Zoo News Digest 15th - 19th September 2014 (ZooNews 899)
From International Hoofstock Awareness Association
Dear Colleagues,
Very sad to learn of
the death of William Oliver. A big loss. My sincere condolences to friends,
family and colleagues.
Much in this Zoo
News Digest on the inquest into the tragic death of Sarah McClay. Let's hope it
will all be sorted so that she can rest in peace and her family have closure.
I find the idea of an 'All Giraffe Zoo' in Qatar quite fascinating
because it is such an unusual idea. Although Giraffe are popular zoo animals I
am none too sure how successful such a venture would be if it was just
giraffes. Then there is the question of species/subspecies mixing (where are
the taxonomists up to on that one?). The most Giraffe I have ever seen in one
place is at Bangkok Safari World but they were a very mixed bag. The word
'Giraffe' is from the Arabic word زرافة Zarafa and they are definitely a
popular species in Arabia. I have even seen a small herd in the Desert in Dubai
a few years back. The herd on Sir Bani Yas island is now quite big. I don't
know if the original animals I took there some years back still survive, or their progeny, but I would like to
think so.
The article 'Cub’s
death sparks talk of gene disorder in zoo tigresses' may have partly hit the
point. I don't doubt that there is too much inbreeding going on in Indian
Zoos….particularly as they strive to produce more white tigers. However I
believe the real reason for all these cub deaths can be laid fairly and
squarely at the door of inadequate provision of cubbing dens and keepers, vets
and directors sticking their noses in to check that everything is okay. Not
checking is the very best thing that they can do.
Sticking with tigers
for just a moment….what has happened to the melanistic cub I reported on some
weeks back? I have never heard another word. Now this could actually be good
news. Perhaps someone is not checking….in which case everything will be okay.
I was sad to learn
of the suicide by crocodile at the SamutPrakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo. I am
puzzled why this should be choice for departure but no doubt it would be very
quick. This place has probably more crocodiles than anywhere else on the planet
and it definitely has the biggest.
Welcoming back two
of my Penguin Team from the IMATA conference this week. I do hope that they had
a good time. We missed them.
Some very disturbing news this week about people involved in 'zoo rescue' work. Please do not be taken in by flashy web pages or facebook pages. Check if they are a registered charity. Is your donation financing their jet lifestyle? I'm being serious here...don't get taken in.
Although I have been based in Dubai these past three years I prefer to maintain a UK address for my surface mail. This has changed yet again. It is now:
Peter Dickinson, c/o 2 Highgate, Dolwen, Abergele, Conwy, North Wales,
United Kingdom, LL22 8NP.
Bear in mind it is NOT where I live. You can send books for review, cheques etc to that address. I will get them eventually....although it may take months. If you prefer to send by courier to Dubai then please email me and I will send details. My contact phone number in Dubai remains the same:
00971 (0)50 4787 122
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A tribute to William Oliver 1947-2014
William Oliver will
be remembered for his lifetime dedication to conservation and his unique,
passionate and determined personality.
A dedicated
conservationist, William Oliver was a close colleague and friend of many at
Fauna and Flora International (FFI), and we were deeply saddened to hear of
his sudden passing last week. Here we share a few tributes from FFI staff to
honour one of conservation’s most colourful characters.
Qatar Has Plans to Build a $45 Billion Dollar
Futuristic City For The World Cup, That'll Feature "Manmade Clouds"
illion dollars
(another thing we're raising our eyebrows at) and will feature "19
districts" along with two golf courses, four islands, an all giraffe zoo,
a mall, t
Rewilding Britain: bringing wolves, bears and beavers
back to the land
A pair of highland
ponies nibble grass as two kestrels swoop across the path. Up a rock face
across this windswept valley deep in the Scottish highlands, a golden eagle is
hunting for prey, its movements tracked by a GPS tag. Nearby are Scottish
wildcats among the bracken – Europe’s rarest cat, with fewer than 400 left –
plus red squirrels, black grouse, the occasional pine marten, shaggy highland
cattle adapted to the harsh environment here, and, like much of the highlands,
plenty of deer. Wild boar and moose roamed this corner of Sutherland until
recently.
But if Paul Lister,
the estate’s multimillionaire owner and the heir to the MFI fortune gets his
way, two species not seen on this land for centuries could soon be added to the
list: wolves and bears. Alladale estate, which Lister prefers to call a “wilderness
reserve”, is one of the most ambitious examples of so-called “rewilding”, the
banner under which a growing number of people are calling for the
reintroduction of locally extinct species to landscapes. Bringing back species
such as wolves, beavers and lynx, rewilding advocates say, can increase the
diversity of other flora and fauna, enable woodlands to expand and help
reconnect people with nature.
The unofficial
figurehead for this movement, the outlines of which will become clearer with
the formation of a new charity early next year called Rewilding Britain, is
Guardian columnist and author George Monbiot. His book Feral, published in
2013, has been reprinted over 30 times in hardback and has led to a national
debate over the merits of restoring the country to a wilder state.
“For me, it’s part
of a wider effort to develop a positive environmentalism, which we desperately
need,” says Monbiot. “[It’s about] creating a vision for a better world that is
much more appealing than just laying out what is wrong with the current one, of
having a rather more inspiring one than saying, ‘Do as w
Vietnamese delegates returning from South Africa call on the public to take action to save rhinos
Diva Hong Nhung and other members of the delegation on a fact-finding mission to South Africa just returned to Vietnam and called upon the public to join forces and help stop the killing of rhinos in South Africa and other countries.
Vietnam’s last rhino was killed in 2010 for its horn, but Vietnam is still considered one of the largest rhino horn consumer markets in the world. International criminal syndicates operate seemingly beyond the reach of the law, killing rhinos and hacking off their horns in South Africa before smuggling the horns to Vietnam and China. In Vietnam, rhino horn is not only considered a form of magic medicine, but is also perceived as an indicator of status amongst the rising wealthy classes. The increasing demand for rhino horn in Vietnam poses a serious threat to the survival of rhinos in South Africa and other countries.
During the trip to South Africa, the delegates visited Kruger National pa
http://www.envietnam.org/index.php/topic/env-activities/633-vietnamese-delegates-returning-from-south-africa-call-on-the-public-to-take-action-to-save-rhinos
Elephant baby boom: Dublin Zoo welcomes third calf in
ten weeks
The newborn female
arrived on Wednesday morning, weighing in at 68kg - the weight of an average
human woman.
The birth was “very
calm and quick” and the new calf was standing within ten minutes, according to
Paul O’Donoghue, Assistant Director at the Zoo.
“The calf’s mother,
Bernhardine, is the oldest female and the matriarch of the herd,” he added.
She is the third
newborn Asian elephant in ten weeks.
During the summer,
Dublin Zoo became home to two other calves Kavi (born in July) and Ashoka (born
in August).
Both baby elephants’
names were revealed to the public this week after a social media naming
competition encouraged users to suggest Asian-inspired monikers for the
mammals.
A naming competition
will again be hosted on Dublin Zoo’s Facebook page to christen the newest
member of the herd.
With the multiple
births, Dublin Zoo, Dublin Ci
Military Lend a Hand to Create New Female Polar Bear Enclosure
60 military personnel have arrived in the Highlands to help create a new home for a female polar bear. Due to arrive next spring, the female will join Walker and Arktos, Scotland’s only resident males, with the hope of hearing the pitter patter of polar bear cub paws in the future.
Lodging at the Rothiemurchus Estate, the Engineers from 71 Engineer Regiment and a contingent from the South Dakota National Guard have kicked off work on the new 300 metre (984ft) walkway and one hectare polar bear enclosure being developed on the south west side of the Highland Wildlife Park by the Park’s ‘Works Team’. The project commenced on Sunday 7th September and will run through until Thursday 18 September. It is a massive undertaking and includes work on four separate construction areas; the military personal are digging in over 200 posts by hand that range from 3 metres to 6 metres (9ft 10-19ft 8) high.
Steven Plowman, Highland Wildlife Park Property and Estates Manager, said:
“I was approached by the military personnel to see if we could offer them a task for their operatives; they were looking to do practical engineering work within the local community that allowed them to create something permanent for people to enjoy for many years to come. A win win for all. As a conservation charity we are also delighted to receive the donation (worth an amazing £45,000) of the military’s experience and labour. Incredibly, each post hole is dug by hand with fencing shovels and then the posts themselves are loaded onto army vehicles and taken out to the site of the new development.”
Douglas Richardson, Animals Collection Manager for the Highland Wildlife Park, continues:
“We are delighted to be welcoming a female polar bear to the Park next spring. It is still to be agreed exactly which female will arrive in the Highlands, but we hope to have confirmation shortly. The female will remain separate from the males, as she would in the wild, and during the breeding season we will introduce her to one of our males – likely Arktos to start with as he is the older of our boys. The two will spend some time together and we hope nature will take its course.
“The last time polar bear cubs were born and reared in the UK was in 1992. Creating an environment that will allow such an event to happen again will be incredibly positive for the Highland Wildlife Park and confirm that our unique approach to this threatened species’ husbandry – which will mirror what happens in the wild – is correct.”
The new enclosure will feature a pond for the female to splash and play in and plenty of natural ground for her to run and roll around on. In addition to the main enclosure, adjacent will be a smaller holding enclosure, also featuring a pond, for when the male comes to visit. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland have a history of designing state of the art polar bear enclosures that meet the animal’s needs to the highest level possible. Animal experts from the Park have since been invited to consult and advise on other polar bear enclosures both in the UK and around the world.
Also in development is a raised walkway through the vicuna enclosure. The viewing platform will wind up the hill to give a panoramic view of the female polar bear enclosure and also provide disabled access to visitors.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Mifsud RE, Commanding Officer of 71 Engineer Regiment said:
“This project, involving a blend of Reservists from 71 Engineer Regiment, Regular Sappers from our partnered Regular unit in Kinloss and military engineers from the South Dakota National Guard, provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the depth and diversity of skills required to plan, resource and deliver an ambitious project in such short time. It provides vital training for the Regiment's role on future operations. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to work with the Society again; this sort of work develops individual trade skills; inspires my soldiers and generates an enormous amount of interest from those who seek to add a new dimension to their lives as a Royal Engineer Reservist.”
On Wednesday 17 September a ‘handing over’ ceremony will take place. The Highland Wildlife Park will present military commanders with commemorative gifts.
Has UK aquarium bred the world's rarest fish?
Tropiquarium has
bred the Finescale splitfin, Allodontichthys polylepis — which it says is
possibly the rarest fish in the world!
The fish is a
livebearer belonging to a group of fish called Goodeids. There are about 40
species of Goodeids and their natural range is entirely within Mexico.
Unfortunately, most of their habitats have high densities of human settlement
and they are becoming increasingly altered and polluted. This has led to some
species of Goodeid becoming extinct in the wild and others becoming critically
endangered.
Layout plan of Night Safari to be finalized soon
Here's good news for
wildlife lovers -- the Greater Noida Authority is all set to finalize the
layout plan for the much-awaited night safari project in the city.
India's first and
world's fourth largest night safari project is to be developed on 250 acres of
land, adjoining the Gautam Budh University beside the Yamuna Expressway, at a
cost of Rs 1,500 crore.
Uttar Pradesh chief
secretary Alok Ranjan told TOI on Wednesday that "final touches are being
given to the layout plan for the night safari project", following which
ground work would st
Commissioners will decide fate of Sedgwick County
Zoo’s elephants
Should they stay, or
should they go?
The future of the
Sedgwick County Zoo’s two elephants, Stephanie and Cinda, will be decided this
week by five elected officials when they vote whether to spend $5.3 million of
taxpayers’ money to support an expanded exhibit for the biggest land animals roaming
the Earth.
If a majority of the
Sedgwick County commissioners approves the spending, the South African
elephants will stay and be joined by others. If a majority votes no, Stephanie
and Cinda eventually will leave Wichita, where they’ve spent 42 years.
“This is driven by
the need to keep Stephanie and Cinda here,” Gayle Malone, a board member of the
Sedgwick County Zoological Society, said of the proposed $10.5 million, five-a
Life and Death in a Palestinian Zoo
Palestinian tourist
infrastructure is minimal, as is the number of international tourists aside
from pilgrims and the 'conflict tourists' who break their holidays in Tel Aviv
or Jerusalem for a day trip to see the 'other side'. Those who do visit the West
Bank rarely venture away from Bethlehem or Ramallah. But encircled by the
Apartheid Wall, an hour or so north of Ramallah, the small town of Qalqilya
hosts the West Bank's only zoo. Far from the conventional modern safari parks
of Europe or the US, and despite its initial rather shabby appearance, for
those willing to scratch the surface and uncover it's stories Qalqilya Zoo is a
unique experience.
Until the Second
Intifada, the zoo was a popular attraction for families keen to see giraffes,
zebras, hippopotamuses and other assorted creatures that they had previously
only seen in books. By 2002, with Qalqilya under daily Israeli attack, the
zoo's resident veterinarian Dr. Sami Khader felt compelled to add a new string
to the bow of his already overloaded workload. As tear gas and Israeli bullets
filled the town's streets, they also began to spill over in to the zoo's
compound. One night, as Israeli soldiers entered the zoo whilst shooting,
animals panicked and 'Rudy' the prized male giraffe hit his head against an
iron bar and fell. Rudy soon died of a stroke due to a build up of blood
pressure caused by the accident. Rudy's partner, 'Brownie', fell in to a deep
depression after seeing her dead mate and miscarried the baby she was carrying.
When tear gas again filled the zoo's air, Brownie suffocated and died. It was
at this stage that Dr. Sami decided to become a taxidermist:
'I spent most of my
time here during and just after the intifada working on taxidermy. The first
giraffe took me 6 months alone. Nothing is wasted here and this is what we
have, we need to preserve everything so that people can learn about animals'.
Today, the few
visitors who do reach the zoo can see an array of live animals and also visit
Dr. Sami's other 'attractions' including the museum of stuffed animals.
Alongside the giraffes are a zebra, jungle cat and others that died du
Thousands of Chinese pharmacies reject bear bile products
Animals Asia has announced that over 1,900 Chinese pharmacies have joined its Healing Without Harm programme - pledging to turn their backs on bear bile products.
The news was released to the Chinese and international media at a press conference today (Monday, September 15th, 2014) in China’s Hunan province.
In the past year, the campaign has increased the number of bear bile free shops and pharmacies from around 260 in August 2013 to 1,945 today.
Key new signees include chain pharmacies Hunan Yang Tian He Pharmacy Group (870 stores) and Hunan Qian Jin Pharmacy (372 stores), as well as pharmaceutical manufacturers Hunan Fang Sheng Pharmaceuticals and Changsha Qing Er Kang Biological Technology. Changsha Maria Hospital has also joined the campaign.
This year’s conference was organised by Animals Asia and the Hunan Drug Industry Trade Association, with the Changsha Wildlife Conservation Association as co-organiser.
Pivotally, the conference was attended by the director of Changsha City’s Food and Drug Administration. This marks the first time the previously industry-only platform of Healing Without Harm has broadened to a governmental level, and is in-line with Animals Asia’s commitment to seek win-win solutions for all parties toward the goal of ending bear bile farming.
Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:
“We’re delighted that people are pushing to be a part of this campaign now. Healing Without Harm is a key part of our efforts to end bear bile farming and this initiative has seen an unprecedented rise in traditional medicine doctors and pharmacies supporting alternatives to the use and prescription of bile. It’s fundamentally important to reduce the market and the availability if more bears are going to be helped, and this is just what we are seeing here.”
More than 10,000 bears are still kept on bile farms in China in tiny cages. The bears regularly suffer painful bile extractions, as their bile is a prized ingredient in traditional medicine.
Animals Asia’s Deputy Manager of the China Bear Programme Susan Xu said:
“Having contacted many pharmacies and pharmaceutical factories over the past year, we have been overwhelmed by the number who agreed to abandon bear bile products as they and their customers have come to know more about bear bile farming.
“Increasingly pharmacies, traditional medicine practitioners and pharmaceutical leaders are interested in hearing more about the alternatives and no longer want to be a part of the bear bile industry. There is a real momentum behind the cause right now as awareness increases and more and more practitioners are supporting Healing Without Harm.”
While medical practitioners and pharmacists remain key recipients of the campaign’s message, demand for the products is also being reduced by awareness raising campaigns. Actor Zhang Yi is one of the latest big names to lend support. He starred in Healing Without Harm postersrecently seen at Hangzhou Airport, which serves 23 million passengers annually.
Jill Robinson added:
“Traditional medicine practitioners consistently tell us that bear bile farming is against the very ethos of traditional medicine which advocates harmony with nature. Every bile extraction causes unimaginable suffering for a bear, so fewer products on the shelves translates very simply into less pain. Every item containing bear bile cleared from a pharmacy’s shelves equals less cruelty.
“We thank all those people who are joining the campaign. What was a trickle has become a flood. So many people in China recognise that bear bile farming has had its day.”
Bear bile is extracted using various painful, invasive techniques, all of which cause massive infection in the bears. This practice continues despite the availability of a large number of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives.
Most farmed bears are kept in tiny cages, sometimes so small that the bears are unable to turn around or stand on all fours. With the reckless use of antibiotics, bears can be made to endure these painful conditions for up to 30 years. Most farmed bears however are starved, dehydrated and suffer from multiple diseases and malignant tumours that ultimately kill them.
Animals Asia runs sanctuaries in China and Vietnam and has rescued over 500 bears including those at a bear bile farm in Nanning which it is also converting into a sanctuary.
Singapore Zoo to launch campaign on rhino conservation
Beyond being used
for perceived medicinal purposes, the rhinoceros horn has become a status
symbol and is also being used a “hangover cure” after a night of heavy drinking
by the affluent in South-east Asia, recent studies have shown.
All these have
further threatened rhinos, with last year being a record set for rhino poaching
in South Africa. Home to around 75 per cent of the world’s total rhino
population, 1,004 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year — and more may
be killed this year, exceeding 2013’s record.
To raise awareness
on the plight of rhinoceroses in the wild and to stamp out the illegal trade of
rhino horns, the Singapore Zoo is launching a month-long rhino conservation
awareness campaign that starts tomorrow (Sept 20). This campaign will be held in
conjunction with World Rhino Day (Sept 22), said Wildlife Reserves Singapore
(WRS) in a statement today.
As part of the
campaign, named Rhinos in Trouble: The Hornest Truth, visitors to the zoo are
encouraged to donate their nail clippings to symbolise their commitment to
rhino conservation. Rhino horns are made of keratin, a material also found in
human hair and nails — and science has proven that the rhino horn is only as
useful as a medicine as human hair and nails are. Nonetheless, international
trade of rhino horns
Elephant undergoes surgery in Tbilisi Zoo (VIDEO)
Israel imports Israeli sand cat from Sweden
Thus are the
absurdities that their looming extinction forces in the name of preservation.
Earlier this week, a
stunningly beautiful and extremely rare male sand cat landed at the Ben-Gurion
International Airport, after roughly a day's flying time from Sweden.
The pure sand cat,
or Felis margarita, is in extreme danger of extinction. Originally endemic to
Israel and Jordan, this small, chunky wildcat is now totally extinct in the
Middle East, though some members of a sub-species reportedly still prowl the
deserts of Saudi Arabia, North Africa and central Asia.
Spy on penguin families for science
Penguin Watch (www.penguinwatch.org), which launches on
17 September 2014, is a project led by Oxford University scientists that gives
citizen scientists access to around 200,000 images of penguins taken by remote
cameras monitoring over 30 colonies from around the Southern Ocean. The project
brings together scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division and the UK,
who normally work on opposite sides of Antarctica.
Recent evidence
suggests that populations of many species of penguin, such as chinstrap and
Adélie, are declining fast as shrinking sea ice threatens the krill they feed
on. By tagging the adults, chicks, and eggs in remote camera images Penguin
Watch volunteers will help scientists to gather information about penguin
behaviour and breeding success, as well as teaching a comp
Star zoo animals draw crowds but they wont save their
species
Brazilians head to
the polls in October to decide on their new president. The country’s votes
always produce surprises such as the election of a clown in 2010 and in 1959
the election of a rhinoceros named Cacareco with 100,000 votes as a city
councillor of São Paulo.
Cacareco was
arguably Brazil’s first celebrity animal but the Belo Horizonte Zoo, through
captive breeding, has produced the first two “Brazilian” gorillas in the past
month. Once their names have been chosen, these baby gorillas will no doubt
become celebrities. The zoo just needs to be careful with the naming – after a
public competition in the 1970s its first gorilla was called Idi Amin Dada,
after the African dictator.
London Zoo’s most
famous resident Guy the Gorilla became a national icon in the 60s and 70s; he
too was named after an infamous character, 17th century would-be terrorist Guy
Fawkes. Superstar zoo animals long pre-date so
Chimpanzees are inherently warlike, finds a new study
Chimpanzees in the
wild become violently aggressive on their own, rather than being driven to
warlike behaviors as a result of proximity to or interaction with humans,
according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
This runs contrary
to a previous, high-profile study, which said interference from man was a key
predictor of chimpanzee violence against other chimps.
The new work, by
some 30 ape researchers, looked at data from 18 chimpanzee communities over
five decades and had 152 killings by chimpanzees to analyze.
One of the
scientists taking part was David Morgan, research fellow with the Fisher Center
for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. For 14
years, Morgan has studied chimpanzees in the forests of Republic of Congo. We
caught up with Morgan via e-mail to ask about the study.
Q: How do your new
findings change our understanding of chimpanzees?
Tiger maul victim's brother talks of "haunting
terror"
Zookeeper Sarah
McClay, who was mauled to death by a tiger, must have been terrified as she lay
dying in the enclosure, her brother has said.
Stephen McClay, 28,
says he is "tortured" by the idea her death was a slow one.
It is 16 months
since Mr McClay lost his 24-year-old sister in the attack at South Lakes Safari
Zoo in Cumbria.
Miss McClay was in a
staff area when male tiger, Padang, got in through an open door and dragged her
outside into its feeding enclosure, an inquest heard.
She suffered serious
head and neck injuries and died hours later in hospital, before her family -
mother
Mauled tiger worker had 'dream job'
A woman mauled to
death by a tiger at the wildlife park where she worked was doing her
"dream job", her mother has told an inquest.
Sarah McClay, 24,
suffered multiple injuries when she was attacked at South Lakes Wild Animal
Park in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on May 24 last year.
Miss McClay, from
Barrow-in-Furness, was going about her routine duties in the big cat enclosure
at the park when she came into contact with a male Sumatran tiger.
She was taken by air
ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital but later died from her injuries.
Police said at the
time of her death that the enclosure concerned consisted of a number of indoor
and outdoor compartments connected by lockable doors. Keepers were required to
enter various parts of the enclosure in the course of their routine duties.
However, systems
were said to be in place to ensure that animals and keepers remained apart at
all times.
Speaking on the
first day of the inquest, which is being held in front of a jury, Fiona McClay,
from Linlithgow,West Lothian, told the hearing in Kendal that her daughter was
"a meticulous person to the extreme" who was "settled in her life".
She said Miss McClay
had worked as an animal carer at the park for approximately three years.
South Cumbria
Coroner Ian Smith asked her what h
Family of zoo keeper mauled to death by tiger that
walked through open door before attacking her say they still need answer after
inquest
Sarah McClay died
after a tiger escaped its enclosure due to 'defective bolt'
The tiger grabbed Ms
McClay's neck causing deep puncture wounds
Her mother Fiona
criticised park owner David Gill over Sarah's death
Sarah's boyfriend
David Shaw said he had his own idea of what happened
The inquest jury
returned a narrative verdict in line with the evidence
Sarah McClay inquest: Zoo owner 'fired rifle' at tiger
The owner of a zoo
where a tiger mauled a keeper to death has described how he fired a rifle at
the animal after the attack.
Sarah McClay, 24,
died in May last year after a male Sumatran Tiger left her with deep wounds at
the South Lakeland Animal Park near Dalton-in-Furness.
An inquest heard
David Gill fired a rifle at the animal as it was standing over her motionless
body.
The shot scared it
into the tiger house so emergency services could get to her.
'Ran like crazy'
Zoo owner Mr Gill
told how he ran to the scene when he heard on the park radio the tiger, called
Padang, "had got Sarah".
He made his way to
the side of the enclosure armed with a rifle but could not get a clear shot.
He said: "I
took real good care to look at Sarah. She didn't move at all. She was
completely still."
A colleague radioed
him to say she had a
COLLEAGUES PAY TRIBUTE TO PASSIONATE CUMBRIA ZOO
KEEPER
Last updated at
18:06, Wednesday, 17 September 2014
COLLEAGUES of Sarah
McClay paid tribute to her dedication and passion for her job when they gave
evidence to the inquest.
Jo Dennis is the
animal manager who has worked at the zoo for 12 years and helped Miss McClay
through her training.
She told the hearing
today: “She was good at everything she did. She took on board everything you
told her.
“She was very good
at recording things. She was screwed on; she knew what she was doing in all
aspects of her job. She was very thoughtful and took time to listen to what you
were saying. I had no doubt in her competence.”
Niall Gilchrist, now
of Dorset, is a former deputy animal manager at the Dalton zoo, who left in
September 2012 but interviewed Miss McClay for her job and was responsible for
some of her training.
She joined in March
2011 and started off on the bird section.
Mr Gilchrist told
the hearing: “After she had been there for a period, she would pick up on
things and point things out to me, which showed good awareness and
understanding of the animals.
“She had quite a
measured approach to things. She was progressing, I would say, a little bit
quicker than average and impressed me with her work ethic.”
Marketing manager
Karen Brewer has worked at the zoo for 15 years and, as part of her role, kept
a record of training documents.
She confirmed Miss
McClay had been
INQUEST: CUMBRIA ZOO KEEPER HAD UNSURVIVABLE INJURIES
AFTER TIGER ATTACK
A POST-MORTEM
examination showed among Miss McClay's unsurvivable injuries were deep puncture
wounds to the neck, the back of her body, both arms and her left foot.
There was crushing
to the spine in the neck and at the top of the chest on the right side, along
with fractured ribs and underlying injuries to both lungs.
Bruising and
abrasions to her head and back were consistent with her being dragged along the
ground, the inquest heard.
Reopening the
inquest at County Hall, which is scheduled to last up to six days, Mr Smith
told the jury of six women and four men that the nature of the case was
“extremely unusual”.
He told them: “Your
job is to decide the facts. To decide what actually happened because it is not
altogether clear at this stage.”
To aid them a scale
model of the tiger house has been made which the jury inspected today.
A short video of the
park’s tiger house, filmed last June, was also shown in court.
The tiger enclosure
– which housed a male and a female Sumatran tiger on the left side and two
jaguar big cats and an Amur tiger on the right – consists of a number of
compartments both indoor and outdoor connected by lockable doors which all
worked independently.
Jurors were told
their attention would be focused on the left side of the enclosure.
Within the enclosure
was a light den and a dark den for the tigers, and a keeper’s corridor.
Keepers were
required to enter various parts of the enclosure in the course of their routine
duties such as cleaning.
However, systems
were in place via sliding metal gates to ensure that animals and keepers
remained apart at all times.
Owen Broadhead, a
senior environmental health officer with Barrow Borough Council – which
licenses the park – told the inquest that he was the first officer from the
local authority, responsible for health and safety at work, to attend the scene
on the day, along with police.
He told the inquest
that a bolt on the top of the dark den door, which opened on to the keeper’s
corridor, was found to be defective.
He said: “The bolt
could not held be back. When it tried to close into the frame (of the door) it
would bang against the frame which left a gap of 20 to 25 millimetres.
“If the bolt was
working properly it would be held back and would close tightly into the frame.”
He agreed with
lawyer David Rogers, representing the wildlife park, that his inspection of the
door took place some hours after the incident had happened and there ha
LIVE UPDATE: INQUEST INTO TIGER DEATH AT CUMBRIA ZOO
AN inquest into the
death of a Cumbria zoo keeper who was mauled by a tiger has heard that her
injuries were "multiple and unsurvivable".
Sarah McClay was
attacked by Padang, a Sumatran tiger, and dragged 100 yards into the enclosure
as she worked at South Lakes Safari Zoo on May 24 last year.
The 24-year-old was
airlifted to hospital where she later died as a result of her injuries. A
hearing to establish the full circumstances surrounding her death started in
County Hall, Kendal, today.
It is being
conducted by Mr Ian Smith, the coroner for south and east Cumbria, and could
last until next Monday.
The inquest heard a
pathologist's report which said Miss McClay suffered "multiple and
unsurvivable" injuries as a result of a tiger attack.
The jury was also
shown a video showing inside the tiger enclosure and a scaled model, created by
the Health and Safety Executive on behalf of Barrow Borough Council.
Owen Broadhead,
health and safety officer, with Barrow council, talked the jury through the
layout.
Mr Broadhead said an
investigation on the day of the incident showed there was a default to a bolt
on one of the gates in the tiger house - and the same issue was present when he
returned a week later.
He said: "The
bolt couldn’t be pinned back. It would bang against the frame and leave a gap
in the region of 25mm. If the bolt worked properly, it would be pulled back and
closed tightly to the frame.
"If it was
working properly, it would be closed properly and fit in the frame.”
Mr Paul Rogers,
solicitor for the zoo, sat close to the attraction’s boss David Gill, who will
not be asked to give evidence until Thursday.
Mr Rogers said:
“It’s fair to say the inspection was on the day of the accident, some hours
after the incident had happened and of course, as we know, there had been quite
a lot of activity in that area at the time the tiger attacked Sarah.
“My point is, we
don’t know when that bolt beca
Click on
African wild dog escapes from zoo enclosure
An African wild dog
escaped from its enclosure on Saturday morning, causing the temporary closure
of the Singapore Zoo's main entrance.
A reader told The
New Paper that the animal had escaped from its exhibit at about 8.45am, when
there were already visitors at the zoo.
Wildlife Reserves
Singapore, which manages the zoo, said in a statement that an African Painted
Dog - another name for the African wild dog - left its enclosure at about
8.50am and keepers "activated safety protocols immediately".
The movement of the
animal, which was restricted to Wild Africa and Tropical Crops zones, was
tracked throughout the incident, the statement added.
By 9.20am, the
animal was rounded up by the keepers and confined. Wildlife Reserves Singapore
said no visitors, staff
Zoo clings to faint panda hopes
Zoo officials still
hope that Edinburgh could soon welcome a new panda cub.
Tian Tian, the giant
panda also known as Sweetie, was due to give birth on August 31, but analysis
of her hormones became “atypical”. She and her male partner, Yang Guang, remain
An Iriomote wild cat released back into the wild after
recovering from injuries in a car accident
An Iriomote wild
cat, classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature, was injured in a traffic accident on Iriomote Island in
August. The Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Center of the Ministry of the
Environment, which had been taking care of the cat, released it into the forest
when it recovered from injuries on the evening of September 3.
This is the first
time an Iriomote wild cat has been released into the wild after a traffic
accident.
The released cat is
a five-month old female.
A college student
passing by found the cat lying still in the middle of the prefectural road on
August 26.
After being
notified, the Wildlife Conservation Center sheltered the cat. She had a scrape
on her forehead. The cat’s pupils looked odd. The center determined that the
cat had been hit by a car because it had suffered injuries to the head.
The cat received
medical treatment fro
Tiger cubs get a big birthday bash at Australia Zoo
FROM the look of what yesterday's rain did to Big Brother winner Tim Dormer's frizzy mane of hair, Australia Zoo tiger cubs Hunter and Clarence could have been forgiven for thinking staff had bought them their own lion-like toy as a first birthday present.
Thankfully, milk ice blocks, balloons and pinatas diverted attention away from the exuberant Tim, named a Wildlife Warrior ambassador, who will soon travel to the north Queensland bush with the Irwins on a crocodile research trip.
"I'm thrilled to be part of this special day," Tim, who is now working in radio in Sydney, said.
"This global ambassador role is such a privilege. I grew up loving animals. I was the kid running around catching bugs, studying them and then releasing them.
"I am part-way through a science degree in biodiversity and conservation and now I'm able to inspire other younger people to care for the
So very wrong....so very stupid!
Cub’s death sparks talk of gene disorder in zoo
tigresses
Death of the
15-day-old cub born to Royal Bengal tigress Ipshita on Sunday dashed all hopes
of Lucknow zoo to raise a tiger cub born on its soil after nearly two decades.
The zoo last had tiger cubs in 1995.
The female cub died
after being abandoned by her mother Ipshita. "The cause of death, it
appears, is a 'genetic' disorder. But we would certainly investigate this
further," said the zoo director Anupam Gupta.
But why have the two
tigresses at Lucknow zoo, Sona and Ipshita, not been able to deliver and raise
a single cub all this while? While Sona has delivered stillborns, Ipshita
abandons her cubs within days of delivery. "Sona, it appears, does it
deliberately. She would jump and land on the floor with a thump while carrying
a child," says a zookeeper. Ipshita does not lactate and is said to be
"dull on motherly instincts".
Ipshita has
undergone abortion twice in the past. In November 2009, four cubs born to her
died of cardio-respiratory failure. "Then too she had started abandoning
her cubs one after the other after they started showing signs of
weakness," says a zookeeper. Subsequently, Lucknow zoo authorities said
they would study the family tree of the two tigresses to trace the
"problematic gene". The findings, if any, have not been made public.
After 2009, it was in 2014 that the tigers were paired for mating.
One of the biggest
losses due to this situation is that two m
Depressed woman commits suicide by crocodile in Samut
Prakan
An elderly woman
committed suicide by jumping into a crocodile pit at the Samut Prakarn
Crocodile Farm & Zoo. Wanpen Inyai,
65, left her home on Rom Klao Road in Bangkok's Min Buri district on Friday...
DNA testing of
tissue taken from the corpse confirmed her identity, said Pol Col Preecha
Iamnui, Muang Samut Prakarn police investigator. Witnesses saw the woman
intentionally jumped into the croc pond...
Johnny Martinez out as Washington Park Zoo director
The
board of the Parks and Recreation Department unanimously voted Wednesday to
ratify the decision to fire Johnny Martinez, who had been zoo director until
Friday.
No details were
given for the cause of his termination.
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