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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The way to a penguin’s heart...a pebble?
The way to a penguin’s heart...a pebble?
The mating season for Edinburgh Zoo’s gentoo penguins is well underway offering visitors the chance to see their unique courtship displays and amusing antics all beamed live online on the webcam.
During the mating season large doughnut-shaped nesting rings and pebbles are placed in the enclosures by keepers for the gentoo penguins. The female sits on a nesting ring while the males sift through the pebbles looking for the smoothest pebble to present to their chosen female. Once a pebble has been selected, the male penguins present it as a love token to the chosen female and if she takes the pebble and places it on her nest then she has accepted that penguin as her mate.
But fear of rejection is not the only concern that the males have. Other males in the group often suffer from ‘pebble envy’ and will attempt to steal the best looking pebbles from other nests to take to their own female.
Roslin Talbot, Head Keeper at Edinburgh Zoo said:
“Penguins are one of the visitors’ favourite animals in the Zoo and this time of year is always a good time to see them as there is lots of activity going on. Pebble envy is natural gentoo behaviour but as males compete for their female’s affections then we do witness lots of pebble motivated squabbles.”
Easily recognised by the wide white-stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and a bright orange beak, gentoo penguins are the fastest underwater swimming bird. Two eggs are usually laid inside this circle. Both parents tend to the eggs. The resulting chicks will begin to hatch in May and the keepers hope the breeding success of recent years will continue.
In recent months, staff have also confirmed that the king penguin chick born in October 2009, the first for over five years, is a male. Confirmation was received after a blood sample was taken. The chick remains easy for visitors to spot as it’s covered in fluffy grey feathers. These will remain until it’s around 10 months old.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Mass animal grave found at China zoo
Mass animal grave found at China zoo
BEIJING — A mass grave of animals that died of illness and malnutrition has been found at a zoo in China, state media said Tuesday, again throwing the spotlight on poor conditions at the nation's wildlife parks.
The discovery in the northeastern city of Harbin comes just weeks after authorities in Shenyang, also in the northeast, said they were investigating a zoo where three dozen animals had died, amid allegations of parts harvesting.
Workers at the Harbin Northern Forest Zoo dug the three-metre (10-feet) deep pit last year to bury the dead animals, including lions, tigers and leopards, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
It was unclear exactly how many had died and over what period, but the report said the pit was believed to contain 30 to 40 carcasses.
Quoting statistics divulged by frustrated employees, the report added that in the first half of 2008, 14 animals -- including endangered white tigers and white lions -- had died from malnutrition.
Zhang Xinru, the deputy head of the feeding department at the zoo, told Xinhua the establishment had decided to make changes to the animals' food regimes in 2007 to save money.
Lions and tigers were fed chicken meat and bones to partly replace beef and lamb, and some keepers even gave their lions corn buns instead of meat, the report said.
When zoo officials realised the animals were dying, they changed the feeding pattern again but animals were still suffering from malnutrition, it added.
A zoo spokeswoman, who refused to be named, denied the report, saying the animals had died under normal circumstances of old age or illness. She refused to comment further.
China has more than 200 zoos, according to the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens. But only large zoos in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai receive government funding and attention, state media say.
The report quoted Zou Ximing, deputy head of the Harbin zoo, as saying workers were doing their utmost to guarantee the animals' health.
He added the zoo was suffering from lack of funds, and it had dug the pit -- which they were regularly disinfecting -- because they had no money to build an incinerator.
The zoo in Shenyang was closed earlier this month following the deaths of 13 endangered Siberian tigers, as reports surfaced that the dead animals may have been used to produce tiger-bone liquor, seen as a tonic to boost virility.
Tiger parts, such as penises and bones, have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to increase sexual potency or treat certain illnesses.
China banned all trade in tiger bones and related products in 1993, and is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which also bars such sales. (AFP)
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Bali Starling – brought back from the edge of extinction
The Bali Starling – brought back from the edge of extinction - A project worth supporting
A bird on the edge of extinction? Many species are currently in this dangerous position, and our attitude towards this planet brings rare animals and birds closer to this edge daily. According to the latest update in May 2009 of the IUCN Red List, the bird portion of which is BirdLife International’s domain, 12% of known bird species are threatened; and nine new species are listed as critically endangered.
When the IUCN considers a species as threatened with extinction, it further breaks those down as vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered and extinct in the wild. Of the 1,227 species considered threatened, 669 are considered vulnerable, 362 endangered, 192 critically endangered, and 4 extinct in the wild. An additional 838 species are considered near threatened, giving a total of 2,065 species in need of conservation action.
There have been a total of 133 extinctions of documented bird species since 1500, 18 of which have occurred in the last 25 years of the 20th century. Three species have become extinct in the wild in the past nine years, according to BirdLife International.
The United Nations has declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world has been invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth, its biodiversity.
Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate. These losses are irreversible, leaving the Earth poorer and damaging the life support systems we rely on everyday. However, the extinction of the Bali Starling is something that we have within our power to prevent here in Bali.
In 1999, Bradley and Debbie Gardner, the creative forces behind the world-renowned Begawan Giri Estate on the Indonesian island of Bali, set out to breed the Bali Starling with a privately funded captive breeding programme. The Bali Starling had been registered as an endangered bird species by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in 1970. The bird that had lived in its small corner of Bali for a long time, in modern times was becoming increasingly rare in the wild – and now teetered on the edge of extinction.
Chosen as a symbol of Bali, the Bali Starling’s unfortunate decline seems to reflect the attitude towards the environment of this beautiful island. If we in Bali care about Bali, we must care about its symbol. If we here ensure its survival, we ensure the enduring beauty of its habitat, Bali.
The Bali Starling is a beautiful friendly bird. Preening its head feathers to attract its lifelong mate, and finding its food in the dry grassland forests, it breeds in hollow trees or holes eaten in coconuts.
With its white body, brilliant blue framed eyes, and a touch of black at its wingtips and tail feathers, its beauty has turned out to be a cause of its potential demise. Local and overseas demand led to a drastic decrease in its numbers, and at one point, there were thought to be only 16 birds left living in the wild. Their rarity and beauty made the Bali Starling desired by collectors, their trust made them easily collected.
During the 1960s and 1970s several hundred birds were legally exported to the United States and Europe, to both zoos and private collectors. They and their descendents, perhaps as many as a thousand birds, still live in captivity around the world, unfortunately many of them kept as single individuals. The pressure of man’s expansion has also reduced the area of land available to the Bali Starling.
The Gardners brought four birds back ‘home’ to Bali from the UK in June 1999, their aim to ensure that these birds would breed on their own island, to be released once numbers were high enough.
By 2001, with the establishment of Begawan Foundation, the number of birds had risen to thirty six and a section of the open area at Begawan Giri Estate was filled with carefully designed aviaries, enabling guests to see these endangered birds, and giving the Bali Starlings a safe place in which to breed. The Foundation adopted a professional approach to the project, employing Bali’s leading avian veterinarian, Drh I. G. N. Bayu Wirayudha, to supervise the programme; and the excellent facilities it provided also undoubtedly contributed to its overall success.
By 2005, with a total of 97 birds successfully raised, most of the birds, along with their cages, were moved from the Estate to a newly established bird sanctuary, set up in 2004 by Bayu, who established Friends of National Parks Foundation (FNPF) on Nusa Penida, a small island south of mainland Bali.
Bayu had already begun to prepare for the arrival of the birds and the release of the first batch of them on Nusa Penida a year earlier. One of his most important tasks was to educate local villagers about the importance of their survival. A campaign to communicate with villages within a radius of 2km of the soft release site commenced with a meeting with the most influential village representatives in the community, such as the village leaders and the youth organization leaders.
One of the main factors to be considered when choosing a release site is security, the major cause of bird extinction in Bali. In April 2006, as a result of being approached by FNPF over a period of two years, the Nusa Penida traditional council, which represented 35 villages, unanimously agreed to protect all the birds on the island by passing a local traditional law (Hukum Adat) to protect them. Anyone caught harming them would face both fines and ostracism by the community.
Meanwhile, the birds being prepared for release demonstrated excellent flying skills. Unpeeled and uncut fruit was placed in different areas of their socialisation cage daily. They were also able to supplement their diet by catching insects that were attracted into the cage by a small light. Sprinklers placed on top of the cage dripped water onto leaves inside, and the birds became accustomed to drinking it in order to maximise their water intake at certain times when they were not given any water. They also learned how to get moisture from watery foods and trees, such as the banana palm, and how to find water in holes in trees and from items such as old shells on the ground. To help them identify potential predators, the birds were threatened with large artificial birds, fake snakes, and human beings who were not their keepers.
Finally, on July 10th, 2006, 25 micro-chipped birds were released into the wild during a ceremony that involved local villagers, temples and provincial and local government officials. Microchips were supplied by Theo Pagel, Director of the Cologne Zoo in Germany.
Within two weeks of their release, several birds had paired up and were observed bringing nesting materials to a variety of local trees, ficus, sugar palms and coconuts. Their first eggs had hatched by September 10th, and on September 28th, three birds instead of two were observed on the nesting tree. The first Begawan Foundation Bali Starlings to be released into the wild had started a family!
Twelve more birds were released on December 12th, 2006, and this flock was soon joined by two young birds that were the offspring of birds from the first release. On April 28th, 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia and First Lady Kristiani Herawati released a further 12 birds when they visited Nusa Penida to celebrate the launch of a ferry service to mainland Bali.
Further official recognition of the programme came during a visit to Nusa Penida on August 25th by the Indonesian Forestry Minister M. S. Kaban and Dr Ir Tonny Suhartono, the Director General for Forestry Preservation and Nature Conservation, who officially announced that the island was a suitable site for further Bali Starling releases.
The Bali Starling Conservation Project entered its fourth year on Nusa Penida at the beginning of 2009 and has been well-received by the islanders. The birds originally released in just three sites, have spread far and wide around the island. A total of 58 birds have been released from the captive breeding cages, and are known to have survived.
With fourteen chicks known to have hatched in the wild in 2009, the total number of Bali Starling chicks hatched by the end of the year, since the inception of the release programme in 2006, is 70.
The success of Begawan Foundation’s Bali Starling Conservation Project clearly demonstrates that it is possible for a private organisation to establish the nucleus of Bali’s own reintroduction programme. A sustainable flock seems to be in place, thus the decision to move all the caged birds, 38 in total back to mainland Bali, to a new site offered to the Foundation by Green School, near Ubud, in order to set up a new captive breeding and release program.
Green School has been chosen because of its mission to educate a generation of global citizens who are knowledgeable about and inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world. Striving to have the lowest carbon footprint of any international school worldwide, through use of bamboo and rammed earth for its buildings, growing its own food in its gardens, and with plans to generate its own power from the river, this seems to be a most suitable venue for Begawan Foundation to continue its quest to ensure the survival of one of the world’s most endangered birds. With old cages dismantled, and new cages erected, the Bali Starlings will be brought back to the mainland across the Bali Straits on the ferry.
There is the opportunity at Green School to grow the food – the vegetables, the fruit, the mealworms and the crickets – right on site, so there is no reliance on the vagaries of suppliers.
An agreement was finalised in 2009 with Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, who will be sending birds to Bali in 2010 in order to increase the variety of bloodlines, is in addition to a previous agreement with Cologne Zoo in Germany, currently breeding 20 birds along with fellow European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) partners to send across to Bali. It is a new beginning and an exciting new venture!
The Foundation continues to monitor and observe the birds in the wild, tracking where the birds nest and breed, ensuring that each bird released or born is followed throughout its life. This important role ensures that any future releases will be made with planned knowledge of how the bird survives in the wild, what food is required, and how it breeds.
The Foundation would like your assistance to ensure that the Bali Starling population continues to increase. Currently, three different year-long adoption packages have been set up, ranging from a single young bird (USD 550) to a proven pair (USD 3,500). There are seven proven pairs, mated for life and already producing young, with another seven pairs, some recently mated, who have yet to produce young.
These packages offer the chance to adopt a either a single young bird, who will live in the socialisation cage where it will find a mate for life, or a pair of Bali Starlings, who will remain on the Green School site, breeding young to be trained in readiness for future release.
Begawan Foundation would appreciate hearing from anyone who would like to adopt a bird, to make a donation to assist in monitoring the future of the Bali Starling on Nusa Penida, or to assist in the costs relating to further breeding at Green School. As the population of the breeding birds grows, further cages will be required, socialization cages will be set up and prior to release, a training cage will be built where the birds learn to take the responsibility for finding food, water and shelter. Staff will also prepare food, and feed the birds twice a day, as well as assist in the future release training programs. Just contact me directly on adoption@begawanfoundation.org or Carolyn@begawanfoundation.org and I will get back to you.
The Elephant in the Living Room
Movie trailer for what appears may an interesting view:
"An award winning documentary film about the controversial world of exotic animal ownership within the suburbs of the United States. THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM offers an unprecedented glimpse into the fascinating subculture of raising the most deadly and exotic animals in the world as common household pets."
"An award winning documentary film about the controversial world of exotic animal ownership within the suburbs of the United States. THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM offers an unprecedented glimpse into the fascinating subculture of raising the most deadly and exotic animals in the world as common household pets."
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Man Killed by Elephant in Mumbai Zoo
Today, Sunday 28th March 2010 an unidentified man in his mid twenties was killed by an elephant in the Byculla Zoo in South Mumbai.
Witnesses said he entered the enclosure by climbing over on e of the rear walls and began to try and attract the attention of the elephants. The two animals in the enclosure 'Laxmi' and 'Anarkali' were quickly alerted.
The young man was attacked and seriously injured. Though quickly removed and rushed to hospital he was declared dead on arrival due to severe head trauma.
Up to now the identity of the man has not been determined.
Witnesses said he entered the enclosure by climbing over on e of the rear walls and began to try and attract the attention of the elephants. The two animals in the enclosure 'Laxmi' and 'Anarkali' were quickly alerted.
The young man was attacked and seriously injured. Though quickly removed and rushed to hospital he was declared dead on arrival due to severe head trauma.
Up to now the identity of the man has not been determined.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Zoo News Digest 25th - 27th March 2010 (Zoo News 660)
Dear Colleagues,
I am once again swamped by little projects I must be getting on with along with an unexpected visitor so I though I best put this out today instead of tomorrow. Several interesting links. Enjoy.
My flirtation with the National Health service continues. After being first seen by a doctor on the 7th December I am now scheduled for my next hospital appointment on the 9th April and still no wiser as to what is or is not wrong with me. If I wasn't ill in the beginning then I am starting to come down with a nasty case of 'pissedoffisness' now. It is a worry.
I am very grateful for the three donations to Zoo News Digest these past ten days. They really do help. Thank you.
Looking for a job? Several new vacancies posted in recent days.
http://zoowork.blogspot.com/
I am once again swamped by little projects I must be getting on with along with an unexpected visitor so I though I best put this out today instead of tomorrow. Several interesting links. Enjoy.
My flirtation with the National Health service continues. After being first seen by a doctor on the 7th December I am now scheduled for my next hospital appointment on the 9th April and still no wiser as to what is or is not wrong with me. If I wasn't ill in the beginning then I am starting to come down with a nasty case of 'pissedoffisness' now. It is a worry.
I am very grateful for the three donations to Zoo News Digest these past ten days. They really do help. Thank you.
Looking for a job? Several new vacancies posted in recent days.
http://zoowork.blogspot.com/
Please post in comments below if you feel so inclined.
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On with links:
Monterey Aquarium: Pink alert on global warming
When people think about pink flamingos, they might think about kitschy lamps, hideous lawn ornaments, a John Waters movie or "Miami Vice." They probably do not think about the world's changing climate.
Its impact on these tropical wading birds and other creatures, however, is the focus of a new exhibition at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea" also features green sea turtles, Magellanic penguins, a coral reef, spotted jellies, scarlet and white ibises, roseate spoonbills and cattle egrets - current or potential casualties of the global climate crisis.
"This is certainly a different sort of topic for us," said Jeff Doyle, exhibition and graphic production manager at the aquarium. "Theme-wise, it's a little deeper. It's not so straightforward as 'here are some fish in a tank,' and it's a challenge to find ways to present it."
Faced with an issue that is significant but soporific, urgent but mind-numbing in its complexities, the creators of the exhibition knew they had to make it fun and engaging. One answer: a flatulent plastic cow that wears a gas mask to avoid smelling the methane it produces - with full sound effects - when it belches, breaks wind or evacuates. Although methane is a climate-changing gas, it also can be used to produce biomass energy. Still, it's not a good thing on the whole, and the fiberglass ruminant makes that clear.
"Buurp! I can't believe I'm saying this, but what the world needs now is less methane - and that means fewer cows," it declares. Nearby, a woman in a 1950s-style poster asks, "Is my cheeseburger causing global warming?"
"It was hard to come up with visuals," said Chuck Saltsman, the aquarium's film and video production manager. "Sea horses are so easy, and jellies are a no-brainer. But this is a message exhibit, and you want to approach it in an original fashion."
A sense of lightness helps offset the heavy subject matter, said senior exhibit developer Jenny Sayre Ramberg.
"You could fill a whole gallery with the scientific papers and survey data that we looked at," Ramberg said. "Most people are not aware of the connection between climate change and the oceans. They think about land-based impacts, about Hurricane Katrina and the Arctic and polar bears."
Planned for 2 years
The 7,000-square-foot exhibition cost $3.5 million and required two years of planning and six months of construction, which wrapped up just before the preview for donors on Thursday. Running until late 2012, "Hot Pink Flamingos" takes visitors through six galleries to illustrate how humans' use of fossil fuels creates carbon pollution that dramatically affects the oceans.
"We usually come up with the animals first and develop the stories later," said David Cripe, the aquarium's special exhibits coordinator. "This time was the reverse. And we had to find animals that were impacted, and iconic enough for people to care about. Not a tiny crab where someone could say, 'So what?' This is the most taxonomically diverse exhibit we've ever done. We go from corals and jellies to reptiles and several different groups of birds."
The six Chilean flamingos came from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Shy and skittish animals that will never be mistaken for rocket scientists, they honked loudly and clustered in a holding area when The Chronicle visited two weeks before opening day. They would soon be entering their new habitat, a mangrove mudflat designed to avoid drop-offs and trip hazards, lest the stars of the show plunge off the deep end or stumble over some object they might fail to notice.
"These are very long-legged birds that have very small brains," Cripe said. "And they are sort of clumsy and bumbling."
Inside a building in the nearby town of Marina, the flamingos' future housemates zipped back and forth in the air and strutted around on the ground.
Aimee Greenebaum, associate curator of birds, said the spoonbills are highly social and curious, and love to play with people's shoes and swish their beaks through the water. Their companions, by contrast, are a little more cautious. The cattle egrets gobble up insects, the ibises poke around and investigate, and the lone bittern is roadrun
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/26/PKBH1CHUOF.DTL
Two Kruger Park rhino poachers to serve 10 years behind bars
Two rhino poachers, Joao Mdlovu and Berlito Mdlovu who were arrested on the Nwanetsi section of Kruger National Park in January 2010 for rhino poaching activities were both found guilty for the possession of a illegal firearms namely a G3 fully automatic fire arm and a .375 hunting rifle.
Both accused offered a plea of guilty in the Nelspruit Regional Court for the possession of the illegal weapons. They were both sentenced to 10 years imprisonment without the option of a fine on Tuesday, 23rd March 2010.
Joao Mdlovu is still undergoing court proceedings, together with Phanuel Mnisi, for the illegal hunting of rhino in the KNP in 2009.
Dr David Mabunda, Chief Executive of South African National Parks said: “SANParks is leading the way against rhino poaching and has been mandated by the Minister of Environment to co-ordinate other conservation agencies
http://www.travelwires.com/wp/2010/03/two-kruger-park-rhino-poachers-to-serve-10-years-behind-bars/
Kenya Wildlife Service Set for Rhino Census in Tsavo Sanctuary
The Kenya Wildlife Service plans to conduct a census at the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in the vast Tsavo West National. The count, to be carried out between July and October, aims to ascertain the numbers and distribution of the rhino population.The number of black rhinos at the sanctuary has been steadily rising since 1992 when the first count was conducted. At that time, the area had an estimated number of 17 black rhinos. However, during last year’s count the number had risen to 60. This accounts to nearly 10 per cent of the total black rhino population in the country. Currently, there are around 610 black and about 320 white rhinos in Kenya. Despite the devastating drought that hit the country for the better part of last year, no single rhino death was reported at the sanctuary. Mr Benson Okita, the KWS Senior Scientist in charge of the Rhino Programme, predicts a slight delay in birth numbers attributed to the prolonged drought. “However, we still expect this year round the numbers to go up again,” he says. Massive conservation efforts by the KWS and other wildlife stakeholders are finally starting to give results as black rhino numbers are on the rise after years of decline from poaching and habitat loss.
The dry months of July through to October are selected as this is the time that all the natural watering points dry up, leaving only the artificial water holes that the rhinos can drink from. The exercise is carried out at night during clear full moon sightings when the rhinos
http://www.kws.org/info/news/2010/26march10.html
Wild Mammals in Captivity, the first handbook of its kind, focuses on new approaches to the management of wild animals in captivity. In one comprehensive volume, the editors have gathered the most current information from field and captive studies of animal behavior, advances in captive breeding, research in physiology, genetics, and nutrition, and new thinking in animal management and welfare. Featuring contributions from dozens of internationally renowned experts, this book is a professional reference of immense practical value, surveying every significant scientific, technical, and management issue. This extraordinary book is an essential resource for administrators, keepers, veterinarians, and everyone who works directly with mammals or is concerned generally with their management and conservation.
"This is the only up-to-date and comprehensive manual on the problems of and the solutions to keeping and handling wild mammals outside their natural environment. . . . [A] magnificent manual."—Harry Miller, Times Higher Education Supplement
Toronto Zoo elephant program draws criticism
The Toronto Zoo is facing heavy criticism for the December death of matriarch elephant Tara, the fourth elephant fatality in four years.
In Defense of Animals, a California-based watchdog, recently rated the Toronto Zoo number two among the Top Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America.
The Toronto Zoo made the Top Ten list because of “deadly” conditions for these animals, including the lack of space and cold climate that has produced four death, the group said.
“This is the highest mortality rate for any zoo in North America in the last four years,” said Catherine Doyle, elephant campaigner for the group.
Meanwhile, an elephant expert from Sweden, Dr. Joyce Poole, is urging city council to shut down the elephant program entirely.
In a letter sent on behalf of the group Elephant Voices, Poole pressed council to send the three remaining elephants to a sanctuary, arguing Toronto is no place for elephants.
But some say the hostility toward the zoo is unwarranted. Ward 38 councillor
http://www.torontoobserver.ca/2010/02/19/toronto-zoo-elephant-program-draws-criticism/
22 citations issued; zoo animals seized
Collins Zoo volunteer Dionne Dufour seemed a bit anxious as she led a group of media around the zoo grounds.
But she continued to speak in a loving voice about the variety of animals in cages scattered throughout the fenced enclosure.
"He is not usually like this," Dufour said as she watched Brother, a large tiger, growl and charge at the front of his cage.
"He's just been aggravated with all of the people who have been in here this morning and the bad energy and stuff," said Dufour, a Collins Zoo volunteer of several years.
The negative energy Dufour spoke of was the result of a surprise investigation by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks on Wednesday morning.
About 20 state wildlife agents swarmed upon the zoo and seized several
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20100325/NEWS01/3250358
Brentford's Tropical Zoo faces race against clock
THE OWNER of a zoo in Brentford has just two months to raise £300,000 or some of his animals will face "euthanasia".
The lives of hundreds of creatures at The Tropical Zoo hang in the balance as fund-raising chiefs work to gather a cool £1.5 million to see the attraction moved to another place.
Co-founder Tony Purdy said his zoo has been forced out of the Syon Park site to make way for a new hotel. He told The Chronicle: "All the animals here have been rescued and came to us because nobody wants them, it's going to be very difficult for us to find homes for the animals.
"Euthanasia might be the only option for a number of the animals here. It is difficult and expensive to move some of them so we could have a problem that way. I don't want to look at it like that though, I want to keep looking at the positive side."
Despite being found a new site to occupy by the London Borough of Hounslow, time is running out for the organisation to gather the much needed funds. It has been
http://www.hounslowchronicle.co.uk/west-london-news/local-hounslow-news/2010/03/24/brentford-s-tropical-zoo-faces-race-against-clock-109642-26102096/
Secret of Assam Zoo's turnaround success
The Assam State Zoo with its whopping 1200 odd animal species, including rare ones such as emus and black panthers, has over the years become a tourist favourite while also witnessing manifold increase in revenues.
From a humble start in 1957, the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Gardens (ASZBG), located in the heart of Guwahati has crossed many hurdles from being one of the worst managed zoos with a serious fund crunch to one that can boast of a series of successes in breeding rare and endangered animals.
In year 2009-10 the zoo's earnings rose to a record Rs 60 lakh as over 5,24,598 Indian tourists and 166 foreigners visited the
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580350_Secret-of-Assam-Zoo-s-turnaround-success
Univ. of California, Davis. Features extensive tables, continent-specific division of amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals arranged by order, family, and genus. Topics include conservation efforts, diseases in free-ranging populations, and management of animals maintained in captivity. Includes an appendix on drug dosages used in avian medicine. Abundant halftone illustrations.
KL's great apes: Creating an orang utan sanctuary in the city
Submitted by pekwan on Friday, March 26th, 2010
ape sanctuaryDatuk Seri Douglas Uggah EmbasLocalMinister of Natural Resources and Environment
Government ended weeks of speculation on such a move
The government ended weeks of speculation on the setting up of an ape sanctuary in the city, by confirming that plans are afoot.
“Yes, it will be one-of-its-kind in the region and a semi-artificially created centre for the great apes, or orang utan,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, in a phone interview with The Malay Mail.
He said a committee had been set up to carry out a feasibility study and it will take some time as there are many factors to take into account.
“I don’t want to set a time-frame as we have to give the committee the leverage to come up with the best solution,” said Douglas.
“We want to be absolutely sure the orang utan can survive and breed in an artificially-created sanctuary.”
Asked if it would be set up in Kepong at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), as speculated by the media, he said the ministry was looking for a more suitable place.
“Kepong is too close to the city to be an ape sanctuary, really. Besides, FRIM is about forests and plants and not animals.
"Nevertheless, the location will be near the city so as to attract tourists but conducive and protective enough as a sanctuary for apes," he added.
On whether it would be similar to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, which is just 20km from Kuching or the Sepilok orang utan sanctuary near Sandakan in Sabah, Douglas said that in Sabah, there was no threat of tigers to the apes.
“Here in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the sanctuary is going to be different as we have to take into account a lot of factors," he said.
In a recent news report, FRIM director-general Datuk Dr. Abd Latif Mohmod denied a Tourism Ministry statement that the institute had requested the setting up of an orang utan sanctuary.
“Orang utan conservation comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan). We are a forest research centre focusing on flora,” Dr Abd Latif had said.
The Tourism Ministry had recently announced that an orang utan sanctuary in Kuala Lumpur would be a big success and it would leave a lasting impression on visitors, in line with the government’s intention to make eco-tourism a more prominent sector.
Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr. James Dawos Mamit told the Press on Monday
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/31477-kls-great-apes-creating-orang-utan-sanctuary-city
Photos: Tehran Zoo - Interesting!
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/mar/1240.html
Rodeo bull goes head-to-head with zoo dolphins in a study of balance
Now a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has contradicted a leading theory, which held that the animals moved their heads so vigorously that they had to have smaller, less responsive balance organs to avoid overwhelming their senses.
Working with a Midwestern zoo and a local rancher, the researchers, led by Timothy E. Hullar, MD, a Washington University ear, nose and throat specialist at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, directly measured the head movements of dolphins and compared them with those of a closely related land animal — a rodeo bull. Cattle have much larger balance organs than dolphins, yet the tests showed that both species had similar head motions.
The findings will be published in the April issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. Hullar says the results deepen our understanding of the role of balance systems, including those of people.
Much of an animal's or person's balance is controlled by the semicircular canals located in the inner ear. Even though a bottlenose dolphin is about 8 feet long, its semicircular canals are as tiny as those of the average mouse, an animal that could comfortably ride on the tip of the dolphin's nose.
"About 35 million years ago, the ancestors of whales and dolphins went from a terrestrial habitat to an aquatic habitat," says
http://www.physorg.com/news188652423.html
Indonesian zoo welcomes birth of 25 Komodo dragons
An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the births of 25 endangered Komodo dragons, hatched after eight months in incubators.
Veterinarian Rahmat Suharta says the eggs, from three giant female lizards, hatched at the Surabaya Zoo in East Java over the past week.
He said Thursday that the babies, weighing between 2.8 ounces (80 grams) and 4.2 ounces (120 grams), brought to 69 the number of the giant lizards at the zoo, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Eleven more eggs are expected to hatch in coming weeks.
Komodo dragons can be found in the wild primarily
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjVajLnPu7zPHCr2X3DXt2GqkIZAD9ELL6L81
This exceptional coverage is a 'must purchase' for any library serious about primates: over 500 color photos and 16 illustrations are packed into a fine title which illustrates the diversity of primates in a field guide reference. This gorgeous collection is unparalleled and deserves a place in any serious science library. -- Midwest Book Review
Tigers cause a splash in zoo's pool
A 47-stone tiger playing with inflatable toys is a common sight at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, in Camp Verde, Arizona.
For 30 minutes every day a pair of the zoo's six Bengal and Siberian tigers take to the 50 foot pool for fun and games.
Aston Powell, who works with the animals, said the activities bring variation to their lives in captivity.
She said: "It might look crazy from the outside, but these tigers love what they are doing as it comes naturally.
"To be honest if a 47 stone tiger doesn't want to play like this, there's not much we could do to make him.
"Our keepers are very experienced and they have the utmost respect for the power of the big cats and safety is paramount.
"Tiger Splash began in 1993 when the park purchased a SiberianTiger cub, Genesis
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7519830/Tigers-cause-a-splash-in-zoos-pool.html
Okapi, Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Congo
Monterey Aquarium: Pink alert on global warming
When people think about pink flamingos, they might think about kitschy lamps, hideous lawn ornaments, a John Waters movie or "Miami Vice." They probably do not think about the world's changing climate.
Its impact on these tropical wading birds and other creatures, however, is the focus of a new exhibition at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea" also features green sea turtles, Magellanic penguins, a coral reef, spotted jellies, scarlet and white ibises, roseate spoonbills and cattle egrets - current or potential casualties of the global climate crisis.
"This is certainly a different sort of topic for us," said Jeff Doyle, exhibition and graphic production manager at the aquarium. "Theme-wise, it's a little deeper. It's not so straightforward as 'here are some fish in a tank,' and it's a challenge to find ways to present it."
Faced with an issue that is significant but soporific, urgent but mind-numbing in its complexities, the creators of the exhibition knew they had to make it fun and engaging. One answer: a flatulent plastic cow that wears a gas mask to avoid smelling the methane it produces - with full sound effects - when it belches, breaks wind or evacuates. Although methane is a climate-changing gas, it also can be used to produce biomass energy. Still, it's not a good thing on the whole, and the fiberglass ruminant makes that clear.
"Buurp! I can't believe I'm saying this, but what the world needs now is less methane - and that means fewer cows," it declares. Nearby, a woman in a 1950s-style poster asks, "Is my cheeseburger causing global warming?"
"It was hard to come up with visuals," said Chuck Saltsman, the aquarium's film and video production manager. "Sea horses are so easy, and jellies are a no-brainer. But this is a message exhibit, and you want to approach it in an original fashion."
A sense of lightness helps offset the heavy subject matter, said senior exhibit developer Jenny Sayre Ramberg.
"You could fill a whole gallery with the scientific papers and survey data that we looked at," Ramberg said. "Most people are not aware of the connection between climate change and the oceans. They think about land-based impacts, about Hurricane Katrina and the Arctic and polar bears."
Planned for 2 years
The 7,000-square-foot exhibition cost $3.5 million and required two years of planning and six months of construction, which wrapped up just before the preview for donors on Thursday. Running until late 2012, "Hot Pink Flamingos" takes visitors through six galleries to illustrate how humans' use of fossil fuels creates carbon pollution that dramatically affects the oceans.
"We usually come up with the animals first and develop the stories later," said David Cripe, the aquarium's special exhibits coordinator. "This time was the reverse. And we had to find animals that were impacted, and iconic enough for people to care about. Not a tiny crab where someone could say, 'So what?' This is the most taxonomically diverse exhibit we've ever done. We go from corals and jellies to reptiles and several different groups of birds."
The six Chilean flamingos came from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Shy and skittish animals that will never be mistaken for rocket scientists, they honked loudly and clustered in a holding area when The Chronicle visited two weeks before opening day. They would soon be entering their new habitat, a mangrove mudflat designed to avoid drop-offs and trip hazards, lest the stars of the show plunge off the deep end or stumble over some object they might fail to notice.
"These are very long-legged birds that have very small brains," Cripe said. "And they are sort of clumsy and bumbling."
Inside a building in the nearby town of Marina, the flamingos' future housemates zipped back and forth in the air and strutted around on the ground.
Aimee Greenebaum, associate curator of birds, said the spoonbills are highly social and curious, and love to play with people's shoes and swish their beaks through the water. Their companions, by contrast, are a little more cautious. The cattle egrets gobble up insects, the ibises poke around and investigate, and the lone bittern is roadrun
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/26/PKBH1CHUOF.DTL
Two Kruger Park rhino poachers to serve 10 years behind bars
Two rhino poachers, Joao Mdlovu and Berlito Mdlovu who were arrested on the Nwanetsi section of Kruger National Park in January 2010 for rhino poaching activities were both found guilty for the possession of a illegal firearms namely a G3 fully automatic fire arm and a .375 hunting rifle.
Both accused offered a plea of guilty in the Nelspruit Regional Court for the possession of the illegal weapons. They were both sentenced to 10 years imprisonment without the option of a fine on Tuesday, 23rd March 2010.
Joao Mdlovu is still undergoing court proceedings, together with Phanuel Mnisi, for the illegal hunting of rhino in the KNP in 2009.
Dr David Mabunda, Chief Executive of South African National Parks said: “SANParks is leading the way against rhino poaching and has been mandated by the Minister of Environment to co-ordinate other conservation agencies
http://www.travelwires.com/wp/2010/03/two-kruger-park-rhino-poachers-to-serve-10-years-behind-bars/
Kenya Wildlife Service Set for Rhino Census in Tsavo Sanctuary
The Kenya Wildlife Service plans to conduct a census at the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in the vast Tsavo West National. The count, to be carried out between July and October, aims to ascertain the numbers and distribution of the rhino population.The number of black rhinos at the sanctuary has been steadily rising since 1992 when the first count was conducted. At that time, the area had an estimated number of 17 black rhinos. However, during last year’s count the number had risen to 60. This accounts to nearly 10 per cent of the total black rhino population in the country. Currently, there are around 610 black and about 320 white rhinos in Kenya. Despite the devastating drought that hit the country for the better part of last year, no single rhino death was reported at the sanctuary. Mr Benson Okita, the KWS Senior Scientist in charge of the Rhino Programme, predicts a slight delay in birth numbers attributed to the prolonged drought. “However, we still expect this year round the numbers to go up again,” he says. Massive conservation efforts by the KWS and other wildlife stakeholders are finally starting to give results as black rhino numbers are on the rise after years of decline from poaching and habitat loss.
The dry months of July through to October are selected as this is the time that all the natural watering points dry up, leaving only the artificial water holes that the rhinos can drink from. The exercise is carried out at night during clear full moon sightings when the rhinos
http://www.kws.org/info/news/2010/26march10.html
To order click HERE
Product Description
"This is the only up-to-date and comprehensive manual on the problems of and the solutions to keeping and handling wild mammals outside their natural environment. . . . [A] magnificent manual."—Harry Miller, Times Higher Education Supplement
Toronto Zoo elephant program draws criticism
The Toronto Zoo is facing heavy criticism for the December death of matriarch elephant Tara, the fourth elephant fatality in four years.
In Defense of Animals, a California-based watchdog, recently rated the Toronto Zoo number two among the Top Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America.
The Toronto Zoo made the Top Ten list because of “deadly” conditions for these animals, including the lack of space and cold climate that has produced four death, the group said.
“This is the highest mortality rate for any zoo in North America in the last four years,” said Catherine Doyle, elephant campaigner for the group.
Meanwhile, an elephant expert from Sweden, Dr. Joyce Poole, is urging city council to shut down the elephant program entirely.
In a letter sent on behalf of the group Elephant Voices, Poole pressed council to send the three remaining elephants to a sanctuary, arguing Toronto is no place for elephants.
But some say the hostility toward the zoo is unwarranted. Ward 38 councillor
http://www.torontoobserver.ca/2010/02/19/toronto-zoo-elephant-program-draws-criticism/
22 citations issued; zoo animals seized
Collins Zoo volunteer Dionne Dufour seemed a bit anxious as she led a group of media around the zoo grounds.
But she continued to speak in a loving voice about the variety of animals in cages scattered throughout the fenced enclosure.
"He is not usually like this," Dufour said as she watched Brother, a large tiger, growl and charge at the front of his cage.
"He's just been aggravated with all of the people who have been in here this morning and the bad energy and stuff," said Dufour, a Collins Zoo volunteer of several years.
The negative energy Dufour spoke of was the result of a surprise investigation by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks on Wednesday morning.
About 20 state wildlife agents swarmed upon the zoo and seized several
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20100325/NEWS01/3250358
Brentford's Tropical Zoo faces race against clock
THE OWNER of a zoo in Brentford has just two months to raise £300,000 or some of his animals will face "euthanasia".
The lives of hundreds of creatures at The Tropical Zoo hang in the balance as fund-raising chiefs work to gather a cool £1.5 million to see the attraction moved to another place.
Co-founder Tony Purdy said his zoo has been forced out of the Syon Park site to make way for a new hotel. He told The Chronicle: "All the animals here have been rescued and came to us because nobody wants them, it's going to be very difficult for us to find homes for the animals.
"Euthanasia might be the only option for a number of the animals here. It is difficult and expensive to move some of them so we could have a problem that way. I don't want to look at it like that though, I want to keep looking at the positive side."
Despite being found a new site to occupy by the London Borough of Hounslow, time is running out for the organisation to gather the much needed funds. It has been
http://www.hounslowchronicle.co.uk/west-london-news/local-hounslow-news/2010/03/24/brentford-s-tropical-zoo-faces-race-against-clock-109642-26102096/
Secret of Assam Zoo's turnaround success
The Assam State Zoo with its whopping 1200 odd animal species, including rare ones such as emus and black panthers, has over the years become a tourist favourite while also witnessing manifold increase in revenues.
From a humble start in 1957, the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Gardens (ASZBG), located in the heart of Guwahati has crossed many hurdles from being one of the worst managed zoos with a serious fund crunch to one that can boast of a series of successes in breeding rare and endangered animals.
In year 2009-10 the zoo's earnings rose to a record Rs 60 lakh as over 5,24,598 Indian tourists and 166 foreigners visited the
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580350_Secret-of-Assam-Zoo-s-turnaround-success
Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of South American Wild Animals
To order click HERE
Product Description
Univ. of California, Davis. Features extensive tables, continent-specific division of amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals arranged by order, family, and genus. Topics include conservation efforts, diseases in free-ranging populations, and management of animals maintained in captivity. Includes an appendix on drug dosages used in avian medicine. Abundant halftone illustrations.
KL's great apes: Creating an orang utan sanctuary in the city
Submitted by pekwan on Friday, March 26th, 2010
ape sanctuaryDatuk Seri Douglas Uggah EmbasLocalMinister of Natural Resources and Environment
Government ended weeks of speculation on such a move
The government ended weeks of speculation on the setting up of an ape sanctuary in the city, by confirming that plans are afoot.
“Yes, it will be one-of-its-kind in the region and a semi-artificially created centre for the great apes, or orang utan,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, in a phone interview with The Malay Mail.
He said a committee had been set up to carry out a feasibility study and it will take some time as there are many factors to take into account.
“I don’t want to set a time-frame as we have to give the committee the leverage to come up with the best solution,” said Douglas.
“We want to be absolutely sure the orang utan can survive and breed in an artificially-created sanctuary.”
Asked if it would be set up in Kepong at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), as speculated by the media, he said the ministry was looking for a more suitable place.
“Kepong is too close to the city to be an ape sanctuary, really. Besides, FRIM is about forests and plants and not animals.
"Nevertheless, the location will be near the city so as to attract tourists but conducive and protective enough as a sanctuary for apes," he added.
On whether it would be similar to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, which is just 20km from Kuching or the Sepilok orang utan sanctuary near Sandakan in Sabah, Douglas said that in Sabah, there was no threat of tigers to the apes.
“Here in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the sanctuary is going to be different as we have to take into account a lot of factors," he said.
In a recent news report, FRIM director-general Datuk Dr. Abd Latif Mohmod denied a Tourism Ministry statement that the institute had requested the setting up of an orang utan sanctuary.
“Orang utan conservation comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan). We are a forest research centre focusing on flora,” Dr Abd Latif had said.
The Tourism Ministry had recently announced that an orang utan sanctuary in Kuala Lumpur would be a big success and it would leave a lasting impression on visitors, in line with the government’s intention to make eco-tourism a more prominent sector.
Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr. James Dawos Mamit told the Press on Monday
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/31477-kls-great-apes-creating-orang-utan-sanctuary-city
Photos: Tehran Zoo - Interesting!
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/mar/1240.html
Rodeo bull goes head-to-head with zoo dolphins in a study of balance
Now a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has contradicted a leading theory, which held that the animals moved their heads so vigorously that they had to have smaller, less responsive balance organs to avoid overwhelming their senses.
Working with a Midwestern zoo and a local rancher, the researchers, led by Timothy E. Hullar, MD, a Washington University ear, nose and throat specialist at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, directly measured the head movements of dolphins and compared them with those of a closely related land animal — a rodeo bull. Cattle have much larger balance organs than dolphins, yet the tests showed that both species had similar head motions.
The findings will be published in the April issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. Hullar says the results deepen our understanding of the role of balance systems, including those of people.
Much of an animal's or person's balance is controlled by the semicircular canals located in the inner ear. Even though a bottlenose dolphin is about 8 feet long, its semicircular canals are as tiny as those of the average mouse, an animal that could comfortably ride on the tip of the dolphin's nose.
"About 35 million years ago, the ancestors of whales and dolphins went from a terrestrial habitat to an aquatic habitat," says
http://www.physorg.com/news188652423.html
Indonesian zoo welcomes birth of 25 Komodo dragons
An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the births of 25 endangered Komodo dragons, hatched after eight months in incubators.
Veterinarian Rahmat Suharta says the eggs, from three giant female lizards, hatched at the Surabaya Zoo in East Java over the past week.
He said Thursday that the babies, weighing between 2.8 ounces (80 grams) and 4.2 ounces (120 grams), brought to 69 the number of the giant lizards at the zoo, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Eleven more eggs are expected to hatch in coming weeks.
Komodo dragons can be found in the wild primarily
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjVajLnPu7zPHCr2X3DXt2GqkIZAD9ELL6L81
The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates
To order click HERE
Review
This exceptional coverage is a 'must purchase' for any library serious about primates: over 500 color photos and 16 illustrations are packed into a fine title which illustrates the diversity of primates in a field guide reference. This gorgeous collection is unparalleled and deserves a place in any serious science library. -- Midwest Book Review
Tigers cause a splash in zoo's pool
A 47-stone tiger playing with inflatable toys is a common sight at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, in Camp Verde, Arizona.
For 30 minutes every day a pair of the zoo's six Bengal and Siberian tigers take to the 50 foot pool for fun and games.
Aston Powell, who works with the animals, said the activities bring variation to their lives in captivity.
She said: "It might look crazy from the outside, but these tigers love what they are doing as it comes naturally.
"To be honest if a 47 stone tiger doesn't want to play like this, there's not much we could do to make him.
"Our keepers are very experienced and they have the utmost respect for the power of the big cats and safety is paramount.
"Tiger Splash began in 1993 when the park purchased a SiberianTiger cub, Genesis
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7519830/Tigers-cause-a-splash-in-zoos-pool.html
Okapi, Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Congo
Big debut at Budapest Zoo
Six Aldabra Giant Tortoises went on display from Thursday at the Budapest Zoo where they had been living since last year but not yet shown to the public.
The six tortoises are estimated to be aged between 10 and 15 years and they are currently sized like two medicine balls, the zoo said. They are housed in the recently opened building for venomous animals, even though they are not a venomous
http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/big_debut_at/?cHash=b3cadd6eb5
Is Chinese Economic Demand Killing Africa's Gorillas?
Perhaps the worst misfortune to befall the world's gorillas is that they live in some of the most resource-rich and lawless parts of the planet. Their forest homes in Africa are rich in timber, gold, diamonds and coltan, the mineral used in electronics like cell phones, and the scramble to get at those minerals has been joined by ragtag militias, national armies, multinationals and governments alike.
That means it is an unusually bad time to be a gorilla. A new U.N. report warns that most of the remaining gorillas in Africa could go extinct within 10 to 15 years in the Greater Congo Basin, the swath of forest and savanna that stretches from Africa's Atlantic coast across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Rwanda and Uganda in the east.
(See pictures of species near extinction.)
The races for timber, gold and coltan are largely to blame for habitat loss, said the report. Militias sell their goods to middlemen and corporations that ignore the destruction caused by the resource trade, and they must be held accountable for the loss of biodiversity in the region. "Companies involved, also multinationals, have shown little or no concern regarding the origins of the resources obtained," says the report, co-authored by the U.N. Environment Program and Interpol. Militia groups that control mining in parts of Congo keep afloat with "an influx of arms in exchange for minerals and timber through neighboring countries, including the continued involvement of corrupt officials and subsidiaries of many multinational companies."
Along with habitat loss, the apes face threats from human population growth and a surge in the bush-meat trade — locals and organized traders killing wildlife to eat
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1975555,00.html
Edinburgh Zoo poo proves a gardener's delight
GARDENERS around Scotland's capital have discovered a secret ingredient to give their vegetables a boost – dung from zebras, camels, warthogs and rhinoceros at Edinburgh Zoo.
The powerful manure is becoming increasingly popular for use on allotments across Edinburgh, and the zoo is keen to put the dung to good use.
It is also being used by the zoo itself to grow cabbages, carrots, lettuces and green beans to feed the chimps, and is spread on the herbaceous borders to make them flourish for visitors.
The zoo, with the help of a student on a work placement, devised a technique to collect and store the dung to avoid sending it to landfill – which costs £50 a tonne.
It is dumped on a concrete pad which was built by the army and turns into a rich manure after about a year.
When the zoo discovered it had a
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Edinburgh-Zoo-poo-proves-a.6172049.jp
Monkeys taking over as London Zoo allows visitors and primates to interact
Out of the steamy jungle canopy leapt a small South American monkey, which paused for a moment before darting off in the direction of Euston Road.
The monkey is one of the inhabitants of London Zoo’s indoor rainforest, the country’s fullest re-creation of an Amazonian ecosystem.
From Saturday, thousands of visitors will join the monkeys in the “bio-dome” where humans and primates interact freely, with no bars or glass in the way — a model for the rest of the zoo’s exhibits.
The monkey, dashing between our legs, did not seem too concerned. “As you can see, the Golden Headed Lion Tamarins are really not bothered by crowds,” said Tony Dobbs, senior keeper of
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7075901.ece
Three Owls - the 'Born Free' email
In July 2009 an animal welfare and conservation charity, 'Born Free', sent an email to Rochdale Borough Council that started a chain of events that culminated in the sudden closure of the Three Owls Bird Sanctuary.
With the permission of Born Free, Rochdale Online can now reveal the content of the original email and an explanation by Born Free of their reasoning.
While we naturally understand the great concern over the closure of Three Owls Bird Sanctuary, we must reiterate that we regard this as a matter for the Trustees of the Sanctuary and for Rochdale Council. However, as there is an ongoing desire to see the original correspondence from the Born Free Foundation to Rochdale Council regarding Three Owls, it is reproduced here in its entirety:
“Dear Sir or Madam,
I am contacting you from the Born Free Foundation, the international animal welfare and conservation charity.
It has come to my attention that the premises known as Three Owls Bird
http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/38856/three-owls-the-born-free-email
'Miscommunication' led to giraffe remains in trash
Albuquerque city officials blamed miscommunication for the remains of a Rio Grande Zoo giraffe being placed in a trash bin.
A memo Friday from a city official to Mayor Richard Berry said it was not an act of insubordination or disrespect but appears to be the result of unfortunate miscommunication between the zoo manager and an employee.
Berry ordered an investigation after learning about the remains of 16-year-old Kashka. The giraffe was euthanized at the zoo last week after a debilitating leg injury.
The zoo said large animals are dismembered before necropsy, with remains then going to the landfill for burial in a special area set aside for animals.
The report by Betty Rivera, director of the city department that oversees the zoo, said an employee told a manager no dump truck was available
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibSpz2vzwASD-7ThZ0z023G3m2EQD9EMJ87O0
From The Blog -
Sad Blow For Gorillas at London Zoo
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/sad-blow-for-gorillas-at-london-zoo.html
Zurich Zoo Concerns for Masoala National Park
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/zurich-zoo-concerns-for-masoala.html
Tiger Horror Story - Watch This Video
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/tiger-horror-story-watch-this-video.html
We May Lose Our Gorillas
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/we-may-lose-our-gorillas.html
And The Zoo Will Have Dinosaurs Too!
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/and-zoo-will-have-dinosaurs-too.html
Sad Blow For Gorillas at London Zoo
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/sad-blow-for-gorillas-at-london-zoo.html
Zurich Zoo Concerns for Masoala National Park
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/zurich-zoo-concerns-for-masoala.html
Tiger Horror Story - Watch This Video
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/tiger-horror-story-watch-this-video.html
We May Lose Our Gorillas
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/we-may-lose-our-gorillas.html
And The Zoo Will Have Dinosaurs Too!
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/03/and-zoo-will-have-dinosaurs-too.html
Look to the right and see and click on blog postings. Some of these have not been mailed out by email. Most will have been posted on the Facebook Page however.
Farewell Jahe
One persons tribute to an Orangutan who will be leaving Toronto Zoo for Tennessee in the near future*******************************************************************************
Official newsletter of the International Congress of Zookeepers
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Chinese Tigers in Africa
And to see the latest Video please click HERE
*******************************************************************************
Journal of Threatened Taxa
March 2010 - Vol. 2 - No. 3
Pages 725-788
Date of Publication 26 March 2010
ISSN 0974-7907 (online)
0974-7893 (print)
Contents
An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles
-- P. Dilip Venugopal, Pp. 725-738
Past and present status of the Indian Tiger in northern West Bengal, India: an overview
-- Jayanta Kumar Mallick, Pp. 739-752
Road kill of animals by highway traffic in the tropical forests of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, southern India
-- N. Baskaran & D. Boominathan, Pp. 753-759
Foliicolous fungi from the Achankovil forests in Kollam District of Kerala State, India
-- V.B. Hosagoudar, P.J. Robin & B. Shivaraju, Pp. 760-761
Ohcratoxin producing Aspergillus spp. isolated from tropical soils in Sarawak, Malaysia
-- Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan & Sepiah Muid, Pp. 762-765
A unique patch of timberline ecotone with three species of Lady’s slipper orchids in Garhwal Himalaya, India
-- Ishwari D. Rai, Bhupendra S. Adhikari & Gopal S. Rawat, Pp. 766-769
Description of a new species of the genus Bitomus Szepligeti (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India
-- Ahmad Samiuddin, Zubair Ahmad & Mohammad Shamim, Pp. 770-772
Two new Indian gall midges of the genus Contarinia Rondani (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera) reared from Amaranthaceae & Poaceae
-- M.S. Siddiqui, K.A. Ahad Najam, & V.D. Deshpande, Pp. 773-777
Aquatic Hemiptera of Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India
-- Rabindra Hazarika & Mrigendra M. Goswami, Pp. 778-782
First record of Liocheles nigripes Pocock, 1897 (Scorpiones: Hemiscorpiidae) from Andhra Pradesh with a checklist of scorpions of the state
-- S.M. Maqsood Javed, Zeeshan A. Mirza, Rajesh V. Sanap & Farida Tampal, Pp. 783-785
On a record of Puntius gelius (Hamilton, 1822) (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from Tamil Nadu
-- J.D. Marcus Knight, Pp. 786-787
Reinstatement of IUCN / SSC South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group, P. 788
Thanking you,
Sanjay Molur
Founder Editor, Journal of Threatened Taxa
Wildlife Information & Liaison Development / Zoo Outreach Organisation
9-A Lal Bahadur Colony, Gopal Nagar, Peelamedu, PB 1683, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641004, India
Ph: +91 422 2568906 (Direct), 2561743, 2561087, Fx: +91 422 2563269
http://www.zoosprint.org/ , http://www.zooreach.org/ , http://www.southasiantaxa.org/ , http://www.pterocount.org/ , http://www.southasianprimatenetwork.org/ , http://www.threatenedtaxa.org/
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TOUCH A SHARK DURING MYSTIC AQUARIUM’S SHARK WEEK
APRIL 14 TO 20
April vacation week activities focus on all things shark; guests can have close encounters at the new shark touch pool
MYSTIC, Conn. (March 18, 2010) – See sharks of all shapes and sizes (including some you may not even realize are sharks!) during Shark Week at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration from April 14 to 20. Among the April vacation week activities is the chance to touch live sharks at the new “Shark Encounters…A Shark Touch Tank” exhibit.
Opening on April 1, the shallow touch tank provides guests the opportunity to reach in and touch docile white-spotted bamboo and coral cat sharks as they swim by, while learning about conservation of all shark species. The pool houses six sharks, all one to three feet in length.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, kids will learn about shark adaptations, diets, myths and conservation through interactive cart activities, games, presentations and crafts. Guests will be able to smell common scents as a shark would, participate in a shark scavenger hunt to learn about the various species at the aquarium, get an up-close look at shark teeth, fins and jaws, and play games to learn shark facts versus myths and threats sharks face in the wild.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 14 to Tuesday, April 20
Activities take place at scheduled times between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day
WHERE: Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration
55 Coogan Blvd. , Mystic , CT 06355
COST: Free with aquarium admission: Adults $26, seniors $23, kids (ages 3 to 17) $19, free for children 2 and under
For more information, call (860) 572-5955 or visit http://www.mysticaquarium.org/
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Hey Everyone,
We are starting to collect articles for the 2010 Gorilla Gazette. Thanks very much to all those who contributed to the 2009 issue.
For submission please send the following:
- article in single-space text in Word
- photos separate from text
- photo caption and photographer credit
- graphs separate from text
- author's name, contact information for author
Please contact me directly at elynn57@aol.com
Thanks, Beth
Beth Armstrong
Editor, Gorilla Gazette
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Submit abstracts to
Adam Felts
9990 Riverside Drive
Powell, Ohio 43065
adam.felts@columbuszoo.org
614-922-0068
Gorilla Gazette
Hey Everyone,
We are starting to collect articles for the 2010 Gorilla Gazette. Thanks very much to all those who contributed to the 2009 issue.
For submission please send the following:
- article in single-space text in Word
- photos separate from text
- photo caption and photographer credit
- graphs separate from text
- author's name, contact information for author
Please contact me directly at elynn57@aol.com
Thanks, Beth
Beth Armstrong
Editor, Gorilla Gazette
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LORY SYMPOSIUM 2010
October 9-10, 2010
Marriott Courtyard, Old Town San Diego, CA
Full registration includes lunch during the symposium, and a reception at the home & aviaries of Dick & Rikki Schroeder in Escondido, CA
Early Registration (until July 31) is $79
From August 1 on, registration is $99
Featured speakers include:
Dr. Tammy Doukas - Census of wild populations of Kuhl’s and Ultramarine Lory
Matt Schmit - Lory diets and husbandry
Dick Schroeder - Genus Trichoglossus
Room rates at the Marriott are $119/night for a single or double.
Reservations may be made by calling (619) 260-8500 or (800) 321-2211. Please mention the lory symposium to ensure the correct rate
The symposium is sponsored by the Exotic Bird Foundation, The American Lory
Society, Avian Enterprises and Exotic Endeavors
For more information, email symposium@lorysociety.com
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2011 Rhino Keeper Workshop
May 15th-18th, 2011
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
1st Call for papers, Posters and Presentations
Deadline for abstracts: June 1, 2010
Abstracts must include:
-name, address, institution, title of presenter
-Title, topic, objective, methods, results, and conclusion
-Medium (paper, poster, video)
-A/V requirements
-Limit 300 words
-Submit electronically in Word Format
Submit abstracts to
Adam Felts
9990 Riverside Drive
Powell, Ohio 43065
adam.felts@columbuszoo.org
614-922-0068
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ZOO BIOLOGY
The Zoo Biology Group is concerned with all disciplines involved in the running of a Zoological Garden. Captive breeding, husbandry,cage design and construction, diets, enrichment, man management,record keeping, etc etc
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Kind Regards,
Wishing you a wonderful week,
Peter Dickinson
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