 by
US zoo amid federal funding concerns
A US zoo is giving a
monitoring program for the Tasmanian devil $500,000 over the next five years
amid concerns over federal funding.
A deal has been
struck between the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and the Toledo Zoo in Ohio.
The zoo will
contribute $500,000 over the next five years for a program that monitors the
mammals in the wild.
The program will
also assess the evolution of the facial tumour disease afflicting the
population.
Save the Tasmanian
Devil's team leader Dr Samantha Fox said federal funding runs out next year.
"Our federal
funding is about to finish in about a year's time, and so what happens is the
program then has to review some of the projects we have ongoing and look and
see what's absolutely necessary to the ongoing
My Professional Failures: New Trainer Edition
Here we go again,
another journey down memory lane towards that oft-visited town I like to call
FAILURE. It's a bustling metropolitan
area that lures me back on a relatively routine basis. It's one of those places that always sounds
really good in theory (you know, the whole "Oh, learn from your mistakes
makes you a better person" thing), but when you get there it usually feels
rotten. Occasionally, like any good city
experience, it makes you laugh. Usually
both.
13 veterinary doctors hired for looking after wildlife
parks, zoos
Thirteen veterinary
doctors have been recruited for treatment and looking after of wildlife and
they are being posted at wildlife parks and zoos in the province.
One veterinary
doctor each in wildlife parks whereas two each in zoos will be posted. Private
breeders will also get guidance from these doctors.
This was stated by
Wildlife and Parks Director General Khalid Ayaz Khan while addressing the first
Breeders’ Convention in the history of the Department at Lahore Zoo on
Saturday.
Officers of the
Department, breeders from all over the province and a large number of people
associated with this sector were also present on this occasion.
Khan said that
online information system has been introduced for the guidance and assistance
of breeders for protecting wildlife from diseases. He said that all matters
relating to enhancing the period of renewal of license for breeding from two
years to five years are being considered. However, breeders will have to
provide all data of sale of birds and animals at the time of submitting
application for renewal.
Khan said that all
possible facilities will be provided to small breeders at every level and the
procedure of bringing wildlife from abroad for breeding is also being
simplified. He said that visits will be conducted to the farms of private
Feral dogs kill 6 animals, injures 2 others at Jackson
Zoo
Six Jackson Zoo
animals were killed overnight by feral dogs, zoo officials said. Two others
were injured.
Zoo staff members
said they discovered that the animals had been attacked early Friday morning.
Staff members said one Addra Gazelle and five Springbok were killed. Two
spur-winged geese were injured. The geese were taken to the Zoo’s Animal
Hospital for care.
Animal Control was
called so that the feral dogs could be caught and not other animals.
The Zoo captured
four of the five feral dogs believed to be involved in the accident. One dog
escaped; along with another dog that was spotted in the cemetery next to the
zoo. They said they don’t think the dog
Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park - what happened next?
From cheetah to zebra, we track the animals
IT was an attraction
which brought huge enjoyment to thousands and many were left distraught when
Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park closed in 2009.
Memories abound of
coming face to face with the monkeys that roamed free or hearing tales of
daring simian escapes to neighbouring towns.
The house, which was
used as Grantleigh Manor, the setting for the television series To the Manor
Born, and its estate is also remembered for becoming home to Crinkley Bottom, a
theme park created by Noel Edmonds. The project was short-lived an
Fugitive monkey was getting bullied in his enclosure
say zoo keepers
Tamil the
lion-tailed macaque is still on the loose and experts have warned to steer
clear of him because the animals are aggressive brawlers
An escaped monkey is
still giving police and keepers the slip after two days on the run - because he
was getting picked on.
The lion-tailed
macaque is still on the loose despite keepers setting traps and searching the
fields and countryside around the animal park.
Keepers from
Howletts Animal Park, Kent, are continuing the search for Tamil, the
six-year-old macaque who ran away from the zoo on Tuesday night.
It is thought th
Omaha zoo CEO addresses concerns about planned
elephant import: We're saving the lives of these animals
Hundreds of people
and several animal rights groups have concerns about the Omaha zoo’s planned
elephant import.
The Henry Doorly Zoo
& Aquarium and partner zoos in Dallas and Wichita, Kansas, filed for a
permit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to import a total of 18
elephants from Big Game Parks in Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa.
That permit application was open for public comment until late last month.
More than 8,000
comments were submitted. While many included support from fellow zoos,
individuals and other groups, there also were plenty of people with
reservations.
Those concerned with
the import have questioned its merit as a rescue, wond
World's rarest magpie comes to UK zoo
Conservationists at
Chester Zoo have started the first conservation breeding programme in Europe
for one of the world's most endangered birds.
The Javan green
magpie has been poached almost to extinction from its native Indonesian
forests. Now, three pairs of the birds have been released into their outdoor
aviaries for the first time.
BBC science reporter
Victoria Gill was there to see the tropical birds get their first glimpse of
the
A Trainer's Great Insecurity
I want to admit
something to all of you.
I'm a little
nervous, though. I don't want to offend
anyone, because you all seem really nice and totally non-judgmental. But I'm a little worried you're going to
judge me. Especially those of you who
are trainers, and experienced ones at that.
But I feel like I
need to come clean. So here it goes, my
admission to you before 2016 rolls in, where we turn over a new leaf and try to
become a better person and improve the things we feel we fall short in in our
lives. Whew, deep breath…
My Family and Other Animals 60th anniversary: Gerald
Durrell's book is a triumph of conscious craft
Gerald Durrell was a
man of paradise. Paradise found, paradise lost, paradise regained, paradise
destroyed, paradise dreamed in a vision of hope, paradise under siege, paradise
relieved, paradise unattainable, paradise built with his own hands. Paradise was
his business, his life, his destroyer, his salvation.
He produced a
literary masterpiece that remains the finest evocation of paradise ever
written. He built a paradise based on his own beliefs of what a zoo should be.
And after his death in 1995, he left behind an organisation that works to
restore a touch of paradise to humanity and to everything else that lives.
"The world needs Durrell," says Sir David Attenborough. Durrell is a
voice, an example, a legacy, a belief, a cause. And while his message has never
gone away, it will be proclaimed with renewed power in 2016.
Next year it will be
60 years since the publication of Durrell's greatest book – My Family and Other
Animals. It has sold millions of copies worldwide, and across the decade's
generations of schoolchildren have grown up with the story of the Durrell family's
stay on their paradise island of Corfu in the five years leading up to the ou
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION… IN REPTILES AND INSECTS
December’s bank
holidays and Christmas’s holidays have in common in that the Immaculate
Conception is celebrated in both. The biological phenomenon in which a female
animal reproduces without mating with a male is called parthenogenesis and,
even if there isn’t any proof that this could happen to human beings, virginal
birth is a widely distributed thing throughout the animal kingdom. In this
entry we’ll see how this incredible phenomenon happens and some species in
which it appears.
INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION AND COMMERCIAL BREEDING
SYMPOSIUM: INNOVATION, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS.
New zoo for animals rescued from cages flooded in
September typhoon Goni
A massive rescue
operation, divers and helicopters saved most of the zoo's animals after
treacherous floods engulfed their cages. Two bears, a wolf and a badger were
killed after the typhoon led to waters from the Rakovka River surging over the
grounds of Green Island animal park.
Now 13 bears and a
lion called Grey have taken up reside
Crimean deal for capital zoo in limbo
It was supposed to
be a win-win proposal for both parties. A pair of white lions, a pair of
Siberian tigers, 15 ring-tailed coati, two llamas, and five squirrel monkeys
for the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, all in return for just three elephants for the
Taygan Lions Park and Skazka Zoo in Yalta, Crimea, Russia.
However, the
much-anticipated animal exchange appears to be mired in bureaucratic hurdles in
the State. The Forest Department, it is learnt, is not keen on exchange of an
endangered animal species.
Since the city zoo
does not have elephants of its own, the jumbos will have to travel from the
Kottoor elephant rehabilitation camp of the Forest Department. This,
apparently, has also come in for some opposition.
A lot of
expectations were riding on the transfer for both the zoos. While the city zoo
would get to add some ‘heavyweights’ to the 100-odd species it already housed,
thereby increasing its profile and seeing an increase in footfall, the Yalta
zoo would be realising its 15-year-old dream of having elephants.
According to reports
in sections of the Russian media, t
Pandas Have More Babies if They Can Pick Their Mates
Giant pandas that
are crazy about each other produce more cubs than panda couples lacking that
mysterious spark, according to new research.
Even a one-sided
romance has better odds of producing a baby than a mutually indifferent union.
The finding could
provide a significant boost for the endangered species, many of which are
lacking in the amorous arts.
Exhibit A are Mei
Xiang and Tian Tian, the female and male pandas at Smithsonian's National Zoo
in Washington, D.C. All three of their cubs were conceived via artificial
insemination after their parents couldn’t seal the deal the old-fashioned way.
(Related: "These Newborn Pandas Face 4 Big Threats to Survival.")
Such unsatisfying
arranged marriages are all to
The dogs that protect little penguins
When foxes
discovered little penguins on a small Australian island, they nearly wiped the
colony out. But a farmer came up with a novel way to protect the birds - and
the story has been made into a hit film.
As a premise for a
film, think Lassie meets Babe meets Pingu. What's not to like?
Middle Island, a
beautiful, rugged and windswept outcrop off the coast of southern Victoria is
home to a colony of the world's smallest penguins.
Originally known as
fairy penguins, before some pen-pusher deemed that politically incorrect,
they've now been given the far more dr
Monkey on the loose after escaping enclosure and
fleeing from zoo
A monkey is on the
loose after escaping from its zoo .
The lion-tailed
macaque disappeared on night and concerned zoo keepers say it has left the
boundaries of the zoo.
Staff, including
specialist vets, have been put on standby to try to contain the monkey after it
fled from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, Kent.
The male primate has
not been sighted since its remarkable escape from its open-topped pen.
Members of the
public have been warned not to approach the ape, although animal director
Adrian Harland reassured nearby residents that it is not considered a threat to
anyone.
A spokesman for
Howletts said: “A young male lion tailed macaque is currently out of his
enclosure at Howletts and keepers
Detroit Zoo now totally powered by renewable
electricity
The Detroit Zoo
announced Monday that the zoo is now powered with 100 percent renewable
electricity.
According to a
release, the Zoo bought renewable energy credits through support from ITC
Holdings Corp.
The Zoo said in a
statement that the renewable electricity results in less environmental waste
and pollution.
"We continue to
look for ways to reduce our ecological footprint and thank ITC for helping us
to accomplish that goal," Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director
and CEO Ron Kagan said. "Our hope is to inspire others to look to clean, renewable
energy sources."
Every Renewable
Energy Credit represents a megawatt-hour of electricity generated by something
like win
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.
********
*****
***
**
*
Interesting Links
Vol. XXX | No. 12 | December 2015
ISSN 0971-6378 (Print)
0973-2543 (Online)
Date of publication 21 December 2015
A Report on Midwinter Bird Diversity from Mangalajodi Wetland, Odisha
-- Suvamoy Changder, Sagar Adhurya, Utpal Singha Roy and Moitreyee Banerjee, Pp. 1-5
Announcement: World Fish Migration Day, May 21 2016
P. 5
Abundance of Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818) (Carnivora: Herpestidae) in the Bengaluru region
-- S. Rajashekara and M.G. Venkatesha, Pp. 6-12
Tragia praetervisa Chakrab. & N.P. Balakr.(Euphorbiaceae) – an addition to the Flora of Odisha from Nayagarh
-- Dhole P.A., P.K. Baske, A.C. Halder and K.A. Sujana, Pp. 13-14
Announcement: 13th International Otter Congress: Otters & People, 03-08 July 2016, Singapore
P. 14
Management of Impaction in Greater One-horned Rhino
-- R.K. Singh, U.C. Srivastava and Mohd Nasir, Pp. 15-17
A first record of albinism in Jungle Palm Squirrels Funambulus tristriatus (Rodentia: Sciuridea) from India
-- Amit Sayyed, Anil Mahabal and Abhijit Nale, Pp. 18-19
Husbandry and Care of Terrestrial Invertebrates (Chapter 36, ZOOKEEPING)
-- Tom Mason and Aaron M. Cobaugh, Pp. 20-30
ZOOLEX: Otter Centre, Stoat Heath
Pp. 31-35
Education Reports
Pp. 36-39
Announcement: 5th Biodiversity Conference, March 10-12 March 2016, Madrid, Spain
P. 40
Announcement: IUCN World Conservation Congress, 1-10 September 2016, Hawai’I
Back Cover page
*****
Tiger-Goat Duo rockets to stardom in Russian cyber
space on New Year’s Eve
In the last weeks of
the outgoing year - the Year of the Goat in the Chinese Zodiac - a black goat
nicknamed Timur and Far Eastern (also called Siberian) tiger called Amur met in
a safari park in Russia's Primorye Territory to instantly rocket to stardom in
the national cyber space. At the end of November the goat was brought to tiger
Amur’s vast enclosure the size of a football pitch approximating wildlife
environment as live prey. The park’s specialists explain this has to be done
from time to time to ensure the tiger retains hunting habits. It is easy to
imagine how surprised the park’s attendants were when the goat boldly
confronted the huge cat head on showing no intention to step back an inch. The
tiger had to retreat. Then, at a certain point the beast of prey for some
reason displayed remarkable benevolence towards the unexpected guest. First,
the tiger let the goat use his shelter to hide from rain and snow during the
night. Then, in several days’ time the wild beast and the domesticated goat
apparently developed what began to look pretty much like real friendship. They
were repeatedly seen take long strides together, play tag and even have their
Swiss architects go wild over zoo design
Designing spaces for
wild animals is not what most architects have in mind when entering the
profession. But the creative Swiss are embracing the challenge to make lions,
elephants and sea creatures feel at home.
Markus Schietsch
clearly remembers his first encounter with a wild bull elephant. He was in the
back of an open pickup truck when the elephant repeatedly mock charged the
vehicle in the Kaeng Krachan national park in Thailand. The adrenalin-packed
experience was courtesy of a study trip organised by the Zurich zoo, as the
Zurich based-architect had just won a CHF57 million ($56.7 million) contract to
build their new Kaeng Krachan elephant house.
“The visit was to
help me understand more about the role of zoos today,” the boyish-looking
40-year-old told swissinfo.ch. “You can still be critical about zoos but they
are very important to generate an awareness about conservation problems outside
Europe.”
He was thrilled to
win the elephant house commission, the biggest project his firm had ever been
entrusted with. Competition was fierce, with around 65 entries from countries
including the United States, France, Italy, Germany and Austria.
But his 6,800 square
metre free-standing wooden roof – designed to give the impression of being
under a giant tree – bowled the jury over.
“We delved into the
world of the elephant and came across these beautiful tree canopies where they
lived,” says Schietsch. “We then tried to translate this structure into the
elephant house design.”
Another Swiss
architect who bagged a multimillion-franc zoo contract is Roger Boltshauser,
who is also based in Zurich. His firm beat internationally-renowned architects
like Zaha Hadid and David Chippe
Emmen zoo closes its doors after 80 years
Emmen zoo closes its doors at 16.30 on Thursday,
80 years after it first opened. The zoo will reopen at a new, bigger location
outside the town in March. ‘We had to do something,’ said spokeswoman Hanneke
Wijshake. ‘We were squashed in between the houses and could not expand.’ The
decision to move to a new location was taken several years ago. The new zoo
will be renamed Wildlands Adventure Zoo and will have bigger enclosures for the
animals. The first of them, such as the tigers and panthers, have already been
moved to their new home. ‘They will have to get used to their new situation,
which is why we are taking three months to reopen,’ Wijshake said
What happened to the missing sun bears?
Two years ago, I
visited the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok, Sabah, for a
documentary project. The centre is established and managed by an amazing
individual known simply as Mr Wong. And through Mr Wong, I became acquainted to
the main character of our documentary – Damai, a Malayan sun bear.
Damai is an adorable
sun bear who was just eight months old when I met her. Unlike most sun bears
who are dependent on their mothers until at least two years of age, Damai
spends most of her time alone. This is because she is an orphan.
Apparently, when
Damai was still a baby, she and her mother got lost in a palm oil estate. The
workers who found them killed her mother and sold Damai as a pet. Damai then
grew up with her adoptive human family, treated like a puppy, caged and given
human food.
However, when she
was four months old, Damai managed to escape from her cage and was found
walking aimlessly around the neighbourhood when a concerned citizen informed
the Wildlife Department – that was how she ended up at the sun bear
conservation centre.
When I met Damai,
she was already four months living in the centre under the care of Mr Wong. She
totally depended on Mr Wong to help her regain her strength and teach her the
skills she needed to survive in the forest one day. But it wasn’t an easy task
to re-acquaint Damai to the forest.
The fact is, sun
bears are supposed to be experts at climbing trees besides having a natural
curiosity to explore the woods. Sadly, having been cage
Zoo breeds very rare jellyfish
Schönbrunn Zoo,
which is the world's oldest zoo and is based in the Austrian capital of Vienna,
notched up the success and revealed they have managed to breed the rare animal,
which is now on show in the aquarium.
Rhizostoma luteum is
so rare that despite claims of its existence based on sightings from hundreds
of years ago, there was significant doubt that any were still left alive.
Zoo director Dagmar
Schratter said: "The giant jellyfish was discovered in 1827 in the Western
Mediterranean. But it is so rarely seen nowadays that some scientists had
doubted its continued existence.
"The fact that
specimens are still alive was only confirmed a few years ago when a few of the
animals were stranded on beaches in Morocco and Spain."
This jellyfish
currently measures just 4 centi
Tiger put down after escaping from KZN zoo
A tiger that escaped
from the Natal Zoological Gardens and Lion Park in Pietermaritzburg has been
put down.
Owner Brian Boswell,
who also owns the controversial Brian Boswell's Circus, says that the animal
escaped on Tuesday.
"We were
notified yesterday [Wednesday]. It has since been killed," he said.
"We had a vet
with us and we had to put it down because it wasn't safe enough to dart
[tranquilize]."
He said nobody was
attacked by the tiger.
Boswell did not
comment on how the animal escaped.
"The police
will look into that."
Nicholas May, who
lives in the Mpushini Valley area, where the tiger made its way to, said the
animal was spotted by a neighbour in her farm yesterday.
He says the owners
were called, and locals assumed the animal would be tranquilized.
"They brought a
shotgun and blasted the hell out of it... The animal has been in a cage, it was
almost tame," May said.
He said the animal
appeared to have survived that and walked off into the nearby bushes.
Boswell however
confirmed that the animal was dead.
The circus has been
heavily criticised recently, and calls were made for it to be boycotted after
allegations emerged that it was mistreating
Were five more tigers killed on Boswell’s Lion Park
property?
The controversy over
the recent shooting of a Bengal tiger that escaped from zoo and circus owner
Brian Boswell’s property was further fuelled on Tuesday by allegations that it
was one of six tigers in fact killed in the wake of a mass escape.
The allegations
emerged during a protest by animal rights activists outside Boswell’s Natal
Zoological Gardens and Lion Park on Tuesday.
In a brief
telephonic conversation with The Witness, Boswell later, however, denied that
more than one tiger was killed “that day”.
“One tiger escaped
and one tiger was shot in a separate incident,” he said.
In reply to the
allegation that it was rumoured that five other tigers were also shot, Boswell
said, “We have put down tigers before, but this was separate. On this occasion
there was one tiger that was shot.”
Ezemvelo KZN
Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said the organisation was aware of only one
tiger being shot at Boswell’s behest after it escaped onto a neighbouring farm.
“I have received
other phone calls from people also asking the same question you are … Our guys
are busy trying to find out if it is true or not,” said Mntambo.
He said later
Boswell had denied there were additional tiger shootings.
According to his
information, however, it appeared that legislation does not require a permit to
shoot a tiger provided it is shot on the owner’s property.
The allegation of a
mass escape and killing of tigers on Boswell’s property emanated from a local
resident.
The man told the
protesters on Tuesday that according to his information six tigers had been
shot, not only the one reported in the media.
He said later that
he had heard about this from Boswell’s employees.
“I live in the Lion
Park area and the people who work there are friends.
“What I heard was
that six tigers escaped — five were shot and one escaped from that shooting and
was shot later. In all there were six shot dead,” he said.
He said that
prominent monkey expert and animal activist Steve Smit, who was at the protest,
phoned Boswell in his presence and confronted him with the information. “He
[Boswell] confirmed it,” he said.
Smit said that when
he called Boswell he did not ask him if it was true that six tigers were shot.
“I just said that I
was calling about the six tigers that escaped and were shot, and Boswell
confirmed it,” he said.
Smit said he asked
Boswell if the tigers were all shot on the same day and he had replied “no” and
said they were shot “over a couple of days”.
“Five were shot on
his property and one went onto a neighbouring property and was shot there. I
asked Boswell why the tigers were not darted, and he said it was because the
bush was too thick,” said Smit.
A video recording of
Smit talking to Bo
Large permanent reserves required for effective
conservation of old fish
100 years needed to
fully recover slow growing fish
Permanent marine
protected areas and wilderness--places where fish can grow old--are critical to
the effective conservation of marine ecosystems according to a new study
conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society, James Cook University, and
Lancaster University.
Unlike previous
research focused primarily on the weight or biomass of fish as a measure of
reef recovery, this study evaluated the life histories of fish communities. In
doing so, the researchers found much slower change--well beyond the 20 years
that it took for biomass to recover--and some factors like growth rate were
expected to change for more than 100 years. The findings underscore the
importance of permanent marine protected areas and wilderness in the effective
protection of marine fishes.
The study titled
"Marine reserve recovery rates towards a baseline are slower for reef fish
community life histories than biomass" appears in th
Stem Cells May Save Northern White Rhinos
With only three
northern white rhinoceroses left on Earth, conservationists are giving up on
traditional breeding efforts and turning to cutting-edge science to save this
subspecies.
At a meeting in
Vienna from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, researchers developed a plan to use stem cells to
create fertilized rhino embryos, which will be carried by surrogate southern
white rhino females.
This past year has
been a sad one for northern white rhinos, a rapidly disappearing subspecies
destroyed by habitat loss and poaching. There were six northern whites on the
pl
Oldest of zoo gorillas turns 59 at Columbus Zoo
A gorilla that
officials say is the oldest known gorilla living in a zoo is celebrating her
59th birthday with a party.
The Columbus Zoo
says the female western lowland gorilla, named Colo, is celebrating with toys
and an ice cake containing treats such as clementines and tomatoes frozen
inside. Online viewers can see Colo’s habitat drap
Bowmanville Zoo owner denies wrongdoing after PETA
releases video of whipping
A Bowmanville zoo
director is defending his actions after an animal activist group released a
video showing the man whipping a tiger and saying that if PETA had seen his
actions, they would burn the place to the ground.
PETA – People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals – posted a 1:37 video of Michael Hackenberger
training the Siberian tiger. Hackenberger is heard swearing angrily after the
animal ignored his cue and jumped on a ledge instead of continuing with his practice
routine.
“Fu**ing piece of
fu**cking sh**,” he says as he
Statement from Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums
The following is a
statement from CAZA Executive Director, Massimo Bergamini, following the
release of a video alleging animal abuse at the Bowmanville Zoo.
"The welfare of
the animals in the care of our accredited member institutions is our paramount
concern.
CAZA's values,
policies and standards are clear: animals must be treated with respect and
dignity and in a manner that does not jeopardize their welfare.
After viewing the
edited video, we have decided to bring the matter before our Ethics Committee
for investigation.
The Committee is
being empaneled today and we expect that it will convene quickly to consider
the matter.
The issues raised by
the video are serious and requi
Siegfried and Roy Shouldn't Be Surprised By Their
Tiger Cubs' Tragic Death
Just three months
after Siegfried and Roy unveiled two white tigers who they had bred in
captivity for people's entertainment, the Las Vegas performers announced, with
great sadness, that the little cubs had died. The only problem is, the fact
that these young animals lives' ended so early is their fault.
Hollywild Animal Park hires new curator
S. Nigel Platt will
lead Hollywild's animal department and be the animal curator for the nonprofit
animal park that has been home to the Upstate for more than 40 years.
The press release
describes Platt in the following:
"For the last
eight years, Platt has served as executive director at Safe Haven and
Educational Adventures in Easley, SC, non-profit organization providing
permanent refuge for rescued exotic wildlife. A native of England, Platt first
came to the United States as Herpetologist for the Toledo Zoo in 1993. He then
came to the Upstate as General Curator of the Greenville Zoo where he worked
for six years providing professional leadership, strategic planning, oversight
and supervision for the animal collection, facilities and personnel before
being tapped by Reaseheath College in England to establish the school’s
teaching zoo program and animal collection. Upon completion of the project,
Platt returned to the SC Upstate and co-founded Safe Haven with Kim Chiswell,
an animal care specialist and educator. Platt will remain a consultan
Vet's battle for chimp stranded in empty zoo
Marthe Arends had
just arrived in Burkina Faso and was walking through the city of Bobo-Dioulasso
when she heard a noise over her shoulder.
“I suddenly heard an
’uuhm, uuhm’ behind me,” the 31-year-old from Berlin said. On turning around
she saw a pathetic looking Chimpanzee sitting on a wall with a chain around it.
“Lolita clearly
wanted to get our attention,” said Arends. That was in 2012. But it became the
start of a deep friendship for which the German vet even gave up her job.
Arends’ father -
himself a doctor in parasiteology and veterinary medicine at the Free
University in Berlin - had cautioned her before she left for Africa that she
should
Council responds to Dalton zoo 'harassment' comments
SOUTH Lakes Safari
Zoo in Dalton is to close on January 9, bosses of the tourist attraction have
announced.
A statement was
issued after Barrow Borough Council ruled all wooden public walkways must be
shut with immediate effect due to concerns about safety.
The decision was
made at a meeting of the Licensing Regulatory Committee - prompting zoo
spokesman Karen Brewer to say the attraction would be 'effectively closed'.
She said: "In
effect if you close the walkways you are closing the zoo.
"We would be
closing the only access areas to the natural park. You have been round to see
the area and in effect you would be closing us."
Council responds to Dalton zoo 'harassment' comments
A statement was
issued after Barrow Borough Council ruled all wooden public walkways must be
shut with immediate effect due to concerns about safety.
The decision was
made at a meeting of the Licensing Regulatory Committee - prompting zoo
spokesman Karen Brewer to say the attraction would be 'effectively closed'.
She said: "In
effect if you close the walkways you are closing the zoo.
"We would be
closing the only access areas to the natural park. You h
Row over Dalton zoo safety intensifies
- Zoo criticises
council's handling of licensing issues
- Council defends
decision
- Evening Mail calls
for both parties to hold clear the air talks
- MP hopes solution
can be found
- Petition launched
to stop zoo closure
Barrow Borough
Council released a statement on Friday in response to South Lakes Safari Zoo
accusing the authority of harassing the zoo for the past two years.
RELATED
ARTICLES: Muck heap baboon escape fears
raised at zoo
Timeline: The storied past of Dalton zoo and David
Gill
November 1997: Mr
Gill is found guilty of endangering the public after a white rhino escaped from
its enclosure. During the incident in May, the animal fell down a ravine and
had to be shot.
July 2001: A
tribunal awards former animal park employee Lara Kitson £30,000 in compensation
after she claimed she was sacked for being pregnant. Mr Gill denied the
allegations.
April 2004: Mareeba
Wild Animal Park, Gill’s venture in Queensland, Australia, closes after 15
weeks. He was later fined $10,000AUS after a cheetah escaped from the zoo.
August 2007: Mr Gill
is attacked in his own home by the estranged husband of his then-partner.
Richard Creary is later jailed for five years for stabbing Mr Gill in the neck.
July 2008: Mr Gill
quits as chairman of the Barrow and Furness Conservative Association after just
three months. He ran unsuccessfully for the Dalton South ward of Barrow Borough
Council in the May 2008 elections, and again in May this year.
December 2008: A
fire in one of the park’s enc
Dalton zoo bosses to meet Barrow council chief
The attraction made
a shock announcement earlier this month that it would close in January,
following a decision by Barrow Borough Council to close the zoo’s public
walkways due to health and safety reasons.
The council has
explained that their licensing regulatory committee ruled that all wooden
public walkways at the Dalton attraction must be shut with immediate effect due
to concerns over safety.
The zoo was given 28
days to comply.
In response, the
animal park issued a statement last week saying they would shut on January 9.
South Lakes Safari Zoo to issue 'formal complaint'
against Barrow Borough Council, according to statement
THE South Lakes
Safari Zoo has announced that they will be making 'a formal complaint' to
Barrow Borough Council after the animal park was ordered to close its wooden
walkways on safety grounds.
In a statement
issued on their Facebook page, the zoo claims that the council has used a
'heavy-handed approach'.
Dalton Zoo facing order to prevent baboons escaping
Barrow Borough
Council's licensing regulatory committee is being recommended to issue
direction orders against South Lakes Safari Zoo at a meeting due to health and
safety concerns.
The authority has
identified three conditions to the Dalton zoo's licence which it states are not
being met.
A muck pile in the
African enclosure, which houses rhinos, giraffes and baboons, could pose a
route for the monkeys to climb fencing and escape, a report to the council has
found.
The zoo was told to
move the pile away from the boundary by December 31, however the attraction
states it cannot do so until the completion of a new rhino facility which has
been delayed by several months.
"Moving the
muck heap away from the moat and enclosure fence will reduce the escape risk
and is deemed to be an easy task," the report reads.
The direction order,
if imposed, would give the attraction a deadline of 14 days to carry out the
work.
A letter to the
council from the zoo in response reads: "At this time it is absolutely
necessary for the muck store to remain within the boundary of the rhino field
albeit a safe distance from the boundary to prevent escape of baboons.
"Any suggestion
that the pile was to be in the middle of the field is simply unsafe and not
good practice. It would create very dangerous wet patches in the ground for rh
Researchers find that Australian and New Zealand
little penguins are distinct species
A team of
researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago and the University of
Tasmania has discovered that Australian and New Zealand little penguins
represent two distinct species, rather than one.
Scientists had
previously wondered about the relationships between populations of the penguin
(popularly known as little blue penguins or fairy penguins) found on either
side of the Tasman. The trans-Tasman team used genetic techniques to compare
populations from both countries, and surprisingly found that they are not the
same species.
"We found a
very strong pattern, where New Zealand has its own distinctive genetic group
that is clearly very differe
Perth Zoo in echidna breeding world first
Perth Zoo has
produced the world's first puggle from two captive-born echidnas.
Perth's newest
puggle hatched in August, weighing less than a gram, before spending two months
in its mother's pouch to eventually be deposited in a burrow when it got too
prickly for its mum.
A Perth Zoo
spokeswoman said short-beaked echidnas were notoriously difficult to breed, but
changes to animal management and their exhibit design, inspired by Philadelphia
Zoo, led to a successful result.
'The puggles will
remain in their burrows off display until they're about six months old,' she
said.
'By then they will
have a fully protective covering of spines and look just like a small adult
echidna.'
It is hoped the
successful breeding p
Russian specialists ready to assist North Korea count
Amur tigers
Russian scientists
are ready to assist North Korea assess the potential presence of Amur tigers in
the country, director of the Amur Tiger Center's Primorye branch Sergei
Aramilev said.
“The Russian Natural
Resources and Ecology Ministry and North Korean representatives are holding
negotiations for the assistance of Russian specialists in the assessment of the
tiger population in North Korea,” Aramilev told reporters on Dec. 14. “If ther
Chester Zoo and Cheshire Oaks sign up to become Autism
Champions
Chester Zoo and
Cheshire Oaks have signed up to become more autism-friendly.
Both of the
attractions have pledged to become Autism Champions under a Department of
Health-backed scheme.
They have committed
to put their staff through training as well as help spread awareness and
understanding.
The Connect to
Austism project is being run in the north west by Wirral-based charity Autism
Together.
Autism Together CEO
Robin Bush said: “People with autism want to lead normal lives, they want to go
to the cinema or visit the shops or go on holiday.
“It’s actually
easier than you may think to make an organisation autism-friendly by training
staff and making small adjustments to venues.
“For example, people
with autism can take several seconds to process what you have said, so we train
staff to wait patiently for an answer.
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-zoo-cheshire-oaks-sign-10593157
Why Elephant Rides in India May Soon Be Banned
For decades,
elephants have been used to ferry tourists to popular destinations in
India—walking to the Amber Fort, an opulent palace high on a hill some seven
miles outside Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital city, with up to four people on their
back. It wasn't until this week that the government decided to speak out on
their behalf. Members of the Indian Supreme Court have expressed concern about
elephant working conditions and requested a response from the government in
four weeks. Once they've reviewed the response, they will decide whether or not
to ban the practice, which could be potentially be in violation of Indian law.
The original
petition, filed by an advocate for the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
Centre, stated that only 50 of 130 elephants used for tourism in the Indian
states of Goa and Rajasthan are housed in the state-sponsored supported
Elephant Village, where the animals are given food, cleaned, and taken out for
walks. The remaining 80 are housed in private sheds and “subjected to intense
and relentless physical and mental cruelty” that affects both their mental and
physical well-being—records exist of elephants suffering from back swelling,
chain wounds on their legs, severe foot infections, and even exhibiting signs
of depression.
Sadly, the
mistreatment of elephants in India is an incident not limited to the
subcontinent. In Vietnam, a number of elephants used for work in the touris
A Question To Ponder
The other day, the
senior trainer on our team asked me a question as we filled out our records
after the final session.
"If you could
have a drink with one of the animals here, who would it be?" she
asked.
What a fantastic
question, right? Don't you ever wonder
that about the animals you know? What
would they say if you were granted Doolittle amnesty and you could just chillax
with a frosty beverage and wax poetic with another species of animal?
"Take your
time," the senior trainer added.
She knew how serious of a question this was.
So I walked around
our main dolphin habitat, checking the area for the night to make sure
everything looked good. As I peered into
the underwater viewing windows, I saw the dolphins playing*. I heard their seemingly endless wh
The Disturbing Truth About Where Zoo Animals Come From
Sissy's life in the
zoo system began in 1969. That year, at the tender age of 1, she was ripped
away from her family in Thailand and shipped to the Six Flags Over Texas
Amusement Park petting zoo in Arlington, Texas.
Not long after her
arrival to Six Flags, she was sold to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas.
Tiny Booroolong frog focus of $1 million project with
implications for human survival
The waters of the
trickling streams in the mountains around Oberon in central-west New South
Wales are pretty chilly, even in December, but that goes with the territory for
a group of dedicated frog researchers.
These scientists
spend nights wading the waterways, listening for the croak of frogs, hand
examining and recording each one to see if it is the Booroolong frog.
The species, found
in pockets of streams along the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales and
north-eastern Vi
Beef row: Bhilai zoo animals will now get fish
After having
withdrawn a tender to procure beef for zoo animals following a controversy,
public sector Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) will now feed fresh fish to animals at
its famous Maitri Baag Zoo in Chhattisgarh.
Six New African Clawed Frog Species Discovered
McMaster University
researchers have discovered and described six new African clawed frog species
(Xenopus sp.) that reside in west and sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers
determined the frogs were new species using a variety of analyses, including
DNA, voice recordings, CT scanning of internal anatomy, and chromosome
analysis.
Lions devour zebra in front of zoo visitors
Visitors to the lion
enclosure at Duisburg Zoo were shocked on Thursday afternoon to see the big
cats feasting on the remains of a zebra.
Zoo science director
Jochen Reiter explained to Bild that at 24, the zebra had reached extreme old
age and that it had been put down humanely according to animal rights rules.
Rather than
disposing of the cadaver, the zoo keepers decided to reintroduce it to the
circle of life by giving the l
INDONESIA: ZOO KEEPER ACCUSED OF IMPREGNATING FEMALE
ORANGUTAN
A zoo keeper at Indonesia’s Surabaya zoo has
been arrested and charged with sexual assault on a number of animals and even,
strangely enough, of impregnating a female orangutan, reports the Kalimantan
Press this morning.
The 38-year-old zoo
keeper was filmed in full action by a series of hidden cameras put in place by
the zoo’s security officials after doubts emerged about the man’s devious
actions towards the zoo animals.
“Some animals seemed
sexually aroused when it was time to feed them” explains Akhiroel Yahya,
employee of the zoo f
Report of orang utan sexually assaulted by zoo
employee a hoax
A report claiming that an employee of the
Surabaya Zoo sexually assaulted an orang utan, resulting in the alleged
victim's pregnancy, is a hoax, the zoo’s chief has confirmed.
Zoo chief Heri
Purwanto debunked the report by the World News Daily Network on Saturday,
saying that the zoo was not housing an orang utan named Marilyn and that the
named officials were not employees of the zoo.
"Everything in
the news report is false. We don’t have an orang utan named Marilyn or a
director named Abd
Cheetah on the loose might be 'Annie Rose,' known to
stalk children
The cheetah on the
loose in B.C.'s Kootenay region looks like an adult female named "Annie
Rose" that is likely to stalk children, says the owner of an Alberta zoo.
A cheetah was
spotted wandering along the side of a snowy B.C. highway north of Creston, B.C.
Thursday afternoon, triggering a public warning from the RCMP and a search by
three conservation officers.
Doug Bos of
Discovery Wildlife Park says the markings, collar and other details of the
unidentified animal match Annie, a female cheetah that was at his facility in
2014.
Tasmanian devil monitoring program given $500,000 by
US zoo amid federal funding concerns
A US zoo is giving a
monitoring program for the Tasmanian devil $500,000 over the next five years
amid concerns over federal funding.
A deal has been
struck between the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and the Toledo Zoo in Ohio.
The zoo will
contribute $500,000 over the next five years for a program that monitors the
mammals in the wild.
The program will
also assess the evolution of the facial tumour disease afflicting the
population.
Save the Tasmanian
Devil's team leader Dr Samantha Fox said federal funding runs out next year.
"Our federal
funding is about to finish in about a year's time, and so what happens is the
program then has to review some of the projects we have ongoing and look and
see what's absolutely necessary to the ongoing
My Professional Failures: New Trainer Edition
Here we go again,
another journey down memory lane towards that oft-visited town I like to call
FAILURE. It's a bustling metropolitan
area that lures me back on a relatively routine basis. It's one of those places that always sounds
really good in theory (you know, the whole "Oh, learn from your mistakes
makes you a better person" thing), but when you get there it usually feels
rotten. Occasionally, like any good city
experience, it makes you laugh. Usually
both.
13 veterinary doctors hired for looking after wildlife
parks, zoos
Thirteen veterinary
doctors have been recruited for treatment and looking after of wildlife and
they are being posted at wildlife parks and zoos in the province.
One veterinary
doctor each in wildlife parks whereas two each in zoos will be posted. Private
breeders will also get guidance from these doctors.
This was stated by
Wildlife and Parks Director General Khalid Ayaz Khan while addressing the first
Breeders’ Convention in the history of the Department at Lahore Zoo on
Saturday.
Officers of the
Department, breeders from all over the province and a large number of people
associated with this sector were also present on this occasion.
Khan said that
online information system has been introduced for the guidance and assistance
of breeders for protecting wildlife from diseases. He said that all matters
relating to enhancing the period of renewal of license for breeding from two
years to five years are being considered. However, breeders will have to
provide all data of sale of birds and animals at the time of submitting
application for renewal.
Khan said that all
possible facilities will be provided to small breeders at every level and the
procedure of bringing wildlife from abroad for breeding is also being
simplified. He said that visits will be conducted to the farms of private
Feral dogs kill 6 animals, injures 2 others at Jackson
Zoo
Six Jackson Zoo
animals were killed overnight by feral dogs, zoo officials said. Two others
were injured.
Zoo staff members
said they discovered that the animals had been attacked early Friday morning.
Staff members said one Addra Gazelle and five Springbok were killed. Two
spur-winged geese were injured. The geese were taken to the Zoo’s Animal
Hospital for care.
Animal Control was
called so that the feral dogs could be caught and not other animals.
The Zoo captured
four of the five feral dogs believed to be involved in the accident. One dog
escaped; along with another dog that was spotted in the cemetery next to the
zoo. They said they don’t think the dog
Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park - what happened next?
From cheetah to zebra, we track the animals
IT was an attraction
which brought huge enjoyment to thousands and many were left distraught when
Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park closed in 2009.
Memories abound of
coming face to face with the monkeys that roamed free or hearing tales of
daring simian escapes to neighbouring towns.
The house, which was
used as Grantleigh Manor, the setting for the television series To the Manor
Born, and its estate is also remembered for becoming home to Crinkley Bottom, a
theme park created by Noel Edmonds. The project was short-lived an
Fugitive monkey was getting bullied in his enclosure
say zoo keepers
Tamil the
lion-tailed macaque is still on the loose and experts have warned to steer
clear of him because the animals are aggressive brawlers
An escaped monkey is
still giving police and keepers the slip after two days on the run - because he
was getting picked on.
The lion-tailed
macaque is still on the loose despite keepers setting traps and searching the
fields and countryside around the animal park.
Keepers from
Howletts Animal Park, Kent, are continuing the search for Tamil, the
six-year-old macaque who ran away from the zoo on Tuesday night.
It is thought th
Omaha zoo CEO addresses concerns about planned
elephant import: We're saving the lives of these animals
Hundreds of people
and several animal rights groups have concerns about the Omaha zoo’s planned
elephant import.
The Henry Doorly Zoo
& Aquarium and partner zoos in Dallas and Wichita, Kansas, filed for a
permit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to import a total of 18
elephants from Big Game Parks in Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa.
That permit application was open for public comment until late last month.
More than 8,000
comments were submitted. While many included support from fellow zoos,
individuals and other groups, there also were plenty of people with
reservations.
Those concerned with
the import have questioned its merit as a rescue, wond
World's rarest magpie comes to UK zoo
Conservationists at
Chester Zoo have started the first conservation breeding programme in Europe
for one of the world's most endangered birds.
The Javan green
magpie has been poached almost to extinction from its native Indonesian
forests. Now, three pairs of the birds have been released into their outdoor
aviaries for the first time.
BBC science reporter
Victoria Gill was there to see the tropical birds get their first glimpse of
the
A Trainer's Great Insecurity
I want to admit
something to all of you.
I'm a little
nervous, though. I don't want to offend
anyone, because you all seem really nice and totally non-judgmental. But I'm a little worried you're going to
judge me. Especially those of you who
are trainers, and experienced ones at that.
But I feel like I
need to come clean. So here it goes, my
admission to you before 2016 rolls in, where we turn over a new leaf and try to
become a better person and improve the things we feel we fall short in in our
lives. Whew, deep breath…
My Family and Other Animals 60th anniversary: Gerald
Durrell's book is a triumph of conscious craft
Gerald Durrell was a
man of paradise. Paradise found, paradise lost, paradise regained, paradise
destroyed, paradise dreamed in a vision of hope, paradise under siege, paradise
relieved, paradise unattainable, paradise built with his own hands. Paradise was
his business, his life, his destroyer, his salvation.
He produced a
literary masterpiece that remains the finest evocation of paradise ever
written. He built a paradise based on his own beliefs of what a zoo should be.
And after his death in 1995, he left behind an organisation that works to
restore a touch of paradise to humanity and to everything else that lives.
"The world needs Durrell," says Sir David Attenborough. Durrell is a
voice, an example, a legacy, a belief, a cause. And while his message has never
gone away, it will be proclaimed with renewed power in 2016.
Next year it will be
60 years since the publication of Durrell's greatest book – My Family and Other
Animals. It has sold millions of copies worldwide, and across the decade's
generations of schoolchildren have grown up with the story of the Durrell family's
stay on their paradise island of Corfu in the five years leading up to the ou
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION… IN REPTILES AND INSECTS
December’s bank
holidays and Christmas’s holidays have in common in that the Immaculate
Conception is celebrated in both. The biological phenomenon in which a female
animal reproduces without mating with a male is called parthenogenesis and,
even if there isn’t any proof that this could happen to human beings, virginal
birth is a widely distributed thing throughout the animal kingdom. In this
entry we’ll see how this incredible phenomenon happens and some species in
which it appears.
INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION AND COMMERCIAL BREEDING
SYMPOSIUM: INNOVATION, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS.
New zoo for animals rescued from cages flooded in
September typhoon Goni
A massive rescue
operation, divers and helicopters saved most of the zoo's animals after
treacherous floods engulfed their cages. Two bears, a wolf and a badger were
killed after the typhoon led to waters from the Rakovka River surging over the
grounds of Green Island animal park.
Now 13 bears and a
lion called Grey have taken up reside
Crimean deal for capital zoo in limbo
It was supposed to
be a win-win proposal for both parties. A pair of white lions, a pair of
Siberian tigers, 15 ring-tailed coati, two llamas, and five squirrel monkeys
for the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, all in return for just three elephants for the
Taygan Lions Park and Skazka Zoo in Yalta, Crimea, Russia.
However, the
much-anticipated animal exchange appears to be mired in bureaucratic hurdles in
the State. The Forest Department, it is learnt, is not keen on exchange of an
endangered animal species.
Since the city zoo
does not have elephants of its own, the jumbos will have to travel from the
Kottoor elephant rehabilitation camp of the Forest Department. This,
apparently, has also come in for some opposition.
A lot of
expectations were riding on the transfer for both the zoos. While the city zoo
would get to add some ‘heavyweights’ to the 100-odd species it already housed,
thereby increasing its profile and seeing an increase in footfall, the Yalta
zoo would be realising its 15-year-old dream of having elephants.
According to reports
in sections of the Russian media, t
Pandas Have More Babies if They Can Pick Their Mates
Giant pandas that
are crazy about each other produce more cubs than panda couples lacking that
mysterious spark, according to new research.
Even a one-sided
romance has better odds of producing a baby than a mutually indifferent union.
The finding could
provide a significant boost for the endangered species, many of which are
lacking in the amorous arts.
Exhibit A are Mei
Xiang and Tian Tian, the female and male pandas at Smithsonian's National Zoo
in Washington, D.C. All three of their cubs were conceived via artificial
insemination after their parents couldn’t seal the deal the old-fashioned way.
(Related: "These Newborn Pandas Face 4 Big Threats to Survival.")
Such unsatisfying
arranged marriages are all to
The dogs that protect little penguins
When foxes
discovered little penguins on a small Australian island, they nearly wiped the
colony out. But a farmer came up with a novel way to protect the birds - and
the story has been made into a hit film.
As a premise for a
film, think Lassie meets Babe meets Pingu. What's not to like?
Middle Island, a
beautiful, rugged and windswept outcrop off the coast of southern Victoria is
home to a colony of the world's smallest penguins.
Originally known as
fairy penguins, before some pen-pusher deemed that politically incorrect,
they've now been given the far more dr
Monkey on the loose after escaping enclosure and
fleeing from zoo
A monkey is on the
loose after escaping from its zoo .
The lion-tailed
macaque disappeared on night and concerned zoo keepers say it has left the
boundaries of the zoo.
Staff, including
specialist vets, have been put on standby to try to contain the monkey after it
fled from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, Kent.
The male primate has
not been sighted since its remarkable escape from its open-topped pen.
Members of the
public have been warned not to approach the ape, although animal director
Adrian Harland reassured nearby residents that it is not considered a threat to
anyone.
A spokesman for
Howletts said: “A young male lion tailed macaque is currently out of his
enclosure at Howletts and keepers
Detroit Zoo now totally powered by renewable
electricity
The Detroit Zoo
announced Monday that the zoo is now powered with 100 percent renewable
electricity.
According to a
release, the Zoo bought renewable energy credits through support from ITC
Holdings Corp.
The Zoo said in a
statement that the renewable electricity results in less environmental waste
and pollution.
"We continue to
look for ways to reduce our ecological footprint and thank ITC for helping us
to accomplish that goal," Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director
and CEO Ron Kagan said. "Our hope is to inspire others to look to clean, renewable
energy sources."
Every Renewable
Energy Credit represents a megawatt-hour of electricity generated by something
like win
****
***
*
New Meetings and Conferences updated Here
****
***
*
New Meetings and Conferences updated Here
Zoo Conferences, Meetings, Courses and Symposia
If you have anything to add then please email me at elvinhow@gmail.com
I will include it when I get a minute. You know it makes sense.
Recent Zoo Vacancies
Zoo Jobs
Vacancies in Zoos and Aquariums and Wildlife/Conservation facilities around the World
*****
About me
After more than 47
years working in private, commercial and National zoos in the capacity of
keeper, head keeper and curator Peter Dickinson started to travel. He sold
house and all his possessions and hit the road. He has traveled extensively in
Turkey, Southern India and much of South East Asia before settling in Thailand.
In his travels he has visited well over 200 zoos and writes about these in his
blog http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/
or on Hubpages http://hubpages.com/profile/Peter+Dickinson
Peter earns his
living as an international independent zoo consultant, critic and writer.
Currently working as Curator of Penguins in Ski Dubai. United Arab Emirates. He
describes himself as an itinerant zoo keeper, a dreamer, a traveller, a people
watcher, a lover, a thinker, a cosmopolitan, a writer, a hedonist, an explorer,
a pantheist, a gastronome, sometime fool, a good friend to some and a pain in
the butt to others.
Follow me on
(Click on Follow at
the top of the Hubpage)
Read
Peter Dickinson
Contact email -
elvinhow@gmail.com
Dubai: ++ 971 (0)50
4787 122
Skype:
peter.dickinson48
Mailing address:
(not where I live...currently in Dubai)
2 Highgate
Dolwen
Abergele
Conwy
North Wales
LL22 8NP
United Kingdom
"These are the best days of my life"
