Zoo News Digest 22nd - 30th November 2015
(ZooNews 915)
(ZooNews 915)
Peter Dickinson
elvinhow@gmail.com
Dear Colleague,
So what would you
think was the most important news of the past couple of weeks? I suppose it
will depend on where your interests lie but surely South Africa legalising
Rhino Horn sales for home consumption must be worrying news? So too would be
the sad death of Nola in San Diego. There are others of course. But what does
the press think? Well going by the number of papers covering the story of a
Dysfunctional Chinese Zoo dumping a live goat in with a tiger we have got it
all wrong….what's more they think it's cute.
I find it surprising
that a Tiger on the loose for a month should receive so little attention from
the worlds press. Any other tourist resort in the world would be on lockdown
and this is Acapulco!
In Scotland though,
last week we had a Maned Wolf escape from the Galloway Wildlife Park. Very few
newspapers covered the story but there hasn't been a whisper since. If it had
been recaptured (which I hope) then one would expect to hear something.
I was saddened to
see that Toronto Zoo had bred its White Lions….all males too. What reputable
knowledgeable zoo would be prepared to take them and further contribute to the
white lion problem….because it IS a problem that needs further recognition.
Dear Colleague,
So what would you
think was the most important news of the past couple of weeks? I suppose it
will depend on where your interests lie but surely South Africa legalising
Rhino Horn sales for home consumption must be worrying news? So too would be
the sad death of Nola in San Diego. There are others of course. But what does
the press think? Well going by the number of papers covering the story of a
Dysfunctional Chinese Zoo dumping a live goat in with a tiger we have got it
all wrong….what's more they think it's cute.
I find it surprising
that a Tiger on the loose for a month should receive so little attention from
the worlds press. Any other tourist resort in the world would be on lockdown
and this is Acapulco!
In Scotland though,
last week we had a Maned Wolf escape from the Galloway Wildlife Park. Very few
newspapers covered the story but there hasn't been a whisper since. If it had
been recaptured (which I hope) then one would expect to hear something.
I was saddened to
see that Toronto Zoo had bred its White Lions….all males too. What reputable
knowledgeable zoo would be prepared to take them and further contribute to the
white lion problem….because it IS a problem that needs further recognition.
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.
********
*****
***
**
*
Interesting Links
Zoo tiger on the run
A tiger named
"Ankor" marked a full month on the run Wednesday, having evaded
capture since he escaped from a restaurant zoo and disappeared into what
appears to be a very tiger-friendly habitat on Mexico's southern Pacific coast.
Mexican authorities
have mounted a full-scale search effort including police, soldiers and a group
of 10 big-cat experts.
They are looking in
an area of low woods dotted with marshes, reeds and stands of button mangrove
west of the resort of Acapulco.
The country's
environmental protection agency said Wednesday it had identified the area where
Ankor has taken up residence and had photographed him alive, apparently by
using remote trip-wire cameras.
The agency said it
expected to capture the animal "in the next few days" and relocate
him to a safe place.
Officials have been
making similar claims since the male tiger escaped from the Mangrove Paradise
zoo and restaurant area Oct. 26.
The week he escaped,
the owner of a ranch about a mile (two kilometres) from the restaurant found
five of his cows dead, and the tiger is sus
Perth Zoo: 200th numbat set to be released into the WA
wild
Western Australia's
dwindling numbat population will get a boost next month when 15 of the
captive-bred marsupials are released into the state's south west.
The latest release
will mark the 200th numbat to be released into the wild from Perth Zoo, as part
of a program which began in 1993.
Ten numbats born
this year were fitted with radio c
Technically It’s Not Illegal to Enter an Animal
Exhibit at Sequoia Park Zoo, But it Likely Will Be Soon
If you walk into the
bald eagle exhibit at the Sequoia Park Zoo you will be kicked out, but you
won’t face legal consequences.
That’s what one man
learned as he fetched a bald eagle feather for his son about a month ago.
The City of Eureka
addressed this issue at the Nov. 17 council meeting, where City Attorney Cindy
Day-Wilson introduced a new ordinance that would make such behavior unlawful.
The current Zoo
Animal Ordinance only prohibits people from feeding the animals. The amended
version focuses on animal safety and would make it illegal for zoo patrons to
enter animal exhibits without zoo staff permission. Among other obvious thing
you shouldn’t
‘An army needed to protect rhinos’
Game farmer who had
brought the application says it is a ‘monumentous’ day for the survival of the
animals, and that costs of defending the rhino has sky-rocketed.
From today it will
be legal to trade in rhino horn in South Africa after the High Court in
Pretoria this morning set aside government’s 2009 ban on domestic trade in
rhino horn, with those supporting the move arguing it is the only way to
prevent the otherwise-inevitable extinction of the animals.
Judge Francis Legodi
read out his court order in less than five minutes before handing down his
37-page judgment in the application by Malelane game farmer John Hume and
Limpopo farmer Johan Kruger. Although government is expected to appeal the
ruling, Hume said he hopes “sanity would prevail”.
Rhino breeder John
Hume’s attorney Izak du Toit gave an indication of what it is like trying to
protect rhino from poachers. “You really need an army to protect your rhino,”
he said. You need soldiers with automatic firearms, night vision, helicopters…
If you don’t, you’re simply outgunned.”
Meanwhile, Hume was
very happy. “This is a momentous judgment. I would just hope that the world
understands that if I don’t sell rhino, my whole rhino herd would be dead
within the next ten years.”
He said the security
costs of safeguarding his rhino had gone up dramatically and was at this stage
costing far more than feeding or any other costs.
“It (the court order
lifting the moratorium) is not a magic w
South Africa: If You’re a Rhino Owner, Don’t Order the
Ferrari Yet
So, the Pretoria
High Court has apparently ordered[i] that South Africa’s current ban on trade
in rhino horn should be lifted.
Some reports
indicate that the government, in the guise of the Department of Environmental
Affairs, failed to follow mandatory consultative procedures before introducing
its moratorium. Other reports suggest the judge also questioned the
effectiveness of the ban.
The news appears to
be spreading faster than a poacher’s bullet, with reactions ranging from utter
depression to claims that a ‘battle has been won’. But that simply reflects the
fiercely-held and diametrically-opposed views on this subject, both inside South
Africa and elsewhere.
Within hours of the
announcement, I was contacted and asked for my reactions. Well, so as not to
disappoint, here they are.
Some people are
asking whether this is likely to influence how countries may vote when the
major conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) takes place in Johannesburg in September next year[ii]; if it is true
South Africa will seek authorization to engage in international commercial
trade of rhino horn (and that isn’t actually kno
Debate over rhino horn trade ramps up as South Africa
ban is lifted
A South African
court Thursday threw out a moratorium on the trade of rhino horns, a move hotly
debated in a country that, more than any other, holds the survival of the
species in its hands.
Proponents of
lifting the ban argue that doing so will discourage illegal poaching that has
steadily increased since the moratorium was enacted in 2009. Opponents say
dropping the moratorium will place more pressure on stressed rhino populations.
An international ban
remains, meaning South African farmers cannot trade with Vietnam or China, the
principal markets for rhino horn.
"There's no
demand for rhino horn on the domestic market. If you have got no one to trade
with you, it's like the sound of one hand clapping," said Tom Milliken,
southern Africa director of Traffic, an organization opposed to trafficking in
wildlife. But he warned that before the South African moratorium, privately
owned South African rhino horn had found its way into the black market.
"What happened
previously was that there were a lot of private sector abuses and many horns
were ending up in the illegal trade," he said.
The Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, has banned trade in rhino
horn. South Africa, home to 80% of the global rhino population, has proved
unable to stem a massive increase in rhino poaching
‘I assume they’re grinding it up to make potions’:
Rhino horn sells for $228K at Vancouver auction
A 19th century
rhinoceros horn was estimated to sell for $20,000 at a recent auction. But a
“grand battle” erupted between four Asian bidders and when the smoke cleared,
it had sold for $228,000.
Normally,
high-priced antiques are cherished as objects. But rhino horns can be worth a
small fortune because they’re used in traditional Chinese medicine and some
people believe they’re an aphrodisiac.
Hugh Bulmer of
Maynard’s, which sold the horn on Nov. 21, believes it will be ground up.
“I assume they’re
grinding it up to make potions,” Bulmer said.
“Whether they work
or not, I don’t know. I hope they do
Nostalgia: When a lion escaped and went on the rampage
in Aston
They were pictures
which instantly went around the world – zebras on the run after escaping from a
circus in Philadelphia.
An academic was
reminded of amazing scenes which happened in Birmingham more than an century
ago – when a lion went on the run.
Early modern
historian Helen Cowie said that animals making a break for freedom is nothing
new – especially in Victorian times.
In 1899 a young
black maned Nubian lion escaped from Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie which was
in Aston.
A report which has
just been unearthed in the Pall Mall Gazette on September 28, described the
amazing scenes which ensured.
It began: “The
eastern suburb of Birmingham was yesterday the scene of a protracted and
exciting animal hunt.”
It all began when
the lion’s keeper was distracted by a fight between an ostrich and a deer –
and, the Pall Mall Gazette claime
The Billy makes friends with a tiger - no kidding!
Goat who was put into a killer cat's lair as lunch survives after the two
animals become friends instead
The goat had been
intended as the tiger's lunch, but now the pair have become some of the animal
kingdom's most unlikely friends.
Staff at a Russian
safari park are 'stunned' at the goat's bravery and the Siberian tiger's
readiness to make friends with his meal.
Extraordinary images
show Amur, the obedient big cat, reduced to resting on the roof of his home
after the brave goat occupied his bed.
Australia Zoo sacks man staff blame for animal deaths
AUSTRALIA Zoo has
fired the controversial manager who staff blame for the crisis at the Sunshine
Coast wildlife hospital and the deaths of prized zoo animals.
Sources say
assistant curator Josh Ruffell’s employment has been terminated following an
internal workplace investigation into claims of harassment.
Under Mr Ruffell’s
reign, current and former staff say the standard of veterinary care at the
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital plummeted, leading to alleged mistreatment of
sick and injured animals.
His decision-making
and lack of animal expertise was also blamed for the deaths of zoo creatures —
including a prized jabiru, saltwater crocodile Shaka an
10 Reasons To Be Thankful For SeaWorld
For this
Thanksgiving week, we're highlighting some of the amazing institutions that are
making our world a better place and sharing why we're thankful for them.
SeaWorld operates
three of the world's premier and largest zoological facilities in Florida,
Texas and California. Every year millions of people visit SeaWorld parks, but
we want to share 10 reasons why you should be grateful for these world-class
zoological facilities.
Deadly virus found in Danish geese
The deadly bird
virus Aquatic Bird Bornavirus 1 (ABB1) has been registered for the first time
in the wild geese population in Denmark, according to new research conducted by
DTU’s Veterinary Institute in co-operation with the University of Copenhagen
and Copenhagen Zoo.
The virus, which is
prevalent in wild geese populations in North America and leads to constipation
and death among geese, has never before been registered in geese populations in
Europe.
“It’s the first time
the virus has been found among geese in Europe, and we are concerned it will
spread in the same manner as in North America,” Mads Bertelsen, a vet at
Copenhagen Zoo and one of the researchers behind the findings, told Vidensk
Trapped in her concrete prison for 66 YEARS: The
heartbreaking tale of Hanako the elephant who has spent a lifetime alone in a
Japanese zoo
It is believed the
elephant needs to be given medical assistance, with the Japan Times reporting
that she lost all but one of her four teeth around 30 years ago and as a result
'she suffers digestive difficulties and is troubled by constipation.'
The Irony Of A Marine Mammal Trainer
As a marine mammal
trainer, I am constantly around smelly animals.
As any animal care professional attests, my day usually has at least one
incident of being surrounded by poop (usually animal). I get in the water on a daily basis. There are so many things that I do that could
extend to my out-of-work life, but they don't.
There is in fact, a crowbar separation between what I'll not just
tolerate, but thrive doing at work, and what I absolutely cannot deal with at
home.
Cat conservation expert on a mission to find love for
Scottish wildcats
DAVID Barclay, a
34-year-old conservation officer is the new keeper of the European studbook for
the endangered species dubbed the Highland Tiger.
FINDING THE purrfect
match for Scottish wildcats is all in a day’s work for David Barclay.
The 34-year-old
conservation expert is the new keeper of the European studbook for the
endangered species dubbed the Highland Tiger.
He keeps a record of
the family tree, birth date and purity of all captive felines.
As cat conservation
project officer for Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), he finds them
a suitable date, avoiding inbreeding, in a bid to repopulate the Highlands.
With fewer than 250
cats in the wild, the 100 in zoos and private collections are vital to ensure
the survival of Britain’s last large wild predato
Andean condors ready to repopulate Colombian mountains
Three breeding pairs
of Andean condors donated by the government of Chile are now part of a program
to restore the condor population in the mountains of Colombia, the Environment
and Sustainable Development Ministry said.
The birds, who
arrived Oct. 23, passed medical tests and completed a quarantine period before
being accepted into the National Condor Breeding Program.
The Andean condor
(Vultur gryphus) is emblematic of Colombia, appearing on the country's coat of
arms with an olive branch in its beak and clutching in its talons a ribbon with
the text "Freedom and Order."
One of the breeding
pairs will be taken to Jaime Duque Park near Bogota; the second is bound for
Santa Fe Zoo in the northwestern city of Medellín; and the third is to remain
at Colombia's National Aviary on the Caribbean island of Baru.
The condors
"will reproduce in captivity and their offspring, after a period of
adaptation, will be released in different regions of the country," the
ministry said.
Around 80 condors
have been rele
Nola, San Diego Zoo's northern white rhino, dies; only
three left in captivity
The world's northern
white rhinoceros population plunged by a quarter on Sunday with a death at the
San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Nola, a 41-year-old
northern white rhino, died after being treated for a bacterial infection and
age-related health issues, the zoo said.
The rhino's
condition had worsened significantly in the last 24 hours, and zoo
veterinarians made the decision to euthanize her.
Forty-one years is
at the upper end of a white rhino's life expectancy.
Nola was one of only
four northern white rhinos in the world, according to the zoo. The remaining
three are in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
The northern white
rhino is a subspecies of white rhino. The northern subspecies is believed to be
extinct in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, while the "near
threatened" southern white rhino population is growing in sanctuaries.
Rhinos are the
second largest land mammal after the elephant.
The San Diego Zoo is
working to save the norther
Schoolgirl reached into cage at Wellington Zoo to pat
cheetah
A girl climbed a
barrier at Wellington Zoo to reach inside an enclosure and pat a cheetah, a
report reveals.
The Environmental
Protection Agency's annual report, just published, lists 41 incidents involving
zoo animals in the past financial year.
As well as including
reports of panda and monkey escapes, the list reveals a number of New
Zealanders broke into zoos and enclosures, including two people who visited an
Auckland elephant exhibit after hours.
Young Red Panda Found Safe, Unharmed After Escaping
From Sequoia Park Zoo
The search for
Masala, the adventurous red panda that escaped from a Eureka zoo, is officially
over.
She was found
Saturday evening and is now back with staff, according to zoo officials.
"Masala is back
home, safe and sound," a spokesperson wrote on the zoo's Facebook page.
"She was located very late last evening and is now resting." The
panda has never been out of captivity prior to this past week's shenanigans.
Masala escaped from
her enclosure at the Sequoia Park Zoo on Thursday and was subsequently spotted
wandering around the nearby neighborhoods. Cal Fire, zoo staff and community
members had been on the l
Mystery on How Penguins Stay Ice-Free Solved
The temperature in
Antarctica can nosedive to -135.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and yet penguins there
manage not to ice over due to a combination of attributes that make them
“superhydrophobic,” according to new research.
Now that the super
water repelling powers of these sturdy flightless birds have been determined,
the techniques could be used in future to improve the design of airplane wings,
flaps and rudders, which can collect ice and caus
As another head resigns, shifting of mini zoo stalled
With the zoo
director's post being vacant, the shifting of the mini-zoo located adjacent to
VOC Park hits road black again. Though the town planning officer suggests the
sites, it is the zoo director who has to approve it, plan the layout and
monitor the shifting of the animals.
The former zoo
director continued to meet officials and also inspected the land near
Vellingiri Hills in his five-month tenure. "The idea of setting up a zoo
near the hills was rejected after many opposed it. Officials said that it would
be far away from the city and residents would find it difficult to visit it
regularly," said a senior corporation officer.
The corporation land
located near Bharathiar University was also inspected. But it was later
rejected owing to some litigation. "Though that site was perfect to set up
the zoo and was spread across 100 acres, due to the dispute, we have rejected
it," said city corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan.
The zoo is currently
functioning without a valid licence as well. Unless it is certified, the Zoo
Authority of India may ask the city to do away with the sole recre
WHY DID THE HOUSTON ZOO BEND OVER FOR GUN RIGHTS
ADVOCATES?
Since local lawyer
and gun rights advocate T. Edwin Walker successfully had the Houston Zoo's gun
ban removed in September, other gun advocates across Texas are pushing for
similar signs to come down in public spaces ranging from botanical gardens to
nature preserves to police departments.But not everyplace with a sign and a gun
ban is folding before the gun rights crowd as easily as the Houston Zoo did.
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS WILL BE BETTER OFF IN DALLAS ZOO
THAN AFRICA, SAYS DALLAS ZOO
Generally speaking,
zoos are in the business of selling tickets. If they can help conserve and
protect the animals they display along the way, that's nice too, but to exist,
zoos need to put on a show, and that means they need animals to fill what is,
let's be honest, a wildlife jail. But a
joint marketing campaign orchestrated by the Dallas Zoo, two other
American zoos and the African monarchy of Swaziland claims that 18 elephants
living in Africa would actually be better off in the zoos than in their native
habitat.
Dolphin Cove To Retain Identity Under New Mexican
Owner
Chairman and CEO of
Dolphin Cove Stafford Burrowes says the company can now move full steam ahead
with its expansion plans through the backing of the new owners of the water
park, Dolphin Discovery.
The $3.7-billion
takeover through World of Dolphin Inc gives the Mexican company a 58 per cent
stake in Dolphin Cove. Burrowes says that under the deal, he retains ownership
of a tenth of the company and will continue to manage it.
The Jamaican marine
park, which operates four locations on the north coast, has been trying for
near four years to expand regionally, with St Lucia and the Turks and Caicos
Islands (TCI) tapped as new markets. The company bought lands in St Lucia in
2012 and in the TCI a year later, but neither has yet materialised.
At its shareholders'
meeting held earlier this year, Burrowes said the Turks site is the closer of
the two to beginning operations a
Rare stick insect to go international to save its
species
Hundreds of precious
Lord Howe Island stick insect eggs will be sent overseas as part of a captive
breeding program for the critically endangered Australian insect – which until
2001 was thought extinct.
Fire hits Manila Zoo
A FIRE hit the
Manila Zoo on Adriatico Street, Malate, Manila Tuesday night.
According to an
alert by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the fire reached 2nd alarm as of 9:51 p.m.
The fire reportedly
razed a commercial structure inside the zoo.
Okla. zookeeper announces Presidential run
Joe Exotic, is
scheduled to announce Monday that paperwork has been mailed so he can enter the
race for President of the United States.
Exotic, who is also
known as Joe Schreibvogel, owns GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla.
Exotic is making his
presidential announcement in Ohio because wants to address the Ohio people
about their tax money being used in a monopoly pushed through by Governor John
Kasich, and Ohio State Senator Troy Balderson.
Exotic didn't
specify in his press release the details surrounding the monopoly.
Exotic said his
purpose in announcing his run for the presidency was, "to support the
people of Ohio being raid
Wellington Zoo tranquilises a spider monkey by
accident
An unsuspecting
Wellington Zoo spider monkey got hit by a wayward tranquilliser dart as a
guilty gibbon made a getaway.
On Tuesday morning
gibbon Vilson escaped from his enclosure.
Zoo animal care
general manager Mauritz Basson said staff got out the tranquiliser guns and
aimed at Vilson, a well known escape artist.
Shopping centre axes live penguin event after social
media backlash
Touchwood shopping
centre has cancelled a kids' 'Penguin Encounter' event amid a furious backlash
from animal rights campaigners.
The event was
scheduled for December 20 and promised to 'educate and delight children' about
endangered Humboldt penguins.
But Solihull
shopping centre bosses axed it after hundreds campaigned against it.
More than 600 people
signed an online petition over the last 24 hours, demanding the event be
scrapped.
Others took to
Facebook to vent their disapproval.
Derby Animal Rights,
which co-ordinated opposition to the event, said: "As well as welfare
concerns, using wild animals as a form on ‘entertainment’ sends out the wrong
educational messages to the public, in particular children.
"Animals like
penguins do not belong on a High Street in the UK and this event does nothing
to teach about conservation or respect for species and habitats."
One protester wrote
on Faceboo
A strawberry blonde lion
I recently took a
group of American visitors on a trip to Zambia and, on arrival at the camp, I
asked our local guide if he had seen anything interesting recently. He told me
that, amongst other things, there had been some regular sightings of what he called
a white lion.
This was interesting
to me because I was not aw
Drought drives hungry hippos into Colombian town
Biologists in
Colombia say a drought has forced two hippopotamuses into a town in search of
food.
The animals are
descendants of a group imported in the 1980s by the notorious drug baron Pablo
Escobar for his private zoo near the town of Puerto Triunfo in Antioquia
province.
They've been seen
grazing in fields with cattle and wandering through the town near the city of
Medellin.
Local children have
been warned to keep away from the animals.
The biologists say
they are waiting for specialist dart guns to sedate the hippos so they can move
them.
Over the years the
population of hippos at the Escobar ranch, Hacienda Napoles, has increased and
some have escaped.
Escobar smuggled in
elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals for his zoo. Among them were four
hippos - three females and one male.
When the ranch was
confiscated in the ea
Melaka Zoo Is In Upgrades To Increase The Tourist
Arrival - Management Company
The Melaka Zoo and
Night Safari is currently being upgraded in order to attract more visitors,
said KAJ Group of Hospitality Chief Executive Officer Seow Cheng Swee.
He said besides
upgrading the facilities and doing refurbishment work, they were also planning
to bring in new animals to woo more visitors to the zoo.
Speaking to Bernama
here, he said they had brought in the antelope species known as Waterbuck from
South Africa since last September and hoped that the animal will be a new
attraction for the visitors.
Brazillian zoo marks first captive breeding of Alagoas
curassow
A RARE ALAGOAS
curassow (Mitu mitu), which is considered extinct in the wild, has hatched for
the first time in captivity.
Earlier this year,
the Parque das Aves, a Brazilian zoo in Foz do Iguaçu, received 10 adult
Alagoas curassows as part of a worldwide conservation effort to breed and
reintroduce this species back into the wild.
One chick hatched on
October 26, and it is believed to be the first of its species to hatch in
captivity in the world – sparking hope for the species’ future.
During the hatching
process, staff at the zoo kept the public up to date with developments via
regular Facebook updates.
One post read: “We
share with you the whole process of the first Alagoas curassow chick’s birth.
It was a difficult process and we had to help because he was weak and couldn’t
hatch alone.
“With a lot of
caution veterinarian Dr Lorenzo, a consultant specialist in endangered birds,
based in Italy, opened the egg a little. The chick looked good
Critically-endangered gorilla born in London Zoo
A new baby is always
a cause for excitement - and even more so when the baby is a critically
endangered species.
Keepers at London
zoo are celebrating the healthy birth of a baby male western lowland gorilla to
22-year-old mother Effie.
Her young has not
yet been named.
Surabaya Zoo struggles to revive after protracted
disputes
After an era of
managerial conflict, the Surabaya Zoo (KBS) in East Java has started to show
some improvement in its maintenance of animal welfare, local residents and
regular visitors have said.
Elita Novriana, 29,
a Surabaya resident, said she was happy that the zoo’s environment looked much
better today compared to last year.
“I rarely find
scattered garbage. The water ditches in the animal cages also look clear and
the cages are in good condition,” Elita told The Jakarta Post after visiting
the zoo with her family on Friday.
Haryaningsih, a
teacher at a local junior high school, shared a similar observation.
Haryaningsih also
expressed hope that KBS would continue to improve its facilities so that the
zoo could become a high-quality and affordable educational venue for students.
KBS’ supervisory
board chief Heri Purwanto said the zoo mainly relied on support from the city’s
budget and CSR funds from private companies to help cover its annual
operational deficit, which stands at around Rp 5 billion (US$363,500).
The zoo management,
according to Heri, will nonetheless prioritize its operational budget to
maintain good animal welfare standards and improve facilities for visitors.
“For example, we are
currently building water sanitation and waste treatment facilities that we
expect to complete within two or three years,” he said on Saturday.
Established in 1916
in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya, the 15-hectare KBS is one of
the country’s largest and oldest zoos.
Located in
Surabaya’s downtown district, the zoo offers visitors the chance to escape to a
forest-like environment, a welcome distraction from a cityscape typically
defined by malls, apartments and skyscrapers.
With entry tickets
at Rp 15,000 per person, the venue has become a favored destination for people
in Surabaya and in neighboring regions.
In the last few
years, KBS, however, has struggled with management tensions, allegedly
resulting in the death of many of its animals.
The zoo gained local
and international public attention in 2012 following the death of many of the
animals in its collection. In one example, up to 20 kilograms of plastic was
found in the stomach of a giraffe named Kliwon, who had died in his stall.
In response to the
problem, an online petition calling for the zoo’s closure was soon initiated
and obtained
Russian Mega Resort Tigre de Cristal Faces Backlash
Over Heavily Drugged Tiger Cub
Tigre de Cristal,
the first Las Vegas-style casino to open in Russia’s Primorsky Krai special
economic zone, was packed to the rafters on the opening night of its soft
launch last month.
Dignitaries mingled
with Russian celebs and journalists from Moscow, all of whom had come to feast
their eyes on the opulence of Lawrence Ho’s $900 million resort on the
country’s south east coast, close to the border with China and North Korea.
But an outcry has
erupted in the region’s local press over one of the “acts” that night, a
Siberian tiger cub called “Crystal” that was paraded around the casino under
Tiger seriously injures boy, 3, at Ħal-Farrug zoo
A three-year-old boy suffered serious injuries
when a tiger lashed out at him at an illegal zoo in Ħal-Farrug this afternoon.
The police said the
tiger was on a leash and accompanied by two handlers when it lashed out at the
boy at the Montekristo animal park. The boy was with by a 56-year-old man from
Zabbar who did his utmost to keep the tiger away from the boy. The incident took
place between the cafeteria and the carousel at 4.30pm.
He was rushed to
hospital in an ambulance where he was found to be suffering serious injuries
but was not in critical condition.
A hospital source
said the boy suffered lacerations to his face and head and will undergo
emergency intervention in the coming
Best we address animal welfare issues, not foreigners
SAHABAT ALAM
MALAYSIA (SAM) is astonished to read news reports of an inked agreement between
Japan's Ambassador to Malaysia, the Natural Resources and Environment (NRE)
minister, and the director-general of the Wildlife Department (Perhilitan), to
send a pair of Malayan tapirs to Japan as part of a conservation research
programme. SAM is keen to know the rationale behind this move as, unlike
Sumatran rhinos, tapirs are known to have been bred successfully at the Sungai
Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre. How, and in what way, will tapirs benefit
from this so-called conservation research programme? Since they are the subject
of a research programme, is the Nagasaki Bio-Park assigned to establish the
main threats faced, and what actions need to be taken to ensure their survival?
It would be of great interest to know the conservation action plans outlined by
the Japanese Bio-Park and identify the key agencies carrying out those actions.
Our tapirs are usually victims of vehicular accidents, when they attempt to
cross roads that bisect their forested homes. They are also victims of snares
set up for other animals like wild boars, tigers and deer. The No. 1 threat to
their existence is the loss of habitat, as forests are exploited and fragmented
into isolat
Chennai zoo gets 4 new tiger cubs, count now 28
Vandalur zoo has got
another quartet of heterozygous cubs, the result of a union between tiger Vijay
and white tigress Namratha, and now has 13 heterozygous tigers.
The two males and
two females born on October 16 are yet to be released into the exhibit area for
the benefit of visitors. Zoo managers plan to show the cubs to visitors using a
closed circuit television camera.
When a pair of white
tigers mate, zoo director K S S V P Reddy said, their offspring will be normal
white tiger cubs but those born to a white tigress and a normal (orange) tiger
will be normal tiger cubs and called heterozygous. Such breeding in captivity
is increasingly being preferred because the cubs get all the positive qualities
from their parents. "They are healthier and stronger than their normal
cousins," Reddy said.
Research has showed
that white tigers develop problems such as shortened lifespan and are more
vulnerable to catching infections and the females suffer from infertility and
non-lactation. It is to avoid such health problems that zoos prefer to allow a
normal male tiger and a white tigress to mate, he said.
The cubs born on
October 16 are the fourth set of heterozygous cubs born in captivity. The first
set of three cubs were born to Akanksha and Vijay and were named Vidhya, Arthi
and Nethra. The second set of two male cubs, born to Namratha and Vijay, were christened
Karna and Adithya. The third set of four cubs, born to Akanksha and Vijay, were
named Anitha, Preetha, Sunitha and San
Over half of world's primates on brink of extinction:
experts
More than half the
world's primates, including apes, lemurs and monkeys, are facing extinction,
international experts warned Tuesday, as they called for urgent action to
protect mankind's closest living relatives.
The population
crunch is the result of large-scale habitat destruction -- particularly the
burning and clearing of tropical forests -- as well as the hunting of primates
for food and the illegal wildlife trade.
Species long-known
to be at risk, including the Sumatran orangutan, have been joined on the most
endangered list for the first time by the Philippine tarsier and the Lavasoa
Mountains dwarf lemur from Madagascar, scientists meeting in Singapore said.
"This research
highlights the extent of the danger facing many of the world's primates,"
leading primatologist Christoph Schwitzer, director of conservation at Bristol
Zoological Society in Britain, said in a statement.
"We hope it
will focus people's attention on these lesser known primate species, some of
which most people will probably have never he
Why I Can't Complain About Cold Weather Anymore
In my hemisphere,
it's getting cold, and that spells out woe for marine mammal trainers. Yes, even in Florida. And if you're someone shaking your head at me
because you're "from the North" and it "doesn't get cold"
in Florida, I invite you to hang out in a wet wetsuit in 30 degree weather for
8 hours.
Rare White Lion Cubs at the Toronto Zoo
Toronto Zoo white
lion cubs born through the night of September 26-27, 2015 are now 8 weeks old,
and they are all male! All four cubs are doing well, and continue to live in
the maternity den with mom, Makali, not visible by public.The four male cubs
were born to white lion mother Makali. Doctors said their first 30 days of life
would be crucial, and they ar
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
not DYSFUNCTIONAL zoos.
********
*****
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Interesting Links
Zoo tiger on the run
A tiger named
"Ankor" marked a full month on the run Wednesday, having evaded
capture since he escaped from a restaurant zoo and disappeared into what
appears to be a very tiger-friendly habitat on Mexico's southern Pacific coast.
Mexican authorities
have mounted a full-scale search effort including police, soldiers and a group
of 10 big-cat experts.
They are looking in
an area of low woods dotted with marshes, reeds and stands of button mangrove
west of the resort of Acapulco.
The country's
environmental protection agency said Wednesday it had identified the area where
Ankor has taken up residence and had photographed him alive, apparently by
using remote trip-wire cameras.
The agency said it
expected to capture the animal "in the next few days" and relocate
him to a safe place.
Officials have been
making similar claims since the male tiger escaped from the Mangrove Paradise
zoo and restaurant area Oct. 26.
The week he escaped,
the owner of a ranch about a mile (two kilometres) from the restaurant found
five of his cows dead, and the tiger is sus
Perth Zoo: 200th numbat set to be released into the WA
wild
Western Australia's
dwindling numbat population will get a boost next month when 15 of the
captive-bred marsupials are released into the state's south west.
The latest release
will mark the 200th numbat to be released into the wild from Perth Zoo, as part
of a program which began in 1993.
Ten numbats born
this year were fitted with radio c
Technically It’s Not Illegal to Enter an Animal
Exhibit at Sequoia Park Zoo, But it Likely Will Be Soon
If you walk into the
bald eagle exhibit at the Sequoia Park Zoo you will be kicked out, but you
won’t face legal consequences.
That’s what one man
learned as he fetched a bald eagle feather for his son about a month ago.
The City of Eureka
addressed this issue at the Nov. 17 council meeting, where City Attorney Cindy
Day-Wilson introduced a new ordinance that would make such behavior unlawful.
The current Zoo
Animal Ordinance only prohibits people from feeding the animals. The amended
version focuses on animal safety and would make it illegal for zoo patrons to
enter animal exhibits without zoo staff permission. Among other obvious thing
you shouldn’t
‘An army needed to protect rhinos’
Game farmer who had
brought the application says it is a ‘monumentous’ day for the survival of the
animals, and that costs of defending the rhino has sky-rocketed.
From today it will
be legal to trade in rhino horn in South Africa after the High Court in
Pretoria this morning set aside government’s 2009 ban on domestic trade in
rhino horn, with those supporting the move arguing it is the only way to
prevent the otherwise-inevitable extinction of the animals.
Judge Francis Legodi
read out his court order in less than five minutes before handing down his
37-page judgment in the application by Malelane game farmer John Hume and
Limpopo farmer Johan Kruger. Although government is expected to appeal the
ruling, Hume said he hopes “sanity would prevail”.
Rhino breeder John
Hume’s attorney Izak du Toit gave an indication of what it is like trying to
protect rhino from poachers. “You really need an army to protect your rhino,”
he said. You need soldiers with automatic firearms, night vision, helicopters…
If you don’t, you’re simply outgunned.”
Meanwhile, Hume was
very happy. “This is a momentous judgment. I would just hope that the world
understands that if I don’t sell rhino, my whole rhino herd would be dead
within the next ten years.”
He said the security
costs of safeguarding his rhino had gone up dramatically and was at this stage
costing far more than feeding or any other costs.
“It (the court order
lifting the moratorium) is not a magic w
South Africa: If You’re a Rhino Owner, Don’t Order the
Ferrari Yet
So, the Pretoria
High Court has apparently ordered[i] that South Africa’s current ban on trade
in rhino horn should be lifted.
Some reports
indicate that the government, in the guise of the Department of Environmental
Affairs, failed to follow mandatory consultative procedures before introducing
its moratorium. Other reports suggest the judge also questioned the
effectiveness of the ban.
The news appears to
be spreading faster than a poacher’s bullet, with reactions ranging from utter
depression to claims that a ‘battle has been won’. But that simply reflects the
fiercely-held and diametrically-opposed views on this subject, both inside South
Africa and elsewhere.
Within hours of the
announcement, I was contacted and asked for my reactions. Well, so as not to
disappoint, here they are.
Some people are
asking whether this is likely to influence how countries may vote when the
major conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) takes place in Johannesburg in September next year[ii]; if it is true
South Africa will seek authorization to engage in international commercial
trade of rhino horn (and that isn’t actually kno
Debate over rhino horn trade ramps up as South Africa
ban is lifted
A South African
court Thursday threw out a moratorium on the trade of rhino horns, a move hotly
debated in a country that, more than any other, holds the survival of the
species in its hands.
Proponents of
lifting the ban argue that doing so will discourage illegal poaching that has
steadily increased since the moratorium was enacted in 2009. Opponents say
dropping the moratorium will place more pressure on stressed rhino populations.
An international ban
remains, meaning South African farmers cannot trade with Vietnam or China, the
principal markets for rhino horn.
"There's no
demand for rhino horn on the domestic market. If you have got no one to trade
with you, it's like the sound of one hand clapping," said Tom Milliken,
southern Africa director of Traffic, an organization opposed to trafficking in
wildlife. But he warned that before the South African moratorium, privately
owned South African rhino horn had found its way into the black market.
"What happened
previously was that there were a lot of private sector abuses and many horns
were ending up in the illegal trade," he said.
The Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, has banned trade in rhino
horn. South Africa, home to 80% of the global rhino population, has proved
unable to stem a massive increase in rhino poaching
‘I assume they’re grinding it up to make potions’:
Rhino horn sells for $228K at Vancouver auction
A 19th century
rhinoceros horn was estimated to sell for $20,000 at a recent auction. But a
“grand battle” erupted between four Asian bidders and when the smoke cleared,
it had sold for $228,000.
Normally,
high-priced antiques are cherished as objects. But rhino horns can be worth a
small fortune because they’re used in traditional Chinese medicine and some
people believe they’re an aphrodisiac.
Hugh Bulmer of
Maynard’s, which sold the horn on Nov. 21, believes it will be ground up.
“I assume they’re
grinding it up to make potions,” Bulmer said.
“Whether they work
or not, I don’t know. I hope they do
Nostalgia: When a lion escaped and went on the rampage
in Aston
They were pictures
which instantly went around the world – zebras on the run after escaping from a
circus in Philadelphia.
An academic was
reminded of amazing scenes which happened in Birmingham more than an century
ago – when a lion went on the run.
Early modern
historian Helen Cowie said that animals making a break for freedom is nothing
new – especially in Victorian times.
In 1899 a young
black maned Nubian lion escaped from Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie which was
in Aston.
A report which has
just been unearthed in the Pall Mall Gazette on September 28, described the
amazing scenes which ensured.
It began: “The
eastern suburb of Birmingham was yesterday the scene of a protracted and
exciting animal hunt.”
It all began when
the lion’s keeper was distracted by a fight between an ostrich and a deer –
and, the Pall Mall Gazette claime
The Billy makes friends with a tiger - no kidding!
Goat who was put into a killer cat's lair as lunch survives after the two
animals become friends instead
The goat had been
intended as the tiger's lunch, but now the pair have become some of the animal
kingdom's most unlikely friends.
Staff at a Russian
safari park are 'stunned' at the goat's bravery and the Siberian tiger's
readiness to make friends with his meal.
Extraordinary images
show Amur, the obedient big cat, reduced to resting on the roof of his home
after the brave goat occupied his bed.
Australia Zoo sacks man staff blame for animal deaths
AUSTRALIA Zoo has
fired the controversial manager who staff blame for the crisis at the Sunshine
Coast wildlife hospital and the deaths of prized zoo animals.
Sources say
assistant curator Josh Ruffell’s employment has been terminated following an
internal workplace investigation into claims of harassment.
Under Mr Ruffell’s
reign, current and former staff say the standard of veterinary care at the
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital plummeted, leading to alleged mistreatment of
sick and injured animals.
His decision-making
and lack of animal expertise was also blamed for the deaths of zoo creatures —
including a prized jabiru, saltwater crocodile Shaka an
10 Reasons To Be Thankful For SeaWorld
For this
Thanksgiving week, we're highlighting some of the amazing institutions that are
making our world a better place and sharing why we're thankful for them.
SeaWorld operates
three of the world's premier and largest zoological facilities in Florida,
Texas and California. Every year millions of people visit SeaWorld parks, but
we want to share 10 reasons why you should be grateful for these world-class
zoological facilities.
Deadly virus found in Danish geese
The deadly bird
virus Aquatic Bird Bornavirus 1 (ABB1) has been registered for the first time
in the wild geese population in Denmark, according to new research conducted by
DTU’s Veterinary Institute in co-operation with the University of Copenhagen
and Copenhagen Zoo.
The virus, which is
prevalent in wild geese populations in North America and leads to constipation
and death among geese, has never before been registered in geese populations in
Europe.
“It’s the first time
the virus has been found among geese in Europe, and we are concerned it will
spread in the same manner as in North America,” Mads Bertelsen, a vet at
Copenhagen Zoo and one of the researchers behind the findings, told Vidensk
Trapped in her concrete prison for 66 YEARS: The
heartbreaking tale of Hanako the elephant who has spent a lifetime alone in a
Japanese zoo
It is believed the
elephant needs to be given medical assistance, with the Japan Times reporting
that she lost all but one of her four teeth around 30 years ago and as a result
'she suffers digestive difficulties and is troubled by constipation.'
The Irony Of A Marine Mammal Trainer
As a marine mammal
trainer, I am constantly around smelly animals.
As any animal care professional attests, my day usually has at least one
incident of being surrounded by poop (usually animal). I get in the water on a daily basis. There are so many things that I do that could
extend to my out-of-work life, but they don't.
There is in fact, a crowbar separation between what I'll not just
tolerate, but thrive doing at work, and what I absolutely cannot deal with at
home.
Cat conservation expert on a mission to find love for
Scottish wildcats
DAVID Barclay, a
34-year-old conservation officer is the new keeper of the European studbook for
the endangered species dubbed the Highland Tiger.
FINDING THE purrfect
match for Scottish wildcats is all in a day’s work for David Barclay.
The 34-year-old
conservation expert is the new keeper of the European studbook for the
endangered species dubbed the Highland Tiger.
He keeps a record of
the family tree, birth date and purity of all captive felines.
As cat conservation
project officer for Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), he finds them
a suitable date, avoiding inbreeding, in a bid to repopulate the Highlands.
With fewer than 250
cats in the wild, the 100 in zoos and private collections are vital to ensure
the survival of Britain’s last large wild predato
Andean condors ready to repopulate Colombian mountains
Three breeding pairs
of Andean condors donated by the government of Chile are now part of a program
to restore the condor population in the mountains of Colombia, the Environment
and Sustainable Development Ministry said.
The birds, who
arrived Oct. 23, passed medical tests and completed a quarantine period before
being accepted into the National Condor Breeding Program.
The Andean condor
(Vultur gryphus) is emblematic of Colombia, appearing on the country's coat of
arms with an olive branch in its beak and clutching in its talons a ribbon with
the text "Freedom and Order."
One of the breeding
pairs will be taken to Jaime Duque Park near Bogota; the second is bound for
Santa Fe Zoo in the northwestern city of Medellín; and the third is to remain
at Colombia's National Aviary on the Caribbean island of Baru.
The condors
"will reproduce in captivity and their offspring, after a period of
adaptation, will be released in different regions of the country," the
ministry said.
Around 80 condors
have been rele
Nola, San Diego Zoo's northern white rhino, dies; only
three left in captivity
The world's northern
white rhinoceros population plunged by a quarter on Sunday with a death at the
San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Nola, a 41-year-old
northern white rhino, died after being treated for a bacterial infection and
age-related health issues, the zoo said.
The rhino's
condition had worsened significantly in the last 24 hours, and zoo
veterinarians made the decision to euthanize her.
Forty-one years is
at the upper end of a white rhino's life expectancy.
Nola was one of only
four northern white rhinos in the world, according to the zoo. The remaining
three are in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
The northern white
rhino is a subspecies of white rhino. The northern subspecies is believed to be
extinct in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, while the "near
threatened" southern white rhino population is growing in sanctuaries.
Rhinos are the
second largest land mammal after the elephant.
The San Diego Zoo is
working to save the norther
Schoolgirl reached into cage at Wellington Zoo to pat
cheetah
A girl climbed a
barrier at Wellington Zoo to reach inside an enclosure and pat a cheetah, a
report reveals.
The Environmental
Protection Agency's annual report, just published, lists 41 incidents involving
zoo animals in the past financial year.
As well as including
reports of panda and monkey escapes, the list reveals a number of New
Zealanders broke into zoos and enclosures, including two people who visited an
Auckland elephant exhibit after hours.
Young Red Panda Found Safe, Unharmed After Escaping
From Sequoia Park Zoo
The search for
Masala, the adventurous red panda that escaped from a Eureka zoo, is officially
over.
She was found
Saturday evening and is now back with staff, according to zoo officials.
"Masala is back
home, safe and sound," a spokesperson wrote on the zoo's Facebook page.
"She was located very late last evening and is now resting." The
panda has never been out of captivity prior to this past week's shenanigans.
Masala escaped from
her enclosure at the Sequoia Park Zoo on Thursday and was subsequently spotted
wandering around the nearby neighborhoods. Cal Fire, zoo staff and community
members had been on the l
Mystery on How Penguins Stay Ice-Free Solved
The temperature in
Antarctica can nosedive to -135.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and yet penguins there
manage not to ice over due to a combination of attributes that make them
“superhydrophobic,” according to new research.
Now that the super
water repelling powers of these sturdy flightless birds have been determined,
the techniques could be used in future to improve the design of airplane wings,
flaps and rudders, which can collect ice and caus
As another head resigns, shifting of mini zoo stalled
With the zoo
director's post being vacant, the shifting of the mini-zoo located adjacent to
VOC Park hits road black again. Though the town planning officer suggests the
sites, it is the zoo director who has to approve it, plan the layout and
monitor the shifting of the animals.
The former zoo
director continued to meet officials and also inspected the land near
Vellingiri Hills in his five-month tenure. "The idea of setting up a zoo
near the hills was rejected after many opposed it. Officials said that it would
be far away from the city and residents would find it difficult to visit it
regularly," said a senior corporation officer.
The corporation land
located near Bharathiar University was also inspected. But it was later
rejected owing to some litigation. "Though that site was perfect to set up
the zoo and was spread across 100 acres, due to the dispute, we have rejected
it," said city corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan.
The zoo is currently
functioning without a valid licence as well. Unless it is certified, the Zoo
Authority of India may ask the city to do away with the sole recre
WHY DID THE HOUSTON ZOO BEND OVER FOR GUN RIGHTS
ADVOCATES?
Since local lawyer
and gun rights advocate T. Edwin Walker successfully had the Houston Zoo's gun
ban removed in September, other gun advocates across Texas are pushing for
similar signs to come down in public spaces ranging from botanical gardens to
nature preserves to police departments.But not everyplace with a sign and a gun
ban is folding before the gun rights crowd as easily as the Houston Zoo did.
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS WILL BE BETTER OFF IN DALLAS ZOO
THAN AFRICA, SAYS DALLAS ZOO
Generally speaking,
zoos are in the business of selling tickets. If they can help conserve and
protect the animals they display along the way, that's nice too, but to exist,
zoos need to put on a show, and that means they need animals to fill what is,
let's be honest, a wildlife jail. But a
joint marketing campaign orchestrated by the Dallas Zoo, two other
American zoos and the African monarchy of Swaziland claims that 18 elephants
living in Africa would actually be better off in the zoos than in their native
habitat.
Dolphin Cove To Retain Identity Under New Mexican
Owner
Chairman and CEO of
Dolphin Cove Stafford Burrowes says the company can now move full steam ahead
with its expansion plans through the backing of the new owners of the water
park, Dolphin Discovery.
The $3.7-billion
takeover through World of Dolphin Inc gives the Mexican company a 58 per cent
stake in Dolphin Cove. Burrowes says that under the deal, he retains ownership
of a tenth of the company and will continue to manage it.
The Jamaican marine
park, which operates four locations on the north coast, has been trying for
near four years to expand regionally, with St Lucia and the Turks and Caicos
Islands (TCI) tapped as new markets. The company bought lands in St Lucia in
2012 and in the TCI a year later, but neither has yet materialised.
At its shareholders'
meeting held earlier this year, Burrowes said the Turks site is the closer of
the two to beginning operations a
Rare stick insect to go international to save its
species
Hundreds of precious
Lord Howe Island stick insect eggs will be sent overseas as part of a captive
breeding program for the critically endangered Australian insect – which until
2001 was thought extinct.
Fire hits Manila Zoo
A FIRE hit the
Manila Zoo on Adriatico Street, Malate, Manila Tuesday night.
According to an
alert by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the fire reached 2nd alarm as of 9:51 p.m.
The fire reportedly
razed a commercial structure inside the zoo.
Okla. zookeeper announces Presidential run
Joe Exotic, is
scheduled to announce Monday that paperwork has been mailed so he can enter the
race for President of the United States.
Exotic, who is also
known as Joe Schreibvogel, owns GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla.
Exotic is making his
presidential announcement in Ohio because wants to address the Ohio people
about their tax money being used in a monopoly pushed through by Governor John
Kasich, and Ohio State Senator Troy Balderson.
Exotic didn't
specify in his press release the details surrounding the monopoly.
Exotic said his
purpose in announcing his run for the presidency was, "to support the
people of Ohio being raid
Wellington Zoo tranquilises a spider monkey by
accident
An unsuspecting
Wellington Zoo spider monkey got hit by a wayward tranquilliser dart as a
guilty gibbon made a getaway.
On Tuesday morning
gibbon Vilson escaped from his enclosure.
Zoo animal care
general manager Mauritz Basson said staff got out the tranquiliser guns and
aimed at Vilson, a well known escape artist.
Shopping centre axes live penguin event after social
media backlash
Touchwood shopping
centre has cancelled a kids' 'Penguin Encounter' event amid a furious backlash
from animal rights campaigners.
The event was
scheduled for December 20 and promised to 'educate and delight children' about
endangered Humboldt penguins.
But Solihull
shopping centre bosses axed it after hundreds campaigned against it.
More than 600 people
signed an online petition over the last 24 hours, demanding the event be
scrapped.
Others took to
Facebook to vent their disapproval.
Derby Animal Rights,
which co-ordinated opposition to the event, said: "As well as welfare
concerns, using wild animals as a form on ‘entertainment’ sends out the wrong
educational messages to the public, in particular children.
"Animals like
penguins do not belong on a High Street in the UK and this event does nothing
to teach about conservation or respect for species and habitats."
One protester wrote
on Faceboo
A strawberry blonde lion
I recently took a
group of American visitors on a trip to Zambia and, on arrival at the camp, I
asked our local guide if he had seen anything interesting recently. He told me
that, amongst other things, there had been some regular sightings of what he called
a white lion.
This was interesting
to me because I was not aw
Drought drives hungry hippos into Colombian town
Biologists in
Colombia say a drought has forced two hippopotamuses into a town in search of
food.
The animals are
descendants of a group imported in the 1980s by the notorious drug baron Pablo
Escobar for his private zoo near the town of Puerto Triunfo in Antioquia
province.
They've been seen
grazing in fields with cattle and wandering through the town near the city of
Medellin.
Local children have
been warned to keep away from the animals.
The biologists say
they are waiting for specialist dart guns to sedate the hippos so they can move
them.
Over the years the
population of hippos at the Escobar ranch, Hacienda Napoles, has increased and
some have escaped.
Escobar smuggled in
elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals for his zoo. Among them were four
hippos - three females and one male.
When the ranch was
confiscated in the ea
Melaka Zoo Is In Upgrades To Increase The Tourist
Arrival - Management Company
The Melaka Zoo and
Night Safari is currently being upgraded in order to attract more visitors,
said KAJ Group of Hospitality Chief Executive Officer Seow Cheng Swee.
He said besides
upgrading the facilities and doing refurbishment work, they were also planning
to bring in new animals to woo more visitors to the zoo.
Speaking to Bernama
here, he said they had brought in the antelope species known as Waterbuck from
South Africa since last September and hoped that the animal will be a new
attraction for the visitors.
Brazillian zoo marks first captive breeding of Alagoas
curassow
A RARE ALAGOAS
curassow (Mitu mitu), which is considered extinct in the wild, has hatched for
the first time in captivity.
Earlier this year,
the Parque das Aves, a Brazilian zoo in Foz do Iguaçu, received 10 adult
Alagoas curassows as part of a worldwide conservation effort to breed and
reintroduce this species back into the wild.
One chick hatched on
October 26, and it is believed to be the first of its species to hatch in
captivity in the world – sparking hope for the species’ future.
During the hatching
process, staff at the zoo kept the public up to date with developments via
regular Facebook updates.
One post read: “We
share with you the whole process of the first Alagoas curassow chick’s birth.
It was a difficult process and we had to help because he was weak and couldn’t
hatch alone.
“With a lot of
caution veterinarian Dr Lorenzo, a consultant specialist in endangered birds,
based in Italy, opened the egg a little. The chick looked good
Critically-endangered gorilla born in London Zoo
A new baby is always
a cause for excitement - and even more so when the baby is a critically
endangered species.
Keepers at London
zoo are celebrating the healthy birth of a baby male western lowland gorilla to
22-year-old mother Effie.
Her young has not
yet been named.
Surabaya Zoo struggles to revive after protracted
disputes
After an era of
managerial conflict, the Surabaya Zoo (KBS) in East Java has started to show
some improvement in its maintenance of animal welfare, local residents and
regular visitors have said.
Elita Novriana, 29,
a Surabaya resident, said she was happy that the zoo’s environment looked much
better today compared to last year.
“I rarely find
scattered garbage. The water ditches in the animal cages also look clear and
the cages are in good condition,” Elita told The Jakarta Post after visiting
the zoo with her family on Friday.
Haryaningsih, a
teacher at a local junior high school, shared a similar observation.
Haryaningsih also
expressed hope that KBS would continue to improve its facilities so that the
zoo could become a high-quality and affordable educational venue for students.
KBS’ supervisory
board chief Heri Purwanto said the zoo mainly relied on support from the city’s
budget and CSR funds from private companies to help cover its annual
operational deficit, which stands at around Rp 5 billion (US$363,500).
The zoo management,
according to Heri, will nonetheless prioritize its operational budget to
maintain good animal welfare standards and improve facilities for visitors.
“For example, we are
currently building water sanitation and waste treatment facilities that we
expect to complete within two or three years,” he said on Saturday.
Established in 1916
in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya, the 15-hectare KBS is one of
the country’s largest and oldest zoos.
Located in
Surabaya’s downtown district, the zoo offers visitors the chance to escape to a
forest-like environment, a welcome distraction from a cityscape typically
defined by malls, apartments and skyscrapers.
With entry tickets
at Rp 15,000 per person, the venue has become a favored destination for people
in Surabaya and in neighboring regions.
In the last few
years, KBS, however, has struggled with management tensions, allegedly
resulting in the death of many of its animals.
The zoo gained local
and international public attention in 2012 following the death of many of the
animals in its collection. In one example, up to 20 kilograms of plastic was
found in the stomach of a giraffe named Kliwon, who had died in his stall.
In response to the
problem, an online petition calling for the zoo’s closure was soon initiated
and obtained
Russian Mega Resort Tigre de Cristal Faces Backlash
Over Heavily Drugged Tiger Cub
Tigre de Cristal,
the first Las Vegas-style casino to open in Russia’s Primorsky Krai special
economic zone, was packed to the rafters on the opening night of its soft
launch last month.
Dignitaries mingled
with Russian celebs and journalists from Moscow, all of whom had come to feast
their eyes on the opulence of Lawrence Ho’s $900 million resort on the
country’s south east coast, close to the border with China and North Korea.
But an outcry has
erupted in the region’s local press over one of the “acts” that night, a
Siberian tiger cub called “Crystal” that was paraded around the casino under
Tiger seriously injures boy, 3, at Ħal-Farrug zoo
A three-year-old boy suffered serious injuries
when a tiger lashed out at him at an illegal zoo in Ħal-Farrug this afternoon.
The police said the
tiger was on a leash and accompanied by two handlers when it lashed out at the
boy at the Montekristo animal park. The boy was with by a 56-year-old man from
Zabbar who did his utmost to keep the tiger away from the boy. The incident took
place between the cafeteria and the carousel at 4.30pm.
He was rushed to
hospital in an ambulance where he was found to be suffering serious injuries
but was not in critical condition.
A hospital source
said the boy suffered lacerations to his face and head and will undergo
emergency intervention in the coming
Best we address animal welfare issues, not foreigners
SAHABAT ALAM
MALAYSIA (SAM) is astonished to read news reports of an inked agreement between
Japan's Ambassador to Malaysia, the Natural Resources and Environment (NRE)
minister, and the director-general of the Wildlife Department (Perhilitan), to
send a pair of Malayan tapirs to Japan as part of a conservation research
programme. SAM is keen to know the rationale behind this move as, unlike
Sumatran rhinos, tapirs are known to have been bred successfully at the Sungai
Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre. How, and in what way, will tapirs benefit
from this so-called conservation research programme? Since they are the subject
of a research programme, is the Nagasaki Bio-Park assigned to establish the
main threats faced, and what actions need to be taken to ensure their survival?
It would be of great interest to know the conservation action plans outlined by
the Japanese Bio-Park and identify the key agencies carrying out those actions.
Our tapirs are usually victims of vehicular accidents, when they attempt to
cross roads that bisect their forested homes. They are also victims of snares
set up for other animals like wild boars, tigers and deer. The No. 1 threat to
their existence is the loss of habitat, as forests are exploited and fragmented
into isolat
Chennai zoo gets 4 new tiger cubs, count now 28
Vandalur zoo has got
another quartet of heterozygous cubs, the result of a union between tiger Vijay
and white tigress Namratha, and now has 13 heterozygous tigers.
The two males and
two females born on October 16 are yet to be released into the exhibit area for
the benefit of visitors. Zoo managers plan to show the cubs to visitors using a
closed circuit television camera.
When a pair of white
tigers mate, zoo director K S S V P Reddy said, their offspring will be normal
white tiger cubs but those born to a white tigress and a normal (orange) tiger
will be normal tiger cubs and called heterozygous. Such breeding in captivity
is increasingly being preferred because the cubs get all the positive qualities
from their parents. "They are healthier and stronger than their normal
cousins," Reddy said.
Research has showed
that white tigers develop problems such as shortened lifespan and are more
vulnerable to catching infections and the females suffer from infertility and
non-lactation. It is to avoid such health problems that zoos prefer to allow a
normal male tiger and a white tigress to mate, he said.
The cubs born on
October 16 are the fourth set of heterozygous cubs born in captivity. The first
set of three cubs were born to Akanksha and Vijay and were named Vidhya, Arthi
and Nethra. The second set of two male cubs, born to Namratha and Vijay, were christened
Karna and Adithya. The third set of four cubs, born to Akanksha and Vijay, were
named Anitha, Preetha, Sunitha and San
Over half of world's primates on brink of extinction:
experts
More than half the
world's primates, including apes, lemurs and monkeys, are facing extinction,
international experts warned Tuesday, as they called for urgent action to
protect mankind's closest living relatives.
The population
crunch is the result of large-scale habitat destruction -- particularly the
burning and clearing of tropical forests -- as well as the hunting of primates
for food and the illegal wildlife trade.
Species long-known
to be at risk, including the Sumatran orangutan, have been joined on the most
endangered list for the first time by the Philippine tarsier and the Lavasoa
Mountains dwarf lemur from Madagascar, scientists meeting in Singapore said.
"This research
highlights the extent of the danger facing many of the world's primates,"
leading primatologist Christoph Schwitzer, director of conservation at Bristol
Zoological Society in Britain, said in a statement.
"We hope it
will focus people's attention on these lesser known primate species, some of
which most people will probably have never he
Why I Can't Complain About Cold Weather Anymore
In my hemisphere,
it's getting cold, and that spells out woe for marine mammal trainers. Yes, even in Florida. And if you're someone shaking your head at me
because you're "from the North" and it "doesn't get cold"
in Florida, I invite you to hang out in a wet wetsuit in 30 degree weather for
8 hours.
Rare White Lion Cubs at the Toronto Zoo
Toronto Zoo white
lion cubs born through the night of September 26-27, 2015 are now 8 weeks old,
and they are all male! All four cubs are doing well, and continue to live in
the maternity den with mom, Makali, not visible by public.The four male cubs
were born to white lion mother Makali. Doctors said their first 30 days of life
would be crucial, and they ar
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New Meetings and Conferences updated Here
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New Meetings and Conferences updated Here
Zoo Conferences, Meetings, Courses and Symposia
If you have anything to add then please email me at elvinhow@gmail.com
I will include it when I get a minute. You know it makes sense.
Recent Zoo Vacancies
Zoo Jobs
Vacancies in Zoos and Aquariums and Wildlife/Conservation facilities around the World
*****
About me
After more than 47
years working in private, commercial and National zoos in the capacity of
keeper, head keeper and curator Peter Dickinson started to travel. He sold
house and all his possessions and hit the road. He has traveled extensively in
Turkey, Southern India and much of South East Asia before settling in Thailand.
In his travels he has visited well over 200 zoos and writes about these in his
blog http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/
or on Hubpages http://hubpages.com/profile/Peter+Dickinson
Peter earns his
living as an international independent zoo consultant, critic and writer.
Currently working as Curator of Penguins in Ski Dubai. United Arab Emirates. He
describes himself as an itinerant zoo keeper, a dreamer, a traveller, a people
watcher, a lover, a thinker, a cosmopolitan, a writer, a hedonist, an explorer,
a pantheist, a gastronome, sometime fool, a good friend to some and a pain in
the butt to others.
Follow me on
(Click on Follow at
the top of the Hubpage)
Read
Peter Dickinson
Contact email -
elvinhow@gmail.com
Dubai: ++ 971 (0)50
4787 122
Skype:
peter.dickinson48
Mailing address:
(not where I live...currently in Dubai)
2 Highgate
Dolwen
Abergele
Conwy
North Wales
LL22 8NP
United Kingdom
"These are the best days of my life"
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