Zoo News Digest 7th - 14th September 2014 (ZooNews 898)
Highland Wildlife Park
Dear Colleagues,
I know I have said it before but I am probably told more secrets than a Catholic priest, and like a priest, I will never tell another soul.... especially where someone may get hurt. It is a pity though because I could add another angle to many of the stories you see in the press each week. Today is no different. No doubt that has got you puzzling. Trying to figure out just which I am referring to may get you thinking deeper than usual and that's great because getting people to think is one of the main aims of Zoo News Digest. Remember though to take any news story with a big pinch of salt.
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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INQUEST INTO TIGER DEATH AT CUMBRIA ZOO TO START
TOMORROW
A VISITOR who
witnessed a tiger maul a Cumbria zoo keeper will be among 17 witnesses to give
evidence at the inquest into her death.
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 will start in
County Hall, Kendal, tomorrow. It will be conducted by Mr Ian Smith, the
coroner for south and east Cumbria.
A jury, drawn from
the Kendal electoral roll, is expected to return its conclusion on Friday, but
a decision may run into the following Monday.
On Tuesday, the jury
will hear from eye witness Gareth Bell, a visitor from the North East who saw
the attack unfold while he looked into the tiger enclosure.
The proceedings will
start on Monday, when an officer from Barrow Borough Council, which has been
investigating from a health and safety perspective, will describe the broad
circumstances for the jury.
Miss McClay’s
mother, Fiona McClay, is then scheduled to provide some background to her
daughter and her passion for her job.
To begin day two,
the jury will visit the zoo to see the tiger enclosure first-hand and
understand its layout.
When they return,
they will hear from Mr Bell, followed by another witness, Nona Usher, who saw
less than Mr Bell, but was close by.
In the afternoon,
some staff who were working at the park will give their evidence. Emma Els, who
was also involved with looking after the tigers, will be asked questions – as
will her husband Cornelius Els, who also worked at the park and was there on the
day.
On Wednesday, there
are six staff members due to give evidence – one who has since left, and five
who still work there. They will be asked to describe how things operated at the
zoo.
The zoo owner, David
Gill, will take the seat on Thursday. He will be followed by Detective
Constable Mark Bowness, who attended on the day immediately after the incident
and carried out the investigation.
Faye Wingfield, an
officer with
What's So Special About IMATA and AZA Conferences?!
This year's IMATA is
really special, because it's paired with AZA's annual conference. That. Is. Awesome.
So what on earth
could the Middle Flipper possibly write about when it comes to a double
conference? Well, as I was thinking
about what to write a few days ago, I started remembering all of the questions
I've gotten about attending a conference (or if you can't attend one...or if
you SHOULD attend one...) over the past several years. I've gotten a lot of the same questions and
comments and figured hey, maybe a few other people out there would be
interested to know an answer.
An answer. This blog is, after all, my opinion. So take whatever you'd like from this, and
know it's all coming from a good place!
Pingtung museum is the first to breed ringed pipefish
successfully in captivity
The National Museum
of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung County has established a new record
by breeding the ringed pipefish (Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus), becoming the
first institution in the world to do so.
The museum said that
the achievement serves as an important reference for future egg-hatching and
fish-fry cultivation projects and helps to ease the strain caused by commercial
fishing, allowing local fishermen more time to prepare for the imminent challenge
of the depleting amount of economic fish faced by fishing communities
throughout the world.
By simulating the
fish’s living environment with underwater caves and fissured corals, the museum
was able to provide an environment where the fish could hatch their eggs, the
museum said.
The average survival
rate of the fish stood at about 37 percent on the 100th day after hatching, it
said, adding that the first batch of offspring began mating in the 11th month
post-hatching.
According to the
museum, although pipefish are not an endangered species, more than 30 million
are caught and sold each year because Asian consumers view them as a precious
material for traditional Chinese medicine and it is highly sought after by
aquariums around the world. These twin demands have led to
Single and Ready to Mingle but Grounded by Zoo
Authorities
It seems finding a
suitable mate is harder in the animal world. A skewed sex ratio, a problem in
many Indian states, is now a matter of concern for Indian zoos as well.
Endangered animals
such as lions and tigers are left waiting for partners in many zoos, which
causes behavioural issues such as stress among these animals and even reduces
their life span. Concerned over the imbalance in sex ratio, the Central Zoo
Authority (CZA) has now written to nearly 200 zoos across India asking them not
to keep single animals for over six months and make arrangements for procuring
viable partners. However, the zoos are not willing to part with or exchange
their star attractions.
The CZA, under the
Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), found that 11 big zoos in the
country either have male or female tigers and any effort to bring a partner for
them failed as none of the other zoos are ready to part with their animal as
these big cats are star attractions in every zoo. The Bannerghatta Zoo in
Karnataka has 18 tigers and 16 tigresses and the Nandankanan Biological Park in
Odisha has 3 tigers and 13 tigresses.
Similarly, four zoos
do not have mating partners for their lions. And attempts to get suitable
partners from Sakkarbaug Zoo of Gujarat (that has 20 lions and 3
US warns citizens to avoid Pretoria Zoo
US citizens touring
or living in South Africa who planned to visit the Pretoria Zoo were advised on
Friday not to do so.
The United States
diplomatic mission cautioned citizens to be on the alert while touring the
country.
According to the
embassy, there had been “a number of armed robberies committed recently against
visitors to the Pretoria Zoo.
“Due to these events
the... mission to South Africa advises US citizens to avoid visiting the
Pretoria Zoo until the security situation at the zoo improves,” the embassy
said.
Americans were
further urged to remain vigilant in protecting themselves from violent crimes
while in South Africa Ä as assaults, armed robberies and other crimes were
prevalent around hotels, tourist attractions and public transportation centres
in m
Zoos weigh up the costs of China's 'pandanomics'
With China asking
£600,000 a year to rent pandas and the price of food soaring, do the sums of
having pandas add up?
The webcam shows a
pile of bamboo shoots in Edinburgh zoo's purpose-built giant panda house. Yang
Guang is asleep off-camera and Tian Tian, his possibly pregnant mate, is in a
separate enclosure.
Meanwhile, Iain
Valentine, the zoo's director of pandas, paces around the Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland's office like an expectant father.
If Tian Tian gives
birth, it will be in the next few days. If she were to, the zoo's financial
security would be assured – even as Scotland decides its political future. A
panda cub would be a conservation superstar, attracting millions of visitors at
up to £16 a head. But if Tian Tian isn't even pregnant, the zoo faces declining
public interest, rising costs and possible financial ruin.
The next few hours
are crucial, said Valentine. "We cannot be certain how long it will be
before we call it a day with Tian Tian. We are coming to the end. Shortly she
will hit what we call base with her progesterone levels and only at that point
will we be certain – she will simply either give birth or not."
Parents or not, Tian
Tian and Yang Guang are the animal equivalents of Premier League footballers;
they cost a fortune to buy and maintain, but are guaranteed to draw crowds. But
academic research into "pandanomics" also suggests that the
How London Zoo made its old water infrastructure more
sustainable
From replacing old
pipes to developing water efficiencies in the penguin and Komodo Dragon
enclosures, a mix of people and technology have led to big water savings
In 1995, the
Zoological Society of London (ZSL) faced huge water management issues with a
water infrastructure that was old and required an ever increasing maintenance
and annual water budget.
Streamlining water
management was essential and the first step was to define water use and
consumption patterns in order to work out a strategy for saving water and
saving money. For a zoo, the main area of water usage is unsurprisingly animal
welfare, including cleaning, replenishing ponds and moats. The water management
systems inherited from the early days of the zoo had had not been constructed
with sustainability in mind. With more than 3,000 metres of cast iron Victorian
water mains covering an area of more than 36 acres, a major issue was the
potential loss of water through leakage.
My brief as water
management lead was to come up with a clear strategy to make water use more
efficient and to be able to measure the benefits of the initiatives for both
water supply and wastewater disposal.
The strategies
developed and implemented at the zoo have saved more than £1m since 1995.
Moreover, the annual water charge today is only 5.9% higher than 12 years ago.
This figure is more significant considering that from 2002 to 2014 the mean
cost per square cubic metre of water charged to ZSL has increased by 103.1%.
The initial phase
was the introduction of Automatic Meter Reader (AMR), equipment that measures
water flow. By mapping out the whole zoo area into manageable zones, we were
able to investigate the water use within a given area and identify leaks. This
method resulted in reducing external leak detection costs by 90% and improved
detection rates.
The AMR data
supported the implementation of low cost, or no cost, water saving solutions.
For example, we installed 21 water control units in the toilets which operated
on an occupancy only basis, saving an estimated 8,000m³ a year. AMR data
allowed us to analyse the impact of these initiatives and prepare management
reports detailing financial savings and highlighting impact versus cost. These
reports have become the basis of assessing the success of the water in
Celebrating Plants and the Planet:
If the huge
dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, can lie hidden for 100 million years, then surely
there are new discoveries to be made every day about life on this amazing
planet. September’s news links www.zooplantman.com
(NEWS/Botanical News) reveal five new biological relationships you’ll want to
know about:
· Just how do giant pandas subsist on a
diet of bamboo? Apparently they manage their foraging and biology by the
rhythms of bamboo growth and nutritional fluctuations. No fast food for them!
· What are the ecological effects when
an invasive plant takes hold? Wolf spiders have found an invasive grass makes a
perfect cover for hunting small toads and toad numbers are shrinking.
· Trees laden with epiphytes define our
image of tropical forests. A great deal of work has been done on the
relationship between the tree and its passengers, and new research suggests
that bromeliads shelter predators who protect the tree from foragers.
· What do we know about migrating birds
and where they rest and fuel up for their travels? New analysis of pollen taken
from the warblers’ beaks provides surprising answers. By their messy beaks you
shall know them.
· The way the air smells right after a
rain… is it simply something there to delight us? Maybe, but it is also part of
a biological feedback system that advises plants against growing in droughty
conditions. That doesn’t have to spoil our enjoyment, though.
If you are planning
on attending the AZA conference in Orlando this year, be sure to join the
discussion on the importance of landscapes to zoos and aquariums! The Lure of
Landscape: You Should Catch The Gardening Bug. Why have some zoos and aquariums
made a priority of creating high quality landscapes? What’s the benefit to the
institution, the visitors, and the animals? Ask the Directors that have been
bitten by the gardening bug. September 15
Also, please join me
at the Association of Zoological Horticulture (AZH) conference for a discussion
of canid exhibits in a session titled “The Dog Ate My Exhibit” in Galveston on
October 5
Please share these
stories with associates, staff, docents and – most importantly – visitors!
Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PlantWorldNews
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PlantWorldNews
Or visit www.plantworldnews.com – new stories
every day as well as
hundreds of stories from the past few years.
Dozens of endangered ducklings have hatched at Chester
Zoo
Thirty little Baer
pochard ducklings have hatched at Chester Zoo – and they’re ridiculously
adorable.
There were once ten
of thousands of this rare species but now, the Asian ducks are critically
endangered because of hunting and loss of habitat. There are thought to be only
thirty left living in the wild.
Experts fear that
soon there’ll be just a few Baer pochard ducks left before the species vanishes
altogether, but Chester Zoo are adam
Animal rights group PETA accuses Dublin Zoo of
exploiting baby zebra
PETA has also called
on the public to avoid the zoo which is one of the country’s top tourist
attractions.
The group claims
that Dublin and other zoos “serve no genuine conservation purpose” and should
not be involved in the “incarceration” of animals.
Last week the zoo
announced the birth of a common zebra foal - the first to be born there in 23
years.
But PETA (People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals) claims that the new arrival has been born
into a life of captivity and will never be happy.
Spokesman Ben
Williamson said: “Photos of a common zebra foal born at Dublin Zoo highlight
the fact that zoos serve no genuine conservation purpose.
“More than a
half-million common zebra currently live in more than a dozen African
countries, but this particularly unlucky baby will never know anything beyond
life in captivity.
“She will never see
her natural habitat, and without a natural and adequate social structure, she
will never have the opportunity to learn “common” or basic zebra behaviour.
“Dublin Zoo’s
purpose in breeding baby animals is to drive ticket sales, and it should not
get away with trying to justify its continuing incarceration of animals for
public amusement by pretending that it’s doing something useful when it is
not.”
But Dublin zoo,
which recently celebrated its 183rd birthday, rubbished the claim and
maintained that the interests of animals always comes first.
Ben Williamson
described the baby zebra as a “crowd-pleaser” which will not be wanted when she
grows up.
“People who don’t
want to support t
www.zoolex.org in September 2014
~°v°~ ~°v°~
~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~
Hello ZooLex Friend,
We have worked for
your enjoyment!
~°v°~
NEW EXHIBIT
PRESENTATION
Trail of the
Elephants at Melbourne Zoo, Australia, takes visitors into
the scenery of a
South-east Asian forest with a variety of animal
species from this
region and a village with fields, paddock, market
place and a
community hall. Information is offered on field research in
Asia, conflicts
between elephant and men and elephant management at the zoo.
~°v°~
ZOOPLANTS ONLINE
www.zooplants.net is a free real time
database similar to Wikipedia for
collecting and
disseminating information on the use of plants in zoos
and aquariums. It
covers the topics forage, nutrition, toxicity,
enrichment and
exhibit planting. Entries are reviewed by editors before
being published. The
site was set up in 2007 and currently lists nearly
400 plant species.
The project is supported by ZooLex.
We invite you to
visit the website, get registered for free and share
your expertise:
~°v°~
We keep working on
ZooLex ...
The ZooLex Zoo
Design Organization is a non-profit organization
registered in
Austria (ZVR-Zahl 933849053). ZooLex runs a professional
zoo design website
and distributes this newsletter. More information and
contact: http://www.zoolex.org/about.html
Online portal for
monitoring of zoos launched
Environment and
Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar Friday launched an online portal for grant of
recognition to zoos and their monitoring besides an E-archival and retrieval
management system for the Central Zoo Authority.
A book "Zoos in
India 2014" was also released at the event.
The online portal
for grant of recognition and monitoring of zoos envisages maintaining and
providing real time information about the recognition and evaluation process to
the stakeholders, a statement from the environment and forest ministry said.
"The portal
intends to reduce the bottlenecks of manual recognition system and fully
automates the recognition process. This would increase transparency,
efficiency, accountability and also reduce the use of paper," it added.
The e-archival and
retrieval management system, on the other hand, is systematic approach to the
management of files.
"It is is
essential for organisations to protect and preserve files. e-document archival
and retrieval management information
Announcing the M. Phil Kahl Postdoctoral Fellowship
The International
Elephant Foundation (IEF) supports conservation, awareness and scientific
programs that enhance the survival of elephants and protect their habitats
worldwide.
Background: Elephant
range countries need more well-trained professionals with the knowledge and
skills to address threats to wildlife, work in multi-disciplinary teams, and
assist in country-wide wildlife policy recommendations. Fundamental
science-based information about elephants is necessary to assure that effective
conservation efforts can be put into place. The overall goal of this program is
to contribute to the scientific knowledge of African and Asian elephant
biology, such as inter- and intra-specific behaviors, and how the species
interact with their environment. Therefore this program supports the
advancement of credible scientific research that can support subsequent
long-term elephant conservation initiatives.
Research
Description: IEF desires to support up-and-coming scientists from range
countries interested in conducting ecological, behavioral, physiological and/or
genetic research on free-ranging elephants. No prior experience studying
elephants is necessary, but the applicant must demonstrate how his/her
skills/expertise can be applied to field research on elephants. Research
proposals to conduct policy or management related projects (e.g. those directly
mitigating human-elephant conflict or combating poaching) will not be
considered. Additionally, r
Phuket dolphin park link to Taiji massacre confirmed:
Sea Shepherd [video]
A direct connection
between five wild caught dolphins bound for Phuket’s dolphinarium and the
annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins at the Taiji cove in Japan has been
confirmed, the Asia Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society told the
Phuket Gazette by email today.
Initial reports said
that a total of six dolphins would be transported to Phuket via the Ukraine.
However, the CITES* permit issued by the Ukraine Ministry of Ecology and
Natural Resources identifies eight dolphins and two South American Fur Seals to
be exported to Thailand.
Three of the
dolphins, two Pacific Bottlenose dolphins and one Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin,
were born in captivity in 2012 and are being directly exported from Ukraine,
said Shepherd Conservation Society Asia Director Gary Stokes.
In addition, five
more Pacific Bottlenose dolphins are being re-exported from Ukraine; and all
five were originally caught in the wild in Japan, he explained.
“The only place in
Japan that catches wild dolphins is Taiji. We had 20 Bottlenose [dolphins]
shipped from Taiji to Nemo [representatives] in Ukraine a few years back. Nemo
has not imported any other dolphins from Japan except these,” Mr Stokes told
the Gazette.
“This is why I can
confidently state that these ar - See more at: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Phuket-dolphin-park-link-Taiji-massacre-confirmed/34886#ad-image-0
Plan to bring jungle beast back to the Kingdom
Wild tigers have not
been seen in Cambodia for years, but – despite habitat degradation and
financial hurdles – there are hopes the species could be reintroduced
Not seen in seven
years, the Kingdom’s most famous predator could be set to return to the wilds.
Dry forests in the
Eastern Plains and tropical rainforests in the Cardamom Mountains were once
home to a multitude of species – from the wild kouprey to the Indochinese
tiger.
But after decades of
deforestation, much of the forest has now been stripped bare and experts
believe the tiger to be “functionally extinct”.
“In recent years,
tiger populations in Cambodia have declined so drastically that resident
breeding wild tigers are no longer recorded,” a representative of the Wo
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo – just stay sober and
keep your clothes on
Ever had one too
many at the zoo and thrown your beer at a tiger, or stripped off and attempted
to jump into the penguin pool? I’d hope not, but these are just two examples of
inappropriate behaviour by visitors at London Zoo’s controversial party nights.
We all know how
alcohol causes people do silly things and temporarily lose control. In a zoo we
are there to observe, learn and enjoy – not to interact with the animals and
certainly not to bother them. At their best, zoos are a wonderful form of
theatre; at their worst, a grotesque pantomime, featuring unwilling animal
actors.
Theatres and zoos
survive in the days of cinema and wildlife documentaries because they provide a
more personal experience. In a world where people share their life through
social media a visit to the zoo provides them with something that their friends
can experience, without being the cloned experience of watching a wildlife
documentary.
Unfortunately, we
have all heard a cell phone ringing in a theatre, thereby breaking the
suspension of reality. But should zoo visitors be passive observers? If you
follow the school of immersive zoo design, where the visitor is transported
through enclosure design to the tropical rainforest of Africa, then a cell
phone going off is going to ruin that experience. In my experience there is
never a signal in such remote places.
Talking during a
performance has always been a big no-no in theatres. But in zoos, talking at
normal volume is not a problem; however, I personally find it extremely
uncomfortable when people start to shout at zoo enclosures. And the animals,
how do they feel? Before answering this question we should look at why people
shout at animals in zoos.
Many zoo animals are
nocturnal and so we are visiting them at their least active time of day. And a
number of popular species such as lions are
A Dozen Puffins Will Get You 800 Mackerel: Inside The
Weird Economy Of Zoos
Under the endangered
species act, buying or selling an endangered animal requires a permit. The
permits are hard to get — even for zoos and aquariums.
But there's a
loophole.
"If I donate or
loan an endangered species to you, I need no permit," says Kris Vehrs of
the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
So a barter system
has sprung up among zoos and aquariums to trade animals without using money.
They even do it with species that aren't endangered. But barter can be
complicated.
For example: The New
England Aquarium in Boston was recently in the market for some lookdown fish,
and they knew of an aquarium in North Carolina that was willing to trade some.
The folks in North
Carolina wanted jellyfish and snipe fish. The New England aquarium had plenty
of jellyfish — but no snipe fish.
Steve Bailey, the
curator of fish at the New England Aquarium, wound up making a deal to get
snipe fish from an aquarium in Japan, in exchange for lumpfish. Then he sent
the snipe fish and some jellyfish to North Carolina. In exchange, he finally
got his lookdown fish.
Another time, Bailey
says, he traded
Marine park attractions: can they survive?
As SeaWorld is hit
with a lawsuit by shareholders – the latest setback for the ailing company – we
ask what the future holds for marine park attractions
In August, the
leading brand in marine mammal attractions, SeaWorld, made a major
announcement. After a year spent defending itself against a barrage of
criticism for its treatment of captive whales and dolphins, the company said it
would open a state-of-the-art killer whale environment – the world’s largest.
It is a bold move.
But it is questionable whether its Blue World Project, which is slated to open
in 2018 and gives little indication that SeaWorld will cease its captive whale
programme, will be enough to save it.
In July 2013, the
documentary Blackfish brought the circumstances of orca trainer Dawn
Brancheau’s death - which took place during a show at SeaWorld Florida in 2010
- to an audience of millions, and last month the company’s shares fell by 33%.
The bad news continued this week as shareholders filed a lawsuit against
SeaWorld, accusing it of misleading investors about the impact the film has had
on attendance of its parks. After 50 years as one of America’s most loved
family brands, the tide has turned against SeaWorld. The future for attrac
Seaview lions bred for hunting parks – video
LIONS and tigers
from Port Elizabeth’s Seaview Predator Park are being sold to game farms known
for hunting and the exporting of animal bones.
While the popular
park punts itself as a wildlife sanctuary and allows tourists to pet the lions
for a price, Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental
Affairs and Tourism (Dedeat) MEC Sakhumzi Somyo has confirmed that:
The park has sent 22
lions to Cradock hunting reserve Tam Safaris since 2008, three of them this
year; and
Two tigers have been sent from the park to
South Africa’s leading bone exporter, Letsatsi la Africa, in the Free State
since 2008, and nine lions were sent last year.
Somyo was responding
last week to a series of questions raised by the DA’s chief whip in Bhisho,
Bobby Stevenson, regarding the transport of lions and tigers in and around the
country.
This comes after the
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality refused to give the Seaview Predator Park a
rates rebate earlier this year, saying it
Rescued frogs released in to the wild
One of the world’s
rarest frogs, bred as part of an international project to save the species from
extinction, has been successfully returned to its Caribbean home ahead of the
global day to highlight the plight of their species.
Fifty one Critically
Endangered mountain chicken frogs, native only to the islands of Montserrat and
Dominica, were released back onto Montserrat this summer following a hugely
successful breeding programme at ZSL London Zoo.
The Mountain Chicken
Recovery Programme is a partnership between Durrell Wildlife Conservation
Trust, Zoological Society of London, North of England Zoological Society
Chester Zoo, Nordens Ark and the Governments of Montserrat and Dominica.
Decimated by the
spread of the Chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and facing the
very real threat of extinction, conservationists feared that the mountain
chicken frog had been all but wiped out from the eastern-Caribbean island and
are hailing the reintroduction as a huge step forwards for the amphibians.
One of the planet’s
largest frog species, the release of mountain chicken frogs on to Montserrat
aims to not only boost the number of healthy individuals in the wild but will
help conservationists from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Zoological
Society of London (ZSL) learn more about their wild behaviour and the disease
dynamics for this species.
Fitted with tracking
devices, the newly-released frogs are being monitored to gather further
information that can be used to aid future conservation efforts.
In 2009 it was
reported by conservationists from ZSL and Durrell that the wild population of
mountain chicken frogs in Montserrat had severely declined due to disease, and
urgent action was taken to safeguard t
Zoo clueless as macaque dies, carcass rots for 3 weeks
Zoo officials have
found a badly decomposed carcass of a stump-tailed macaque in its enclosure
recently after its keepers gave contradictory reports of whether the monkey was
seen or not. The carcass may be about 20 days old as the bones were showing.
National Zoological
Park authorities have suspended two zookeepers who are in charge of the
enclosure for neglecting the animal and not giving correct report on the status
of animals. They won't be allowed to work in enclosures anymore and will be
given other work not related to the upkeep of animals.
Officials said the
zookeepers reported that the macaque was not seen on August 19 morning; but
later claimed they had seen him around 3.30pm. On August 20 and 21, they gave
out confusing reports to the authorities who suspected something might have
gone wrong. On August 22, the authorities sent other staff members and found
the decomposed carcass.
"The two
zookeepers have been negligent in their duties. They did not give us the
correct report. The doctor who conducted the post mortem said the animal may
have died weeks ago," said Riaz Khan, curator (education), Delhi zoo. The
job o
Al Ain Zoo Hosts the first Arabian Population
Management Plan Workshop for the Arabian Sand Cat
Al Ain Zoo has
recently initiated and hosted the Arabian Population Management Plan Workshop
(APMP), a two-day event focused on continuing the drive to conserve the Arabian
sand cat.
The workshop, which
took place from the 10th - 11th September, was attended by representatives from
the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, France and the UK in addition to Dr. David Mallon
from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission
(IUCN).
Commenting on the
initiative, H.E. Ghanim Mubarak Al Hajeri, said:
“We are proud to
collaborate with The Arabian Zoo and Aquarium Association to host the first
Arabian Population Management Plan Workshop for the Arabian Sand cat, and we
are confident that this will form the basis to perform APMP’s for other species
in the future.”
“We strongly believe
that our cooperation with our regional and international partners will showcase
great res
Elephant apparently crushes caretaker to death in
Maine
A veterinarian with
a passion for elephants died Tuesday, apparently crushed to death in "a
tragic accident" by one of the giant mammals he spent his life caring for,
authorities said.
Dr. Jim Laurita was
the full-time caregiver for two elephants on his property in Hope, Maine. His
rehabilitation facility and elephant "educational destination" was
dubbed "Hope Elephants."
Knox County
Sheriff's deputies were called to the facility Tuesday morning after "Dr.
Laurita had fallen in the corral and struck his head on the cement floor"
as he tended to the elephants, according to Sheriff Donna Dennison.
The 56-year-old was
dead before
Dead LION found in freezer during inspection at
restaurant near to zoo
The body of a dead
lion was found in a restaurant's freezer during an inspection by environmental
health officers.
The animal's corpse
was discovered stuffed next to food which was due to be served to unsuspecting
customers.
The restaurant's
owner told health inspectors the lion was donated to him by a nearby zoo to
feed to his pack of dogs.
The shocking
discovery has been revealed by Ian Brightmore, health protection manager at
Chichester District Council in west Sussex.
But he is remaining
tight-lipped about when or where he found the frozen animal.
He said: "When
I was working in another area I came across a dead lion in a freezer.
"The food
establishment was near a zoo and the owner kept pack hounds so it was food for
them.
"Because the
lion was kept in a place where food for human consumption was stored, of course
we ha
‘Depressed’ tigers: Expert says Bengal big cats are
mentally ill at Dubai Zoo
Endangered Bengal
tigers at Dubai Zoo have become mentally ill due to the “distressing
environment” they are cooped up in, a tiger expert believes.
Chris Slappendel,
architect of the awareness project Tigertrail.org, believes that the big cats
at the zoo are suffering from “zoochosis”.
When 7DAYS visited
the zoo on two separate occasions, tigers were seen pacing about in what the
Dutchman, 45, described as cramped cages.
In one enclosure at
the zoo, two tigers were coo
The story of British zoos
The British public
have been visiting zoos since Elizabethan times.
Driven by changing
public attitudes, zoos have evolved from places simply of spectacle and
scientific research to focus more on conservation and animal welfare.
Zoos Victoria releases five endangered species after
successful breeding year
Five endangered
species have been released back into the wild after what Zoos Victoria
described as one of its most successful breeding seasons.
The organisation
said its breeding program had increased the population of some of the
Victoria's most endangered species by more than 10 per cent.
Assistant curator at
Healesville Sanctuary Dr Melanie Lancaster said many of the animals bred in
captivity had been released.
"For Zoo's
Victoria that's a really big deal, and it includes Tasmanian devils for the
first time," Dr Lancaster said
"We've done
really well with our orange-bellied parrot and our helmeted honeyeater program,
as well as our corroboree frog programs."
The breeding program
also resulted in an increase in the number of mountain pygmy-possums.
Dr Lancaster said
the year had been particularly fruitful because Zoos Victoria was successful
both with the breeding and releasi
Bindi Irvin Might Be In A Relationship With Mum’s
Personal Assistant, Luke Reavley
Bindi Irvin,
wildlife warrior and daughter of popular crocodile hunter, Steve Irvin, posted
a picture of herself on Instagram on Sunday, along with a caption that hinted
that she was in love. This has added to the speculation that the 16-year-old
youngster might be in a relationship.
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ZOO BIOLOGY
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Peter Dickinson
Zoo News Digest - http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/
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