Pocatello Zoo Keeper Helps Enrich Vietnam Zoos
The Pocatello Zoo’s
hoof stock zoo keeper Matthew Rich traveled to Vietnam for three weeks in
September to teach seminars on animal enrichment.
“The Peace Corps for animals,” is how
Pocatello Zoo Keeper Matthew Rich describes it.
Animal enrichment is
anything that will stimulate the natural behaviors in an animal, especially
when it comes to feeding.
“We’re used to
sitting down at a table and having food put in front of us, eating off a plate.
Animals aren’t. Animals need to search,” said Rich.
Matthew’s 30 years
of zoo experience working with animals from all over the world have taught him
just how to make them feel at home, no matter how far away from home they are.
“Animals always need
to be enriched. If you put an animal in an enclosure here, if it’s an animal
from Asia or Africa, it’s the same as an animal from America. It still needs to
be stimulated,” explains Rich.
Matthew did a lot of
good in Vietnam, working to rebuild and enrich a bear exhibit, carnivore
exhibits, and two new monkey exhibits. He isn’t just bettering zoos half way
across the world, however, he’s gotten to work right here in Pocatello too.
“In the wild these
donkeys would be eating all day long. We do them a disservice by feeding them
in one place, once time a day, set time. What we’re doing right now behind me
is we’re feeding the
The plight of the African elephant
The current plight
of Africa’s rhino population, as disturbing as it is, pales in comparison to a
much less widely reported wildlife crisis of considerably more staggering
proportions – the loss of hundreds of thousands of elephants.
In 1980 there were
in the region of 1,2-million elephants in Africa spread across some 37 range
states. In 33 years that figure has been reduced to an estimated 420,000
animals. That’s 780,000 elephants lost to the world. Some of this loss can be
attributed to reduction of habitat due to human expansion, but the main reason
is ivory poaching, and when it comes to ivory, the market is driven by one
country - China.
Chinese involvement
in ivory poaching is Africa’s biggest open secret and its most shameful deceit.
Indeed, the decrease in elephant numbers is synchronous with China’s growing
economic foothold in Africa. Investments by China’s state-owned companies began
in the 1980s when they became bedfellows of failed and failing African
governments, with Zimbabwe and Zambia leading the pack.
By 1989 China was
the permanent concubine of the continent’s political despots, and the elephant
population had been halved to around 600,000. Coincidence? Far from it. Records
show that 75,000 animals were poached annually throughout the 80s yielding ivory
valued at $1-billion. Most of it went to China, or ended up there.
The Chinese appetite
for ivory remains stronger than ever... strong enough to manipulate a body the
world holds up as the guardian of threatened species – the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In the early 1980s,
with China prompting from the wings, Zimbabwe led an assault on CITES of which
it, and other key African states were members, calling for changes in the
restrictions on the ivory trade. The result was one of the biggest faux pas in
the history of environmental protection - in 1986 CITES introduced a new system
aimed at registering, and therefore controlling, huge stockpiles of ivor
India bans dolphin shows but what about other less
‘intelligent’ species?
Few contest the
obvious privilege of intelligence in all walks of life. But what indeed is
intelligence? And who decides how intelligent is intelligent enough? The
decision of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to ban dolphinariums or marine
parks, captive facilities where dolphin shows are organized, has not made big
headlines. But this is a bold move that sends a clear signal to various states
planning to set up dolphinariums for tourists. And, it is in keeping with the
ban on use of animals in circuses. Like most wildlife, cetaceans — marine
mammals such as dolphins, whales and porpoises — have a history of poor
longevity in captivity across the world. Zoos, however, keep a wide variety of
wildlife in large numbers. One would think that the cetaceans drew special
attention because captive dolphins are almost always made to perform. Most zoo
animals serve only as exhibits.
But the CZA circular
cites a curious justification. The authority doesn’t want dolphins in zoos
because scientists have found them to have “unusually high intelligence” and
therefore they should be seen as “non-human persons and as such should have
their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for
entertainment purpose.” This has raised certain dilemmas among
conservationists. Ashish Kothari of Kalpavriksh, for example, summed it up in
an online forum: “Perhaps it is a step towards the ‘rights’ of nature being
recognised. However, the fact that this is happening only because dolphins have
‘unusually high intelligence’ and are ‘persons’ suggests that we are willing to
extend rights only to something or someone who is akin to us. We are then
leaving out most of nature, assuming that ‘intelligence’ here is used in the
sense that we use it for ourselves, with various cognitive, predictive and
reflective properties.” Dolphins have fascinated us ever since we learnt how
much alike we are. These marine wonders are deeply social, cooperative and
competitive, follow basic language, display ‘culture’ and pass on information
to successive generations. Their body to brain size ratio is second only to
that of humans. They are known to help fishermen in mutually beneficial fishing
practices. But the species is under threat from growing fisheries that eat into
its prey base and also kill individuals by entangling in fishing nets. Tourism
is the other prime threat as both dolphin swims and dolphin shows are getting
increasingly popular. In 2010, the Helsinki Group for cetaceans was formed for
fostering moral and legal change. Based on the principle of equal treatment of
all persons, it affirmed that “all cetaceans as persons have the right to life,
liberty and wellbeing”, adding that, among other things, “no cetacean should be
held in captivity or servitude” as they are not the “property of any State,
corporation, human group or individual”. That is a noble call and India’s
decision shows that it is gaining international support. But ‘intelligence’ in
nature can be complex. Even tiny organisms can achieve miracles far beyond
humans. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that is flushed out in
cat stool soon after its birth. Now it must return to a cat’s stomach to
complete its life cycle. So, the devious protozoan enters the stomach of a rat
that has nibbled at cat dropping and executes complex neurosurgery to make the
host fearless of cats. The sooner the rat becomes cat food, the brighter the
chances of the Toxoplasma to reach a cat’s tummy and reproduce. The parasite
also infects humans and is possibly responsible for the social menace of rash
(read fearless) driving. Primates, particularly chimpanzees, use several tools.
Beavers are the world’s best dam engineers. Tiny birds make nests with the
skill and judgment of a master craftsman. Spiders spin webs more resilient than
stainless steel. The social system of the bees is smoother than that of any
species on earth. And no matriarchal society functions as well as the
elephant’s. Why, all animal
Poser over panda costs
How much will it cost Malaysia to lease the
two pandas, Fu Wa and Feng Yi, from China for 10 years?
Segambut MP Lim Lip
Eng said it will cost the Chiang Mai zoo in Thailand up to US$1 million (RM3.22
million) to bring in another panda to join the one they have had since 2003.
He said it may cost
Malaysia the same amount to bring in the two pandas from China, with the total
bill for leasing the animals possibly totaling US$2 million a year.
"As we are
leasing two pandas for 10 years, the bill for leasing alone may come up to
US$20 million," he told a press conference.
Lim said a written
reply to his question in parliament last Wednesday has left many questions
unanswered, adding that the government is required to come clean on the matter.
He said the reply
only stated the cost of building the exhibition area and the habitat in Zoo
Negara for the pandas at RM24.9 million.
He said the
government must reveal the "remaining costs", including the leasing
fee, food, maintenance, and expenses for a specialized team to care of the
pandas.
The government
signed an agreement in June 2012 with the China Wildlife Conservation
Association to lease the pandas to enhance tourism in Malaysia and to improve
bilateral relations.
"I think it is
a deliberate act to hide the other costs from the people as the lease (is) an
exorbitant price," he said.
Lim also said that
the statements h
WAR's quarterly newsletter, i.e. What's Up- Issue 23 -
September 2013.
Sometimes a zoo's job is to let animals into the wild
The Oregon Zoo is
known mostly for the elephants and other animals it keeps in captivity.
But it also releases
many
critters into the
wild as part of its commitment to conservation and preserving endangered
species.
In late September,
the zoo won three awards from the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums,
two for its conservation work to aid imperiled Northwest species, and a Green
Award for environmental improvements in its day-to-day operations.
“These awards are
like the Oscars of zoos and aquariums,” says Kim Smith, zoo director.
At an undisclosed
site in Clackamas County, Oregon Zoo staff have raised endangered California
condors since 2005. Over the years, 45 condor chicks have been raised there and
21 were released into the wild, says Dr. David Shepherdson, the Oregon Zoo’s deputy
conservation and research manager. There currently are 42 condors there,
including six breeding pairs, he says.
They’re bred in a
remote site away from humans, says Hova Najarian, the zoo’s media and public
relations officer. “They want the birds to fear humans, so they can survive in
the wild,” Najarian says.
The birds are
released under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in one of
five sites in California, Arizona and Baja California.
“In the ‘80s, there
were only 25 California condors in the wild,” Shepherdson says.
But now the known
condor population has reached about 431, via species recovery programs, captive
breeding and regular release of birds to supplement the wild population, h
Best Aquariums in the United States
There are countless
aquariums throughout the United States that can be fun for the whole family to
visit. Yet, there are some aquariums that go above and beyond in trying to
educate, entertain and amaze guests. From dolphin shows to massive whale sharks
and underwater tunnels to interactive exhibits, these are hands down some of
the best aquariums in the United States.
Ripley's Aquarium of Canada opens in Toronto (with
photos)
Visitors to Toronto
may not be able to swim with the sharks on Bay Street but they'll have an
up-close view of the ocean predators in a new indoor aquarium.
After two years of
construction, delays and $130 million in costs, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
opened to the public Wednesday.
The aquarium, billed
as the country's largest, is home to more than 13,000 aquatic animals and 450
different species held in nearly six million litres of water.
More than 10,000
tickets to the downtown facility have
Minnesota Zoo Director Lee Ehmke named president of
world zoo association
Lee Ehmke, the
Minnesota Zoo's director and CEO since 2000, has been named the new president
of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Announcement of his
two-year term came at the international association's annual conference this
week in Orlando.
Ehmke's charge as
president: to implement a strategic plan to assure "the full conservation
potential of the world’s zoos and aquariums." That includes a global plan
for zoo animal welfare.
Said Ehmke in a
statement:
"As the future
of wildlife and wild pl
3 Dec 2013 – MORGAN’s NEXT COURT HEARING (APPEAL)
Morgan’s next
hearing will be at the High Court in Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands on the
Tuesday 3rd of December 2013 at 10:45 am.
LOCATION: Council of State (Raad van State) of the
Netherlands, Chamber Unit A3, Kneuterdijk 22, 2514 EN Den Haag, Netherlands
(note this is NOT the same court as last year).
We will be posting
an “ev
Historical:
Morgan Is Not The Only One Having Problems Hearing!
Thursday 13 November
saw the yet another judgement from the Dutch courts on the fate of the young,
female killer whale “Morgan” who stranded on the Dutch coast in June 2010 and
was rehabilitated by the group SOS Delfijn and employees from Dolfinarium Harderwijk. The animal was deemed unsuitable for release
and was moved to live with a group of other killer whales at Loro Park
Tenerife, Spain in November 2011.
The recent hearing
stated that the permit to move “Morgan” should only be issued if the goal was
research or teaching. The judgment conclude that the park on Tenerife conducts
research and performs an educational function and therefore the whales move was
legal.
The court further
saw no reason to believe that the welfare of Morgan danger in Tenerife. If The
Orca Coalition disagree they are open to take legal action in a Spanish court.
Details of the background of this case can be
found HERE
This current
judgement is the latest litigation brought by The Orca Coalition a group of animal-rights activists including
the Free Morgan Foundation who -along with their supporter Dr. Ingrid Visser - wish to obtain this animal for a
reintroduction experiment in Norway.
Dr Visser has been
for sometime an active critic of the care of cetaceans in zoos and aquaria
particularly killer whales. Whilst she
has researched killer whales in the wild and was founder of the New Zealand
based Orca Research Trust, she was also a Plaintiffs Next Friend in the
infamous law-suit in October 2011 by People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PeTA) against Sea World theme parks; a case which citing slavery and
involuntary servitude under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States for fi
Toronto elephants leave zoo for California
With their trunks
packed and bickering behind them, three Toronto Zoo elephants have finally hit
the road.
Iringa, Toka and
Thika were coaxed into silver crates, loaded onto two flatbed trucks and driven
off zoo property around 10:30 p.m.Thursday, hours after their original planned
departure.
But the elephants’
final day in Canada wasn’t without the usual hemming and hawing over their
safety during the 50-hour drive to California
Zoocheck Canada
campaign director Julie Woodyer accused zoo officials of pulling “pranks” to
thwart the trip after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspected the three
pachyderms Thursday morning.
“There is no
question in my mind it was a last-ditch attempt to stop them from going to the
sanctuary,” Woodyer said.
Toronto Zoo
spokesperson Jennifer Tracey said the CFIA checkup was simply procedural.
“We take offence to
this accusation. Zoo staff were professional and co-operative and loaded the
elephants into their individual crates this morning as required. At no time
were any ‘pranks’ played,” Tracey said.
In a deal reached
mere hours before the trip, two Toronto Zoo employees were granted permission
to accompany the three elephants during the cross-country journey.
The deal was struck
Thursday morning between CUPE Local 1600 and the administration of Performing
Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), the American animal sanctuary that will be the
elephants’ new home.
PAWS staff had
demanded that any Toronto zookeeper making the days-long trip sign a
non-disclosure agreement. The union refused.
“We are trying to be
amicable and co-operative with PAWS,” said union president Christine McKenzie,
who declined to elaborate on the details of the deal. The union had initially
been critical of the request for secrecy.
The Toronto elephant
keepers will not be allowed to document the trip with photos or video, but will
be permitted to discuss it f
Beaver Butts Emit Goo Used for Vanilla Flavoring
Just in time for
holiday cookie season, we’ve discovered that the vanilla flavoring in your
baked goods and candy could come from the anal excretions of beavers.
Beaver butts secrete
a goo called castoreum, which the animals use to mark their territory. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration lists castoreum as a “generally regarded as safe”
additive, and manufacturers have been using it extensively in perfumes and
foods for at least 80 years, according to a 2007 study in the International
Journal of Toxicology.
“I lift up the
animal’s tail,” said Joanne Crawford, a wildlife ecologist at Southern Illinois
University, “and I’m like, ‘Get down there, and stick your nose near its bum.’”
“People think I’m
nuts,” she added. “I tell them, ‘Oh, but it’s beavers; it smells really good.’”
Castoreum is a
chemical compound that mostly comes from a beaver’s castor sacs, which are
located between the pelvis and the base of the tail. Because of its close
proximity to the anal glands, castoreum is often a combination of castor gland
secretions, anal gland secretions, and urine.
The fragrant, brown
slime is about the consistency of molasses, though not quite as thick, Crawford
said.
While most anal
secretions stink—due to odor-producing bacteria in the gut—this chemical
compound is a product of the beaver’s unique diet of
Irregularities in “La Reina” Zoo at Tizimin
Environment
Protection Federal Attourney (PROFEPA) paid a visit to the facilities of the
“La Reina” Zoo located in the city of Tizimin, Yucatan.
During this visit,
PROFEPA authorities found some irregularities in addition to an overpopulation
of peccaries (wild hogs), therefore some animals will have to be released for
its own safety.
Due to these
irregularities, a tiger died of peritonitis last summer on August 27 within the
premises of this Zoo.
During the
inspection, it was o
Serpent Experts Try To Demystify Pentecostal Snake
Handling
Two weeks ago, NPR
reported on a group of Pentecostals in Appalachia who handle snakes in church
to prove their faith in God. The story got us thinking: Why are the handlers
bitten so rarely, and why are so few of those snakebites lethal?
After the story
aired, NPR was contacted by snake experts who strongly suggest that a snake's
reluctance to bite a religious serpent handler may have more to do with the
creature's poor health than with supernatural intervention.
The herpetologists
at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo have been following the activities of Pentecostal
snake handlers for years. They have watched hours of video of snake-handling
services and examined snakes used in church.
"The animals
that I've seen that have come from religious snake handlers were in bad
condition," says Kristen Wiley, curator of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, a
facility in the town of Slade that produces venom and promotes the conservation
of snakes. "They did not have water. The cages had been left not cleaned
for a pretty long period of time. And the other thing we noticed is there were
eight or 10 copperheads in a container that was not very large."
What's more, she
says there was no fecal material in the container, which indicated the snakes
were not being fed. Riley says a snake that may be dehydrated, underweight and
sick from close confinement is less likely to strike than a healthy snake.
Moreover, the venom it produces is weaker.
She says
snake-handling preachers who don't take care of their snakes are "setting
themselves up for a safer encounter during their services when they use a snake
that is in bad condition to begin with."
One of the pastors
they level criticism at is Jamie Coots, who regularly takes up serpents in his
Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jes
Idiots Amongst Us….but for how long
Mammals Pee For Same Duration Of 21 Seconds, Urination
Study Finds (VIDEO)
Now this is
streaming video.
Researchers at
Georgia Tech have compiled footage of animals peeing to prove their "law
of urination," which states that mammals take about 21 seconds to pee.
Male or female,
small bladder or big bladder, it doesn't matter. Elephants, farm animals, dogs
and any mammal above a kilogram in weight require a similar time frame to
relieve themselves, give or take 13 seconds.
As for an elephant,
the researchers explain in the video above that the animal's wider and longer
urethra compensates for the huge volume the animal must discharge -- that gives
the liquid more room to flow and generates greater gravitational pull to increase
the speed, Dr. David Hu, assistant professor of biology at Georgia Tech, told
The Huffington Post. Previous research has focused more on bladder pressure.
The researchers
arrived at their findings by testing mammals at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia, and
they weren't just out to wow us with theory. In fact, they wrote that their
study, might help diagnose animals' urinary problems, according to Discover
magazine. They also expressed hope that the flow-enhancing properties of the
urethra could be applied to improve man-made hydrodynamic systems such as water
towers.
If you're wondering
what the averag
New River Monster Discovered in Brazil
Native to the Amazon
River, Arapaima are a huge freshwater fish capable of growing to 6 feet and 400
pounds.
For more than 200
years, skeptics have been announcing the end of the great age of species
discovery—and the end, in particular, for finding anything really big. But
giant species somehow just keep showing up.
Now scientists are
reporting the discovery of a river monster, Arapaima leptosoma, in Brazil’s
Amazonas State. It’s a new species, described from a single specimen measuring
33 inches from head to tail, in a genus that can grow to almost 10 feet and
weigh up to 440 pounds.
Arapaima, also
commonly known as pirarucu, is a genus of air-breathing fish that inhabit
creeks and backwaters in and around the Amazon basin. They live by crushing
other fish between their large bony tongue and the roof of the mouth. People
prize them both for their tasty flesh and for their handsome scales, which
tourists (including this writer) used to carry home incorporated in handsome
necklaces and other folk art. But these huge fish are now badly overharvested,
in part because it’s so easy to harpoon them when they come to surface to
breathe. Arapaima gigas, for example, is listed as endangered under the
Conventional on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES.
The only known
specimen of the new species, Arapaima leptosoma, turned up not in the wild, but
at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, a research facility in
Manaus. A collector originally caught it in 2001, at the confluence of the
Solimões and Purus rivers 200 miles west of the city. Until recently, though,
everyone assumed it was simply another Arapaima gigas, becau
CANADA’S ACCREDITED ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS WELCOMES
ATLANTIC MAYORS’ SUPPORT IN PUSH FOR MORE STRINGENT EXOTIC ANIMAL RULES
Sydney, NS, October
18, 2013— Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), the national
organization representing accredited zoological institutions, today welcomed
the support of the mayors of Atlantic Canada’s largest cities for more
stringent provincial rules on exotic animals and the licensing of zoos and
aquariums.
“On behalf of
Canada’s accredited zoo and aquarium community, I want to thank the mayors for
their support and leadership on this issue,” said Massimo Bergamini, CAZA
Executive Director.
The mayors were in
meeting in Sydney as part of the semi-annual Atlantic Mayors’ Congress.
“The mayors know
first hand the public safety, animal welfare and environmental issues that can
arise when exotic animals are not properly cared for; just as they know that
municipal governments do not have the legislative authority or the inspection
and enforcement resources adequate to the task”.
“We’re confident
that this strong support will help break down the policy and political silos
that have created the current patchwork of hard-to-understand-and- enforce
rules and regulations across the country”.
The mayors adopted a
resolution supporting CAZA’s advocacy in this area and urging the governments
of the four Atlantic provinces to study the issue and bring it to the Council
of the Federation in order to foster a national discussion. They will also ask
their national body, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to share
their resolution with all municipalities.
CAZA plans to
quickly leverage this support and will be seeking meetings with senior Atlantic
Canada provincial officials over the next few weeks to initiate the process.
REGULATION OF EXOTIC ANIMALS AND OF ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS
WHEREAS, the keeping
of exotic animals can result in serious public safety, animal welfare and
environmental issues;
WHEREAS, the keeping
of exotic animals is a highly specialized undertaking;
WHEREAS, in Atlantic
Canada, as well as elsewhere in the country, existing provincial rules on the
keeping of exotic animals vary between jurisdictions and often place the onus
of enforcement on municipal governments;
WHEREAS, municipal
governments do not have the legislative authority or the inspection and
enforcement resources to provide effective control;
WHEREAS, the current
legislative and regulatory environment is conducive to the proliferation of
unaccredited zoos and aquariums with attendant animal welfare, public safety
and environmental concerns;
WHEREAS, accredited
zoos and aquariums can bring significant economic, educational and conservation
benefits to their communities;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Atlantic Mayors’ Congress (AMC) supports Canada’s Accredited
Zoos and Aquariums’ (CAZA) efforts to create a more uniform and adequately
resourced policy, legislative, regulatory and enforcement regime governing
exotics animals in the Atlantic provinces and in all other provinces and
territories; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the Atlantic Mayors’ Congress urge the governments of New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward island and Newfoundland and Labrador to
create a joint task force to study the issue and report to the Council of the
Federation with a recommended way forward; and
BE IT FURTEHR
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution shall be forwarded the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities for distribution to all provincial – territorial
municipal associations.
