Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Curator



Curator

Closing date: 4pm, Monday 13 November 2017
Salary: £29,323 - £31,601 per annum with weekend enhancement where appropriate

Department: City and Neighbourhood Services

Section: Parks Development

Notes:
There is currently one permanent, full-time post. Other full-time, part-time, temporary and permanent posts may be filled from a reserve list.


For more details on how to apply please click HERE












Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
      


Monday, October 30, 2017

Cover Keeper



Cover Keeper

Lake District Wildlife Park

We are currently seeking a zoo professional for the position of Cover Keeper working with a wide range of species including Primates, reptiles, carnivore and ungulates.

The ideal candidate will be highly motivated and passionate about wildlife, with the skills required to communicate this passion and knowledge directly to our visitors through presentations and keeper experiences.

They should be able to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of modern zoo practices in animal husbandry, diets and environmental enrichment, as well as an understanding and knowledge of conservation and health and safety practices.

The successful candidate should have experience of working with animals in a keeper role in a zoo/ wildlife park and hold a DMZAA or similar qualification.

This is a fulltime position working a 40hr week including weekend and bank holidays.

Closing date for applications is: 25th Nov 2017

To apply for this position please email, providing a covering letter and C.V














Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
      


Monday, October 23, 2017

Zoo News Digest 23rd October 2017 (ZooNews 973)

Zoo News Digest 23rd October 2017  (ZooNews 973)

 




Peter Dickinson

elvinhow@gmail.com

 

Dear Colleague,

“Can you influence zoos which are not members of WAZA? Can you as an industry association help lift up the poor quality ones, and blow the whistle on the really bad ones, to help to close them down, find alternative homes for their animals?” This is a challenge posed by the CITES Secretary General to WAZA, the global zoos and aquarium association. John E. Scanlon

"Bad Zoos are used to launder animals and bring all zoos down. You must address and shut them down or all zoos will suffer" Dan Ashe

Less than 10 percent of (US) zoos and aquariums "are able to meet our (AZA) standards," Vernon said. "Our standards are much higher," than governmental requirements. - Rob Vernon

As you are aware this is the message I have been trying to get out there for what seems forever now. Unless the Good Zoos name, shame and get the Bad Dysfunctional Zoos closed down we are all going to be tarred with the same dirty brush. I am delighted that more people are saying it….it seems like we are getting somewhere.
This should not be seen as an attack on some of the excellent staff working within the bad zoos but on the bad zoos themselves and their raison d'être. Nor within the US (who so often take offence) with every ZAA collection…just some. Consider this and then ask yourself why. Any AZA collection would sail through a ZAA inspection but only a few ZAA collections would pass an AZA inspection. Forget the money, yes it is important but it is more about the raison d'être. WAZA too. They really need to start 'influencing' some of their members. I don't hold with this 'It's not Europe or the US' way of looking at things or "Give it time". There has been more than enough time. There are animals suffering daily whilst zoos are given time. It is not on. Some of the statements I see put out causes the bile to rise to the back of my throat.


Lot's of interesting links in this edition and I could comment on most but am choosing the "Zoo could do with a ‘pied piper’" because rat problems are something which every zoo appears to suffer to some degree or another. I visit zoos during the day and if I don't actually spot a rat then I see signs of them. I recall seeing a feed truck passing through a zoo being followed by a wave of rats. They are great survivors and difficult to keep down. Then I am reminded of the Welsh Mountain Zoo. It has never had a rat problem. In twenty years I only ever saw two rats (perhaps the same one twice) and were never seen again. I often thought about why and the only thing I could think of was the Aesculapian Snake.

*********





Did You Know?
ZooNews Digest has over 61,000 Followers on Facebook( and over 62,000 likes) and has a weekly reach often exceeding over 350,000 people? That ZooNews Digest has subscribers in over 823 Zoos in 154+ countries? That the subscriber list for the mail out reads like a 'Zoos Who's Who?'
If you are a subscriber to the email version then you probably knew this already. You would also know that ZooNews Digest pre-dates any of the others. It was there before FaceBook. It was there shortly after the internet became popular and was a 'Blog' before the word had been invented. ZooNews Digest reaches zoo people.

I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.
********
*****
***
**
*


CITES calls on zoos and aquariums to support wildlife trade controls and to join the fight against wildlife trafficking
At the annual conference of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the largest gathering of the zoos and aquariums from around the world, CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon calls on zoos and aquariums to better support the CITES trade regulation regime and to join the fight against illegal trade in wildlife.

Zoos and aquariums, exhibiting a wide a variety of animals, are often involved in international movements of and trade in wild and captive bred animals, many of which are protected under CITES. These include for example elephants, lions, primates, tigers, parrots, birds of prey, flamingos, crocodiles, pythons, frogs, corals, manta rays and sharks. This explains why a Memorandum of Understanding between CITES and WAZA was signed in 2011.

In his presentation, Mr. Scanlon said that zoos and aquariums can play an even more active role in supporting CITES in regulating trade in wildlife. In particular, the expertise of zoos and aquariums in conservation, animal welfare, education and outreach, which is of direct relevance to CITES, can be drawn upon more effectively in supporting the Convention.

“Can you influence zoos which are not members of WAZA? Can you as an industry association help lift up the poor quality ones, and blow the whistle on the really bad ones, to help to close them down, find alternative homes for their animals?” This is a challenge posed by the CITES Secretary General to WAZA, the global zoos and aquarium association.

“We all want to be able to enjoy wildlife for generations to come and you all have a role to play here. There are many threats to wildlife and the most immediate threat to many species is coming from the illegal trade in wildlife. We need ‘all hands on deck’ if we are going to win this fight and we must win it in quick time”, concluded Scanlon.

"The world's leading zoos and aquariums welcome the opportunity to align our priorities more closely with CITES," said WAZA President Jenny Gray. "WAZA and its members realize we can play a central role in the battle against the illegal trade in wildlife -- in fact, we have no choice : it is something we must do. Our expertise is nee






What happens to Seneca Park Zoo animals after they die?
It seems like a simple enough question. What happens to animals that die at the Seneca Park Zoo?

Turns out that answer depends on the answer to another question: Can the animal continue contributing to science?

Larry Sorel, zoo director, said the animals are honored, then assessed to see if they can contribute to the continued survival of their species.

After death, a necropsy, or animal autopsy, is performed on all animals. Experts determine the cause of death and look for any abnormalities to help determine if other animals in the same habitat could experience a similar death. The evaluation also looks to see if the program of care provided was accurate.

"Sometimes the only way you learn about an ani




Linguistics in Aviculture - Updating for the times?
This post is not directly related to aviculture and could indeed be applied to any discipline involving wild animals in captivity. Wild animals in "captivity" being the issue being discussed here.

Just to outline for anyone looking forward to an ethical lecture, this certainly isn't one and the aim here is to look briefly at the linguistics of aviculture, not the ethics themselves.

OK... If you are certain you want to go with this then lets crack on...
The ethics of keeping animals in captivity is a minefield for anyone not initiated in animal cognition, welfare an perception. This can be particularly tricky with birds as they behave and perceive the world quite differently to mammals and most other taxa in fact. It's also important that we remember that like many subjects in which the target's thoughts and feelings are subjective only to themselves and said subjects have no means to easily translate them in any human language, everyone and their grandmother is free to consider and transpose what they imagine the subject might be feeling. This produces endless (and often erroneous) well meant guesses and in turn plenty of strong emotional opinions. What I ask today is that for those without previous experience but good intentions, is the very outdated language which we still frequently use within aviculture as a whole helping form these opinions for them?





It's the ape escape! From Kent to the Congo, we follow four very special gorilla brothers on their incredible journey home
The dashboard clock of the Toyota pickup shows 3am as we bump and swerve our way across the Lesio Louna wildlife reserve in the Republic of the Congo.
A lightning storm, initially mesmerising as we climbed above the capital Brazzaville, is now on top of us, turning the dirt track into a quagmire.
The windscreen has steamed up thanks to a broken de-mister so our driver struggles to avoid the endless potholes, and we are thrown around like rag-dolls.
But however uncomfortable I feel, there’s another passenger behind me who’s even more annoyed – as he informs us at regular intervals by shrieking and thumping his fists on his cage.





There Is No Such Thing As Sustainable Shark’s Fin. Here’s Why.
Sharks are not man-eaters. The majority of incidents involving humans and sharks tend to be cases of misidentification; sharks may mistake a human swimmer or diver for a similarly sized or shaped prey.

On the contrary, humans actively hunt sharks for food. So much so that over 70 million of these majestic animals are killed annually to satisfy our hunger for shark’s fin. This is especially so in Asia where shark’s fin is deemed a luxurious delicacy.








Port Lympne Reserve near Folkestone has defended its animal care after a monkey and ostriches died on site
A wildlife park near Folkestone has defended its on site methods after it was revealed that several animals died at the reserve this year.

But the Aspinall Foundation, which runs the Port Lympne Reserve, has confirmed some of its procedures are under review.


This comes after the death of a capuchin monkey, three red lechwe antelopes, a young ostrich and several ostrich chicks in recent months.

A cheetah cub was also reportedly taken away from its mother to become a “pet”.





‘Condor mom’ biologist raised chick No. 628 to fly free. Lead killed it. So why is she proud?
She has been called the mother of all condors.

All of the condor chicks were bred, hatched and raised — 153 of them — at the World Center for Birds of Prey, a research and education center south of Boise, since 2008 have been under the watchful eye of Marti Jenkins.

“I’m obsessed. I lay in bed and think about them. I have an app on my phone that lets me look at the monitors and all the cameras, so sometimes I can lay in bed watching chicks hatch in the middle of the night.”

Jenkins directs The Peregrine Fund’s California condor propagation program. Worldwide, The Peregrine Fund supports and funds work to restore rare raptor species through captive breeding and release. She leads a staff of three biologists and one exterminator — that’s Bunny, the cat — who are responsible for about 70 condors, including breeding adults, juveniles and chicks. (Plus at least a dozen taita and aplomado falcons.)

  




A study of UK auction house ivory sales - The missing evidence
Ivory: The Grey Areas





Dream jobs in research: teaching conservationists – and penguins in the office
Growing up on a farm in New Zealand, Alison Cotton always knew she wanted to work with animals. After graduating from college, she had the opportunity of a lifetime, traveling to the Amazon to work in a wildlife conservation center.

There, she encountered the harsh reality of conservation.

She and her colleagues would rescue trapped primates and release them into the forest only to find them trapped and eaten. “I was still in a naïve mindset that we needed to protect everything and save all the animals,” she recalled. “But people there were poor, and this was an easy source of food.”








Florida's 'Turtle God' is ailing. What happens to his remarkable collection of specimens? (w/video)
In a small town about five miles from the University of Central Florida there stands a two-story yellow house built in the 1920s. A modest sign mounted on the wall next to the front door says, "Chelonian Research Institute."
Step inside that door and you'll find the largest private collection of turtle and tortoise specimens in the world — 13,000 individual pieces from 100 different countries, hanging on every inch of the walls and lining every table and shelf. Live ones crawl slowly around enclosures or swim in ponds around back.

The institute and its vast array of shells, skulls, skeletons and live creatures are the life's work of Peter C.H. Pritchard, a lanky and erudite scientist who has been called "the Jane Goodall of turtles." One of his many adoring colleagues refers to him as "The Turtle God." Time magazine declared him "A Hero of the Planet," although one of his children asked his sometimes-distracted dad, "Which planet?" Disney-bound tourists stepping off a plane at the Orlando airport see a huge photo of him holding a turtle. Worldwide, four species of turtle are named for him.
But Pritchard, 74, now suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The robust and perpetually inquisitive explorer who once climbed mountains and snorkeled beneath the sea chasing specimens is now rail thin and frail. During a visit earlier this month, he was unable to speak and seemed hesitant to take a step without someone helping him.





Young Collectors, Traders Help Fuel a Boom in Ultra-Exotic Pets
Huang Jia Chen started off with lizards and turtles in junior high. Then in high school he got his first snake.

“First it was just a hobby,” he says. “Then I started to keep more and more. When there were lots, I started to breed them.”

It wasn’t long before he was selling them. Now he has an entire room in his Beijing apartment filled from floor to ceiling with glass terrariums holding snakes. “Reptiles are very fashionable as pets,” he says.





Dolphin Park project likely to be revived
Vizag may also have huge marine aquariums on the lines of those at Sentosa

The largest city in the State, Visakhapatnam, may soon have a world-class Dolphin Park and marine aquariums to boost the thriving tourism industry in the State.

The government is mulling over revival of the Dolphin Park project and add a couple of marine aquariums near the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam.

The idea is to bring dolphins and other marine species for world-class shows at the park, according to a top official in the Forest Department.

“The proposal is making the rounds in the official circles. The government may soon revive the project plan and resume the 60-acre facility on the Beach Road. The plan also includes sending a few staff members abroad for training so that they will be able to handle the dolphins brought for the shows,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

Setting up of huge marine aquariums on the lines of those at Sentosa in Singapore will also be one of the attractions in the park.

The Dolphin Park (Dolphinarium) project, conceived about two-and-a-half decades ago, was halted midway after constructing a huge concrete tank and other basic structures near the zoo park on the Visakhapatnam-Bheemunipatnam Beach Road. At present, the facility and concrete tank are in a dilapidated condition. Youth p





Ponderosa to shut down for weeks after visitors say animals are being mistreated
Heckmondwike’s Ponderosa Zoo has undergone a spot check just days after an explosion of complaints on social media about animal welfare.

Officials from Kirklees Council visited the facility today (October 20) as part of a planned riding licence inspection but took the opportunity to tour the site following concerns by the public.


Now Ponderosa has said it will close at the end of October for what management have described as a five-month period of refurbishment.

Council officers said standards at the zoo were seen to be “very good” and no issues regarding the mistreatment or neglect of animals were seen.

They found that conditions met the requirements of the Zoo Licensing Act and the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice and determined that no further action was required.

A spokesman said it was coincidental that news of the temporary closure followed a flurry of negative reports about the zoo and rural therapeutic centre. An update was posted on its website a fortnight ago.





Zoo could do with a ‘pied piper’
Rats are multiplying and barn owls have been given the job of killing them

Rats can be a real menace, and the city zoo has its share of them. Recently, the zoo authorities realised that the open enclosure housing nilgai and barking deer had become infested with rats.

The officials first tried to capture them by setting traps. The captured ones were fed to the snakes at the zoo.

Soon, it became apparent that there was a limit to the numbers of rats that could be caught this way. A more effective solution had to be found.

Biological control seemed to be the best option, and the officials turned to barn owls to do the job. First, though, they had to get one little problem out of the way.

As the nilgai enclosure also houses parakeet, peacock, and pigeon, it had to be established that the owls did not po

  


German zoo keeper finds a new family
Elke Schwierz has enjoyed every moment at Cúc Phương National Park in northern Ninh Bình Province for the past 15 years.

Waking up after good night’s sleep, the birds twitter in the trees welcoming fragile sunlight filtering through dense layers of leaves.

Staff at the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre start work at 6am looking after our "distant relatives" seized from illegal traders and hunters supplying collectors and the cooking pot. They divide into groups to search for leaves and fruit to feed the animals nurtured at cages at the centre.

They have two areas to look after: a semi-wild area for primates that need a lot of medical attention, and a semi-wild area with no cages, but natural trees, plants and streams like in the forest.

However, the semi-wild forest is still fenced off from the real world. When the primates get their health back and form into families in the cages, the experts send them to the semi-wild area to prepare them for relea





Construction of $500,000 aviary for world's rarest wading bird on track
The construction of a $500,000 aviary, for the world's rarest wading bird, in Twizel is progressing well and on track to be completed by the end of the year. 

Department of Conservation (DoC) senior ranger Dean Nelson said steel frames were currently being erected for the aviary, which could help see up to 175 kakī released into the wild each year.

Nelson said two of the eleven frames had been placed and he remained hopeful the aviary would be built by the beginning of November which would enable new captive chicks to be put in for the new breeding season.

  



How to behave at a zoo – according to science
With October half-term approaching, millions around the world will head to their local zoo to indulge in the Halloween activities and get a little fresh autumnal air in the presence of some extraordinary animals. At this time of year, the animals are still wonderfully active and there’s plenty to see and do. But there are certain things you should be doing as a visitor to ensure that the animals are able to act as naturally as possible within their environments.

With advances in zoo enclosure design, there are now more opportunities for you to get up close and personal with the more exciting animals, with walk-through exhibits and animal feeding sessions. In zoos, animal welfare research is carried out frequently to ensure the animals’ lives in captivity are at their best – and we now understand the impacts that human-animal interactions have on the animals housed in them.

Research has shown that zoo animals are able to tell the difference between unfamiliar (visitors) and familiar (keepers) people and that, in some cases, visitors can have a negative impact on them. For example, increased visitor numbers have been associated with increased levels of aggression in mandrills, mangabeys, and cotton-top tamarins (monkeys), more time spent alert towards visitors in sika deer, gorillas and Soemmerring’s gazelle, less time visible to the public in jaguars, orang-utans and siamangs, and increased stress hormones (glucocorticoid concentrations) in spider monkeys, blackbuck and Mexican wolves. This can be managed by responsible zoos, but everyone must play their part.

Research has also shown us that keeper-animal interactions have a positive impact on the animals’ behaviour. This should always be kept in mind.




Practical Zoo Nutrition Management
Roughly 20 out of the more than 200 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoos in the United States employing full time nutritionists, there exists a critical shortage of nutrition expertise at the vast majority of facilities within AZA. Similar institutions outside the US face the same challenges. Many of these institutions care for hundreds and in some cases thousands of different species, all with specific dietary needs that may even vary across seasons and reproductive conditions. Making nutritional decisions for a wide range of species from around the world, and overseeing the daily management of food purchase, storage and preparation is a complex and demanding task which must often be performed with little targeted training. However, the long-term sustainability of an animal collection, and the successful reproduction of breeding animals relies heavily on proper nutrition.

Because of the complexities and extensive experiential learning involved in the profession, this course is not designed “to create a zoo nutritionist in 5 days.” Rather, it will assist interested individuals in gaining knowledge and hands-on experience within one of the oldest zoo nutrition programs in the US. It is designed such that participants will develop an appreciation for a wide variety of topics within the field of zoo and wildlife nutrition, as well as some of the nuances of managing a commissary (food procurement and preparation) operation to support a zoo. This co





Evidence Based Animal Care: A Conversation with Lance Miller, Senior Director of Animal Welfare Research at the Brookfield Zoo
 For the past 80 years, the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo has been a leader in the zoo field. One of the things that makes Brookfield Zoo special is its focus on research and animal science. This commitment is shown in the Center for the Science of Animal Care and Welfare, which is doing cutting-edge research into the wellbeing of animals. One of the leaders of the Center is Dr. Lance Miller, one of the most well-respected behaviorists in the zoo field. Here is his story.





Thoughts: Making money on animals – right or wrong
The are a lot of ethical aspects of keeping animals in human care, one of them is using animals in any sort of show or display and another is “making money on them”. Even if you don’t make any profit of your zoo some people will always think you are a money machine using the animals. Working in a private company that owns a lot of different amusement parks and zoos this is a question I get a lot: Is it right to make money on animals? First of all, there is no right or wrong to this question, and it is also not all black and white. To give a little background, our zoo was owned by the city in over 30 years. In all years we had financial struggles and was dependent on tax money.  With private owners, we could invest far greater amounts of money than before. This have led to us doing positive results for the first time.






AAZK Professional Development Committee
First Call for Topical Workshops
2018 AAZK National Conference
Workshops Format: 
Workshop subjects should be in-depth explorations of animal health, animal management, taxa-specific husbandry, and keeper professional development.  Workshops should be two hours in length.  Subjects that require more than two hours should be submitted as “Part One” and “Part Two”.  

Open Topical Workshops
This new Open Workshop format will offer unlimited attendance (based on the capacity of the ballroom) and will be best suited for lecture-based workshops with a Q & A session at the end.

Limited Topical Workshops
Held in limited capacity breakout rooms, this format is best suited for small group interactive workshops and will have a cap on the number of participants.

 Panel Discussions
Panel Discussions must have a minimum of three instructors and are designed to offer multiple points of view, and include a Q&A component.  Can be Open Attendance or Limited Attendance Format





NEW EVIDENCE SPARKS CONCERNS OVER PUBLIC SAFETY AND WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES
A report published today by Eurogroup for Animals presents new data on the shocking number of incidents involving the public and wild animals in circuses across the EU. Over the past 22 years, 305 incidents involving 608 wild animals were recorded, which is on average 15 per year in the whole of the EU. [1] This data is even more striking if we consider the limited number of circuses using wild animals in Europe and then the relatively small amount of animals potentially implicated.

Eurogroup for Animals demonstrates the extent to which the use of wild animals in circuses is not only a problem for animal welfare, but also of public safety and security. Incidents involving animals in circuses occur regularly and frequently, causing varying degrees of public disorder or even the injury or the death of people. The temporary nature of traveling circuses and the close proximity of dangerous animals to the public mean that this type of public entertainment can never be entirely safe.

Director of Eurogroup for Animals Reineke Hameleers says, ‘‘wild animals in circuses are bought and sold, prematurely separated from their mothers, confirmed or chained and forced to stand for hours and frequently travel in small train or truck compartments. They are required to perform behaviours never seen in their natural environments. This needs to stop’’.

Although 19 EU Member States have adopted res





Kuwait zoo to be divided
 Director General of Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) Eng Faisal Al-Hassawi disclosed about a study to divide the Kuwait Zoo into two parts — one part as a public garden and the other part as the zoo — as well as increase the entry fee to a range between 500 fils and KD 1 per head, reports Al-Rai daily. This comes within the framework of PAAAFR’s plan to improve its facilities and increase its revenues. Eng Al-Hassawi explained that the zoo is regarded as a touristic landmark that attracts about 500,000 visitors annually. The costs of taking care of the animals and increasing their diversity as well as maintaining





Tony the truck stop tiger euthanized after 17 years as Grosse Tete attraction
Tony — a 17 year-old Siberian Bengal tiger — has died, after living his life as a Grosse Tete truck stop attraction at the center of a controversial legal battle over his ownership and life in Louisiana.

According to a statement from the Tiger Truck Stop website, Tony was euthanized Oct. 16 after exhibiting "typical signs that death was imminent" to "prevent Tony from suffering." The statement says Tony will be "preserved through taxidermy" following an autopsy.

Tony had lived at the truck stop since January 2001, when the tiger was six months old. "Tony knew many of the regular visitors to his Grosse Tete home and was known for
rubbing against the bars of his enclosure and 'chuffing' to those he liked," the statement said.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) — the animal welfare organization that led several legal challenges to move Tony to an animal sanctuary — says the group is "deeply saddened" by Tony's death.

"For more than seven years, we litigated on many fronts to free Tony, and we are devastated that despite our best efforts, he lived a





Ushering in a new, kinder era for Japan’s zoos
Animals are big business in Japan — at least, cute ones are. According to an estimate from Kansai University, Xiang Xiang, the new panda cub at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, has the potential to boost the Tokyo-area economy by ¥26.7 billion over a year. However, not all zoo animals receive the care and attention lavished on the tiny piebald bear.

Japanese zoos run the gamut. While there are some world-class facilities, comfort for the creatures seems to be severely lacking at many establishments. It isn’t unusual to find negative comments on travel websites from international visitors dismayed at cramped enclosures and their listless occupants.

Toshio Tsubota is a professor at Hokkaido University’s Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine, the first university lab in Japan to specialize in wild animals.

“The standard in Japanese zoos varies from great to terrible,” he says. “I would like to see zoos move from being places merely for people’s entertainment to becoming facilities for promot





Bong Su is dead, broken by cramped and impoverished zoo conditions
Bong Su, Melbourne Zoo's beloved bull elephant, is dead. His death is a tragedy: zoo veterinarians euthanised him after an assessment that the pain he felt from "arthritis" could not be relieved. While this may be the case, Bong Su's pain was not natural. It was due to the conditions in which he was kept for many years at Melbourne Zoo. In reality, Bong Su should have been in his prime.

Captured from the wild in Malaysia, Bong Su and a female elephant, Mek Kapah, were shipped to Melbourne in 1977-78. They were young calves, no more than five years old.




BIAZA Education and Presenters Conference 2017






Are you having a giraffe? Zoo will open in Redbridge in 2020
The Recorder can reveal that Hainault Forest Country Park will be turned into a “regional visitor attraction” complete with an upgraded visitors’ centre.

The funding application was granted to the site at Romford Road, Hainault, to help preserve and enhance the ancient forest’s biodiversity and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Redbridge Council will also invest an extra £1.25m into the project with a further £250,000 from Vision bringing the total investment to £6m.

Council leader Cllr Jas Athwal said he was very excited about the news and it would enable the local authority to turn it into “almost a national park”.

“It will be great for residents to go out and enjoy a day there,” he told the Recorder.

“Together with the golf course and boating lake we will be creating a prospectus of all the good things in Ilford North.”

Cllr Athwal said the zoo was excellent news for the borough on top of launching a bid to become the London Borough of Culture.





Moving Forward: A Conversation with Marcy Dean, Director of the Potawatomi Zoo
The Potawatomi Zoo is a 23-acre zoo in South Bend, Indiana and it has never had a more promising future than it does now. It was privatized in 2014 when the City of South Bend and the Zoological Society formed a public/private partnership. Since then Director Marcy Dean has not looked back. The Potawatomi Zoo has begun an ambitious master plan and fundraising campaign which has already resulted in bringing okapi to the zoo. Marcy Dean clearly believes in the zoo and is determined to make it the best it can be. Here is her story.





Conservationists Sound Alarm on Plummeting Giraffe Numbers
Picture an animal enrobed in a fiery, jigsaw-patterned coat. A creature of such majestic height that it towers amongst the trees. As your eyes make their way up its long neck that appears to defy gravity, you find crowned atop its head two Seussian, horn-like protrusions framing dark, curious eyes fanned by lashes. In its truest sense, the giraffe fits the description of a creature plucked from the pages of a fantastical story. Even its species name, Giraffa camelopardalis, comes from the ancient Greek belief that the giraffe is a peculiar camel wearing the coat of a leopard. Meanwhile, the Japanese word for giraffe and unicorn are one and the same.





Rare Hawaiian crows released into native forests of Hawai’i Island
Five young ‘alala, two females and three males, were released into Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve (NAR) on the Island of Hawai‘i on Wednesday, October 11. This second group of birds joins a previous group that had been released into the forest at the end of September. These eleven birds represent what conservationists hope will be the beginning of a recovered population of the endangered crow species on the island.

The ‘alala, or Hawaiian crow, has been extinct in the wild since 2002, preserved only at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers managed by San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

“Our efforts to bring this species back from the brink of extinction have been tremendously bolstered by our ability to protect a small population of ‘alala in a conservation breeding program in Hawai‘i,” says Michelle Bogardus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic team leader for Maui Nui and the Hawai’i Islands. “Now that we built up the population to more than 125 birds at the Hawaiian Bird Center we can begin the long road to recovering this incredible species in its native habitat.”

The first group of ‘alala released into the forests of Hawai‘i in late 2016 encountered predation pressures from the native Hawaiian hawk, or `Io. Surviving birds from this first group were brought back into aviaries while a team of co





BIAZA AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2017





International trade in live elephants
In response to considerable interest from members of the public and non-government organizations, the CITES Secretariat offers this quick guide to CITES controls on international trade in live elephants.

Elephants taken from the wild

International trade in live elephants, especially when it takes the animals out of their natural range, is a very sensitive issue that generates expressions of public concern. There are strict rules in CITES to regulate such trade, but the trade is not prohibited, and some aspects of the trade are not covered by CITES rules.

The trade controls applying to trade in live elephants from the wild depend on the country of origin of the animals.

African elephants in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are included in CITES Appendix II. This means that CITES Parties have agreed that although the species is “not necessarily now threatened with extinction” in these States, it may become so unless international trade in specimens from these States is strictly regulated in order to “avoid utilization incompatible with their survival”.

African elephants from other States and all Asian elephants are consi




London Zoo sends cheetahs, lemurs in return for Gir lions
This is possibly the most valuable barter any Gujarat zoo has pulled off so far. In 2016, an exclusive Gir Asiatic lion section was opened in the famed ZSL London Zoo and Gujarat sent a pair of Asiatic lions from Sakkarbaug Zoo. In return, ZSL has sent Gujarat a pair of cheetahs, two ring-tailed lemurs and two zebras.
Forest department officials of Junagadh wildlife division said this will be the first time Sakkarbaug Zoo will have zebras or ring-tailed lemurs. No zoos in the state have these animals. Officials said the animals will arrive later this month and will available for public viewing after 30 days of quarantine. Chief conservator of forests, A P Singh, said, "





Animal exhibits – Open kitchen concept to convey the message
As partner of Lionhouse and architect working in the zoo sector I sometimes get the chance to see the staff only areas of a zoo in use; a glimpse behind the scenes, hidden for the ‘ordinary’ visitor.

A few months ago I visited the facilities of Stichting AAP in Almere, The Netherlands. This organisation provide care and shelter to exotic animals which have suffered severe abuse or neglect.

Unlike zoos, Stichting AAP are not a visitor attraction. Their main objectives are the basic needs of the rescued animals. The holding quarters are therefore practical and efficient, without any unnecessary frills to please the public.

They do, however, try to involve the public in their work by offering guided tours behind the scenes. My host led me along the offices, the quarantine building and veterinary unit, the different animal houses and outdoor enclosures.

As he explained the process of rehabilitation of the rescued animals and showed me the daily routine of the staff – feeding, cleaning, observation etc. – it surprised me how fascinated I always get by the unadorned truth of these ‘behind the scene’-experiences, the authenticity of it.





Enclosure Design Tool
The EDT is an interactive, computer interface that gives zoos and sanctuaries the ability to compare the behaviour of their chimpanzees and orangutans to the latest research on wild populations. It helps them use that information to create physically and mentally stimulating enclosures that mimic the physical and mechanical challenges wild great apes face in the forest canopy.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has predicted that all non-human great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos) could be extinct in the wild within a human generation. The ability of sanctuaries to reintroduce great apes back into the wild, and of zoos to conserve the species while meeting their welfare needs, relies on encouraging the apes to exhibit the behaviours that are a vital part of the species’ ability to survive in the natural environment. Our focus on replicating the mechanical challenges of forest life is d





'Killer' toothaches likely cause misery for captive orca
An international research team has undertaken the first in-depth investigation of the teeth of captive orca (killer whales) and have found them a sorry state, which raises serious concerns for these majestic mammals' overall health and welfare.
Anyone with a toothache knows how painful and distracting that can be - in orca which have around 48 large teeth, a sore tooth is likely no less painful or debilitating than for a person. Now, a new international study published in the journal Archives of Oral Biology, found that every individual examined had damaged teeth.
Study first author Professor John Jett of Florida's Stetson University, an ex-orca trainer, says the team investigated 29 orca owned by one company and held in the USA and Spain.
"Every whale had some form of damage to its teeth. We found that the more than 65 per cent possessed moderate to extreme tooth wear in their lower jaws, mostly as a result of chewing concrete and steel tank surfaces."
Additionally, the researchers found that more than 61 per cent of the orca they studied have "been to the dentist" to have their teeth drilled. Officially termed a "modified pulpotomy", a hole is drilled into the tooth to extract the soft pulpy tissue inside.
Study co-author Dr Carolina Loch, a Faculty of Dentistry re





A killer whale of a tale: when peer review sometimes fail.
When examining claims in the scientific press one always tend to look to whether or not the evidence that this is based on has been subject to peer review.  Science journalism can be something of a mixed bag and with the ever increasing need to produce headlines that will generate attention (clickbait) and advertising revenue.

One such example is a recent news report in the web based science news outlet Phys.Org entitled: "Killer toothaches likely cause misery for captive orca". The article relates to a paper published in the Archives of Oral Biology that claims that tooth damage in captive killer whales is endemic and harmful to the animals. However a closer look at the paper and its authors give some calls for concern.

Looking at what is available in the original paper it seems that the assessments made were from photographs taken by various individuals whilst visiting various facilities.  None of the authors appears to have had direct access to physically examine the teeth of any of these animals. Only one of the authors,  Carolina Loch, has any academic qualification in dentistry.

Moreover, the paper does acknowledge the fact that tooth erosion is seen commonly in wild cetaceans but it's not very clear on what kind of comparative analysis was used. Tooth erosion in wild killer whales is well documented.

Further, four of the authors have an opposition to the maintenance of killer whales in captivity:

Jeffrey Ventre and John Jett are former SeaWorld trainers who both left this facility in 1995 - with Ventre being dismissed for misconduct.





Water for Elephants
There is a crisis of elephantine proportions playing out in the dry sandy Kalahari woodlands of eastern Botswana, and a determined family of caring people is caught in the middle of the drama. A friend and I spent a few days with them in September this year, and came away determined to help. I hope that my story inspires you to do the same.

Thousands of thirsty elephants utilise the tiny waterhole at Elephant Sands bush lodge and campsite, because it is one of a few reliable sources of water in this vast arid landscape – especially during the height of the dry season. The result is often chaos as elephants arrive in their hundreds, exhausted, dehydrated and anxious – with ensuing destruction of infrastructure and property and even injury to younger elephants that get bullied by the massive bulls.





Beijing Philanthropist Commits $1.5 Billion to Conservation
This Saturday, Oct. 14, in Monaco, He Qiaonv will announce the first step in a $1.5 billion plan that may represent the largest-ever personal philanthropic commitment to wildlife conservation.

The number isn’t the only thing that’s surprising about the announcement. The source might equally raise eyebrows: The donation isn’t coming from a known Western conservationist like Paul Allen, but from a landscape planner-turned-environmental steward who’s based in Beijing.






Finland's Ahtari zoo paces up for receiving giant pandas from China
Surrounded by calm lakes and thick woods, a spacious building has been erected in the Ahtari zoo in central Finland to accommodate a pair of giant pandas, who will arrive hopefully by the end of this year.
Ahtari zoo, the largest wildlife zoo in Finland, has paced up the preparation for receiving the newcomers. A ceremony was held on Friday to celebrate the completion of the roof construction of the panda house.
The ceremony is a typical Finnish tradition: The owner of a newly built house shall invite the construction workers and relatives and friends to dinner when the house is capped with a roof, said Mikko Savola, member of Finnish parliament and the board director of Ahtari wildlife zoo company.
The ceremony also means that eighty percent of the construction is finished, and the panda house will be ready for use as of November,

  



Conservationists take nine flights a year, despite knowing danger to environment, study shows
onservationists may preach about the importance of going green to save the planet, but most have a carbon footprint which is virtually no different to anyone else, a new study has shown.

Scientists as Cambridge University were keen to find out whether being fully informed about global warming, plastic in the ocean or the environmental impact of eating meat, triggers more ethical behaviour.

But when they examined the lifestyles of conservation scientists they discovered most still flew frequently – an average of nine flights a year – ate meat or fish approximately five times a week and rarely purchased carbon offsets for their own emissions.

  



Female dolphins evolved protective vaginas to stop unwanted males mating with them
Female bottlenose dolphins have evolved to the point where they are able to protect themselves from fertilisation by some males.

Certain species of marine animals have extensive vaginal folds that make penis entry more difficult, effectively acting as a reproductive barrier, researchers have found.

Male bottlenose dolphins form strong bonds with two to four others to fend off competitors for their females.

When a female dolphin comes into contact with such a group, she has little choice about who mates with her and may end up mating with each one.





A zoo near Antwerp must close its doors immediately
The Flemish Minister of Animal Welfare, Ben Weyts, has withdrawn the recognition of the Olmense Zoo.

Too many animal welfare violations were detected in the zoo in Balen, in the province of Antwerp.

The Olmense Zoo houses about 1,000 animals including elephants, zebras, lions and monkeys. 250 animal species in total. But it turns out that things often go wrong regarding the housing. "Animals are often housed in rooms that are poorly ventilated or not well-cleaned", says Minister Weyts. "In addition, some animals have no shelter from the rain during their stay and there are far too many animals for the room available.”

The problems with the Olmense Zoo have actually been going on for a while. "We have therefore proposed various pathways to improve the situation", the Minister said, "but they have never led to a structural solution. That is why the zoo must now immediately close its doors. It must be clear that we take animal welfare seriously."

The management of the Olmense Zoo has badly reacted . "I'm surprised," says Wim Verheyen, "because I thought we had a good relation with the Animal Welfare depart





Experts worry over fate of world's 2nd smallest fish
The world’s second smallest fish, Paedocypris micromegethes, found only in highly acidic black water peat swamps in Terengganu, Johor, Perak and Sarawak, is under threat of extinction following the draining of these areas for oil palm plantation.

Ichthyologists are concerned that the fish sensitive to changes in its water parameters, may not survive the destruction of its habitat, which is also home for some aquatic species unique to peat swamp already under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of endangered species.

Measuring just 11 millimetres, Paedocypris micromegethes, is also being collected for the aquarium trade and despite its status as a rare and endangered species, it is sold for as cheap as RM3.30 per fish.

Ichthyologist Dr Zahar Azuar Zakaria who found the latest specimen of Paedocypris micromegethes in a peat swamp area in Sibu recently voiced his concern that the development of oil palm plantations in the area may soon wipe out the species.

“I have seen another Paedocypris species, the P. carbunculus traded as ruby rasbora in Singapore. I believe two other species like the P. micromegentes (Malaysia) and P. progenitica (Indonesia) are also being sold in the aquarium trade.

“These are delicate species and are being threatened by habitat loss. We may just read about this species in journals in the near future,” said Dr Zahar Azuar, who is on a mission to record all freshwater fish in Malaysia.

He said the fish was first discover





Elephant rampage, 4 years later Springfield zookeeper's shocking death still felt by many
Four years ago this week, an elephant attacked and killed a Springfield zookeeper. For the first time we are seeing where it happened and talking with his family.
At one time being an elephant keeper was seen as one of the most dangerous occupations in the world.
"They're big, intelligent animals. When you're with them, you're exposed and whatever they decide to do, you're not going to be able to stop that in many cases," said Dickerson Park Zoo Director, Mike Crocker.
Nobody knew that better than John Bradford. He worked with Springfield's elephants for 30 years.
"Not a day goes by that we don't think about him," said John's brother, Phil Bradford Jr.
Phil says those elephants were his life's work and his biggest passion.
"He had a real connection with those animals. He worked side by side with them and was with them every day.
Because elephants can be so dangerous zoos already have an extensive safety system.
But it wasn't enough for Patience. She is the elephant that attacked and killed John Bradford four years ago.
Elephant deaths are rare these days. So ra





Two Palm Beach Zoo bush dogs presumed dead after habitat floods
Two bush dogs at the Palm Beach Zoo are presumed dead after their habitat flooded last weekend.

Bush dogs are a threatened species found in Suriname, Guyana and Peru. They are known for their soft, long fur, bushy tails and short legs. Adults are about 2 feet long and 1 foot high.

The discovery was made early Monday when keepers were checking on the animals, known as Lily and Carino, at the zoo, in Dreher Park in West Palm Beach.

“They are one of a few mammal species at the zoo that burrows, and when water started rising in their home, they likely went underground w





Safari West owner had ‘a thousand souls’ to save from Tubbs fire
Peter Lang had a heart-wrenching choice — save his house in the fire-ravaged hills above Santa Rosa or protect the more than 1,000 animals trapped at his wildlife preserve, Safari West.

The 77-year-old owner of the 400-acre facility on Porter Creek Road didn’t give it much thought.

As the flames approached, Lang ushered his wife, employees and 30 overnight guests off the hill, grabbed a garden hose and began dousing hot spots threatening his collection of primarily African species, including cheetahs, giraffes and rhinoceroses.

When dawn broke, they were all alive but Lang’s home was destroyed.

“I did not lose a single animal,” he said Tuesday as he walked the grounds, dense smoke still shrouding pens and other outbuildings. “It is amazing.”

Safari West emerged as an anomaly in the Mark West Springs area directly in the path of the inferno that roared into Santa Rosa from Calistoga early Monday. It has burned 27,000 acres and is blamed for at least 11 deaths.





Japan’s anime-loving penguin Grape-kun passes away at Tobu Zoo

The cardboard cut-out he fell in love with was moved from the enclosure to be with the penguin as he passed away.

In April this year, a Humboldt penguin called Grape-kun stole our hearts when he appeared to develop feelings for a cardboard cut-out of an anthropomorphic penguin from the Japanese hit anime Kemono Friends.

The character, called Hululu, was placed in the penguin enclosure at Tobu Zoo in Saitama Prefecture as part of a limited-time promotion for the anime, which saw other anthropomorphised animal characters from the series scattered throughout other areas of the zoo as well.

While the other animals paid no attention to the cardboard cutouts in their midst, Grape-kun became so enamoured by his 2-D visitor that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, and it wasn’t long before photos began surfacing online, showing the penguin staring up at her for hours at a time and refusing to leave her side.




Age 59 Chimp Named “Mama” Is So Sick She Refuses to Eat. But Watch When She Recognizes Old Friend
At age 59, the sun was setting on the life of a chimpanzee named Mama. Too weak to eat or drink, Mama wanted nothing more than to be left alone, to pass in peace.

Born in the wild around 1957, Mama was brought to the Netherlands from Germany in 1971. She lived at the Royal Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands.

According to her caregivers and zoologists, Mama was a force to be reckoned with. She quickly established herself as the dominant matriarch in her chimp colony; she was easily the most famous chimp at the zoo.





Penguin disaster as only two chicks survive from colony of 40,000
A colony of about 40,000 Adélie penguins in Antarctica has suffered a “catastrophic breeding event” – all but two chicks have died of starvation this year. It is the second time in just four years that such devastation – not previously seen in more than 50 years of observation – has been wrought on the population.

The finding has prompted urgent calls for the establishment of a marine protected area in East Antarctica, at next week’s meeting of 24 nations and the European Union at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart.

 Penguins starving to death is a sign that something’s very wrong in the Antarctic
In the colony of about 18,000 breeding penguin pairs on Petrels Island, French scientists discovered just two surviving chicks at the start of the year. Thousands of starved chicks and unhatched eggs were found across the island in the region called Adélie Land (“Terre Adélie”).

The colony had experienced a similar event in 2013, when no chicks survived. In a paper about that event, a group of researchers, led by Yan Ropert-Coudert from France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, said




Philippines mull sending eagles abroad to ensure species survival
Wildlife conservation officials have proposed sending some of the endemic Philippine Eagles abroad to ensure their survival in the event of an avian flu outbreak.
“This may be necessary to ensure the survival of our eagles in the event of an epidemic,” Dennis Salvador, president of the Philippine Eagle Foundation was quoted in reports as saying as officials mull what steps to take to save the raptor, which is endemic to the country’s forests.

The recent outbreak of avian flu in Central Luzon in the northern portion of the country has prompted officials like Salvador to think of ways to ensure that the species would not be wiped out in the event of an epidemic.
Currently, a considerable number of the estimated 400 surviving Philippine Eagles are under the care of the Philippine Eagle Foundations’ aviary in Malagos, Davao City. Having some of the captive eagles taken to other countries would mean that in the event on an outbreak, not every bird from this particular gene pool would be susceptible to an epidemic suc



  
Dibbler populations bolstered
​Endangered marsupial released on the south coast to assist with long-term conservation efforts
Animals from a successful captive breeding program
A total of 69 dibblers have been reintroduced into bushland on the State's south coast as part of efforts to strengthen populations to assist with the long-term recovery of the endangered species.

Successful release of the small carnivorous marsupials was due to a partnership between the Perth Zoo and the Parks and Wildlife team under the new Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

The department bred the dibblers before releasing them into an area that borders Peniup Creek near Jerramungup.

Before the release, fox baiting was carried out at the site and this will continue in addition to feral cat trapping, under the department's Western Shield wildlife conservation program, to give the species a greater chance of survival against two of their biggest threats.

Since 2001, nearly 250 captive bred dibblers have been released at various sites throughout the south coast.

Earlier this year, six zoo-bred dibblers and their pouch young were released onto Gunton Island near Esperance to expand the small population established there, and ongoing camera monitoring has provided encou





Can the Zoo change its stripes?
If you want to glimpse the future of the Oregon Zoo, head for the new education center, a $17 million LEED Gold, net zero energy wood structure. Inside, you will find a giant touch screen park locator, a species conservation laboratory, colorful kid-friendly information exhibits and peppy teen volunteers ready to give the low down on conservation research.

What you won’t see on this hot August morning are many animals, or, for that matter, people.

To see them, animals and Homo sapiens, venture down to the elephant exhibit. Crowds press against a nearby bridge and embankments, smartphones at the ready. All eyes and screens are on Lily, a five-year-old juvenile and one of the newest additions to the herd. She saunters to





Scientists begin bold conservation effort to save the vaquita porpoise from extinction
An international team of experts has gathered in San Felipe, Mexico at the request of the Mexican government (SEMARNAT) and has begun a bold, compassionate plan known as VaquitaCPR to save the endangered vaquita porpoise from extinction. The vaquita porpoise, also known as the 'panda of the sea,' is the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Latest estimates by scientists who have been monitoring the vaquita for decades show there are fewer than 30 vaquitas left in the wild.  The vaquita only lives in the upper Gulf of California.





Do Animals Have Menopause?
Human women typically go through menopause between ages 45 and 55, when they undergo hormonal changes that cause them to stop being able to reproduce. But they're not the only ones in the animal kingdom who live beyond their reproductive years.

Scientists have long known that animals' fertility and reproductive success slowly decline with increasing age — a phenomenon called reproductive senescence. But, for the most part, reproduction in animals seems to continue up to old age and death, though at a diminished capacity.

In a recent review of primate species, researchers found that humans are the only primates that don't die within a few years of "fertility cessation." And this is true even when modern medicine and health care are taken out of the equation, as the study included data from the hunter-gatherer !Kung tribe in the Kalahari Desert.

In the past couple of decades, however, numerous studies have claimed that menopause, or "post-reproductive life spans" — a phrase that most often refers to the age of last reproduction, since changes in ovulation and hormones related to menopause are difficult to measure in wild animal populations — occurs in a wide range of species. Guppies, for instance, appear to go through a fish version of menopause, according to one study, which found that the fish spend an average of 13.6 percent of their total life spans in a post-reproductive stage.

In fact, such "menopause" appear





Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Invites Proposals for Asian Conservation, Research Projects
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is accepting proposals for its the Asia Seed Grants Program, which provides funds to support field conservation and research projects in Asia.

Grants of up to $3,500 will be awarded to support conservation and research initiatives as well as educational or cultural activities that involve or impact wildlife and their habitats. Priority will be given to projects that have clear and direct conservation impact, positively affect local people, and create opportunities for capacity building in country.

Projects focusing on the following areas of special interest to the zoo are strongly encouraged, including wildlife protection (law enforcement, illegal wildlife trade issues, etc.); human wildlife conflict mitigation; development and promotion of sustainable environmental practices; habitat protection and restoration (terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems); capacity building, education/training, community-based conservation and development; and conservation biology, ecology, and





Considered ecologically extinct in the wild, Burmese star tortoise population has grown to more than 14,000 individuals
The Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota), a medium-sized tortoise found only in Myanmar's central dry zone, has been brought back from the brink of extinction thanks to an aggressive captive-breeding effort spearheaded by a team of conservationists and government partners.

  



Breeding Endangered Species and Educating People About the Diversity of Life: A Conversation with Ed Maruska, Retired Director of the Cincinnati Zoo
  Ed Maruska has one been regarded as one of the classic silverback directors of the zoo field. In a career that spanned nearly four decades, he led the Cincinnati Zoo to being one of the premier institutions in the country and helped establish breeding programs for endangered species within zoos. Maruska made several innovations during his tenure including opening the first insect exhibit at an American zoo and integrating gorillas in family groups. Although he has been retired since 2001, he remains a legend in the field. Here is his story.





Positive Behavior: A Conversation with Otto Fad, Behavior and Welfare Specialist at Precision Behavior Animal Consulting
Animal behavior is the backbone of the modern zoo and no one knows this better than Otto Fad, Behavior and Welfare Specialist at Precision Behavior Animal Consulting. “Everyone who works around animals should have an understanding of behavioral fundamentals because whether they are aware of it or not, they are constantly impacting and changing the behavior of animals in their care,” he explained. “Behavior is dynamic, always changing. So the choice is you can train and teach animals in an informed, intentional and enlightened manner or you can leave their behavior to chance.” Fad rose to prominence as Elephant Manager at Busch Gardens, a position he maintained from 2004 to April 2017. Here is his story.




******************************************************

** ***

** **

***

*

New Meetings and Conferences updated Here





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




Vacancies in Zoos and Aquariums and Wildlife/Conservation facilities around the World


*****
About me
After more than 49 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 many more before 'hitting the road' and writes about these in his blog http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/


Peter earns his living as an independent international 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, one time zoo inspector, a dreamer, a traveler, an introvert, 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.


"These are the best days of my life"






Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
+971 50 4787 122 | elvinhow@gmail.com | Skype: peter.dickinson48