The Brazilian Aardvark

It came of a bit of a surprise to me today to learn that the Coati is "also known as Brazilian aardvark" (according to the Daily Mail). I must have led a sheltered life I thought. I have had a lifelong interest in animals, worked in zoos for 40+ years, worked with dozens of Coati's and never once heard them referred to as an aardvark of any description. I must have got it wrong I thought and so did an internet search on the term. As can be expected most references were in relation to the current news story.

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rednut/1417072939/

The Express says "There are also about 10 Brazilian aardvark in Cumbria" and makes no mention of Coati at all.

The Telegraph does make a mention in "More obscure animals residing in the UK include the coati, also known as the Brazilian aardvark, with around 10 believed to be living wild in Cumbria,"

The Telegraph article goes on to say "The report also found around 1,000 wild boar, originally from France and Sweden, have escaped from farms across the south of England.

There are believed to be more than 50 large wildcats and a similar number of Australian Red-necked Wallabies plus more than 20 snapping turtles "

What? A thousand wild boar have escaped....a thousand? My gosh what incompetence.

50 large wildcats?????? From where? What kind of wildcat? Moving back to the Daily Mail they say "small leopards and jungle cats". Small leopards? Just what is a small leopard exactly?

Metro says "There are thought to be ten coatis, a kind of Brazilian aardvark, in Cumbria". In a way this is a worse way of putting it suggesting that they actually aadvarks from Brazil and sometimes known as coatis.

Not one of these papers used a scientific name anywhere Nasau nasua, Nasua narica. Readers are going to be taken in by this twaddle. I have not seen the original report from where they gleaned their information. Whoever put it together really needs to re-write and not rely too much on Wikipedia.

***

For regular updated Zoo News, Views, Reviews and Vacancies please visit
 Zoo News Digest on

FACEBOOK

Learn More About Zoos and Aquariums by visiting

The Zoo Hubs
and subscribe to the largest and longest established zoo related ezine
by clicking

HERE

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnjmck/734306862/ 

Lost Lemurs and Found Boobies and Peta going Wild

Ring Tail Lemur loose in Yorkshire? I wonder. I am not saying that the report is untrue as I recollect chasing Lemurs from cars in a collection I fairly recently worked in. Stowing away is a distinct possibility. If it is caught (or shot) then there should be a microchip and if not then DNA tests are a must because such an escape must be reported. If not why not. And shot? I mention that because in around 1990 a Lemur was shot in the Snowdonia National Park. It was running with a herd of sheep. So much for supposition. I believe the animal is more likely to be a Coatimundi. Back in 1968 I made almost weekly visits to York Museum. Here there was a huge map of Yorkshire with coloured pins showing the sightings of Raccoons and Coatimundi's in the County. I cannot believe that they were all of the same animals. Then there are the animals up in Cumbria. They are sighted with regularity.

Lemurs on the loose?

A day without Boobies would be a sad one. Good news then.

Extinct boobies return from the dead

PETA Go Wild Over Sandler's Zookeeper Movie